Exclusive: Velomobile introduced in Manitoba; plus city "leaders" cower from public consultation on bus fares

(Thanks for alerting us, the audio link has been fixed) On Remembrance Day, I was out with one of our close friends and sponsors, TJ Bratt of Double D Snow Removal (call 805-3555, he'd want me to remind you). As we drove down a quiet street in St. Boniface, what looked like a white rocket crossed the road about a block ahead of us. Naturally, as intrepid reporters and curious Georges, we set off in pursuit.



What we found was the debut of a unique form of transportation to Winnipeg and a most affable driver.


In this special podcast, you'll meet the owner of the first Velomobile on our streets, who has taken his love of cycling to a whole new level. Josh, (not to be confused with our longtime associate Young Josh, now of APTN) is a longtime resident of Southeast Winnipeg and although a believer in active transportation, has never been aligned with the militant bike lobby.


Rather, he went about his hobby quietly and decided to invest his hard-earned savings from his job as a shipper/receiver in the most unique, cool, self-propelled vehicle imaginable, the Sunrider model manufactured in the Netherlands.


Josh describes his personal background, the reasons why he decided to buy it, the physical demands of this style of cycling, and his hopes to add sponsorships to the fibreglass hull and perhaps make guest appearances at local events and for worthy causes to help him defray the costs. He sat in for the entire show and it was a pleasure to be able to host him in the studio.


Also on today's show - Josh helps list who was hitting up our blog (thank you potty-mouth Pat Martin!) and the shout-outs to our newest followers on Twitter - including Manitoba's Top Employers, social media ace Erica Glasier, and Destiny Watt of city hall.

And speaking of city hall...

You will hear our analysis of how councillors betrayed the working class, seniors and the poor when "leadership" at city council was re-defined as ditching all public consultation to hike bus fares by 400% more than was originally asked for, thanks to the allegedly spontaneous brainstorm of Deputy Mayor Justin Swandel to fund rapid transit ... sort of.

The way the vote passed, and who supported it, exposes the deep divide between the marginalized inner city and the arrogant oligarchy at 510 Main that resorted, without shame or guilt or conscience, to procedural trickery to avoid public debate. It was like they sneered "ya, what Pat Martin said" to Winnipeg voters, and ignored their promises to make sure the people had a say after the disaster of bike lanes in 2010.

Which members deserve a pat on the back for refusing to go along with anti-democratic tactics? Do we need recall legislation to ensure elected officials do not abuse the public trust or pocketbooks again ? What was said and by whom, in the Twitterverse and on blogs? Listen and get informed.

Also reviewed (speaking of Remembrance Day) is Free Press columnist Dan Lett admitting in a blog post to his surprise (and a few other things) that a U of M student didn't swallow his attacking Mayor Sam Katz again and told him off; and the fierce debate among our Facebook group about who (beside the convicted boy) should be held responsible for the murder of a 14 year old girl stabbed through the mouth while she was passed out drunk. And it ain't Gary Filmon.

Here is the link to the Friday podcast:
http://tgctspod.podbean.com/2011/11/18/velomobile-introduced-in-manitoba-plus-city-leaders-cower-from-public-consultation-on-bus-fares/


Go Bombers !

Live at King's Head - City Hall, the Bike Lobby and 'Rapid' Transit; reel-to-reel & 80's Winnipeg VHS tapes wanted; special guests

Thanks to the wonders of our Facebook group, a live edition of TGCTS broke out at the King's Head on Wednesday night and was it fun (if perhaps recorded at a too-quiet setting, live and learn ) !

Notwithstanding the absence of a wireless signal, a fast-paced and wide-ranging discussion ensued with shout-outs to all sorts of Twitterists, guest commentators including Graham Hnatiuk of Progressive Winnipeg, and a rave review of Dr Pepper Barbeque sauce is but a fraction of the fun.


Oh, and the answer to the question from our last Podcast - how many callers did I hang up on at Kick-FM?

Lots of opinions, information, naming names galore (Rosemary Vodrey??), and discussion about Winnipeg past and present, and especially plugging Jim Jaworski's work to preserve historic video of this city (lil_zebra@truwinnipeg.org if you have any to contribute), at http://www.youtube.com/user/jaworskij

HERE IS THE LINK TO THE LIVE ON LOCATION PODCAST: http://tgctspod.podbean.com/2011/11/10/live-at-kings-head-city-hall-the-bike-lobby-and-rapid-transit-reel-to-reel-80s-vhs-wanted/

PS - If you would like to book a live edition of The Great Canadian Talk Show to generate discussion with your group or organization, as a fundraiser, or for your own entertainment, we'd be happy to oblige.

REMEMBER THOSE WHO GAVE THEIR LIVES FOR OUR FREEDOM.

Wed podcast: Race-baiting rapper lauds Selinger

The Winnipeg Sun added more details about the arrest of Premier Selinger's favorite rap artist Jamie Prefontaine after an altercation while boarding a flight in Montreal on election day.

The accused posted a number of comments online earlier today, raft with gangsta lingo, bad spellink and threats. On today's podcast we highlight his racially-charged ramblings alleging mistreatment by the media and police and claims of community service such as the excerpts below:

"i maid bails this morning in montreal im free there is not one bit of thruth to the story ... we help troubled youth avoid the life style we had in the past due to the rich getting richer and the poor getting poor you take away are rec centers are goverment money and put white ppl into programs that kids dont want ... greg silinger got more votes bye standing bye ppl who have changed there life get the real facts before you print storys on us no ones been convited in heatbag records or winnipegs most in 5 years so suck it up and suck me off this is brooklyn"

The first half of the show reviews blog posts about the promotion of the "perp being a victim" culture in the north end and why one blogger has walked away from "organizations", how it connects to the Greg Selinger-directed tactics of manipulating community institutions while ignoring the escalation of crime, and connects the dots to City Hall which has a bottomless pit of rewards for mega-project developers with no shame.

Plus, filling in the blank on the first of two Good Samaritans who were stabbed this week, and closing arguments in the Ivan (John) Radocaj murder trial.

Here's the link:
http://tgctspod.podbean.com/2011/10/12/race-baiting-rapper-lauds-selinger/

TGCTS debut in Winnipeg Sun; Podcast on the way/Stadium deal commentaries

Quick notes to our listeners and readers, Freedom of Speech is clearly an important issue to you all. You Have The Power to hold those who silenced the voices of the community to account.

Firstly, our debut column in the Winnipeg Sun

City hall’s irrational love of bike lanes

"For the businesses and residents in the South Broadway area, this has provided a unique opportunity for the city to demonstrate utter bumbling and wasteful incompetence year-round, right on their own doorstep."

http://www.winnipegsun.com/comment/columnists/2010/12/15/16563596.html

TO our new readers from the Sun, welcome!

Check out our archive using the search engine for our leading about terms like Assiniboine Avenue, bike lanes, bike counts, traffic circles, active transportation, and city officials like Jenny Gerbasi, Harvey Smith, Mayor Sam Katz, Kevin (whatever happened to him?) Nixon, and Bill Woroby.

A great compendium of all sort of original research and news stories, is at Graham Hnatiuk's blog
http://progressivewinnipeg.blogspot.com/search/label/Assiniboine%20Avenue

and his hub collection of a lot of Blog posts:

http://progressivewinnipeg.blogspot.com/2010/09/assiniboine-avenue-bike-path-info-hub.html


* Thank you to all our readers, new and old, who hail from

- local organizations such as the Manitoba Pork Council, Manitoba Liquor Control Commission, Manitoba Public Insurance, and the Seven Oaks School Division;

- Canadian media such as National Post, Macleans, Globe and Mail, APTN, CBC, CTV, Sun Media, Vancouver Province, Global TV, and the Winnipeg Free Press,

- educational institutions such as Red River College, Sheridan College, Algonquin College, and NorthWest Community College; and the Universities of Winnipeg, Manitoba, British Columbia, Simon Fraser, Lethbridge, and Calgary;

- Canadian locations like Brandon, Morden, Dauphin, The Pas, Thompson, Beausejour, Selkirk, Pine Falls, Pinawa, Burnaby, Vancouver, Richmond, Port Coquitlam, Prince George, Terrace, Prince Rupert, Cranbrook, Calgary, Edmonton, Regina, Toronto, Hamilton, Sarnia, Barrie, Thunder Bay, Ottawa, Kanata, Fredericton, Oromocto, Halifax, Whitehorse, and St John's;

- international locales like Tel Aviv, Israel; Frankfurt, Germany; Helsinki, Finland; San Jose, California; Salt Lake City, Utah; Scottsdale, Arizona; Battlebro, Vermont; Winchester, New Hampshire, New York, New York, and Washington DC.

** Some supporters, including RRC alumni, have now filed official complaints with the Red River College Board of Governors which is meeting tonight.

*** Official complaints have also been filed by concerned listeners with the CRTC about the operation of the non-profit Cre-Comm Inc, which has again designated 4 commercial radio station executives as "community members" of the Kick-FM Board of Directors. One of them, as chairman, declared they would not answer any questions or ask any of presenters at their stage-managed Annual General Meeting on December 9th.

*** Thank you to all who supported our first ever TGCTS Live edition. It was much easier technologically than I had expected, and the interaction with the audience was very beneficial.

- The podcast will be posted in 2 parts to ensure fewer server crashes etc, as it was a long presentation. Kenny advises Part 1 should be ready for this weekend.

- The audience was very impressed with the participation of eyewitnesses from Mynarski ward, who put the lie to the claims our reporting of the civic election was flawed.

- The presentation made clear to all, that the real story of the cancellation of TGCTS has nothing to do with "the best interests of students", and everything to do an attack on the style and substance that set TGCTS apart as the platform for the alternative media to become known to a broader Winnipeg audience and to journalism and radio students from RRC and other courses, and to raise awareness of otherwise untold news angles and stories;

See http://progressivewinnipeg.blogspot.com/2010/12/we-arent-holding-gun-to-your-head-stop.html

***** As announced at the live event, a local radio commentary gig will be starting in January.

**************************

Speaking of the utterly disgusting, walk-on, scam-tastic, no-Asper-included Stadium payed for by YOU:

First of all, candidates in the October election, who on my show on Kick-FM swore they would never turn their back on the public when it came to public consultation, the 'it'll never happen again crowd" - Jenny Gerbasi and John Orlikow, step up - demonstrated why we need recall legislation in this city and province.

Notice how not one MSM reporter asked Jenny if her support for the stadium is tied to her beloved Leg 2 of rapid transit - has anyone heard a single reporter or talk show mention that yet? No ?, because it's just more added expense for you taxpayers they don't want you to be reminded of.

And Orlikow simply has no excuse. After what John went through in River Heights, and he said he learned his lesson? I think Orlikow could have stood up with Russ Wyatt and Harvey Smith for the people of this city, and not for Greg Selinger's re-election campaign.

Blogger plays the timeline game:
http://policyfrog.wordpress.com/2010/12/15/what-a-difference-a-year-makes/

Menno Zacharias should get a medal for this one:

Councillor Justin Swandel has characterized the move by Councillor Wyatt (to oppose the walk-on) and the other councillors as a childish stunt.

This prompts questions:

If the exercise of their rights by councillors is viewed as a stunt, then why not change the rules so that the Mayor and Councillor Swandel can walk anything onto the agenda at any time?

Why do the Mayor and Councillor Swandel view this attempt to promote transparency and accountability for public spending as a negative?

Has the obvious lack of due diligence, cost guesstimates and flawed decision-making not already created a large enough mess? The big hole in the ground at the University of Manitoba says that it has.

http://mennozacharias.wordpress.com/2010/12/15/stadium-funding-debate-sparks-gun-play/

Colin Craig of the Taxpayers Federation breaks down the REAL math:
http://www.winnipegsun.com/comment/columnists/colin_craig/2010/12/14/16551841.html

Brian Kelcey asks all the smart questions:
http://www.stateofthecity.ca/front-page/2010/12/13/lingering-questions-on-winnipegs-stadium-deal-60.html

Another great post by John Dobbin:
The provincial NDP should fear the boot. Greg Selinger is showing little restraint and no matter how many times we hear that we need these projects, the question of how to control spending will not go away. So many worthy causes, none worth cutting leads to unimaginable deficits.

As far as city councillors and the mayor, they should fear the nightmare at Polo Park from their development plans and realize it is likely to cost them a lot more to fix traffic problems than they think. Fear the boot. Sam Katz should be particularly ashamed by the last minute walk on for a critical vote
http://johndobbin.blogspot.com/2010/12/new-stadium-walk-on-fear-boot.html

Tom Brodbeck looks into his crystal ball and correctly predicts the future for this boondoggle:
http://www.winnipegsun.com/news/columnists/tom_brodbeck/2010/12/15/16569916.html

--- And speaking of the boot, how come we NEVER hear of this provincial election projection from MSM outlets in Winnipeg ??

"With these poll numbers, the Progressive Conservatives would win a majority government with 32 MLAs, two fewer than my last Angus-Reid projection for Manitoba. The New Democrats have gained those two seats and would win 24 in total. The Liberals would win one seat."

http://threehundredeight.blogspot.com/2010/12/pcs-projected-majority-diminishing-in.html