From aaron at resist.ca Tue Oct 2 09:29:54 2007 From: aaron at resist.ca (aaron at resist.ca) Date: Tue, 2 Oct 2007 09:29:54 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [Bloquez l'empire!] Fw: Deux =?iso-8859-1?q?conf=E9rences_de_Christine_Delphy_=E0_Mo?= =?iso-8859-1?q?ntr=E9al=5D?= Message-ID: <49776.74.12.227.166.1191342594.squirrel@mail.resist.ca> Pour votre information : un message du Collectif ?chec ? la guerre ----- Original Message ----- From: ?chec ? la guerre To: info at echecalaguerre.org Sent: Tuesday, October 02, 2007 6:22 AM Subject: Deux conf?rences de Christine Delphy ? Montr?al Bonjour, Christine Delphy, sociologue f?ministe de renomm?e internationale, donne deux conf?rences ? Montr?al dans le prochains jours : => jeudi le 4 octobre, ? 12h30 ? l'UQAM : L'Afghanistan, une guerre "juste" pour les femmes ? Voir ci-dessous. => jeudi le 11 octobre, ? l'auditorium de la Grande Biblioth?que : sur les principaux enjeux de l'?galit? des femmes et des hommes dans la conjoncture mondiale actuelle Voir le document joint. ==================================== L'Afghanistan, une guerre ? juste ? pour les femmes? par Christine DELPHY Sociologue fran?aise de renomm?e internationale et figure ?minente des luttes f?ministes Jeudi 4 octobre 2007 De 12 h 30 ? 14 h Pavillon Hubert-Aquin Local A-5020 Pour information: (514) 987-6587 ou iref at uqam.ca -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: Communique_ARIR_Conference_Delphy_diff.pdf Type: application/pdf Size: 51897 bytes Desc: not available URL: From tadamon at resist.ca Mon Oct 1 11:48:44 2007 From: tadamon at resist.ca (Tadamon!) Date: Mon, 1 Oct 2007 11:48:44 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [Bloquez l'empire!] [Montreal] Saturday! PICKET Indigo/Chapters! BOYCOTT Israeli Apartheid. Message-ID: BOYCOTT Israeli Apartheid! PICKET Indigo/Chapters! Bring your musical instruments & drums for a cultural picket of singing & music! ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: SATURDAY, OCTOBER, 6th. 1pm - 3pm Indigo Bookstore north-west corner of St. Catherine & McGill College (metro McGill) Montreal, Canada. ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: http://tadamon.resist.ca/index.php/post/827 Support the campaign to boycott Chapters/Indigo bookstore, launched in December 2006 to oppose the support that Heather Reisman and Gerry Schwartz, the company's majority shareholders, give to Israeli apartheid. Across Canada a growing number of people are supporting boycott Chapters/Indigo campaign in the context of the international campaign to push for boycott, divestment and sanctions against the apartheid state of Israel. Reisman and Schwartz have established the controversial "HESEG Foundation for Lone Soldiers", a program of financial support for former 'lone soldiers', non-Israelis who fight in the Israeli military, in defense of apartheid and occupation. Israeli 'lone soldiers' participated in the 2006 devastating military attack on the people of Lebanon and continue to enforce the illegal military occupation of the West Bank and Gaza Strip. At its peak, the HESEG Foundation will distribute up to $3M a year to provide scholarships and other benefits to former 'Lone Soldiers' who remain in Israel. As long as the majority shareholders maintain financial links to HESEG, this campaign calls on everyone to stop buying from Chapters, World's Biggest Bookstore, SmithBooks, Coles, the Book Company and Indigospirit. In Montreal the Coalition Against Israeli Apartheid and Tadamon! Montreal calls on you join the growing movement against Israeli apartheid and support the campaign to boycott Indigo/Chapters...! ---> For more information contact * the Coalition Against Israeli Apartheid. email: bdsmontreal at gmail.com tel: + 514 941 9792 * Tadamon! Montreal. email: tadamon at resist.ca tel: + 514 664 1036 web: http://tadamon.resist.ca ---> For more information about the boycott of Indigo/Chapters in Canada... * Coalition Against Israeli Apartheid (Toronto) Resource page: www.caiaweb.org/indigoboycott ---> More information about the international movement of Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions against Israeli Apartheid... * Coalition Against Israeli Apartheid (Toronto) Resource page: http://www.caiaweb.org/indigoboycott ---> More information about the international movement of Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions against Israeli Apartheid... * Palestine Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions Against Israel Campaign: http://www.bds-palestine.net * Palestinian grassroots Anti-Apartheid Wall Campaign: http://www.stopthewall.org * Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel: http://www.pacbi.org ----------------------- From tadamon at resist.ca Mon Oct 1 11:48:58 2007 From: tadamon at resist.ca (Tadamon!) Date: Mon, 1 Oct 2007 11:48:58 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [Bloquez l'empire!] [Montreal] Samedi! Piquet: Boycotter Indigo/Chapters! Boycotter l'apartheid israelien! Message-ID: PIQUET: Boycotter Indigo/Chapters! Boycotter l'apartheid israelien! Apportez votre instrument de musique et vos tambours pour un piquet chant? et musical! :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: Samedi le 6 octobre, de 13h00 ? 15h00 librairie Indigo coin Ste-Catherine et McGill College (m?tro McGill) :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: http://tadamon.resist.ca/index.php/post/827 Soutenez la campagne de boycott des librairies Chapters/Indigo, lanc?e en D?cembre 2006 pour s'opposer au soutien que Heather Reisman et Gerry Schwartz, les actionnaires majoritaires de l'entreprise, apportent ? l'apartheid Israelien. A travers le Canada, un nombre grandissant d'organisations et d'individus soutiennent la campagne de boycott de Chapters/Indigo, dans le contexte de la campagne internationale de boycott, d?sinvestissement et sanctions contre l'?tat d'apartheid d'Isra?l. Heather Reisman et Gerry Schwartz ont cr?? une fondation nomm?e Heseg - "Fondation pour les soldats solitaires" (Foundation for Lone Soldiers), un programme d'appui financier aux anciens "soldats solitaires", qui n'ont pas de liens familiaux en Isra?l mais qui souhaitent se battre dans l'arm?e isra?lienne, participant ainsi ? l'apartheid et l'occupation. Certains de ces soldats solitaires ont particip? ? l'attaque contre le Liban l'?t? dernier par exemple. Heseg peut donner jusqu'? 3 millions de dollars par an sous forme de bourses scolaires et autres aides ? d'anciens "soldats solitaires" qui restent en Isra?l. Tant et aussi longtemps que leurs actionnaires majoritaires entretiendront des liens financiers avec "Heseg - The Foundation for Lone Soldiers", n'achetez pas les produits chez Indigo, Chapters, World's Biggest Bookstore, SmithBooks, Coles, the Book Company ou Indigospirit. A Montr?al, la Coalition Contre l'Apartheid Isra?lien et Tadamon ! Montr?al vous invitent ? rejoindre ce mouvement grandissant contre l'apartheid Isra?lien et de soutenir la campagne de boycott d'Indigo/Chapters! Solidairement, * CAIA Montreal bdsmontreal at gmail.com 514 941 9792 * Tadamon! Montreal. tadamon at resist.ca 514 664 1036 http://tadamon.resist.ca Information sur le boycottage de Chapters/Indigo et la campagne de boycottage contre l'apartheid isra?lien: * Coalition Against Israeli Apartheid (Toronto) http://www.caiaweb.org/indigoboycott * Campagne BDS Palestine: http://www.bds-palestine.net/index.cfm?id=fr * Campagne palestinienne contre le mur de l'apartheid: http://www.stopthewall.org * Campagne palestinienne de boycott acad?mique et culturel d'Isra?l: http://www.pacbi.org '''''''''''''''''''''' From abolissons at gmail.com Sat Oct 6 20:48:24 2007 From: abolissons at gmail.com (People's Commission) Date: Sat, 6 Oct 2007 23:48:24 -0400 Subject: [Bloquez l'empire!] 21 Oct : Les autres Arars Session de strategie pour s'opposer a un nouveau certificat de securite Message-ID: <01cd01c80895$22052150$6501a8c0@Yoodle> LES AUTRES ARARS : QUAND L'? EXCEPTION ? EST LA R?GLE Conf?rence, souper et session de strat?gie pour s'opposer ? un nouveau "certificat de securit?" Dimanche le 21 octobre 2007 17h00: Conf?rence avec Abdullah Almalki, Adil Charkaoui, Yavar Hameed et Dominique Peschard 19h00: Souper communautaire gratuit 20h00: Session de strat?gie au C?DA, 2515, rue Delisle, m?tro Lionel-Groulx !!!!Service gratuit, sur place, de garderie enjou?e (amenez vos enfants!)!!!! !!!!Traduction vers le fran?ais, l'anglais et l'arabe!!!! L'enl?vement et la torture de Maher Arar orchestr?e par l'?tat est per?ue au Canada comme un cas exceptionnel. Malheureusement la r?alit? est tout autre. D'autres canadiens ont subi le m?me traitement horrible, y inclus Abdullah Almalki. En 2001, le revendicateur de statut de r?fugi?, Benamar Benatta, fut ill?galement remis aux autorit?s am?ricaines et a pass? les 5 ann?es suivantes en prison et sous le coup de la torture sans qu'aucune accusation ne fut port?e contre lui. Et sous le poids de mesures similaires telles que ?les certificats de s?curit??, des non-citoyens tels qu'Adil Charkaoui sont soumis ? un processus diff?rent mais dont le r?sultat est le m?me. En f?vrier 2007, la Cour supr?me du Canada a reconnu que ce procesus de certificat de securit? est ill?gal. Mais Charkaoui et les autres sous le coup des ?certificats de s?curit?? vivent la m?me situation: assignation ? r?sidence ou d?tention ind?finie sur la base de soup?ons secrets et sous la menace d'une d?portation vers la torture. En m?me temps, le gouvernement a d?clar? qu'il va introduire un nouveau certificat de s?curit?. Si ce projet de loi est adopt?, ce qui est arriv? ? Arar et les autres sera, encore, adopter comme r?gle. Venez-tous pour en savoir plus et participer ? la strat?gie sur comment opposer une nouvelle l?gislation et tout ce qui se cache en son sein, une culture du secret et de la peur, une hi?rarchie de droits, le racisme, le pouvoir grandissant du gouvernement ? contr?ler et ? surveiller et il y a plus! ABDULLAH ALMALKI est un ing?nieur canadien vivant ? Ottawa avec sa femme et ses six enfants. Lors d'une visite en Syrie en mai 2003, il fut brusquement arr?t?. Bien qu'il n'y eut aucune accusation port?e contre lui, il passa presque deux ans dans une prison syrienne ou il fut interrog? sous la torture physique et psychologique. Les questions de l'interrogatoire furent fournies ? la Syrie par les agences canadiennes de police et de s?curit? (GRC et SCRS) et livr?es aux tortionnaires syriens par l'ambassade et le consulat canadien en Syrie (voir le rapport de la Commission Arar). Stephen Toope, enqu?teur pour la commission Arar, a ?crit dans son rapport : ? De tous les t?moignages, personne n'a subi autant de souffrance que M. Almalki. Il a ?t? particuli?rement mal trait? sur une longue p?riode ?. Almalki fut finalement rel?ch? et renvoy? au Canada. Au Canada, il s'est battu avec Ahmad Abou Elmaati et Muayyed Nureddin pour obtenir une enqu?te publique sur le r?le des autorit?s canadiennes dans son enl?vement et sa torture. L'enqu?te fut finalement accord?e apr?s que la commission de protection des droits de l'homme de l' ONU ainsi que la commission Arar l'ait recommand?e. L'enqu?te Iacobucci suit actuellement son cours, mais est men?e ? huis clos sans la pr?sence de Almalki, Elmaati, Nureddin, ni de leurs avocats. ADIL CHARKAOUI est enseignant et vit ? Montr?al avec sa femme et ses trois enfants. Charkaoui a immigr? au Canada avec ses parents et sa soeur en 1995. En mai 2003, il fut arr?t? sous un ? certificat de s?curit? ?. Il passa presque deux ans en prison sur la base de soup?ons secrets et sous la menace d'?tre expuls? vers la torture. Depuis qu'il a ?t? lib?r? de prison, il est expos? ? des mesures de contr?le s?v?res et envahissantes l'emp?chant, entre autres, de quitter la maison sans supervision et d'utiliser l'Internet. Encore aujourd'hui, il vit dans l'incertitude et la menace d'?tre expuls?. Charkaoui a contest? la loi sur les certificats de s?curit? jusqu'en Cour supr?me. En f?vrier 2007, la Cour supr?me a statu? que les ? certificats de s?curit? ? ?taient effectivement inconstitutionnels. Malgr? cela, Charkaoui, de m?me que les autres victimes des certificats de s?curit?, demeurent dans la m?me situation : nageant toujours dans les soup?ons sans avoir eu de chance de se d?fendre. YAVAR HAMEED est l'avocat fondateur du cabinet Hameed Farrokhzad St-Pierre. Il travaille principalement dans le domaine des droits et libert?s. Sa pratique r?pond aux maints exemples de profilage directe et indirecte de la communaut? arabo-musulmane depuis le 11 septembre. Il appuie les droits des sans statut, des sans-abri et des personnes ? faible revenue en les repr?sentant lors de recours civils contre la brutalit? polici?re. Il a agi ? titre de correspondant avec Johanne Doyon, l'avocate d'Adil Charkaoui lors de l'appel ? la Cour supr?me sur la question de la constitutionnalit? du certificat de s?curit?. Il enseigne ? temps partiel ? l'Universit? de Carleton au d?partement de droit et il s'implique r?guli?rement dans les discours publics relatifs au certificat de s?curit?, au profilage racial et ? la Loi antiterroriste. DOMINIQUE PESCHARD. Pr?occup? de longue date par les questions de justice sociale, depuis 2001, Dominique Peschard travaille activement avec la Ligue des droits et libert?s en tant que vice-pr?sident, membre du Conseil d' administration et membre actif du Comit? de des libert?s civiles. A ce titre, il a pilot? la r?daction d'un m?moire sur le projet de carte d' identit? nationale pr?sent? au comit? Comit? permanent de la citoyennet? et de l'immigration du Canada ? Ottawa et un autre sur la biom?trie, pr?sent? ? la Commission de l'?thique de la science et de la technologie du Qu?bec. ---------------------------- Coalition Justice pour Adil Charkaoui www.adilinfo.org justiceforadil at riseup.net t?l. 514 859 9023 Pour s'abonner ? la liste: justiceforadil-subscribe at lists.riseup.net. La Coalition Justice pour Adil Charkaoui est une groupe de travail de GRIP McGill. From abolissons at gmail.com Sat Oct 6 20:51:29 2007 From: abolissons at gmail.com (People's Commission) Date: Sat, 6 Oct 2007 23:51:29 -0400 Subject: [Bloquez l'empire!] 21 October: The Other Arars Strategy Session against a new security certificate Message-ID: <01f901c80895$9202de70$6501a8c0@Yoodle> THE OTHER ARARS: WHEN THE 'EXCEPTION' IS THE RULE Panel, dinner and strategy session to oppose a new "security certificate" Sunday, 21 October 2007 5pm Panel with Abdullah Almalki, Adil Charkaoui, Yavar Hameed, and Dominique Peschard 7pm Free community supper 8pm Strategy session at C?DA, 2515 D?lisle St., Lionel Groulx metro !!!! Free and fun childcare onsite (Bring Your Kids!) !!!! !!!! Translation between English, French, and Arabic !!!! The state kidnap and torture of Maher Arar is viewed as exceptional in Canada. Unfortunately it isn't. Other Canadians have undergone the same horrific treatment, including Abullah Almalki. Refugee-claimant Benamar Benatta was illegally delivered to the Americans in 2001, and spent the next five years in prison under torture, without charge. And under such measures as the "security certificate", non-citizens like Adil Charkaoui are subject to a different process with the same outcome. In February 2007, the Supreme Court of Canada recognized that this security certificate process was illegal. But Charkaoui and the others under "security certificates" remain in the same situation; in indefinite detention or house arrest on the basis of secret suspicions and under threat of deportation to torture. The government has said that it will introduce new security certificate legislation. If this legislation passes, what happened to Arar and others will again be confirmed as the rule. Come out to hear more and to strategize on how to oppose new legislation, and all that lies behind it: a culture of secrecy and fear; a hierarchy of rights; racism; expanding government powers of control and surveillance; and more! ABDULLAH ALMALKI is a Canadian engineer who lives in Ottawa with his wife and six kids. On a visit to Syria in May 2003, he was abruptly arrested. Although never charged, he spent almost two years in Syrian prisons, where he was interrogated under physical and psychological torture with questions sent to Syria by Canadian policing and security agencies (RCMP and CSIS) and delivered to the Syrian torturers by the Canadian ambassador and consul in Syria (see Arar Commission Report). Stephen Toope, fact-finder for the Arar commission, wrote in his report, "Of all the testimony I heard, Mr. Almalki's revealed the most intense pain and suffering." "Mr. Almalki was especially badly treated, and for an extended period." Almalki was eventually released and returned to Canada. In Canada, he fought for a public inquiry into the role of Canadian authorities in his kidnap and torture, along with Ahmad Abou Elmaati and Muayyed Nureddin. This was eventually granted, after both the UN Human Rights Committee and the Arar Commission recommended it. The Iacobucci Inquiry is currently underway, but is being conducted behind closed doors, without the presence of Almalki, Elmaati, Nureddin, or their lawyers. ADIL CHARKAOUI is a teacher who lives in Montreal with his wife and three kids. Charkaoui immigrated to Canada with his parents and sister in 1995. In May 2003 he was arrested under a "security certificate". He spent almost two years in prison, on the basis of secret suspicions and under threat of deportation to torture. Since being released from prison he has been subject to severe, invasive control orders, which prevent him from leaving home without supervision, from using the internet and much else. He still lives under the uncertainty and threat of deportation. Charkaoui challenged the security certificate legislation all the way up to the Supreme Court. In February 2007, the Supreme Court ruled that the "security certificate" was indeed unconstitutional. However, Charkaoui, along with the other security certificate victims, remains in the same situation, under a cloud of suspicions he has been given no meaningful opportunity to refute. YAVAR HAMEED is the lawyer-founder of Hameed Farrokhzad St-Pierre Chambers. He workers primarily in the area of rights and liberties. His practice responds to the many examples of direct and indirect profiling of Arab-Muslim communities since 11 September. He works for the rights of the non-status, homeless and low-income while representing them in the context of civil recourse against police brutality. He was the Ottawa Agent of Johanne Doyon, Charkaoui's lawyer, during the appeal to the Supreme Court on the question of the constitutionality of the security certificate. He teaches part-time at Carleton University's Law Department and is regularly involved in public debate on the issues of racial profiling, the security certificate, and the Anti Terrorism Act. DOMINIQUE PESCHARD's concern for social justice and human rights has led him to become active in the Ligue des droits et libert?s, as Vice-President and member of the board of directors since 2001. As a member of the Ligue's civil rights committee, he has, among other things, drafted a position paper on the proposed national identity card that was presented to the House of Commons Select Standing Committee on Citizenship and Immigration and a brief on biometrics that was presented to the Commission de l'?thique de la science et de la technologie du Qu?bec. ---------------------------- Coalition Justice pour Adil Charkaoui www.adilinfo.org tel. 514 859 9023 justiceforadil at riseup.net To join our newslist: justiceforadil-subscribe at lists.riseup.net From nooneisillegal at gmail.com Sun Oct 7 22:09:02 2007 From: nooneisillegal at gmail.com (No One Is Illegal Montreal) Date: Mon, 8 Oct 2007 01:09:02 -0400 Subject: [Bloquez l'empire!] Patricia Perez, Bhagat Singh, Janet Hinshaw-Thomas: No One Is Illegal Radio (October 2007) In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: No One Is Illegal Radio ? October 4, 2007 http://nooneisillegal-montreal.blogspot.com This month's edition of No One Is Illegal Radio commemorates Patricia Perez, the founder of the Migrant Worker's Support Center in Quebec, who passed away on September 30, 2007. We also discuss the legacy of Indian revolutionary Bhagat Singh, who was hanged by the British in 1931; and the case of Janet Hinshaw-Thomas, a US refugee advocate who was arrested at the Canadian-American border supporting Haitian refugees, and faces up to life in prison for violating the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act. --> LISTEN to the October 2007 edition of No One Is Illegal radio at: http://www.radio4all.net/proginfo.php?id=24978 -- PATRICIA PEREZ, 55, the founder of the Migrant Worker's Support Center in Quebec, passed away on September 30, 2007, after a battle with cancer. Patricia, who came to Quebec from Mexico more than a decade ago, was active in local indigenous and solidarity struggles, community radio and immigrant justice movements. She is remembered on this edition of No One Is Illegal Radio by STAN RAPER, national coordinator of the agricultural workers program for the United Food and Commercialfood and commercial workers, ANDREA GALVEZ of the Migrant Worker Support Center, and SARITA AHOOJA of No One Is Illegal-Montreal (Music: "No nos moveran.") -- BHAGAT SINGH was a key revolutionary figure in India's anti-colonial struggle, and was hanged by the British in 1931 at the age of 24, denounced as a terrorist and criminal. GURPREET SINGH -- a freelance Punjabi-language broadcaster and writer based in Surrey, British Columbia -- addresses the legacy of Bhagat Singh, including the origins of the anti-colonial Gaddar Party in North America, and Singh's declared atheism. September 28, 2007 marks the 100th anniversary of Bhagat Singh's birth. -- JANET HINSHAW-THOMAS, 65, was arrested by the Canadian Border Services Agency at the Lacolle, Quebec/New York State border crossing on September 26, 2007, while accompanying Haitian refugees. She was charged under Section 117 of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act which makes it illegal to "organize, induce, aid or abet" the entry of persons without visas or passports. The "crime" is punishable by life in prison, and is the first known example of Section 117 being applied to humanitarian refugee advocates. MITCHELL GOLDBERG, Janet's Montreal-based lawyer, speaks about the case. --> LISTEN to the October 2007 edition of No One Is Illegal radio at: http://www.radio4all.net/proginfo.php?id=24978 PREVIOUS SHOWS of NO ONE IS ILLEGAL RADIO on CKUT: ::: September 2007 ::: - Benamar Benatta, Canada's first 9/11 rendition to torture, who was detained close to five years without charge in the United States after being illegally removed from Canada;. - Shawn Brant, just released Mohawk organizer from Tyendinaga who was jailed since July 5, 2007 and denied bail in relation to his participation in native blockades of rail lines and highways to raise awareness about the reclamation of a piece of land called the Culbertson Tract, living conditions in indigenous communities, and struggles for sovereignty and self-determination. LISTEN to the September 2007 show at: http://www.radio4all.net/proginfo.php?id=24582 ::: August 2007 ::: - Sverre Pederson, an anti-racism activist in Oslo, speaking about Afghan refugees refusing forcible removal from Norway; - Jenn Tsun, a dissident member of the Ardoch Algonquin First Nation, speaking about indigenous sovereignty and the resistance to uranium mining by the Algonquins of Sharbot Lake; - Farha Najah and Nazila Bettache of No One Is Illegal-Montreal, and Roderick Calderon of the Siklab Migrant Workers Support Group, speaking about the Security and Prosperity Partnership (SPP) from a community assembly in Montreal. LISTEN to the August 2007 show at: http://www.radio4all.net/proginfo.php?id=24164 ::: July 2007 ::: - Kahehti:io & Raiewate, youth activists from the Kahnawake Mohawk Territory, south of Montreal, speaking about the blockade of Highway 30 and the shutdown of the Mercier bridge on June 29, the inspiration of the resistance at Tyendinaga, the anniversary of Oka, and unity amongst indigenous activists. - Gord Hill, member of the Kwakwaka'wakw nation who has been active with the Native Youth Movement, the Sutikalh Camp and other groups, speaking about the "collaborators" of the Assembly of First Nations (AFN), the Indian Act band council system, actions on June 29 and Anti-Canada Day actions on July 1st, the inspiration of indigenous elders Harriet Nahanee and Louis Hall, the legacy of Oka, the "warrior spirit", among other topics. LISTEN to the July 2007 show at: http://www.radio4all.net/proginfo.php?id=23762 ::: June 2007 ::: - Antonia Baker of the Prisoners Justice Action Committee (PJAC) in Toronto, about the series of "tough on crime" bills introduced by the Harper government, and Canada's emerging Prison Industrial Complex; - Jill Chettiar of the Anti-Poverty Committee (APC) in Vancouver, about the disruptive tactics being employed to oppose the upcoming Olympic Games in Vancouver and Whistler in 2010, in support of anti-poverty and indigenous sovereignty efforts; - Ashley Turner and Rob Block of Sin Fronteras in Houston, Texas, about a recent protest at an immigration detention facility, as part of a Global Day of Action for Free Movement coinciding with anti-G8 protests in Germany; LISTEN to the June 2007 show at: http://www.radio4all.net/proginfo.php?id=23533 ::: May 2007 ::: Special CKUT Fundraising Show - Rhonda Martin, mother of former Six Nations political prisoner Chris Hill; Chris was held in a Hamilton-area detention centre for over three months in relation to charges relating to the Ontario Provincial Police raid on the Six Nations Land Reclamation that has been ongoing since February 2006; - Jason Maracle, a spokesperson for the Mohawks of the Bay of Quinte who has been involved in the ongoing reclamation of a quarry site on a part of Mohawk land called the "Culberston Tract" as well as a 30-hour plus blockade of CN railway lines to put pressure on government officials to properly settle land claims; - Maria Muentez of Families for Freedom reporting about the May 1 immigrant justice protests in New York City - Ashanti Alston, former Black Panther and prison justice activist, speaking about the importance of independent media, as well as providing an update about the San Franciso 8 trial of several former Black Panthers; - Sophie Harkat, an activist against secret trials and security certificates, and the partner of Mohamed Harkat, one of Canada's "Secret Trial Five,"speaking about the current fight against deportation by Mohamed, as well as the severe bail conditions faced by her and her husband; - Amir Hodhod from Jersey City; a refugee from Egypt, and an active member of the Workers Solidarity Network and Solidarity Across Borders in Montreal, Amir lived as an "illegal" in Canada, and was deported to the United States where he was detained in December 2006; LISTEN to the May 2007 show at: http://www.radio4all.net/proginfo.php?id=23164 ::: April 2007 ::: - Shawn Brant of the Tyendinaga Mohawk Community in Eastern Ontario, about the ongoing occupation of a quarry, as part of a land reclamation effort on the Culberston Tract; - Corinn Williams, about a raid by Immigrant and Customs Enforcement (ICE) on a manufacturing plant, involving hundreds of armed agents, police, military, as well as helicopters, resulting in the detention of more than 350 migrant workers, mainly young women with infant and small children; - Khadija Bennis, the twin sister of Anas Bennis who was killed by Montreal police in still unexplained circumstances on December 1, 2005; LISTEN to the April 2007 show at: http://www.radio4all.net/proginfo.php?id=22676 ::: March 2007 ::: Special about the People's Commission into Immigration "Security" Measures - Fetya Ahmed, Sarwat Viquar & Jared Will, commissioners: presenting the findings of the People's Commission; - Sarita Ahooja, member of No One Is Illegal-Montreal and a commissioner: speaking on the Land Reclamation at Six Nations; - Khadija Bennis, spokesperson of the Justice for Anas Campaign: speaking about the killing of her brother by Montreal police; - Mary Foster, member of the Justice Coalition for Adil Charkaoui and an organizer of the People's Commission: speaking about the Kingston Immigration Holding Center ("Guantanamo North") and the Secret Trial Five; - Tatiana Gomez, member of Solidarity Across Borders and an organizer of the People's Commission: speaking about the case of Amparo Torres, a Colombia refugee facing deportation based on secret evidence; - Hicham Hillal, member of the Al Hidaya Association: speaking about Islamophobia and the racial and religious profiling of Arab and Muslim communities; - Marie-Eve Lamy, member of the Justice Coalition for Adil Charkaoui and an organizer of the People's Commission: speaking about the case of Suleyman Goven, a Kurdish refugee to Canada who was denied status for 15 years due to CSIS harassment and intimidation; - Leila Pourtavaf, member of No One Is Illegal-Montreal and a researcher for the People's Commission: speaking on the current immigration regime in Canada; - Laura Schevchenko, organizer with the Sogi Bachan Singh Support Committee: providing an update about the deportation to possible torture of Sogi Singh, based on secret evidence LISTEN to the March 2007 show at: http://www.radio4all.net/proginfo.php?id=22700 ::: February 2007 ::: - Katenies, member of the Akwesasne Mohawk Community, who is currently wanted on an arrest warrant for refusing to appear in court as she steadfastly refuses to recognize the jurisdiction of the Canadian courts and border officials; - Kavitha Pawria, organizer with Desis Rising Up and Moving (DRUM) in New York City, about the recent dawn arrest of an entire Pakistani family in New York City, part of the ongoing "War on Terror" in migrant communities. LISTEN to the February 2007 show at: http://www.radio4all.net/proginfo.php?id=21783 ::: January 2007 ::: - Kahntinetha of Mohawk Nation News from January 1, 2007; she reports on historic events at the Grand River Territory of Six Nations, where a traditional Confederacy House, shut down by the Canadian government in 1924, was re-opened. - Ahmad Jaballah, the 20-year old eldest son of Mahmoud Jaballah, one of the three detainees at the "Guantanamo North" prison near Kingston, Ontario. Jaballah was detained without charge, on secret evidence, for more than five years; includes a reading of the "Open Letter from Guantanamo North". - Amir Hodhod, who on December 27, 2006, after several months living without legal status in Canada, was deported to the United States and spent 7 days in the Buffalo Federal Detention Facility. LISTEN to the January 2007 show at: http://www.radio4all.net/proginfo.php?id=21252 ::: May-December 2006 ::: An archive of No One Is Illegal Radio's 2006 shows is available at: http://nooneisillegal-montreal.blogspot.com/2007/01/no-one-is-illegal-radio-2006-archive.html Our 2006 shows include the voices of: - Latifa Charkaoui: mother of Adil Charkaoui, one of the Secret Trial Five; - Arnoldo Garcia: organizer with the National Network for Immigrant and Refugee Rights in Oakland, California; - Kahehti:io: Mohawk youth activist from Kahnawake, arrested at the Land Reclamation at Six Nations; - Sherene Razack, author of "Looking White People in the Eye," and a witness at the People's Commission into Immigration "Security" Measures; - Hassan Almrei: secret trial detainee at Guantanamo North Prison, detained without trial since 2001; - Karen Coq: member of No One Is Illegal-Kingston, active in opposing the Guantanamo North prison; - Amir Hodhod: a member of Solidarity Across Borders who marched to Ottawa from Montreal in June 2005, and is fighting a pending deportation from Canada; - Hazel Hill: spokesperson for the Six Nations Land Reclamation; - Kahentinehta: of Mohawk Nation News and a defender of Mohawk territory during the Oka Crisis of 1990; - Roberta Keesick: elder, trapper and activist from the Grassy Narrows indigenous territory in Northwestern Ontario; the blockade against logging at Grassy Narrows is the longest blockade in Canadian history; - Arash Aslani: refugee from Iran, and former 10-month detainee at the Laval Detention Center near Montreal; - Teresa Hayter: author of "Open Borders" and organizer with the Campaign to Close Campsfield Detention Center in England; - Aarti Shahani: anti-deportations and anti-detentions activist with Families for Freedom in New York City; - Rasha Moumneh, of the Helem LGBT group in Beirut, Lebanon; - Nay: activist with Aswat, a queer justice group in Palestine; - Rafeef Ziadah: the Coalition Against Israeli Apartheid in Toronto; - Ashanti Alston Omowali: anarchist activist, former political prisoner, and member of the Black Panther Party; - Biju Mathew: organizer with the New York Taxi Worker's Alliance; - Trudy Miller: mother of indigenous Six Nations political prisoner Trevor Miller; - Angel Smith: cousin of Trevor Miller; - Khadija Bennis: twin sister of Mohamed Anas Bennis, killed by the Montreal police. An archive of No One Is Illegal Radio's 2006 shows is available at: http://nooneisillegal-montreal.blogspot.com/2007/01/no-one-is-illegal-radio-2006-archive.html ----- Tune-in live to No One Is Illegal Radio on the 1st Thursday of every month, from 5-6pm, as part of CKUT's "Off The Hour". --> You can listen live in the MONTREAL-area at 90.3FM . --> You can listen ANYWHERE online at www.ckut.ca Contact noii-montreal at resist.ca to get regular updates about the organizing of No One Is Illegal-Montreal, including audio links to our upcoming shows. No One Is Illegal-Montreal is part of a worldwide movement of resistance, fighting for justice and dignity, and the right to self-determination for migrants, refugees and indigenous people. Our campaign is in public confrontation with the Canadian state, denouncing and taking action to combat racial profiling, police brutality, detentions and deportations, exploitation and wage-slave conditions, as well as opposing the displacement and genocide of indigenous peoples on Turtle Island. INFO: 514-848-7583 -- noii-montreal at resist.ca http://nooneisillegal-montreal.blogspot.com -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From bloquezlempiremontreal at resist.ca Mon Oct 8 14:47:05 2007 From: bloquezlempiremontreal at resist.ca (bloquezlempiremontreal at resist.ca) Date: Mon, 8 Oct 2007 14:47:05 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [Bloquez l'empire!] PROCHAINE RENCONTRE DE BLEM :: 11 OCTOBRE, 18 h 30 || NEXT BLEM MEETING :: OCTOBER 11TH :: LET'S ROCK! Message-ID: <61174.64.235.193.195.1191880025.squirrel@mail.resist.ca> -- DISTRIBUER LIBREMENT PARMI LES R?SEAUX SYMPATHIQUES -- [English Below] -0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0- :: PROCHAINE RENCONTRE DE BLEM :: Le JEUDI 11 OCTOBRE, 18 H 30 QPIRG Concordia, 1500, De Maisonneuve O., bureau 201 -0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0- Le collectif Bloquez l?Empire! Montr?al se r?unira jeudi prochain, le 11 octobre, pour planifier les prochains mois de r?sistance. Notre ? ?t? de r?sistance ? (la campagne valcartier, Montebello, etc.) ayant pris toute la place, nous avons ?t? forc?-e-s de mettre plusieurs initiatives importantes sur le r?chaud pour l??t?. Cet automne et l?hiver prochain pr?sentent l?occasion d?approfondir notre analyse et de r??valuer une strat?gie ? long terme. Si vous ?tes int?ress?-e-s ? joindre la lutte locale contre les profiteurs de guerre et l?imp?rialisme global, si vous souhaitez soutenir le travail de BLEM, ou m?me si vous aimeriez nous faire des suggestions, n?h?sitez pas ? participer ? cette rencontre importante. Certains des points ? l?ordre du jour : --> Les campagnes en cours, (suivi de la campagne Valcartier, soutien ? la campagne BDS, etc.) --> Projections de films / autres ?v?nements publics cet automne --> Groupe de travail ? Recherche / mat?riel d??du-pop ? --> 17 octobre : visite de Peter MacKay ? Mercier (30 mins. Au sud de Mtl) --> 27 octobre, marche / manifestation *_*_*_*_*_*_*_* Il y aura ?galement une rencontre du groupe de travail ? Recherche / mat?riel d??du-pop ?, le MARDI 9 OCTOBRE, ? 16 h (QPIRG- Concordia). Le but de cette rencontre est de d?finir un plan de recherche et de d?veloppement de mat?riel informatif. Si vous ?tes int?ress?-e-s par cet aspect du travail de BLEM, vous ?tes ?videmment bienvenu-e-s!! *_*_*_*_*_*_*_* Le collectif BLEM est uni sous les principes de l?Action mondiale des peuples, ?nonc?s ici : http://www.nadir.org/nadir/initiativ/agp/fr/pgainfos/hallmfr.htm Anti-imp?rialistes UNISSONS-NOUS! Leur occupation; notre r?sistance! Contact: bloquezlempiremontreal at resist.ca _____________________________________________ -- DISTRIBUTE WITHIN FRIENDLY NETWORKS -- -0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0- ::NEXT BLEM MEETING :: Thursday, October 11th, 6:30 pm QPIRG Concordia, 1500, DeMaisonneuve W., bureau 201 -0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0- The Block the Empire Montreal collective is meeting next Thursday to plan for the next few months of resistance. Our successful ?summer of resistance? (the Valcartier campaign, Montebello mob, etc) forced us to put some important initiatives on the backburner. This fall and winter will be a good time to regroup and reassess our analysis and long-term strategy. If you are interested in joining the fight against war profiteers in Montreal, if you would like to support BLEM?s work or even make suggestions, please don?t hesitate to attend this important meeting. Some of the topics on the Agenda: --> Campaigns (Valcartier follow-up, BDS support, etc.) --> Film screenings / public events this fall --> Research/pop-ed material Working group --> October 17th Peter MacKay visit in Mercier (30 mins. south of Mtl) --> October 27th march and demo *_*_*_*_*_*_*_* There will also be a work meeting on TUESDAY, October 9th, at 4:00pm (QPIRG- Concordia), to set up a plan for research/analysis/and pop-ed material development. If you are interested by this aspect of BLEM?s work, you are very welcome to attend. *_*_*_*_*_*_*_* The BLEM collective is united under the People?s Global Action Hallmarks http://www.nadir.org/nadir/initiativ/agp/free/pga/hallm.htm Anti-imperialists UNITE! Occupation anywhere, Resistance everywhere! Contact: bloquezlempiremontreal at resist.ca From tatiana at resist.ca Thu Oct 11 07:45:33 2007 From: tatiana at resist.ca (tatiana at resist.ca) Date: Thu, 11 Oct 2007 10:45:33 -0400 (EDT) Subject: [Bloquez l'empire!] Policiers =?iso-8859-1?q?pay=E9s_par_l=27arm=E9e=3A_l=27ambassad?= =?iso-8859-1?q?eur_afghan_au_Canada_appu?= ie la mesure In-Reply-To: <61174.64.235.193.195.1191880025.squirrel@mail.resist.ca> References: <61174.64.235.193.195.1191880025.squirrel@mail.resist.ca> Message-ID: <2475.142.157.22.26.1192113933.squirrel@mail.resist.ca> http://www.cyberpresse.ca/article/20071011/CPACTUALITES/710110654/5358/CPPRESSE Le jeudi 11 octobre 2007 Policiers pay?s par l'arm?e: l'ambassadeur afghan au Canada appuie la mesure Andr? Duchesne La Presse L'ambassadeur de l'Afghanistan au Canada, Omar Samad, appuie la mesure prise par l'arm?e canadienne de verser sans interm?diaire leur salaire aux policiers afghans. Mais cette mesure doit ?tre temporaire, avertit-il.?? court terme, comme solution dans l'imm?diat, c'est une bonne fa?on de r?soudre le probl?me, dit-il en entrevue ? La Presse. Mais le but du gouvernement afghan comme celui de ses partenaires internationaux est de renforcer la gouvernance et l'imputabilit? dans le pays. Donc, ? long terme, nous devons trouver des solutions afghanes ? ces probl?mes.? Mardi, le quotidien The Globe and Mail a rapport? que l'arm?e canadienne avait entrepris de payer directement les policiers afghans de Panjwayi et Zhari, r?gions situ?es ? l'ouest de Kandahar. Normalement ces policiers re?oivent une paie mensuelle du minist?re de l'Int?rieur. Le probl?me est qu'en l'absence d'un syst?me bancaire solide, l'argent passe par plusieurs interm?diaires, qui en pr?l?vent une part, avant d'aboutir dans les poches des policiers. D?j? sous-pay?s, ces derniers se retrouvent souvent sans le sou. Pour survivre, ils r?clament alors des pots-de-vin aux civils. ?La question des faiblesses de la police afghane et celle de la corruption dans certaines parties du gouvernement est connue, poursuit l'ambassadeur Samad, joint ? Ottawa. Dans un cas comme dans l'autre, nous sommes dans un processus de reconstruction. Nous devons faire tout ce qui est en notre pouvoir pour aider les policiers.? Dans son num?ro d'hier, La Presse rapportait les commentaires, fort divis?s, d'une dizaine d'experts au sujet de cette mesure. Certains estimaient que l'arm?e avait bien fait de prendre des moyens radicaux pour assurer le paiement int?gral des salaires des policiers, avec qui les soldats travaillent ?troitement. D'autres affirmaient au contraire que le fait de se substituer au gouvernement afghan pour faire ce travail relevant d'un ?tat est un dangereux pr?c?dent. Apr?s une attente de 24 heures, la D?fense nationale a finalement r?agit officiellement hier. Selon le lieutenant Isabelle Richer, porte-parole de la D?fense, la mesure prise ? la fois par les soldats canadiens et am?ricains qui forment les policiers afghans, est temporaire. ?Dans un effort visant stabiliser la police afghane ? long terme, plusieurs initiatives sont en cours. Nous effectuons un recensement des membres qualifi?s de la police afghane et nous avons pris des mesures pour assurer le paiement r?gulier des salaires. On s'est aper?u que le paiement de ces salaires ?tait inefficace et sporadique.? Auparavant, il incombait aux quartiers g?n?raux des secteurs (tel Panjwayi) de payer les policiers. Maintenant, la t?che rel?ve directement du quartier g?n?ral de la province de Kandahar qui travaille en ?troite collaboration avec l'?quipe de reconstruction provinciale compos?e de militaires des nations pr?sentes en Afghanistan. From christoff at resist.ca Thu Oct 11 15:22:38 2007 From: christoff at resist.ca (Stefan Christoff) Date: Thu, 11 Oct 2007 15:22:38 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [Bloquez l'empire!] EI: Interview / Music: The Arab Summit. Arab hip-hop forces unite for justice. Message-ID: Interview: Arab hip-hop forces unite for justice Stefan Christoff, The Electronic Intifada, Oct 1, 2007 http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article9016.shtml The Arab Summit is a musical project on the cultural front lines, uniting the most innovative hip-hop artists within the growing Arab rap movement of North America. The Arab Summit delivers inspirational beats that drive a musical project highlighting a progressive Arab voice in North America, advocating for the self-determination of people in the Middle East through hip-hop. Comprised of artists with roots from throughout the Middle East -- from Syria to Palestine to Iraq -- the Arab Summit is a powerful cultural snap-shot of the Arab Diaspora in the West. Featuring the participation of the Narcicyst, a Montreal-based artist originally from Basra, Iraq; to Excentrik, a Palestinian-American producer/composer; to Omar Offendum of the Arab hip-hop crew the N.O.M.A.D.S.; to Ragtop of the Palestinian-Filipino-American crew the Philistines and executive producer of the underground hit, hip-hop Mixtape called Free the P. EI contributor Stefan Christoff recently interviewed the minds behind Arab Summit. STEFAN CHRISTOFF: Multiple creative voices are represented within the Arab Summit project, representing musical projects on the cutting edge of the hip-hop scene and Middle Eastern arts in North America. What was the impetus for bringing together this culturally ground-breaking project? THE NARCYCIST: This project aims to illustrate that hip-hop has become an important vehicle for the voice of reason in the context of global hate mongering and war. We didn't really have an agenda more than to speak on the issues that have touched us and affected our lives indirectly or directly. I wanted to further investigate the study of Arab identity in the West vis-a-vis hip-hop cultural belonging. So, really it was to finally put down the study in a concrete format for the people, especially our people, to see it as a real and progressive movement that is [about more than] music. STEFAN CHRISTOFF: Through the experience of recording your first collaborative album project have you set artistic or political goals toward expressing the experience of Arab/Middle Eastern communities in North America? RAGTOP: [Generally], I would say our music definitely expresses that experience, because we are the product of that experience and have that perspective, which is how we frame our music. It was also very much the purpose of the thesis, I think, to sort of encapsulate the Arab Diaspora youth experience, but on a song-by-song basis. I don't sit down and ask myself, "How am I going to represent all the Arabs in North America?" I just write what I feel and over time and a variety of beats, an overall picture, starts to emerge. EXCENTRIK: Honestly, I agree with Ragtop -- It's an intrinsic value in the music we create because of our interesting identity -- Arab. ... The messages in the music are rarely deliberate, and that speaks volumes to the amount of thought these issues stimulate; they are perennial, unavoidable -- even in subjective mediums. THE NARCICYST: Ditto. I would also like to add that it is our duty to use the many opportunities that we were lucky enough to access living in North America to use our voices ... the fact that our people are being oppressed and are subject to so many injustices ... our experience is inextricably a reflection of [that]. ... But as Ragtop said, there is no finite goal we are reaching [towards.] The reason we recorded this thesis in a two-week span was to make sure the pressure was on and we exerted that natural sense of communication and bond. That social mediation, the recording process itself, is the identity we were talking about -- the natural channel of internalization and further, re-appropriation. STEFAN CHRISTOFF: Clearly the name "Arab Summit" could be interpreted in multiple ways, as summits have been a fixture of Middle East politics throughout the past century. Currently the US is pushing a "peace summit", which will host elite government representatives from Jordan, Israel, Egypt and the Palestinian Authority, excluding the major Palestinian resistance movement Hamas. Suppose the nature of your recent "summit" in California as Arab hip-hop artists working in North America was of a strikingly different nature, talk about your recent "summit" in the shadow of the continuous "peace" summits in the Middle East, generally viewed with cynicism on the Arab street? Will President Mubarak be appearing on your next album? OMAR OFFENDUM: The metaphor for the Arab Summit project is two-fold. The first one pertains to our role as leaders of the Arab hip-hop movement, and how we strive to actually create a productive summit of our own from the ground up, where topics we wish could be addressed more sincerely [than] in the "summit industry" ... The second metaphor relates to the annual hip-hop summits that occur globally nowadays ... we strived to carry the ideals of such meetings to an even higher level, as hip-hop itself has been overrun by similar hacks. THE NARCICYST: I feel the same way, honestly. But more importantly, we want to show that the next generation needs a new summit ... The "peace" summit that you speak of no longer holds the same value it did historically. So no Hosni, thank you very much; they can keep Mubarak ... STEFAN CHRISTOFF: The Arab Summit song "Tomorrow's Justice" beings with a sample from the Lebanese singer Fairuz, from one of her most famous songs "La Fleur Des Cities," which meditates on the historical Arab city of Jerusalem, or al-Quds. At the time of Fairuz's recording (as it is today) the city remains under Israeli military occupation. Lebanon was engulfed in a civil war, the West Bank and Gaza Strip were under Israeli occupation and the Iran-Iraq war was just around the corner. Current and past generations in the Middle East indeed feel that little justice has been served. "Ain't no justice, so get up stand up," is a cut from one verse in your song, "Tomorrow's Justice." Do those involved in the Arab Summit project consider themselves as part of a movement, whether an artistic one or a political one? RAGTOP: The inspiration to do what we do definitely came from a mixture of personal and political feelings -- for me it was the backlash following 9/11, both in the media and [against] our communities, that really drove me to try and make my voice heard ... "Get up stand up" is of course a reference to the classic Bob Marley line [that was] recorded before Fairuz and [which] reinforces the idea that little has changed ... EXCENTRIK: Speaking for myself here, I don't see anything that isn't "political" in regards to being Palestinian and an artist. I think my way of standing up is as simple as being proud of my Palestinian identity and culture, in addition to the activism that all of us are involved with ... The message in that song is not a specific call to get up and do something; from my [perspective] I see it more as a somber tale of oppression and a yearning to educate people to what we feel on a daily basis. STEFAN CHRISTOFF: Various members of the Arab Summit have been involved in ground-breaking hip-hop projects such as Euphrates in Montreal and the Free the P album/initiative. Can you speak about the role that Arab hip-hop plays within the larger global hip-hop movement, including that in the Middle East? OMAR OFFENDUM: When set within the context of Middle Eastern hip-hop as a whole, it becomes obvious that we are all in this together. It is for this reason that I was able to link up with artists back home like DJ Lethal Skillz of Lebanon, and feel like we already had so much in common. That being said, the issues we address more specifically as part of the Arab-American experience are unique to us ... THE NARCICYST: ... Arab hip-hop is on its way. Although we do lack a certain umbrella of representation in the industry, I also believe this is crucial for the movement to blossom into a full self-reliant machine. As an infant, it is still a bit naive, but we as the first generation of Western Arab enthusiasts, specifically MCs, have a role that is extremely potent and meaningful. It is the crossroads that we have built toward in our immigration, identity and social space. I think that these MCs, including us, when we first started, were not aware of the [impact of] our words. When certain things come from an Arab boy's mouth, it's not taken lightly. So as we are growing we are also learning how to present this without sacrificing our dignity and art form ... STEFAN CHRISTOFF: Can you speak about your experiences as Arab youth and cultural performers in North America? RAGTOP: I've been performing pretty regularly with Omar and my crew the Philistines in Los Angeles for a good three years now. We've traveled all over and performed in front of diverse crowds, and I have to say the response is overwhelmingly positive. Underground hip-hop heads show a lot of love when you're coming from an honest place and you got dope beats courtesy [of] cats like Excentrik, Offendum, and my co-Philistines Cookie Jar and DJ Cole Minor. EXCENTRIK: Man! It's ups and downs for me. If I'm playing with my free jazz group then peeps are all, "What the hell is that?" If I'm playing my 'oud, some old Berkeley lady wants to take my picture, talking about my "exotic" culture ... Performing with the Arab Summit is almost always pure love -- everyone seems to throw us some dope vibes. And that's a far cry from when I first started years ago -- I had a dude attack me with a crowbar after I spat a poem about racism towards Arabs in America! And that was way before 9/11 ... THE NARCICYST: Don't expect everyone to love what we do, but the general consensus at shows is a positive vibe. Although I'm sure a lot of what we say flies over people's heads, some people do hijack our words and attempt to add their own perceptions to it ... [When] words like "Islam" or even "Pentagon" come out of an Arab man's mouth [it] can be taken the wrong way. It's relative, but the greatest thing that I believe is coming out of this music is dialogue. As long as we can talk and build, then it's a beautiful thing ... STEFAN CHRISTOFF: Can you speak about your own personal experiences with the "home-front" of the War on Terror, certainly crossing back and forth between Canada and the US? RAGTOP: Actually, Mr. Offendum and I have performed in Vancouver twice, and each time experienced harassment at the border. I have become very familiar with airport security procedures, especially the special side room where they give your bags that extra-special [search]. In Tel Aviv they assigned me my own special security agent to just follow me all around the airport and make sure I got on the plane. But I will say that things have gotten better in the last year or so, between me and airport security. EXCENTRIK: I got stripped searched once ... I'm not kidding, just don't tell anyone. THE NARCICYST: Let's just say, there are three copies of my fingerprints somewhere in the nether world of racial profiling and border searches. I have been questioned CSIS-style for several hours on end, while I have been denied entry into the US a couple of times. And somehow, I'm always the "random search" at airport, god dammit! In a government office near you, someone is listening to either me or my music. But so be it, there is nothing negative to our music; we do this for love and understanding in the long run ... OMAR OFFENDUM: It's been hard ... but I won't turn this into one of those clich?d responses about how many times I have personally been detained at an airport; knowing that some innocent brothers and sisters still haven't been released is way more upsetting. So is the fact that most of my fellow US citizens can't really say they feel any safer six years later. The situations in Iraq, Palestine, and Lebanon continue to spiral out of control and there are no signs of a light at the end of the tunnel. Recognizing that we have certain opportunities (rights) our families back home don't have, we make it a point to address all these issues in our music with a sense of responsibility. STEFAN CHRISTOFF: What's your take on hip-hop's origins and their relationship to the current role that hip-hop plays on a global level today, from the Middle East to Africa and Latin America? RAGTOP: I think hip-hop is alive and thriving, globally speaking. It took a while for its popularity to spread enough to the point that ... people abroad grew up listening to hip-hop, and I think that's the main reason for the recent boom. ... Commercialization [is] rapidly making it the most popular music in the world, but at the expense of much knowledge, which is one of the original five pillars of the art form. What's interesting to see is how cats like our boys the [Palestinian MCs] DAM -- though initially influenced by more popular, less [socially-]conscious rappers -- when they began producing their music it emerged [as] an honest expression of their lives without any of the fake Hollywood posturing. OMAR OFFENDUM: I see hip-hop as an extension of the same movements that brought about jazz, reggae, rock, and the blues. I also see it as an extension of the ancient aural traditions of Africa and the Middle East. It's no surprise that a soulful place like New York City could birth this most recent incarnation; nor is it surprising that similar urban experiences around the globe could latch on to it so rapidly. However, as is the case with all the aforementioned musical trends, there is a point [at which] something can get too big, too famous, and begin to lose its sense of origin. I believe this is what led to Nas to name his most recent release Hip-Hop is Dead. Yet the Internet has given our generation an opportunity to look past what is available commercially and plant new seeds. I am optimistic. Stefan Christoff is an independent journalist based in Montreal and regular contributor to the Electronic Intifada and Electronic Lebanon. ----------------------- From bruegel at emailaccount.com Sun Oct 14 23:08:19 2007 From: bruegel at emailaccount.com (Georgina Barrett) Date: Mon, 15 Oct 2007 08:08:19 +0200 Subject: [Bloquez l'empire!] Play and win now... Mon, 15 Oct 2007 00:11:19 -0600 Message-ID: An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From abolissons at gmail.com Thu Oct 18 07:51:06 2007 From: abolissons at gmail.com (People's Commission) Date: Thu, 18 Oct 2007 10:51:06 -0400 Subject: [Bloquez l'empire!] Coast to Coast actions 20 October 2007: No new security certificate legislation Message-ID: <02c101c81196$6dc1c080$6405a8c0@Yoodle> Coast to Coast actions 20 October 2007 NO NEW SECURITY CERTIFICATE LEGISLATION FREE THE SECRET TRIAL FIVE Minister of "Public Safety" Stockwell Day is expected to introduce new security certificate legislation in Parliament any day now. The reform comes in response to strong public opposition to the security certificate - a symbol of injustice against migrants in Canada - and in response to the Supreme Court decision in February 2007 that the 'security certificate' process is unconstitutional. This means that the government intends to maintain a two-tiered justice system, with one process for refugees and permanent residents and another for citizens. If it succeeds, this move will further entrench the use of secrecy and racial profiling in the Canadian legal system. It will help to normalize indefinite detention/house arrest for people who are deemed "suspect" by the spy agency CSIS. It will normalize increased government control and surveillance. All while leaving the door open to deportation to torture. JOIN US on the cross-Canada day of action on 20 October to send a clear message to the government: no new security certificate process; immediately free those detained under this illegal law - or charge them and give them a fair and open trial. BELOW: 1. Demands of day of action 2. Statements by security certificate detainees and family members 3. List of actions across Canada 4. What else you can do 5. List of organizations who have endorsed the day of action 6. Bios and photos of the secret trial five 7. For more information ::::DEMANDS:::: The demands of the 20 October CROSS-CANADA DAY OF ACTION are: 1. No new 'security certificate' legislation; 2. Immediately free the five from all conditions or charge them and provide them with a fair and open trial; 3. End deportation proceedings against the five; 4. End deportations to torture; and 5. Close the "Kingston Immigration Holding Centre". ::::STATEMENTS BY DETAINEES AND FAMILY MEMBERS:::: * Statement for 20 October 2007 by SOPHIE LAMARCHE: http://www.radio4all.net/index.php?op=download&program_id=25022&file_id=4348 1&nav=& Sophie Lamarche has campaigned for the release of her husband Mohamed Harkat since his arrest in December 2002; since his transfer to house arrest in summer 2006, she has been forced to supervise her husband. * Statement for 20 October 2007 by MOHAMED HARKAT: http://www.radio4all.net/index.php?op=download&program_id=25022&file_id=4348 0&nav=& Mohamed Harkat was arrested under a security certificate in December 2002; he was transferred to house arrest in summer 2006. * Statement for 20 October 2007 by AHMAD JABALLAH: http://www.radio4all.net/index.php?op=download&program_id=25022&file_id=4348 2&nav=& Ahmad Jaballah is the oldest son of Mahmoud Jaballah, who has been under a certificate since August 2001. * Radio Canada "Maisonneuve en direct", interview with ADIL CHARKAOUI (12 October 2007): www.radio-canada.ca/radio/maisonneuve/ Adil Charkaoui was arrested under a security certificate in May 2003, and was released from prison in February 2005, is currently under strict conditions. (French) * Statement by LATIFA RADWAN to the People's Commission on Immigration Security Measures (April 2006): www.radio4all.net/proginfo.php?id=25049 Latifa Radwan is the mother of Adil Charkaoui; since his release from prison, she has been forced into the role of supervisor of her son. (French) * CKLN Radio interview with HASSAN ALMREI (31 August 2005): www.radio4all.net/index.php?op=download&program_id=13955&file_id=24273&nav=& Hassan Almrei was arrested under a certificate in October 2001; he remains the sole detainee in the special prison for security certificate detainees, the Kingston Immigration Holding Centre. ::::ACTIONS & EVENTS ACROSS CANADA:::: Events are taking place from 19 October through to 28 October in a dozen places: DURHAM, ON Saturday, 20 October Meet at 4 Corners * Walk through town led by a bagpiper. * More info: Liz and Barney Barningham, tel. (519) 369-3268 EDMONTON, AB Saturday, 20 October at 11am McIntyre Park Gazebo, 83 Ave. & 104 St., * Teach-in with SPEAKERS (Dylan Handy, winner of the Maher Arar Essay contest on Human Rights; Martin Tweedale, Council of Canadians; Peggy Morton, ECAWAR; Paul Viminitz, Prof. of Philosophy, Univ. of Lethbridge; Marilyn Gaa, Edmonton Raging Granny) and MUSIC (The Edmonton Raging Grannies, Paula Kirman, Notre Dame des Bananas) * Sponsored by: Edmonton Raging Grannies; Council of Canadians; ECAWAR; Earth's General Store; Edmonton Small Press Association; Edmonton Presbytery * More info: 780-378-0173 FREDERICTON Saturday, 20 October Farmer's Market * Leafletting HALIFAX, NS Sunday, October 28 from 1pm to 5pm Room 224, Dalhousie SUB, 6136 University Ave (corner of University Ave and Seymour St) * An Afternoon Workshop on challenging Canada's "National Security" Agenda and upholding Human Rights Abroad and at Home, Featuring a Session on Creative Protest and Nonviolent Direct Action: "Ending Secret Trials, Indefinite Detention, and Canadian Involvement in Torture" * More info: NSPIRG, tel. (902) 494-6662 KITCHENER-WATERLOO, ON Saturday, 20 October, 12 noon Meet at King and Benton Streets (Speaker's Corner, across from Market Square and Karen Redman's office) * Rally * More info: pacscollective at gmail.com or call Alison or Nadeem at (519) 569-8085 LONDON, ON Saturday, 20 October, 3:30 pm Meet at Conservative Party headquarters, 30 Adelaide St. N. at Nelson, just north of the river * More info: bethwarnerguthrie at yahoo.ca MIDLAND, ON * Vigil and Letter-writing MONTREAL, QC Sunday, 21 October 2007, from 5pm C?DA, 2515 D?lisle St., Lionel Groulx metro * Panel, dinner and strategy session: The Other Arars * More info: Coalition Justice pour Adil Charkaoui, www.adilinfo.org, justiceforadil at riseup.net OTTAWA, ON Saturday, 20 October, 1pm Human Rights Monument, Elgin Street * Rally: Speakers include Monia Mazigh and Abdullah Almalki. * More info: justicepourmohamedharkat at yahoo.ca ORILLIA, ON Saturday, 20 October Farmers Market * Joining in weekly peace vigil * More info: Amnesty International Orillia - Group 10 SUDBURY, ON Saturday, 20 October 2007, 12 Noon Sudbury Court House, 155 Elm Street * Media Conference, "Many Canadians believes we live in a country where the government cannot lock you up while keeping the charges and the evidence are secret. Many Canadians are wrong." * More info: Sudbury Against War and Occupation, tel. 705 675-8479 TORONTO, ON Saturday, 20 October, 12 noon Meet at CSIS, 277 Front Street West, * Rally and Walk to federal Court, Moss Park Armoury * More info: tel 416 651 5800, tasc at web.ca VANCOUVER, BC Friday, 19 October, 4:30-6:30 PM Broadway Skytrain Station, Commercial Drive * Leafleting, Readings, and Creative Resistance * Organized by No One is Illegal-Vancouver and Siraat Collective. * More information, noii-van at resist.ca or tel. 778 885 0040 ::::WHAT ELSE YOU CAN DO:::: * Sign petition (petition at www.jerome.koumbit.org/adil/postcards or available by email from tasc at web.ca). * Call or send a postcard to your MP, telling them to vote against the new security certificate legislation (postcards available from justiceforadil at riseup.net or for download at www.jerome.koumbit.org/adil/postcards; you can find the MP for your district at www.parl.gc.ca) * Get involved! Email tasc at web.ca (Toronto), justiceforadil at riseup.net (Montreal), or justicepourmohamedharkat at yahoo.ca (Ottawa) to find out how. * Break the silence! Stand up and challenge racism and fear in your workplace, at schools, on the street, in your community centre. ::::ENDORSERS:::: The Day of Action is endorsed by many organizations and networks, including: Solidarity Across Borders, The Council of Canadians, Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW), Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE), Monia Mazigh, Quebec Public Interest Research Group (QPIRG) McGill, Rassemblement Outaouais contre la guerre, El-Hidaya Association of Montreal, Les Soeurs Auxiliatrices-Comit? Justice sociale, Immigrant Workers' Centre, Coalition Justice for Adil Charkaoui, Table de concertation des organismes au service des personnes r?fugi?es et immigrantes (TCRI), Irene Mathyssen (MP London-Fanshawe), Collectif ?chec ? la guerre, Comit? social centre-sud, l'Association pour une Solidarit? Syndicale ?tudiante (ASS?), Ligue des droits et libert?s, NDP Qu?bec, Jack Layton (MP, Toronto-Danforth), Libby Davies (MP, Vancouver East), Centre justice et foi, Wayne Marston (MP, Hamilton East-Stoney Creek and the NDP Advocate on Human Rights, Multiculturalism and Sport), Canadian Arab Federation, Canadian Peace Alliance, Forum Musulman Canadien / Canadian Muslim Forum (FMC-CMF), Quebec solidaire, Bill Siksay (MP, Burnaby-Douglas), Alternative Perspective Media / Regard Alternative M?dia (APM-RAM), Center for Constitutional Rights (New York), Alliance of Concerned Jewish Canadians (ACJC), Barnard-Boecker Centre Foundation, Bethune Institute for Anti-Fascist Studies, No one is illegal Fredericton, Comit? action refugi?-Montr?al, Gerald and Maas, Canadian Association of Elizabeth Fry Societies, Palestinian and Jewish Unity (PAJU), No One is Illegal Montreal, 2110 Centre for Gender Advocacy, No One is Illegal - Toronto, F?deration des femmes du Qu?bec, Coalition contre la brutalit? polici?re Montr?al, Chinese Canadian Redress Alliance / Alliance des sinocanadiens pour la r?paration, Olivia Chow (MP Trinity Spadina), Association qu?b?coise des organismes de coop?ration internationale (AQOCI), Canadian Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-CAN), F?d?ration des Congolais de l'?tranger (FCE-Canada), Comit? pour les droits humains en Am?rique latine (CDHAL), South Asian Women's Community Centre (SAWCC), International Civil Liberties Monitoring Group (ICLMG), Canadian Council for Refugees, Action Refugi?s Montr?al, Toronto Action for Social Change, Campaign to stop secret trials in Canada, Justice for Mohamed Harkat Committee, No one is illegal Vancouver, Ontario Coalition against Poverty, Pr?sence Musulmane Montr?al, Jesuit Refugee and Migrant Service, NOWAR/PAIX, Nova Scotia Public Interest Research Group (NS PIRG), Executive of the Edmonton Presbytery of the United Church of Canada, Local Global Justice Committee of Edmonton Presbytery of the United Church of Canada, Justice & Peace Office of the Sisters of Providence of St. Vincent de Paul ::::THE SECRET TRIAL FIVE:::: Photos of the detainees available at: www.jerome.koumbit.org/adil/photos * Mohammad Mahjoub, married with two children, is a torture survivor from Egypt who was accepted as a convention refugee in Canada in 1996. He was arrested in June 2000 in Toronto, but never charged. His certificate was upheld on the basis of secret suspicions in October 2001. He was moved to house arrest - 24 hour supervision and no leaving the home without permission - in spring 2007. He denies the allegations against him and asks for a fair trial in which he can clear his name if there is any case against him. * Mahmoud Jaballah, married with six children, is a torture survivor from Egypt and a school principal who arrived in Canada in 1996. He was arrested under his second certificate in August 2001, days before his refugee hearing. He had previously been detained under a security certificate for seven months in 1999 before the judge deemed the certificate unreasonable in a very unusual decision. He was re-arrested under a new interpretation of the previous "evidence". The second was thrown out on a technicality; the third was finally upheld in 2006. He was moved to house arrest, under the same draconian conditions as Mahjoub, in spring 2007. Like Mahjoub, he insists on his innocence, and asks for a fair and open trial to clear his name if the government thinks it has something against him. * Hassan Almrei, born in Syria and accepted as convention refugee in June 2000, was arrested under a certificate in October 2001; his certificate was upheld the same year despite objections to the lack of justice in the secret trial process. Since then, he has been threatened with deportation to Syria, even though it is well-known what happened to Maher Arar in Syria under similar allegations which proved to be baseless. Almrei was held in solitary confinement for over four years, and went on many hungerstrikes to protest his conditions, the longest lasting well over 100 days. He is currently the only detainee in the "Kingston Immigration Holding Centre". Like the others, he firmly rejects the allegations that are made against him by CSIS. * Mohamed Harkat, married, born in Algeria, was accepted as convention refugee in Canada before being arrested in December 2002. Never charged, and never given a fair trial his certificate was upheld in 2005 under the unconstitutional security certificate process. He was transferred to house arrest in June 2006, under which he is never allowed to be alone, cannot leave home without the permission of the government and has many other harsh restrictions. He is still waiting for justice in Canada, though he has repeatedly asked for a fair and open trial if there is anything against him. * Adil Charkaoui, married with three children, was born in Morocco and came to Canada as a permanent resident with his mother, father and sister in 1995; he was arrested in May 2003 and released under harsh conditions in February 2005. His certificate has not yet been reviewed by Federal Court. His successful legal challenge to the security certificate process brought down the legislation in February 2007. Like the others, he is still waiting for justice in Canada and in the meantime lives in the limbo of indefinite conditions and threat of deportation to a strong probability of torture. ::::FOR MORE INFORMATION:::: Campaign to Stop Secret Trials in Canada www.homesnotbombs.ca tasc at web.ca (416) 651-5800 Justice for Mohamed Harkat Committee www.zerra.net/freemohamed sophielamarche at hotmail.com or justicepourmohamedharkat at yahoo.ca 613-523-1975 Coalition Justice for Adil Charkaoui www.adilinfo.org justiceforadil at riseup.net tel. 514 859 9023 From aaron at resist.ca Thu Oct 18 22:50:08 2007 From: aaron at resist.ca (aaron at resist.ca) Date: Thu, 18 Oct 2007 22:50:08 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [Bloquez l'empire!] Intercontinental Anti- 2010 Olympics Movement Launched In Mexico (fwd) Message-ID: Intercontinental Anti- 2010 Olympics Movement Launched In Mexico For Immediate Release October 18, 2007 Coast Salish Territory; Vancouver Indigenous representatives attending an intercontinental Indigenous gathering in Vicam , Sonora Mexico have called for a boycott of the 2010 Olympics Games. The meeting, which was attended by over 1500 delegates representing nations from the US, Canada, Mexico, Central America and South America, began on October 11thth and ended on October 14th. Indigenous people met to discuss 515 years of invasion and resistance to colonial occupation of Indigenous lands, with the Olympics a central theme. Delegates agreed that the 2010 Games, to be held on the occupied Indigenous territories of Vancouver "BC", will have an immense negative impact on Indigenous people's lands and lives. Reading from the proposed resolutions delivered at the gathering, Gord Hill, a Kwakwaka'wakw delegate, stated that "Olympic related mega development on Indigenous lands have already disrupted hunting and fishing grounds and destroyed sacred sites". The resolutions also drew attention to the death of esteemed Elder Harriet Nahanee who died after she was imprisoned for protesting the expansion of the Sea to Sky highway - the primary artery to the main site of the 2010 winter Games. In the final statement, adopted resolution number two states "We reject the 2010 Winter Olympics on sacred and stolen territory of Turtle Island--Vancouver, Canada". Angela Sterritt, Gitxsan participant, said "Not only are the 2010 Games destructive to the environment, but they will accelerate violence against Indigenous women. Prostitution is being actively promoted and referred to as a "tourist attraction" for the games". The Gathering, held on Yaqui territory, followed a number of regional gatherings throughout Mexico. The delegates representing Northern Turtle Island, also known as Canada, agreed that defense and protection of the land and unity were central to their effort towards self-determination and freedom. The year 2010 in Vancouver marks a great threat to Indigenous people and to these goals. Delegates from across the continent decided that resistance to the Olympics should be an international objective. Given the Olympic massacre of over 300 students in Mexico in 1968 and the exploitation of Indigenous people in other countries that have hosted the Olympics, the Indigenous peoples in Vicam agreed that stopping the Olympics 2010 is imperative. Hundreds if not thousands of Indigenous people now plan to attend the Olympic Games, not in celebration, but in resistance to the danger the Olympics poses to Indigenous lands, identity, culture, health, livelihoods, and to future generations. -30- For more information contact: Dustin Johnson, Spokesperson, 604-602-7226; email: dustin at redwiremag.com Angela Sterritt, Spokesperson, 604-562-1028; email: indigenous.free.school at gmail.com Gord Hill, Spokesperson, 604-602-7226; email: warrior-publications at hotmail.com _______________________________________________ Aca-list mailing list Aca-list at lists.mutualaid.org http://lists.mutualaid.org/mailman/listinfo/aca-list free hosting provided by http://www.mutualaid.org/ -- Would you rather have a Lexus? Or Justice? A Dream? Or some substance? A Beamer? A necklace? Or Freedom? I don't player hate; I just stay awake. This real hip-hop And it don't stop 'Til we get the popo if the block -Dead Prez _______________________________________________ IPSM-l mailing list IPSM-l at lists.resist.ca https://lists.resist.ca/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/ipsm-l From aaron at resist.ca Tue Oct 23 07:16:19 2007 From: aaron at resist.ca (aaron at resist.ca) Date: Tue, 23 Oct 2007 07:16:19 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [Bloquez l'empire!] Eye Witness Account of Haiti Today: 7pm Nov 1 @ SCPA Message-ID: <49518.74.13.214.187.1193148979.squirrel@mail.resist.ca> Haiti Today: Economic Calamity, Foreign Interference A Reportback by Roger Annis 7pm Thursday, November 1 School of Community and Public Affairs (SCPA), room 104 Concordia University 2149 MacKay St. While Haiti has fallen off the radar for the corporate media, the Canada Haiti Action Network continues to follow closely the evolving situation on the ground. In August 2007, Vancouver activist Roger Annis spent two weeks in Haiti as part of a human rights delegation sponsored by the U.S.-based Fondasyon Mapou and Haiti Priorities Project. Now on a Canada-wide tour, Roger Annis will give an eye-opening report on the delegation's findings as they traveled from town to town across Haiti, meeting with government officials, citizen?s groups, labour organizers and victims of persecution. Photographs and video images recorded during the delegation will also be presented. For more information see Roger Annis's travel blog: http://www.thac.ca/blog/9 Roger Annis is a trade union activist and leading member of the Canada Haiti Action Network and Haiti Solidarity BC (Vancouver). Sponsored by Haiti Action Montreal www.canadahaitiaction.ca -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tadamon at resist.ca Tue Oct 23 10:49:19 2007 From: tadamon at resist.ca (Tadamon!) Date: Tue, 23 Oct 2007 10:49:19 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [Bloquez l'empire!] [Montreal] Rapport: Un debat critique sur le Hezbollah. October 2007 Message-ID: Tadamon! Montr?al. Rapport: Un d?bat critique sur le Hezbollah Montr?al, October 2007. http://tadamon.resist.ca/index.php/post/926 Dans le contexte de la campagne visant ? contester la pr?sence du Hezbollah sur la liste des "organisations terroristes" au Canada, Tadamon! Montr?al a organis? le Mercredi 17 Octobre une importante conf?rence ? l'Universit? McGill, dans le cadre de la s?rie de conf?rences Culture Shock 2007. Plus de 200 personnes se sont r?unies pour entendre les pr?sentations de Bilal Elamine, l'ancien r?dacteur en chef du magazine Left Turn, qui habite ? Beyrouth, et de Brian Aboud, sociologue et historien actif dans Tadamon! De plus, le documentaire de la cin?aste libanaise Carol Mansour "Un ?t? ? ne pas oublier", sur l'attaque isra?lienne contre le Liban en 2006, a ?t? projet? pour la premi?re fois au Canada. Les pr?sentations avaient pour but de contextualiser l'histoire du Hezbollah, en tant que force politique et sociale au Liban, en pr?sentant de nombreux exemples concrets ainsi que des perspectives alternatives ? celles qui sont en g?n?ral transmises en Am?rique du Nord par les descriptions de la politique libanaise. Bilal Elamine a d?crit l'histoire du Hezbollah, dans le contexte du mouvement de lib?ration nationale libanais pour se d?fendre de l'occupation ill?gale isra?lienne au sud du Liban qui a dur? plus de 20 ans. Elamine a aussi propos? de nouvelles perspectives ? la perception habituelle qu'on a du Hezbollah, comme une force politique au Moyen-Orient, soulignant l'?norme soutien populaire dont sa branche arm?e a b?n?fici? lors de l'attaque militaire isra?lienne contre le Liban en 2006. Brian Aboud a d?crit la campagne de Tadamon! visant ? contester la qualification du Hezbollah comme organisation terroriste au Canada, soulignant le caract?re douteux des preuves pr?sent?es par le gouvernement canadien en 2002 qui ont conduit ? l'ajout du Hezbollah ? la liste post-11-Septembre des "organisations terroristes" au Canada. Un rapport sp?cial de Radio-Canada en 2002 a d?montr? que la preuve principale, pr?sent?e par l'Etat Canadien pour justifier l'inclusion du Hezbollah sur la liste des "organisations terroristes", avait ?t? fabriqu?e. Aboud a aussi soulign? l'importance politique de la campagne de contestation de la pr?sence du Hezbollah sur la liste des organisations terroristes au Canada, dans le contexte de l'opposition aux lois et r?gulations utilis?es par les autorit?s canadiennes pour r?primer les communaut?s migrantes, en l'occurrence l'importante diaspora libanaise de Montr?al. La campagne de Tadamon! de contestation de la pr?sence du Hezbollah sur la liste des organisations terroristes au Canada va s'attacher ? toucher un public de plus en plus large dans les semaines et les mois qui viennent. Pour soutenir les efforts en ce sens de Tadamon!, vous pouvez vous impliquer personnellement, contribuer financi?rement, parler autour de vous de cette campagne ou contacter Tadamon! si vous avez d'autres id?es ou des suggestions. Le Canada est l'un des trois pays au monde qui d?signent Hezbollah comme organisation ? terroriste ?. Les deux autres sont Isra?l et les ?tats-Unis. Tadamon! s'efforcera de remettre en question cette d?finition du Hezbollah comme ? organisation terroriste ?, qui a clairement un mobile politique, dans le but de : * Ouvrir des espaces pour discuter librement et favoriser l'implication dans les luttes pour la justice au Moyen-Orient sans crainte d'?tre pers?cut? ou ?tiquet? n?gativement; * R?duire la vuln?rabilit? des migrants et migrantes qui sont soumis-e-s au profilage racial et aux mesures injustes, soi-disant ? s?curitaires ?, en mati?re d'immigration; * D?noncer la diabolisation de ceux et celles qui r?sistent aux politiques proam?ricaines pour un ? nouveau Moyen-Orient ?; * D?fier l'appui inconditionnel du gouvernement canadien ? l'agression isra?lienne. '''''''''''''''''''''' From tadamon at resist.ca Tue Oct 23 10:49:04 2007 From: tadamon at resist.ca (Tadamon!) Date: Tue, 23 Oct 2007 10:49:04 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [Bloquez l'empire!] [Montreal] Report: Who is the Terrorist? October 2007. Message-ID: Tadamon! Montreal. Report: Who is the Terrorist? Montreal, October 2007. http://tadamon.resist.ca/index.php/post/926 In the context of the campaign to challenge the listing of Hezbollah as a "terrorist" organization in Canada, on Wednesday, October 17th, Tadamon! Montreal hosted a major lecture at McGill University as part of Culture Shock 2007. Upwards of 200 people gathered to hear presentations from Bilal Elamine, the former editor of Left Turn Magazine, currently living in Beirut, Lebanon and Brian Aboud, a sociologist and historian active within Tadamon!. In addition a documentary film on the 2006 Israeli attack on Lebanon, "A Summer Not to Forget", by the Lebanese filmmaker Carol Mansour, was screened for the first time in Canada. Presentations attempted to contextualize the history of Hezbollah as a social & political force in Lebanon, through providing important examples and alternative perspectives to those often found in mainstream political depictions of the Lebanese movement in North America. Bilal Elamine outlined the history of Hezbollah within the context of the Lebanese national liberation movement to combat Israel's illegal occupation of Lebanese territory, specifically southern Lebanon, that lasted for upwards of 20 years. Elamine also offered perspectives on the common perception of Hezbollah as a political force within the Middle East, addressing the major popular support that the armed wing of the movement received within the context of Israel's 2006 military attack on Lebanon. Brian Aboud, outlined Tadamon!'s campaign to challenge the listing of Hezbollah as a terrorist organization in Canada, outlining the disputable evidence presented by the Canadian government in 2002, which lead to Hezbollah inclusion in the post-9/11 list of 'terrorist' organizations in Canada. A special report produced by the CBC in 2002 uncovered that the central piece of evidence presented by the Canadian state, as the justification for Hezbollah's inclusion within the list of "terrorist" organization, was fabricated. Aboud also outlined the political importance of the campaign to challenge the listing of Hezbollah as a terrorist organization within Canada, in the context of confronting the laws and regulations utilized by Canadian authorities to repress migrant communities, in this case the major Lebanese Diaspora in Montreal. Tadamon!'s campaign to challenge the listing of Hezbollah as a terrorist organization in Canada will be taking a higher public profile within the upcoming weeks & months. To support Tadamon!'s efforts you can get involved, donate to the collective, spread the word concerning the campaign, or contact Tadamon! with further ideas & suggestions. Canada is one of only three countries world-wide to designate Hezbollah as a 'terrorist' organization. The other two are Israel and the United States. Tadamon! will be working to contest the politically-motivated designation of Hezbollah as a 'terrorist organization' in order to: * Create greater space to freely discuss and engage in struggles for justice in the Middle East without fear of persecution or labeling; * Reduce the vulnerability of migrants subjected to racial profiling and unjust immigration 'security' measures; * Confront the demonization of all who resist US-driven policies for a 'new Middle East'; * Challenge the Canadian government's unconditional support for Israeli aggression. Tadamon! Montreal. http://tadamon.resist.ca / 514 664 1036 / tadamon[at]resist.ca '''''''''''''''''''''' From mfoster at web.ca Fri Oct 26 12:14:02 2007 From: mfoster at web.ca (Mary Foster) Date: Fri, 26 Oct 2007 15:14:02 -0400 Subject: [Bloquez l'empire!] =?iso-8859-1?q?Rumsfeld_-_accus=E9_de_tortur?= =?iso-8859-1?q?e_-_charged_with_torture?= Message-ID: <008d01c81804$7a071740$6405a8c0@Yoodle> Lawyers Against The War (L.A.W.) (Avocats contre la guerre) Au cours d'un voyage en France, Donald Rumsfeld, ancien secr?taire ? la D?fense des ?tats-Unis, a ?t? formellement accus? pour des cas de torture et de violations de droits de la personne survenus dans les prisons de Guant?namo et d'Abu Ghraib par les organisations suivantes : - International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH); - Center for Constitutional Rights (CCR); - European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights (ECCHR); - Ligue des droits de l'Homme et du citoyen (LDH). Lawyers Against The War (L.A.W.) During a trip to France, Donald Rumsfeld, former US Defense Secretary, was charged with Torture and Abuse at the prisons of Guant?namo and Abu Ghraib. A complaint is filed by the following organizations: - International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH); - Center for Constitutional Rights (CCR); - European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights (ECCHR); - Ligue des droits de l'Homme et du citoyen (LDH). ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---- ----- Original Message ----- From: Lawyers Against The War To: Undisclosed-Recipient:; Sent: Friday, October 26, 2007 12:47 PM Subject: Rumsfeld charged with Torture ---------- International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) Center for Constitutional Rights (CCR) European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights (ECCHR) Ligue des droits de l'Homme et du citoyen (LDH) ---------- Press release France/USA DONALD RUMSFELD CHARGED WITH TORTURE DURING TRIP TO FRANCE Complaint Filed Against Former Defense Secretary for Torture, Abuse at Guant?namo and Abu Ghraib October 26, 2007, Paris, France - Today, the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) along with the Center for Constitutional Rights (CCR), the European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights (ECCHR), and the French League for Human Rights (LDH) filed a complaint with the Paris Prosecutor before the "Court of First Instance" (Tribunal de Grande Instance) charging former Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld with ordering and authorizing torture. Rumsfeld was in Paris for a talk sponsored by Foreign Policy magazine. "The filing of this French case against Rumsfeld demonstrates that we will not rest until those U.S. officials involved in the torture program are brought to justice. Rumsfeld must understand that he has no place to hide. A torturer is an enemy of all humankind," said CCR President Michael Ratner. "France is under the obligation to investigate and prosecute Rumsfeld's accountability for crimes of torture in Guantanamo and Iraq. France has no choice but to open an investigation if an alleged torturer is on its territory. I hope that the fight against impunity will not be sacrificed in the name of politics. We call on France to refuse to be a safe haven for criminals." said FIDH President Souhayr Belhassen. "We want to combat impunity and therefore demand a judicial investigation and a criminal prosecution wherever there is jurisdiction over the torture incidents," said ECCHR General Secretary Wolfgang Kaleck. "That a criminal State representative should benefit from impunity is always unacceptable. Because the USA is the super power of the beginning of this century and, above all, because it is a democracy, the impunity of Donald Rumsfeld is even more insufferable than that of a Hiss?ne Habr? or a Radovan Karadzic", underlined Jean-Pierre Dubois, LDH President. The criminal complaint states that because of the failure of authorities in the United States and Iraq to launch any independent investigation into the responsibility of Rumsfeld and other high-level U.S. officials for torture despite a documented paper trail and government memos implicating them in direct as well as command responsibility for torture - and because the U.S. has refused to join the International Criminal Court - it is the legal obligation of states such as France to take up the case. In this case, charges are brought under the 1984 Convention against Torture, ratified by both the United States and France, which has been used in France in previous torture cases. French courts therefore have an obligation under the Convention against Torture to prosecute individuals responsible for acts of torture if they are present on French territory (1). This will be the only case filed while he is in the country, which makes the obligations to investigate and prosecute under international law extremely strong. Rumsfeld's presence on French territory gives French courts jurisdiction to prosecute him for having ordered and authorized torture and cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment of detainees in Guantanamo, Abu Ghraib and elsewhere. In addition, having resigned from his position of U.S. Secretary of Defense a year ago, Rumsfeld can no longer try to claim immunity as a head of state or government official. Nor can he claim immunity as former state official, as international law does not recognize such immunity in the case of international crimes including the crime of torture. Former U.S. Army Brigadier General Janis Karpinski, former commander of Abu Ghraib and other U.S.-run prisons in Iraq, submitted written testimony to the Paris Prosecutor for the plaintiffs' case on Rumsfeld's responsibility for the abuse of detainees. This is the fifth time Rumsfeld has been charged with direct involvement in torture stemming from his role in the Bush administration's program of torture post-9/11. Two previous criminal complaints were filed in Germany under its universal jurisdiction statute, which allows Germany to prosecute serious international crimes regardless of where they occurred or the nationality of the perpetrators or victims. One case was filed in fall 2004 by CCR, FIDH, and Berlin attorney Wolfgang Kaleck; that case was dismissed in February 2005 in response to official pressure from the U.S., in particular from the Pentagon. The second case was filed in fall 2006 by the same groups as well as dozens of national and international human rights groups, Nobel Peace Prize winners and the United Nations former Special Rapporteur on Torture. The 2006 complaint was presented on behalf of 12 Iraqi citizens who had been held and abused in Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq and one Saudi citizen still held at Guant?namo. This case was dismissed in April 2007, and an appeal will be filed against this decision next week. Two other cases were filed against Rumsfeld in Argentina in 2005 and in Sweden in 2007. The complaint and the documents attached are available on FIDH Website : http://www.fidh.org/spip.php?artic le4831 ---------- Press contact : Karine Appy + 33 1 43 55 14 12 / + 33 1 43 55 25 18 / + 33 6 68 42 93 47 ---------- (1) See articles 689 para 1 and 2 of the french Code of Criminal Procedure : - Article 689-1) In accordance with the international Conventions quoted in the following articles, a person guilty of committing any of the offences listed by these provisions outside the territory of the Republic and who happens to be in France may be prosecuted and tried by French courts. The provisions of the present article apply to attempts to commit these offences, in every case where attempt is punishable. - Article 689-2 For the implementation of the Convention against Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, adopted in New York on 10th December 1984, any person guilty of torture in the sense of article 1 of the Convention may be prosecuted and tried in accordance with the provisions of article 689-1. Margarita Lacabe - marga at derechos.org - http://www.derechos.org/ __________________________________________________________________________ For news on forced disappearances visit http://www.desaparecidos.org/notas/ From abolissons at gmail.com Sun Oct 28 16:25:54 2007 From: abolissons at gmail.com (People's Commission) Date: Sun, 28 Oct 2007 18:25:54 -0500 Subject: [Bloquez l'empire!] 17 November: March against the new security certificate legislation Message-ID: <014101c819b9$e858d880$6405a8c0@Yoodle> No to two-tiered justice; no to secret trials Free the secret trial five Justice for ALL! MARCH against the new security certificate legislation Saturday, 17 November 2007, 1pm Gather at Metro C?te Vertu (corner of C?te Vertu and D?carie) Join us in a march through Ville St-Laurent, a neighbourhood with many Muslims, Arabs and new immigrants, to show solidarity with communities targeted by the national security agenda, to oppose racial profiling and discrimination against non-citizens, and to call on Stephane Dion, MP for Ville St-Laurent and leader of the Liberal Party of Canada, to take a position against Bill C-3. On October 22nd, the Conservatives introduced Bill C-3, new security certificate legislation, which they hope to pass into law in the coming months. The Liberals immediately signaled their intention of supporting Bill C-3. Like the old security certificate, the proposed draft (www2.parl.gc.ca/content/hoc/Bills/392/Government/C-3/C-3_1/C-3_1.PDF) fails to provide a fair trial, maintains a secret trial process, uses vague and undefined allegations rather than precise charges, and relies on a low standard of proof. It allows the judge to take a decision based on secret and dubious information. It does not prohibit the use of information produced under torture. It maintains a two-tiered system which does not allow non-citizens the same procedural protections as citizens, even though their liberty and very lives may be at stake. It will continue the practice of indefinite detention under threat of deportation to torture. Legal experts who have analysed the bill have already said that it will not even pass a constitutional test; raising the possibility of further legal battles and constitutional challenges. If it succeeds, this move on the part of the government will further entrench the use of secrecy and racial profiling in the Canadian legal system. It will help to normalize indefinite detention or house arrest for people who are deemed "suspect" by the spy agency CSIS. It will help normalize increased government control and surveillance. All while leaving the door open to deportation to torture. The proposed reform comes in response to a strong grassroots campaign against the security certificate - a symbol of injustice against migrants in Canada - and in response to the Supreme Court decision in February 2007 that the 'security certificate' process is unconstitutional. On 20 October, actions were held in over a dozen cities across Canada to send a clear message to the government: no new security certificate process; immediately free those detained under this illegal law - or charge them and give them a fair and open trial. The day of action was supported by over sixty organizations - from national unions and NGO networks to community organizations and activist networks. (See full demands and the full list of endorsers at www.jerome.koumbit.org/adil/en/node/154.) In Montreal, a very well attended public assembly took place to develop analysis and discuss strategy (see photo report: http://photos.cmaq.net/v/certificats_de_securite/). Momentum against the new legislation is building. JOIN US on Saturday, 17 November in Montreal to say: 1. No new 'security certificate' legislation; 2. Immediately free the five from all conditions or charge them and provide them with a fair and open trial; 3. End deportations to torture. WHAT ELSE YOU CAN DO: * Distribute this annoncement through your networks, and encourage your contacts to come out on November 17th. * Distribute postcards urging your MPs to vote against the legislation (order from Justice for Adil, justiceforadil at riseup.net). * Circulate petition for signature (download petition at www.jerome.koumbit.org/adil/en/postcards). * Invite a speaker from the Coalition Justice for Adil Charkaoui to give a talk at your school, community centre, board meeting, etc: justiceforadil at riseup.net. ---------------------------- Coalition Justice for Adil Charkaoui www.adilinfo.org tel. 514 859 9023 justiceforadil at riseup.net To join our newslist: justiceforadil-subscribe at lists.riseup.net Justice for Adil is a working group of QPIRG McGill. From abolissons at gmail.com Sun Oct 28 16:26:14 2007 From: abolissons at gmail.com (People's Commission) Date: Sun, 28 Oct 2007 18:26:14 -0500 Subject: [Bloquez l'empire!] =?iso-8859-1?q?17_novembre_=3A_Marche_contre?= =?iso-8859-1?q?_la_nouvelle_loi_des_certificats_de_s=E9curit=E9?= Message-ID: <018601c819ba$2d34b6e0$6405a8c0@Yoodle> Non ? une justice ? deux vitesses ; non aux proc?s secrets Lib?rez les cinq victimes des proc?s secrets Justice pour TOUS et TOUTES Marche contre la nouvelle loi des certificats de s?curit? Samedi, 17 novembre 2007 ? 13h Rassemblement au m?tro C?te Vertu (coin C?te Vertu et D?carie) Joignez-vous ? une marche dans les rues de Ville Saint-Laurent, un quartier o? vivent de nombreux Musulmans, Arabes et nouveaux arrivants, pour montrer notre solidarit? avec les communaut?s cibl?es par l'ordre du jour s?curitaire, pour signifier notre opposition au profilage racial et ? la discrimination envers les non-citoyens, et pour faire pression sur St?phane Dion - d?put? de Ville Saint-Laurent et chef du Parti lib?ral du Canada - afin qu'il prenne une position contre le projet de loi C-3. Le 22 octobre 2007, les conservateurs ont d?pos? le projet de loi C-3 - nouvelle loi des certificats de s?curit? -, qu'ils esp?rent faire adopter dans les prochains mois. Les lib?raux ont imm?diatement fait conna?tre leur intention d'appuyer le projet de loi. Tout comme l'ancien certificat de s?curit?, le projet de loi propos? (www.parl.gc.ca) ne donne pas droit ? un proc?s juste, maintient le cadre secret du processus, utilise des all?gations vagues et non d?finies plut?t que des accusations pr?cises, et se base sur une faible norme de preuve. Il permet au juge de prendre une d?cision bas?e sur de l'information secr?te et douteuse. Il n'interdit pas l'utilisation d'information obtenue sous la torture. Il garde en place un syst?me ? deux vitesses qui ne donne pas aux non-citoyens les m?mes protections proc?durales qu'aux citoyens, alors m?me que leur libert? et leur vie sont en jeu. Il maintient la pratique de la d?tention ind?finie sous la menace d'une d?portation vers la torture. Les experts l?gaux qui ont analys? le projet de loi ont d?j? d?clar? que ce dernier ne passera m?me pas le test de la constitutionnalit?, ce qui pourrait se traduire par de nouvelles contestations judiciaires et constitutionnelles. Si le gouvernement r?ussit ? faire adopter le projet de loi, l'utilisation du secret et du profilage racial se trouvera renforc?e au sein du syst?me judiciaire canadien. Cela contribuera ? normaliser la d?tention ind?finie et l'assignation ? r?sidence pour les personnes consid?r?es comme " suspectes " pas l'agence d'espionnage, le SCRS. Cela contribuera ?galement ? normaliser un contr?le et une surveillance ?tatiques plus forts. Tout cela en laissant la porte ouverte ? la d?portation vers la torture. La r?forme propos?e survient en r?ponse ? une forte campagne populaire contre le certificat de s?curit?, symbole de l'injustice contre les immigrants au Canada, et en r?ponse ? la d?cision de la Cour supr?me, en f?vrier 2007, d?clarant inconstitutionnel le processus du " certificat de s?curit? ". Le 20 octobre, des actions ont eu lieu dans plus d'une dizaine de villes ? travers le Canada, afin d'envoyer un message clair au gouvernement : non au nouveau processus du certificat de s?curit? ; lib?rez imm?diatement les personnes d?tenues en vertu de cette loi ill?gale, ou accusez-les et donnez-leur le droit ? un proc?s juste et ouvert. La journ?e d'action ?tait appuy?e par plus de 60 organisations, tant des syndicats nationaux et des r?seaux d'ONG que des organisations communautaires et des r?seaux militants (voir les revendications et la liste d'appui ? www.jerome.koumbit.org/adil/fr/node/155). ? Montr?al, plus d'une centaine de personnes ont particip? ? une assembl?e publique afin de d?velopper une analyse et de discuter de strat?gie (voir le reportage photo ? http://photos-cmaq.net/v/certificats_de_securite/). Le mouvement contre la nouvelle loi prend de l'amleur. Joignez-vous ? nous samedi, le 17 novembre ? Montr?al, pour dire haut et fort : 1. Non ? la nouvelle loi des certificats de s?curit? ; 2. Lib?rez imm?diatement les personnes d?tenues en vertu de cette loi ill?gale, ou accusez-les et donnez-leur le droit ? un proc?s juste et ouvert; 3. Arr?tez les d?portations vers la torture. QUE POUVEZ-VOUS FAIRE D'AUTRE : ? Diffusez cette annonce dans vos r?seaux et encouragez les gens que vous connaissez ? participer ? la marche du 17 novembre. ? Distribuez des cartes postales incitant les d?put?s ? voter contre la nouvelle loi (commandez-en ? la Coalition Justice pour Adil Charkaoui, justiceforadil at riseup.net). ? Faites circuler la p?tition ? signer (t?l?chargez la p?tition ? www.jerome.koumbit.org/adil/fr/cartes-postales). ? Invitez un ou une repr?sentante de la Coalition Justice pour Adil Charkaoui ? donner une conf?rence dans votre ?cole, votre centre communautaire, votre organisation, etc. : justiceforadil at riseup.net. ---------------------------- Coalition Justice pour Adil Charkaoui www.adilinfo.org t?l. : 514-859-9023 justiceforadil at riseup.net Pour souscrire ? notre liste de diffusion : justiceforadil-subscribe at lists.riseup.net La Coalition Justice pour Adil Charkaoui est un groupe de travail du GRIP McGill.