The face of evil: Jorge Rafael Videla

Jorge Rafael Videla died a few days ago, unrepentant and unforgiven. While not as famous as his counterpart in Chile, Augusto Pinochet, it was certainly not from a lack of trying.




Videla was one of a number of military tyrants who seized power in Latin America in the 1970s, often with the aid of the United States. At a regional gathering of military thugs in Montevideo, Uruguay in 1975, he said "As many people as is necessary will die in Argentina to protect the hemisphere from the international communist conspiracy."  Only months later, on March 24, 1975 he and his cronies overthrew the incompetent government of Isabelita, the widow of Juan Peron. Making good on his promise, over the next six years teachers, students, grandmothers, union leaders, shopkeepers and a host of others were "disappeared," turning that word into a transitive verb.

About 30,000 were murdered, and another 500 babies stolen from their "disappeared" mothers and adopted to members or friends of the junta. All of this in the name of "national reorganisation" and western, Christian civilisation.

When the junta fell in 1985 Videla and others were tried for human rights violations. Videla received a life sentence, subsequently pardoned five years later by President Carlos Menem. In 2007 a court overthrew that amnesty and he again went to prison, where he died, in his sleep apparently, on May 17. He was 87.

Vancouver Cityscapes

Vancouver is a beautiful city from almost any perspective. Including the view from our balcony, below.

Vancouver Street Art

Vancouver is full of graffiti, yet this city has nothing on Buenos Aires. In BA, graffiti is absolutely everywhere. It can be obnoxious or political, simple scrawl or beautiful art. Street murals in Buenos Aires are a beautiful expression of life and the creative energy of the artists.





In Vancouver the graffiti is often less political, just as mindless, and sometimes more humorous than what we saw in BA.

The murals of Vancouver, often encouraged by the municipal government, are eye catching and impressive, and like those in Argentina, provide a positive and creative expression for young artists.

The murals shown here are located near Granville Island in central Vancouver.

Vancouver Coffee Shops ~ part 2

Near the corner of Broadway and Main in Vancouver is an interesting neighbourhood coffee shop called Kafka's. Urban, chic, hip and youthful, Kafka's serves good coffee and almost nothing else, though some of their baked goods are worth a look. There are a variety of brew styles offered including the syphon type, which is well worth a try. Local art works, good music and a friendly bunch abound at Kafka's.











At Granville Island Market we find our second favourite coffee shop in Vancouver; Elysian being still our  first choice.









J J Bean has thirteen locations throughout MetroVancouver and this one seems to serve the best coffee, and truly not much else.

Other locations have a variety of bakery items and sandwiches, and even comfortable seating. This location offers the best coffee on Granville Island, from an efficient and amiable crew, under rather crowded conditions. You have to find your own seating elsewhere; no one should stand and drink coffee from a paper cup.



Order your coffee "for here" and get it served properly, with water and a spoon. And for those having a difficult time finding a decent cappuccino, J J Bean offers a traditional cappuccino in a small cup, which is much more to our liking. At least the former Berton House writer-in-residence seems to think so.

Ten Thousand Villages ~ an example and a solution

The Bangladesh garment factory tragedy that killed over five hundred has initiated discussion about the ethical nature of where we get our clothing and all the other stuff corporations will us to buy. The Gap and Crate & Barrel, Canadian Tire and Mark's, Hudson's Bay and Walmart, are all full of products of varying degrees of quality and value, and nearly all come from a factory in China or Pakistan, India or Philippines. The factories aren't owned by the retailer. Nor are they usually owned by the maker of the actual product: Ralph Lauren for example, or Joe Fresh. Most often these factories are contracted to produce items for Canadian Tire, or Nike, or Starbucks. True enough, our Canadian and European companies, including retailers, nearly always have codes of conduct and certificates of some sort of standards. No one should expect a Canadian company to be party to unfair labour standards, nor unsafe working conditions, yet through contractors and sub-contractors the issue can, and does, become blurred. To its credit Loblaw Cos. Ltd., maker of Joe Fresh clothing (a company directly implicated in the Bangladesh disaster) has taken an approach worth applauding; it will, in future, put monitors on-site, to ensure standards of safety and labour.

There is a company that has operated for many years in Canada offering quality gift items at reasonable prices and with standards of safety and fair trade: guaranteed. Ten Thousand Villages is a not-necessarily-for-profit company run by the Mennonite Central Committee, the people who brought us the best selling more with less cookbook series. 

Ten Thousand Villages live and breath fair trade, and has developed relationships with artisans, suppliers and customers alike. While some of our largest companies are only now discovering the value of taking a hands-on approach to the production process, the MCC has been doing just that for decades.







The global economic crisis of 2008 caused problems for Ten Thousand Villages throughout its operations in Canada and the USA; stores have closed and head office functions have been consolidated. Their mandate remains the same, regardless of the situation; they remain true to their values and mission. The stores are always worth a visit.




The Granville Island location in Vancouver is always busy and fun, and like all the other Ten Thousand Villages stores they are part of the solution to the way we look at global trade and how we should act as responsible consumers.