Monthly Archives: April 2006

BBC News reports: A Scottish-Chinese Tartan – I am NOT making this up!


BBC News reports:
A Scottish-Chinese Tartan
- I am NOT making this up!


Grant Hayter-Menzies saw this story on BBC News Online and thought I
should see it.

The idea of a McWong tartan, or a Clan Gung Haggis Fat Choy tartan
is not too far off. A few years ago, Ian MacLeod, President of
Clan MacLeod Canada, volunteered to help me register a McWong tartan.
It would have to be yellow like the McLeod tartan because in Chinese,
"Wong" means yellow (just like the Wong River or Wong Mountain).

** Message **
Very interesting! Elizabeth Wayland Barber's book on the Xinjiang
gravegoods tartans deals with this topic in spectacular fashion.

** Chinese-Scottish tartan launched **
A new Chinese tartan aims to boost tourism and business to Scotland.
< http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/em/fr/-/2/hi/uk_news/scotland/4876622.stm >


Chinese-Scottish tartan launched



The new tartan incorporates colours of the Saltire and Chinese flag.



A Chinese-Scottish tartan has been created to strengthen links between the two countries.

It was inspired by Chinese Consul General Madame Guo
Guifang, who said tartan was a key to the appeal Scotland holds for
Chinese tourists.

The creators hope the tartan will boost tourism and business opportunities between China and Scotland.

It was specially designed by the Strathmore Woollen Company and the Scottish Tartans Authority.

The company is also hoping to link up with a business partner in China to launch a clothing label using the design.

3,000-year link

The new tartan incorporates blue and white from the Saltire and the red and yellow featured in the Chinese flag.

The tartan will be officially unveiled in Angus on Tartan Day, on 6 April.

Angus provost Bill Middleton said: “The new
Chinese-Scottish tartan symbolises the co-operation and harmony that
exists between Chinese people and Scottish people everywhere.

“As this tartan belongs to the Chinese as a nation, we hope to see it worn around the world.”

China's link with tartan goes back almost 3,000 years
when an explorer in Xinjiang, Western China, discovered the burial
place of a group of ancient Caucasian travellers wearing perfectly
preserved tartans.

CBC Radio Early Edition interview and my response to the throne speech about upcoming Chinese head tax apology

CBC Radio  Early Edition interview and my response to the throne speech about upcoming Chinese head tax apology

I
was just interviewed on CBC Radio Early Edition program by Rick Cluff,
asking my thoughts about the mention of an apology for Chinese Head Tax
in the throne speech.

It's impossible to convey my feelings about 62 years of legislated
racism and the potential for nation building by redress in 4 minutes.

Yesterday, I was very happy to recieve an e-mail from Toronto stating that a forthcoming apology for the
Chinese Head Tax was included in the Throne Speech.  Very happy
because I had spent so many hours in working on the Vancouver campaign
for redress.  I was there on November 26th, when we protested the
ACE program announcement when then Prime Minister Paul Martin came to
Vancouver to announce a $2.5 million program for “Acknowledgement,
Commemoration and Education” – not apology or compensation.

It was in 2004 when
Doudou Diene, the UN special rapporteur on racism, racial discrimination,
xenophobia and related intolerance, submitted a UN draft report recommending Canada consider paying reparations
for the head tax

once levied against Chinese immigrants. New Zealand had made and
apology and redress reparations – but Canada still said “No!”  And
up until last December, Paul Martin and the Liberal government was
still saying “No apology!”, until they figured out that Chinese head
tax redress was the sleeper issue of the election campaign, and the
other parties – NDP, Conservatives and Bloc Quebecois, had agreed to an
apology and compensation for urviving Head Tax payers and spouses.

It's all about fairness, and that Canada should not profit from
racism.  This is not the Canada that promotes multiculturalism,
and that we are a leader in racial tolerance.  This is about a
black spot in our history.

Yes… I was very happy that redress is going to happen. 
Yes…  I am happy that my Uncle Dan, a WW2 veteran who has every
year written the government for an apology, is finally going to hear an
apology.

But as I told Rick Cluff, I think Canadians still misunderstand the
issue.  Asian Canadians have been subject to so much systemic
racism up until 1967, that it has been hard to convey the sense of
“learned helplessness” against a system that constantly treats you as a
second-class citizen. 

I am afraid that many Canadians will see this as a money issue, and
paying for past wrongs should be over and done with.  But I feel
very strongly that Canada needs to move forward on these issues, or
else it constantly stays with us.

It's about fairness and justice and equality.  Finally, we are being fully embraced, and redress is being made.

More later….

Reuters Press and Canadian Press cover head tax apology story

image
Reuters Press and Canadian Press cover head tax apology story



Both Reuters Press and Canadian Press have been able to write stories
about the Chinese Canadian community response to the mention of apology
for head tax in the throne speech by the Conservative government.

And both stories have interviewed my friend Sid Tan, who was
responsible for organizing the Novembers 26th protest against the
Liberal government Agreement-in-Principle, which stated “No Apology”
and “No Compensation.”  I know that Sid is probably in a partial
state of disbelief, or as he says “cautious optimism.”  He is
prepared for a long haul, in order to get the best reasonsable and fair
settlement.  After all, it has been 22 years, since Head Tax
redress became an issue for the community.

I will now have to call my 95 year old grandmother on the phone and
tell her the good news.  Both her father and husband paid the head
tax.

Throne speech signals apology for head tax
imposed on Chinese-Canadians

Greg Joyce

Canadian Press

Tuesday, April 04, 2006

(CP)
– There was only one sentence near the end of a 2,500-word throne speech
Tuesday, but for the few hundred survivors forced to pay an ugly, racist head
tax in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, it was undoubtedly the
speech's highlight.

“The
government will act in Parliament to offer an apology for the Chinese Head
Tax,” the governor general read. There was the word apology but nothing
about redress or compensation. Vancouver
resident Sid Tan was still pleased.

“It
may have been weak and it may not have been as lengthy as we wanted it to be,
but it was a definite signal,” said Tan, president of the Association of
Chinese Canadians for Equality and Solidarity.

He
expressed “cautious optimism” that the impending Conservative
budget would offer some compensation.

“I
think those details will be better seen in the budget,” said Tan, who is
also a national director of the Chinese Canadian National Council.

“We
will see when the budget is introduced what is there for head-tax
redress.”

read the entire story: click here

Canada to apologize for head tax on
Chinese

 Reuters


Tuesday, April 04, 2006

OTTAWA (Reuters) – Canada will
apologize for a discriminatory tax imposed decades ago on Chinese immigrants,
but details on issues such as compensation are still being worked out, the
government said on Tuesday.

The
promise came in the new Conservative government's first Speech from the Throne
policy address. During the campaign leading up to the January 23 election,
Chinese-Canadians had accused the former Liberal government of ignoring the
issue.

The
speech did not say when the apology would be made, and Heritage Minister
Beverly Oda later said officials were meeting with
groups to work out details and whether there would be financial compensation.

“We're
looking at what's most appropriate,” Oda told
CBC Newsworld television.

The tax
was imposed from the 1880s to the 1920s on Chinese immigrants and made it
financially difficult for them to move to Canada or be joined by their
families.

The fee
was originally set at C$50 a person, but raised in the early 1900s to C$500.
The C$500 was equivalent to about two years' wages for a Chinese Canadian
worker at the time, according to a lawsuit filed in 2000 seeking compensation.

There was
almost a complete ban on Chinese moving to Canada from 1923 to 1947.

Sid Chow
Tan, a Vancouver-area resident who has campaigned for two decades for an
apology and compensation for the taxpayers and their descendants, called the
new government's actions “a good first step.”

“We're
further now than we have ever been before,” Tan said. “I'm cautiously
optimistic that we will get a full settlement within a year.”

Tan said
that there are only a few hundred people still alive who paid the tax or were
married to someone who paid it.

see the story: click here

Throne Speech: “The Government will act in Parliament to offer an apology for the Chinese Head Tax”

Throne Speech: “The Government will act in Parliament to offer an apology for the Chinese Head Tax”


It's there.  An apology for the Chinese Head Tax, placed only
against ethnic Chinese, from anywhere in the world.  An apology
for the head tax that began in 1887 and sparked 62 years of legislated
racism, placed only against ethnic Chinese.  No word on a tax
refund though, or a symbolic compensation.

$500 in 1925 could buy a nice sized house, maybe two?  And today the cash equivalent would be….

But it's there… 15 words.  Not the 66 words about the role of our soldiers in Afghanistan. 

But it's there…  Buried in the conclusion between the Bank Act
and significant treaties…  Not in the section titled “A Canada That Works for All of Us”   or “Canada
– Strong, United, Independent and Free”


See 


Speech
from the Throne

Conclusion

The
Government's clear and focused agenda reflects its commitment to Canadians. It
will not try to do all things at once. Instead, the Government will work
diligently to make tangible improvements that contribute to stronger families
and safer communities, and a stronger country.

During
this Thirty-Ninth Parliament, the Government will be bringing forward fiscally
responsible budgets and a legislative program that will achieve the results
that Canadians expect from their elected representatives. In this work, it will
rely on the support and counsel of a dedicated and professional Public Service.
In turn, it will give the Public Service the leadership and tools it needs to
excel in the service of Canadians. Recognizing the important role of
parliamentarians, members of Parliament will be asked to conduct comprehensive
reviews of key federal
legislation, including the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, the
Anti-Terrorism Act and the Bank Act. The Government will act in Parliament to
offer an apology for the Chinese Head Tax.
Significant international treaties
will be submitted for votes in Parliament.

Will Conservative Government Begin Chinese Head-tax/Exclusion Redress? Chinese Canadians Hope Historic Injustice Is Addressed in Throne Speech


Will Conservative
Government Begin Chinese Head-tax/Exclusion Redress? Chinese Canadians
Hope Historic Injustice Is Addressed in Throne Speech

It has been 22 years since Redress for Chinese Head Tax and Exclusion Act became a political issue.  No political party wanted to touch it, except the NDP, when Margaret Mitchell tried to have it addressed by Parliament.  Since 1984, the Conservative governments of Brian Mulroney and Kim Campbell, and the Liberal governments of Jean Chretien and Paul Martin, have all avoided apology and redress for the estimated 22,000 Chinese immigrants who paid the racially based head tax to enter Canada, and who suffered the separation from their families when the Canadian government created the” Chinese Exclusion Act” that effectively legislated against any person of Chinese descent to immigrate to Canada.  During this time, Canadians born of Chinese descent could not have the vote. 

My maternal grandmother was born in Victoria in 1910, the grand-daughter of Rev. Chan Yu Tan, who arrived in Canada in 1896.  She could not vote until 1947, when the Exclusion Act was repealed and Canadians of Chinese descent were finally allowed to vote as part of enfranchisement. 

My friend Sid Tan, has been a long-time voice for apology and compensation for Head Tax survivors, spouses and descendants.  He is organizing the press conference in Vancouver following the Speech to the Throne. 


Also attending will be Gim Wong, who served in Canadian Armed Forces, even though he couldn't vote as a Chinese-Canadian.  Last year, Gim rode his motorcycle across Canada to Ottawa and Montreal at age 87 to ask Prime Minister Martin to make an apology for the Chinese Head Tax.

I have known both men for a number of years, and am proud to be able to call them friends.

Media Advisory: For Immediate Release – April 3, 2006

Will Conservative Government Begin Chinese Head-tax/Exclusion Redress? Chinese Canadians Hope Historic Injustice Is Addressed in Throne Speech

Vancouver BC – Representatives of the Association of Chinese Canadians for Equality and Solidarity Society (ACCESS) and the Chinese Canadian National Council (CCNC) will be available after the Throne Speech on April 4, 2006 to comment on Chinese head-tax/exclusion redress. Also in attendance will be Gim Foon Wong, the 82-year old World War Two airforce veteran who rode his motorcycle across Canada in a Ride for Redress in 2005. 

Where: Guys and Dolls Billiards
       2434 Main Street, Vancouver
When:  12:00 noon – 3:00pm, April 4, 2006

On March 24, 2006, after consultation with Chinese Canadian community leaders from across Canada in Toronto, Canadian Heritage Minister Bev Oda and Parliamentary Secretary to the Prime Minister Jason Kenney stated they will act quickly to settle longstanding injustice of 62-years of oppressive legislation from 1885 � 1947 targeted at the Chinese in Canada.

“We are prepared to make decisions and therefore act within less than 12 weeks,” said Minister Oda in the March 24 media briefing reported by Saltwater City Television.  “As to the process of individual compensation, we are open to that concept. We are open to that idea.”

“We are going to see action and not just talk from the Stephen Harper government to finally redress this longstanding historic wrong that so many Chinese Canadians suffered under,” said  Jason Kenney in the same media briefing. Mr. Kenney is assisting on the file.

“It was a terrible injustice don’t you think?” asks Gim Foon Wong, the CCNC pioneer of the Year in 2001 for his leadership in the redress movement.  “The Canadian government apologized and compensated Japanese Canadians. It’s time they did the same for Chinese Canadians.”

“I hope Prime Minister Stephen Harper signals in the Throne Speech his government’s intent to act quickly,” said Sid Chow Tan, president of ACCESS and a national director of the CCNC.  “Redress will lose much of its meaning if we keep losing the few affected elderly seniors before they receive recognition and meaningful and significant redress.”

ACCESS is a not-for-profit anti-racism, human rights and social justice society as well as a community television corporation. It is an affiliate of the Chinese Canadian National Council and a member of the National Anti-Racism Council of Canada and STATUS Coalition. ACCESS works with other equality seeking organizations to fight racism and discrimination, to advance the rights of citizens and migrants living in Canada and to press the federal government to redress the Chinese Head Tax and Exclusion Acts.

CCNC is a national human rights organization with 27 chapters across Canada. Established in 1979, it has campaigned since 1984 with other redress-seeking groups including the BC Coalition of Head Tax Payers, Spouses and Descendants (BC Coalition), Association of Chinese Canadians for Equality and Solidarity
(ACCESS), Ontario Coalition of Chinese Head Tax Payers and Families (Ontario Coalition), and Chinese Canadian Redress Alliance (CCRA) for Chinese head-tax and exclusion redress.

– 30 –

Contact:

Vancouver:
Sid Chow Tan – 604-783-1853 (ACCESS/CCNC)
        
Toronto:
Victor Wong – 416-977-9871 (CCNC)

Chinese Canadians invited to attend Throne Speech: Will Redress for Head Tax finally happen with Conservative Government?


Chinese Canadians invited to attend Throne Speech: Will Redress for Head Tax finally happen with Conservative Government?


Chinese Canadian Canadian Head Tax activists are anxiously awaiting the new Throne Speech by the Stephen Harper Conservative government.  It is widely speculated that redress for the Chinese-Canadian Head Tax and Exclusion Act will be included in the Conservative agenda for 2006.

It is such a certainty, that Dr. Joseph Wong, CCNC Founding President, Mr. James Pon, a head tax payer and Mr. George Lau, Co-Chair of the Ontario Coalition will be attending the Throne Speech in Ottawa on April 4, 2006.

Media Advisory: For Immediate Release – April 3, 2006

MEDIA ADVISORY

CHINESE CANADIAN COMMUNITY GATHERS TO HEAR THRONE SPEECH

TORONTO/VANCOUVER/OTTAWA (April 3, 2006) – In response to the demands made during the federal election by the Ontario Coalition of Chinese Head Tax Payers and Families (Ontario Coalition), along with the B.C. Coalition of Head Tax Payers, Spouses and Descendants, Chinese Canadian Redress Alliance and the Chinese Canadian National Council (CCNC), Prime Minister Stephen Harper promised Canadians that a Conservative Government would apologize and provide appropriate redress for the 62 years of racism brought on by the Chinese Head Tax and Chinese Exclusion Act.

Since the election, Chinese Canadian communities across the country have been anticipating a parliamentary apology for these historic injustices. On Tuesday April 4, 2006, Chinese Canadians will gather in Toronto and Vancouver to watch the throne Speech and provide comments and reaction to the media.

Date:                          Tuesday April 4, 2006

Where/When:             Bright Pearl Seafood Restaurant
                                  346 – 348 Spadina Avenue, Toronto at 3:00pm EST

                                 Guys and Dolls Billiards
                                 2434 Main Street, Vancouver at 12:00noon PST

Susan Eng, Co-Chair of the Ontario Coalition for Head Tax Payers and their Families, explains, “The Ontario Coalition and other head tax redress advocates have submitted a Framework for Reconciliation asking that a commitment to redress be made a priority in the Throne Speech, including sponsoring a Parliamentary Resolution to apologize for the harm suffered under the Chinese Head Tax and Chinese Exclusion Act, to provide direct financial redress to the Head Tax payers and surviving spouses, optimally by July 1st, highly symbolic as the date on which the Exclusion Act came into force and to commit to broad consultations and negotiations to effect redress and reconciliation with the descendants of Head Tax payers and those directly affected by the Chinese Exclusion Act.”

Colleen Hua, National President of CCNC says, “The throne speech is significant to the redress movement because it outlines the government’s strategic priorities for the year, especially since the Prime Minister has repeatedly promised an official apology and appropriate redress.”

George Lau, Co-Chair of the Ontario Coalition, agrees and adds, “I believe that the head tax redress movement has spurred many Chinese seniors to become involved in the political system for the first time.  As such we are becoming more civically engaged in the affairs of the nation.  For example, I believe, Chinese seniors will be tuned into the throne speech seeking out announcements that will be directly affecting them whether it is about head tax redress or strengthening the Senior Income Security Act.  Any way you look at it, the redress movement has changed the Chinese Canadian community forever.”

Canada's “National Dream” was realized when the Last Spike was driven to complete the transcontinental railway in 1885. Instead of gratitude for the Chinese railway workers – thousands of whom gave their lives to the building of this country – the government imposed a head tax on all new Chinese immigrants, collecting more than $23 million by 1923. That year, the government passed the Chinese Exclusion Act to stop all Chinese immigration to Canada. The racist legislation was not repealed until 1947.

– 30-

Notice to Media: Dr. Joseph Wong, CCNC Founding President, Mr. James Pon, a head tax payer and Mr. George Lau, Co-Chair of the Ontario Coalition will be attending the Throne Speech in Ottawa on April 4, 2006. This delegation will be available to meet with the Ottawa media in the foyer of Parliament immediately after the Throne Speech. Please contact Dr. Joseph Wong, CCNC Founding President, (416) 806-0082.

For more information, please contact:

Ontario Coalition of Head Tax Payers and Families
Susan Eng, Co-chair, (416) 960-0312 (Toronto)

Chinese Canadian National Council
Colleen Hua, National President, (647) 299-1775 (Toronto)
Victor Wong, Executive Director, (416) 977-9871 (Toronto)
Sid Tan, National Director, (604) 783-1853 (Vancouver)
Avvy Go, Director, Metro Toronto Chinese & Southeast Asian Legal Clinic; and
Counsel, Ontario Coalition of Chinese Head Tax Payers and Families (416) 971-9674 (Toronto)

BC Coalition of Head Tax Payers, Spouses and Descendants
Bill Chu, spokesperson (604) 261-6526 (Vancouver)

Chinese Canadian Redress Alliance
William Dere (514) 488-0804 (Montreal)
Walter Tom (514) 341-3929 (Montreal)

Saltwater City Television: Highlights of Media Scrum on Head Tax issues with Minister Bev Oda


Saltwater City Television: Highlights of Media Scrum on Head Tax issues with Minister Bev Oda

This is great stuff if you have been following the Chinese Canadian Head Tax issue.  Sid Tan is producer of Saltwater City Television which follows issues of interest to multi-generation Chinese Canadian pioneer descendants (like myself). 

Gee… I can even be seen in this week's show, as I joined Sid and many others in the protest against the Liberal government's deal with the National Congress of Chinese Canadians, to sign an “Agreement-in-Principle” for No Apology, and No Compensation, and only $2.5 Million to set up community programs, in comparison to the more than $336 Million that was given to the Japanese Canadians in their 1988 Redress settelement, as they budgeted for $21,000 for each of 16,000 individuals..

Sunday April 2 @ 1:00pm
Monday April 3 @ 10:30pm
Thursday April 6 @ 2:30pm
Saturday April 8 @ 11:30am

ACCESS/ICTV community television on Shaw cable 4, the cable community channel
in Greater Vancouver and Fraser Valley.

Heritage Minister Bev Oda and PM Parliamentary Secretary Jason Kenney:
Chinese Head-tax/Exclusion Redress Updates on Saltwater City Television   

Saltwater City Television (29:45)

1) Highlights of media scrum and comments from Canadian Heritage Minister Bev Oda and Jason Kenney, Parliamentary Secretary to the Prime Minister, after community consultations on Chinese head-tac/exclusion redress in Toronto on March  24, 2006. Also includes Susan Eng of the Ontario Coalition of Head-tax Payers and Families and Joseph Wong of the Chinese Canadian National Council and longtime redress activists such as Yew Lee, William Dere and others.

Written, directed and produced by Karin Lee. (17:00)

2) Excepts of a presentation by Sid Chow Tan of the Chinese Canadian National Council with highlights of the ACCESS/BC Coalition of Head-tax Payers, Spouses and Descendants and their supporters leafleting and information line on November 26, 2006.

The “on the streets” action in the Saltwater City (Vancouver BC) protested the �no apology, no compensation� agreement-in-principle the federal Liberal government made with compliant groups. Thanks to Karin Lee, Donna Lee and Jane Kokan for video footage and Peter Regier and the audio-visual crew at WorkSafe, Workers� Compensation Board of BC.  (10:00)


Saltwater City Television is a regularly scheduled volunteer-produced community television produced by the not-for-profits ACCESS Association of Chinese Canadians for Equality and Solidarity Society and ICTV Independent Community Television Co-operative.


BBC Radio Scotland: Vancouver's Toddish McWong talks about Canada's Scottish-Chinese-Canadian Community: Gung Haggis Fat Choy!


BBC Radio Scotland: Vancouver's Toddish McWong talks about Canada's Scottish-Chinese-Canadian Community: Gung Haggis Fat Choy!


A special warm welcome to Scots finding our website after listening to
BBC Radio Scotland's arts and culture program The Radio Café.  

Everything you’ve always wanted to know about Canada’s
Scottish Chinese community
,” is how the Radio host described what was
coming up on the Monday April 3rd program, as
Radio Cafe this week is featuring aspects of the Scottish diaspora and its influences around the world, and will highlight Tartan Week in New York City where a huge parade will take over the street with men in kilts!

I, Todd Wong aka Toddish McWong, was featured today on BBC Radio Scotland this afternoon at approximately 2:53pm Greenich Time (5:53am Pacific).  But you can listen to the BBC Radio website at http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio/noscript.shtml?/radio/aod/scotland_aod.shtml?scotland/radiocafe_mon”
Click on Play to hear the introducations, then click on the Fast Forward buttons to reach 38:00

Clips from a pre-recorded interview of me run from approximately 38:30 to 41:45 of the full 45 minute Radio Cafe broadcast.

“This is what you get when you cross Robbie Burns Day with Chinese New Year”, opens the host, as my voice comes in.

“Gung Haggis Fat Choy is the intersection of Robbie Burns Day and Chinese New Year Day. 

“The Scots came across the Atlantic and named the land Nova Scotia, the Chinese came across the Pacific and called it “Gum San” (Gold Mountain).

“With haggis – we mix in with haggis with Chinese food!
We invented Deep Fried Haggis Won Ton.

“This is what Canada is about.
Many white Canadians can wear Chinese outfits and say they are learning about Multiculturalism.

“My kilt is the maple leaf tartan, and it has all the colours of Canada in it.  The Greens, yellows and reds of the Maple Leaf.”

“I recently read a book about “How the Scots invented the Modern World” and I think that the Chinese invented the Ancient World.”


Here are  some links to help you navigate www.gunghaggisfatchoy.com


Origins of Gung Haggis Fat Choy story – It all started back in 1993, when I was a wee student studying at Simon Fraser University on the highlands of Burnaby Mountain.

Todd's poem “Gung Haggis Fat Choy” – 

“The Chinese called this land Gum San (Gold Mountain),
 And the Scots gave it the name of Nova Scotia
Westerners became Easterners
The Far East becomes the Far West.”


Dinner menu for 2005 Gung Haggis Fat Choy dinner
– 10 courses of food, mostly traditional Chinese , but served up with haggis won ton, and haggis lettuce wrap + spicy jelly fish, noodles, rice vermicelli, curried beef and potatoes, and crab.
 

article and photos from Gung Haggis Fat Choy Robbie Burns Chinese New Year Dinner
– pictures of real-life intercultural music, relationships and food.  Pictured above is our 2005 poster, my friends Lorrie and Tony Breen, myself with my girlfriend Deb Martin.


Recipes for Gung Haggis Won Ton, and Gung Haggis Spring Rolls and haggis-stuffed tofuHonestly!  So many people have said, “I didn't know haggis could taste so good!”


Gung Haggis Fat Choy dragon boat team
mixing Chinese dragon boats with wearing tartans!

Mortgage within sight for Kogawa House – Option to purchase: open letter from Anton Wagner

   
Mortgage within sight for Kogawa House
– Option to purchase:
open letter from Anton Wagner

Dear Friend of the Joy Kogawa House,

The Land Conservancy of British Columbia, which is spearheading the Fundraising drive to save the Joy Kogawa House, has an option to purchase Joy's Childhood home in Vancouver until the end of this month if it can raise sufficient funds for a mortgage on the House.

The 120-day demolition delay unanimously approved by Vancouver City Council in November has expired and there is now nothing to stop the demolition of Joy's childhood home if it is not purchased by the Land Conservancy.

Several hundred donors have already contributed over $215,000 to the Land Conservany of BC towards the purchase of the Joy Kogawa House. A mortgage for the House is in sight with your support.

If you have been moved by reading Joy's Obasan and agree that the “Obasan House” should be preserved as a centre for writers of conscience and as a living memorial to the forced evacuations and imprisonment of over 22,000 Japanese Canadians during World War II, I ask you to make a donation now to the
Land Conservancy via their website http://www.conservancy.bc.ca

Cheques in any amount made payable to “The Land Conservancy” can also be sent to The Land Conservancy, 5655 Sperling Avenue, Burnaby, BC V5E 2T2. The Land Conservancy telephone number is 604-733 2313. Each contribution, no matter how small, will show the federal, provincial and civic governments that there is public support for the Joy Kogawa House rescue drive and that government levels should also contribute.

If you have already donated, please circulate this message among your friends and ask for their assistance. Additional information about the Joy Kogawa House rescue drive can be found on the website http://www.kogawahouse.com

Thank you very much for your support.

Anton Wagner
Secretary
Save Joy Kogawa House Committee
416-863 1209
fax: 416-863 9973

www.conservancy.bc.ca

www.kogawahouse.com

John Rutherford's Check Your Chart, for the Week of 3 April 2006


John Rutherford's

Check Your Chart, for the Week of 3 April 2006

First there was nothing, then more nothing, then the Eclipse hit.  I
only needed one newspaper last week, Thursday’s, to see the “what for” of
the important stuff.  And, it was.  The Solar Eclipse hit the
Point of Bad News, the Mercury (news, messages, communications) / Saturn
(serious, “heavy”) midpoint.  In the next few hours, Canada has its
first combat casualty in 32 years, BC Hydro announces it is running short
of power and will soon have to import, Hamas has a cabinet but gets its
aid cut from Canada, Saudi Arabia is also now making The Bomb thanks to
Pakistan, Russia is becoming a dictatorship says Gorbichev, the US will
test a 700 ton “bunker buster” that would send a mushroom cloud over Las
Vegas, the US right wing publishes plans to make Republicans the
perpetual dominant party, and Iran had earthquakes.  Then back to
nothing, the usual drivel of local madness and mayhem.

Kinda makes ya sit and ponder, don’t it, pardner?  When the Moon
passes exactly between the Earth and the Sun, the line of the Moon’s
shadow across the Earth forms a focus, often so much that it separates
those on either side.  The Eclipse path shows that for the next few
years, the sense of connection between Europe and the Middle East,
including Egypt, will be more disrupted.  The ongoing clash of an
organised set of democracies and fundamental Islam will be intensified
over the next three months, as the Sun squares gloomy Saturn (24 April),
opposes belligerent Jupiter (4 May), squares Neptune, “The Lost” (10 May,
when I plan to take a holiday), then a jangly Uranus (5 June).
               

So, what about all the disruptions in France over their labour law,
willy-nilly being able to fire those under 26 for no reason?  What
about uppity Hispanics, over half a million just in the streets of LA,
protesting the US immigration, cum alien labour, law?  Retreating
(retrograde) Jupiter square Neptune, Lord of the Disadvantaged. 
That’s had its effect for the last few weeks, as have the latest French
riots.  Ho hum, shoulda known.
 
Nota Bene:  Check Your Chart focuses only on the influence of
Planetary Aspects.  It does not look at Lunar Aspects to those
Planets.  That’s for fine tuning.  That’s for the daily
horrible-scopes. 
That’s for a proper reading pinning down which Planet is above your
Horizon, doing it to you, and which ones are below, giving you the power
to do it back.
And, then the Moon will show what you can do about it.  Get your
Horoscope read, with your Progressions (what has been imprinted)
and Transits (what’s going on now).  Contact me at
johnrutherford@shaw.ca or
(604) 521-3235.
 
This Week:  The Sun wants a holiday, a way to get away from
it all, and will seek any way to escape by Saturday late, no matter what
he says.  That’s the point.  Ruses are on the rise.  Some
will say anything, use any bluff and bluster, that stalls and
avoids.
So, do all the homework, grab all the notes and records, before Thursday
night when the door shuts and the unclaimed leftovers get shredded. 
Giddy carelessness Tuesday gives the opening, your best window of
opportunity.
 
Monday – Wednesday, 3-5 April.  (Moon in Cancer.  Sun
aspects Mars / Saturn, then Jupiter – Neptune / Uranus.  14-16 Card,
29 Fix, 0-1 Mut)
It starts as a grind, having to tough it as best you can, and can
then come right off the rails without enough help.  Consider it the
playoffs, the best and brightest each going for broke, giving it their
best shot.  Then you have to call in the second string, the
reserves, as all stars lose their way, big engines run out of steam.
 
Tuesday, 4 April.  (Mercury trine Jupiter.  17 degrees of
All Signs)
Along with the Solar energy of Jupiter / Uranus (see above), today
could be the madness of loose lips blabbing the farm away.  A moment
of mental ease can be careless.  Too much enthusiasm tells
all.  Better for travel, great for sight seeing, and let others do
the driving.
 
Thursday, 6 April.  (Moon in Leo.  Mercury aspects
stationary Saturn.  19 Mut, 4 Fix)
Saturn is making a serious point.  Mercury better listen, even
if it is to just slow down and contemplate, but make no decision unless
you are willing to live with this a very long time.  Turnover, even
when due, will be fraught with difficulties.  An investment you
can’t sell later?
 
Saturday, 8 April.  (Moon slow in late Leo.  Sun aspects
Mercury / Jupiter, sextile Neptune.  19 Card, 4 Mut)
Here’s your cue to get away, even if by smoke and mirrors.  A
lively dance, stepping so carefully.  One slip will be long
remembered if you try pushing your luck into the witching hour. 
Tag, do you want to be it?

If you want the “horrible-scopes”, go somewhere else. 
If you want the meaning behind them, stay on. 
 
Is your Number up?
  Check Your Four Personal Points for
every day, see below.  If the numbers match, this day is for
you.
 
Each forecast shows: the Moon Sign, the Planetary Aspect, and Numbers
of degrees in Signs for the Planetary Aspect.
The Moon Sign is the Sign the Moon is in for that day. 
The Moon Sign gives advantage to the Sign it is in, puts extra
pressure on the opposite Sign, and tends to cross up or neutralise the
Signs at right angles.  For example, with Fixed Signs, if the Moon
is in Taurus, Taurus has the advantage, Scorpio gets challenged, and Leo
and Aquarius get shifted or crossed up.

The Planetary Aspect is where action is released.  It's the
Excuse.  Unlike daily Horoscopes that suggest each day has the same
level of influence, this is the core of changes in the daily
energies.
The Sign Numbers are the degrees in the Signs of the Zodiac being
emphasised.  If the degree for any day is close to any degree of
Your Four Personal Points (see below), within a degree or so, THIS
IS YOUR DAY.  Pay extra ATTENTION.

You may have several days in the week activated for you, or you may have
none.  As a degree hits one of Your Four Personal Points, the
forecast tells about the important things in your life.  The daily
forecasts tell you when.  The overall story comes through over
time.  Sooner or later, the degrees of the Forecast catch up to
you.

Your Four Personal Points are, in order of importance:
The Ascendant, the Mid-heaven, the Moon, and the
Sun.
These are the most important Points of your Horoscope, calculated
from your birth date, your birth-place, and the time of day you drew your
first breath.  The first two Personal Points, the Ascendant
and Mid-heaven, are the points that fix the
Earth in space for your birth time at your specific birth
place.  We live on the Earth, not the Sun or the Moon.  The
Ascendant, also called Your Rising Sign, is more important
than your Sun Sign.
 
Simply, and generally only, forecasts that affect your:
Ascendant     relate to matters in your
environment.  Use it to see what's in your “face”.
Mid-heaven  relate to matters in your personal
life.    Use it to see what's in your mind.
Moon          
relate to matters in your emotional life.   Use it to see
what's in your heart.
Sun
            
relate to matters in your physical
life.        Use it to see what's in
your core.

The Signs of the Zodiac are:
Card:
Cardinal Signs (Aries, Cancer, Libra, Capricorn)
Fix: Fixed Signs (Taurus, Leo, Scorpio, Aquarius)
Mut: Mutable Signs (Gemini, Virgo, Sagittarius, Pisces)

Heaven, Help Us!  The forecast is the mood of the
moment
. For example, if it rains, we all get wet, no matter
what “Sign” we are.
If you like this forecast, let others know.  SEND IT TO THEM. 
If you have comments or questions, LET ME KNOW.  Check Your Four
Personal Points
each week if any of them is targeted, and… 
PAY ATTENTION!

Your Horoscope is the picture of the Heavens the moment you were
born.  Using the latest advances in Astronomy and Astrology, you can
get a Horoscope reading with accurate, up-to-date detail.  Contact
me at johnrutherford@shaw.ca or call 604-521-3235.

John Rutherford, Western Canadas most successful Horoscope Reader,
since 1971.