Two charities may have to cancel Christmas dinners; plus a Lesson in Journalism

JUNE 24 2019 ADDED NOTE: 
ALL POSTS PRIOR TO THIS DATE ARE ARCHIVED FROM 2011 AND EARLIER - AND WILL NOT HAVE WORKING LINKS TO THE PODCASTS 


Essential listening to understand what's going on in Winnipeg? You betcha.

Start with contrasting the state of the subjects on Winnipeg radio to our hyperlocal, relevant, informed content and style; how you'll be able to get involved with TGCTS thru our new website; then we enumerate our latest dozen followers (@TGCTS, it's booming!) on Twitter including United Way Winnipeg, Ottawa radio show The Album Drop, Cash Mob Winnipeg and Pulitzer Prize nominee, sportswriter Dave Kindred.

It's fascinating to watch the scope of awareness about our work spread across the continent, which sets up...

A Lesson in Journalism.

We examine the Twitterchat about the Jets licence plates, the Metro News story about Osborne House and their wish list and the issue of donor fatigue. How it relates to the CTV Late night news is part two.

Perhaps suffering from compartmentalization they missed a key point in their TV stories - with the Salvation Army and Indian Metis Friendship Centre being a combined $35,000 off the required donation pace for annual Christmas meals and gifts for the less fortunate, this issue of donor fatigue is now the elephant in the room in our city after the pet projects of millionaires sucked obscene amounts of dollars out of our community. (Remember, your favorite Museum is still panhandling for another $20 million. )

Also we reveal that Osborne House CEO Barb Judt is marching down to city hall later this week with a few messages for the Mayor and council.

In the crime report, we make a brief mention of the Grant Avenue Speed trap, the work of Colin Craig of the CTF and Tom Brodbeck of the Sun, as a Facebook member tries to find the good side of the fiasco; and a blogger discovers the city will issue an order on a derelict building, they just won't ENFORCE the order.

How Seinfeldian. Bizzaro Manitoba. Send this episode to everyone you know, here's the link:
http://tgctspod.podbean.com/2011/12/13/two-charities-may-have-to-cancel-christmas-dinners-plus-a-lesson-in-journalism/

How blogs and alternative media step up to fill local news and information gap

The opening segment is a commentary about the role of alternative media, the entrenched ivory-tower local institutions, and the state of critical and other reporting in the local MSM, that is a must-hear for those concerned about free speech in our community.

Then, three blogs anchor the three segments today:

Civic: The slush fund being carved out of new garbage fees, and the Gem Equities court file are each dug up by a blogger with personal observations about the track record of those involved and the lack of genuine common-sense analysis by elected officials.

Provincial: What's with Selinger appointing interim Ministers to handle key departments?

Crime and Courts: James Turner proves that when it comes to 'accidental' prisoner releases, the time line tells the tale.

Here is the link for the (belated) Friday podcast:
http://tgctspod.podbean.com/2011/10/23/blogs-and-alternative-media-step-up-to-fill-local-news-and-information-gap/

Our apologies for the delay in being able to upload the Friday audio file.

The next podcast will be on Tuesday with an exclusive story coming from the Law Courts building.

Podcasts launch next week, just in time for the Manitoba election

The gatekeepers of the Winnipeg mainstream media tried to use their power behind closed doors, to cancel our drive-home talk show, and then lies were told to cover up the actions of "role models".

Ask yourself, who benefited?

And why did anyone feel they had to lie about the true motives for canceling our show "as a first step" to eliminate the community from campus radio on 92.9 Kick-FM ? (a flimsy excuse that has since been erased from their talking points, when the brilliant minds at Red River College realized it would be illegal to do so under the CRTC licence. )

Because we made a difference and shook up the status quo, that's why.

Our civic election coverage proved, there was a silent majority in Winnipeg who want their stories told about this city, that want to hear the views and analysis of bloggers and the alternative media, are interested in the concerns of small businesses and non profits, and wanted the voiceless defended. It accomplished what the Democracy Project is now trying to - we got people engaged, gave candidates a chance to address issues and for the public to know them, and made voting important.

Thousands of Winnipeggers want real issues covered every day, and to hear politicians and bureaucrats - and the newsrooms covering them - held accountable, and exposed when they failed the public interest.

Thanks to modern technology, beyond the reach of Margo Goodhand and the Winnipeg Free Press and immune from political pressure tactics, YOUR VOICE will again be heard.

Next week regular podcasts of The Great Canadian Talk Show, about an hour in length, is going to be launched that will include the Crime, Courts and Public Safety Update, brought to you by the Winnipeg Police Association.

Spirited Kenny is hard at work on the technical details to get the Podcast ready for smartphone and online access. Check this blog daily for that audio as well as evening / overnight updates and special segments.

Along with the usual topics of interest - (hello, bike lobby; how ya doin' Manitoba Hydro?), the provincial election is front and centre. We'll interview candidates, go inside the campaigns, and ask the questions voters want answered.

And if anyone sees, knows, or hears about ANY dirty tricks on the campaign trail, any allegations of breaking the election rules, we want to know. This time, when we report on those complaints, no one can cancel us.

YOU HAVE THE POWER.

To contact us with your story ideas, news tips, comments, or to sponsor the Podcasts, email: TGCTS1@gmail.com

Lawsuit spurs MSM reporting on bike lane fiasco - - a day late and a dollar short

Suddenly, after being hidden in plain sight from the mainstream media for weeks, the fiasco of the Assiniboine Avenue bike lane (and other Active Transportation routes) became "news" to city newsrooms.

The Free Press managed to run a story that ignored any mention of

1) how area businesses are cut off from deliveries,
2) the impact on a social service agency that serves clients in immediate crisis,
3) pollution from gridlocked rush-hour vehicles choking residents of Edmonton Street and the loss of transit service for hobbled seniors,
or
4) the dangers to pedestrians caused by cyclists using sidewalks and frustrated drivers careening about like mice trapped in a maze.

Still, it's a start.

Since June of 2009, the corporate newsrooms, feeding on press release-driven "green is good/Hike it Bike it Like it/use it or lose it" catch-phrases, have followed the lead of city spokespeople and the bike lobby to ignore the legitimate questions about the process and negative effects of the plans in favour of a zombie march to the day when Mayor Katz and city councillors happily provide them with ribbon-cutting photo ops.

The optics of drivers waiting for 28 minutes on Broadway, or of seniors trying to vault 8-inch curbs with their walkers, escaped their "professional" reporting.

The alternative media, long derided as being 'untrained' and 'without standards' and being 'unaccountable', somehow managed to overcome the handicap of being "lesser media" to forcing the story onto the public agenda and into their newscasts - CBC lead story - and front pages.

Suddenly, the quality of public consultation by the city is of interest to the mainstream media.

Yesterday, hundreds of readers including the Free Press, CTV, even contractors Stantec Consulting, all flocked to this blog in a desperate search for information on "bikeway lawsuit", "Kevin Nixon" and even the long forgotten( and suddenly departed during the Disraeli bridge uproar) former chief spinner "Ed Shiller".

Today, they are clicking furiously through this brilliant compilation of posts and stories about the Assiniboine project by Graham Hnatiuk, whose attempt this summer to alert the city auditor to the failure of the consultants to fulfill the terms of their contract and identify and engage key stakeholders was illegally diverted by 311 to tip off city officials the temperature was rising.

One comment left on the Free Press website is worth noting:

Posted by: Trott

September 17, 2010 at 10:59 AM

People, this issue has been a festering sore that has been ignored for far too long.

For months now, the Alternative Media has been covering the back-room shenanigans of this Bike Path on Assiniboine, and many others (Hello Sherbrook Avenue and Berry Street) and the impact that it will have not only area residents, but to the city as a whole. This Bike Path fiasco, and it is a fiasco, has been ignored for far too long.

The people pushing these projects (and city councilors) knew that there would be enourmous push back so they did as little as they could to promote these projects to the public. Those of you who are stating that there was plenty of public consultion may actually want to look into this a bit further. Many City Councilors have gone on record stating that the Consultation Process for Winnipeg is flawed and does not work the way that is supposed to!

Furthermore, when the public IS involved, what is actually presented to them, and what the public chooses as the best option is ignored! You have to look no further than the Disraeli Bridge/Bike Bridge project for more information on that!

Public Consultation? Talk to the owner of RC Eliminator whose business was almost expropriated for this project just after he setup shop there!!

Meanwhile, some of the on the record comments in that FP story, and Catherine Mitchell's op-ed piece provide even more ammunition for the lawsuit filed by the South Broadway Stakeholders.

Businesses suing city over bikeway; Area residents angered by changes By: Lindsey Wiebe

" Council incumbent John Orlikow admits the city didn't do enough to engage residents. Letters were hand-delivered to those living on the corridors, he said, and the city held two open houses. But they only drew 10 or 20 people, he said, and a later mail-out to 15,000 residents doesn't seem to have been widely read.

"It's our fault," he said. "It's the city's responsibility to find ways to properly engage the community."

From Mitchell's piece:

"St. Boniface Coun. Dan Vandal rues the very mention of bump outs, which expand curbs a couple of metres into a street, intentionally slowing motorists way down. In 2001, he had the curbs on Lyndale Drive bumped out, hoping to push speedsters to busier arteries. Residents and motorists revolted and they were gone -- all the bumps ironed out - in a year.

Now numerous routes in the city are undergoing reconfigurations with bump outs, this time as part of the city's massive street works program to get more people on bikes and out of their cars ... Parking lanes are being wiped off the streetscape, surprising residents and businesses alike

(Coun.) Gerbasi does concede ... this phase of the cycling corridors construction was done hastily, which left some neighbourhoods short on consultation. All three of the River Heights-Fort Rouge open houses, for example, were held in Fort Rouge."

An example of the consequences of the utter arrogance of city officials to pretend they had considered the ramifications of the bike lane plan, is this email from a listener:

Hi,

I have been following your posts regarding the construction on Assiniboine Avenue. I would like to point out something new and very ridiculous. The city has poured concrete curbs for the bike lane, one of which blocks the entrance to the parking for 400 Assiniboine. The garbage and recycling are no longer able to be picked up. This is very frustrating as a resident of this block...

I did call Coun. Gerbasi to complain today and have called in the past. To date, I have received no reply. I brought this curb to the attention of my property manager as well, and they are apparently looking into it as the garbage and recycling was not collected yesterday as scheduled.

And so, before hiring a truck to haul the garbage the courtyard of 510 Main Street (the last time we announced that idea, to a heap of smelly rotting lice-ridden trash was finally picked up in the West End after a 3 week wait) , we sent our expert into the field yesterday to look at the situation, and she came away with even MORE problems for large vehicles trying to navigate the narrowed streets - pay attention City Hall, we know you read this blog too:

From: Kim the Traffic reporter

I wandered down to Assiniboine to check the curb problems, new curbs approximately 8 inches in height for some areas, somewhat less in other areas have been now been laid in front of driveways. Maple Leaf Construction has added gravel so vehicles can get over the steep grade without damage to anyone trying to get over them. The barricades in front of the driveways for these curbs should be removed within the next day as crews are waiting for the cement to dry, the cement takes about 24 hours to dry enough to be used.

I was told by one construction worker that asphalt will be laid to bring the grade of the street up high enough so vehicles can pass over the curbs without causing damage which will make them look more like speed bumps than curbs.

As I was looking at these curbs a resident approached me, we ended up chatting. This resident manages an apartment building on the south side of Assiniboine, she is mightily annoyed by the work being done by the City on this bike and still doesn't understand why it is necessary. She also informed me she had never received any notification and in fact had not even seen the letter sent out as of July 23 by Bill Woroby.

This lady told me that Saturday and Sunday for the events happening on Broadway (ie Cyclovia) the traffic in the area was a complete "nightmare". She wouldn't even go out because there was no way she could even get onto Assiniboine from her lot. She ended just staying home. Her husband is an engineer who has been shaking his head asking "what are these people thinking"? Her husband has also wondered who the traffic engineer was that would allow this disaster to take place and actually wondered if an engineer had any hand in the planning of these changes.

As I stood chatting with this lady a construction worker came by and even he was shaking his head saying "he'd never seen anything as stupid as this plan". I have to give full kudos and praise to the construction workers of Maple Leaf Construction, Not only did I witness this, but other residents are saying the crews have been helping as much as they can to assist these drivers. they have been stopping traffic for the people around Kennedy and Assiniboine to get them out of the lots into the laneways. The residents are NOT upset with Maple Leaf Construction, realizing they are just doing their jobs

I did watch a school bus attempt to make the turn from Kennedy onto Assiniboine, the bus had to run over the curb in order to make that turn.

Some residents have told me that on Sunday when Ciclovia was happening they'd overheard some cyclists say that they "wanted Broadway closed down more often". Another resident of the area had informed me that the person who was putting up the letters at the end of July, when asked what this was about said "I don't know I was just told to put these up".

This is the level of consultation the City used to tell people of the changes to their neighbourhood, their homes and businesses.

We were told that if I remember correctly only 9 parking spots would be lost. I can tell you it's going to be a great deal more than 9 spots. While approximately 26 parking spots have been added to the east side of Kennedy, it still will not be enough and concerns have been raised as to where the residents visitors are going to be able to park.

Another concern, which we've already mentioned is how are the moving trucks going to be able to get in to the area. Some of the moving trucks are tractor/trailer units. Those vehicles will no longer be able to get into the area and even if they did there is literally NO place to put them except the bike lanes.

Large trucks such as 3,5 and 10 ton trucks will not be able to access the small lots behind some of these buildings, assuming all the buildings have lots which not all do. They would have to be backed in, then park in the driveway as there is no possible way they can negotiate the turns into the lots. Which again will cause all kinds of problems if anyone wants to leave the lot. People will be stuck until the truck moves. But then the City engineers likely didn't think of that issue. Seems they didn't think of a lot of things.

Problems still continue and as each day goes by the people most affected are frustrated and angry. There is hope by some of them that an injunction can be put into place and maybe one day their lives will go back to being somewhat normal. Right now, that isn't happening. and have no hand in the planning or implementation of these changes, these residents wanted that made abundantly clear.

******************
Today at 4 PM, more about bike lane lunacy with noted financial analyst Andrew Allentuck, and our special guest Bruce Clark will be in-studio to preview his October 2nd show at the Burton Cummings Theatre when he opens for renowned comedian Norm MacDonald !

Memo to Margo Goodhand: Gordo has exposed the great divide between you and your readers

Dear Margo:

First of all, thanks for correcting the misinformation in last Tuesday's Editor's Bulletin, even if it took my unacknowledged email to get you to admit, 2 days late, that it was wrong of you to assert to your subscribers that the Manitoba Conservatives had proposed a plastic bag ban.

If only the woes of your newspaper were limited to such trivial details.

For it is also wrong for you to publish a column entitled "A question of transparency and trust for charity" on Saturday, and expect to get away with it.

This is not my message; it is the message clearly stated in the online comments from your own readers about Gordon Sinclair's innuendo-laden lecture, based on the departure of John Mohan from the helm of Siloam Mission.

December 12, 2009 at 10:52 AM

Journalism sure has changed over the years.

Reporters knew then what was on or off limits, and based on this article, you forgot that. The paper falls down another peg. What a classless thing to do.

You could learn a thing or two about compassion from this organization Mr. Sinclair. It's a private matter and let's leave it as such.

and

Posted by: Rural Roots

December 12, 2009 at 12:08 PM
Gord, does this mean that, given how the public puts their trust in journalists like yourself to inform us about the "news" of the day, that you will from here on in ensure that your personal issues and those of all your colleagues that may in some direct or indirect (why were you grumpy in your column today, should I start guessing publicly?) your work will now be noted at the bottom of each column or in a press release?!?

and this

Posted by: Grubfoot

December 13, 2009 at 2:25 AM
"In other words, it's personal. But if what I hear from a source inside Siloam is true, there was also a highly uncomfortable professional aspect that should have made it Siloam's story to tell, too."

What made it your story to tell? There's a highly uncomfortable professional aspect to your infringing on John Mohan's right to privacy. It's more newsworthy that bleeding heart liberals are stabbing the charitable-hearted in the back.

Speaking of which, I am sure you took note of this comment:

Posted by: Jason Wayne

December 12, 2009 at 3:11 PM
Two words.......Pork Gate.

Let's compare the two stories.

Reported: John Mohan leaves his job after evidentally separating from his wife, who is still employed at the Mission.

Mohan and his wife split over something. That's personal. It has nothing to do with their jobs or the public that supports Siloam Mission. It is not "news".

Unreported: Somebody steals food from Winnipeg Harvest and gives it to Free Press employees.

That was "news", Margo.

It must have been because your striking employees bragged about receiving the 'donation' and then clammed up after it turned out the real story was not so kosher, as it were.

Not to mention theft is a crime. And the FP covered it up even after the City of Winnipeg issued a health warning about consuming thawing meat handed out by an unknown distributor from the back of a truck.

Tell us all, when a half-ton of stolen food meant for the truly hungry and poor ended up in your employees freezers, did you give them this lecture about "accountability and trust"?

The Winnipeg Free Press has no moral authority to lecture any other organization about accountability and transparency, or about ethical obligations to the public to 'come clean'.

The FP raises money from the public for Harvest every year. There's a direct connection. And your newspaper pretended nothing happened.

Siloam Mission could have used the unspoiled portions of pork to feed the poor, but instead some of your well-paid employees, accepted the pilfered, taxpayer-subsidized gift.

And now, one of your employees is criticizing Siloam for protecting the privacy of a couple in their employ? Your newspaper has been protecting the privacy of the thief and those who accepted stolen food for over a year now.

This same employee has ceaselessly been an unapologetic cheerleader for Harvest honcho David Northcott and has never asked why Northcott gave up his "investigation" rather than find the thief.

Margo, the attack on Siloam Mission exposes the selective commitment Gordo and the Free Press has to reporting on "A transparency issue for a charity that relies on the public for its funding."

And, it calls into question whether you agree with his observation "Transparency being the currency of trust."

If you do, Gordo will reveal what he knows about Porkgate.

Who got the meat. Where did it come from. Who stole it from Harvest. Why the FP did not report on it even after the city and federal health warning. How much money does the FP give Harvest. Was the meat a kickback.

I realize you have your hands full, what with one blogger discovering Gerald Flood was snookered by a seasoned PR spinner posing as an average citizen wanting credit for the Field of Dreams, and another blogger discovering that no one has even bothered to ask about the impact the relocation of Canada Post trucks to the streets of the inner-city will have on adjacent schools and daycares; and then of course there is the matter of a case of apparent plagiarism by Bruce Owen. (Who has his own link to Porkgate as you will recall).

Until you address this double standard, the great divide between the public and the newspaper of record will continue to grow wider and wider, and you will continue to scratch your head at the abandonment of readers and subscribers from the Free Press.

CBC finally wakes up to 2008's story of the year - Cheez Whiz

Despite the stunning revelation by Free Press columnist Dan Lett that Premier Gary Doer kept Dave Chomiak in the pressure-cooker Justice portfolio even after his wife committed suicide, which resulted in his long-time confidant struggling to even get through a basic day, the CBC decided the most important issue was something we first reported over one year ago.

Here's what they refused to report for the past 14 months:

"While making excuses for the NDP's refusal to support a Private Members bill of Liberal Kevin Lamoureux (Inkster) to establish a fixed price for fresh milk and make that staple affordable to Northern Manitoba, (keep in mind the price of beer is, by law, the same as in Winnipeg but milk runs up to $22 or more for a 4-litre), Marcelino stated that the people of the North were ingeniously using other products to ensure their children get calcium in their diets.

Specifically: Cheez Whiz.

Which, as our science specialist Spirited Kenny is going to tell us on Friday, is barely recognizable as a food.

Here's the excerpt from Hansard:
http://www.gov.mb.ca/legislature/hansard/2nd-39th/vol_65a/h65a.html#sr

Marcelino: ... However, I noticed that if you can be creative and practical, there are other alternatives to milk if you just want calcium. I saw in Gods Lake Narrows this school where supplies are delivered. They have several boxes of Cheez Whiz which is also a derivative of milk product containing calcium. I saw lots of bread. I thought without even thinking about this bill that this is a good alternative for milk.

So these children and adults from remote communities who, with this product which could be stored for a long time, these people from the northern communities are not without calcium in their diet. They may not have the actual fresh, chilled milk in the morning, but they have Cheez Whiz and other milk-derivative products that could be stored.

We are still searching for proof that the calcium in the standard serving size (2 tablespoons or 33 grams) of Cheez Whiz is an effective preventative measure for cavities in 2 year olds, or that the benefits of Cheez Whiz outweigh the excessive saturated fat, sodium, and other dubious nutritional qualities of that unnatural processed concoction.

But on the other hand, the government keeps beer affordable ..."

That story was published over one year ago. The MSM ignored it.

But once Marcelino was appointed a Cabinet Minister, CBC ran to the wayback machine.

This much is clear to even a rookie Red River College Cre- Comm student: if these ridiculous utterances of this NDP MLA was newsworthy yesterday, it was newsworthy when it was first reported. By us. Last September 9th.

It.

was.

news.

This story could have been told when it was first discovered.

When native people and northerners were first insulted.

Before anyone even thought that Premier Selinger was going to deem Marcelino qualified to ascend to cabinet.

Why wasn't it?

Did it really require the insertion into the issue by CBC of an 'activist', Joan Hay, to justify CBC exposing the complete absurd political posturing by Marcelino, who was running interference for a milk policy that flies in the face of the avowed NDP commitment to children, to the north, to 'healthy living'?

Or did CBC, and every other MSM outlet, deliberately ignore our 2008 Story of the Year as a finding of "the lesser media", even though a substantial number of them listen to our show and read our blog?

Last evening, at the conclusion of Sheila North-Wilson's report, CBC anchor Janet Stewart intoned "Now, Flor Marcelino just called us to say she apologizes and she now says Cheeze Whiz is not a good alternative to milk. She says she wants meet with Joan Hay, the activist we talked to, to apologize in person."

Forget that spin, CBC. You missed the boat again.

Her first act as Minister in the House should be to rise and apologize on the record, to ALL Manitobans. CBC should insist on it. We will.

This episode also begs the question, why did CBC deign that l'affair Cheez Whiz was more newsworthy instead of asking if it was in the public interest for Gary Doer to use a stressed-out high-strung widower to make important decisions on public safety and enforcement policy?

Or to ask why Doer left Chomiak to flounder in the face of Winnipeg regaining Murder capital status, the lost gang database, the photo-radar ticket debacle, and the 1999 NDP Election Finance Scam he presided over as campaign chairman?

Oh ya. Cause we reported it first.

Watch for it on CBC News at 5, 5.30 and 6 -- in about 14 months time.

****************
Thanks to MPI's Brian Smiley, Liberal MLA Kevin Lamoureaux, and Tory leader Hugh McFadyen for appearing on the show yesterday. Smiley, in particular, will be scheduled in the near future to debate the MPI rationale and business case for their massive capital builing plan with some listeners who told him the numbers were being spun and the building of new service centres is not justified.

- Today at 4.05 PM Alternative Media Perspectives with Triallo.com's Darryl Walsh

- at 4.45 PM Greg Oliver and Jon Waldman join the show to discuss the exciting launch of their new Slam!Wrestling book, Shocking Stories of the Squared Circle.

I will be hosting the launch event, at McNally Robinson Polo Park, at 7 PM. Then we will be off to the PCW card 'HellBound" at Dylan's on Pembina. For those who wish to attend next week's Kerry Brown Tribute Show fundraiser tickets will be available at both events.

(Thank you to CJOB's Hustler and Lawless, for having me on their show last night at the Pier 7 Pony Corral to talk about Kerry's life and the card being held to honour him. Also thanks to Laurie Mustard for mentioning the cause in his Sun column.

For tickets email martygoldlive@gmail.com and/or listen to TGCTS for ticket giveaways every day until showtime!)

Mainstream Vs Alternative: Crime can suck this.

Lets get this badge out and polish it up… there we go.

Here is a link to the offending blogpost.

I’m not trying to pick on Dan Lett, but the things he says really angers up the blood, and before I know it my fingers are a-typing away. Now this ‘kinda white liberal’ news paper columnist starts out with very harsh words towards the latest Conservative campaign of direct mail to voters, accusing the current NDP government of being soft on crime. Well, Mister Doer and his government sure aren’t tough on crime. I can point out various cases where the public was sure given a disservice by our justice system.

The case that sticks out in my mind, when I first realized something was wrong with our justice system, occurred in 2001. A 15-year-old punk killed a 21-year-old refugee from Iraq with an 8-Ball in a sock. Justice Ron Meyers pronounced sentence - only 1 day in a juvenile detention center (Homie don’t play that game indeed), and 15 months of supervision after spending 108 days in pre-trial custody. This was upheld 7-0 by the Supreme Court of Canada because they decided general deterrence has no place under the Youth Criminal Justice Act.

Where else can we look to see that our justice system is failing us?

Look at all the ‘Level 4’ MPI offenders: stealing hordes of cars, young car thieves ramming police with the stolen vehicles, police just recently being shot at, the murder of an 8-month pregnant woman, and the lack of justice for the Crystal Taman family as a few examples. If hearing about stories such as these don’t shock and anger up the blood something is wrong.

Now when I first read Dan Lett’s blog, it was a jaw dropping experience. His whole attitude left a bad taste in my mouth. But then I got to thinking about how most of the crime that happens in Winnipeg happens in low-income areas: Magnus, Spence, Logan. I’m not saying everyone who lives there are criminals, I’m just saying more often then not, the crime stat dot is going to land around one of these streets.

So now, go and re-read Mr Lett’s blog and replace the word crime, with the word poverty…Lindor Reynolds would be all over that like South Park’s homeless on some spare change, at the notion we should accept the degree of poverty here in Winnipeg because it's way worse in Vancouver's east side or on some far-flung reserve near James Bay.

Back to Dan Lett’s blog, He brings up six examples of horrific crime that have happened in other provinces. Then he states this:

“The Tories may think it’s not safe anywhere in Manitoba, but I think most people in Manitoba and throughout the country realize they are not in immediate danger. Yes, crime sucks. But so does fear mongering.”

I think what he left out was something like “Me and my family and friends are safe in our ivory towers. Since most of the crime that is happening in my city and across the country doesn’t affect me, well it just doesn’t matter.”

Take the blue pill Dan. This whole attitude of ‘crime is happening everywhere else so it’s OK for it to happen here’ is bullshit. We all can see that crime is a problem and we all want it to stop.

It is this attitude of complacency that has spread throughout our city that has lead it to deteriorate to the state it is in now. We are not good enough to have a NHL team, we are not good enough to have a world-class stadium, our roads are good enough, crime happens every else, so why not here.

Again I bring up the business example, if Winnipeg was a business and we had a re- occurring problem with employees getting injured by the equipment we use, would we:

A) Ignore it
B) Try to fix it.

No world-class successful company has every picked A. So why are we settling for it now? There may be crime coast to coast, but that doesn’t mean it’s alright. We, as a community, should start working together and try to become country leaders in crime prevention, and crime solutions.

Oh, and just a few days after his blog post, the Winnipeg Free Press posted a story stating that Winnipeg in 2006 was the second most 'crime with violence' city in Canada, second only to Vancouver with their asian/african/biker and other gangs.

Yes, complacency sucks, and I’m trying to rock people out of their little ruts.