Comments on: One for the Canadians

By: Helen

Helen — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 10:04:35 +0000

Jesus was not a socialist. Holy crap.

I’m not saying he was a capitalist either. I’m saying he was not really driven by economic theory. Sheesh.

By: HippieMan

HippieMan — Sat, 03 Oct 2009 08:21:54 +0000

Jesus was a socialist. Why is it so bad?

By: alexander

alexander — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 02:04:05 +0000

A man goes into a library and asks for a book on suicide.

The librarian says; “F**k off, you won’t bring it back.”

By: 7t67b

7t67b — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 07:54:50 +0000

Oddly, the car talk guys were talking about suicide by car this weekend. They said you probably would still die, but from lack of oxygen rather than too much CO.

By: anonymous

anonymous — Sat, 26 Sep 2009 12:36:02 +0000

Final Exit, by Derek Humphry, has been in publication for over 20 years and is in many public libraries – including Vancouver Public Library. I suspect (but can’t be bothered to waste time verifying) that a group called “Exit International” is associated with or based on that book.

The method for suicide outlined is basically to put a plastic bag over your head and wrap an elastic around your neck. They recommend using a medical face mask if you find it uncomfortable having the plastic bag sucked down your throat as you gasp for the air that the bag prevents you from getting. No mess. Easy to get the supplies. There you go.

But having the book on your shelves that describes that method, and the pros/cons/things to consider for the terminally ill … is it the same as explicitly telling them how to do it? Or demonstrating? I’m not sure. In many ways, being able to have a dialogue seems like a saner solution than just making a how-to manual available.

But I agree with the poster who feels that VPL is covering their legal butts. Nobody deserves to have a suicide on their conscience just because they okay’d a meeting room rental. (Which, oddly, could hold true for the book itself).

Whole lotta grey area, here.

By: Number 6

Number 6 — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 23:42:23 +0000

“Though.” I mean “though.”
That’s it. The final straw…gotta go.

By: Number 6

Number 6 — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 23:40:52 +0000

Well, me too, according to Suicide and Attempted Suicide: Methods and Consequences, cars today just don’t put out enough CO to properly do the job. And pills aren’t that easy either.
Tough I agree with the AL-the meeting should’ve been open to everyone. Hell, with all the unemployed hanging around the libraries these days, it would’ve had more participants than last night’s Guitar Hero session!
Uh, Jay Rockefeller? Eugenics is mostly concerned with offing people before they can spread their supposedly defective genes. People over 50 are generally past that point (Anthony Quinn and Tony Randall nothwithstanding).

By: ecns7

ecns7 — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 13:41:14 +0000

I wouldn’t've minded knowing which drug. I don’t fancy being old & sick & poor in America.

By: BlueJay

BlueJay — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 10:28:41 +0000

I think that there were some things that were missed in your linked article.

This decision was not made on his own; but by City Lawyers… in this world of litigiousness, I think they are protecting themselves.

The session was being held for terminally ill people over 50 year of age.

“We were told in all likelihood this program would be in contravention of Section 241 of the Criminal Code and that states that it is an indictable offence to counsel or aid or abet any person to commit suicide, and this seems sort of, fairly clear to us,” said Whitney.

The maximum sentence if convicted is 14 years, whether a suicide takes place or not.

By: c8neb

c8neb — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 09:55:34 +0000

And we count on old people to keep our stats up.