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Freezing in front of Chapters bookstore
2007-12-16 16:49:00
In Ottawa, Montreal and Toronto yesterday (and maybe Vancouver, I'm not positive) the Chapters/Indigos stores were the scene of boycott pickets. In Montreal they handed out colourful bookmarks which I hear attracted a lot of interest:We in Ottawa thinks that's a great idea and hope to be able to do the same in the near future.It was 21C in Ottawa yesterday. The picket, as always, was organized by NION-Ottawa and Canpalnet-Ottawa. Some of the people who joined us had already been marching for an hour in an event organized by NOWAR-PAIX as follows:NO TO WAR ON IRANDon't nuke Iran HARPER SPEAK OUT: NO TO U.S. WAR ON IRAN!BREAK THE SILENCE! NO MORE DISASTROUS WARS!Experts are convinced that the Bush Government is working hard to find a pretext for war. See Recent Article. Such a move would violate international law as did the invasion of Iraq. And an attack by the U.S. would further destabilize the area.Yet the Harper government has not taken a stand against war with Iran. As ...
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Protesting the JNF
2007-12-08 16:28:00
Community Groups Oppose Fundraising for Illegal "Canada Park"On December 2nd, two hundred people from a host of community organizations braved the first snowstorm of the winter to protest the Jewish National Fund (JNF) annual Negev Dinner held at the Sheraton Hotel in downtown Toronto. This year's JNF dinner aimed to raise 7 million dollars for the refurbishment of the illegal "Canada Park".[See: Zochrot: The Palestinian Past of Canada Park ...]Protesters denounced fund raising for the park,which is built on the destroyed Palestinian villages of Beit Nuba, Yallu and Imwas seized and destroyed by the Israeli military in 1967. The 10,000 Palestinian residents of these villages were expelled and have been denied the right to return to their homes for the past 40-years. In 1973, the Canadian branch of the JNF raised $15-million to establish "Canada Park" as a 'picnic area' build on top of the destroyed Palestinian villages.Protesters welcomed dinner guests with powerful chants denou...

Another Saturday, another Chapters picket
2007-12-02 22:09:00
On Saturday , December 1, the Chapters bookstore on Rideau Street in Ottawa was once again the scene of a determined and growing picket and public education campaign against financial participation by the Chapters/Indigo owners in Israel's wars and brutal occupation of Palestinian territories. BackgroundA beautiful new banner has been added, although where you see it in the photo is not where store security allowed it to stay. Very polite they are, the security people, but they insisted we keep six feet away from the store front. So the banner moved, but the folks doing the leafleting continued to go wherever they needed to. (click on images to enlarge)In fact, it's quite a dance. The street is crowded and hundreds of shoppers enter and exit the store, and one has to be quick on the toes not to miss anyone in need of information materials. There were very few pauses to get photos like the one below.Besides, it was minus 17C and if you didn't keeping moving you would die. Still, th...

Academic Freedom and the Israel Lobby at U of O
2007-11-23 16:56:00
MEDIA RELEASE(OTTAWA) The public arbitration trial in the case of Professor Denis Rancourt versus University of Ottawa Inc., in the matter of discipline for practicing academic squatting in offering the activism course, Fall 2005, to over 100 enthusiastic students and community members, will end with the closing arguments Monday November 26th, 9AM to 11:30AM: 130 Slater Street (at Metcalfe), 2nd floor, arbitrator Michel Picher presiding. The decision is expected to be an important precedent-setting ruling for academic freedom in Canada because Professor Rancourt pushed the limits of pedagogical experimentation by using a method generally known as critical pedagogy. This involved: using social justice activism, institutional critique, and personal responsibility to provide context and motivation for learning science; removing the carrot and stick control of evaluating by grades; mixed classes with both graduate and undergraduate students and including freely attending community part...
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Montreal Demonstration Demands Repeal of Security Certificates
2007-11-21 16:37:00
Reposted from http://cpcml.ca/Tmld2007/D37187.htm#1Nove mber 19, 2007 - No. 187 Our Security Lies in Our Fight!Take a Bold Step Together in Defence of the Rights of All! Montreal , November 17, 2007. As part of the continuing opposition across the country to state-organized attacks on rights, a militant demonstration was held in Montreal on November 17 to denounce the revised security certificate legislation introduced by the Harper government and to demand freedom for the five men detained under security certificates, Hassan Almrei, Mohammad Mahjoub, Mahmoud Jaballah, Mohamed Harkat and Adil Charkaoui. More than 250 people participated in the action held in the riding of Liberal leader Stephane Dion, St-Laurent--Cartierville, responding to the call by the Coalition Justice Adil Charkaoui to demand that as leader of the Liberal Party and the official opposi...
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Chapters Boycott continues to gain momentum...
2007-11-16 17:25:00
UPDATE: Next picket - December 15 - 1 PM.Here in Canada's capital city Ottawa, members of "Not in our Name" (NION) and Canpalnet-Ottawa, along with supporters from a cross-section of Ottawa activists have been picketing in front of Chapters Bookstore on Rideau St at Sussex Ave., and handing out literature on Israeli Apartheid to shoppers and passersby.Here are photos of the October 20 event. There were also pickets since then on November 3rd, November 17 and December 1st.If you're in Ottawa, please come out and support this effort.STOP ISRAEL'S WARS - BOYCOTT CHAPTERS / INDIGOAs the Israeli Occupation passes its 40th year with continuing brutality and the unflinching support of the Canadian government, it's integral for all Canadians who believe in justice and peace in the Middle East to take a stand. The boycott campaign against Chapters has picked up steam across Canada and has become a regular event in many cities. NION (Not in Our Name - Jews Opposed to Israel's War...
More About: Momentum , Boycott , Conti

Ottawa 911 November Truth Action
2007-11-11 19:48:00
A group of Ottawa ns spent part of yesterday, Nov. 10 on the city streets handing out DVDs and fact cards about the events of September 11, 2001.Yours truly has been fighting off a cold and couldn't attend, but we can all see their great photos and read their story here: November 2007 Truth action
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David F. Noble: The Israel Lobby Strikes Again
2007-11-06 19:50:00
More than meets the eye... the power connections at play in the background at the University of Ottawa ...Backgrounder: The New Israel Lobby in Action (David Noble ) Canadian Dimension November/December 2005 IssueProf. Denis Rancourt is generally assumed to be at odds with the University of Ottawa because of his insistence on giving an extremely popular, ungraded activism course under the heading Science in Society. But yesterday's arbitration hearing, at which York University Prof. David F. Noble acted as Rancourt's advisor, seems to have yielded a different perspective.The Israel Lobby Strikes Again:Revelations from the Rancourt arbitrationBy David F. NobleNovember 6, 2007Going into yesterday's arbitration hearing all assumed that it was about a grievance filed by Professor Denis Rancourt against the University of Ottawa. Rancourt was challenging a disciplinary action taken against him for allegedly describing his course in a manner inconsistent with the course descrip...

Pan Canadian Day of Action Against War
2007-10-29 15:53:00
Photos from Ottawa and MontrealMany in the [Afghan] government "wear suits during the day" and have learned how they should speak about women, but the government is controlled by misogynists, propped up for its own purposes by the United States. Where once there was either the war lords or the Taleban, now there are the war lords and the Taleban to oppress the people, and the drug lords and oil cartels to profit from their plight. Malalai JoyaMunicipalities across the country took to the streets on October 27 to protest Canada's participation in war. See the Canadian Peace Alliance events list.Below are photos from events in Ottawa and Montreal. Click on each to enlarge the image.Ottawa peace activists met at the National Art Gallery, across the street from which is this monument to Orwell's 1984.Someone asked me last week if I thought women were more likely to be peace activists, and I said no, contrary to the myth that women are the gentler sex. I see just as many men as women...
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Firestorm - Thursday
2007-10-25 20:50:00
My sister Moe who lives in El Cajon, not far from San Diego, has been keeping me updated on the raging fires in California.TuesdayWednesdayThursday - 1:17 PMStaying in TodayToday there's quite a bit of smoke in the air here. I have a cough and I feel it down in my lungs so I'm staying indoors today.I did quickly run out to my next door neighbours to see how they and their family were faring. Rosalie was born and raised in Lakeside and has approx. 200 family members in an around the area. Her daughter was evacuated from the town of Ramona north/east of Lakeside and although her house is okay, she hasn't been allowed to go back. The water has been cut off and the air quality is very poor. She's been out since Sunday.In Poway, Rosalie told me that two people who didn't leave their homes were found dead today. I guess it was on the news but I didn't see that part.Rosalie also has a daughter that lives in Poway but she's okay except that her father-in-law, who was also evacuated, ...

Firestorm - Wednesday
2007-10-24 15:57:00
My sister Moe, who lives in El Cajon, surrounded by the California firestorm, has been updating me on the situation. Tuesday's notes.Wed. 9:41 AMA few pictures of different fire areas and scenes. One is of Gov. Schwarzenegger viewing the destruction at Lake Arrowhead.Today when I got out of bed, I could smell smoke in the air, due to the change of wind direction, but it's not too bad. The fires are on the way to being contained although some of them, where there are no building structures, have been left to burn out by themselves.The Santa Ana winds that had been blowing at gale force up to 70 miles per hour are now dying down and being replaced by cool sea breezes. It is said that it's expected to be over by Thursday.So far a series of 16 fires (CTV's Joy Malbon, who talked to Canada AM) said it was up to 20 different fires from Malibu to the border of Mexico.South/East: The Harris fire is still burning but appears to be somewhat contained. The evacuation area there extended a...
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The California Firestorm
2007-10-23 22:25:00
My sister Moe who lives in El Cajon, not far from San Diego, has been keeping me updated on the raging fires in Calif ornia . Thought you might be interested.Tues. 2:08 PMThe fire that is south of me has hit an area called Spring Valley. The people there had to be evacuated today. It's headed toward the Sweetwater reservoir.I don't expect it to come this far. This seems to be a pretty safe area. The air is fairly clear, don't smell smoke at all, so hopefully we'll be safe.The fires are east, south and north with a Santa Ana wind coming from the east over the mountains toward the west. That fans the fires toward the ocean.The east fire is approx. 40 miles away and the north fire is approx. 30 to 40 miles away.The one that is south is closer, within 15 miles, and although I don't expect it to cause any problems here, it's still a little scary.I'm not panicking yet although I've thought of packing a few things and heading toward San Diego but don't know what I'd do when I reac...

Chapters-Indigo Boycott Continues in Ottawa
2007-10-21 01:31:00
The mood was enthusiastic as representatives of a broad coalition of local activists gathered in front of Chapters Bookstore on Rideau Street in Ottawa on Saturday, October 20.Over a two-hour period approximately 20 people showed up to talk to shoppers and distribute flyers produced by both the Coalition Against Israeli Apartheid - CAIA and the Jewish group Not in our Name - NIONNeither group has any objection to these flyers being downloaded and used for actions against Chapters/Indigo in other municipalities. In fact, a group of Algoma students on a visit to Ottawa, who just happened to wander by when we were there, overjoyed us with their eagerness to take samples home with them to copy and distribute.Front and back entrances of the store were covered ...... and book lovers both coming and going were politely offered (and most accepted) information about the Hesig Foundation that's been set up by Chapters/Indigo owner Heather Reisman and her husband Gerry Schwartz to provide pe...
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Ottawa 911
2007-10-15 18:48:00
9/11 Truthers active in Ottawa , CanadaThey've opened up a MySpace site and here are more photos taken at their most recent leafleting action on Oct. 11.Congratulations, Ottawa!

Global Demonstration to Free Burma
2007-10-07 16:24:00
Photo Report of rally and march in Canada's capital city, Ottawa, on October 6, 2007 It was cloudy and threatening rain, but the mood was cheerful and determined. As you will see from the photos, this crowd also had great stamina.This may have been the longest demonstration march ever held in Ottawa, from Parliament Hill to the Burmese embassy to the Chinese embassy with a brief stop on the way at the Russian embassy for good measure. These embassies are not close together.You can follow the route from the Hill on a Google Map. Go here, and type in Parliament Hill in front of the word "Ottawa".The following photos were taken while waiting for the march to get underway. Click on photos to enlarge them.Canadian Friends of Burma Free BurmaFree all political prisons BurmaJustice in Burma - Free Aung San Suu KyiSave BurmaDown with military dictatorship at once! Release all political prisoners! Give Kawthooler independence at once!China hands off Burma; Burma is not Tibet; Hands off S...
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Montebello indepth
2007-10-03 15:53:00
Thanks to John H. of PGA Bloc, Ottawa, for pointing out this blog article:From Sketchy Thoughts BlogClasses, Cops and Liberal Spin: Thinking About Mont ebello A closer look at the Montebello protest against Bush and the SPP and at the motives of various groups that participated, as well as a possible goal of the agents provocateurs that hadn't occurred to a lot of people, including moi.Well worth taking the time to read carefully.
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Algonquin Canoe Protest
2007-09-29 15:16:00
Saying a firm "No" to Uranium Mining in OntarioClick on photos to enlarge themOn September 22, members of Canada's First Nations and their supporters participated in a paddling protest, setting out from Galetta, a community in eastern Ontario located on the Ottawa River near the mouth of the Mississippi River, and arriving on the 27th at Victoria Island, a sacred neutral territory of the Algonquins, also located on the Ottawa River not far from Parliament Hill.They brought with them some water from the Mississippi River to pour onto the steps of Parliament as a symbol of its natural flow into the Ottawa River toward Parliament Hill, and also as a clear warning of what uranium mining can do to the quality of our water supply.The canoeists stayed overnight on the island, and then on the 28th they portaged to the Hill to bring their protest to the seat of the federal government. In the photo below they are seen marching east on Wellington Street, about to turn left onto the Hill.Flag...
More About: Protest , Canoe

Waiting for Mulroney
2007-09-18 22:13:00
MONTREAL ACTIVISTS CALL ON BRIAN MULRONEY TO DENOUNCE ISRAELI APARTHEID“That they would kick us out without cause just shows how afraid Chapters is of having an open dialogue on this issue.” On the 25th anniversary of the massacre of Sabra and ShatilaMontreal, 18 September 2007 – The Montreal network of the Coalition against Israeli Apartheid welcomed former Prime Minister Brian Mulroney during a launch of his autobiography at Indigo bookstore by unfurling a banner denouncing the apartheid situation under which Palestinians are living.Marcel Sévigny, a member of the network, wanted to call on Mr. Mulroney to speak out against the apartheid system now being used against the Palestinian people, given the role Mr. Mulroney is said to have played in bringing down the apartheid system in South Africa. However, Sévigny was removed by security before he could do so.Several other people who have been active in opposing Israeli apartheid in Montreal were identified by the many securi...
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The Great Yellow Ribbon Debate
2007-09-14 05:08:00
Maudlin, sentimental gestures are a cheap and tacky substitute for logic and a true realization of the grim reality into which we have callously tossed our future - our sons, daughters and grandchildren.Ottawa's mayor was regaled with a hula dance in council chambers on the morning of September 12, in front of tables laden with pineapples and coconuts.The public gallery was full of cheering, laughing, clapping people, who turned out to be not members of the public but city employees responding to this year's Hawaiian theme for their United Way campaign. I asked several of the dancers and one of the cheering gallery sitters what Hawaii has to do with raising money for the United Way, but they didn't know. "It's just our theme for this year," they said. Signifying nothing, or at least very little.Not unlike the Motion that would be presented later that morning, to approve "Support our Troops" decals on city and police vehicles, the meaning of which a whopping majority of councill...
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Activism - not for the faint of heart
2007-08-31 20:11:00
(Excerpt only - Full commentary here)Rabble/Salutin: A labour moment: don't apologize, never placate A sense of commitment at any cost draws the attention of others, and sometimes their respect, especially if every normal recourse has failed, sometimes for centuries.YYC: Perhaps, in future mass protests, it would be best to stop trying to be "family friendly" and leave children and the faint of heart at home. That way, anyone who attends will know what to expect, and there won't be hysterically inaccurate letters written to the editors of newspapers in which tear gas and pepper spray are oddly characterized as not much of a show of force on the part of the police, yet black-garbed people carrying makeshift shields and batons to mirror and ridicule the police are automatically assumed to be violent "hooligans"... Read the rest which includes a brilliant letter from a "hooligan" to the Council of Canadians re their symbolic gesture of delivering three plastic boxes of petitions the...
More About: Activism , Heart , Fain

Montebello - A Village Under Siege?
2007-08-21 19:04:00
The right to dissent is under siege!The police response to the protest against the SPP - and presumably also the government's - was nothing short of bizarre!Just to be perverse, I'm going to begin at the end today. Sophie Harkat and I were bus buddies for the Mont ebello trip, and as we strolled toward a restaurant so I could get a coffee and we could find a comfortable place to wait for the bus that would take us back home to Ottawa, we passed this picturesque little establishment: (All pics will enlarge if you click on them)Sophie said, "Isn't that the place the Ottawa Sun said was going to be closed and boarded up?" Turns out she was absolutely right. The Sun headline was: "A Villa ge Under Siege ".Dominique Joly plans to close up his hunting and fishing shop for a few days, but he'll be sleeping inside with a gas mask and bulletproof vest nearby in case some protests turn violent... He's already stinging from the cost of protesters slapping up anti-summit stickers along the...

PRELUDE TO MONTEBELLO
2007-08-20 00:58:00
So this is democracy ...OTTAWA: People came from as far away as Calgary to make their wishes known on the Hill today. I don't know what the police thought the demonstrators were going to do, but man, were they ready for it. It was difficult to get a photo without a cop in it. "Watch the young ones wearing bandanas," I heard a veteran advise a rookie.The folks wearing the bandanas belong to the PGA Bloc, which, although non-violent, tends to be more confrontational. As fate would have it, the march got underway later than many people expected - because the speeches on the Hill took almost an hour - and the PGA group had committed themselves to a meeting at a union building, and had to leave the march prematurely. The police couldn't stand the disappointment.Would you believe the cops followed and surrounded them and wouldn't let them into the building to the room they had booked for their meeting? Finally, union representatives showed up and vouched for them, and the police...
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"Stop the SPP" protest kicks off in Ottawa
2007-08-12 16:14:00
Ottawa Police are saving the world from chalk, one piece at a time ...I suddenly felt I must have entered Bizzarro World by mistake. The same officer who insisted I move six inches from where I had the best advantage to take photos also thought the prodigious prevention of chalk marks, at potential physical cost to bystanders, was a worthy occupation.They're calling it "Full Spectrum Resistance". The so-called Security and Prosperity Partnership (or North American Union) is an issue that has melded all types of people and all methods of protest into one cohesive attempt to save democracy.From now until the SPP summit in Montebello, there will be many and varied actions across the country to express the people's concern about massive changes to our way of life being undemocratically processed behind closed and heavily guarded doors, at the instigation of the administration of the United States and thoroughly supported by transnational corporations, all of them in it strictly for t...
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WHO'S THE TERRORIST? It might be you!
2007-08-02 17:18:00
Notes on a potluck picnic with alleged terrorist Mohamed HarkatWalking around downtown Ottawa, I often see the words, "You might be a terrorist" stenciled on newspaper boxes. It makes me smile sometimes, and other times it makes me feel sad because those few words tell a dangerous story for us all.Who is a terrorist and who is not is more and more becoming a political rather than a factual decision. Sooner or later Canadians will have to awake to the fact that if President Bush can exploit the constantly reinforced fear of terrorism to arbitrarily establish "Executive Orders" that override the American Constitution, it is only a matter of time before it happens here.What am I saying? It has already happened here. The Security Certificate is in direct contravention of Canada's Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Like the Soviet Union of old that we used to love to sneer at, Canada has secret police who can nab anybody they wish by manufacturing evidence and then invoking "National S...
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Out with O'Brien or Bust
2007-07-30 21:08:00
Ottawa's shiny new mayor has landed quickly in hot water.They're calling it the Homeless Strike Action, and when I last saw them, they were only three people sitting on folding chairs in the shadow of Ottawa's Human Rights monument, directly outside the office of the mayor of Canada's capital city. Beside them was a converted ice cream vending cart used as a desk on which lay a petition for the public to sign.I am told their numbers are growing, and on August 1 they will be hosting "lunch and a nap with the Mayor on the front lawn of City Hall", and are inviting all supporters of the homeless to attend. I hear the Ottawa Raging Grannies will also be there to sing some appropriate satirical songs.One of the most determined supporters of the homeless is former mayoral candidate Jane Scharf who has numerous bones to pick with Mayor Larry O'Brien over election irregularities and his callous view of addicts and the homeless, which she says has created a climate where certain police ...
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Raging Grannies say NO to Bush and SPP (NAU)
2007-07-18 22:06:00
Click on images to see larger sizesTwo days ago they were on the Sparks Street Mall, and today they were in the Byward Market, handing out information about the SPP. The Ottawa Raging Grannies are determined to educate Canadians about the Security and Prosperity Partnership, also described as the North American Union or "Deep Integration". They plan to continue leafleting from now until the visit of George W. Bush in August.Below are Jo Wood and Ria Heynen as they took a short break to allow their public (including moi) to snap pics.Because of the Grannies' effort, hundreds more Ottawans have been warned about the implications of the SPP for the future of Canada.Here is the flyer in English and French. You are encouraged to use it as a model for a handout where you live. Please spread the word, and join the protest.Check out the web links on the flyer and learn as much as you can. And then write to your MP and let him or her know that you want this issue brought out from behind ...

PHOTOS: First Nations Day of Action
2007-06-29 20:22:00
June 29, 2007 - OTTAWAMembers of the Assembly of First Nations marched peacefully in Ottawa from City Hall, downtown, to Victoria Island, as part of a nation-wide day of protest.The main issue was poverty, the mood was peaceful, the parade was colourful, the weather was perfect. Politicians were there, and trade union supporters, but the First Nations people themselves are the focus of this report.These photos were taken at the beginning of the march as it left City Hall and proceeded up Elgin Street toward the Parliament Buildings. Click on each image to see a larger size.To enhance your viewing experience, listen live to Aboriginal Voices.These first two photos will more or less give you an idea of the size and density of the crowd.This is the banner that led the parade. The drummer was beautifully decked out and was also a good singer.The Signs and the PeopleMake First Nations Poverty HistorySolidarity Among NationsCanada Day marks 140 years of Cultural GenocideWabano Centre f...
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PHOTOS: Ottawa & Montreal Jun 9 boycott of Chapters-Indigo stores
2007-06-09 23:07:00
Note re comments: Links must be provided for any sources quoted, otherwise your comment will not be posted.40 years of occupation - enough is enough!The momentum is building. All over the world this week a cry has gone up for Israel to end its 40-year illegal occupation of the Palestinian territories. There have been demonstrations and boycotts of all kinds denouncing Israeli Apartheid. In Canada today, there have been boycotts of the Chapters-Indigo chain in all major cities to protest their offer of incentives to mercenaries who serve with the IDF in the occupied territories, filling the void left by over 1600 Israel refuseniksTomorrow, June 10, there will be a massive rally and march in Washington D.C. to call for a change in US Middle East policy, beginning at 2 PM on the West Lawn of the White House.Below are photos from today's demonstrations in Ottawa and Montreal .This was the first such effort by Ottawa, and organizers were pleasantly surprised at the healthy turnout at ...
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PHOTOS of Montreal Boycott of Chapters/Indigo Stores June 3/07
2007-06-04 19:41:00
EndtheOccupation: People around the world are joining together in a global Day of Action as “The World Says No to Israeli Occupation” to protest the 40th anniversary of Israel’s illegal military occupation of the Palestinian West Bank, Gaza Strip, and East Jerusalem, and Syrian Golan Heights.Thanks to Ron Saba, Editor, Montreal Planet Magazine:Below are photos of one in a series of past and upcoming demonstrations against the owner of Chapters-Indigo bookstores, Heather Reisman, for her offer of incentives to "Lone Soldiers", mercenaries who are taking the place of the Refusniks who are no longer willing to defend Israel's brutal occupation of the Palestinian territories.Montreal is planning more actions.The Coalition Against Israeli Apartheid (CAIA) is gearing up for boycotts across Toronto and putting out a Call to Action from other Canadian cities.In the capital city, Ottawa, on June 9 there will be a demonstration beginning at 11 AM outside the Chapters Bookstore at 41 Ri...
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Jorge Martin: Chavez is no Autocrat
2007-05-06 01:28:00
HOV: May Day solidarity with Venezuela in OttawaMore than 70 people crowded the lecture hall at the Ottawa public library, Tuesday night, to hear Jorge Martin speak on the Bolivarian Revolution. The event, put on by Hands Off Venezuela and the Marxist magazine "Fightback," had a special significance as it fell on May the 1st, International Worker's Day.Note from YYC: In the photo of the audience, at the upper right, the bespectacled, white-haired woman in the light-coloured vest est moi.Jorge Martin is one of the best speakers I have heard in a long, long time. Without any hype, without mantras, without obvious reference to notes, hardly even raising his eyebrows, he grabbed the attention of Ottawans and held it with nothing but his version of the truth - which was pretty convincing! - and his own mild, yet pointed sense of humour."I'm flying to Caracas," he says, "listening to the American news. I hear there is a worker uprising in Venezuela against the authoritarian rule of Hug...
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