Cyclists will gather at Central Park on Friday June 30 at 4:30pm to celebrate what is anticipated to be the largest Critical Mass ride in Winnipeg’s history.
Critical Mass is a monthly celebration of human-powered transport aimed at creating a leaner, greener culture. Critical Mass began in San Francisco in 1992, and has grown to include over 300 cities worldwide. City councillors, pastors, grandparents, students, business owners, and life-long bicycle commuters will gather to celebrate their independence from the soaring cost of gasoline and the harmful effects of car culture.
“The euphoria that comes from riding together with a big group of happy cyclists is something that everyone should experience. Car-filled streets can be so hostile, but a bunch of bikes make them beautiful” says year-round commuter Cliff Lee.
While wary of the recent history of police brutality that has marred past Critical Mass rides, cyclists are optimistic that the upcoming ride will be fun and safe for all. In an open email to cyclists, police officer Frank May wrote that the Winnipeg Police Service would make “an effort to negotiate the groundwork for a peaceful ride on June 30th 2006 and rides there after (sic).”
[The police have been the primary source of violence at past rides. The key to a peaceful Critical Mass is for the police to refrain from abusing their power.]
Thursday, June 29, 2006
Tuesday, June 27, 2006
Earth Justice Gathering
The crisis in Ontario's Boreal Forests is heating up. While much of the world is aware of the devastating destruction occurring in the Amazon rainforests, many people do not realize the other important remaining intact forest ecosystem left on earth is the Canadian Boreal forest. Not only is this vast mosaic of forests, river, wetlands and lakes a breeding ground for billions of birds and home to the endangered woodland caribou, but it stores more carbon than any other terrestrial ecosystem, making it one of our first lines of defense against global warming, and provides more freshwater than any other place on earth. The various provincial governments in Canada have already allocated most of the productive timber lands to logging companies and almost all logging is done through clear-cuts, some as large as 20 000 acres. Logging and mining are moving further north threatening this vital forest ecosystem and the traditional territory of many First Nations in Ontario.
On December 2, 2002, the indigenous youth of Grassy Narrows lay down in the path of industrial logging trucks, blocking access to their traditional lands and sparking what is now the longest standing indigenous blockade in Canada.
This summer, the Rainforest Action Network and Forest Ethics invite you to a week of workshops, trainings, stories, campfires, feasting, music, and action at the Grassy Narrows blockade. Join us, to support this visionary action, deepen our understanding of the issues, and build the bonds between indigenous land struggles and the environmental movement.Although the blockade still stands strong, logging companies (Weyerhaeuser and Abitibi) are still destroying parts of Grassy Narrows' traditional lands, and the McGuinty government refuses to address the growing crisis of unresolved native land rights conflicts and habitat destruction in the great northern Boreal forest.
We are working closely with community leaders from Grassy Narrows who have invited supporters of social, economic, and ecological justice to support their blockade and to bring the action into the stores that sell this wood, the legislatures that pass the laws, the boardrooms that make the decisions, and to broad public attention in the media. Let us answer their call.
Transportation is being arranged from key regions to Grassy Narrows (near Kenora Ontario, Canada). Gas subsidies will be provided to people who bring a full vehicle.
Please Contact:
Northern First Nations: Jocelyn Cheechoo - jocelyncheechoo@ran.org
Toronto and Southern Ontario: Kim Fry – kimf@forestethics.org/416-452-4199
Thunder Bay and Northern Ontario: Damien Lee - connectwithdamien@gmail.com
Winnipeg and Manitoba: Shelagh – cuban_cigarra@hotmail.com
Wisconsin and Minnesota: Bob Poeschl - carpepax@riseup.net
Unions, Student Unions, activist groups, etc. are encouraged to sponsor a vehicle or contribute to the cost of a bus. Contact Kim Fry at kimf@forestethics.org
Expected Workshops:
Nonviolent Direct Action
Decolonization
Native Land Rights
Activist Legal Defense
Traditional Stories
Boreal Ecology
Tree Climbing
Media Activism
Creative Resistance
Radical Cheerleading
Forest Defense Tactics and Strategies
Accommodation will be vehicle access tenting. Some meals will be communal. However, people are encouraged to be self-sufficient. More details to come.
For more information, logistical details and updates check out www.freegrassy.org and www.forestethics.ca
On December 2, 2002, the indigenous youth of Grassy Narrows lay down in the path of industrial logging trucks, blocking access to their traditional lands and sparking what is now the longest standing indigenous blockade in Canada.
This summer, the Rainforest Action Network and Forest Ethics invite you to a week of workshops, trainings, stories, campfires, feasting, music, and action at the Grassy Narrows blockade. Join us, to support this visionary action, deepen our understanding of the issues, and build the bonds between indigenous land struggles and the environmental movement.Although the blockade still stands strong, logging companies (Weyerhaeuser and Abitibi) are still destroying parts of Grassy Narrows' traditional lands, and the McGuinty government refuses to address the growing crisis of unresolved native land rights conflicts and habitat destruction in the great northern Boreal forest.
We are working closely with community leaders from Grassy Narrows who have invited supporters of social, economic, and ecological justice to support their blockade and to bring the action into the stores that sell this wood, the legislatures that pass the laws, the boardrooms that make the decisions, and to broad public attention in the media. Let us answer their call.
Transportation is being arranged from key regions to Grassy Narrows (near Kenora Ontario, Canada). Gas subsidies will be provided to people who bring a full vehicle.
Please Contact:
Northern First Nations: Jocelyn Cheechoo - jocelyncheechoo@ran.org
Toronto and Southern Ontario: Kim Fry – kimf@forestethics.org/416-452-4199
Thunder Bay and Northern Ontario: Damien Lee - connectwithdamien@gmail.com
Winnipeg and Manitoba: Shelagh – cuban_cigarra@hotmail.com
Wisconsin and Minnesota: Bob Poeschl - carpepax@riseup.net
Unions, Student Unions, activist groups, etc. are encouraged to sponsor a vehicle or contribute to the cost of a bus. Contact Kim Fry at kimf@forestethics.org
Expected Workshops:
Nonviolent Direct Action
Decolonization
Native Land Rights
Activist Legal Defense
Traditional Stories
Boreal Ecology
Tree Climbing
Media Activism
Creative Resistance
Radical Cheerleading
Forest Defense Tactics and Strategies
Accommodation will be vehicle access tenting. Some meals will be communal. However, people are encouraged to be self-sufficient. More details to come.
For more information, logistical details and updates check out www.freegrassy.org and www.forestethics.ca
Monday, June 26, 2006
The Honourable Monte Solberg, P.C., M.P.
Citizenship and Immigration Canada
Ottawa, ON K1A 1L1
Monday, June 26, 2006
Re: Abdelkader Belaouni
Dear Monte Solberg,
I write this letter to draw attention to Mr. Abdelkader Belaouni’s case, in response to a call for support from the Committee to Support Abdelkader Belaouni. Mr. Abdelkader Belaouni has taken sanctuary in St. Gabriel's Church in Point St. Charles, Montreal in order to avoid deportation.
Since moving to Montreal nearly three years ago, Mr. Belaouni has worked hard to achieve a life of dignity, autonomy and security for himself. However, as is the case of many thousands of other non-status people living in Canada, Immigration Canada left Abdelkader no choice but to defy the deportation order and take sanctuary. As the francophone branch of Amnesty International Canada wrote, "Pour que cesse cette quête pour une vie meilleure et au nom de la dignité humaine, Amnistie internationale vous demande d'accorder immédiatement à Monsieur Belaouni le statut de résident permanent, pour motifs humanitaires."
As a result of the significant contributions and strong connections Abdelkader has made in his community, and more broadly in Montreal, Abdelkader he has seen an outpouring of support from national and Montreal-based organizations and countless individuals since taking sanctuary. While confined to the rooms of St. Gabriel's Church for more than three months, his struggle against deportation and for status continues.
Please accept Mr. Belaouni as a Canadian citizen.
Sincerely,
Ottawa, ON K1A 1L1
Monday, June 26, 2006
Re: Abdelkader Belaouni
Dear Monte Solberg,
I write this letter to draw attention to Mr. Abdelkader Belaouni’s case, in response to a call for support from the Committee to Support Abdelkader Belaouni. Mr. Abdelkader Belaouni has taken sanctuary in St. Gabriel's Church in Point St. Charles, Montreal in order to avoid deportation.
Since moving to Montreal nearly three years ago, Mr. Belaouni has worked hard to achieve a life of dignity, autonomy and security for himself. However, as is the case of many thousands of other non-status people living in Canada, Immigration Canada left Abdelkader no choice but to defy the deportation order and take sanctuary. As the francophone branch of Amnesty International Canada wrote, "Pour que cesse cette quête pour une vie meilleure et au nom de la dignité humaine, Amnistie internationale vous demande d'accorder immédiatement à Monsieur Belaouni le statut de résident permanent, pour motifs humanitaires."
As a result of the significant contributions and strong connections Abdelkader has made in his community, and more broadly in Montreal, Abdelkader he has seen an outpouring of support from national and Montreal-based organizations and countless individuals since taking sanctuary. While confined to the rooms of St. Gabriel's Church for more than three months, his struggle against deportation and for status continues.
Please accept Mr. Belaouni as a Canadian citizen.
Sincerely,
Friday, June 23, 2006
being unwell enough to not go to the theatre...
Anarchism: The principles or practice of anarchy, or anarchists.
Sir Edward Dering,. 1642. A collection of speeches in matters of religion: p 153
"This Bill..will prove the mother of absolute Anarchisme."
Thomas Blount. 1656. Glossographia, or a dictionary interpreting such hard words..as are now used.
"Anarchism, the Doctrine, Positions or Art of those that teach anarchy; also the being itself of the people without a Prince or Ruler."
Sir C. Dilke. 1882. Daily News 3 July 2/6
"Russian Nihilism, German Social Democracy, and French Anarchism were, in a high degree, the children of Protection."
G. B. Shaw. 1893. The Impossibilities of Anarchism.
J. A. Estey. 1913. Revolutionary Syndicalism v. 128
"The ‘veritable abyss’, which separates the ideal of Anarchism (i.e. philosophic Anarchism) from the ideal of Syndicalism."
New Statesman. 1962 7 Sept. 287/1
"His method is to examine the ‘Family Tree’ of anarchism, with its roots in Lao-Tse, Zeno and the Essenes."
Sir Edward Dering,. 1642. A collection of speeches in matters of religion: p 153
"This Bill..will prove the mother of absolute Anarchisme."
Thomas Blount. 1656. Glossographia, or a dictionary interpreting such hard words..as are now used.
"Anarchism, the Doctrine, Positions or Art of those that teach anarchy; also the being itself of the people without a Prince or Ruler."
Sir C. Dilke. 1882. Daily News 3 July 2/6
"Russian Nihilism, German Social Democracy, and French Anarchism were, in a high degree, the children of Protection."
G. B. Shaw. 1893. The Impossibilities of Anarchism.
J. A. Estey. 1913. Revolutionary Syndicalism v. 128
"The ‘veritable abyss’, which separates the ideal of Anarchism (i.e. philosophic Anarchism) from the ideal of Syndicalism."
New Statesman. 1962 7 Sept. 287/1
"His method is to examine the ‘Family Tree’ of anarchism, with its roots in Lao-Tse, Zeno and the Essenes."
Week 2 of inner ear infection, still dizzy and pukey...
Nevertheless, here are two things:
#1
Listen.
#2
Stockwell Day, MP, P.C.
House of Commons
Ottawa ON K1A 0A6
Suite 202, 301 Main Street
Penticton BC V2A 5B7
Dear Stockwell Day,
I support the detainees Mohammad Mahjoub, Mahmoud Jaballah, and Hassan Almrei. These men's lives are in danger and they need a solution now.
Mahmoud Jaballah and Mohammad Mahjoub have been on hunger strike since May 23, with Hassan Almrei hunger striking an additional ten days. Mahjoub (held since June, 2000), Jaballah (held seven months in 1999, and since August, 2001) and Almrei (held since October 2001) are feeling not only the effects of the hunger strike, but are also sweltering in a retrofitted classroom portable which has no air conditioning. When Mr. Jaballah was removed from his cell at 2 am with breathing problems, he didn’t see a nurse until almost six hours later.
Two simple demands remain at the core of the hunger strike:
1. The men want access to a canteen (which holds snack foods), much as they had access to at Metro West Detention Centre. The government claims concerns over who would handle the detainees' money have prevented them from setting this up. The men have put forward a half dozen workable solutions, but the federal government refuses to budge. Because their daily meals do not provide enough food, the men need the canteen to stave off hunger pangs.
2. Proper phone access. At Metro West, the men could dial out and speak with anyone they chose to from early morning until early evening. Currently, the men are allowed three 20 minute calls per day. However, they must put in a written request an hour before each call is made. If, for example, they call their lawyer, and are informed s/he won't be back for ten minutes, they cannot call ten minutes later. They must put in another phone request, wait an hour, and then hope the lawyer will be there. The limited phone access sharply curtails their ability to maintain contact with their families as well.
Representatives of the Canadian Border Services Agency, which runs “Guantanamo North,” have assured campaign members that the men's health is their top priority (even though they are trying to deport them to torture). But to allow human beings to go over a month without nutrition is simply heartless. For the federal government to refuse to fix these simple problems, especially after the light that was shone on security certificates over the past month with the Supreme Court hearings, is shameful.
Sincerely,
#1
Listen.
#2
Stockwell Day, MP, P.C.
House of Commons
Ottawa ON K1A 0A6
Suite 202, 301 Main Street
Penticton BC V2A 5B7
Dear Stockwell Day,
I support the detainees Mohammad Mahjoub, Mahmoud Jaballah, and Hassan Almrei. These men's lives are in danger and they need a solution now.
Mahmoud Jaballah and Mohammad Mahjoub have been on hunger strike since May 23, with Hassan Almrei hunger striking an additional ten days. Mahjoub (held since June, 2000), Jaballah (held seven months in 1999, and since August, 2001) and Almrei (held since October 2001) are feeling not only the effects of the hunger strike, but are also sweltering in a retrofitted classroom portable which has no air conditioning. When Mr. Jaballah was removed from his cell at 2 am with breathing problems, he didn’t see a nurse until almost six hours later.
Two simple demands remain at the core of the hunger strike:
1. The men want access to a canteen (which holds snack foods), much as they had access to at Metro West Detention Centre. The government claims concerns over who would handle the detainees' money have prevented them from setting this up. The men have put forward a half dozen workable solutions, but the federal government refuses to budge. Because their daily meals do not provide enough food, the men need the canteen to stave off hunger pangs.
2. Proper phone access. At Metro West, the men could dial out and speak with anyone they chose to from early morning until early evening. Currently, the men are allowed three 20 minute calls per day. However, they must put in a written request an hour before each call is made. If, for example, they call their lawyer, and are informed s/he won't be back for ten minutes, they cannot call ten minutes later. They must put in another phone request, wait an hour, and then hope the lawyer will be there. The limited phone access sharply curtails their ability to maintain contact with their families as well.
Representatives of the Canadian Border Services Agency, which runs “Guantanamo North,” have assured campaign members that the men's health is their top priority (even though they are trying to deport them to torture). But to allow human beings to go over a month without nutrition is simply heartless. For the federal government to refuse to fix these simple problems, especially after the light that was shone on security certificates over the past month with the Supreme Court hearings, is shameful.
Sincerely,
Thursday, June 22, 2006
Meteorologists Issue Climate Change Caution
At the conclusion of its 40th Annual Congress, the Canadian Meteorological and Oceanographic Society issued a statement on climate change:
"Climate change is happening now, both in Canada and around the world. Most of this change is attributable to human activities that release greenhouse gases into the atmosphere... We call on all levels of government to take immediate action. We must both reduce emissions of greenhouse gases and prepare for climate change."
"We urge all governments to work towards a single international agreement to address climate change, as was recognized in the 1992 U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change."
"The Climate Convention's Kyoto Protocol is an important first step towards reducing the release of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. However, the scientific evidence dictates that in order to stabilize the climate, global reductions in greenhouse gas emissions need to go far beyond those mandated under this Kyoto Protocol. We recognize the challenge of implementing the current agreement; nonetheless we urge Canada to contribute effectively to this global effort."
Check out the 2006 Canadian Meteorological and Oceanographic Society climate change statement
Wednesday, June 21, 2006
Prime Minister Stephen Harper
Office of the Prime Minister
80 Wellington Street
Ottawa K1A 0A2
June 21, 2006
Dear Prime Minister Stephen Harper,
I am writing to you because I hope that you will end all federal subsidies to oil and gas industries; shift taxes from jobs to carbon; raise the royalty rates on fossil fuel extraction; place a moratorium on projects in the Athabasca Tar Sands; stop subsidizing the world’s most profitable companies to produce the world’s most profitable product; and meet the Kyoto Plus targets.
Sincerely,
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)