Bird Land

Moving is wonderful. People leave things behind. Like this cactus left on our balcony. We have moved more than just a few times during the past year; to Dawson City, Yukon, to Buenos Aires, Argentina, and places in between and beyond. It has been nice to finally begin to settle into a more permanent residence here in Vancouver.





 
Living, finally, in one place gives us a chance to create something of our own, including setting up a bird feeder from a great store on Broadway called Wild Birds Unlimited. Initial results were disappointing. No one came. Maybe it was the food we were offering, or the slightly political tone of our bird feeder. Maybe it was a generational thing, or that the polls were wrong.


















With the provincial election now out of the way (an election for the birds if ever there was one) the birds have started to appear. In large numbers as it turns out.


Apparently the word is out, at least among sparrows and finches: Jeem y Sherry offer a great mix of ... well, seeds actually. Sometimes in English. Sometimes in Spanish. And always with a progressive accent.

The BC Election ~ Fear and Loathing in Lotus Land

A week ago this Tuesday, about fifty per cent of the eligible voters in British Columbia decided to vote in a provincial election. All indications were that later that night we would be celebrating a new provincial government. Apparently it wasn't that easy.

The re-election of a worn out, mean-spirited and corrupt government under the BC Liberals was not supposed to happen. All the polls told us so. Instead we were supposed to see a business-friendly version of a very green NDP. Its new government, under Adrian Dix, would  lead us into the promised land, one practical step at a time.

Bill Tieleman, writing in the commuter paper 24 hrs, said he was bitter. "Not because the BC Liberals won - political opponents have to accept that sometimes the other team had a superior campaign, more ideas, a more effective leader... No, bitterness comes only when the other team plays dirty..." And wins.


The politics of fear and anger, of deception and lies, has won and we are worse for it. Get ready British Columbia. It's going to be a long four more years.

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.