Ant Galvin's posterous

Newly released from my mother's loft.

Níl aon clú agam! Ach is maith liom é.
I have no clue! But I like it.

Learn about vice in the early days of Vancouver by participating in the Vancouver Police Museum’s unique new walking tour – Sins of the City. While leading you through the oldest parts of Vancouver, your guide will regale you with stories about:

• Bootleggers, prohibition, and the often quirky evolution of liquor laws (and their enforcement) in the city
• The development of the early drug trade and the surprising Vancouver origins of Canada’s narcotic laws
• Racial and labour tension boiling over into demonstrations, riots and murder
• The evolution of the sex trade, from brothels to streetwalkers
• The city’s considerable predilection for gambling

Participants are also invited to visit the Police Museum on the day of their walking tour at no additional charge.

This is probably the best walking tour I have ever been on. All down to the passion of the guide.

One thing, DO NOT approach the Police Museum via East Hastings - That's 250 scary yards you could do without.

If we needed more proof that politicians work for themselves and not for us, it has arrived.

Our leaders want to finance 100 per cent of the new Colisée de Québec with our taxes. Stephen Harper is hesitating, but his deputies in Quebec have already said yes. What a spectacle they made posing for photos wearing Nordiques jerseys, pandering to Quebec City voters. Pathetic.

The project will be a black hole for dollars. The idea is to cough up $400 million (about $200 million from Canadian taxpayers), and then to soak up a $3.5-million deficit each year. All without asking the private sector to throw in a single penny. Smack in the middle of an economic crisis, too, with our hospitals crumbling and our debt increasing by $135 million a day.

Do most Canadians (or Quebecers, for that matter) want to pay for this project? Makes no difference. Our politicians will do it anyway. There are seats up for grabs in Quebec. 

This debate has brought out the beggars. “Montreal has its concert hall, we want our Colisée!” “We spend money on culture, why not on hockey?” Mayors of other Canadian cities are already up in arms. Everyone wants a new stadium.

Meanwhile, the mother of two who, between preparing lunches and helping with homework, has no time for lobbying, sees her taxes keep on rising. Someone has to pay for the goodies handed out to the beggars.

If this is democracy, it needs an overhaul.

Like OMG!

Didn't Bertie Ahern attempt the exact same thing with the Bertie Bowl? Looks like his play book has been leaked. All the Quebecers are missing is the breath-taking ambition.