TGCTS Half-year in review - the guest list

WE want to thank the many people from all walks of life, who have appeared on the air as guests in the first half of 2008:

Stacey Ashley, CTV News

Laurel Freis, Remax Realtor

Sel Burrows, North Point Douglas residents' committee

Jay Brazeau, "Tevye", Manitoba Theatre Centre's Fiddler on the Roof

Kelly Dehn, CTV Crime Beat specialist

Brewmaster Dave, Half Pints Brewing

Gerald Hawranik, Progressive Conservative MLA Lac du Bonnet

Marc Emery, Pot-TV

Kevin Armstrong, CTV reporter

Scott Taylor, National Post/Shaw-TV Voice of the Winnipeg Goldeyes

Dan Denton, Frozen Pond Productions, Los Angeles

Gord Steeves, Councillor St Vital

Paul Sveinson, Crocus Fund collapse analyst

Bernie Bellan, Crocus Fund shareholders group

Loretta Hunt, (former) editor, The Fight Network

Chuck Ealey, CFL quarterback legend, http://www.inductchuck.com/

Doug Schweitzer, CEO, PC Party of Manitoba

Sam Katz, Mayor of Winnipeg

Lianne Tregobov, Camelot Introductions

Hugh McFadyen, MLA Whyte Ridge, Progressive Conservative leader

Randy McMullin, VP, Diligence Works

Frank Mahovlich, NHL Hall of Famer, Liberal member of the Canadian Senate

Jamie Hall, Club Life Tv show

Adrienne Batra, (former) Director, Canadian Taxpayers Federation Manitoba

Ari Driver, downtown business owner - Perfume Paradise

Kevin Klein, publisher, Winnipeg Sun

Rob Galston, North Point Douglas blogger, http://www.riseandsprawl.blogspot.com/

Andrew Shallcross, security chief, The Lid nightclub, owner Premier Championship Wrestling (PCW)

Shane Madison, pro wrestling analyst, http://www.meccaholic.blogspot.com/

Jon Waldman, Slam!Sports, http://www.jonwaldman.com/

Frank the Italian barber, Phil's Barber Shop, The King of Corydon Avenue

Mike Brown, Global TV reporter

'Dirty Money' Shaun Myall, ISE Sports and Entertainment (Power Pro Wrestling)

Dr Jon Gerrard, MLA River Heights, Manitoba Liberal leader

Dr Eric Bibeau, NSERC/Manitoba Hydro Alternative Energy Industrial Chair Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering, University of Manitoba

Yoram East, http://www.canadasheli.com/

Steve Andjelic, blogger, http://unapwpgr.blogspot.com/

L'arche Winnipeg (Karen and Linda)

Brian Smiley, hockey coach and Manitoba Public Insurance spokeman

Colin Craig, CTF Manitoba Director

Ron Schuler, PC MLA Springfield

Lillian Thomas, councillor, Elmwood

Selina Driskell, William Whyte neighborhood activist

Julie Hart, http://www.juliehart.ca/

Flor Marcelino, NDP MLA Wellington

Dr. Jeff Zabudsky, president, Red River College

Dr. Roger Clemons, USC School of Pharmacy

Kevin Lamoureaux, Liberal MLA Inkster

Mavis Taillieu, PC MLA Morris

Joan Wilson, general manager Unicity Taxi

Harry Siemens, Agriculture reporter, http://www.siemenssays.com/

Myrna Driedger, PC MLA Charleswood

Tom Heffner, Manitoba Amateur Body Building Association

David Enns, Manitoba Chicken Wing Party

Terri Proulx, SEED Winnipeg on behalf of Winnipeg Taxi Co-op

George Burger, President and CEO, The Fight Network

We have also had so many callers, on and off-air, that contributed their viewpoints, as well as many listeners who took the time to send us their tips, reactions, thoughts and complaints to talk@kick.fm.

Two that stood out so far this year, were

- a caller from inside the Remand Centre, who agreed that First Nations leaders had to do more to keep their communities out of the influence of native street gangs, and who made no excuses about his own battle with alcohol leading him to multiple breaches of probation and back into custody, and

- an email we received when we broke the news of the death of Harold Buchwald. When even Manitoba provincial auditor Carol Bellringer listens to the show, we must be doing something right.

REPLAYS MONDAY AND TUESDAY

HAPPY CANADA DAY Be safe!

BACK LIVE 4 PM WEDNESDAY, JULY 2nd.

(P.S. - Our open invitation to Premier Gary Doer to appear on the show still stands.)

Samuel Golubchuk, 84, passes away

From left: Sam (in hat) and son Percy (holding chuppah pole), Torah scroll march to new Chavurat T'fillah synagogue building, 1974. My Zaida, Aaron, is holding a Torah, second from the right, with future city lawyer David Cohen holding the other chuppah pole. The man wearing the hat in the middle of the picture, behind the 2 kids, is the late Dr. Carl Pinsky.

I have memories of Sam Golubchuk going back to my childhood as a member of the Talmud Torah synagogue. An orthodox congregation, there were 3 long rows of benches facing east for the men to sit.

Sam and his son Percy sat in the row on the south side of the shul; there was a short middle row behind the Bimah (prayer lecturn), and the bench my grandfather Aaron sat in - first row on the left as you entered the synagogue- that was our spot. Later around 1974 they joined my zaida as members of the then-fledgling Chavurat T'fillah on Hartford and McGregor, under Rabbi Moshe Stern. On Shabbat or High Holidays when service was over, I would always go over to to wish Sam and Percy gut shabbos or gut yomtov. The Golubchuks were kind hearted and good humoured, and always involved in the community.

I have said very little on the show about the tragedy that unfolded the last few months, as Percy and his sister Miriam refused to compromise their religeous beliefs and insisted that life support be maintained as Sam was consumed by illness. The doctors and nurses at the Grace Hospital and the officials of the Winnipeg Regional Health Authority struggled with their own responsibilities and obligations as health care providers. The family was going to court to fight for their beliefs he be kept alive by any means necessary.

It behooves all of us to have a personal discussion with our families about end-of-life care and to plan for what will be asked of the doctors and nurses. The WRHA must also ensure that care be available to those who share the Golubchuk's beliefs.

Today the issue was decided not by a court or doctors, but by Hashem calling Sam to eternal rest. May his soul rest in peace.

The only "stain" in Dumas affair is on race-baiters and their media friends

The manipulation of the facts in favour of a twisted anti-police agenda was in full flight on Friday as the Matthew Dumas inquest concluded.

Those who believe in the politics of race continue to portray the shooting death of Dumas through the prism of their prejudice.

The race-baiters cherry-picked the facts heard by Judge Mary Curtis to fit their narrative and mislead the public and media. And many Winnipeg outlets are more than willing to regurgitate the fiction without shame.

Most shameless is the CBC, which suppressed the information Dumas had fought the police and escaped from the back lane before being cornered on Dufferin, right from the day of the shooting.

But their online story Friday thoroughly exposed the CBC agenda - by excluding key facts, it enabled their unquestioning coverage of Nahanni Fontaine's anti-cop tirades and aligned their newsroom with professional rabble-rousers.

Dumas was shot by police who had chased him down because they suspected he had committed a robbery. They said they used pepper spray on him and also told him they would shoot if he didn't drop the screwdriver he was carrying. When he continued to come toward an officer in a threatening manner, he was shot, police said.

Notice the CBC qualifies the details of the incident as being "what police said".

Not one word about Dumas running from a squad car driver who noticed he was trying to hide something up his sleeve.

Notice the absence of the fact independant witnesses verified the actions of the police to caution and disable Dumas before having to shoot to kill as trained.

Notice the total and complete absence of the fact Dumas was in breach of probation and that a warrant had been out for his arrest for over a month which explains why he ran.

This "reporting" set the stage for the Dumas apologists to continue to bleat about the dead criminal being a victim of his skin colour and not of his own actions.

"After hearing all of the information presented, the family remains convinced Dumas was a victim of racial profiling, just like native leader J.J. Harper, who was shot in 1988 after police mistook him for a car thief. "

The problem is they did not like what they heard.

So they chose not to listen, and as expected invoked the memory of JJ Harper, an innocent man walking down Logan in 1988, who unlike Dumas was not wanted on a warrant, did not run from police, and was not carrying a concealed weapon when shot in a struggle with a police officer.

The Southern Chiefs Organization, a First Nations advocacy group that has supported the Dumas family throughout their ordeal, has called on Winnipeg police chief Keith McCaskill to repair the damage between the aboriginal community and police.

The SCO is not an "advocacy organization" of the grassroots in the community. It is a political organization composed of politicians - elected chiefs of Southern Indian bands. There is no evidence of "damage" between the police and aboriginal community outside of the SCO.

"We need to ensure that this never, ever happens again, that we don't have another one of our organizations supporting another family for 3½, four, five years, trying to get justice or answers as to why their son, who was walking down the street, within 14 minutes was shot and killed dead," spokesperson Nahanni Fontaine said.

As reported on CJOB, Dumas' supporters claimed the witnesses were coached and police were rehearsed. Of course the only way to make their accusations stick, is to discredit everyone else involved - even an aboriginal witness and a Metis cop.

Fontaine, who is not known to be deaf, heard the answers to her questions at the inquest. To make it simple, I will repeat the answers she says she still does not have.

- A cruiser car responding to a search for armed robbers scrutinized Dumas.

- He acted suspiciously, was trying to hide something up his sleeve, and took off running.

- Matthew Dumas was in breach of probation, a warrant was out for his arrest, and he was also in breach for having a weapon on him, when he ran away.

- He was caught after ducking into Rod Pelletier's yard and being barked at by a huge dog when he stood at the side door. He pretended to be looking for a friend and asked for a light for his cigarette.

- When Cst. Jon Mateychuk approached the scene he had no idea what he was dealing with at that house, and the dog bit his pants seat.

- Mateychuk took Dumas out of the yard into the back lane away from the dog, where Dumas could be searched and questioned.

- Matthew Dumas sucker-punched the cop, ran onto Dufferin and menaced witness Willie Sinclair with a screwdriver when Sinclair offered to help the policeman.

- Dumas refused to follow police orders to stop running, to disarm himself, to obey commands, and most importantly, that he would be shot if he did not cease advancing on officer Dennis Gburek.

That is why Matthew Dumas was shot and killed. (It still remains to be answered by the pro-Dumas crowd why Matthew had a screwdriver on him, and why he brandished it at the scene of the chase.)

Of course, the facts were of no use to the single-minded Fontaine.

Winnipeg Sun: "However, Nahanni Fontaine, the SCO's justice director, said Dumas would not have been shot if he had been white instead of aboriginal."

And to back up her delusional view, she trotted out her research partner, University of Manitoba professor Elizabeth Comack, who showed the true value of higher education by also feigning deafness to the facts.

"It's pretty clear that any fear and distrust that Matthew might have had about police was actually well-founded," said Comack. "Because he did, after all, end up being shot to death."

The Sun has also earned a well-deserved smack for failing to tell readers that Comack was part of the SCO dog-and-pony press conference -- and was not providing the newspaper with an impartial view of the inquest.

She is currently working with Fontaine to find more anononymous anti-police story-tellers for their next academic (study) attack on those who serve and protect.

And not be left out of the media hall of shame, even the Free Press editorial "The Stain Remains", pandered to the illusion of a community divided by failing to call out the hate-mongers.

After concluding "An objective conclusion from all the evidence presented would find that the constable Mr. Dumas lunged at with a screwdriver had no option but to use lethal force", the editorial admitted "attempts to draw comparisons to the 1988 shooting death of aboriginal leader J.J. Harper would be specious".

Yet the newspaper of record goes on give credibility to the Fontaines and Comacks of the city by writing:

"J.J. Harper's death left an indelible stain on the relationship between Winnipeg police and native people in this city and that infected the Dumas affair."

This "infection" was carried by the race-baiters, and they alone injected the issue of racial profiling.

The Free Press admitted those claims were unrelated to the apprehension and death of Dumas, yet willingly allowed the factual manipulations of the Dumas defenders to infect the editorial of the newspaper.

Let us be clear- there is no one in the general community who has once gone on the record as supporting the narrow agenda of the SCO and their pet academic.

One question still remains to be answered, and we are asking it of City Councillor Gord Steeves, chairman of the Protection Committtee:

When will he demand the resignation of Nahanni Fontaine from the Winnipeg Police Advisory Board ?

After ignoring all the evidence in this inquest, she has demonstrated that she has a one track mind - police are always bad, criminals are always misunderstood victims, and she has shown no hesitation to ignore facts when they contradict her ideology.

In no way can the citizens paying the tab for the WPAB be expected to believe she is capable of being a fair and objective advisor on matters involving the same Winnipeg Police Service she persists in calling racist.

Lots of interviews coming up/Chuck Ealey fundraiser

The week keeps up the pace we've set through the spring with more questions and insight into the issues.

Monday: PC Health critic Myrna Driedger will join us at 4.30 to discuss the closure of emergency rooms across the province and the game of human roulette being played by the NDP and their Regional Health Authorities; and as usual sports pundit Frank the Italian Barber will be in the studio, no doubt rejoicing at the departure of Troy Westwood from the Blue Bomber roster.

Tuesday: The author of the popular blog Rise and Sprawl, Robert Galston, comes into the studio and he will have lots to says about the WRHA getting city grants to pay to put up a blank wall on Main Street instead of the promised retail space, as well as what is going on in South Point Douglas and on the resident-less Condo - em, Waterfront, Drive;

Wednesday: CTV's Kelly Dehn will bring us up to speed on the crime file, and will bring the Dumas Inquest (non-race card version) into focus; and at 4.30 PM Liberal leader Jon Gerrard will help analyze the alleged surgeon shortage in Winnipeg and elaborate on his use of Freedom of Information requests to expose NDP double-talk on public issues.

Thursday: Jon Waldman of Slam Sports will recap the NBA finals between the Lakers and Celtics, and preview the Als- Bomber game that evening, and to wrap up the week ...

Friday: Spirited Kenny will have an exclusive report into the Feds' public alert system for weather emergencies, and how it ties into the promises made by the province last week. If you've been following his ongoing stories about bureaucratic stonewalling before, this story is one you do not want to miss !

We are the best of the alternative media and welcome your calls at 780-5425 (even from inside the Remand Centre), every day from 4 - 5 PM, on Kick-FM.

and also, for our readers in the Toledo area, a chance to join our friend, the pioneer quarterback Chuck Ealey in a worthy cause;

I'm writing to personally invite you to join us at the Chuck Ealey/Christine Brennan Celebrity Networking and Pro Am Golf Outing on Sunday, June 22nd and Monday, June 23rd in Toledo, OH.

* If you're not a golfer but would like to support Chuck and Connecting Point join us at the Celebrity Networking event on Sunday evening. Tickets are $25 each. Group discounts are available so invite your clients, co-workers, family and friends!

* If you're a golfer join us at both the Celebrity Networking event on Sunday and the Pro Am Golf Outing on Monday. Foursomes are $500 for golf only and $600 for golf and tickets to the Sunday evening event.

* If you cannot attend and would like to make a tax deductible donation please contact Sherry Krieger at Connecting Point skrieger@connectingpoint.org

This is a great opportunity to show your support for Chuck Ealey and his efforts to help at risk children. Proceeds from this non-profit event will go to Connecting Point and The Chuck Ealey Foundation.

If you have any questions please contact Sherry Krieger at Connecting Point at skrieger@connectingpoint.org. Chuck, Christine and I look forward to seeing you there!

Rick Longenecker
Co-Founder & President, The Chuck Ealey Foundation
President, Armature Group

(973) 985-4254 (cell)
(973) 762-0341 (office)

NDP moves on weather warning systems

The province of Manitoba has finally, finally, gotten moving on creating a warning system to protect the public from weather emergencies and other threats to public safety.

Alone among the local media, The Great Canadian Talk Show has for almost 10 months doggedly pursued the story and demanded answers, from MP Stephen Fletcher on down.

Spirited Kenny has put in many hours reporting on the issues behind the failure of the federal government and the provinces (besides Alberta) to follow through on the Can-Alert concept.
http://spiritedkenny.blogspot.com/2008/01/canalert-low-down.html

Then of course there were the run-arounds
http://spiritedkenny.blogspot.com/2008/01/canalert-lowdown-update.html

And the name change of CanAlert to the National Public Alerting System-- which the government press release (below) did not seem to be aware of.
http://spiritedkenny.blogspot.com/2008/02/rip-canalert-hello-mister-national.html

The MSM was scrambling to read our blogs to get the background information for their stories today. Perhaps one of them will make mention of the little campus radio station Kick-FM and our sharp science broadcaster Spirited Kenny, who kept the pressure on until something was done about this serious shortcoming in emergency planning.

In the meantime we have requested an interview with Minister Steve Ashton for Friday's show. Here is the press release:

June 11, 2008

MANITOBANS TO BE BETTER PREPARED TO RESPOND TO SEVERE WEATHER:
ASHTON
- - -
$960,000 to be Invested In Emergency Preparedness

Manitobans will be better prepared to respond to severe weather as the result of an investment of $960,000, Intergovernmental Affairs Minister Steve Ashton, minister responsible for emergency measures, announced today.

"Warning citizens about severe weather emergencies is vital and Manitoba has made improving our warning systems a top priority," Ashton said. "While we have been a leader on the national stage in calling for a Canada-wide public alerting system, we are also moving ahead here in Manitoba on improving severe weather alerting and public awareness."

Ashton announced the province is acting on all of the recommendations of the Severe Weather Working Group with several new investments including:

- $300,000 to support a national Canalert warning system;

- $75,000 to supply all schools and municipal offices with weather radios;

- $450,000 for a three-year public education campaign, which includes radio and print advertisements and updates to Manitoba's Emergency Measure Organization's (EMO) website; and

- $135,000 to work with Environment Canada to expand weather radio coverage to more areas of the province.

In addition, severe weather emergency training and education initiatives will be enhanced by:

- Working with Manitoba Education, Citizenship and Youth, Environment Canada and EMO to review school curricula to improve the education of students about severe weather and appropriate responses to severe weather.

- Enhancing emergency plans at hospitals, schools,
daycares and personal-care homes.

- Delivering a series of seminars and training programs with the assistance of Environment Canada to community first responders and emergency managers.

- Encouraging municipal emergency co-ordinators to join the Environment Canada volunteer weather watcher program

- Developing a pilot project that will improve emergency planning at the municipal level with assistance from Environment Canada. The initiative will certify communities for emergency planning based on severe weather threats and will complement the existing planning standard adopted by municipalities.

- Entering into an agreement with Palmorex, the parent company of the Weather Network and MeteoMedia, and Comlabs Inc., for a pilot project that will allow Manitoba to transmit a wider
variety of public alerting messages.

Weather watches and warnings are available at no cost from Environment Canada, as well as from a number of private providers including the Weather Network and Accuweather.

- 30 -

Flava sours CRTC at hearings

Wednesday, Rick the Boss made the unprecedented decision we should air a re-run and instead of returning to the studio, stay put keep an eye on a breaking story.

And what broke was the patience of the CRTC for the multiple breaches of regulations by Harmony Broadcasting (when it was broadcasting, before MTS cut off their transmission lines on October 15).

At a CRTC hearing into why they broke the rules such as not submitting tapes of on-air broadcasts for review on demand, Yo Radio, a new company controlled by media mogul David Asper, offered to "rescue" the station, maintain the hip-hop Flava format, and was willing to "be the bank" for up to half a million in expenses to revive the non commercial, campus instructional station.

The financial liabilities allegedly accumulated by what is otherwise known as CJWV-FM, at 107.9 on the dial, was pegged at well over $900,000, of which $800,000 is claimed by the outgoing GM.

The CRTC imposed special conditions after the 2006 hearing. When asked why they shouldn't be stripped of the licence for failing to comply, Asper insisted to the 3 Commissioner panel that suspending the licence was not necessary, and that revoking it would be akin to "the death penalty".

With radio executives from other outlets watching in a hearing that unwound like a mystery novel over the course of 12 hours, he assured the CRTC the sins of the past would be rectified, by the professional team he was placing in charge of the revival.

Unfortunately issues like :

- the myriad of inconsistancies in a paper trail that purported to hand
control of the Harmony non-profit board of directors to members of Asper's for-profit Yo Radio board,
- the dubious claim that financial returns has been "reconstructed" to show the non-profit corporation owed over $900,000,
- the former General Manager who unsuccessfully ran the station since 2003,
was nonetheless deserving of a $200,000 payment up front for the company "debts" and an unprecedented contract (on a campus station) for a $60,000 a year, 3 year morning show gig and a job to "mentor" incoming Robertson College students,

did not find immediate favour with the Commissioners.

The GM said he was the "sole member" of the non-profit organization and could make the decision to accept the bail-out deal. The CRTC was told his lucrative employment was offered on the basis of merit.

What may have made the continuation of the licence totally unpalatable was the revelation, uncovered by unusually diligent Commissioners, that Harmony had been operating in violation of it's own Corporate By-Law #1 since 2003, and was operating against its own rules that very day.

After appointing Asper, Yo's radio guru, and their lawyer, to become the new board of Harmony, the GM passed a resolution for his own replacement - appointing Asper as the new "sole member".

Only one of the new directors - Asper- is a member of the corporation. But the CRTC called bullshit because Harmony's By-Law requires ALL the directors be members, and an obscure CRTC condition of the licence required that a majority of the Board be made up of students, alumni, and community volunteers.

The Commissioners threw down a penalty flag saying nothing had changed and Harmony was still operating without proper governance, despite Asper's assurances. (In other words, to start with the old board needed to have 3 members of the corporation to legally do anything, and so would the new board.)

What the CRTC saw, was what appeared to be a straight man-to-man transaction, with Asper funding the "rescue", and the GM who delivered the licence walking away with almost $400,000 in his pocket.

And then the details of a jilted suitor emerged.

A rival group called Ear Hole Inc. opposed the transaction, claiming they had brought the hip-hop format to CJWV after signing a deal with the GM in 2004. It was essentially crafted the same as Asper's deal 4 years later; they claim to have poured in $250,000 and gave the "sole member" a job as GM for $65,000 a year.

Witness after hip-hop witness told the CRTC about subsequent abusive working conditions, refusal to pay wages, and outright harassment and racial slurs, after the deal was scuttled after one of the Ear Hole associates got arrested on a non-radio matter.

At least Ear Hole got one thing right- their lawyer David Kovnats told the panel the non-profit group had sold memberships and appointed three members of the corporation as directors. But he said they had been powerless to stop the renegade GM from shutting them out of the station and ruining the Flava concept.

Kovnats also said that when Ear Hole tried to establish their claim to the licence with the CRTC, they were misled by contradictory directions given by the local CRTC rep. That bureaucrat was nowhere to be seen at the hearing.

Other claims of forgery, bad faith, and manipulating the police will have to wait for another blog post on the unprecedented in-fighting over a little tiny end-of-the-dial non-profit student radio station with no students.

Cathy Edwards wants YOU (to intervene with the CRTC)

I got an email this evening from one of the best guests we ever had on the show, TV producer Cathy Edwards.

Since I have no small amount of affection for the old days of community TV ( dating back to a couple of quirky mid-1980's Videon productions I produced and hosted), I felt Cathy's cause- the survival of volunteer TV as a condition of the licence for cable companies to operate- deserved further dissemination.

(If you want any of the attachments she mentions email talk@kick.fm and I'll send them along)
********************
Dear Friends of Community TV,

Shaw and Videotron are requesting license renewals in all their systems for another 5 years. Dead-lines for submitting opposition to their renewal (as simple as clicking and filling out an on-line form at the link below)are due by June 5th.

Since providing a community television service that provides access to the community to air time, production assistance, training, and equipment is part of their license obligations, now is the only time in five years when you have a chance to influence how your community channel is run.

The CRTC hearing notice for all the renewals is below:
http://www.crtc.gc.ca/archive/ENG/Notices/2008/pb2008-38.htm .

To read the full application and supporting documents for your city, download the relevant zip file. When it expands, you'll find inside a main license application and 8-10 supporting documents. One supporting document in each folder is about community TV.

To cut to the chase, I've attached the relevant files to this message, in which Shaw details what it's doing for community TV in Vancouver, Winnipeg, and Calgary. In each case, they claim:

- they are doing more than 50% of "access" programming per programming week (they define "access" as anytime they cover a community event, not when someone from the community actually produces and has control over content... this is in direct violation of CRTC policy).

- they are training volunteers. Most Shaw systems now use a few students from broadcast schools only, which is what they base their claims upon.

- they are advertising for volunteers and programming ideas. They claim that they advertise but get no response from the community.

So, for those of you living in these cities and others who know that these claims are not true, please write in with your comments, by clicking the link at the top of the CRTC policy document linked above.

If you would like to read the current policy regarding community programming, you can find it at this link:
http://www.crtc.gc.ca/archive/ENG/Notices/2002/pb2002-61.htm .

You may find it useful to quote particular parts that you feel are not
being met in your community.

And last, I am attaching a document called CRTC_PN_2008-38.pdf, which is a copy of a letter of intervention being filed by the Community Media Education Society in Vancouver, which is a group of disgruntled ex-Shaw and ex-Rogers volunteers. You may like to use some ideas in your letter, although it's more effective if you can modify it and add your own thoughts.

A particularly clever strategy in the CMES letter is to say that they have no objection to Shaw having the cable license, if they would only give up control of the cable levy money that is supposed to be spent on community access programming. This is the long-term goal of CACTUS-- to create an independent pool of money that would be administered directly by the community to producing access programming, outside cable company control.

For more ideas, I will have drafted my own intervention and will forward it to you tomorrow night.

Please take this opportunity to say what you think!

Cathy Edwards and Michael Lithgow
CACTUS (The Canadian Association of Community TV Users and Stations)
(613) 447-7720

Raising the Alarm

We were leaving the funeral for Dr. Carl Pinsky today, around noon, when I said aloud "I suppose today we'll do a Lesson In Journalism about those 2 stories about the legislature - and the one story about that MLA they missed - and recap the news of the month a bit."

Not 2 minutes later, the monthly recap of what The Great Canadian Talk Show was all about in May, was in essence, heard on CJOB.

* Car thieves try to kill 2 cops in the Maples.
* Gunshots sprayed at a house in the 400 block Mountain, 5 people narrowly escaping injury.

The mainstream media ignored the decay of law and order in Winnipeg until only when it could be no longer denied, and now when cops dive for cover and a housefull of people almost get whacked, the MSM headlines this afternoon reduce the crisis to:

"Police officer fires at stolen vehicle"
"Chaos on Fife; Police matter ties up area"
"Shots fired into home; no injuries reported"

The MSM uses dismissive labels like "alarmist", and have now started attaching "so-called" in front of "revolving door justice system", to undermine the validity of the observations of reasonable citizens. They bleat about how we need to deal with the "root causes", without ever admitting that the biggest root cause of crime in Winnipeg today, is that the car thieves and gangs and crack dealers think they can get away with it because so many of them do, and their rights supercede the rights of the innocent living their lives in peace.

After what went on in the past 24 hours, I for one gladly accept the label "alarmist". Yes we have been sounding the alarm and been the voice of the people. Only to the social engineers in the media, is holding the judges and ministers and councillors and MP's to account for their failure to protect the public, considered a bad thing. Those who ring the alarm to force the community to deal with a serious public issue need not make apologies to anyone.

The only apologies we want to hear is from elected officials who prefer to issue press releases and attend meetings, instead of addressing the public security issues which are only going to escalate until again one night, we have more bodies than ambulances available to carry them.

More today at 4PM. (with Spirited Kenny on the food crisis, a Luc Bourdon tribute and much more.)

The news stories MSM won't report, we do every day- a sampler.

This weekend we read about the mainstream media crying the blues about how there is no news to cover at the Legislature. Instead they meekly send their reporters to cover press release-driven political announcements they don't have guts enough to challenge.

We at the Great Canadian Talk Show break genuine news stories that matter to you the listener -- and provide the kind of challenging analysis that listeners have come to count on.

Whether it's
* the inoperative national CanAlert system,
* the worldwide food shortages caused by Bio-fuel subsidies,
* the laughingstock that is the Derelict Buildings bylaw, or
* the unreported links between the millionaires of the exclusive Manitoba Club and the Friends of Upper Fort Garry,
we consistantly break stories the mainstream gatekeepers try to ignore.

Here are the kinds of stories you hadn't heard or read about anywhere else, (and in most cases still haven't), that we did in April:

April 1st - Conservative justice critic Gerald Hawranik announced he would bring forward a private members Bill to curtail the rights of car thieves to get compensation and injury coverage from Manitoba Public Insurance. Weeks later this was discovered by the big-time, well-funded newsrooms of Winnipeg.

April 3rd- The CRTC announced a Show Cause hearing for June 4th, at which the licence of the non-functioning CJWV-FM (a campus station that has never had a student graduate from their course in 4 years and which cannot produce the required annual financial returns) faces revocation.

April 8th- Ron Evans of the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs got all the space he wanted in the Free Press to complain that federal audits into how Indian Band Councils are oppressive and unwarranted.

Only TGCTS took the time to compare his whining with the finding in the Court transcript from a few years ago, when Evans used what was described as 'blackmail' in a blatant attempt to prevent his rival, Marcel Balfour from utilizing his authority as a band councillor to get to the bottom of the funding irregularities on the Norway House reserve.

April 10th- Police chief Keith McCaskill appeared in front of 200 frustrated residents at William Whyte School to announce foot patrols in the beleagured area, a move TGCTS had pressured city hall to do for almost 16 months. Missing from that gathering was Councillor Harry Lazarenko and MLA George Hickes, who continue to be MIA at important community events where they might be challenged by crime-battered voters.

April 11th- Manitoba Liberal leader Dr. Jon Gerrard exclusively revealed details of the rift between "the town and the gown", as anaesthetists at community hospitals face a forced fee of $7000 per year minimum, to support the research work of teaching hospital collegues.

The so-called "Tithing Agreement", which implies a voluntary charitable giving) is seen by the non-research contingent of doctors as anything but, as if they refuse to sign the Winnipeg Regional Health Authority may refuse the dissidents admitting priviledges to city hospitals.

April 16th- Elaborating on a Winnipeg Harvest study that inner-city grocery stores have jacked the prices on staples, Dr. Eric Bibeau of the University of Manitoba explained in plain terms how using corn and food crops to make ethanol as a petrolium substitute is backwards for two reasons- it costs more to make than what the savings in gas is, and the removal of arable land from food production creates and higher food costs and shortages.

April 17- We broke the news about the passing of Winnipeg lawyer, philanthropist and op-ed columnist Harold Buchwald, even before the Free Press knew about his sudden demise.

As we conducted an exclusive interview with his longtime friend Yoram East of Canada Sheli, we were honoured to receive an email about Buchwald from the Provincial Auditor, Mrs. Carol Bellringer, with her own kind words about the legacy to the arts Harold left.

April 24 - Coach Brian Smiley came into the studio to confirm he was not only going to receive the Nick Hill Memorial Trophy as MMJHL Coach of the Year, but that he had parted ways with the St. Boniface Riels after lifting the team from 5 to 20 wins and a playoff berth. Hopefully "Number 1 of the brothers 3" was going to leave the upholstery machine on overnight by accident again, and give the out-of-work coach a new couch to laze about on.

April 28- Smiley was back again, wearing his MPI hat to explain their rationale for donating $1 million to the Museum for Human Rights, after CJOB broke the story about how the NDP appointed boards of 4 Crown Corporations acceeded to Premier Doer's "encouragement" to support his pal Gail Asper's failing fundraising campaign.

We invited Manitoba Liquor Commission bosslady Carmen Neufeld to address our audience on the subject, and are still waiting.

April 30- Even more reason for elected judges, as Judge Ron Meyers gave bail to an accomplice in the car-theft crash that murdered Duffy's Taxi driver Tony Lanzalotti -- despite her laughing about his death to investigators. Of course the 16 year old girl promptly disappeared.

And we gave a going-over to the Kremlin-inspired Lobbyist Act, replete with the NDP defining what a "lobbyist" is and wanting them to report in advance the methods to be used to lobby on legislation and who will be approached, was dubbed the blueprint for the Doerstaate by one of our listeners.

And that was just in April.

So far in May, we had exclusive interviews with

- Tory MLA Ron Schuler, who revealed the NDP's proposed Election Act would force opposition MLA's to get approval from a government-dominated committee before their right to send information mailings to voters is allowed;

_ Councillor Lillian Thomas who wants a 6 lane replacement for the Disraeli Bridge, but didn't know it would add $100 million to the taxpayers' burden;

- Selina Driskell, whose 14 year old daughter's birthday party at their Flora Avenue home was invaded by rifle-totting teens who, when disarmed by the family, begged for their gun back;

- NDP MLA Flor Marcelino, who promised to appear at City Hall to defend the residents of West Alexander neighbourhood from the block-busting tactic of the expansion-hungry Health Sciences Centre *see below;

- and Julie Hart, former wife of legendary WWF champion of the 90's Bret "Hitman" Hart, who payed her own way to appear at a fundraising event at Costco for the Children's Hospital Foundation of Manitoba.

So if you are a news consumer who finds the MSM approach to news coverage inadequate -- or even a reporter looking for something interesting to bring to a morning story meeting -- you'll find news and analysis "alternative-media style", that is weeks ahead of the pack, every weekday at 4 PM, on 92.9 Kick-FM.

* Forgot to mention that during the interview with Mrs. Marcelino, we also broke the story of the land swap between the Doer government and Weston Bakeries that was announced to employees a few weeks ago.

According to sources, Weston is getting the never-used mega-courthouse in the Waverley/McGillvray area plus moving costs, in exchange for abandoning the inner-city location on Elgin Avenue. That area will become the site of the promised new Women's Hospital, as part of the HSC expansion. No word on the fate of the Child Guidance Clinic next door.

Uncle Bob dissects the impending Disraeli Bridge fiasco

A lot of people around town pick up Corydon (or St. James or insert other Winnipeg neighbourhood)LIVING. It's a coffee and donuts kind of easy read available in Smitty's , other restaurants, and a lot of businesses all over the city.

As an important part of the alternative media, the ideas and points of view in the stories by Uncle Bob and columns by Marshall Armstrong are thought provoking and entertaining - and often exactly what we hear from you listeners.

This week's installmnet by the publisher had me laughing out loud. Here is Uncle Bob's frank assessment of the attempt by an NDP MLA to influence the city's selection for the to-be-renewed Disraeli Bridge.
***********************

Bridge - the Card Game

“Bridge” (the card game) includes a Dummy.

“Bridge (the Disraeli) attracts a whole bunch of them.

Bridge-building is supposed to be about uniting people – and the nutbars who want a new, improved Disraeli bridge may just be able to do that – uniting the people who pay taxes – in a fist shaking frenzy to save themselves from the poor house.

The existing bridge needs a lot of work. Very expensive work. Just to patch up the existing structure, we are supposedly on the hook for $125 Million.

Sadly, this inspires some people to say things like “What’s a Million?” and begin plotting to tack on an “extra few million.”

So far, the few million extra ranges up to about $160 – but the sky’s the limit. And what would we get for the extra few million?

Would you believe: bicycle paths?

The Disraeli dates from 1960. All the years I’ve driven over it, I have never seen a) a pedestrian, or b) a cyclist. It’s a long hard climb on foot – and challenging on a bike. Isn’t it funny how ugly bridges like the Louise or the Redwood are not only cheaper and last longer but also are simpler to walk or bike across?

Bike paths may be really, really “green” – but dropping another $35 Million in long green to make bike lanes will not, I predict, help us meet our Kyoto goals. Indeed, extra greenhouse gasses from ambulances retrieving stricken cyclists from the twin peaks will only add to our carbon footprint, as will hearses taking the cyclists to their last green spaces.

Last week the tall foreheads in the city planner’s department decided to ask the public whether they would like a low cost $130 million dollar Disraeli Bridge or a fancy $160 million dollar model, or if you are Elmwood NDP MLA Jim Maloway, possibly even a $250 million six lane extravaganza.

It seems the confusing question is whether or not we want to die from poison, strangulation or shooting rather than whether or not we want to die at all.

Nobody but nobody, it seems, ever bothered to ask, “Where is the money
coming from?”

$30,000,000 can buy a lot of very good and very useful things for our city, a lot more than we can list here but just for instance $30,000,000 would almost be the city’s share of the Bomber’s stadium.

What would taxpayers rather have…. a new stadium or a bike path?

In this era of “fee for service “ wouldn’t it at least be prudent to see if potential users are prepared to spend $30 million for bike paths? Nobody should have any objection to spending funds on bridge bike lanes if taxpayer’s pockets weren’t fleeced, and instead, the prospective cyclist users were prepared to subsidize the construction from increased bicycle license fees.

Let’s do the math. City of Winnipeg bike licenses cost $5.35. At the onset I started off, figuring probably a third of ‘Peggers own bikes and a yearly fee increase of $10.00 might be enough over ten years to do the job. Wrong!

Instead of the 33% projection of ‘Peggers only 1% of city residents are civic minded enough to cough up a measly $5.35 to plate their wheels.

Actually city officials have sold no more than 6000 licenses. Probably most of them are granola crunching Wolseley-wegians and those folks would never in their wildest dreams shell out extra for the privilege of peddling up Henderson Highway in any event.

But I digress. Wouldn’t the $30 million cost recalculated now by sharing with only 6000 people be about $500 per year over ten years? Wrong again.

The license is not paid annually, it is a one-time charge. That lifetime license calculation raises the potential new fee increase to $5000 per cyclist…a tough sell even on the best of days. Maybe Jenny (greener than thou) Gerbasi would pay but 99.99% would not.

By the way the current fee of $5.35 does not even cover the cost of the full time city employee scooping up junk peddle toys from the streets.

Mr. Multi-million Maloway might want to stick the similar $100 million tab for bus lanes in his pipe and smoke it for a while too. Would Dancing Gabe or any of the typical 1000 passengers a day cough up a fee increase on this route alone of ….say $10 grand each a year for a few seconds faster on the overpass?

Of course they wouldn’t any more than the cyclists would, but it is perfectly OK to spend money as long as it comes out of someone else’s pocket. Thats the fundamental flaw in allowing planners, who do not pay the bills, to steer the agenda.

To save the Maloway big bucks maybe newly hired Planning Property and Development guru and Katz buddy Phil Sheegl would be better used every morning as flag man to keep the buses moving rather than spend $100 mil on new lanes.

And a PS: Don’t get started on the “benefits” to all the local businesses that will be driven to the brink, by the brilliant plan to close the Disraeli for 16 months.

Maybe we should just open an industrial strength, car carrying, Splash and Dash for those who really, really need to cross underneath the construction. Heck a few mil should do that!

And don’t ask the 40,000 drivers who cross the Disraeli daily, how they
feel about single-filing it over the ancient Redwood and Louise Bridges.

Bridges, for some reason, must be particularly attractive to planning
dummies.

Remember the brand new but broken South Perimeter bridge?
How about the over budget Main Norwood fiasco?
How about the million dollar toilet on the Provencher Bridge
and who could ever forget the bridge to nowhere north of Selkirk.

What a pity …. All these planning dummies who want to play, and only one bridge at a time.

Uncle Bob
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http://autobahn.mb.ca

A Special Message For Parents About GTA IV

Grand Theft Auto IV comes out today. I’m not gonna lie: this is a video game in which, if you choose, you can get a taste of what it’s like to commit horrific and sensationalized criminal acts.

And that’s it. A taste. If you choose.

Nothing more, and nothing less.

Grand Theft Auto IV will not train you on hijacking cars, shooting guns, or any of a number of other criminal acts.

All you’re being trained to do, if anything, is press buttons.

That being said, it’s still rated for mature audiences—just like the Godfather movies and Sopranos TV series, which have similar subject matter.

And just like everything else intended for mature audiences, your kids will probably want access to it.

If you’re a parent or an educator concerned about Grand Theft Auto IV, the very first people to listen to are your kids.

I say “listen to” for a very specific reason: find out what they think of the game, first. You’ll probably find a reaction similar to the one you had when watching Scarface or the Godfather movies: it’s exciting, and worthy of discussion, but it’s just a movie.

Or, in the case of GTA IV, just a game.

I cannot stress this enough: your kids are the most important people in your life, so find out what they think about it.

“Politicians and industry experts” will have their opinions about GTA IV, but they don’t have a vested interest in your kids.

You do.

So make your kids feel like they’re being heard and they’re important to you, instead of just panicking about what you see on TV.

You’ll probably be surprised by the wisdom you find.

If you’re concerned about the sale of GTA IV to kids under the age of 17, or you wish to report the evidence of it happening, contact the Retail Council of Canada. Their representative in Manitoba is:

Larry McInnes, (204) 253-1654
or by e-mail at lmcinnes@retailcouncil.org

- Young Josh

BULLETIN: Harold Buchwald, community leader, passes away

Harold Buchwald, QC, longtime Winnipeg lawyer and community leader, passed away this morning at the age of 81.

A renowned tax lawyer, he was an original partner in the firm Buchwald Asper Henteleff, which is now known as Pitblado LLB. Named a member of the Order of Canada in 1993, his support for the State of Israel was unwavering and most recently he was a leader of the campaign to create a historical site at the Upper Fort Garry gate in downtown Winnipeg.

When reached by The Great Canadian Talk Show, National Post columnist Scott Taylor was saddened by the loss of his friend.

" I had a lot of wonderful discussions with Harold and he was always pleasant . The great thing about Harold was, if you disagreed the discussion was always civil. He was a great sports fan and a great supporter of the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra and his support of the arts created so many lasting friendships. He was ultimately a fine fine man."

Canadian Friends of Hebrew University Director Ron East echoed Taylor's comments, noting that Buchwald's recent op-ed columns in the Winnipeg Free Press had brought him a new audience for "his unique ability to argue a position as well as give constructive criticism of the state of affairs in Winnipeg, Canada and Israel."

East also revealed that Buchwald followed the stories broadcast on The Great Canadian Talk Show and discussed them with Ron and others in the community.

We have learned the funeral is at 3 PM on Tuesday April 22nd, at the Shaarey Zedek Synagogue at Wellington Cres. and Academy Road.

Our deepest condolences to the Buchwald family, and to his many friends and associates around the world.

We will have more about Harold Buchwald's passing with his longtime friend Yoram East today on our show at 4.05 PM.

The Right To Remain Hidden- watch it here !

This is Young Josh's documentary on the proposal to install public surveillance cameras in Winnipeg, focusing on the situation in the revitalized North Point Douglas area (which has numerous private citizen cameras) and the North End's William Whyte neighbourhood (which wants cameras in the wake of 4 gang related murders). Startling footage of the realities on the streets.

Starring Mayor Sam Katz, Councillor Scott Fielding, and a cast of, um, a half-dozen or so. Feedback welcome at talk@kick.fm.