CANADIAN ANARCHIST MOVEMENT:
THE VICTORIA ANARCHIST BOOKFAIR:
     Fall rolls around once more, and, as the leaves are turning colour the colourful Victoria Anarchist Bookfair will be blowing into town out there on the west coast. Here's the details:

Victoria Anarchist Bookfair Call for Participation ***** 1. Victoria Anarchist Bookfair Dates & Contacts September 8th and 9th, 2012 Fernwood NRG Community Hall 1240 Gladstone Ave, Victoria, BC, Lekwungen Territory We are pleased to announce the seventh annual Victoria Anarchist Bookfair, located on unceded Lekwungen Territory in Victoria, British Columbia. The Bookfair is for anarchists and non-anarchists, with participants from all over North America and beyond. The Bookfair always includes workshops on a wide range of topics. We seek to challenge colonial attitudes, introduce anarchism to the public, foster dialogue between various political traditions, and create radical, inclusive, anti-oppressive spaces. Participants with different visions, practices, and traditions are welcome. Events include book and information tables, workshops, readings, films, presentations, and much more! We are particularly seeking workshops that engage with our theme of anti-colonialism and the mobilization to stop proposed pipeline projects in B.C.. This can include presentations on radical theory, Indigeneity, historical issues, participatory demonstrations, panel talks, facilitated discussions, and everything in between—if you have an idea for a workshop, we want to hear about it! We’re also keen on workshops that address, challenge, and connect gender, sexuality, ‘race’, colonialism, ability, capitalism, environmental destruction, workers’ struggles, and other issues affecting our communities. Please consult our Statement of Principles before sending your proposal. It can be found on our website: http://victoriaanarchistbookfair.ca This year's deadline is July 15th, 2012. We are proud to have received Monday Magazine's 'M Award' for Victoria's best literary event in 2009. ****************************** Contacts: TABLES: tables@victoriaanarchistbookfair.ca This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it WORKSHOPS: workshops@victoriaanarchistbookfair.ca This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it FESTIVAL: festival@victoriaanarchistbookfair.ca This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it VOLUNTEER: volunteer@victoriaanarchistbookfair.ca This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it GENERAL INQUIRIES: info@victoriaanarchistbookfair.ca This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it ****************************** 2. How to Request a Table for Sept 8 & 9 The heart of the Bookfair is the main room including booksellers, distributors, independent presses and activist groups from all over BC, North America, and abroad. If you’d like to table this year, please provide a short description of your group and the materials you intend to distribute at the Bookfair. There is no fee for tabling at the Bookfair, but we will be requesting 10% of sales after expenses in order to help us cover costs. The deadline to request a table is July 15, 2012 (we cannot guarantee inclusion on the poster or in our program-zine for late submissions). EMAIL: tables@victoriaanarchistbookfair.ca This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it ****************************** 3. Workshop & Presentation Proposals: for Sept 8 & 9 The Bookfair organizing collective is currently seeking workshop and presentation proposals. As stated above this Bookfair we are looking to convene in order to challenge the ongoing colonization of our communities and our minds. We are looking for workshops that discuss Indigenous perspectives, de-colonialisation, social struggles, and environmental issues. We also aim to foster a growing movement in resistance to colonialism through the sharing of practical skills. Together we can acknowledge our past and move forward with meaningful solidarity. Workshops may be aimed at people who are curious about, or new to, anarchist ideas and radical practices; alternatively they might address a topic in depth for people who are already familiar with the subject. Standard Bookfair workshops last for 50 minutes with a 10-minute break in between. While we are open to a variety of workshop formats, we recommend that facilitators leave at least 20 minutes for discussion at the end of their presentations. Each year we get a lot of submissions, but if we don’t have space at the Bookfair, we still want to help make your workshop happen! Please provide a title and short description of the workshop's content in your submission. If your workshop is accepted, this information will be reprinted in the program zine. NOTE: The deadline for all workshop and presentation proposals is July 15, 2012 (after that date we cannot guarantee a timeslot at the Bookfair or inclusion in our program-zine for late submissions). EMAIL: workshops@victoriaanarchistbookfair.ca This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it ****************************** 4. Festival of Anarchy Events: Sept 1– 7 (various locations TBA) In addition to the Bookfair, a "Festival of Anarchy" will take place during the preceding week with diverse anarchist-themed events occurring at different venues in Victoria. You can propose any type of event or activity: the only limit is your imagination. Also this year the Urban Interventionists are looking to coordinate artists to intervene in spaces around the city. Installations, flash mobs, bike races, dance parties, punk shows under bridges, guerilla art, graffiti, performances… and beyond. Festival of Anarchy events as well as the Urban Interventionists are organized autonomously from the Bookfair and, as such, venues are the responsibility of Event Organizers—that’s you! The Bookfair Collective acts as a hub to promote and coordinate these events. We’re committed to helping promote autonomous festival events to the best of our ability through the program zine and the website. If you’re interested in having us promote your event, please provide a title and short description of your program by July 15, 2012 so that we can include it in our zine and on our website. We strongly recommend Festival Events are NOT scheduled during the Bookfair's operating hours. In general, contacting the Bookfair Collective about scheduling dates before our proposal deadline is a useful way to ensure the least number of event conflicts. EMAIL: festival@victoriaanarchistbookfair.ca This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it ****************************** 5. Volunteers We need your help! The Victoria Anarchist Bookfair & Festival of Anarchy Collectives are always looking for new people to assist behind the scenes. We’re looking for help in all kinds of areas such as postering, welcoming & information tabling, room set-up, kids activities, counselling and safe-space support, cleanup and more. The Bookfair is entirely volunteer-run and helping out is a great way to get involved and meet new people. If you’re interested, please read the volunteer descriptions, our collective principles and accessibility statements on our website, and let us know how you’d like to help out! EMAIL: volunteer@victoriaanarchistbookfair.ca This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it ****************************** 6. Listserve Subscription Options We do not send very many messages for most of the year, except as the bookfair dates draw near, so if you want to hear about what’s coming up, subscribe to our listserve by sending a message to vicanarcbookfair -subscribe@lists.riseup.net This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it . 150 Years of Colonialism: 150 Years of Resista

EMAIL: tables@victoriaanarchistbookfair.ca This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it ****************************** 3. Workshop & Presentation Proposals: for Sept 8 & 9 The Bookfair organizing collective is currently seeking workshop and presentation proposals. As stated above this Bookfair we are looking to convene in order to challenge the ongoing colonization of our communities and our minds. We are looking for workshops that discuss Indigenous perspectives, de-colonialisation, social struggles, and environmental issues. We also aim to foster a growing movement in resistance to colonialism through the sharing of practical skills. Together we can acknowledge our past and move forward with meaningful solidarity. Workshops may be aimed at people who are curious about, or new to, anarchist ideas and radical practices; alternatively they might address a topic in depth for people who are already familiar with the subject. Standard Bookfair workshops last for 50 minutes with a 10-minute break in between. While we are open to a variety of workshop formats, we recommend that facilitators leave at least 20 minutes for discussion at the end of their presentations. Each year we get a lot of submissions, but if we don’t have space at the Bookfair, we still want to help make your workshop happen! Please provide a title and short description of the workshop's content in your submission. If your workshop is accepted, this information will be reprinted in the program zine. NOTE: The deadline for all workshop and presentation proposals is July 15, 2012 (after that date we cannot guarantee a timeslot at the Bookfair or inclusion in our program-zine for late submissions). EMAIL: workshops@victoriaanarchistbookfair.ca This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it ****************************** 4. Festival of Anarchy Events: Sept 1– 7 (various locations TBA) In addition to the Bookfair, a "Festival of Anarchy" will take place during the preceding week with diverse anarchist-themed events occurring at different venues in Victoria. You can propose any type of event or activity: the only limit is your imagination. Also this year the Urban Interventionists are looking to coordinate artists to intervene in spaces around the city. Installations, flash mobs, bike races, dance parties, punk shows under bridges, guerilla art, graffiti, performances… and beyond. Festival of Anarchy events as well as the Urban Interventionists are organized autonomously from the Bookfair and, as such, venues are the responsibility of Event Organizers—that’s you! The Bookfair Collective acts as a hub to promote and coordinate these events. We’re committed to helping promote autonomous festival events to the best of our ability through the program zine and the website. If you’re interested in having us promote your event, please provide a title and short description of your program by July 15, 2012 so that we can include it in our zine and on our website. We strongly recommend Festival Events are NOT scheduled during the Bookfair's operating hours. In general, contacting the Bookfair Collective about scheduling dates before our proposal deadline is a useful way to ensure the least number of event conflicts. EMAIL: festival@victoriaanarchistbookfair.ca This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it ****************************** 5. Volunteers We need your help! The Victoria Anarchist Bookfair & Festival of Anarchy Collectives are always looking for new people to assist behind the scenes. We’re looking for help in all kinds of areas such as postering, welcoming & information tabling, room set-up, kids activities, counselling and safe-space support, cleanup and more. The Bookfair is entirely volunteer-run and helping out is a great way to get involved and meet new people. If you’re interested, please read the volunteer descriptions, our collective principles and accessibility statements on our website, and let us know how you’d like to help out! EMAIL: volunteer@victoriaanarchistbookfair.ca This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it ****************************** 6. Listserve Subscription Options We do not send very many messages for most of the year, except as the bookfair dates draw near, so if you want to hear about what’s coming up, subscribe to our listserve by sending a message to vicanarcbookfair -subscribe@lists.riseup.net This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

CANADIAN ANARCHIST MOVEMENT VICTORIA:
BUY NOTHING DAY SALE AT CAMAS BOOKS:


This one is puzzling. A 'Buy Nothing Day Sale' ? In any case it's happening out Victoria way at Camas Books. Drop by if you're in the neighbourhood.
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Buy Nothing Day SALE!


Time Friday, November 26 at 11:00am - November 27 at 1:00am

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Location Camas Books
2590 Quadra St.
Victoria BC

More Info
That's right! Buy Nothing day is coming up soon, and to celebrate we are having a SALE on all used books!
For one day only November 26, we are reducing all used books in the store you buy by 20%!

Come sell-ebrate anti-consumerism and buy your rebellion with us at Camas Books at 2590 Quadra st. Victoria BC, Coast Salish territories.


Come at 4pm for a game of ANTI-MONOPOLY and Settlers of Catan, as well as other board games.

CANADIAN ANARCHIST MOVEMENT VICTORIA:

POLICE RAID CAMAS INFOSHOP IN VICTORIA:

On Friday November 5 police entered the Camas Books and Infoshop on Quadra Street in Victoria BC and removed computer equipment and other documents for which they had obtained a warrant. The statement of the bookstore follows as originally published in the Vancouver Media Co-op.

This raid followed hard on the heels of an incident in the early morning hours where the car and garage of the Mayor of Victoria Dean Fortin was vandalized. the group which did this sent an email explaining their actions as retaliation for the City of Victoria's continuing war on the homeless. You can read their communique here.

Now I can't say that I am much of a fan of petty vandalism as a "political" tactic. It accomplishes nothing, and feeds nothing but delusions of importance amongst both the perpetrators and their supporters. It was interesting, however, to note how quickly almost all of the "poverty industry" organizations in Victoria fell in line to not only distance themselves from the action (understandable) but more significantly to praise the Mayor for being a good friend of the homeless. I wonder if being recipients of government money has anything to do with such loyalty ? The one notable exception was 'Committee to End Homelessness' who actually voiced criticism of the City's policies.

Another significant thing to note is the speed and diligence of the police response in this case. Something about having their boss pissed off I guess, and having to appear to be diligently hunting down the vandals. I would have serious doubts that any incriminating evidence could be found on the computers at Camas Books. At best it is a data gathering operation for names, addresses, phone numbers, etc. of people unconnected to the vandalism. More busy work for Victoria's equivalent of a Red Squad. I wonder if the Mayor is going to fall for it ?

But before we go on to the communique from Camas consider one more thing. I don't know all that much about Victoria, but I do know that in the city where I live the police would be highly unlikely to even show up for a broken window and some graffiti. Let alone go through the motions of pretending to search for the vandals. Once more something about actually personally pissing off the boss. Some are indeed served and protected better than others.

In any case here is the communique from Camas.

CBCBCBCBCBCB
Police Raid Camas Educational Bookstore
by Camas Educational Bookstore


NOVEMBER 8, 2010 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Police Raid Camas Educational Bookstore
Victoria, BC on November 5, 2010: the Victoria Police Department entered Camas Books, 2590 Quadra Street with a warrant to search and seize computer equipment and documents. Four volunteers were detained while officers searched the premise, seizing 2 computers, a Camas Educational Society annual report, and Shaw and Telus account bills.

The Camas Educational Society is a not-for-profit registered society that functions collectively to operate the volunteer run Camas Books and Info. Camas Books first opened its doors in September 2007, with the intention of providing a voice for social justice perspectives, and helping to foster a spirit of solidarity with other such struggles taking place globally. The Camas Collective has a mandate to keep the store and space as accessible and inclusive as possible in order to provide free access to internet and print information that follows our mission statement, akin to a library.

The Camas collective has received no information from police about any incident that the search and seizure may be pertaining to, or what lead police to the book store.

For more information on Camas Books or the Camas Educational Society go to www.camas.ca

Media Contacts: Meaghan MacDonald Email: Meaghan.j.macdonald(at)gmail.com Phone: 250-896-7588

PERSONAL:

MOLLY IS BACK IN HER FOXHOLE:

Well, in case my fans and enemies haven't gathered Corporal Molly is back in her foxhole at the front. Almost a week to be exact. It takes little time for a paranoid mind to get used to a city where cars don't stop for pedestrians, unlike out in Victoria. To be honest I could never get used to the idea that some son-of-a-bitch wasn't ready to gun it and run me down, just like here in my home territory. Here you look both ways before crossing the street, run like hell to the middle, catch your breath and repeat the process providing there is no traffic either way. I will also have to get used to the less than benign presence of "street demons" here, but that is easy as my pissed off button is very near the surface. Quite frankly I have always (I've been in Victoria before) had a hard time adjusting to the idea that threat is not the best way of dealing with street demons. In Victoria they have better manners than the average Winnipeger, non-demon Winnipeger that is.

Let's say slightly that I and what one wag has called "Mrs Molly" enjoyed our stay our there immensely. It's a great place, even though a bit "crowded" for my taste. We liked the bars. Hell. I even found 'Murphy's Stout' on tap, something you could never find here at the ends of the Earth. Winnipeg actually has a few "pubs", rather than sleazy bars, and we may even have our own (one) micro-brewery now. This puts us on the same level as Regina which should be a great matter of shame.

Molly drove up to Nanaimo to visit Comrade Larry and was properly impressed by the scenery along the way. Many photos were taken. I was even more impressed by the hospitality that I received from Larry and Rosie. I also found out that Nanaimo was a neat little city with a very vibrant anarchist community. Many thanks to L and R.

So here we arrived back in Winnipeg. Open the door. Cling, cling. cling comes loud from the basement. Appreciate that Molly's house was built in 1929, and the water heat furnace is from the original. Oh Fucking Jesus. At least the place hasn't burnt down. The problem is a water pump that is attached to the furnace, and a spring connector on it. Click, click,click. Check, check check. It's a few days later that I call Winnipeg Supply and have the pump fixed. This is because, to my utter amazement, despite the fact that the pump is fucked we still have heat and hot water. It gets shoved down the priority list.

Meanwhile the wife tries to start her car. Dead as a doornail. Now...I've always been happy to screw around with cars. Furnaces I won't touch with a ten foot pole., I pull up the hood on the wife's car. Jesus H. Christ !!! I have never seen such an accumulation of copper sulfate on a battery in my life. Now Molly is from from Saskatchewan, and I swear that there was enough bluestone to sterilize about 3 dugouts. Screwdriver and baking soda go to work. I get the mess cleaned up and boost the wife's battery. Vroom, vroom.

Piss and Jesus. MY car goes dead. Click, click,click. Fuck,fuck,fuck.. We do a back boost and the machine is working fine. With great circling the wife drives off to get her battery charged by driving. I take off elsewhere. Stop at the pharmacy to pick up my nicotine lozenges. Come out. Click, click, click. God knows what my blood pressure was then.

Up goes the hood. Bang, bang,bang, Twist,twist, twist. Vroom, vroom. vroom. I never knew before that you could screw up your battery connections just by giving somebody a boost. Live and learn. Oh God do I hate machinery.

Welcome back to Winnipeg. Actually I don't mind it as much as it may seem. It is far better than Saskatchewan, espcially Regina where I "served" 14 years. Back to decorating the yard for Halloween. Such is my more or less boring personal life. Mechanical disasters are great events. I gues it's better than noting bites from Rottweillers.

CANADIAN ANARCHIST MOVEMENT VICTORIA:

VICTORIA ANARCHIST BOOKFAIR:

Ah Fall. The changing colours of the leaves. The call of the migrant birds....and the Victoria Anarchist Bookfair. Here's the announcement of that upcoming wonder.

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September 11th and 12th, 2010
Victoria Anarchist Bookfair dates: September 11th and 12th, 2010

NEW LOCATION! 680 Courtney Street, Songhees & Esquimalt Territories

Festival of Anarchy dates: September 3rd to 12th, 2010

We are happy to announce the fifth year of the Victoria Anarchist Bookfair, located on unceded Songhees Territory in Victoria, British Columbia. The Bookfair is for anarchists and non-anarchists, with participants from all over North America and beyond. We seek to introduce anarchism to the public, to further elaborate upon current and historical anarchist ideals and to foster dialogue between various anarchist tendencies. Participants from different anarchist traditions, visions, and practices are welcome. Events include book and information tables, workshops, readings, films, presentations, and much more. A Festival of Anarchy will take place during the week before the Bookfair, beginning on September 3rd, 2010.

We are proud to have received Monday Magazine's 'M Award' for Victoria's best literary event in 2009.

It's our 5th Birthday and we're going to have a blast!

Volunteers

We need your help! Please consider reading through our Volunteer section to help out behind-the scenes this year.

Activities for Kids

Bring your kids to the bookfair! Of course kids are welcome in all areas of the bookfair, but the kids room is a place where there are toys, games, story time and more! Open all day, for both days of the Bookfair.

Please Note: The Anarchist Kids Activity Room is NOT a child minding space.

We will try to have adults in the kids room at all times, and will definitely have adults present the majority of the time. Parents are welcome to stay with their children and informal child-watching is encouraged (you watch my kids, I'll watch yours kinda thing). Parents must stay at the bookfair.

Anarchist Kids Activities - please consider helping us organize:
* Face-painting
* Kids arts & crafts
* Storytelling & reading
* Games & toys
* Appropriately themed movies
* A resting space for tired tots

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The Victoria Anarchist Bookfair, like the Montreal Anarchist Bookfair, is actually part of a more extended 'Festival of Anarchy' that starts tonight, September 3. Here's more on these events.

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Festival of Anarchy Schedule
The Festival of Anarchy starts on September 3rd and builds up the momentum for opening day of the Anarchist Bookfair. This year we are proud to host a wide variety of events featuring many talented artists, musicians, film-makers and activists. Check out the line up!

Friday, September 3rd

PANIC!: FREEDOM IN SOUND 2
Camas Books, 2590 Quadra Street

Sound art, experimental music and performance, plus DIY art gallery
arrive at 5 pm to hang your art
7 pm for PANIC! Freedom in Sound

Saturday, September 4th

WE HAVE NO LEADERS! Benefit show for Kelly Pflug-Back
Mike XVX, Jeff Andrew, Star, Comrade Black, Chase, Sasha n Nedjo & more friends
$5-$15 sliding scale, no one turned away! All money raised goes to Kelly's legal defence
7:30 pm, BCGEU, 2994 Douglas St (PLEASE NOTE NEW ADDRESS)

Kelly Pflug-Back is a long time community organizer, whom has been targeted by the police and scape-goated as "the leader of the black bloc" from the G20. She is facing 13 charges including conspiracy, and mischief. The courts are viewing her charges as "hate crimes" against the police, meaning if she is convicted she will be given a stiffer sentence than normal.

This is a blatant misuse of hate crime legislation originally intended to protect identifiable minorities from racist, homophobic or sexist violence. We believe Kelly is being targeted for her roll as a community organizer doing anti-racist and anti-poverty work in her community.

Sunday, September 5th

URBAN CAPTURE THE FLAG
8:00 pm in Bastion Square

Capture the Flag is a team-based game popularized by the Boy Scouts of America as a way to prepare boys for conscription during the World Wars. Urban Capture the Flag (UCTF) is a 21st Century detournement of this practice, primarily organized by anarchists in North America as a way to build community, reclaim the streets and public space, develop insurrectionary and protest tactics for affinity groups, produce a counter-spectacle for passers-by and build group morale through risk-taking together.

Monday, September 6th

Anarchist ‘day of rest’

Tuesday, September 7th

PRISONS AT THE FRONT LINE OF REVOLUTION
A Victoria Anarchist Reading Circle event with Juliet Belmas
7:30 pm Camas Books, 2590 Quadra Street

After a lengthy prison term for smashing the state, Juliet Belmas has gone on to produce several award-winning short films about women in prison. Her painterly cinematic style and experimental production values have been characterized ‘subtle, yet harrowing.’ This evening she will discuss the politics of incarceration, including recent round-ups at the G-20 summit in Toronto, and why prisons are a “front-line” in the anarchist struggle. ( Sad as it is we have to interrupt this recorded announcement here and now. Julie "fucking" Belmas !!! Now I can die happy because I have indeed seen everything. It's things like this that make me doubt the sanity of some of my presumed "comrades". I have learned over the years that the way they see "reality" is quite different from the way I see it or, more importantly the way that over 99% of the population views it. And I think that a "health warning" should be put on much of their pronouncements insofar as the stated content is quite remote from their actual motivations. If I didn't claim the "anarchist" label I'd perhaps feel pity rather than annoyance. On the other hand I see what I have been doing for almost 40 years as 'politics', and they see it as ???? )

Wednesday, September 8th

FUCK YOU!
7:30 pm Camas Books, 2590 Quadra Street

An introduction to kink and sex toys with Michelle Powell.

Thursday, September 9th

END:CIV SCREENING
Franklin López--Director/Producer, subMedia
7:30 pm, Camas Books, 2590 Quadra Street

END:CIV examines our culture’s addiction to systematic violence and environmental exploitation, and probes the resulting epidemic of poisoned landscapes and shell-shocked nations. Based in part on Endgame, the best-selling book by Derrick Jensen, END:CIV asks: "If your homeland was invaded by aliens who cut down the forests, poisoned the water and air, and contaminated the food supply, would you resist?"

Taking the long view: endless economic growth has turned into a global economic crash. What will the next hundred years bring? Students of history know that all civilizations eventually come to an end. The ancient Mayans, the dynasties of China, and the mighty Roman Empire, as long-lived and powerful as they were, could not escape this inevitability. The same goes for the culture we call Western Civilization. The causes underlying the collapse of civilizations are usually traced to overuse of resources. As we write this, the world is reeling from economic chaos, peak oil, climate change, environmental degradation, and political turmoil. Every day the headlines re-hash stories of scandal and betrayal of the public trust. We don't have to make outraged demands for the end of the current global system -- it seems to be coming apart already.

But acts of courage, compassion and altruism abound, even in the most damaged places. By documenting the resilience of the people hit hardest by war and repression, and the heroism of those coming forward to confront the crisis head-on, END:CIV illuminates a way out of this all-consuming madness and into a saner future.

http://endciv.com/
http://submedia.tv/
Twitter http://twitter.com/stimulator

Friday, September 10th

HIP HOP / SPOKEN WORD NIGHT OF DISSENT
Open Space Artist Run Centre: 510 Fort Street, 2nd Floor
You won't wanna miss this show and you have no excuse to miss it cause it's by donation!! (suggested, $5-$15)
7:00 pm sharp

This year's "Night of Dissent" will be the most engaging of the past 4 years! With a new, larger venue (Open Space) and a visual arts show we plan on hitting you hard with positive political message. World War 3 Illustrated artists Seth Tobocman, Rebecca Migdal and Kevin Pyle present visual and spoken word stories of protest and resistance. TESTAMENT, Blank Space & mONKEYwRENCH bring the heat with their Revolutionary Lyricism and Battle Style Beatboxing. While the Revolutionary Cyborg Wedding Band gets you up off your seat for a little electro hip hop, Chase & Zaccheaus Jackson ground you with their stories and slam poetry.

Saturday, September 11th

GRAPHIC RADICALS OPENING
7:30 pm: Legacy Gallery, 630 Yates Street

Graphic Radicals is a “themed” presentation of the work of World War 3 Illustrated, a New York-based artists’ collective, from the 1980s to the present day. The art confronts issues such as anti-war protests, squatting in New York, the tragedies of 9-11, racism, prisons and anarchism. Graphic Radicals includes dozens of works in the form of posters, graphic illustrations, paintings, banners and other media.

Join the artists of World War 3 Illustrated as they celebrate 30 years of activism.

Sunday, September 12th

CAMAS' 3rd FOLKIN' ANNIVERSARY
Camas Books and Infoshop. 2590 Quadra
This event is all ages. No one is turned away at the door, but we suggest a donation of $5-$15 (Pay What You Can)
8:00pm

Camas' 3rd Folkin' Anniversary will be a night to remember!! With local acts like "Ursula" & "Gumshoe & the Banshee" you’re sure not to forget the haunting circus-esque energy of the evening. Without-A-Net will join us with some klezmer, Starla with her folk punk and Buffalo Buffalo (inc Cap'n'Kops from The Rough Sea) is coming from the East (on tour) to start the night off with some ol'timey folk songs (so come early!!)

Being a fundraiser for both Camas Books and the Victoria Anarchist Bookfair, we hope that you come out in droves to celebrate and help the cause.

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Here's more about tonight's event in Victoria, a benefit for those arrested during the G20 demonstrations in Toronto.

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Kicking off the 2010 Festival of Anarchy!

All donation money raised goes toward G20 legal defence
....
5:00 – Panarchy! @ The People's Gallery 2 - Guerrilla Art Hanging

DiY, open source, guerrilla bring yr own art show! All are welcome to
participate! Bring yr paintings, drawings, photos, sculptures,
installations, found art, interactive art + homegrown fashions.

8:00 – Freedom In Sound 2

Experimental music, sound art, noise and performance art featuring

Ha Ha Terror
Froghat
Wyldechylde
Brian Stubbs
Lotusland Warrior
+ more!

CANADIAN POLITICS:

RALLIES IN SUPPORT OF TAMIL REFUGEES:

Beginning today and into next week there will be a number of rallies across the country in support of the right of the recently arrived Tamil refugees on the west coast to stay in Canada. These are being organized by No One is Illegal. Here is the story from No One Is Illegal Vancouver.

NOIINOIINOII
Canada: Stop Jailing and Deporting Refugees, Let The Tamil Refugees Stay!
Time

August 21 at 3:30pm - August 26 at 6:00pm

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Location Various cities and communities - check description for details
across Canada / Indigenous lands
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Created By No One Is Illegal - Vancouver, Coast Salish Territories
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More Info

CANADA: STOP JAILING AND DEPORTING REFUGEES, LET THEM STAY!
SUPPORT THE TAMIL MIGRANTS! SAY NO TO RACISM!

==> In VANCOUVER, Unceded Coast Salish Territories:
Saturday August 21 @ 3:30 pm
...Gather at Vancouver Art Gallery, Robson Side
* Download poster PDF http://bit.ly/aq9HWI or JPG: http://bit.ly/c0VN60

==> In UNSURRENDERED WET'SUWET'EN TERRITORY:
Saturday August 21
Solidarity with the Tamil Refugees and No One Is Illegal. Moricetown Canyon, noon.
Contact gitksanmanoct6@hotmail.com

==> In VICTORIA:
Saturday August 21st 12:00pm - 4:00pm
Victoria Information Booth, Government and Belville
Organized by Victoria Anti-Racism Network (VARN)
RSVP: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=143826562315624

==> In OTTAWA:
Monday August 23 @ Noon.
Gather at corner of Kent and Laurier
(Citizenship and Immigration Canada)
RSVP: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=119285261456467

==> In MONTREAL:
Thursday August 26th from noon to 2 pm
Front of Immigration and Refugee Board offices, 200 Boul. René Levesque. Organized by Friends of Tamil Refugees/ Les Amies des Réfugiées Tamils.
Contact 514-668-4751 or 514-449-9370.

==> In KITCHENER-WATERLOO:
Monday August 23.
Press Conference and gathering, details tbc.
Contact rachel@peaceculture.org

==> In TORONTO:
Saturday August 21st
Toronto Welcomes Tamil Migrants!
Follow www.twitter.com/noii_ to to see images of creative actions that we will be taking.

(more TBC)

Join No One is Illegal to call for the immediate release of detained Tamil asylum seekers, and an end to racist and restrictive refugee policies. Justice, Freedom, and Status for All!

Surviving a dangerous journey, 500 Tamil refugees, including women and children, arrived in BC after fleeing war and persecution in Sri Lanka. When the ship first neared Esquimault, territories of the Songhees First Nation, it was immediately boarded by the Armed Forces, Border Services, and RCMP. Families are now being separated, with many children being taken by the Ministry of Child and Family Development. The refugees now face the threat of incarceration and eventual deportation.

Canadian government officials and media outlets are perpetuating false and dehumanizing stereotypes of 'illegals', 'terrorists', and so-called queue-jumpers. The earlier arrival of 76 Tamil migrants on Ocean Lady was similarly sensationalized. This deliberately created hysteria appeals to prejudices of refugees as undesirable. Well-known neo-Nazis, like Paul Fromm and the Aryan Guard, also known as the Canada First Immigration Reform Committee, are openly organizing rallies for the ship to be sent back.

This fear-mongering is just another tactic used to disguise the racist policies that define Canada’s immigration and refugee system. The Canadian government was recently forced to apologize for its “keep Canada white” measures, such as the Komagata Maru incident. Yet Minister of Censorship and Deportation Jason Kenney continues to increase detentions and deportation of refugees and undocumented migrants, while bringing in more temporary exploitable migrant labour. Public Safety Minister Vic Toews recently declared that Cabinet is drafting new policies to clamp down on migrants and “make this country less welcoming for future shipments of human cargo.”

No One is Illegal-Vancouver asserts the basic human right to safety, mobility, and protection. It is well known that Tamils in Sri Lanka are fleeing military atrocities and mass displacement. The only crime the migrants have committed is transgressing this imposed settler-colonial border. We encourage you to join us in rejecting repressive, racist, and exclusionary ideologies and policies, and instead encourage compassion, solidarity, respect for life, and justice for all refugees. Release Detained Asylum-Seekers! Let the Boat Stay! Status for All!

*** HOW ELSE CAN I SUPPORT? ***
THERE ARE 10 THINGS YOU COULD DO!

1) Join other cities and communities for nation-wide actions. Wherever you maybe, whatever you can organize (delegation to a Minister’s office, street theatre, leafleting, community speak-out), will help build this movement. Please email noii-van@resist.ca and let us know how you can participate.

2) Engage in dialogue and widely circulate the factsheet on the 6 most popular myths about the 490 Tamil Refugees, available here: http://noii-van.resist.ca/?p=2167

3) Sign the online petition here: http://www.petitiononline.com/16082010/petition.html . Join the Facebook group Uphold the Rights of the MV Sun Sea Migrants here: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=106719212717437

4) Put up posters in your neighbourhood, workplace, and campus, and as your social media profile. We have ‘Let them Stay’ and ‘Anti Neo Nazi, Fight Racism’ posters available here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/nooneisillegal/ . PDF’s: http://bit.ly/9HBtGa and http://bit.ly/cgM3gK

5) Participate in the Call/Email/Fax Campaign to the Government and your MP. State your support for the refugees to stay in Canada and denounce the government for spreading unsubstantiated racist lies. This is easy to do and you can tell others to do the same!

Jason Kenney, Minister of Citizenship and Immigration
Phone 613-992-2235 or 403-225-3480. Fax 403-225-3504 or 613-992-1920.
Email: Minister@cic.gc.ca and kennej@parl.gc.ca

Vic Toews, Minister of Public Safety
Phone: (204) 326-9889 or (204)345-9762 or (613) 992-3128.
Fax: (204) 346-9874 or (204) 345-9768 or (613) 995-1049
Email: toewsv1@mts.net and Toews.V@parl.gc.ca

To find out who your MP is and where to write them:
http://www2.parl.gc.ca/Parlinfo/Compilations/HouseOfCommons/MemberByPostalCode.aspx?Menu=HOC

6) Always take a minute to write letters to the editor and comment on news stories - make a difference in public discourse! Reinforce your support for the migrants and condemn irresponsible reporting including repeating unsubstantiated lies and giving white supremacists like Paul Fromm a platform. All letters must be short (100 words), include name, mailing address and daytime phone number of the writer; state “Letter to the Editor” in subject; and content should be in the body of the email.

Globe and Mail: letters@globeandmail.com
Vancouver Sun: sunletters@png.canwest.com
Vancouver Province: provletters@png.canwest.com
24 Hours: news@sunmedia.ca
Metro News: http://www.metronews.ca/Vancouver/comment/lettereditor
National Post: letters@nationalpost.com
Toronto Star: lettertoed@thestar.ca

7) Take your own initiative. This issue is not just the Tamil communities’ or for migrant justice organizers. The growing racist backlash that is taking root should concern all of us. Think of creative ways to disrupt this xenophobic climate (do a banner drop, host a community picnic, take some friends postering, organize a forum or press conference, distribute anti-racist zines, take action at the prison).

8) Consider inviting a speaker to your next meeting. Email noii-van@resist.ca and we would be happy to attend or suggest speakers, as well as provide educational materials.

9) Have your organization, traditional council, union, community group, or artist collective write a short public statement of support for the Tamil migrants. Please email us a copy at noii-van@resist.ca .

10) Join our low-traffic email announcement list to receive news and events. You can subscribe yourself https://lists.resist.ca/mailman/listinfo/noii-l . Our Facebook group is: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=6252584281&ref=ts . Visit our website regularly for articles: http://noii-van.resist.ca/

www.nooneisillegal.org

CANADIAN POLITICS-VANCOUVER:

OLYMPICS AND ANTI-OLYMPICS BEGIN:

Hang onto your hats kiddies. this is going to be a long one. We're two days away from the opening ceremonies, and already it's major party time out there in "rainyland". Watching the weather reports with forecasts of 4 to 10 degrees above zero at the various event locations one can only wonder how they're going to hold any outdoor events at all. Water skies maybe ???

The weather, however, hasn't put a damper on the party atmosphere. I heard a radio report today saying that "six police" and "four soldiers" had been sent packing "for disciplinary reasons". I found that somehow hard to believe. So I looked it up when I got home from work, and I found more believable numbers in an article from today's Vancouver Sun. It turns out that 16 police officers, out of a total of about 6,000 and 50 soldiers out of a total of about 4,000 were sent on their way.

In the case of the police a spokesman claimed that 14 of the 16 were sent home for "compassionate reasons" and only two for "disciplinary reasons unrelated to alcohol". Well...maybe no relation other than by marriage. A spokesman for the military refused to give a breakdown of the reasons for returning the 50 soldiers to their bases. One wonders why.

Now those sort of numbers I find much more believable. My faith in the Canadian military, nurtured by long experience, has been restored. I couldn't believe that the cops could outdrink the grunts. No, no, no, there was something wrong there. Now, unless you believe that soldiers are 4.69 times as likely to fall ill (with something other than a hangover ) or have a close relative or spouse in said condition than police officers are, then you can come up with an easy explanation of why the spokesman for the military refused to comment on the reasons for shipping the soldiers.

What can I say other than "laissez les bons temps rouler" ? One other little question arises as I have fun with these figures. According to the numbers given in the Sun the military is so far short 1.25% of its personnel. How many more will they have to send back as the party goes on and on and on. It seems to me that, by the end of the games, a lot of guys in the service will be pulling double shifts to fill the empty slots.

Ohhhhhhh, I know what's going on here. The whole scenario of using the military for Games security is actually an Al Queda plot to destroy the Canadian Army. This is obviously the work of a devious sleeper cell. When all the brown stuff settles down after being blown around by the fan look for the CIA to book a one way ticket to the 'Damascus Hilton' for those evil conspirators Stockwell "Abdullah" Day and Steven "Ali" Harper.

But on to the serious stuff. The anti-Olympic Convergence, held by opponents of the Games, has already begun. Here's a couple of press releases put out by the Olympic Resistance Newtwork in advance of the Games. Don't look to see them reported very much in the mainstream media.

OROROROROROROR

MEDIA ADVISORY

ATTENTION: ALL NEWS EDITORS

OLYMPIC RESISTANCE NETWORK DENOUNCES UNFAIR AND TARGETED PROFILING OF ANTI-OLYMPIC PROTESTORS AND INDEPENDENT JOURNALISTS:

The Olympic Resistance Network is receiving news of a growing number of anti-Olympic protestors and Independent Journalists being denied entry at the Canadian border.

On Tues Feb 9, U.S. journalist John Weston Osburn was detained by US Homeland Security after being twice denied by Canadian Border Officials on his way into Canada to cover the 2010 Olympic protests. Martin Macias Jr., an independent media reporter from Chicago, was rejected by Canadian border agents and held without outside contact on Saturday Feb 6. At least two delegates, arriving from California, to the Indigenous Peoples Assembly in Secwepemc Territories were denied entry into Canada. Other anti-Olympic protestors report extensive laptop and cell phone searches as well as hours-long interrogations.

In anticipation of the unfair targeting by the Canadian Border Services Agency of those viewed as Olympic dissidents, the Olympic ResistanceNetwork has set up an Immigration and Border Legal Support Line. Lawyers and legal professsionals taking these calls are deeply concerned by the pattern of arbitrary turn-backs without cause, as well as the lack of due process in allowing those who are rejected at the border to appeal the decision.

According to the Olympic Resistance Network, the series of border hassles, interrorgations, searches, and refusal are the latest in a long-standing pattern of suppressing the growing movement of dissent and opposition to the Olympic Games.

MEDIA CONTACT: Mac Scott (Olympic Resistance Network Border/ImmigrationLegal Support) at 416 999 6885

For an interview with John Weston Osburn, email westonslc@gmail.com ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

MEDIA ADVISORY

ATTENTION: ALL NEWS EDITORS

OLYMPIC RESISTANCE NETWORK PANEL EVENT AND MEDIA BRIEFINGS:

The Olympic Resistance Network invites media to a panel discussion on Indigenous resistance and the 2010 Vancouver Olympics on Wednedsday February 10th at 7 pm at the Wise Hall, 1882 Adanac Street.

The panel discussion is a part of a 2-day Olympic Resistance Summit for activists to come together to organize, prepare, learn and unite as a part of the convergence against the 2010 Olympic Games. While the rest of the Olympic Resistance Summit will be closed to all media, all media are invited to attend this panel on Indigenous resistance featuring Carol Martin (Nisga'a/Gitanyow and member of Downtown Eastside Elders Council), Arthur Manuel (Secwepemc Nation, spokesperson for the Indigenous Networkon Economies and Trade), Gord Hill (Kwakwakaawakw Nation, member of the Olympic Resistance Network and maintains No2010.com), and Kanahus Pelkey (Secwepemc and Ktunaxa First Nations, Native Youth Movement).

The Olympic Resistance Network will also be holding three media briefings in the coming week - in conjunction with grassroots Indigenous land defenders and activists from across Canada - to discuss reasons for opposing the Games, upcoming resistance plans, and to provide reports on protests.

- Thursday Feb 11 at 3 pm outside 706 Clarke Drive. "Resistance Groups Converge in Vancouver". Represenatives from Olympic Resistance Network,Native Youth Movement, AWOL-Kitchener, Indigenous Environmental Network, and No Games Chicago.

- Friday Feb 12 at 11 am at Pigeon Park, Carrall and Hastings, Downtown Eastside. "No Justice on Stolen Land" with grassroots Indigenous land defenders from Athabasca Fort Chipewan, Six Nations, Statimc Nation, Secwepemc Nation, and Wetsuweten Nation.

- Saturday Feb 13 at 3 pm at Pigeon Park, Carrall and Hastings, Downtown Eastside. Representatives from the Olympic Resistance Network and 2010 Welcoming Committee.

- 30 -

==> For a schedule of events:

http://olympicresistance.net/content/schedule

==> For a media press package and extensive media availabilites:

http://olympicresistance.net/content/media

MEDIA LIASONS: Harsha Walia: 778 885 0040; Gurb Gill: 604-436-0366.

For more information on the Indigenous resistance panel, contact Alex Mah at 604.715.6990 ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

For Immediate Release

February 9, 2010

'Green games' are really a greenwash:

Environmental justice organizations, First Nations communities challenge green games claim.

Major social and environmental justice organizations and First Nations grassroots leaders from across Western Canada will be hosting a press conference to address the environmental impacts of the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver and Whistler.

Despite claims by the BC government and the Vancouver Organizing Committee (VANOC) that the 2010 Olympics will be "the greenest games ever," these organizations have serious concerns related to the direct environmental impacts of the games in BC,the environmental records of the Game's host governments, and the environmental practices of a number of the Game's high-profile corporate sponsors, most notably those involved in extraction and transportation of tar sands bitumen from northern Alberta.

*When:*

Thursday, February 11, 2010

10:00 am

*Where:*

706 Clark Drive (corner of Clark Drive and East Georgia St.)

Vancouver, BC

*Who:*

Clayton Thomas-Muller -- Indigenous Environmental Network

Eriel Deranger - Rainforest Action Network

Pina Belpario - Council of Canadians

Lionel Lepine - Member of Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation

Kanahus Pelkey - Secwepemc and Ktunaxa First Nations, Native Youth Movement

-30-

Media Contact:Harjap Grewal - Council of Canadians: 604.340.2455 /

hgrewal@canadians.org

OROROROROROROR

Meanwhile the protests have already begun. Last Sunday, February 7, the 'Poverty Olympics' (a takeoff of the Olympic Games) were held in Vancouver. Here's a report, originally published in The Province ,and reprinted at the No2010 website.

OROROROROROROR

Poverty Olympics Draws 600-700 People:
February 9, 2010 - 04:48 — no2010

Activists stage Poverty Olympics in Downtown Eastside

The Province, February 8, 2010

http://www.theprovince.com/business/Activists+stage+Poverty+Olympics+Downtown+Eastside/2535933/story.html

Anti-poverty activists staged a successful Poverty Olympics in Vancouver's poverty-stricken Downtown Eastside on Sunday afternoon.

"If the money that was spent on the Olympics had been spent to end poverty and homelessness it could have been done by now," said organizer Jean Swanson.

She said 600 to 700 spectators took in the Games -- three skits titled The Housing Hurdles, The Broken Promise Slalom and Wrestling for Community and a mock hockey game between the Pigeon Park Eagles and the VANOC Predators. "The ref was totally in favour of the VANOC Predators, but the Pigeon Park folks won any way," chuckled Swanson.

She said the most popular skit featured four local children wrestling with "the evil developer" for control of the community. "The kids won. They ended up sitting on the developer with their hands in the air in victory," said Swanson. "The audience was cheering and cheering."

The fun and games began when the Poverty Olympics torch arrived after a one-week, 100-kilometre route through Greater Vancouver. The torch, weighing 200 pounds and standing 12 feet tall, held a sign reading, "End the Poverty." It was pushed around on a hospital gurney.

The crowd overwhelmed the site -- the Japanese Hall in the 400-block Alexander Street. "For a while we had to keep people from coming in because it was too packed," said Swanson. She said international media from Britain, France and Germany joined U.S. journalists from the Wall Street Journal and USA Today at the events.
Short Video footage from Vancouver Media Coop on Poverty Olympics

http://http//vancouver.mediacoop.ca/video/2626

OROROROROROROR

Meanwhile the Olympic Resistance Summit has begun. Here's the notice of events from the Olympic Resistance Network.

OROROROROROROR

Feb 10-11: Olympic Resistance Summit:‏
http://olympicresistance.net/content/convergence-summit-schedule-feb-10-11

Kick off the Convergence week at the 2010 Olympic Resistance Summit! ******************************

February 10th and 11th, noon to 10pm East Vancouver, Unceded Coast Salish Territories. The 2010 Olympics Resistance SUMMIT is a space for all anti-capitalist, indigenous, housing rights, labour, migrant justice, environmental, anti-war, community-loving, anti-poverty, civil libertarian, and anticolonial activists to come together to confront this two-week circus and the oppression it represents. During these 2 days we will organize, prepare, learn and unite to create a convergence against the 2010 Olympic Games! The schedule of workshops, panels, and other activities is posted below.

************************************************

Tabling space: If your organization would like to have an information table set up at the Wise Hall during the conference, please email olympicresistance@riseup.net .

Accessibility information: Please note that lunch and dinner will be provided. The Wise Hall is wheelchair accessible, but the Center for Socialist Education is not. On site childcare will be provided at the Center for Socialist Education.

On Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=289233616694&index=1

For more information: call 604.723.1206 or email olympicresistance@riseup.net

DAY 1 : Wed Feb 10th The Centre for Socialist Education - 706 Clark

12:00 - 1:00 Welcoming and Lunch

1:00 - 2:00 Creative Resistance Workshop

2:00 – 4:00 Open Creative Space The Wise Hall - 1882 Adanac

1:30- 2:30 Know Your Rights Workshop

2:45- 3:45 Corporate Resistance Workshop

4:00-5:30 Defending the Land Teach-in

5:45 – 6:45 Dinner

7:00 –9:00 Panel: Indigenous Resistance and the 2010 Olympics

DAY 2 : Thurs Feb 11th The Centre for Socialist Education -706 Clark

12:00 - 1:00 Welcoming and Lunch

1:00-2:30 Medics Training

2:30 - 4:00 Medics Logistics Meeting The Wise Hall -1882 Adanac

1:30- 2:45 Post-Convergence Movement Building

3:00- 4:30 IOC and Global Anti-Olympics Movement : Sochi and Chicago

4:45- 7:00 Convergence Planning

7:00 – 8:00 Dinner

8:15–10:00 Caucus Group Discussions

OROROROROROROR

A few days before this the No2010Victoria held their own "welcome party" for the Olympics in the provincial capital across the straight. Here's their press release. Once more don't expect to see much of this in the mainstream press.

OROROROROROROR

Victoria Protest and Mock Eviction of Vanoc Offices:
February 8, 2010 - 05:09 — no2010
VICTORIA TAKES TO THE STREETS FOR “THE OLYMPIC PARTY'S ALMOST OVER”

Press Release
Demonstration and street feast mark opposition to Olympic overspending and escalating poverty
February 6th, 2010 - Coast Salish Territories - Victoria B.C.

- The Victoria Coalition Against Poverty (VCAP) and No2010 Victoria organized a loud and colourful rally that wound through downtown Victoria this afternoon. The demonstration began at Bastion Square with a peoples' eviction of the 2010 Winter Games Secretariat office.

“The Secretariat is VANOC's partner and oversees B.C.'s financial commitment to the Games”, said organizer Shannon Lucy. “We evicted the Secretariat because we should not be spending billions on the Games in the midst of massive cutbacks to housing, essential services and other basic human needs.”

The march continued on to the downtown branch of the Royal Bank of Canada for a “sound-off”. “RBC is an Olympic sponsor and major investor in the tar sands”, said organizer Mik Turje. “The tar sands have led to pollution and high cancer rates in the Fort Chipewyan First Nation located downstream. We went to let RBC customers know what their bank is really about.”

The march stopped at the tragedy-laden corner of Pandora and Quadra to highlight critical poverty rates in Victoria. “The Olympics have cost twice as much as it would take to bring everyone in province above poverty line”, said organizer Shane Calder. “It only takes $2.8. billion to bring everyone in B.C. up to the poverty line, but the Olympics have cost us at least $6 billion. Unless we get services and supports to the levels we need, we can expect more tragedy on this corner”.

The march ended at Centennial Square with a street feast. “This afternoon's rally is an indication that the people of British Columbia will not continue to stand by as the Liberals gut the Province's social services in order to boost corporate profits”, stated organizer Tamara Herman. “We'll be in Vancouver next week to make sure our message is heard.”

The Victoria Coalition Against Poverty (VCAP) is a coalition of grassroots organizations that together are demanding an immediate end to poverty.No2010 Victoria is a local collective opposed to the 2010 Vancouver Olympic Games.
Email: viccoalitionagainstpoverty@gmail.com and no2010victoria@gmail.com
Two YouTube Videos

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P-YtHtQjcZA
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fGp2fFKja74

OROROROROROROR

Here's a couple more events that have just been added to the ever busy anti-Olympics schedule by the Olympic Resistance Network.

OROROROROROROR

New Additions! to the Calender of Events:‏
Vancouver Call to Action Against 2014 Sochi Olympics on the Land of Circassian Genocide:

Saturday, the 13th – Demonstrations will be held in front of the Russian “Sochi House” at Science World between 12-5pm at Thornton Park.

Join the No Sochi 2014 Committee!

After the five ring circus of the Vancouver Games, the next Winter Olympics will be held in Sochi, Russia in 2014.

• The Circassian Genocide claimed the lives of 1.5 million men, women and children- over 50% of the entire Circassian population .

• Sochi, once Circassia’s capital, was the point of exile for over one million Circassians.

• Circassians have no rights, no freedom and no justice on the land they have lived on for over 5,000 years

• Russia today is still responsible for multiple human rights abuses, environmental destruction and international provocation

Thirty Circassian organizations worldwide as well as millions of Circassians resist these games because they will occur on the greatest tragedy in their history on the site of the Circassian genocide.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

- please forward widely

- No More Empty Talk, No More Empty Lots.:

* February 15th, noon at Pigeon Park (Carrall and Hastings, Downtown Eastside of Vancouver, Coast Salish Territories).

Rally with all our neighbours and supporters.

Organized by DTES Women Centre Power of Women Group.

Food will be served. For information, email project@dewc.ca or call 778 885 0040.

* Support the Olympic Tent Village!

Endorsed by Streams of Justice.

Stay the evening, night, and/or morning after the rally to protect the Tent Village, especially the first 24-72 hours. To find out how to support,visit http://olympictentvillage.wordpress.com/ or email streamsofjustice@gmail.com or call 604-253-1782.

The upcoming 2010 Winter Olympics has escalated the homelessness crisis in Vancouver's Downtown Eastside and the Greater Vancouver area. Since the Olympic bid, homelessness has nearly tripled in the GVRD, while real estate and condominium development in the Downtown Eastside is outpacing social housing by a rate of 3:1. Meanwhile, a heightened police presence has further criminalized those living in extreme material poverty in the poorest postal code in Canada.

With the eyes of the world on Vancouver, residents of the Downtown Eastside and our supporters will be taking the streets to affirm our call for justice and dignity.

We want:

1. Real action to end homelessness now

2. End condo development and displacement in the Downtown Eastside

3. End discriminatory ticketing, police harassment, and all forms of criminalization of poverty. No more empty talk and no more empty lots.

Rally endorsed by: (take a deep breath-Molly )Carnegie Community Action Project, DTES Elders Council, Vancouver Area Network of Drug Users, Impact on Communities Coalition, Streams of Justice, Vancouver Action, Walk 4 Justice, Community Advocates for Little Mountain, Anti Poverty Committee, DTES Community Arts Network, Indigenous Action Movement, Citywide Housing Coalition, Association of Chinese Canadians for Equality and Solidarity Society, Solidarity Notes Labour Choir, No One Is Illegal – Vancouver, Food Not Bombs, Vancouver Status of Women, Indigenous Environmental Network, Organizing Centre for Social and Economic Justice, Bus Riders Union, Alliance for People's Health, Women Elders in Action, Canadian Union of Postal Workers –National Representative, UBC Students for a Democratic Society, East Van Abolitionists, Gatewaysucks.org, Justice for Girls, W2 Community Media Arts Society, Submedia, Vancouver Catholic Worker, Pivot Legal Society, UBC Centre for Race, Autobiography, Gender, Siraat Collective, The Rational Coop-Radio, Bulland Awaaz- Coop-Radio, Pink Resistance, CIPO–Vancouver (Popular Council of Indigenous Nations of Oaxaca in Vancouver), Rhizome Cafe, Native Youth Movement, Network of Sri Lankan Law Students, Oxfam Canada, Whistler Watch, no2010.com, Warrior Publications, Workless Party, Teaching Support Staff Union, 2010 Welcoming Committee, Latin America Connexions Collective, Servants Vancouver, Building Bridges Human Rights-Vancouver, Check Your Head, SFU Interfaith Institute for Justice,Peace and Social Movements, Stopwar.ca, Headlines Theatre, Student Christian Movement-UBC, Community Olympics Watch, Rain Zine, Industrial Workers of the World, The Press Release Collective, Simon Fraser University Public Interest Research Group, 2010 Homelessness Hunger Strike Relay, Friends of Women in the Middle East Society, Iran Solidarity-Vancouver, Federation of Iranian Refugees, Wake Up With Co-Opat CFRO, UBC Colour Connected Against Racism, Women Against ViolenceAgainst Women. ( Uh, can we say they have a few sponsors ???-Molly )

OROROROROROROR

Let's end this post with an interesting article from the Vancouver Sun on native resistance to the Games. Don't worry, I'll be back later with more from Vancouver and the anti-Olympics movement. For now, however, it should be noted that the Canadian government has made Herculean efforts to have us many public "sign-ons" from the Canadian aboriginal community as is humanly possible. This is no doubt a very conscious decision, given that the facts of Cnada's treatment of its native population are the dirtiest of Canada's dirty linen, and it was no doubt identified long ago that airing these scandals would likely be the greatest possible public embarassment during the hosting of the Olympics.

Well, the federal Conservayives, being, after all the federal Conservatives(and doubtless advised by their corporate friends), judged that it would be far cheaper (in many ways) to hold a massive public relations exercise rather than actually doing anything substantial about the problem. Hence the numerous trips to reserves of the Olympic Flame and the equally numerous public statements (encouraged ?) of native leaders in support of the Games.

Unfortunately for the Cons not all aboriginals have taken the bait. While the campaign has been more of less successful there is still a substantial minority of native leaders who are willing to publically express their doubts. In British Columbia this minority is particularily visible. The following article explores the questions that some aboriginals have raised. In the great post-games hangover it is entirely possible that the opinions of these dissidents will carry even more weight.

OROROROROROROR

Not All Native Band Councils in BC Support Olympics:

Aboriginal groups divided on whether to support Olympics80 of B.C.'s 203 bands refuse to participate because government and Vanoc ignore 'horrific levels of poverty,' their leader says.

By Kim Pemberton, Vancouver Sun, February 6, 2010

http://www.vancouversun.com/sports/2010wintergames/Aboriginal%20groups%2...
The head of the Four Host First Nations, Tewanee Joseph, has been criss-crossing the country since 2003 selling the Olympics to first nations communities. He's achieved signed agreements with more than a dozen provincial and national aboriginal groups setting out their involvement with the 2010 Olympic Games. (Is it possible that we may one day say "Senator Joseph" if the Conservatives end up with amajority government ?-Molly )

But despite his efforts, aboriginal groups are divided.

No where is that more noticeable than here at home with the Union of B.C. Indian Chiefs, representing 80 of the 203 bands in the province, refusing to participate in the games.

The union's longtime president Chief Stewart Phillip said he will not be at Monday's opening ceremony for the Aboriginal Pavilion nor at any of the Olympic 2010 sponsored events.

Instead, his goal is to make a political statement.

He arrived in Vancouver on Thursday to meet with organizers of the 19th annual Feb. 14 Memorial March to commemorate women murdered or missing on the Downtown Eastside and the Highway of Tears in northwest B.C.

"I can't stand alongside the premier and John Furlong [Vanoc director] at the grand opening ceremony and give the impression that everything is okay. It's a moral decision. I'd much rather stand with the people who have to endure the tragic dimensions of the poverty imposed on the aboriginal people in this province and the tragic dimensions of that poverty in terms of our high suicide rates and homicides," said Phillip.

"We're deeply concerned about the concerted and aggressive marketing campaign advanced by Vanoc which suggests the indigenous people of B.C.and Canada enjoy a very comfortable and high standard of living. The Disneyesque promotional materials suggests a cosy relationship between aboriginal people of the province with all levels of government and it completely ignores the horrific levels of poverty our people endure on a daily basis."

Phillip added the Olympics will come and go "in a blink of an eye" and aboriginal communities will still be dealing with massive unemployment, epidemic youth suicides, terrible health care and massive housing shortages, to name a few of the problems.

"If government would act on our constitutional rights, human rights, land use we'd be directly involved and in a position to address these appalling conditions of our people."

He said native groups throughout B.C. and Canada are divided on whether to support the games.

And while he doesn't take issue with the Four Host First Nations going into partnership with the International Olympic Committee and Vanoc, and benefiting economically from the event, he is concerned with how the "government is absolutely consumed with the Olympics" and ignoring the harsh conditions experienced in most aboriginal communities.

Joseph said the Four Host First Nations has never denied problems exists in aboriginal communities and he's also heard the comment the Four Host First Nations are "corporate sellouts."

His response to that is a world event is coming to their traditional territory and "do we really want to be on the outside looking in?"

"We've all been poor. We've lived these issues ourselves. We come from the same place," said Joseph. "There has been over 100 years of shameful treatment, anger, conflict, tragedy. My late grandmother said understand the past but don't dwell in it."

He added their message to all aboriginal groups is they can tell their story at the Olympics. But he cautions "if you had one minute to tell the story of your people worldwide, what would the picture be?"

Among the aboriginal groups who did sign partnership agreements with the Four Host First Nations to be part of the Olympics celebration are the First Nation Summit, which represents 106 aboriginal bands in B.C. and the Yukon involved in the treaty process, Treaty 6, Treaty 7 and Treaty 8 in Alberta, the Federation of Saskatchewan Indian Nation, the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs, Chiefs of Ontario, Grand Council of Cree, the Atlantic Policy Congress, the Dene Nation, the Council of Yukon First Nations, Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami, Metis National Council, the Metis Nation of B.C., the Assembly of First Nations, Nisga'a Nation, Sto: lo Nation and Tsawwassen Nation.

Metis Nation of B.C. president Bruce Dumont said their organization is excited to be part of a theme day on Feb. 15 called "Metis Day" at the Aboriginal Pavilion in downtown Vancouver.