StoneMtn

Do you mean Mike Gordon jammed with moe last night?

I stand corrected. My apologies. I totally forgot about GodWeenSatan: The Oneness. I was thinking of the lame-ass version from Paintin' the Town Brown. You are correct. The GWS version is cool.

What kind of sick world do we live in when we let our Pancake manufacturers do pancake hat testing on poor defenseless animals.

In fairness to the pancake manufacturers, perhaps this should actually be viewed as a politically correct version of vivisection?

Marijuana cafe owner says cannabis laws should be done away with

at 20:00 on September 1, 2004, EST.

VANCOUVER (CP) - A Vancouver cafe operator who offers marijuana on her menu says people need a crime-free method of getting the weed and she's going public to raise awareness on the issue.

"Every law to do with cannabis has to be taken off the books," said Carol Gwilt, owner of Da Kine Smoke and Beverage Shop on Vancouver's hip Commercial Drive. "There's nothing criminal about cannabis." Normally, Gwilt's customers can get a menu and select some pot before someone goes into the back to get the order.

But there was no pot on the premises Wednesday, Gwilt said.

"I want to protect my assets," she said.

The store, which has been open for four months, is decorated in an Egyptian motif. Display cases contain multi-coloured glass pipes for smoking pot. Plant food sits on shelves opposite.

A plate of cookies is on the counter next to the till. Gwilt won't say if they contain marijuana or not.

"I'm just trying to be a business person," Gwilt said. "There's obviously a huge market.

"I don't consider what we're doing illegal. We want a lot of these stores. We want these across Canada."

She said she gets her marijuana from the Canadian Sanctuary Society, a group formed by former B.C. Marijuana Party candidate Donald Briere to help people legally acquire marijuana for medical use.

Gwilt claims crime in the area has dropped since she opened. She said people needing medicinal marijuana should be able to get it in a non-criminal situation.

And, she said, it will keep people away from pushers dealing in heroin or crack cocaine.

That's something she knows about. She said her son died of a heroin overdose two years ago at age 24.

The Vancouver Police Department, which has raided other city marijuana cafes in the past, is watching Da Kine.

"This is a business that is on our radar," spokeswoman Const. Sarah Bloor said. "We're in discussion with the city and our hope is to have the (business) licence removed."

But city Coun. Jim Green said yanking Gwilt's business licence is pretty low on the city's list of priorities.

"We've not had any complaints," he said. "I never heard of it (the cafe) until yesterday."

Green also noted there's a tolerance in Vancouver to these kinds of establishments.

"We're looked at as the enlightened part of Canada."

Customer Andy Kale thinks the police should worry about bigger drug problems than a marijuana cafe.

"This is a great safe inhalation site," he said. "I don't have to be bothered by crackheads."

Kale and Gwilt say the situation will also draw attention to the plight of B.C. Marijuana Party founder Marc Emery.

The activist was jailed last in August after being convicted of trafficking for passing a joint while speaking at a University of Saskatchewan political rally.

Across the street from Gwilt's store, Angela Vane runs The Spirit Within. She sells psychotropic drugs such as the vision-inducing ayahuasca or kava kava, which can produce a mild narcotic effect.

Vane agrees that street crime in the area has diminished since Da Kine opened.

Vane, who's been open for two years and gets her plant drugs from South America, wants other drugs legalized as well.

"We're giving people what they need - mind medicine, body medicine," she said.

Vane expects Gwilt's store to be raided. She said two undercover police officers were in her store Tuesday night.

Gwilt, though, says she willing to discuss options with the police.

"I want to work this out," she said.

Vancouver is home to Canada's only government-sponsored safe injection site for intravenous drug users.

Signs demanding activist Emery's release cover the outside of B.C. Marijuana Party headquarters in downtown Vancouver.

Inside, the smell of pot wafts through the party's store. Piles of cut marijuana sit on desks. Next door at The New Amsterdam Cafe, about a dozen people are rolling joints.

Party spokesman Chris Bennett wouldn't be surprised if Da Kine gets raided by police. He said he hopes her large clientele stands by her when it happens.

"They're definitely cracking down across the country," Bennett said, noting a cafe in Hamilton, Ont was recently raided.

Bennett said the police should not even be part of the equation.

"They're servants of public policy," he said. "They should do their job and leave policy to the public and the politicians."

Copyright, Canadian Press [color:"green"] [color:"green"] [color:"green"] [color:"green"] [color:"green"]

stonemtn you are right fu©ked up!

i love bunnies!

As I have said in the past, I am just a simple caveman.

I'll get back to you once I consult a cannibal-friend-of-mine over the long weekend.

Hey, Weezy, it appears that you are a member of themasses.

Two questions:

1) Did you guys change the spelling of your band name to "The Masses"? I really liked the double-entendre of the first spelling.

2) What time are you guys going on in Whistler on Monday? Usually Boot Pub shows tend to run until really late on weekdays, and I usually have to skip them because of early mornings at work, but I really want to catch you guys this week.

I suppose it's a matter of personal perspective, but it appears to me to be more of a bunny sandwich turned inside out. Mmmmmmmmmm; bunny sandwiches....

It's unfortunate that the only version they've released is live and pretty lame.

float away on a puffy cloud

cloudy cloudy cloudy cloudy cloud

Nice choice! Obscure, yet awesome.

Hooters Air Starts Service to Chicago/Gary, IN

Effective June 10th, Hooters Air expanded service to Myrtle Beach, SC from the Gary/Chicago Airport.

Mark Peterson, Hooters Air President reports, "We like the whole idea of the Gary Airport experience and the vacation from busy airports; we think our customers will like it too." Peterson adds, "Of course it also gives us access to the major Chicago market with bottom line cost savings. Our customers will enjoy the easy access, Free Parking with 24 Hour Security, and great prices."

Based in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina with non-stop service from Myrtle Beach, SC to Nassau, Bahamas, Baltimore, MD and Fort Myers, FL. all Hooters Air flights are staffed by a crew of two pilots, 3 flight attendants, along with Hooters Girls on every flight.

Why Fly Hooters?

Non stop jet service! All Boeing fleet!

One-Way Fares

No advance purchase requirements

No Saturday night stay requirements - travel when you want!

Extra leg room!

Real food on most flights!

One class configuration in the cabin - We call it Club Class!

All leather seats

The best customer service!

The same great flight crews plus two Hooters Girls on every flight!

A great experience that enlivens the senses and puts the fun back in flying!

Free Parking in Chicago/Gary!

What? Will these changing times,

Motorways and powerlines

Keep us apart?

I don't think so.

I saw some grass growing through the pavement today.

Police actions at Bowen festival to be reviewed

Residents say tactics of RCMP were frightening

Ethan Baron

The Province

September 2, 2004

Regional RCMP commander Bud Mercer yesterday ordered a police review of RCMP conduct at a festival on Saturday on Bowen Island.

The mayor's daughter and a councillor's son said they were treated harshly by police, and festival-goers, organizers and local politicians complained that RCMP were aggressive and heavy-handed.

"They ruined our party," said organizer Colleen Molineux, who blamed island RCMP Cpl. Greg Lui for the Bowfest problems.

"He's like the George Bush of Bowen Island. He thinks there are nuclear weapons under the jiffy-johns."

The RCMP probe will start soon, said RCMP spokesman Sgt. John Ward.

"We're going to look at our files," Ward said. "There will be some statements taken by the investigator when he goes over there. There will be some consultation with the community."

Keegan Leigh, 17, said he and his friends attended a post-Bowfest party, and chased away three off-island youths who had been kicked out for fighting and were vandalizing cars.

Leigh and his friends went to the RCMP station. Police talked to the three off-island kids, then threatened to arrest Leigh and his friends for chasing them, Leigh said.

"I ran away," said Leigh. "I climbed a roof and tried to lay flat on it until they left. One of them spotted me up there."

Leigh said he told two officers, "OK, I'm giving up here," then one of them pepper-sprayed him in the face from a metre away.

"They started getting really rough. One of them pushed me down. Two or three of them were kneeling on my back."

He was arrested for resisting arrest and released later without charges.

Ella Barrett, 12, who took second place in the Bowfest slug race, said police accosted her while she was sitting in a tree waiting for a ride home around 10 p.m.

"They were shining a flashlight in my eyes," Ella said. "I asked them if they could stop, and they were all like, 'That's a sign you've been doing drugs.' "

The officers demanded she empty her pockets and she complied, she said.

"They were asking a whole bunch of my friends to empty their bags."

Ella's mom, Lisa Barrett, the island's mayor, said: "It's not just with the kids. It was adults coming to me saying they had been horribly treated by the police, as if they'd committed some kind of terrible crime. One 56-year-old man was told he was 'walking with purpose' and therefore was suspicious."

Ward said the island's three RCMP, plus five extras, policed the festival, which attracted 2,500 to 3,000 people.

"I don't know how heavy-handed that is if we only had five arrests," he said.

Bowfest organizer Chris Molineux said celebrants were shocked to see eight flak-jacketed cops standing around the grounds in intimidating poses.

"Families were saying they were frightening their kids," Molineux said.

Ward denied reports that police told B.C. Ferries staff to refuse to sell tickets to off-island youths. Police asked ticket sellers to advise young people that the last ferry back sailed at 10 p.m., because in past years drunk teens had stayed overnight and caused problems, Ward said.

B.C. Ferries spokesman Stephen Nussbaum said miscommunication between ferry staff and police led to some customers having their ID checked, but nobody was turned away because of where they lived.

The North Shore News reported that West Vancouver police said one of their officers helped a Bowen Island RCMP officer screen passengers, and they turned away a group of teens who couldn't prove they were residents and "did not have a purpose" for going there.

Neil Boyd, a Simon Fraser University criminologist and Bowen Island councillor, said there's good reason for significant police presence at Bowfest.

"Many young people see it as an opportunity to get loaded and cause conflicts," he said.

ebaron@png.canwest.com

WHAT DO YOU THINK?

Give us your comments by phone at 604-605-2029, e-mail at provletters@png.canwest.com or fax at 604-605-2099. Spell your first and last names and give your home town. Or Sound Off in this story by clicking the link below.

© The Vancouver Province 2004

Copyright © 2004 CanWest Interactive, a division of CanWest Global Communications Corp. All rights reserved.

I make no comment as to the credibility of the following, however, this was sent to me at my office by a trusted source. At the very least, it sounds like an interesting book:

Sent: Thursday, September 02, 2004 11:18 AM

Subject: From The Wilderness Email Alert List Message

September 2, 2004

Crossing the Rubicon:

The Decline of the American Empire at the End of the Age of Oil

by Michael C. Ruppert

This is a detective story that gets to the innermost core of the 9/11

attacks. It places 9/11 at the center of a desperate new America,

created by specific, named individuals in preparation for Peak Oil:

an economic crisis like nothing the world has ever seen.

The attacks of September 11th, 2001 were accomplished through

an amazing orchestration of logistics and personnel.

Crossing the Rubicon discovers and identifies the key suspects

and persons of interest - finding some of them in the highest

echelons of American government - by showing how they acted in concert to guarantee that the attacks occurred and produced the desired result.

After two and a half years of research and writing, Ruppert said:

"In my new book I will be making several key points:

1. I will name Vice President Richard Cheney as the prime suspect

in the mass murders of 9/11 and will establish that, not only was he

a planner in the attacks, but also that on the day of the attacks

he was running a completely separate Command, Control and

Communications system which was superceding any orders being issued by the FAA, the Pentagon, or the White House Situation Room;

2. I will establish conclusively that in May of 2001, by presidential

order, Richard Cheney was put in direct command and control of all

wargame and field exercise training and scheduling through

several agencies, especially FEMA. This also extended to all of the conflicting and overlapping NORAD drills -- some involving hijack simulations -- taking place on that day.

3. I will also demonstrate that the TRIPOD II exercise

being set up on Sept. 10th in Manhattan was directly connected to Cheney's role in the above.

4. I will also prove conclusively that a number of public officials,

at the national and New York City levels, including then-Mayor Rudolph Giuliani, were aware that flight 175 was en route to lower Manhattan for 20 minutes and did nothing to order the evacuation of, or warn the occupants of the South Tower. One military officer was forced to leave his post in the middle of the attacks and place a private call to his brother - who worked at the WTC - warning him to get out. That was because no other part of the system was taking action.

5. I will also show that the Israeli and British governments acted

as partners with the highest levels of the American government

to help in the preparation and, very possibly,

the actual execution of the attacks."

"There is more reason to be afraid of not facing the evidence in this

book than of facing what is in it."

For details on ordering, and availablity, please visit:

http://www.fromthewilderness.com

http://www.copvcia.com

"A Nonpartisan, Non-sectarian, MAP from the Here

That Is, Into the Tomorrow of Our Own Making."

Copyright © 2003 From The Wilderness. All Rights Reserved.

Also, regarding Velvet's suggestion that the fact that the US government would not plant a vial of anthrax as evidence of its disinclination toward orchestrating scenarios, I do not entirely agree.

I have no idea whether they were behind the 9/11 attacks, however, I do note that the Republican Government wasted no time whatsoever to implement the Patriots Act. That statute essentially undermines the vast majority of civil liberties, which are supposedly held by anyone within the USA; citizens or not.

I am not saying that the Bush government orchestrated the attacks, and I am horrified by the possibility, however, I did predict, on that very morning, that the result of these attacks would be the Bush Administration using the opportunity to ram through any form of Orwellian, draconian legislation it desired. Funny enough ... we now have the Patriot Act.

The point is, whether behind the attacks or not, the Bush Administration certainly used the opportunity to allow itself the right to peer into the lives of anyone who sets foot in that country; which is entirely contrary to the principles of freedom on which American society was supposed to be based.

Mike Daley is excellent. He used to be in a band called Uncle Violet. He also teaches music at U of T (or at least used to). Although I am 4,500 kms away and cannot attend, I encourage you all to see him. Otherwise, just watch for him around Hamilton in general. He used to play shows with a guy named Doug Fever and may still do so, and both of them are great players.

Poor Jared. And he's such a quiet, humble young man, too. Whatever! Who am I kidding? He can take it!

I am actually not sure who you are in real life, "ahess", but I do not think you are the person I refer to. The dual-citizen I refer to lives in Montreal, but I am very pleased to see there are more of you out there and that you are taking a proactive approach to voting down south. Good for you!

Gee, what a surprise. It turns out Canadians really are scared to death of that psycho/moron.

You know, although this poll is unofficial, it might be possible for Canada to have a voice in this election. I have come across at least one Canadian (who might be on this forum) that has dual citizenship status. He was considering making arrangements to vote in the US election from Canada, as he was quite sure that he is entitled to do so. PLEASE! If you have any right to vote in the American election and are inclined to vote against Bush, take the time to do it. That guy has to go.

Okay, you caught me. I very much dislike Ween, and only pretended to like them yet still be reasonable. I should have been less reasonable to avoid being caught.

Personally I love Ween. As well, I love them both live and in the studio. That being said, it was my brother who first turned me onto those guys. He also loves Ween, but has refused to see them live since the late '80s because he hated the show so much. The reason he hated the show is that Ween tends to be quite self-indulgent and go on for extended periods of chanting and weird freakiness, not particularly resembling music or even a free-form jam. Personally, I love everything they do, but I don't reproach others who dislike them live. I don't understand it, but to each his/her own.

I, too, have often wondered why Jagermeister is so popular at shows. I sum up Jagermeister in one word: "Yuuuuuchhhh". (Well, not exactly a word, but you get the idea...)

With all of these bassists available, why don't you get together a jam of "Big Bottom" by Spinal Tap?

When are the West Coast dates being added to neroland.com? I am still counting on nero this October!

Don't be regretting this one later, Blane. I can just see you for the next 20 years, every time Tom Waits comes up in conversation, saying, "Ya, I almost saw him back in 2004 before he stopped playing, but..."

Nice! Did you get them? That's always been a hard ticket to come by. I've never seen him, and I regret missing the one chance I had. Keep bidding my friend!