Irving The Layton The Poet Was Gay

In honour of the 100th anniversary of the birth of poet Irving Layton, (Mar 12, 2012) I have composed the following poem. In it I use some unconventional phrasing. I use the word ‘gay’ to mean ‘human.’ I hope you like it Irving, wherever you are.

Irving The Layton The Poet Was Gay

Irving the Layton the poet was gay
Some people even considered him queer
A mensch, he said what he wanted to say.

Born circumcised he didn’t need to pray
His pen and his penis caused much fear
Irving the Layton the poet was gay.

From boyhood in the hood he learned to play
His tongue his temperament both would shear
A mensch, he said what he wanted to say.

He loved the grain to roll in the hay
He loved when the right word would appear
Irving the Layton the poet was gay.

He was original not a closet cliché
He knew what loomed beneath a brassiere
A mensch, he said what he wanted to say.

There was only one law which he could obey
The voice of his heart is all he could hear
Irving the Layton the poet was gay
A mensch, he said what he wanted to say.

– — — — — — — — — — –
More about Irving Layton Centenary events can be seen at:
http://poetry-quebec.com/
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Irving-Layton-Centenary-HUB/305476089472566

CBC Traffic Updates or Poetry?

CBC Montreal Homerun Traffic Reports*
January 23, 2012

• 5:11:07 – 5:13:07 [2:00 minutes]
• 5:18:07 – 5:19:22 [1:15 minutes]
• 5:29:30 – 5:30:00 [0:30 minutes]
• 5:36:12 – 5:37:22 [1:10 minutes]
• 5:51:21 – 5:52:25 [1:04 minutes]
• 5:58:29 – 5:58:56 [0:27 minutes]
TRAFFIC REPORT TOTAL 6:26 minutes

POETRY TOTAL 0:00 minutes

* Time coordinated with National Research Council of Canada Atomic Clock
http://time5.nrc.ca/webclock_e.shtml

The Lesson of Farshad Mohammadi

by Jack Locke

We shoot the homeless to give them a home
A place they can rest eternal in peace
Before a kill the lips of wolves will foam.

Each new sad story is written by a gnome
A scribe whose job is to fabricate a piece
We shoot the homeless to give them a home.

In Montreal murder ticks like metronome
A bullet, a villain, a cop with caprice
Before a kill the lips of wolves will foam.

Recent incidents alone could fill a tome
I hasten to blame the poor-trained police
We shoot the homeless to give them a home.

The repeating quality resembles palindrome
Increase, decrease, but metro-mortem will not cease
Before a kill the lips of wolves will foam.

Three shots got Farshad bim-bam-bome
He will not get a chance to renew his lease
We shoot the homeless to give them a home
Before a kill the lips of wolves will foam.

The Bluenose Will Go Down On Harper’s Watch

by Jack Locke

The Bluenose will go down on Harper’s watch
Our ship will sink on a submerged sand bar
Captain has his crew tightly by the crotch.

He said he sought to raise the jib a notch
But the mainsail adjoining came ajar
The Bluenose will go down on Harper’s watch.

A tyrannical skipper will debauch
To Hell with Halifax harbour, har, har
Captain has his crew tightly by the crotch.

Anticipating doom I reach for a Scotch
But put it flat down in order to spar
The Bluenose will go down on Harper’s watch.

Westerlies have brought a squalling Sasquatch
Who has escaped from northern sandy tar
Captain has his crew tightly by the crotch.

His mastering of bait is topnotch
Self-aggrandizement is what his plans are
The Bluenose will go down on Harper’s watch
Captain has his crew tightly by the crotch.

In A Recent 5-4 Ruling

by Jack Locke

In a recent 5-4 ruling
The Supreme Court decided
That a school of fish schooling
Had into a shark suicided.

The presumption of consumption
Was clearly prejudicial,
We must assume that assumption
And that death by intention is official.

While no autopsy was conducted
And no remains found
The coroner incorrectly deducted
That the cause of death was sound.

And though the chewing was likely loud
Costs to the shark, appeal disallowed.

Montreal International Poetry Prize Announced

The $50,000 Montreal International Poetry Prize has been announced.
Congrats to Australian Mark Tredinnick for his poem: Walking Underwater. And congrats to the organizers.
http://montrealprize.com/competition/2011-montreal-prize-winner/
Walking Underwater is not my cup of tea, but who am I to judge?
What are your thoughts about the Prize or the poem?

There is little fresh bread now to be had…

There is little time left to read my latest published Poem: There Is Little Fresh Bread Now To Be Had. Of course, fresh poetry never goes stale.

Or you can download it as a .pdf by CLICKING HERE

Railways blame the victims, again

by Jack Locke

As Canada’s Senate debates the minutiae of Bill S-4, “An Act to amend the Railway Safety Act…,” it did not take long this morning for the railway industry to deny responsibility for safety.

“Highest level of safety can only be accomplished through one thing – Stop the train.
That’s the way you get the highest level of safety. You simply stop the trains. You can’t stop the trains,” suggested Cliff MacKay, president and CEO of the Railway Association of Canada.

No one was suggesting that the government should stop the trains, but if that’s what the industry believes is the only way to achieve the highest level of safety, maybe the government should? Or maybe the rail industry must take ownership for safety?

Under the current Railway Safety Act, it is the responsibility of railways to ensure safe operations.

“To recognize the responsibility of railway companies in ensuring the safety of their operations,” is currently a stated objective in the Railway Safety Act, but it’s been targeted for deletion.

MacKay’s testimony struck another nasty, sour point when he told the senators what is being done to reduce railway fatalities. He told the committee that Operation Lifesaver was doing significant work on raising awareness about the dangers of his industry. Operation Lifesaver is a “partnership initiative of the Railway Association of Canada and Transport Canada.”

Operation Lifesaver works “around issues of trespass — which is also very dangerous as we saw, unfortunately, not too long ago in Montreal where we had 3 young people killed…” said MacKay.

Once again, the railway industry is attributing blame on the victims, rather than looking in their own mirror.

The VIA Rail train that killed Dylan Ford, Ricardo Conesa, and Mitchell Bracken-Guenet on October 31, 2010 was possibly speeding, did not have an oscillating headlight, was travelling at an unscheduled time, and did not apply its brakes until after striking the youths. And, by legal definition, the three boys were not trespassing.

Yet, once again the railway industry fails to acknowledge its roll in the deaths. Shame, shame, shame.

And VIA Rail has not been forthcoming on this incident either. They refused to disclose documents related to the deaths when I requested access to the documents.

According to MacKay, VIA trains are particularly dangerous because of the speed they sometimes travel.

“VIA travels… sometimes up to 140 (kilometres per hour) plus,” said MacKay.

Without proper safeguards in place to ensure the safety of Canadians, maybe we should Stop the Trains? Or at the very least, ensure that railways take responsibility for safety.

The Lesson I’ve Learned From Osama

by Jack Locke

The lesson I’ve learned from Osama
Is not to think lightly of Obama,
Though much blood has been spilled
And bin has been killed
It’s not likely the denouement of the drama.

I know it’s a blow bearing the brunt of trauma
’cause tragedy, tragically, follows with a comma
When loathing militates
And violence elevates
It shows we’re no smarter than a four-legged llama.

Elegy for the CBC

by Jack Locke

When budget cuts and bleeding are all done
Caused by callous, indiscriminate broadaxe
Mother corp victims will limp, limp not run.

Gutted will be radio three, two, one
Left will be no lefty yakety-yaks
When budget cuts and bleeding are all done.

Any critique of Steve won’t see the sun
Unemployment to those who utter wise cracks
Mother corp victims will limp, limp not run.

The news will confuse after its spun
Duck! When Propaganda Canada quacks
When budget cuts and bleeding are all done.

We’d better adapt to Calgary fashion
And insulate our unheated shacks
Mother corp victims will limp, limp not run.

A long-held grudge is an ugly weapon
Prepare for unrivalled covert attacks
When budget cuts and bleeding are all done
Mother corp victims will limp, limp not run.

Investigation: Initial summary findings

by Jack Locke

File photo showing Turcot tunnel area where VIA train came to rest

1. The train that killed Dylan Ford, Mitchell Bracken-Guenet, and Ricardo Conesa on Oct. 31, 2010 was travelling at a high speed through the Turcot area of Montreal, estimated at 113 kilometres per hour(70 mph);

2. The five young men who were on, or near, the track received no warning of the train’s approach;

3. The engineer of a train driving at night with a headlamp and ditch lights should be able to see a man 800 feet ahead of the train. Travelling at 70 mph, this should have given the VIA engineer 8 seconds visual warning prior to impact;

4. The Montreal Police Service will not confirm whether or not the engineer of the train was tested for drugs or alcohol;

5. The Transportation Safety Board of Canada notes that 427 persons have been struck and killed by trains in the past five years. The calling of these people ¨trespassers” is inaccurate and is a matter that needs to be addressed by the TSB. They have investigated none of these deaths;

6. VIA Rail will not disclose any information regarding their investigation, nor will they disclose information recorded by the Locomotive Event Recorder(which records important train activity);

7. A gyrating light that allows greater awareness and visibility is not a required piece of equipment on Canadian trains.

8. VIA Rail has not assumed responsibility for the tragedy.

MORE DETAILS ARE FOUND IN BLOG ENTRIES BELOW

Strahl retires, documents upcoming

by Jack Locke

Canada’s Minister of Transport Chuck Strahl has announced his retirement.
I wish you well, Chuck.
Also, I await documents from one of his agencies, the Transportation Safety Board–related to the Turcot Train Tragedy.
I am hoping for a Tsunami of documents.

Was deadly bullet train speeding?

by Jack Locke

New documents released by the Transportation Safety Board of Canada, following a Lockeblog access to information request, suggest the VIA Rail train that killed three Montreal-area boys on Oct. 31, 2010 may have been speeding.

Aerial photo shows railway area west of Turcot Tunnel where 3 boys were killed.

The fast moving train that killed Dylan Ford, Mitchell Bracken-Guenet, and Ricardo Conesa was about to enter a 35 mph zone when it struck the teens. Yet, the brakes on the train were not applied until after the three were struck.

Various accounts describe the train travelling at between 63 and 70 mph. An initial Transport Saftey Board(TSB) account lists the train travelling at 70 mph at mileage point 4.7 of Canadian National Railway’s track. CN is the owner of the track used by VIA.

A VIA Rail accident report suggests the train was travelling at “approximately” 63 mph at mileage 4.5 when the young men were hit at 3 AM the morning of Oct. 31.

However, a CN incident document describes the location as point 3.97. This raises uncertainty as to the precise location of the mishap.

CN’s operating rules say the speed limit for the involved train is 65 mph for a section of track from milepost 4.0 to 7.5. The speed limit for the train from milepost 4.0 to 3.6 is 35 mph. Therefore, if the train was travelling at 70 mph, it would have been exceeding the speed limit by 5 mph. If the accident occurred at point 3.97, the train would have been moving at nearly twice the speed limit.

As the train was either travelling in, or approaching, the slower section of track, normally the train’s air brakes should have been engaged, but had not been.

VIA Rail has admitted that the emergency brakes were not applied until after the youngsters were struck, and that the locomotive engineers did not see the three boys walking on the tracks.

As the aerial photo shows, the area where the boys were struck is bordered by highways that have overhead street lamps. Also, the train has a main headlight that is supposed to illuminate 800 feet ahead of the train. VIA says that only secondary ditch lights were in operation.

A question that must be raised in the Turcot Train Tragedy is: Why had VIA Rail train 668 not reduced its speed from approximately 70 mph as it approached a 35 mph zone?

Oil companies give me gas

by Jack Locke

Dear Michael Ignatieff,

I have taken your advice and I am Rising Up! I filed my complaint today over what I perceive to be abusive and unlawful gas pump price fixing. If you care to join me in rising up, you can follow the link below and file a complaint.

When federal, provincial, and municipal governments siphon off 25 – 35 percent of the price of a litre of gasoline in taxes, they have a disincentive to keep its price down. And no desire to protect consumers from rapacious oil giants.

In 2005, Canada’s Competition Bureau conducted an empirical study to test whether the large gasoline price increases observed in the spring and summer of 2004 were the results of anti-competitive acts.

“…there is no unusual pricing behaviour in the Canadian gasoline industry that would support a claim of anti-competitive behaviour,” the bureau concluded.

Here’s how they came to that conclusion:

In case you are wondering, “D” stands for dummy. I joke not.

Shell Canada Limited explains the appearance of collusion as merely a well-functioning free market on their website.

“We take this matter very seriously and Shell complies with all federal competition laws. The explanation is simple. At Shell, we are competitive on price at the local level, so what may look like unlawful collusion from a consumer perspective is really a highly competitive market working well,” explains Shell.

I beg to differ, and I have filed a complaint with the competition bureau. Michael, if you or anyone you know would like to file a complaint also, please join me. You can do so online at:

http://www.competitionbureau.gc.ca/eic/site/cb-bc.nsf/frm-eng/GH%C3%89T-7TDNA5
If you wish to read my complaint, please read on….

Competition Bureau lacks drawers

by Jack Locke

Here is the Canadian Competition Bureau’s reply to my complaint. It took them less than 24 hours to respond, indicating to me that they mean business, or are in cahoots with business.

Competition Bureau | 50 Victoria Street, Gatineau, Quebec K1A 0C9

www.competitionbureau.gc.ca

Our File: R582678

Dear Mr. Locke:

Thank you for the information you provided regarding Gasoline prices

The Competition Bureau, as an independent law enforcement agency, ensures that Canadian businesses and consumers prosper in a competitive and innovative marketplace. The Bureau is responsible for the administration and enforcement of the Competition Act, which includes provisions against price fixing, price maintenance and abusive behaviour by a dominant firm resulting in a lessening of competition. The Act applies to gasoline and other petroleum products markets.

The Bureau has the power to deal with illegal behaviour affecting competition and it takes its responsibilities seriously. The Bureau has examined the petroleum industry over the years and, when warranted by the evidence, has taken enforcement action. Where Bureau investigators secure sufficient evidence of an offence, the Commissioner will not hesitate to refer the case to the Director of Public Prosecutions for prosecution.

Businesses are generally free to set their own prices, at whatever levels the market will bear. Individual gasoline suppliers taking advantage of tight supply to increase their prices would not raise issues because charging high prices at times of actual or anticipated excess demand, is not contrary to the Act. However, when there is evidence that high prices are the result of anti-competitive conduct subject to the Act, the Bureau will investigate and take appropriate action.

Over time, prices tend to reflect costs, and so gasoline prices tend to follow changes in crude oil prices. However, other factors can also affect gasoline prices, including local market conditions, shortages of refined gasoline, and uncertainty about the adequacy of future supplies which can add a risk premium to prices.

Should you have specific information indicating that gasoline prices in your area are the result of an agreement among competitors, or some other type of anti-competitive behaviour, I encourage you to forward that information to the Bureau.

It should be noted that the federal government does not control the price of most goods and services sold in Canada, including gasoline. Except in the event of a national emergency, only the provinces have the authority to regulate gasoline prices.

You may also want to visit the Bureau’s web site, at www.competitionbureau.gc.ca, for further information on the Bureau’s activities relating to gasoline. For general information on fuel prices, oil and gasoline markets and ways to manage energy costs, please visit Natural Resources Canada’s Fuel Focus at www.fuelfocus.nrcan.gc.ca

We invite you to visit our Web site, www.competitionbureau.gc.ca, to learn more about the work of the Competition Bureau and to access public information on case developments and general information about our programs and activities.

Thank you again for taking the time to bring this matter to our attention.

Jennifer Dunn

Competition Bureau Information Officer

1-800-348-5358 | facsimile 819-997-0324 | ATS/TTY 1-800-642-3844
www.competitionbureau.gc.ca

Why we can’t trust the Competition Bureau

by Jack Locke

There could be hell to pay for suggesting one of Calgary’s top law firms is behind the reason Canadians cannot trust the federal Competition Bureau.

It could also explain why the Competition Bureau has not found the oil and gas industry guilty of collusion or price fixing.

Imagine you are the Commissioner of Canada’s Competition Bureau. Melanie L. Aitken can do so, because she fills that position.

Melanie L. Aitken, Competition Bureau Commissioner, former partner at Bennett Jones.

Ms. Aitken joined the Bureau in 2004 and was appointed the head of the agency on August 4, 2009, for a five-year term. But before she joined government, she was a lawyer in private practice and in 2003 became a partner in the Toronto law office of Bennett Jones, the prestigious Calgary legal services firm.

Bennett Jones’s roster has included such luminaries as former Alberta premier Peter Lougheed and former Supreme Court Justice and Air India inquiry investigator John Major, amongst others.

“From 2003 to 2005, Ms. Aitken was a partner at Bennett Jones LLP, practising commercial and competition litigation,” reads Ms. Aitken’s official government biography.

Bennett Jones is oil and gas power central. They’ve represented Canadian oil giants like Shell Canada and international giants such as the Korea National Oil Company, and have provided legal services to multi-billion dollar oil and gas deals.

“The reputation of Bennett Jones has been built upon the oil industry, and that is especially true of our Calgary office” the Bennett Jones website proclaims. There can be no disputing it.

However, their influence in shifting Canada’s integrity has to be questioned.

Ms. Aitken’s predecessor at the Competition Bureau, Sheridan Scott, stepped down in 2009. After leaving public service, Ms. Scott, joined Bennett Jones to work in their Ottawa office and is now a partner with the firm.

Former Competition Bureau head Sheridan Scott.

Sheridan Scott was Canada’s Commissioner of Competition from 2004 to 2009. She oversaw at least one empirical study(2005) that looked at gasoline prices from production to retail pumps which concluded everything is legal and above board.

But the study’s conclusion was not a true investigation in the criminal sense. It was a white paper that served as a poorly produced defence of gasoline prices.

Calling for an investigation into price-fixing, collusion, abuse of market dominance is what I had called for when I filed a Competition Bureau complaint earlier this week. (see Oil Companies Give Me Gas, Lockeblog, May 17, 2011.)

The reply from the Competition Bureau was far too swift and far too toothless for a body that is composed for the purpose of protecting Canadian citizens and consumers. Their reply was not much different than one I would expect from the offices of Bennett Jones.

“Businesses are generally free to set their own prices, at whatever levels the market will bear. Individual gasoline suppliers taking advantage of tight supply to increase their prices would not raise issues because charging high prices at times of actual or anticipated excess demand, is not contrary to the Act.”

It did not answer the issue in my complaint, but I must admit it was a very good non-answer.

Latest published poem

I Am A Cowboy From Hat To Boot
by Jack Locke

I am a cowboy from hat to boot
Mangy as a banjo or a range cayoot
I’m as handsome as any handsome horse
That ain’t saying much, of course.

I love to rope and I love the girls
But not the ones roped with pearls
I love the cows that lick my face
But I’ll marry but one to keep me in place.

I am a cowboy from hat to boot
Polite as a gentleman and just as astute
I’ll shoot off my mouth quick as a gun
If I see anyone hurting anyone.

I am a proud cowboy shoeing a poem,
Seeking a warm barn to call my home.

How Far Have I Travelled? Yet, I Am Home

by JACK LOCKE
(Published in VIA destinations magazine, Aug. 2011)

How far have I travelled? Yet, I am home
Life’s short road intersects with soft pillow
No matter the where, my comfort will come.

In every city, every town there are some
I left Calgary when future grew fallow
How far have I travelled? Yet, I am home.

In every village hides conflict and crime
Allowing much poverty to follow
No matter the where, my comfort will come.

Troubles, I have only myself to blame
To cast fault is shameful and shallow
How far have I travelled? Yet, I am home.

As I search for square of blackest loam
In which to plant potatoes to swallow
No matter the where, my comfort will come.

In every ville there is harmony and rhyme
In every face there’s sunshine of Apollo
How far have I travelled? Yet, I am home,
No matter the where, my comfort will come.

I Love This City With A Love Precarious

by Jack Locke

I love this city with a love precarious
There is no quadrant extant without breeze
Its potholes and knotholes are nefarious.

Mosquitoes here are non-malarious
But taxes bite more vicious than fleas
I love this city with a love precarious.

I don’t dance nor sing but enjoy vicarious
As artists perform perfect as they please
Its potholes and knotholes are nefarious.

With cultures and culprits so various
It fosters a certain vibrant unease
I love this city with a love precarious.

Here government governs hilarious
While universities bestow serious degrees
Its potholes and knotholes are nefarious.

The sidewalks of Montreal are gregarious
Grey and crumbling like me and my knees
I love this city with a love precarious
Its potholes and knotholes are nefarious.

Labour Day at the PMO

No statement by our Prime Minister re: Labour Day. That’s a statement.

 

Stephen Gadhafi, Prime Minister of Harperica

by Jack Locke

You can’t turn your back on him for a second.

The dictator of Calgary Southwest has commenced his shredding of democracy.

Take a look at the Government of Canada website

Harper government invests in new energy efficiency initiatives

7 September 2011

The Honourable Joe Oliver, Minister of Natural Resources, announced today that the Government of Canada is investing $78 million over the next two years to create jobs in the energy sector and save Canadian homeowners money while improving energy efficiency.

Harper Government takes another step towards eliminating job-killing red tape

6 September 2011

Today, Minister of State Maxime Bernier (Small Business and Tourism), and chair of the Red Tape Reduction Commission, announced the Commission has taken another step toward cutting job-killing red tape with the release of the Commission’s What Was Heard Report.

We miss you Jack.

Harper Government abuse of power

What will Canada's Harper do next?

by Jack Locke

I yearn for the good old days, when the Government of Canada was known for patronage, nepotism, and contract granting to pals. Now, they’ve gone too far.

Recently, the Harper Government has been using the people’s resources to promote His empire. It is clearly an abuse of power.

“Harper Government Invests in New Energy Efficiency Initiatives,” proclaims a headline on the government’s website. Other headlines also start with the blatant commercialization of Him, “Harper Government takes another step towards eliminating job-killing red tape.”

The Right Honourable has expropriated the government service for his own political aggrandizement.

The poor public service technicians must have been bullied by this new policy, obviously agreed to by a gang of Harper’s hand-selected, election-planning plotters.

Soon, expect to see Harper’s mug on the twenty-dollar bill. The multitudinous ways in which his creative team of hijackers can manipulate communications for their venal purposes is unlimited. They will bend the rules, rewrite the rules, or as in the present case, abuse the rules.

It is a sad day when Harper and his scallywags can play political mischief with near impunity.

Their reintroduction of the word Royal to Canada’s Air Force is prescient. It is not only the Air Force that is a Royal.

Government of Canada standard returns

by Jack Locke

It may be a coincidence, it may be a new headline writer, but Lockeblog is pleased to note that the Government of Canada has returned to the practice of calling itself, “the Government of Canada,” rather than “the Harper Government.”

From The official Government of Canada website
Government of Canada Announces First Recipients of the Banting Postdoctoral Fellowships
Ottawa, September 15, 2011 — The Honourable Gary Goodyear, Minister of State (Science and Technology) today announced the inaugural 70 recipients of the Banting Postdoctoral Fellowships. This announcement is in line with the Government of Canada’s commitment to making our country a global centre of excellence in research, innovation and higher learning.

Canuck Keystone Kops Promote Keystone Pipeline

by Jack Locke

Harvard grad, Joe Oliver, Canada's Minister of Natural Resources puts Canada second

You would think the Government of Canada would put the interests of Canada first, in front of the interests of other nations. Unfortunately, Canada’s current government is putting the interests of continental energy security ahead of Canadian energy security.

“Minister Oliver also took the opportunity to reiterate the government’s strong support for the construction of the Keystone XL pipeline, noting that ‘the Government of Canada believes the project is an important plank in building continental energy security,’” states a Sept. 23 press release by Canada’s Department of Natural Resources. The release was titled, Minister Oliver Touts Canada’s Energy Resources and Economic Strengths.

But the TransCanada PipeLines Limited Keystone XL project’s true plank is to provide America with energy security.

“KXL has the potential to be an economic boon for Montana’s economy by increasing jobs and tax revenues and opening up potential new markets for oil from our Bakken and Williston formations,” wrote Montana’s straight-shooting Governor Brian Schweitzer, in a May 2010 letter to U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

“The pipeline could also potentially enhance U.S. energy security…” he adds.

What’s not said is that the pipeline could potentially harm Canadian energy and economic security. By transporting vast quantities of non-renewable, raw oil products, Canada will lose the opportunity to create new jobs through further refinement before shipping.