HUMOUR:
IT'S FOR YOUR OWN GOOD:
Saturday, September 25, 2010
CANADIAN POLITICS INTERNATIONAL POLITICS:
PITY SOUTH KOREA:
Now this is getting a jump on things. Having experienced what happens at summits directly people in Toronto are going to be demonstrating next Friday at the Korean Consulate to protest the next G20 summit to be held in November in guess what country. Here's the callout from the Toronto Community Solidarity Network.
◘◘◘◘◘◘◘◘◘◘◘◘
Call for Action:
The G20 Sucks! Our Condolences to South Korea
Time Friday, October 1 · 5:00pm - 8:00pm
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Location South Korean Consulate
555 Avenue Road
Toronto, ON
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More Info
October 1st- International Day of Action against the pre-Summit attack on Democratic and Human Rights in South Korea
Three months have passed since the G20 invaded Toronto. Behind miles of security fencing and lines of riot police, representatives from the world’s twenty richest countries and central bank governors met to discuss and further implement their policies of systemic exploitation and destruction. Citywide mobilizations greeted the summit as communities took to the streets in opposition to the G20 and everything it stands for.
Our resistance was met by state-sanctioned violence, police brutality, harassment, and intimidation. The criminalization of dissent is ongoing and our communities are still feeling the painful repercussions. The healing process will be a long one.
Unfortunately, the G20 continues and this upcoming November will spread its terror elsewhere. The legacy of the G20 summit, widespread repression, the targeting of community activists and the attacks on democratic and human rights will be brought to South Korea. To our allies and our friends organizing in Seoul we send our condolences.
For all they are currently going through, for all they will surely have to deal with as the summit approaches we send our condolences. We realize the G20 is nothing to celebrate, but rather something to ragefully mourn. And so, on October 1st, the ‘International Day of Action against the pre-Summit attack on Democratic and Human Rights in South Korea’ we will gather in front of the South Korean Consulate (555 Avenue rd.) at 5pm to deliver the following demands to the South Korean government:
1. The G20 Summit is NO excuse! Stop the crackdown on migrants, street vendors and homeless people!
2. Honour international labour standards and ILO recommendations! Stop labour repression and labour flexibilisation policies!
3. Repeal the “Special Law on the Safe Escort of the G20 Summit” and end repression of the rights to freedom of expression and assembly!
Come out in solidarity and show your support for all those organizing against the G20 in Seoul! Food will be served, and materials will be on hand to construct condolence cards and paper flowers that will be put together in a creative package to be sent to our comrades organizing in South Korea.
Background:
http://kctu.org/ActionAlerts/9842
http://g20.torontomobilize.org/
Friday, September 24, 2010
CANADIAN ANARCHIST MOVEMENT WINNIPEG:
THE WINNIPEG RADICAL BOOKFAIR:
Speaking of anarchist bookfairs don't forget to join Molly tomorrow at Winnipeg's own Winnipeg Radical Bookfair. The book fair itself will be at the Broadway Neighbourhood Centre, 185 Young St. from 11 am to 6 pm on Saturday September 25 and from 12 noon to 4 pm on Sunday 26. Various other events are also scheduled during the fair. Come out early enough and you just might get one of Molly's ultra chic A-balloons. See you there.
CANADIAN ANARCHIST MOVEMENT LONDON ONTARIO:
THE LONDON ANARCHIST BOOKFAIR:
It's another first. Anarchist bookfairs are popping up all over the place, and the latest domino to fall is London Ontario. Here's the announcement of the first anarchist bookfair in that town from Linchpin, the website of the Ontario platformist group Common Cause.
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London, Ontario Anarchist Bookfair
The London, Ontario Anarchist Bookfair and Gathering is scheduled to take place on Saturday October 23rd. This is our first of what we hope will be many annual bookfairs and your participation would be much appreciated. With the attention focused on anarchists recently it is important to offer folks outside of our communities a chance to see what it really is all about and dispel media myths. It is equally important that we gather to further strengthen and build our movements to carry forward with our agendas of radical transformations.
Calling all anarchist distros and publishers! We are not charging anything for tables, but we ask that a small percentage of profits, after expenses, be donated to the bookfair to allow it to sustain itself and grow.
Present a workshop! We are running workshops throughout the day and are excited to hear from you if you have a workshop you’d like to present. We will do our best to accommodate all workshop requests.
Everybody! We have an interest in helping meet your housing, childcare and transportation needs and the venue is accessible. Food Not Bombs will be providing food and we plan on having a social event in the evening including performances by talented anarchists…
Get in touch if you’d like to table, present a workshop, or simply attend so that we can help meet your needs and answer any questions.
-London (A) Bookfair Collective
londonanarchistbookfair@gmail.com
CANADIAN POLITICS:
THE COST OF THE G20:
Things are proceeding as usual in the lala land known as Ottawa, and the reports of the costs of the G8/G20 summits in Muskoka and Toronto are coming back in drips and drabs. It must be pleasing to the Harper government that costs are being reported this way rather than in an overall accounting. The fuzzier the better may be Stevie's motto. The final cost is now estimated at $1.24 billion. The fractured accounting that is being used is guaranteed to add yet another significant stash of cash to that pile. A radio report that I heard today said that it may take millions of dollars to find out how many hundreds of millions were spent.
What follows is one report from the CBC on the costs tallied so far. Two things in this report jump out of the page at me. One is the $14,000 spent on "glow sticks". Believe it or not these things actually have a use in providing light, but they saw little (no?) use. I went online shopping for glow sticks, and the largest size available cost about $1 each for an order of 200 or more. This means that the various police forces now have thousands of left over glow sticks to play with, enough to supply a division of renegade Jedis with light sabers. Have fun guys.
The other matter is more serious. Note the confusion of Conservative House leader John Baird about how many international biggies actually showed up for the party. Anyone other than a politician who is considered "informed" enough to help rule a country knows that there is a significant difference between 50 and 100, let alone 10,000 and 20,000. The cavalier way in which Baird exposes his ignorance says volumes not only about his grasp of affairs but about the contempt which the Conservative Party has for ordinary Canadians. he thinks those who pay the bill for such good times have as little regard for their dollars as he does.
Anyways, here for your amusement is the CBC article.
G20G20G20G20
G8/G20 costs include $80M for food, lodging
The Liberals are strongly criticizing the federal government over expenses incurred during the G8/G20 summits, which, expenditure reports reveal, included $80 million for food and accommodation, $85,000 for snacks and $14,000 for glow sticks.
"This is totally unacceptable," said Liberal MP Dan McTeague, who tabled the expenditure reports in the House of Commons on Thursday.
McTeague had requested details on all contracts for goods or services relating to the G20 meetings.
"The reams and reams of documents present a very disturbing trend and tale, I think, for Canadians," McTeague said. "It suggests there is a very deep and serious problem. There was no accountability or oversight in terms of those expenditures. Money was no object."
According to the documents, $80 million was spent on food and accommodation, more than $34 million on telecommunications and electronics and almost $17 million for vehicle rentals and transportation.
Of the accommodation costs, the RCMP spent under $7 million.
McTeague also asked how many of the contracts were sole-sourced.
He said the released material shows the government's "reckless" attitude toward spending for the events.
But the government defended the costs, saying the majority were security-related.
"Obviously, the bulk of the costs were for security: RCMP, OPP, municipal police forces," said House leader John Baird. "We obviously don't put those out to tender. Those are employees who work for the public, and that's really the bulk of the costs."
"Don't forget we were bringing together about [10,000] or 20,000 people, probably 50 or 100 of the most powerful people in the world. There was not only just the issue of terrorism, and the issue of people trying to disrupt the summit, some violently. So, obviously, we have to spend what is necessary to ensure that we keep these people safe."
Items include headgear, glow sticks
The expenditures include $4.5 million for the security fence around the exclusive Deerhurst Resort in Ontario's Muskoka region, the G8 event host site, along with more than $300,000 for sun screen and insect repellent for the police guarding the fence.
Also detailed are a $3.2-million single contract for shuttle buses and a $2.2-million car rental bill — for a single day. ( Try costing that one out. I'm surprised there are so many rent-a-cars in Ontario, let alone in Toronto-Molly )
G8/G20 costs include $80M for food, lodging
The Liberals are strongly criticizing the federal government over expenses incurred during the G8/G20 summits, which, expenditure reports reveal, included $80 million for food and accommodation, $85,000 for snacks and $14,000 for glow sticks.
"This is totally unacceptable," said Liberal MP Dan McTeague, who tabled the expenditure reports in the House of Commons on Thursday.
McTeague had requested details on all contracts for goods or services relating to the G20 meetings.
"The reams and reams of documents present a very disturbing trend and tale, I think, for Canadians," McTeague said. "It suggests there is a very deep and serious problem. There was no accountability or oversight in terms of those expenditures. Money was no object."
According to the documents, $80 million was spent on food and accommodation, more than $34 million on telecommunications and electronics and almost $17 million for vehicle rentals and transportation.
Of the accommodation costs, the RCMP spent under $7 million.
McTeague also asked how many of the contracts were sole-sourced.
He said the released material shows the government's "reckless" attitude toward spending for the events.
But the government defended the costs, saying the majority were security-related.
"Obviously, the bulk of the costs were for security: RCMP, OPP, municipal police forces," said House leader John Baird. "We obviously don't put those out to tender. Those are employees who work for the public, and that's really the bulk of the costs."
"Don't forget we were bringing together about [10,000] or 20,000 people, probably 50 or 100 of the most powerful people in the world. There was not only just the issue of terrorism, and the issue of people trying to disrupt the summit, some violently. So, obviously, we have to spend what is necessary to ensure that we keep these people safe."
Items include headgear, glow sticks
The expenditures include $4.5 million for the security fence around the exclusive Deerhurst Resort in Ontario's Muskoka region, the G8 event host site, along with more than $300,000 for sun screen and insect repellent for the police guarding the fence.
Also detailed are a $3.2-million single contract for shuttle buses and a $2.2-million car rental bill — for a single day. ( Try costing that one out. I'm surprised there are so many rent-a-cars in Ontario, let alone in Toronto-Molly )
An $85,000 tab is listed for snacks at the exclusive Park Hyatt hotel in downtown Toronto and $68,340 was spent on Nikon cameras, according to the documents. Another $45,000 was spent on binoculars.
In addition, the costs include $1.2 million on condominium rentals, $14,049 for glow sticks and more than $13,000 for "miscellaneous textiles, headgear and umbrellas," the documents show.
No final tally has been given yet on the price tag for Canada's hosting back-to-back summits in Ontario's Muskoka region and downtown Toronto in late June, but the overall cost has been estimated to be about $1.24 billion, including at least $930 million for security.
The auditor general's office says a report on the security costs of the G8/G20 summits is scheduled for spring 2011.
Read more: http://www.cbc.ca/politics/story/2010/09/23/g20-g8-summit-costs.html#ixzz10Q9B9hCR
Thursday, September 23, 2010
SPORTS:
AN EVEN DARKER SIDE OF THE COMMONWEALTH GAMES:
By now a good chunk of the planet's population has been treated to pictures of the shambles that are the athletes quarters in New Delhi which have been more of less "built" for the upcoming Commonwealth Games. You can see a montage of these "glowing jewels" in this article from the Australian Mercury. Some are quite "impressive", even outdoing some of the rat traps that Molly lived in when she was younger. No doubt, however, the living conditions of the labourers who have been exploited during the construction would make these dumps look like paradise.
That's a point that shouldn't be lost in the flurry that has developed about who is going to send their athletes to the Games and who is not, and the "megapolitics" of the Games as described in this article from The Nation. Here's an article from the Street News Service (the news service of the International Network of Street Papers) about the conditions that workers at the project and poor residents of New Delhi have had to endure in this corrupt bid for glory and profit.
CGCGCGCGCG
Commonwealth Games: Establishing national prestige at the expense of India’s poor
Street Speech (USA) 06 September 2010
Rajeev Ravisankar looks at the impact of the 2010 Commonwealth Games on India’s capital New Delhi. He uncovers the exploitation, hazardous living and working conditions and the violation of labour rights that accompany the world’s largest multi-sport events. (920 Words) - By Rajeev Ravisankar
In India's capital New Delhi, laborers continue working day and night as the city prepares to play host to athletes from 71 countries for the 2010 Commonwealth Games, which begins in early October. The event, the world's third largest multi-sport event, mainly involves countries that were colonized by the British and was initially called the British Empire Games.
The upcoming Commonwealth Games is not only an athletic competition, but a spectacle for India to project global power. Recently, the President of India's ruling Congress Party Sonia Gandhi said "The success of the Games is that of our country, not of any party or of any individual…The prestige of the nation is involved."
Suresh Kalmadi, chairman of the Commonwealth Games organizing committee, has repeatedly asserted that this will be "the best Games ever" and hopes that this will be a stepping stone to fulfilling India's future ambitions to host the Olympics. Also, he has stated his desire to establish New Delhi as a "world class city."
However, a number of problems have emerged throughout the implementation process from soaring costs and corruption to labour exploitation and other human rights abuses. The initial budget estimates put costs at $407 million, but now the official figure has jumped to $2.3 billion and independent estimates suggest the cost could be as much as $6.4 billion. Also, according to the National Campaign on Dalit Human Rights, $150 million in funds allocated for marginalized communities have been illegally diverted to cover expenses related to the Games.
In order to meet deadlines, construction labourers are being overworked in 12 hour shifts, seven days a week and are paid less than the minimum wage, which ranges from $3.00 and $6.70 a day depending on hours worked and type of labor. Women are paid less than men for the same work, and reports point to the use of child labour at some sites. The workers toil in intense heat of 90-100 degrees Fahrenheit, the average in New Delhi during the summer months.
According to the Peoples Union for Democratic Rights (PUDR), an Indian human rights organization, workers are not provided safety equipment such as helmets, safety belts or even shoes. Also, their living conditions are substandard. Many are migrant workers from other states in India and have set up temporary shelters on or adjacent to construction sites. A report by the Housing and Land Rights Network (HLRN) indicates the situation is not much better for workers who are provided temporary housing. "Six to eight labourers share 10 feet by 10 feet brick huts…There is no electricity, ventilation or place to cook." There are also not enough toilets for the number of workers living in these camps.
These hazardous working and living conditions have contributed to the deaths of a number of workers. At least 49 workers have died on construction sites for the Games. An Outlook magazine article published in April of this year stated that "70 deaths have taken place during construction work and due to diseases caused by the unhealthy conditions prevailing at the living quarters of the labourers.
Aside from labour rights violations, people living in urban poverty have been forced into a more desperate situation. Efforts to "beautify" Delhi have led to evictions, demolition of settlements and slum clusters, and large scale displacement affecting thousands of people. Realizing that it is not possible to remove all the slums before the games, authorities have decided to put up bamboo screens to hide remaining slums. Also, street vendors, small shopkeepers, and rickshaw pullers have lost their livelihoods due to restrictions.
So-called "beggars" or panhandlers are being targeted vigorously by authorities. New Delhi's Social Welfare Minister Mangat Ram Singhal summed up the government's intentions: "We Indians are used to beggars but Westerners are not and so we need to clean up. We'll catch them all." According to an article in Frontline magazine, the city government has established "zero-tolerance zones" and created teams to round up people who are panhandling. Officials have increased the number of mobile courts to prosecute these people.
Unfortunately, other parts of the world have experienced similar issues when preparing to host large scale events. For example, in the lead up to the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, construction workers went on strike for a wage dispute. Riot police fired teargas and rubber bullets to break up a protest by security guards over low pay. In addition, thousands of people were evicted during construction for the World Cup. Many did not receive compensation or alternative residence, and those who were resettled lived in terrible conditions.
Before the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, China, 1.5 million people were displaced according to the Centre on Housing Rights and Evictions (COHRE). Closer to home, thousands of public housing units were destroyed before the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta and 30,000 residents were pushed out due to gentrification.
These are just a few recent examples that show the social and human costs inflicted when cities and countries host games. Clearly, Indian government officials and private sector interests have not learned from these experiences, as they have pursued national prestige at the expense of the poor.
LOCAL EVENTS WINNIPEG:
PAPA MAMBO AT THE WAG:
Trend setting Latin band Papa Mambo will be playing at the Winnipeg Art Gallery this Friday as part of the 'Jazz Under the Rooftop' series. Here's the promo.
WAGWAGWAGWAG
Jazz Under The Roof Top
Time Friday, September 24 · 8:00pm - 10:30pm
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Location Muriel Richardson Auditorium , Winnipeg Art Gallery , 300 Memorial
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More Info
Jazz Under The Roof Top
Time Friday, September 24 · 8:00pm - 10:30pm
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Location Muriel Richardson Auditorium , Winnipeg Art Gallery , 300 Memorial
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More Info
Papa Mambo Kicks off the WAG’s Jazz Under the Rooftop Concerts
The WAG’s Muriel Richardson Auditorium heats up on Friday, September 24 with the first of the Gallery’s Jazz under the Rooftop winter concert series. The concert begins at 8pm.
Created by Chilean-born classical guitarist Rodrigo Muñoz in 1989, Winnipeg’s Papa Mambo started out as a spirited party band and soon became recognized as one of the most skillful, exciting and... important innovators in Canada’s Latin music scene. This freewheeling octet has always emphasized great playing and inspired arrangements. Their diverse array of jazz-inflected Latin rhythms and progressive musical ideas promises a performance full of hot solos, driving ensemble work, and tempo-shifting dance-floor madness. Papa Mambo is Latin music at its most modern and exciting.
Tickets are $21 for WAG members, $25 for adults, and $23 for students and seniors. Available in person at the WAG or through Ticketmaster. Your ticket includes free Gallery admission the day of the concert.
The WAG’s Muriel Richardson Auditorium heats up on Friday, September 24 with the first of the Gallery’s Jazz under the Rooftop winter concert series. The concert begins at 8pm.
Created by Chilean-born classical guitarist Rodrigo Muñoz in 1989, Winnipeg’s Papa Mambo started out as a spirited party band and soon became recognized as one of the most skillful, exciting and... important innovators in Canada’s Latin music scene. This freewheeling octet has always emphasized great playing and inspired arrangements. Their diverse array of jazz-inflected Latin rhythms and progressive musical ideas promises a performance full of hot solos, driving ensemble work, and tempo-shifting dance-floor madness. Papa Mambo is Latin music at its most modern and exciting.
Tickets are $21 for WAG members, $25 for adults, and $23 for students and seniors. Available in person at the WAG or through Ticketmaster. Your ticket includes free Gallery admission the day of the concert.
INTERNATIONAL LABOUR GERMANY:
GERMAN IWW PICKETS EUREST:
The following article is from the website of the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW), and concerns a informational picket by the German IWW outside the Municipal Services offices in Frankfurt Germany a couple of days ago. The target of the picket was the international catering company Eurest (active in over 80 countries) who supply catering services to the city of Frankfurt. Eurest is emblematic of the "new economy" that is so widely trumpeted as "progressive" by apologists for our managerial rulers, and its "progress" involves squeezing its workers as hard as it can whenever it can. But not just its workers, also its customers. Through its subsidiary Eurest Support Services Eurest has been involved in more than one multibillion dollar corruption scandal over the years and will undoubtedly be involved in many more in the years to come.
In 2005 Eurest hit the news because of a UN procurement scandal, and in 2007 it was also implicated in corruption related to supplying food services to US forces in Iraq.
Here's the story from the IWW. The following has been slightly edited for reasons of English grammar.
IWWIWWIWWIWW
German IWW pickets against austerity measures outside the Frankfurter Stadtwerke [Municipal Services]:
Translated by a member of the British Isles IWW Regional Organizing Committee (BIROC)
Today the IWW distributed the following flyer (image not included) in front of the Frankfurter Stadtwerke [Municipal Services]:
Training outside working hours - "but can they do that?" They keep getting more impertinent!
Today, on Saturday, college students at EUREST have to work, because by now so many people have been made redundant that training can no longer take place during regular working hours. The Compass Group has made fat profits during the crisis- on the backs of their workers. Reduced staff, reduced shifts and unpaid overtime, that's their trick.
So, it's not a surprise that trainings are now happening during the weekend. The location of the Stadtwerke is not the first one where this is practiced. But, no manager has put pressure on the workers quite so shamelessly. He doesn't care, that you have kids you need to care for. He doesn't even care if you're on holiday. You need to show up or have proof that you already booked some trip. But time off is time off, and to force colleagues who have taken time off to go to work is, simply put, illegal.
A person like Tobias Engel does not seem to know, that the laws of the Federal Republic of Germany also apply to Eurest. Therefore, it's not surprising that the IWW Union learnt that he recently opened the locker of a worker. How long do you want to take such infringements?
If you don't resist, you'll soon need to show up every Saturday, for a training, or to clean. And the worst is, that it seems the shop steward agreed to this. Why do the NGG-shop stewards do whatever Eurest wants?
The problem, of course, are not just the cuddly unions and shop stewards, who don't represent the interest of the workers. As a union we can insist on the compliance with legal protections and rights of employees. But their implementation depends on whether the workers in the company resist the dismantling of workers' rights.
If you are ready, we'll support you in a big way!
Related Links
•GLAMROC IWW
German IWW pickets against austerity measures outside the Frankfurter Stadtwerke [Municipal Services]:
Translated by a member of the British Isles IWW Regional Organizing Committee (BIROC)
Today the IWW distributed the following flyer (image not included) in front of the Frankfurter Stadtwerke [Municipal Services]:
Training outside working hours - "but can they do that?" They keep getting more impertinent!
Today, on Saturday, college students at EUREST have to work, because by now so many people have been made redundant that training can no longer take place during regular working hours. The Compass Group has made fat profits during the crisis- on the backs of their workers. Reduced staff, reduced shifts and unpaid overtime, that's their trick.
So, it's not a surprise that trainings are now happening during the weekend. The location of the Stadtwerke is not the first one where this is practiced. But, no manager has put pressure on the workers quite so shamelessly. He doesn't care, that you have kids you need to care for. He doesn't even care if you're on holiday. You need to show up or have proof that you already booked some trip. But time off is time off, and to force colleagues who have taken time off to go to work is, simply put, illegal.
A person like Tobias Engel does not seem to know, that the laws of the Federal Republic of Germany also apply to Eurest. Therefore, it's not surprising that the IWW Union learnt that he recently opened the locker of a worker. How long do you want to take such infringements?
If you don't resist, you'll soon need to show up every Saturday, for a training, or to clean. And the worst is, that it seems the shop steward agreed to this. Why do the NGG-shop stewards do whatever Eurest wants?
The problem, of course, are not just the cuddly unions and shop stewards, who don't represent the interest of the workers. As a union we can insist on the compliance with legal protections and rights of employees. But their implementation depends on whether the workers in the company resist the dismantling of workers' rights.
If you are ready, we'll support you in a big way!
Related Links
•GLAMROC IWW
Wednesday, September 22, 2010
LOCAL EVENTS WINNIPEG
MAYORAL CANDIDATES SPEAK ABOUT DOWNTOWN WINNIPEG:
This is one I definitely won't be attending, but some may have an interest in such things so I reproduce it here. No doubt it will be a great forum for the various and vaporous candidates for Mayor to promise endless wondrous improvements. One should never forget, however, that the present state of downtown Winnipeg is the result of decades of such great "improvement" schemes. Insofar as Winnipeg has "vibrant neighbourhoods" (and yes there are some ) such things have not been the result of political gifts.
WWWWWWWWWW
Mayoral Candidate Forum on Downtown
Time Thursday, October 7 · 5:30pm - 7:30pm
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Location Manitoba Hydro Place, Atrium
360 Portage Avenue
Winnipeg, MB
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Created By Downtown Winnipeg BIZ
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More Info http://www.downtownwinnipegbiz.com/home/events/mayoral_forum/
Thursday, October 7, 2010
5:30pm – 7:30pm
Manitoba Hydro Place
Atrium, 360 Portage Avenue
Come hear the Mayoral candidates discuss their positions on a variety of downtown issues, under the scrutiny of moderators Richard Cloutier and Dan Lett.
Topics include:
Let’s talk downtown safety: what will work?
Events are awesome, but street closures are pricey—will the city support event street closures like it used to?
Fix up downtown infrastructure—show us the money for sidewalks, streets, garbage cans and more!
To bus or not to bus: what about rapid transit?
Moderated by: Richard Cloutier, CJOB
Dan Lett, Winnipeg Free Press
Coffee provided.
Presented by:
Downtown Winnipeg BIZ
Exchange District BIZ
the Institute of Urban Studies
Produced by:
The Winnipeg Free Press
CJOB
Partners:
The Winnipeg Real Estate Board
The Winnipeg Chamber of Commerce
CANADIAN POLITICS BURNABY BC:
'NOISE DEMO' FOR TAMIL REFUGEES BECOMES WEEKLY:
The 'noise demo' outside the detention centre in Burnaby BC where the women and children of the Tamil "boat people" are being held has now become a weekly event. Here's the update from No One Is Illegal Vancouver.
TRTRTRTRTR
Weekly Noise Demo - Release Detained Tamil Refugees:
Time Saturday at 1:30pm - October 9 at 3:30pm
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Location Burnaby Youth Custody Services Centre
7900 Fraser Park Dr
Burnaby, BC
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Created By No One Is Illegal - Vancouver, Coast Salish Territories
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More Info
Weekly Noise Demo - Release Detained Tamil Refugees:
Time Saturday at 1:30pm - October 9 at 3:30pm
--------------------------
Location Burnaby Youth Custody Services Centre
7900 Fraser Park Dr
Burnaby, BC
------------------------
Created By No One Is Illegal - Vancouver, Coast Salish Territories
-----------------------
More Info
Release Detained Tamil Refugees:
Let Them Free, Let Them Stay!
<><><><><><><><><><><><>
...Saturday Sept 25 at 1:30 pm
Sunday Oct 3 at1:30 pm
Saturday Oct 9 at 1:30 pm
Shuttles Leaving Edmonds station starting at 12:45 until 1:15
Burnaby Youth Custody Services Centre where mothers and children who
arrived aboard MV Sun Sea are being detained.
LOCATION: 7900 Fraser Park Dr, Burnaby
<><><><><><><><><><><><>
For the past 2 weeks we have gathered in front of the Burnaby Youth Custody prison where approximately 90 Tamil refugee mothers and children are being incarcerated. Supporters banged on pots and pans and blew whistles and horns to the beats of Tamil music. A large Tamil banner reading "We welcome you, we support you" was held towards the two detention units where children could be seen waving and smiling, peering through prison bars.
Join No One is Illegal-Vancouver over the next 3 weeks at the Burnaby detention facility to continue to express our love, support, and solidarity with those still being held inside and to call for the immediate release of detained Tamil asylum seekers.
* Bring noise! We want to be visible and be heard from inside so please bring pots, pans, horns, drums, noisemakers (please be aware of noises which may be triggering or traumatizing)
* TRANSPORT:
Meet at Edmonds station for rides at 12:45. Last shuttle leaves at 1:15pm. If you have a vehicle and can offer carpool, please contact us at noii-van at resist.ca or 778 885 0040.
________________
Surviving a dangerous journey, 492 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. The refugees are now in jails, facing endless hearings that have revealed the clear incompetency, deliberate negligence, and racism of the system.
In the context of the never-ending "War on Terror" refugees, migrants, and racialized people are increasingly being racially targeted, dehumanized as security threats, and criminalized through unprecedented police and state powers. Despite its rhetoric of 'liberating' and 'protecting' women globally and locally, the Canadian state is detaining an increasing numbers of women and children that cross these borders. In light of increasing repression and exclusionary policies and ideologies, we demand "Justice, Freedom, and Status for All!"
Let Them Free, Let Them Stay!
<><><><><><><><><><><><>
...Saturday Sept 25 at 1:30 pm
Sunday Oct 3 at1:30 pm
Saturday Oct 9 at 1:30 pm
Shuttles Leaving Edmonds station starting at 12:45 until 1:15
Burnaby Youth Custody Services Centre where mothers and children who
arrived aboard MV Sun Sea are being detained.
LOCATION: 7900 Fraser Park Dr, Burnaby
<><><><><><><><><><><><>
For the past 2 weeks we have gathered in front of the Burnaby Youth Custody prison where approximately 90 Tamil refugee mothers and children are being incarcerated. Supporters banged on pots and pans and blew whistles and horns to the beats of Tamil music. A large Tamil banner reading "We welcome you, we support you" was held towards the two detention units where children could be seen waving and smiling, peering through prison bars.
Join No One is Illegal-Vancouver over the next 3 weeks at the Burnaby detention facility to continue to express our love, support, and solidarity with those still being held inside and to call for the immediate release of detained Tamil asylum seekers.
* Bring noise! We want to be visible and be heard from inside so please bring pots, pans, horns, drums, noisemakers (please be aware of noises which may be triggering or traumatizing)
* TRANSPORT:
Meet at Edmonds station for rides at 12:45. Last shuttle leaves at 1:15pm. If you have a vehicle and can offer carpool, please contact us at noii-van at resist.ca or 778 885 0040.
________________
Surviving a dangerous journey, 492 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. The refugees are now in jails, facing endless hearings that have revealed the clear incompetency, deliberate negligence, and racism of the system.
In the context of the never-ending "War on Terror" refugees, migrants, and racialized people are increasingly being racially targeted, dehumanized as security threats, and criminalized through unprecedented police and state powers. Despite its rhetoric of 'liberating' and 'protecting' women globally and locally, the Canadian state is detaining an increasing numbers of women and children that cross these borders. In light of increasing repression and exclusionary policies and ideologies, we demand "Justice, Freedom, and Status for All!"
AMERICAN LABOUR MINNEAPOLIS:
DAVID ROVICS BENEFIT CONCERT:
Coming up this weekend down in (Winnipeg South ???) Minneapolis a benefit concert for the Jimmy Johns Workers by anarchist songster David Rovics. Here's the notice from the website of the IWW.
JJJJJJJJJJJ
David Rovics Benefit Concert for the IWW Jimmy John's Workers Union
Start: Sep 24 2010 - 7:00pm
End: Sep 24 2010 - 11:00pm
Timezone: US/Central
Location
Walker Community Church
3104 16th Ave South
Minneapolis, MN
United States
Originally posted here - http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=143516879008661
To benefit the Twin Cities Industrial Workers of the World in support of the Jimmy John’s Workers Union
(All proceeds will benefit the IWW JJWU - http://www.facebook.com/?ref=home#!/jimmyjohnsunion?v=info&ref=ts )
**David Rovics Benefit Concert**
...Rovics has been traveling the world for decades now, singing his songs of resistance, peace, and democracy for unions, peace activists, and
social justice everywhere he travels. In the middle of his current Prairie Fire Tour, he is performing a benefit concert for the local
branch of the Industrial Workers of the World, the most democratic union in North America since 1905. While David travels the world
singing about corporate greed and political injustice, the IWW is actively organizing workplaces - like Starbucks at the Mall of
America! - near you. We are a perfect match, but there's one thing missing: you.
Openers: Abdi Phenomenal Farah & the Twin Cities Labor Chorus
Walker Community Church
$9 - No one turned away for lack of funds.
All Jimmy John's Workers receive Free Admission.
If you can't make the IWW Benefit Concert on Sept 24, you can catch David R.at the Black Dog Coffee and Wine Bar, Corner of 4th and Broadway, Lowertown,St. Paul the following evening (Saturday, September 25) at 8 pm.
Or Check ot the Children's show Sat. the 25th at 2pm: http://www.facebook.com/#!/event.php?eid=119021171484821&ref=ts
http://www.davidrovics.com/
http://www.facebook.com/twincities.iww
http://www.facebook.com/?ref=home#!/jimmyjohnsunion?v=info&ref=ts
Labor Chorus: http://twincitieslaborchorus.blogspot.com/
Abdi Phenomenal Farah: http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=504113529
Related Links
•Jimmy Johns Workers Union
•Twin Cities IWW
Links from Article Text
• http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=143516879008661
• http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=504113529
CANADIAN LABOUR TORONTO:
TORONTO HOTEL STRIKES CONTINUES:
The Toronto International Film Festival is over, but the rotating strikes at Toronto hotels continue as management refuses to bargain fairly. Here's the story from Linchpin, the website of the Ontario platformist organization Common Cause.
CLCLCLCLCL
Strike Continues for Toronto Hotel Workers
By Alex Balch
Toronto, Ont - This year’s TIFF festivities may be over, but for the workers of UNITE HERE Local 75, the struggle against multinational hotel conglomerate Westmont Hospitality Group is just heating up.
Many of the over 2,000 members of Local 75 employed by Westmont are currently working without a contract – some of them since February of this year. Workers accuse the company, which owns or operates 13 hotels in the GTA, of trying to lock its employees into a “permanent recession” - despite the fact that the hotel industry has largely bounced back from the economic crisis of 2008.
“The recession is long over for these guys,” says union organizer Amarjeet Chhabra, speaking about the hotel management. “Yet they’re still using the language of the recession while they negotiate a new contract.”
“Our workers can’t put food on the table, even though many of them are doing the work of two people. It’s just not fair.”
The union has been engaged in a series of high-profile one-day strikes since late June, when workers at the Novotel Toronto Center walked off the job just as the French delegation to the G20 was arriving to check in. Since then they have increased the pressure – carrying out eight such one-day strikes during TIFF.
On Friday September 18, dozens of Hilton employees, joined by workers from the nearby Sheraton Centre Toronto Hotel and union delegates from CEP and CAW, staged a picket and rally outside the Toronto Hilton, while volunteer drummers from “Rhythms of Resistance” helped to keep spirits high. The striking workers appeared energized by the extra publicity generated by sympathetic actors and tourists in town for the Festival, and vowed to continue on until Westmont grants them a fair new contract.
Chief among the union’s demands is the granting of stable hours, better health benefits and a living wage.
“What Westmont has done is dramatically cut back on hours and staffing levels. This has meant that people have basically had to work twice as hard as before, for the same rate of pay,” said Laura Mestre, a room attendant, shop steward and member of the UNITE HERE negotiating team.
“I have personally been working for three months with a torn muscle in my left shoulder. I have had to apply for ODSP [Ontario Disability Support Payments] in order to help pay for my medical costs. I’ve brought the subject up with management… but they don’t care.”
According to Chhabra, this type of injury is not uncommon.
“Most housekeeping attendants are women, and that’s a position where lots of workplace injuries occur. Attendants at these hotels are expected to clean sixteen rooms per shift. At the same time, the company has recently added extra furniture, such as double beds, to many of these rooms. So this means that room attendants have more work to do, but haven’t been given more time to do it.” The end result is a rise in workplace injuries, as attendants struggle to keep up with their increased workloads.
The attempts by Westmont to frame the negotiation in terms of a contracting economy seem to fit into a larger general narrative – that of a looming “age of austerity”. Across the western world, unions are facing a coordinated attack on the working class. In Canada, the Harper government’s response to the economic crisis has been to allow large banks and corporations to effectively manage their own recovery, despite the massive subsidies they have received from the country's taxpayers. In the hospitality sector, this has manifested itself in the sacking of unionized workers and their replacement with more precarious workers – often employed by third-party temporary staffing agencies.
Westmont’s appeal to the need for belt-tightening measures - despite a return to healthy quarterly profits - is only made more egregious by the fact that two of its primary financial partners, Goldman Sachs and Citigroup Financial, were at the very epicenter of the 2008 global economic crisis, and have between them received over $50 billion in federal funds from the US Treasury.
It is this attempt to play the unfortunate victim of circumstance, and the company's stubborn refusal to renegotiate a fair contract with its employees that Chhabra says has motivated the workers to strike.
“We want to settle… but we also want a fair contract. And we’re prepared to take any action necessary to get it.”
For more information on the hotel workers' ongoing strike, and for a list of potentially affected hotels, see: http://www.uniteherelocal75.org/jm /
To send a direct message to Westmont, contact them at their Toronto headquarters:
5090 Explorer Drive
Suite 700
Mississauga ON
L4W 4T9
Tel: +1 905 629 3400
Fax: +1 905 624 7805
Tuesday, September 21, 2010
PERSONAL:
HERE AT MOLLY'S BLOG:
The seasons change, and the leaves begin to fall. Molly is due to go on vacation soon so the number of posts at this blog will drop during that time. I hope I've provided at least a little information and amusement in the last little while. the squirrels are busy gathering their nuts, and Molly is busy decorating the yard for Halloween. It's a long process preparing for my favourite holiday, and each year the cars drive by, stop and take pictures.
In terms of this blog I'd like to call the readers' attention to three different sections that have been added in the last little while. All of them are under the anarcho-syndicalist rubric, the form of anarchism that I feel closest to and which I consider the most practical. The first is the listing for the KRAS, the Confederation of Revolutionary Anarcho-Syndicalists in Russia. While it must be admitted that KRAS is still only a propaganda group rather than a functioning union it is still significant that they have at least expanded their online presence in the last little while. it is part and parcel of the general expansion of practical anarchism that I have taken such delight in in the last few years.
Speaking of such there is also a new listing for the youth section of the German FAU. The (take a deep breath) Anarhistisch-Syndikalistischer Jugen (Anarcho-Syndicalist Youth) in Germany has been expanding rapidly, and I have added a separate category for them following the FAU listings. While not up to the level of the youth federation of the Swedish SAC (also listed under our Links) the young German comrades seem to be expanding rapidly. I have to admit that it is beyond me why the Swedes and the Germans seem to be so successful while in Spain both the CNT with their FJIL (historical nostalgia ?) and the much larger CGT seem to have their youth sections "stillborn". There is also another Iberian youth federation that, as far as I can tell, is not an extension of one of the Spanish anarchosyndicalist unions, but it is also very small. They have been listed under the Spanish section of our links. As I said, beyond me, and I can definitely see the utility of a youth federation as it addresses concerns different from those of older people. As for here in North America this is obviously a project for the far distant future as "youth" would probably encompass close to 95% of anarchists here.
Perhaps most pleasantly there is now a listing for the Workers' Initiative/(another deep breath) Inicjatywa Pracownicza of Poland. These people are the "non-AIT' anarcho-syndicalist union federation in Poland, and despite my early misconceptions they are (as expected) far more successful in organizing than the AIT affiliated ZSP. Their base of strength is in Poznan, but as the listings point out they have branches in many Polish provinces. These are the people who have a "dual card" arrangement with the British IWW. The latest news that I have heard from their quarter is that their decision to actually run as candidates in the workplace councils has brought the same success (in a smaller way) as it brought to the Spanish CGT and the French CNT (Vignoles). The anarcho-syndicalist project faces some fundamental choices in the modern world...whether to actually collectively bargain, whether to participate in union elections (in both the North American and European sense) and so on. My own opinions are very much in favour of making the necessary compromises because the alternative is shrinking away to an irrelevant sect that will be of no use even if times were to change. I recognize the dangers, but I also recognize the dangers of the sectarian alternative.
Enough of this pontification. May the busy squirrels of Fall not shit on your head.
Molly.
AMERICAN POLITICS:
THE BRADLEY MANNING SUPPORT NETWORK:
Bradley Manning is the now world famous US soldier who leaked video of a US helicopter shooting unarmed civilians in Iraq to the Wikileaks site. Wikileaks has gone on to even bigger things since then, but Bradley manning still sits in military jail awaiting trial. Needless to say the perpetrators of the war crimes that he exposed have had no charges laid against them.
There has been widespread support for Manning, and one of the primary sources has been the Bradley Manning Support Network who are planning a week of actions on his behalf this week. Here's a brief segment of one of the articles on their site. Go there to see much more and how you can help Manning out.
BMBMBMBMBM
Bradley Manning: An American Hero
by Marjorie Cohn, Professor at Thomas Jefferson School of Law
Army Pfc. Bradley Manning is accused of leaking military secrets to the public. This week, his supporters are holding rallies in 21 cities, seeking Manning’s release from military custody. Manning is in the brig for allegedly disclosing a classified video depicting U.S. troops shooting civilians from an Apache helicopter in Iraq in July 2007. The video, available at www.collateralmurder.com, was published by WikiLeaks on April 5, 2010. Manning faces 52 years in prison. No charges have been filed against the soldiers in the video.
In fact, the actions depicted in “Collateral Murder” contain evidence of three violations of the laws of war set forth in the Geneva Conventions, which amount to war crimes....
Bradley Manning: An American Hero
by Marjorie Cohn, Professor at Thomas Jefferson School of Law
Army Pfc. Bradley Manning is accused of leaking military secrets to the public. This week, his supporters are holding rallies in 21 cities, seeking Manning’s release from military custody. Manning is in the brig for allegedly disclosing a classified video depicting U.S. troops shooting civilians from an Apache helicopter in Iraq in July 2007. The video, available at www.collateralmurder.com, was published by WikiLeaks on April 5, 2010. Manning faces 52 years in prison. No charges have been filed against the soldiers in the video.
In fact, the actions depicted in “Collateral Murder” contain evidence of three violations of the laws of war set forth in the Geneva Conventions, which amount to war crimes....
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