A no messing around guide to the coolest things to eat, drink and do in Vancouver and beyond. Community. Not clickbait.

On Sweet Skytrain Mods and Home-Owning Boomers Lecturing Millennial Renters

Tea & Two Slices is a long-running local news round-up by NEEDS frontman and veteran dishwasher Sean Orr, who lives and works in Gastown, deeply aware of his privilege.

Put this on the epitaph of late capitalism: Without sick leave, staying home due to COVID-19 ‘not an option’ for precarious workers, B.C. woman says. While we’re lucky to have health care it still highlights the structural pitfalls of systemic inequality in Canada. Even in the…er…socialist haven of Singapore, they pay $100 per day to people who are asked to self-isolate.

An interesting side note, when I went to search for this article on Facebook and Twitter, they both blocked search results and directed me here:

Burnaby landlord ordered to pay $23K for discrimination against smudging tenant. Landlords want their tenants to barely exist as human. Don’t cook, and especially don’t cook curry. Don’t have pets. Don’t have maintenance issues. Don’t give birth. Certainly don’t have any spiritual and cultural practices. And fuck it, don’t even be home.

Oh, and don’t have windows:

I can’t believe this is even a discussion. Jon Stovel of Reliance Properties (notorious for renovictions) seriously thinks putting windows on a glorified $1,200/mo closet is an outdated idea from the 1800s because they want to squeeze more profit from a unit and call it “affordability”? I mean, how dare we expect the same rights as prisoners

New vision for century-old Ross House in Vancouver means homes for marginalized people. This is for everyone who complains about the empty homes tax being ineffective. This is amazing no matter how many times the disgusting TERFS attacking Christine Boyle on Twitter say “this inclusive housing is exclusive”.

Boomer of the day: BC Councillor Says Ditching Lattes Will Help Millennials Buy Homes & The Clap Back Is Real. Yeah, because I’m sure it took her 150 years to save up to buy her house…

Porsche drivers are the real victims: Sports car drivers believe they’re being unfairly targeted in Vancouver. “The SkyTrain is louder than my car”. Yeah, but the Skytrain moves 526,400 people a day so it can be as loud as it fucking wants, asshole. That being said, wouldn’t it be cool if we kitted the Skytrain out with some sick mods like a rear spoiler and some ground effect lighting?

Dangerous trucks are being unfairly targeted for being dangerous: Burnaby truck inspection blitz returns 50% fail rate, pulls 147 vehicles from the road. Once again the logic of late capitalism threatening lives. These drivers are under so much pressure to deliver larger and larger hauls of goods on time for lower pay while trucking companies and the major corporations they deliver for squeeze more and more profit from them.

6 North Shore rapid transit routes possible, province says. Best comment in the ELMTOT group: “Amazing work, but a little sad to see that Lonsdale Quay to Waterfront Passenger Trebuchets was not included as #7”.

Here’s your so-called “paid protesters”: Groups linked to oil companies funded Facebook ads denouncing the rail blockades.

Explosive mortar round found outside Lethbridge supervised consumption site. Garth Mullins of Crackdown Podcast:

It was only a matter of time. When you scapegoat safe injection sites or public sector workers from the legislature, that signal will be received by people who then target them from the streets. This is true throughout history.

Related: ‘I couldn’t live with myself if I didn’t go respond’: Vancouver tenants take lead in overdose prevention.

Bonus: The Kids in the Hall to Return to Amazon With New Episodes.

On Ken Sim’s So-Called “Swagger” and ABC’S Class War

Sean Orr is back from his hiatus with a rundown of the local headlines that have been running on a ticker tape through his mind over the past six months...

On Post-Election Recuperation, Platform Paradoxes and Refund Communities

In his latest read of the local news headlines, Sean Orr finds irony in "safety, affordability, and sustainability", and shouts out a bunch of amazing local organizations working on the frontlines.

On Running for City Council, Playing Whack-a-Mole with Homelessness, and the Public Washroom Deficit

In his latest read of the local news headlines, Sean Orr finds a park ranger with a grudge, a gross misuse of air quotes and Tripadvisor slander.

On Living in a City Preoccupied with Street Cleaning, Chandeliers, and Campaigns Against the Homeless

In his latest read of the local news headlines, Sean Orr hones in on the recent Langley shootings, and the ongoing criminalizing and dehumanizing of the homeless population.