LOCAL NEWS- MANITOBA:

GREYHOUND BUS MURDER- THE GHOULS MOVE IN:

As Molly has mentioned before it's probable that half the world has heard of the recent murder of Tim McLean by nutbar Vince Li on a Winnipeg bound bus. The murder had all the requisite cache- a totally random attack, beheading of the victim and even cannibalism. The story has provoked a spate of rumours, some of which have been disproved- such as the involvement of a female coworker of McLean's who he supposedly called Li out on for "hitting on". Another that hasn't yet been refuted is that the drug Ecstasy was being sold on the bus. Sounds like the good old "riding the dog" that Molly remembers from her youth. By itself Ecstasy is a rather benign drug, but because of the drug prohibition laws its sale reverts to the provenance of a criminal element that often cuts the samples with less benign substances.

All that is water under the bridge, and I'm sure that a lot more rumours will fly and be either substantiated or confirmed in the days to come. But, as might be expected in such circumstances the ghouls are moving in to (at least in their own bizarre views of the world) take advantage of the situation. The first such "usual suspect" is PETA, the People for Ethical Treatment of Animals. Now, these people are not the flakiest breakfast cereal in a box, but they come close. Unlike some of my deluded "comrades" from the self-styled 'Animal Liberation Front' they hardly ever engage in violence. It would, after all, interfere with the serious business of making money, like the infamous Greenpeace (the one referred to by those who have split away from it as 'Greenpeace-INC'). But they sure are masters of the stunt. Their latest stunt was to try and run an ad in the Portage la Prairie 'Portage Daily Graphic' trying to equate Tim's murder with the eating of meat. You can read the full text at their website - they still are shameless enough to feature it- even though the Portage newspaper refused to run the trash. A little quotation follows-take your Gravol-:

"Manitoba...an innocent young victim's throat is cut...his struggles and cries are ignored...the man with the knife shows no emotion...the victim is slaughtered and his head is cut off...his flesh is eaten. It's still going on!"

OK, PETA is one sick set of puppies. But there is a method behind their madness. They know very well how to gain attention, whether it be by gratuitous nudity, by the 'celebrity endorsement', from the usual vacuous crew of celebrities who haven't thought an original thought in a decade, and, in this case by giving gratuitous offense. The trick is that there enough people with disposable income (and sometimes those without who send money anyways-hey people like PETA aren't big into either shame nor anything resembling morality beyond their "righteous cause") who can be tweaked by such foul tactics to part with their loot. Like Greenpeace PETA ideologues make their living off this sort of thing. If you want to place them in a circle of Dante's Inferno put them in along with the "hypocrites" of the tele-evangelist crowd. Very similar indeed, merely a different set of "marks".

But speaking of the evangelist crowd, another set of ghouls has promised/threatened to come to Winnipeg to-literally I shit you not- "protest" at the funeral of young Tim Mclean this coming Saturday. The Westboro Baptist Church has to be some sort of Academy Award winner for religious cultism, even down USA way in the "land of the nut and the home of the cult". If you want to read the full story of these crazies see the Wikipedia article on them. You can also access their own bizarre website at the following (hold on to your shorts) http://www.godhatesfags.com

.No, I'm not kidding. This is for real. This group, which seems to be mostly composed of a very inbred set of relatives, has made it a speciality to disrupt funerals. These have been the funerals of victims of gay bashing, of victims of AIDS, victims of industrial accidents and (wait for it) funerals of US soldiers killed in Iraq. Yep, once more I'm not kidding. The idea behind the latter two categories is that every death is evidence of God's punishment for America's sin of abandoning Christianity as defined by the cult. After the mass murder of 5 Amish girls last year the cult threatened to disrupt their funerals, but was "bought off" by an hour of airtime on radio. Needless to say local Baptist ministers here in Winnipeg are appalled by the use of the term 'Baptist' by this group. The various "demons" of the cult include not just homosexuals but also Catholics, Jews, Muslims, Canadians, Chinese, Billy Graham, blacks,Irish, "slant-eyes" and a quazillion other targets.

Well, the cult is, luckily, more than slightly full of bullshit. They have often announced their intentions to picket and never followed through. They have a rather "full slate" in the upcoming weekend as they also have promised/threatened to protest events in Toronto and in Red Deer Alberta at the same time. No doubt "with God all things are possible", but it would still be something of a stretch for the Almighty to arrange for them to be in three places at the same time- beats "two places at the same time" hands down. In the USA ex-servicemen who have become bikers (perhaps a logical progression) have formed the "Patriot Guard Riders' to protect the funerals of servicemen from desecration by these nuts. Should the cult come to Canada's 'Murder City' aka Winnipeg one might imagine that they would meet a rather forceful non-biker response from locals (most of Winnipeg's bikers are either in jail or laying very low). But still...it would be a considerable risk. Hey baby, this ain't Topeka Kansas !

These nuts have inspired a lot of parody efforts. My favourite is the 'Eastboro Baptist Church' site (http://www.godhateseveryoneexceptforus.com ), but there are others ie

God Hates Fags (an English site)

God Hates Figs

God Hates Shrimps

MOLLY'S WICKED SUGGESTION:

Don't let this be a mere exercise in viewing the freaks at the circus. Look above. Molly has given the websites of the two ghoulish organizations that want to denigrate the tragedy that has occured here, and to profit from it. These buggers are open to protest on their sites, and Molly has already done her little bit. No doubt little of the response will be published in the case of PETA and none of it in the case of the Westboro Baptist Church, but you can still bug the bastards and give them a few hemorrhoids. Is this "mean" ? Well yes, but both groups have a modus operandi of always bugging and torturing others. It's all they do. It's about time this was turned back on them . Send your protest to PETA and the Westboro Baptist Church. Tell them Molly sent you, and pass this appeal on.

LOCAL NEWS/CANADIAN LABOUR:

GREYHOUND BUS DRIVERS' UNION RAISES QUESTION IN WAKE OF GRISLY SLAYING:

By this time half the world's population who have access to the mass media have heard of last Wednesday's grisly murder on a Greyhound bus near Portage La Prairie Manitoba. The details- a completely random killing, decapitation of the victim and eating body parts of same are just the sort of bizarre news that captivates the mass media. Sells papers (and TV shows and magazines,etc.) big time. Add the captive audience of passengers on a prairie bus, and you have the news media equivalent of the perfect storm. Friends of the victim, Tim McLean, who have set up a website for condolences have had to shut the open posting access down due to the number of ghouls who drop by to exercise their sick attitudes. The nutbar who did the act, Vince Weiguang Li of Edmonton who was reportedly (maybe) going for a job interview here in Winnipeg, appeared before a judge yesterday and was remanded until some poor court appointed lawyer had the chance("chance" says it all) to interview him. Li maintained a complete silence during the court appearance, refusing to verbally answer any questions posed by the judge. A psychiatric assessment was also ordered. As one radio news reporter commented, "go figure". Molly's first response to the news was her usual graveyard humour, but here is a more measured response.

It's been some time since Molly has had the "pleasure" of riding the dog, but she did it quite frequently in her youth. I doubt that the general picture has changed. If the bus is packed it's was a sure fire guarantee that at least one passenger was flagrantly psychotic (often up to 3), but these people were usually 110% harmless. Mostly they'd sit staring into space absorbed in their own delusions or, at worst, annoy anybody unlucky enough to sit beside them with incomprehensible babble(nuts never sleep by the way). They were always outnumbered by the drunks and the "generally nasty". The insane were usually the least of the worries.

Incidents ? Yeah I saw a few, usually quickly (or slowly and painfully over the course of 100s of miles of annoyance) resolved without the need for the bus driver to take a risk. Occasionally I participated in the "solution". But I did see a few times when the bus driver had to screw up the courage to intervene in the case of a drunk or a nasty(never with a nut). Sometimes the poor drivers have little chance. On February 16th, 2007 a gang of people in their 20s attacked the bus driver near Lloydminster Saskatchewan. This is one of the few incidents that have been reported, but, if things haven't changed since I was young, then actual incidents that are "handled" rather than "reported" are much more common.

The Amalgamated Transit Union represents bus drivers on the Greyhound lines, and they have been calling for improved security on buses for some time. See their website for a complete overview of this incident and what it means. See also the following article from the CTV News about what the company claims and what the union says. Greyhound's main arguing point when discussing security on buses for the last 1 1/2 year with Transport Canada is that such security is "impractical". So is getting off the bus minus your head !!! Isn't it about time that the Dog smartened up to what has been going on for decades ?

The article....

...........................

Greyhound murder raises security questions
The brutal murder of a Greyhound bus passenger is raising questions about the bus line's security practices.

"It should be like at airports, everything gets checked, even your body gets checked," Maria Dueck told CTV News. She was using Greyhound for the first time on Thursday. "It should be the same thing for buses -- people should be safer on the bus; because now I don't feel safe."

Greyhound says the brutal stabbing and decapitation that happened on a bus headed for Winnipeg Wednesday night was a rare and isolated incident(anything to THIS level is, of course, "rare"but day to day "incidents" on Greyhound buses are hardly "rare", as I have pointed out above-Molly).

Right now in the U.S., the company does random wand checks, but they don't have that kind of security in Canada.

The company says it has been discussing ways to improve bus security with Transport Canada for the past year and a half.

"A lot of people have talked about airport style security; but the rural nature of our network doesn't allow us to have that type of security," a spokesperson told CTV News. "It's not practical for us."

The union representing Greyhound bus drivers doesn't agree. It says all passengers and their luggage should get screened before being allowed on a bus. The union says bus drivers would feel more secure and so will passengers.

Drivers and passengers commended
On Thursday afternoon the RCMP commended the driver and passengers of the bus where the murder took place.

"I also want to acknowledge the driver and the other passengers on the bus," Sgt. Steve Calwell said at a news conference.

"What you saw would and what you experienced would shake the most seasoned police officer, yet I'm told that each of you reacted swiftly, calmly, and with bravery. We commend you for your level headedness and strength in the face of truly extreme circumstance. "

MORE ON THE DOG: THE FATE ON WINNIPEG'S DOWNTOWN BUS TERMINAL:
Molly has previously reported on the downtown Greyhound bus terminal (even though it is also a terminal for other bus lines here in Winnipeg) and her opinion is that the terminal should stay where it is despite the opinion of management that the dog is "the domain of the poor and the weird". While not wanting to dispute this definition, having travelled enough on the Dog in her younger days, Molly wants to question the decisions of a management such as Laidlaw that wishes to embark on new capital projects in the face of declining revenue. In other words, the University educated managers know little about real business- is this a surprise ? First Group PLC has announced an offer of $2.8 billion to acquire Greyhound 's corporate owner Laidlaw International Inc. whose main business is focused on school buses- a "captive market". The actions of Laidlaw International to this date have been anything but "profit maximizing" let alone "service maximizing", perhaps because of the fact that the corporate culture has been oriented towards the monopoly of school buses rather than the competitive market of intercity transit.




The parent company of the Dog, Laidlaw , is now based in Illinois after having gone through a two year bankruptcy reorganization and relocating from Ontario to Illinois in 2003. Apparently they didn't do things right then.




May Molly suggest that the previous failures of the Dog were due to poor management decisions and that the idea that the depot should be relocated from downtown to the airport is BOTH socially detrimental (as I have expressed before on this blog) and a foolish management move from simple economics. The best analogy is Walmart trying to sell upscale items which led to a very obvious decrease in Walmart's revenues. Perhaps the Dog is and should remain the purview of "the poor and the weird", and any attempt to change same will result in a drop in revenue, no matter how many millions of dollars you uselessly spend on a new depot out by the airport. Perhaps this is the difference between Molly who runs her own business in a competitive market and the managers of the Dog who have no idea of real competition and are free to dream up any scheme they want. They will be hired, after all, by other corporations at about the same salary no matter how much they destroy the business they worked for originally.





One more example of where "management" rules as opposed to the "capitalist" owners in Molly's great overview of the world, and one more example of where profitability can be subsumed to other managerial derived goals. One where the interests of the managerial ruling class are opposed to the class interests of poor people and perhaps the interests of the shareholders of the corporation in the end. One may also question the effect of a new terminal on other competing bus lines. The OBVIOUS effect is to reduce competition as the other bus lines serve a rural population here in Manitoba. Is the move of the depot a disguised and ill advised attempt to eliminate the competition without a cost-benefit analysis ?





Let the Dog remain as it is, without managerial schemes.
Molly

MORE ON THE WINNIPEG GREYHOUND BUS DEPOT:
There has been more reported on the plans to relocate the Greyhound bus depot here in Winnipeg. Company spokesman Mel Levandoski recently presented more on the company's reasons for planning to relocate to the local media. Any move, however, would be delayed until 2009 when the company's lease on its present facilities expires. With a proper genuflection towards the idea that Greyhound has "to make sure this is the right thing to do for the community, for our customers, for the company" Levandoski went on to present reasons why the move is being contemplated. He mentions that the facility isn't large enough as over 300,000 people used it in 2006. Here Molly asks you to take out a calculator. The "big number" divided by 365 equals 822 in any given day. Molly further asks you to consider the "hours of the day". Let's be generous and say the bus depot is only open 12 hours a day. Divide again. The result is 68 people. It's amazing how fast large numbers become less impressive when looked at in a different perspective. All of these 68 people could bring their whole families to the present depot and there would still be lots of room. The place is not wall to wall people even at its busiest time.
A more serious problem is that the facility was built in 1964 for buses with a length of 13 meters. Present day buses are about three meters long, and according to Levandoski, "often tow five-metre-long cargo trailers". This might present a better case even if the present depot seems to handle this traffic adequately at this time. The "trailers" mentioned should perhaps have a different adverb in the sentence as opposed to "often". Everybody certainly has seen such trailers. Are they "often", "sometimes", "occasionally" or "rarely". Molly's observations would seem to indicate a choice of the latter two rather than the first. It should be noted also that the present day depot does handle buses of the present length. Are there plans to purchase buses that are even longer ? How would these handle on the highways ? Finally, if the length of present day buses is presenting a problem would it perhaps be a call for another facility close to downtown rather than out on the edge of the city ? Once more, a large proportion of the Dog's customers are from rural areas or have limited means and pretty well all of what they want to access in Winnipeg is located downtown.
Levandoski stated that "the company is not looking anywhere but to the airport at the moment". Is this wise management ? Shouldn't other options at least be considered ?
The company spokesman reiterated the Dog's promise to provide a free shuttle service between the city centre and the airport. Try to remember that word free is years to come. It's not quite a promise, but it is being made to try and soften a public relations blow. Other questions come to mind. Is it "free" both ways or just on incoming buses ? What will the hours be for the remaining downtown office ? How frequently will it run- will you have to sit 5 hours at the airport to catch a bus because the shuttle doesn't run often enough ? Does the word "free" mean "included in the (increased) price of a ticket" or really and truly "free". If the latter is meant how can the company save costs so as to keep ticket prices steady ? Can they really do this by incurring a capital debt by new construction and acquiring a new fleet of shuttles ? Seems hard to me to see how you can save money by spending more. A much more likely outcome is an increase in the price of bus tickets.
Finally, for those passengers mentioned who travel to Winnipeg by bus to take a plane, wouldn't it make more sense to have a shuttle for this minority going to the airport ? Without inconveniencing the majority.
More later as this story goes on
Molly

MORE ON THE BALLAD OF THE GREYHOUND:
HELP KEEP THE BUS DEPOT WHERE IT IS:
Since Molly previously reported on Greyhound Canada's plans to relocate the Bud Depot from downtown Winnipeg to the Airport (which now has a name as long and intimidating as a full Lithuanian name) more criticism of the move has surfaced. The Dec 14th edition of the Winnipeg Free Press quotes Charles Cochrane, executive director of Urban Eagle Transition Centre (a group that helps rural native people in their transition to urban life). He says,
"It would be quite a negative effect, because for people coming from out of town it's such a far distance. A lot of people coming in have minimal money so adding an additional $15 or $20 for cab fare. I think it's a huge negative effect."
Cochrane's centre worked with about 350 native clients last year, and his estimate is that 50% used buses to travel to Winnipeg. Sydney Garrioch, Grand Chief of Manitoba Keewtinook Ininew Okimowin which represents about 30 northern communities concurs, and he notes that the present bus depot, with its central location is, "...closer to the hotels,closer to the hospitals and closer to the educational facilities, and its closer to whatever apartments they have surrounding."
Garrioch goes on to note that even with "free shuttles" people with physical disabilities would have to make special arrangements for transportation and that stopovers at the airport would be a great inconvenience for seniors and children commuting to Winnipeg.
A spokesman for the Institute of Urban Studies noted that American (!!!!!!!!-Molly) studies suggested that "...relatively few people walk or use public transit to get to the bus depot", and that taxis and vehicle drop-offs are the preferred way for many. The spokesman was quick to note that this would not be "easier to access for everyone, however".
Here the good cat who has been holding her tongue for so much has to interject. From where I live a taxi to the bus depot is about 7 or 8 dollars. For people living downtown it may be as little as 5 dollars. To the airport from my neighbourhood is 20 to 25 dollars. This is no big deal to our good feline, but it is a flaming,huge, gigantic "big deal" to a great number of people to whom 15 to 20 dollars is a large amount.
There is also the matter of "settling yourself" on arrival in a strange place. I've had plenty of experience in this matter, and I must say that I feel less unease than the average person whether I have been in a bus depot, train station or an airport, even when I am in a foreign country. But the whole experience of arriving in an urban setting is MUCH more upsetting to those who travel in from rural areas. The chaos at ANY airport is immense. To escape it one takes the "free shuttle" provided by 'The Dog' to a spot in "beautiful" (cough,cough) downtown Winnipeg that is far less safe and secure than the present bus depot. Doesn't sound like a good idea to me. Maybe the "shuttle service" will simply dump people on downtown corners- those with the most panhandlers of course- at thirty below. It would, after all, be cheaper that way, and profit is a holy goal. Never mind the feelings- sometimes approaching well deserved terror- of anyone from Puckatiwagan.
Ah well, one less "eyesore" in downtown Winnipeg if the U. of W. takes over the building. One eyesore down and 8,000 to go in this city, some of them created by ill thought out gentrification and "development". If the U. doesn't take over the building, probably knocking the whole thing down and rebuilding, then the "eyesore" of less affluent people entering and leaving a safe building becomes the eyesore of one of the hundreds of abandoned structures in Winnipeg's central core. I guess in that case that the "eyesore" at least doesn't have legs.
Molly in one of her frequent bad moods:
PMS - Post Mouse Syndrome
P.S.
There are indeed a few good reasons to visit Winnipeg, but "sightseeing" the architectural wonders of its downtown outside of the Exchange District is hardly one of them. Turning another building into a blank face if the U. can't bulldoze it would hardly make less of an eyesore.

KEEP THE DOG WHERE IT IS:
This is more local trivia, so if you have no interest in either Winnipeg or buses feel free to skip this item.
The local press is reporting that Greyhound Canada has entered into negotiations with Winnipeg airport officials to move the city's bus depot from downtown to the airport. Greyhound's lease for the downtown facility expires in 2009. The University of Winnipeg has expressed interest in acquiring the property if the Dog should vacate, and there is little doubt that this would be a prime acquisition for the University being as it right across from their main buildings. Even the local MP, Pat Martin of the NDP, has expressed the opinion that move would be a good thing. According to the Winnipeg Free Press he says that,
"Having the bus depot where it is, is an eyesore, a nuisance, a headache, an absolute disaster. It's inappropriate for it to be where it is."
Now, I've met Pat, and he's a very nice man. He's actually one of the few members of the NDP caucus who occasionally takes the socialist name seriously, and his record in Parliament is exemplary. But...I have to disagree with him here, just as some of the bus users who were interviewed by the Free Press did.
Bus depots are always and everywhere an "eyesore" and a "nuisance". It's their nature. They are a large institutional face of the real facts of class differences in society. They are the beggar on the street magnified by a factor of 10,000. Molly can remember many trips on the dreaded "bone shaker" across Canada, with all the insanity that goes with the territory.
But they are still...necessary. For a large number of people it is the only affordable method of intercity transit, ugly and inconvenient as it is. In Europe the trains, which are much more comfortable give a much more efficient method of travel, but in Canada the rail industry has been destroyed by government policy.
Bus users interviewed by the Free Press pointed out that the present location of the Dog is the most convenient for out of town people who must come into Winnipeg from remote communities for medical treatment. It is a quick jump to the dreaded Health Sciences Centre. A shuttle bus just doesn't cut it, unless the taxpayer is-as usual- expected to fork out the dough for a shuttle that has the many stops that out of town people may need. Take it as a given that such a service wouldn't break even if it didn't charge fees equivalent to taxis. Besides that, after a 7 hour ride on the bone shaker the last thing a sick person needs is waiting at 30 below or 30 above for the "shuttle bus". Perhaps standing on the bus if it is too crowded.
Then there is a matter not mentioned by the Free Press article. What about those who wish to leave Winnipeg, a laudable ambition I'm sure. Presently many(most ?) of those who wish to ride the Dog either live in Winnipeg's inner city or are within one reasonable bus ride to the depot. It's what they can afford. Put the depot at the airport and many people would be faced with up to a two hour marathon in the heat or cold with transfers to get to the shuttle and to the airport. Winnipeg's airport is not as inconvenient as some, but it is till "out of the way".
In summation a move to the airport would penalize Winnipeg's poorest citizens even if it would be a convenience for charter buses of sports or music fans coming into the city for events. Molly will continue to follow this story as it develops and do her level best to prevent such a move.
An "eyesore" is the price that society must pay for its sin of having a class system.
Molly