CANADIAN ANARCHIST MOVEMENT-VICTORIA:

THE POLICE HAVE LOST THEIR MARBLES:

It's been almost 3 weeks since a highly successful anti-Olympics protest in Victoria BC (see No2010 Victoria for more news on what's happening out that way). At the time the local media picked up on some "marble throwing incident" to, they hoped, spice up their coverage and also incidentally discredit the protesters. Since then this incident has become the "incredibly shrinking story". Here's Larry Gambone of the Porkupine Blog on how the incident was far less than what was reported at first, and how it may have a totally different implication than what was originally implied in the media.

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Olympic Torch Protest - the so-called marble throwing incident.:
I have waited 3 weeks to do this story to see if anything new came up – so far nothing, so here goes...

On the night of the anti-Olympic protest the Victoria TV station was screaming about “cowardly protesters throwing marbles at police horses” and that “a young man with a back pack full of marbles had been arrested.” This way they drummed up hate among the sheeple against a rather successful protest.

Then the Times Colonist got in the act too with a similar line. Funny thing, the story then dropped out of sight.

Even odder was the fact that no one was arrested. Surely if the police had gotten their hands on someone who tried to throw marbles at them, they would be dragged off bleeding to the hoosegow.

Odd too, is the idea that NO2010 would somehow endorse such a stupid, counter-productive tactic. Of course they didn't.

Turns out no one actually threw any marbles, rather they were dropped. But then it gets muddy. Who did it and why did they do it?

There are a number of different viewpoints. First two letters to the Times Colonist:

"Just a note on the 'marble fiasco'. Maybe the media could take a second and follow-up on their so-called 'sources' (the police, and a woman who found a handful of marbles on the street) on marble THROWING. Being at the protest, I saw what happened with the marbles. None were thrown. Someone had them in his pocket (I would like to know why, but since carrying marbles is not a crime, I didn't feel it necessary to ask), his pocket broke and they FELL OUT. A number of us stopped to pick them up, and because we were afraid of being separated from the group, we weren't able to get them all. Many thanks to the woman who got the rest. I would like to see one person step forward that actually SAW anyone throw anything at the horses, because from my perspective, it didn't happen. Stop being lazy reporters, and do your job.

Lover of Horses

Nov 2
"Protesters also threw marbles at the feet of horses used by the Vancouver police mounted squad."

This is a lie. I was there when the marbles were released, at one of the intersections on Cook Street where we stopped for ten minutes or thereabouts. My friend and I commented on what a stupid thing that is, dropping marbles onto the street so that the horses, already enslaved and wishing they were in a warm barn somewhere, might slip on them. Others nearby expressed similar comments. We were at the back of the crowd, where I stayed for most of the route, and there were several police officers within earshot. It was clear that the officers were made aware of the marbles. The horses passed without incident.

It wouldn't surprise me to learn that the marbles were released by agents provocateurs, who have been proven (and those from Montebello may actually go to jail for inciting violence) to be planted into crowds for the purposes of disrupting otherwise peaceful acts of civil disobedience. Janine Bancroft

Nov 2

Global Television weighs in on Nov 3:
"Anti-Olympic protesters say it was not them, but the police themselves, who threw marbles at police horses during the Olympic torch rally in Victoria Friday. They say a police "provocateur" planted among the demonstrators did so to discredit them.
The police, meanwhile, say the allegation is ridiculous.
"The public saw marbles coming from the crowd -- and Victoria police officers saw it," said Sgt. Grant Hamilton of Victoria police.
Tamara Herman, an organizer for the group No2010, said one of the protesters saw someone who was not part of their group drop marbles in the roadway.
Herman said she could not name the witness or offer other details. Nevertheless, she contends that a plainclothes police officer was trying to discredit the protesters.
"The Integrated Security Unit [responsible for Games security] stated they wouldn't rule out using provocateurs. Organizers at the back of the march saw someone they didn't recognize dropping a bag of marbles," Herman said. "

The Martlet (U Vic paper) gets it partly wrong:
"Despite fears of a potential police crackdown on protesters, there were no arrests. The only visible attempted violence came when some protesters- who were not known to No-2010 organizers- threw marbles at the feet of the seven horses being ridden by the mounted squad The Martlet

Nov 23

What really happened? Some kid who plays marbles had his pocket split? Police agent provocateur? Or could it be a free lance provocateur? Don't put it past the far right to do such a thing. One thing for certain is that the media will seize upon any incident real or imagined to intimidate and discredit the forces of progress.

CANADIAN LABOUR-NEWFOUNDLAND:

VALE INCO HIDES FROM NEWFIE WORKERS:

Last November 15 the sound of clucking could be heard in the streets of downtown St. John's Newfoundland as mining conglomerate Vale Inco chickened out from making an appearance at a scheduled Mining Conference. The cause...they heard that striking workers from their Voisey's Bay facilities were coming to demonstrate. Here's the story from the USW strike support site Fair Deal Now.

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Vale Workers Travel to St John’s as Vale Inco Hides:
Striking miners from Voisey’s Bay travelled to St. John’s to demonstrate at a Mining Conference sponsored by Vale, but Vale doesn’t show up.

Upon hearing of United Steelworkers’ protest at the St. John’s Mining Conference, Vale didn’t ever set up a booth. This is in keeping with Vale’s cancelling of “Vale Day” at the New York Stock Exchange and other stakeholder meetings last month.

Pictured above are Brenda Andrew, Jerome O’Keefe (from Oil refinery), some other picketers from the St. John’s dockyard, Doug Saunders, Robert Legge, Bernie Power, Glen Nichols, Renee Edmunds, and Doreen Squires.

After realizing that Vale was going to be a no-show, the workers (from Voisey’s Bay and the St. John’s dockyards) took their protest to the Baine Johnson building where Vale Inco has its Atlantic Canada Headquarters.

INTERNATIONAL LABOUR/FEMINISM:

VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN IS A UNION ISSUE:

Today, November 25, was the UN International Day on the Elimination of Violence Against Women. Here is the statement from the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) about why this issue is very much a labour issue. many thanks to the online labour solidarity site Labour Start for pointing Molly in the direction of this statement. The only quibble I might have with the following is in the title. "Governments" are unlikely to be very effective in stopping such violence, and they are often the root cause of it.

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Stop Violence Against Women Day:

Governments to Take Decisive Action to End Violence Against Women:
Brussels, 25 November 2009: On the occasion of the UN International Day on the Elimination of Violence against Women, the ITUC and affiliates in a range of countries are organizing activities to say “no to violence against women and girls” and to mobilize against the impunity of that violence around the world. These activities are taking place in the context of the UN Secretary-General’s campaign ‘UNiTE to End Violence against Women’ and the Global Unions Campaign ‘Decent Work, Decent Life for Women’.

“Violence against women at work is a serious problem, just as it is in society generally. Trade unions are campaigning on both fronts, to get rid of it in the workplace and in the community,” said ITUC General Secretary Guy Ryder, “Inequality and pervasive discrimination against women and girls are at the core of the problem, providing an environment where violence is tolerated or even encouraged.”

One-third of women are subjected to violent attack at some point in their lives, with the majority of cases involving rape or attempted rape. Women aged 15 - 44 are more at risk of death and disability through domestic violence than through cancer, motor accidents, war and malaria, and each year some two million girls between aged five and 15 are subjected to commercial sexual exploitation.

Women in many different economic sectors also experience violence in their working life, including domestic work, manufacturing sweatshops, agriculture and the hospitality industry, while sexual harassment remains a serious problem across the spectrum of employment and in every part of the world.

The First ITUC World Women’s Conference (19-21 October 2009) adopted a resolution on “Violence against women” which aims to further intensify trade union action. The Conference launched an appeal to the international community, and in particular to the governments of the countries concerned, to take decisive action to bring an end to the violence perpetrated against women, based on their status as women or as trade unionists, especially in armed conflicts and in situations where violence against women – including rape – is used systematically as a weapon of war.
To see the Women’s Conference webpage
The ITUC is also working with Global Union Federations in their respective industrial sector, including the campaign by Union Network International

”Stop the violence against women: Break the circle!“
To see the special ITUC webapge on violence against women
To see the spotlight interview with Rosane Sasse (UGT-Brazil)

http://www.ituc-csi.org/spip.php?article4640

CANADIAN POLITICS:

DEMAND A TORTURE INQUIRY:

The ongoing debate about whether Canadian troops have been deliberately handing over detainees for torture to the Afghan government and whether the Canadian government knew all about this continues in Parliament and the press. Molly has briefly commented on a this a couple of days ago. The following petition appeal is from the Canadian anti-militarist group Ceasefire.ca , and they are asking you to write the leaders of the federal political parties demanding a full public inquiry into the allegations. Here's the appeal.

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Add your voice - We need a Torture Inquiry:‏

I want a TORTURE INQUIRY

The news from Ottawa is shocking. Senior intelligence officer Richard Colvin repeatedly warned the government about the routine use of torture in Afghan prisons, yet the Canadian Forces continued to hand over their prisoners to brutal Afghan authorities.

Stephen Harper's Conservative government, rather than taking the charges seriously, has instead used a smear campaign to attack Mr. Colvin. We cannot trust the military, or this government, to investigate itself.

Please send your letter to all of the party leaders, calling for an independent public inquiry into the conduct of government and military officials at the highest levels.We must learn the truth, and hold those responsible accountable for their actions, and their inaction. We cannot allow Canada to be complicit in torture.

In peace,

Steven Staples, Ceasefire.ca
P.S. After you send your letter, please make your donation to Ceasefire.ca's campaign to end Canada's war in Afghanistan. If you have already made a gift recently, please accept our thanks.

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THE LETTER:

Please use the link above or go to THIS LINK to send the following letter to the leaders of Canada's federal political parties.

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Dear Prime Minister Harper,
I am very concerned by the recent testimony of senior intelligence officer Richard Colvin.
According to Mr. Colvin, who served in Afghanistan and is currently posted to Canada's embassy in Washington, the government received repeated warnings that people who were taken prisoner and transferred to Afghan authorities by Canadian troops were tortured by the Afghans. Yet the Canadian government failed to act.

I support the call for an independent public inquiry into the possibility that government and military officials abandoned their responsibility to ensure Canada acted within Canadian and International law, and upheld Canadian values.
I look forward to your reply.
Sincerely,
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Monsieur le Premier ministre,
Le récent témoignage de Richard Colvin, officier senior du renseignement, m’inquiète beaucoup.

D’après monsieur Colvin, qui a servi en Afghanistan et qui est aujourd’hui en poste à l’ambassade du Canada à Washington, le gouvernement canadien a reçu maints avertissements selon lesquels les gens faits prisonniers par les soldats canadiens et transférés aux autorités afghanes étaient torturés par les Afghans. Or, le gouvernement canadien a refusé d’agir.





Il est possible que le gouvernement et les autorités militaires n’aient pas vu à ce que le Canada agisse selon les lois canadiennes et le droit international et respecte les valeurs canadiennes, comme ils en ont la responsabilité. J’appuie donc l’appel en faveur d’une enquête publique indépendante là-dessus.





En attendant votre réponse, Monsieur le Premier ministre, je vous prie d’agréer mes salutations respectueuses.

ANARCHIST PUBLICATIONS:

WORKERS' SOLIDARITY 112 NOW ONLINE:

Issue number 112 of 'Workers' Solidarity' the newspaper of the Irish Workers' Solidarity Movement is now available as a downloadable pdf file. See either their website or the link below. The WSM has carried out an amazing work of organizing and agitating in their own country, and they have also been a great inspiration to others of us in Canada and the USA. It's a great tribute to their hard work to see that their paper has continued for 112 issues. Most anarchist publications have the lifespan of a mayfly. Here's the promo from the Anarkismo anarchist news site.

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Workers Solidarity 112 is online:
The November - December 2009 Edition of the Workers Solidarity freesheet is now online. This is the 112th issue of Ireland's anarchist paper for you to read online, download a PDF of or distribute. 10,000 copies of the print edition are produced.

Click on one of the links below for a PDF version of Workers Solidarity 112.PDF of Workers Solidarity 112 Web Edition 2.3 Mb
Anarchism and the WSM
We carried out an anti-Lisbon campaign involving the distribution of 15,000 copies of a special edition of Workers Solidarity and putting up posters advocating a no-vote. Our activity was designed to begin a discussion about the sort of Ireland and Europe people would like to live in, and was centred on the needs of working people. The vote may have been lost but several thousand people got to hear about the anarchist alternative.

Our members have been active in supporting the MTL dockers during their prolonged strike in Dublin, where several community marches and an occupation of the freight depot were staged. As we got to print talks are still taking place about the details of a return to work, but the company has been defeated in its attempt to break the union.

We were also on the streets, with 15,000 others, in the national march against cuts in the community sector on Sep 30th in Dublin and mobilised for the ICTU regional protests on Nov. 6th. Our message was that ‘marching is not enough – a national strike is needed’.

WSM members have been involved, with others, in the new Social Solidarity Network of workers, unemployed, students and communities who want to resist cutbacks in pay and services.

Members in Belfast, who earlier this year were involved in defending Roma immigrants against racist gangs, supported a picket of the BBC offices there in protest at the neo-nazi British National Party being given a television platform.

We held well-attended public meetings in Cork and Dublin with a guest speaker from the Zabalaza Anarchist-Communist Front, a South African anarchist organisation. You can find out more about Zabalaza at www.zabalaza.net.

Our series of public meetings about the economic crisis and the anarchist alternative continued with one in Navan in early November. WSM members also met with probably the planet’s best-known anarchist, Noam Chomsky, who visited Belfast and Dublin at the end of October.

The WSM held a successful national conference on October 31st, where we discussed the future policies and strategies of the organisation as we head into what might be a period of heightened social struggle. If you are interested in joining us in this struggle, then get in touch!
In This Issue

There is Another Way : Anarchists find huge hoard of wealth
The rich remain rich and the rest of us are supposed to keep them that way. That’s why we get pay cuts, health cuts, education cuts, job cuts. It’s not as if dipping into the pockets of PAYE workers is the only way to foot bills.

It's Time to Strike Back
Working people hit the streets in huge numbers on November 6th. The protests showed, once again, that there is a willingness to resist the government’s attacks on living standards. Most observers put the total number who walked out of work to take part in the eight protests at around 100,000.

Francisco Ferrer: Murdered By the State
A hundred years ago this year, a huge campaign arose around the world to save the life of Francisco Ferrer. A Catalonian by birth, Ferrer was an active anarchist and well known across Europe and the Americas for his radical views on education. Ferrer’s enemies were not for turning though and the campaigns failed. He shot to death by firing squad on October 13th 1909.

Social Solidarity Network formed
The government has inflicted growing hardship upon workers and communities across the country, spreading the ethos that we should all commit to sharing the pain. This has been perpetuated by mainstream media, as “sharing the pain” has been portrayed, as the only way out of this crisis.

Review of the Someday Independent
“Someday Independent” is a 4 page leaflet produced by Dublin Shell to Sea. The design/layout and graphical work is of a very high standard and compares favourably to high cost, professionally produced brochures. The overall colour scheme and design is a pleasing blue “wave” design which is easy on the eye and appropriate to the subject material without drawing too much attention to itself.

Fascists Get the Boot
In October, Anti-Fascist Action successfully prevented a large European neo-nazi gig from going ahead in Kerry. Dozens of Slovakian, Polish and Czech neo-nazis were planning to spend a long weekend in Ireland to celebrate the birthday of a leading fascist living in Dublin who’s originally from Prague. AFA managed to stop the gig from taking place and even had the pleasure of bumping into a few of the Blood & Honour fascists in Dublin.

A veteran anarchist speaks of revolution, war and bad coffee…
During his recent visit to Dublin, Workers Solidarity took the opportunity, over “bad coffee”, to chat to 93 year old Roma Marquez Santo about some of his experiences of the Spanish revolution. In 1936 Roma was a metal worker and a member of both the UGT trade union and the POUM, an anti-Stalinist communist party.

Thinking About Anarchism: Workers Have the Power
In the WSM we're often asked why we spend so much time talking about the working class. Even the title of our paper, Workers Solidarity, seems a bit odd to some - why are we talking so much about workers? Isn't anarchism for everybody? And aren't we all middle class now?Review of Black Flame
This is an excellent work. It is wide ranging, both in terms of subjects covered and geography. The latter makes a welcome break from most accounts of anarchism, which are sadly all-too Eurocentric. The former sees anarchist analysis expanded from the usual subjects of political authority and economic class into gender and imperialism (and national liberation struggles). It covers such perennial issues as anarchist organisation (including ‘Platformism’), the Spanish Revolution and a host of others.

That's Capitalism
If the recession is hitting everyone, who is buying the Goldvish mobile phone? This diamond-encrusted mobile costs a cool €1 million. See www.goldvish.com. And you can write the cheque with a limited edition Montblanc fountain pen for $25,000 (€17,072).

LOCAL EVENTS-WINNIPEG:

BOOK LAUNCH-'THE TYRANNY OF RIGHTS':

This just in from the Viva Mondragon facebook page...A book launch for 'The Tyranny of Rights' down at our local infoshop/restaurant/grocery store Mondragon, 91 Albert St., Winnipeg, MB.

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Brewster Kneen "Tyranny of Rights" Book Launch:
Date:
Tuesday, December 8, 2009
Time:
7:30pm - 9:30pm
Location:
Mondragon

91 Albert St.

Winnipeg, MB
Description
Brewster Kneen, author of the food security classic Farmageddon, is back! Join us for the launch of his latest book The Tyranny of Rights. In this provocative book, Brewster Kneen asks why the demand for rights – human rights, intellectual property rights, the right to save seed, the right to food – has become such a dominant strategy of movements for social and economic justice. As he discusses this question, he uncovers ways in which concept and language of rights imposes the individualistic and legalistic approach on other civilizations and ways of thinking. Kneen intends to spark dialogue and debate about the concept of ‘rights’ and the best ways to achieve genuine justice and equity among people and the Creation we inhabit.

INTERNATIONAL ANARCHIST MOVEMENT-DENMARK:

SOMETHING FRESH IN THE STATE OF DENMARK:

The following pleasing little piece of news about a new anarchist organization in the country of Denmark comes from the Anarkismo anarchist news website.

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Libertære Socialister/Libertarian Socialists formed in Denmark!:

The 8th of November witnessed the founding conference of the Danish group Libertære Socialister (literally: Libertarian Socialists). It's over ten years since Denmark last had a specifically socialist anarchist group, so this happy event was long overdue. Over two days, 18 representatives from local groups in Aalborg, Århus, Copenhagen and Svendborg, as well as members of the sister organizations SUF (Sweden) and Motmakt (Norway) met in good spirits to discuss and vote in a constitution, political platform and an action plan for 2010.

Politically, Libertære Socialister has oriented itself towards syndicalist, anarcho-communist and collectivist anarchist currents, as well as council communists and other strains of libertarian socialism. In practice, it will be organised on the basis of local groups organized together by way of direct democracy in a federal structure. These local groups will be supplemented by working groups that will deal with specific political or practical issues.

Libertære Socialister expects to start with approximately 25 members nationwide, and welcomes contact with like-minded groups abroad - they can be contacted at lskontakt@gmail.com
Related Link: http://www.libsoc.dk

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MOLLY NOTES:

To say the least Molly approves, particularly in terms of the name choice. Throughout most of the world, including here in Canada, the word "socialist" hardly has the mountainous difficulty in public acceptance that such words as "anarchist" or especially "communist" do. The only country in the world where this label would present difficulties and endless wasted hours in trying to redefine preconceptions would be the USA. It has to be said, however, that as to the average American who thinks this is a dirty word that they wouldn't know a socialist if he came up behind them and nationalized their asshole (with excessive compensation of course). Similarly the word "libertarian" hardly leads to confusion outside of the USA where there is the world's one and only influential "libertarian" culture and party on the right.

It is also commendable that the comrades have seen the need to focus on the socialist heart of what anarchism is. Far too often this is more than slightly obscured by a frenzied issue hopping and the illusion that sheer activism equals some sort of progress. Anarchism has grown tremendously in the last few decades, but until it pays attention to the often "boring" ( to some who have romantic illusions ) everyday details of economics and people's ordinary lives it will be doomed to remain the property of a closed sect. Similarly anarchism cannot progress beyond the possession of an incestuous subculture or academic fad until it recognizes the crying need for organization, no matter how small to begin with.

Good luck to the new Danish organization, and may all their herrings be well pickled and the Mermaid always smile on them.

CANADIAN LABOUR-VANCOUVER:

SCRAMBLED MINISTER FOR BREAKFAST:

Yesterday morning BC Health Services Minister Kevin Falcon got a little more than he could swallow as he showed up to speak at a breakfast meeting of the BC Chamber of Commerce. For many months he has been at the helm during the long standing dispute between the BC government and its ambulance paramedics, represented by CUPE Local 873 aka the Ambulance Paramedics of British Columbia. News of this dispute was last reported here at Molly's Blog on April 25, 2009. Here, from the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) is the story of the reception he received.

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A breakfast grilling for B.C.’s Health Minister:
Downtown rally calls on Kevin Falcon to admit Bill 21 error, get back to bargaining table
VANCOUVER—Not surprisingly, the guest of honour avoided the scene by arriving through an underground entrance. But thanks to the spirited cries of “Stop 21!” from about 200 CUPE and other union activists, BC Health Services Minister Kevin Falcon must have got the message loud and clear: they let him know that working people will not tolerate the kind of legislative trampling on collective bargaining rights that the BC Liberals committed with Bill 21, which forced a contract on ambulance paramedics.

At 6:45 this morning (Monday), a large crowd gathered outside Vancouver’s Terminal City Club, where the minister was speaking on his vision for B.C. health care at a breakfast hosted by the BC Chamber of Commerce.

CUPE BC general vice-president Paul Faoro, host of the rally, appealed to the health minister’s sense of reason and fair play in calling for an end to legislative battery.

“All men make mistakes, but only a wise man admits to his mistakes,” said Faoro, citing a famous Churchill quote.

“Mr. Falcon, be a man and come to the table—say you made a mistake, and let’s have a conversation about fixing our ambulance system. Because you can be sure that we’re going to continue to fight for our ambulance service until we have an ambulance service that works for everyone in this province.”

CUPE 873 president John Strohmaier told the crowd they were not just supporting paramedics but the fundamental right of all public employees to negotiate their own collective agreements—a Charter right in Canada.

He also challenged the health minister’s argument for introducing Bill 21.

“Mr. Falcon said he had to do this because of the H1N1 virus,” said Strohmaier. “Well we know that VANOC told him to legislate paramedics, and he did exactly what they told him to do.”

The CUPE 873 president also criticized the government’s choice of Chris Trumpy as the industrial relations commissioner in charge of reviewing the ambulance service.

“It’s a sham,” he said. “They chose someone who has no experience in labour relations, no experience in health care—but who does have experience with Liberal governments. It’s not too late, Kevin, it’s not too late, Gordon, to admit you made a mistake and treat ambulance paramedics with respect and dignity.”

Hospital Employees’ Union president Ken Robinson brought greetings from HEU’s 43,000 members—along with a reminder that the BC Liberals have done this kind of thing before.

“HEU members know from Bill 29 in 2002,” Robinson said. “How did that work for you,

Gordon? HEU took that bill all the way to the Supreme Court of Canada and won. And we know from the legislated rollbacks in 2004. Bill 21 does not respect paramedics. It’s about privatizing the service.”

Robinson said that HEU—CUPE’s health services division in B.C.—would stand beside ambulance paramedics for the collective bargaining rights of all.

“We will stand beside you wherever you are, any day of the week, to make sure we keep public services in this province.”

Faoro reminded the public that rallies would be held around the province and that a movement was growing in support of the paramedics. He closed the rally by offering Falcon the best media opportunity of all.

“Your website actually says ‘Our goal is to find a resolution to your situation.’ Well, Mr. Falcon, we want a resolution to this situation,” said Faoro. “You want to make British Columbia the best place on earth. Well, in a few months a lot of people are coming here from around the world. What an opportunity to announce that we’ve made B.C. ambulance paramedics the best ambulance service in the world.”

CANADIAN ANARCHIST MOVEMENT-TORONTO:

PLANNING THE 2010 TORONTO ANARCHIST ASSEMBLY:

It's an anarchist bookfair by another name, perhaps one more true to what actually happens at such events, something like the word favoured in the Spanish speaking world, "encuentro", meaning more or less "encounter". More happens at anarchist bookfairs than just gazing at books laid out on a table. Building on their success this year with their "assembly" people are now laying out plans for a bigger and better one next year. If you live in the Toronto area consider hooking up and lending a hand. The following appeal is from the Ontario section of the Anarchist Black Cat discussion board.

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Help build the 2010 anarchist assembly!:
Recently a group of anarchist activists who were involved in organizing the 2009 Toronto anarchist gathering got together to start planning a similar event for 2010.

What we came up with at our initial meeting was to call an anarchist assembly to be held in Toronto in March 2010.

We see this as a public assembly consisting of assembly meetings, workshops, book tables, and social spaces that will build the anarchist movement.

Attend the next organizing meeting!

The next organizing meeting for the 2010 anarchist assembly will be held:

Sunday November 29

Ontario Institute for Studies in Education (OISE)

252 Bloor St. West (St. George Subway)

4pm

Meet in the lobby

We encourage all anarchist activists to participate in making this a productive and exciting event for all.

IMMIGRANTS/HEALTH CARE:

FAIR HEALTH CARE FOR IMMIGRANTS AND REFUGEES:

The following notice of a public meeting on the issue of health care for immigrants and refugees this Thursday comes from the Ontario Coalition Against Poverty (OCAP). catch it if you're down Toronto way.

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Crossing the Borders:

Creating a Just Health Care System for Immigrants and Refugees:‏
~Please forward widely~

Crossing the Borders:

Creating a Just Health Care System for Immigrants and Refugees

* Presented by "Health for All"

Thursday November 26th

6:30pm

55 Gould Street, Student Campus Centre, Room 115

Ryerson University

*An Evening Panel & Discussion Featuring:*

*Paul Caulford, MD, Scarborough Urban Health Outreach Centre (Clinic for the Uninsured) will discuss the reasons for and workings of the SUHOC, a health clinic that serves a large population of undocumented/uninsured persons.

* Bob Gardner, PhD, The Wellesley Institute will speak about the health care system and structural issues of equity

* Nell T.will speak about her first-hand experience of attempting to access care as a person with precarious status

*MacDonald Scott, LLCL will speak, as Nell's legal representation, from a legal perspective, outlining her unprecedented case in attempting to access Interim Federal Health, without status.

* Health is a fundamental human right. One that is being denied to hundreds of thousands of people living in Toronto. Increasingly conservative immigration policies are leading to high rates of rejection of refugee and permanent resident applications. Such policies leave many migrants with no access to health insurance. It is well established that immigrants tend to arrive healthier than the general Canadian population, but with the stresses associated with migration,migrant health deteriorates and the need to access health care inevitably arises.

The 200,000 undocumented migrants estimated to live in Toronto are forced to live in chronic fear of becoming ill, and to abandon their medical needs until they become too dire to ignore. Many die without ever having accessed care due to fear of being reported to immigration enforcement and the looming threat of deportation. Afraid of being targeted by immigration enforcement, people are forced to choose between deportation or a healthy life.

Every day in our cities, hundreds of thousands are denied justice at the doors of health care facilities throughout Toronto, and forced to pay impossible fees to access basic medical care. There is a growing consciousness around the GTA that we, as health administrators, front line staff, doctors, nurses, social workers, students, and health professionals, must be able to provide services to all people, irrespective of immigration status, and must work together to create a just health care system that recognizes health as a fundamental human right.

We are coming together to create meaningful and accessible services for all people. We invite you to an evening of discussion that will focus on the question: What would a just health care system in Canada look like?

This participatory evening will bring together people who are doing migrant research, front line health care professionals, as well as administrators and staff to discuss the current challenges and innovations in expanding services, and routes of entry into the health care system for persons without insurance and status. This forum will bring together a number of people who are already engaged with these issues - but also bring in students and those who are seeking to learn more about health issues for undocumented peoples living in Toronto, and across Canada.

*We want proposals, we want questions, we want to hear your experiences and know what you think the answers are. Please join us for this very important event.

* *Join our "Health for All" facebook group to stay updated:**http://www.facebook.com/group.**php?gid=180071088303&ref=ts*<http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=180071088303&ref=ts>

*Endorsed by*:

Health Is Political

Health Providers Against Poverty

Medical Reform Group

No-One Is Illegal, Toronto

Nursing Students of Ontario Public Health Interest Group,

U of T Medicine

Registered Nurses' Association of Ontario

Residents without Borders,

University of Toronto

Students for Medicare

The Ontario Coalition Against Poverty

CANADIAN LABOUR-MOOSE JAW:

XL BEEF BOYCOTT ?:

As Molly reported last October 18 members of UFCW Local 1400 have been locked out since late September at the XL Beef plant in Moose Jaw Saskatchewan. Since then the workers have been walking the picket line and trying to keep their spirits up. XL workers are beginning to ask the public for a boycott of XL products, as the following story from the Moose Jaw Times Herald says.

XL Foods in Moose jaw is owned by XL Foods in Calgary which, in turn is owned by Edmonton based Nilsson Brothers Group. The company claims worldwide exports, and it seems to me that any consideration of a boycott should be national or even international. XL products are sold under their own label and also the label of 'The Original Alberta Beef'. The company operates slaughter and processing facilities in Alberta and Saskatchewan.

Here's the story from the Moose Jaw Times Herald.

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Locked out XL Beef employees start boycott campaign:
Shoppers at Moose Jaw grocery stores on Friday might have seen individuals passing out pieces of paper reading “Tainted Meat.”

However the word “tainted” wasn’t referring to the quality of the meat, but rather how unionized XL Beef employees feel about the ongoing labour dispute with the employer.

Norm Neault, United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) Union Local 1400 president and spokesman, said employees are asking for community support by way of a local boycott on XL products.

Although UFCW hasn’t asked Saskatchewan Federation of Labour for support with the boycott yet, Neault said it will.

He said although it may seem difficult, the union is urging residents to help bring an end to the lockout by asking store clerks and managers which are XL, and then avoiding the purchase of such items.

According to Neault, Friday was the first time the union members handed out pamphlets as part of a boycott campaign

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According to this further article from the Moose Jaw Times Herald the Saskatchewan Federation of Labour (SFL) is hesitating about whether to endorse the boycott.

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Saskatchewan Federation of Labour to consider supporting XL boycott:
If the Saskatchewan Federation of Labour (SFL) chooses to support the local XL boycott, it will only do so after thorough consideration.

“We don’t take boycotts lightly, because once started, they’re hard to turn off,” SFL executive assistant Don Anderson told the Times-Herald on Monday.

MOLLY NOTE:

I really have to call a time out here. What could possibly be good reasons for calling off a boycott ? One would be that the strike has been won in which case the boycott virtually calls itself off as the news is disseminated. Another is that the strike is really, completely and truly lost in which case you might as well keep the thing going out of pure spite and punishment of the victor. Another would be that the workers (not a union head office) involved themselves ask for its cancellation for whatever reason. This is also virtually self cancelling. Yet another is that there is a court judgement that leads to the bailiffs coming and seizing union assets all the way down to the light sockets and the toilet seats. Any tin pot lawyer whose whisky consumption is less than 26oz/day should be able to protect the union against that one. What is not a good reason is any desire of union officials to have complete and total control over any such boycott- just for the sake of having such control. OK, time out over.
On Friday, XL Beef employees were at grocery stores, handing out pamphlets encouraging local shoppers to boycott XL products.

Norm Neault, United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) Union Local 1400 president and spokesman, said the union is urging residents to help bring an end to the lockout by them asking store clerks and managers what products are XL products, and then avoiding the purchase of such items.

Neault said the union would also ask for support from the SFL.

According to Anderson, the provincial organization will take that application and contact all other unions within its membership that might be impacted by the boycott. If SFL decides to support the UFCW initiative, Anderson said his staff would encourage all 95,000 SFL members and their families to stop purchasing XL products. ( Well, I bloody well hope so-Molly )

CANADIAN POLITICS:

WHISTLEBLOWER SMEARED:

The Parliamentary Committee hearing into the allegations of Canadian ex-diplomat in Afghanistan Robert Colvin that Canada knowingly handed over Afghan detainees to that country's government for torture continues. The Harper government responded with what it does best- a vicious attack on Colvin's credibility. The following is the story from the Harper Index news service, a site devoted to keeping a close eye on the manoeuvres of our beloved Prime Minister, Sneaky Stevie.

This matter has been commented on repeatedly in the mainstream press, and from what I am reading the general opinion of said commentators is that "nobody gives a damn". The more Conservative the author the greater amount of gloat with which this message is delivered. The sad fact is that it is probably true. Outside of the tiny ranks of "the left" most people in these parlous times have bigger fish to fry. One may hope, however, that this incident added to dozens of others may reinforce the also widespread conviction that Sneaky Stevie and his coterie are accomplished liars. If it adds to this realization it will have done some good.

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Colvin's gagging and public smearing highlight callousness:
Harperites deaf to suffering of detainees, innocent or not, and quick to slag courageous whistleblower.
OTTAWA, November 20, 2009, a special HarperIndex.ca report: The reaction to diplomat Robert Colvin's report, that top advisers gagged him when he tried to report widespread torture of Afghan detainees captured by Canadians, revealed the Harper government's callousness in two ways. First, the government, according to Colvin, who served as a top diplomat in Afghanistan, willfully ignored urgent reports from him in 2006 and 2007 that all detainees, guilty and innocent, were subject to torture, including being beaten with rubber hoses and electrical cable, shocked with electrical current, and raped.

Colvin pleaded for a year with top officials to deal with the situation, but he was told to keep quiet and to stop putting his concerns in writing.

Then, confronted this week with Colvin's explosive testimony to a Parliamentary committee, government ministers blasted Colvin as an incompetent official and under Taliban influence. "We are being asked to accept testimony from people who throw acid in the faces of schoolchildren and who blow up buses of civilians in their own country," defence minister Peter MacKay said in Parliament.

Attacks by MacKay and other government members came despite Colvin's support for Canada's military role in Afghanistan, and his posting, since 2007, to Washington in the high-security role of senior intelligence officer at the Canadian embassy.

"From ordering officials to stop documenting information on detainee abuse, to gagging witnesses, using delay tactics, and interfering with the Military Police Complaints Commission, this government continues to undermine the investigation into Afghan prisoner abuse," NDP defence critic Jack Harris (St. John's East) told a Parliament Hill news conference. "It places our soldiers in a perilous legal position. As Mr. Colvin testified, handing detainees over to people who we know will torture them constitutes a war crime."
Posted: November 20, 2009
Harper Index (HarperIndex.ca) is a project of the Golden Lake Institute and the online publication StraightGoods.ca

CANADIAN POLITICS-TORONTO:

NO PAN-AM EITHER:

The upcoming Vancouver/Whistler Winter Olympics and the resistance to it has been extensively reported here at Molly's Blog, often with material from the Olympic Resistance Network. This mega spectacle is not the only upcoming public trough where corporate hogs gather to suck up public money for no lasting benefit. In 2015 Toronto will be the host of the Pan-Am Games, and opposition to this funds flush is already developing. The following article from No Games Toronto (slightly dated) tells of the waste to come. Past comedies such as the 1976 Montréal and the 1999 Winnipeg Pan-Am Games give a foretaste of what is to come. As for the former the buildings were already starting to fall down or be knocked down long before the city finally paid off its massive debt load 30 years later. The latter only hit Winnipeg taxpayers with a slight debt, but the eminently foolish idea that anything could make Winnipeg, of all places, a tourist destination never panned out. This ain't the Costa del Sol baby. The whole matter is discussed quite thoroughly in THIS LINK from The Dominion newspaper. The original source is, of all places, the National Post. Wow, there's a Conservative out there who actually believes that government should be fiscally prudent rather than showering its corporate friends with so much cash that they need a front end loader to deliver. this guy better watch out that his "friends" in the party don't catch him in a dark alley some night.

But anyways, on to the story.

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Toronto Stuck with Pan Am Games – What’s In Store for Taxpayers?:
For immediate release: November 6, 2009

Toronto – Despite articulate community opposition, and a recent City TV poll where viewers overwhelmingly voted down the idea, the Pan American Sports Organization (PASO) made a decision today that Toronto will host the 2015 Pan American Games. No Games Toronto (NGT), a dedicated group of students and community members, has opposed the Games since May 2009 because the government’s $2.4 billion commitment to the Pan-Am bid, which comes with a blank cheque from the province for any cost overruns, does not consider the needs of Torontonians, especially during a recession. The money is going towards elaborate sport venues and other developments that ignore the immediate priorities of citizens including public swimming pools, community centres, day care facilities, affordable post secondary education and better health care.

“How can our government spend an exorbitant amount of our money on a one-time sporting event and then blame their funding cuts for desperately needed public services on the economic downturn?” asked Joeita Gupta, NGT spokesperson.

NGT has been raising awareness about the impact of mega-sporting events such as the Pan American Games through a flying squad bus during PASO’s visit to Toronto and numerous pickets and rallies. The University of Toronto has plans to build three Olympic-sized sports facilities, costing over $220 million to taxpayers and students and has significantly increased tuition fees.

“Resistance to these Games will grow and continue over the time leading up to and during the event,” stated Murphy Browne, also a spokesperson for NGT.

The government is not spending taxpayers’ dollars wisely in the interests of its citizens. We need a stable economic plan and mega-sporting events result in debt, not profit. Both Montreal and Winnipeg were left with enormous debts since hosting the Olympics and Pan Am Games respectively. Promises of jobs, infrastructure, affordable housing and economic boosts are empty. The Vancouver 2010 Olympic Games have an estimated cost of $6 billion, up from an original estimate of $660 million and the commitment to build affordable housing is cancelled due to mismanagement of the athlete’s village construction.

No Games Toronto will continue its work. Toronto needs a deep investment in public services; not a gamble in a one-time mega sporting event.

The Association of Part-time Undergraduate Students will be hosting a forum titled, "Why Toronto Should Not Host the 2015 Pan American Games" on Friday November 20, from 3-5pm in the Waters Lounge at Woodsworth College, U of T. The talk will be a part of APUS' Free Education Week.

CANADIAN LABOUR-ONTARIO/NEWFOUNDLAND:

TWITTER FOR VALE INCO STRIKERS:

The strike against the multinational Vale Inco company continues in Ontario and Newfoundland, one that is surely due to enter the annals as one of the hardest fought contests in Canadian labour history. Keep up to date with the news via the strike support site Fair Deal Now. Meanwhile the online labour solidarity site Labour Start has launched a twitter based petition against the way that the company is handling (or not) negotiations. Go on over and sign up now. Here's the info from labour Start.

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First-ever global union Twitter petition campaign‏:
We need to turn up the heat on Vale Inco, the giant transnational mining corporation.

3,500 miners in Canada have been on strike since July and the company is not budging.

Over 6,200 of you have sent off protest messages -- and we need to keep growing that number.

But we also have to find new and innovative ways to deliver our message to the company.

It turns out that Vale Inco uses Twitter to recruit new staff. At the moment, they don't seem to be using it to recruit strike-breakers, but there's no reason why they won't.

If they can use Twitter to tell people how great it is to work for their company, we can use the same tool to tell them what we think.

LabourStart has today launched the first-ever global union Twitter petition campaign.

If you are a Twitter user, please click on the 'Sign and tweet' button on that page.

If not, please sign up to Twitter (it will take you only a few seconds) and then go to our petition.

Over 1,000 people sent off tweets in the last few days targeting the rabidly anti-union U.S. Chamber of Commerce. Which did not make the Chamber happy at all and provoked an angry response.

Let's see if we can wake up Vale Inco, and bring them back to the negotiating table.

Sign and tweet our campaign today.

Please forward this message on to your lists.

Thanks very much.

Eric Lee

BLOGGING:

MEANWHILE ELSEWHERE IN THE BLOGOSPHERE...:

I figured I'd alert my dearly devoted fan(s?) to other neat new developments out there in Blogland. First of all Larry Gambone who has been writing great common sense anarchism for several decades now is busy moving his writings that were stored on the recently deceased Geocities site (cue funeral music) over to other places. Check out the process at the Porkupine Blog. Also Larry's recent collection of aphorisms. 'Rules to Rebel By' perhaps ?

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Also (cue drum roll please), here in Winnipeg, the throbbing, pulsating centre of the universe (whatyamean 'world class', we go for 'galactic class'), the Winnipeg Wobbly Blog has been running a series on 'Labour's November Martyrs'. Long before one section of our rulers sent young men to kill others in 1914 and the 'other side' did ditto, all over a dispute about who exactly gets to beat black and brown people over the back with a stick, November 11 was remembered in labour circles as the execution date of the Haymarket Martyrs. These were four innocent anarchist labour activists who were framed and killed on November 11 during the struggle for the 8 hour day. Their remembrance led to what is now known as 'Mayday'. Many others laid down their lives during this sad month as well. Read all about at the Winnipeg Wobbly Blog.

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Finally, last but not least, the good folks down Ontario way at the Common Cause/Linchpin site have a new feature on their website (cue marching band music). Linchpin News is an online Twitter based newsfeed bringing the news of the class struggle fresh daily to your inbox. This one actually has great potential. There are other anarchist news sites, some of them with more sense than others, but none of them are Canadian. We need this up here in the frozen north. Another thing that I see about this new bouncing baby boy is that it extends its area of interest outside of the "anarchist movement" (with all its virtues and vices) and reports on the 'class struggle' (in the widest sense), not only when it has the big black 'A' tag on it. In the end anarchism will probably always remain the creed of a small minority, but the most important thing is whether a majority of the people begin to act in a libertarian way in practical actions to solve their problems. Check it out either at Twitter (follow it there) or at the Linchpin website. Tell 'em Molly sent you.

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Finally a word from out sponsor (cue Mr. Clean Commercial music). Nominations for the annual Canadian Blog Awards are now closed, and, like last year, it seems that Molly has been nominated in the category of "Best Political Blog". Voting will begin on November 29. Last year Molly made it into the top 5 finalists, but (weep, wail, moan, whimper) came in last of the five. This year I hope to do better. So here's the deal. When voting opens go over to the Blog Awards site and vote for Molly. You'd better do this or.... I'm going to give you the longest, most boring political lecture that has ever been given in human history. I mean it. Think I can't do it ? Just watch me. When I get going they could put that miserable sneaky prison maker Fidel, along with his slimy little brother Raoul and throw in that cheap Mussolini imitation the megalomaniac Chavez and when all three of the miserable old Stalinist coots had keeled over with massive pulmonary edema Molly would just be getting her second wind.

Wanna avoid a fate worse than death or Sarah Palin as President ? Vote for Molly. There's no other choice. Why settle for the best when you can get the bestest best.

LOCAL EVENTS-WINNIPEG:

POLLOCK'S HARDWARE CO-OP ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING:

Pollock's Hardware Co-op, north Winnipeg's great alternative to the big box stores, will be holding their annual general meeting this coming November 30. Come on out, and if you're not a member already sign up then and there. Check out THEIR WEBSITE or THEIR FACEBOOK PAGE to see what it is all about and all the neat stuff involved at the store. Here's the announcement.

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Annual General Meeting:‏
Pollock’s Hardware Co-op Ltd.

FIRST ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING

Please join your fellow members for the first AGM of our growing Co-op.

Monday November 30, 2009

Luxton Community Centre (upstairs)

210 St. Cross Street

registration: 6:30pm

call to order: 7:00pm

• presentation of 2008-09 financial report and 2009-10 forecast

• reports from the chair and general manager

• approval of co-op by-laws• election of board of directors*

• open discussion about our future

* If you want to be considered for board membership please send your name and contact info to the Nomination Committee c/o 63 Scotia Street, R2W 3W6 or call 471-3080 or e-mail membership@phco-op.ca

DOOR PRIZES!

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Here's a little blurb and link from the Pollock's Co-op website telling what Pollocks is about. Enjoy.

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No bailouts required for Pollock's:
by Tom Simms
In June 2008, Pollock's Hardware was reborn due in a large part to the historic cooperative values that were embraced by our North End neighbourhood. Little did we know at the time that we would be starting up this unique community enterprise amidst one of the worst economic recessions of our times. On the first year anniversary of the re-opening of the store, which had closed after 85 years when the owners retired and a new owner could not be found, we are pleased to report that while global capitalism is unravelling, Pollock's Hardware Co-op is making record sales. No bailouts required here. Our community-owned hardware store on north Main Street is thriving.

The revival of Pollock's Hardware, which was established in 1922, is based on the same historic co-operative principles used by prairie farmers to deal with the devastation of the prevailing survival-of-the-fittest private market ideology that impacted their livelihoods by forming wheat pools and marketing boards. As well, communities have organized themselves along co-operative lines to establish credit unions to fill the void left by banking institutions.

Read the whole article: Winnipeg Free Press July 17, 2009