[opirgyork] Sci-Fi Radical Reading Series + other Rad upcoming events!

[OPIRG York]

Hi Everyone,

Some exciting news-- OPIRG York is doing a Sci-fi radical reading and
discussion series with Zainab Amadahy! It starts at the end of the month,
July 28th, and continues into August. Please read below for the full
details, and make sure to register by emailing us at opirgyork at gmail.com,
as there are only 20 spots available! Also please check out the YU Free
Press callout for collective members- you can join the rad alternative
newspaper at York and get involved in alternative media, editing and
design! Also remember that working group applications are available  if you
ro anyone you know is interested in applying to be and OPIRG York working
groups, please be sure to read below and send in the application asap!

Please stay in touch with us- whether to tell us about your upcoming events
(that we can include in the email digest/promote on facebook/online) or
tell us how you would like to be involved, or if there are issues you are
interested in that we can connect you to! Feel free to get in touch with us
at anytime at opirgyork at gmail.com.

-OPIRG York
--
www.opirgyork.ca
416-736-5724
opirgyork at gmail.com



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*In this email:*
*
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*YORK NEWS*


*(1) July 24-Aug 28th: **Kick your summer reading into warp drive! Sci-fi
radical reading and discussion series with Zainab Amadahy!** *
*(2) ONGOING: **YU Free Press- Callout for New Editors/Designers/Web and
Coordinators!!*
*(3) ONGOING: **OPIRG York Working Groups Applications!*
*(4) July 28th onwards: **Youth Mural Project/Summer Art Camp Seeking Youth
Applicants of 12-15 years old!!!*
*(5) ONGOING: Summer Long Social Ride (Bicycles)*
*
*
*
*
*COMMUNITY NEWS

*
*(1) July 6th: **Supa Dupa Fly! A Celebration: Black (Queer) Womyn in Film!
*
*(2) July 8-14: **Mad Pride Toronto 2013: A Celebration of Madness*
*(3) July 11 + 25: Two Session Campaign Planning Workshop for Activists and
Organizers*
*(4) **July 17: **RAISE THE RATES RESTORE THE COMMUNITY START-UP BENEFIT **
*
*(5) July 25: **s.o.s. + Lost Lyrics present BATTLE OF THE BRUSHES*
*(6) August 10: Jailbreak! Queer Cover Band Show*
*(7) **Thirteen Years- Mohammad Mahjoub*

*
*
*YORK NEWS*

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*Kick your summer reading into warp drive! Sci-fi radical reading and
discussion series with Zainab Amadahy!*

This summer's Radical reading series at OPIRG York is the exciting,
transforming stuff your summer has been waiting for. Join the conversation
with facilitator Zainab Amadahy for five weeks of radical science fiction.
All free and all good! *Email our gmail: opirgyork at gmail.com to register.
Twenty participant limit! *
*On facebook: *https://www.facebook.com/events/540176056041767/

*July 24, 2013*
"2140 AD" - Robert Sullivan
from Robert Sullivan. Star Waka. Auckland University Press, 1999;
also from Grace L Dillon. Walking the Clouds: An Anthology of Indigenous
Science Fiction. University of Arizona Press, 2012

About Star Waka: "In the Maori language, “waka” can be translated as
“canoe”...The poems in Star Waka chart the sounds of the crew’s voices (the
words) and the “meanings of star” (semantic navigation). Star Waka compels
us into its poetic vehicles, guiding us through the “betweenness” of
culture, memory, identity, and society." - Craig Santos Perez, Recovery
Project, octopusmagazine.com

also on July 24, 2013
"Where the Borg Are" - Thomas King
from Thomas King. A Short History of Indians in Canada (short stories).
HarperCollins, 2005

About A Short History of Indians in Canada: "I felt comforted and finally
amused and a little wicked, as when a mischievous and beloved uncle tells
you tales that you know mean more than they say, and you know you will
understand them better when you are older." - Steven James Stunell,
Rabble.ca

*July 31, 2013 - August 28, 2013 (skipping August 21)*
Lilith's Brood - Octavia Butler
from Octavia Butler. Xenogenesis Trilogy. Warner Books, 1987-89;
also from Octavia Butler. Lilith's Brood. Grand Central Publishing, 2000

>From Lilith's Brood:
"Your Earth is still your Earth, but between the efforts of your people to
destroy it and ours to restore it, it has changed." Book 1: Dawn; Section
1: Womb; Chapter 5; pp. 33-32.

*August 28, 2013*
depending on what the group is feeling, maybe an additional book i.e.
Midnight Robber - Nalo Hopkinson
Left Hand of Darkness - Ursula LeGuin
Who Fears Death - Nnedi Okorafor

*Twenty participant limit, so email us to register! (opirgyork at gmail.com)*

*Zainab Amadahy authored the feminist science fiction novel Moons of
Palmares. Her work also appears in Strong Women’s Stories: Native Vision
and Community Activism. She co-authored (with Dr. Bonita Lawrence)
"Indigenous Peoples and Black Peoples in Canada: Settlers or Allies” for
Breaching the Colonial Contract: Anti-Colonialism in the US and Canada. *
*
*
*Her latest book is Wielding the Force: the Science of Effective Activism.
Emerging knowledge and time-tested wisdom can inform and reinforce social
justice activism. New scientific information about our brains, hearts and
the biology of human interaction will amaze and delight those who seek a
more generous, compassionate and peaceful world. Framed within the context
of Indigenous and other ancient wisdoms, this new*
*knowledge can inform, transform and revolutionize movement building -- Our
collective paradigm is shifting and science is firmly on the side of social
justice! Like the rebels of the original Star Wars trilogy who brought down
the Empire, activists can effectively wield “The Force”.*

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*YU Free Press- Callout for New Editors/Designers/Web and Coordinators!!*

*On facebook:* https://www.facebook.com/events/481989601884018/

To apply for a position, please fill out a brief application form in the
links found below. We will contact you once we receive your email with the
completed application form. Applications and any general inquires can be
email directly to: info at yufreepress.org.

*For brief application form please see:*

http://www.yufreepress.org/docs/application.doc
http://www.yufreepress.org/docs/application.pdf

*Positions Currently Available:*

Layout Editor: a) Maintain Layout e-mail account; b) Create layout using
final packages sent by Section Editors; c) Coordinate with the printers for
print date and delivery; d) Coordinate with Section Editors on aesthetics
of pages

Website Manager: a) Responsible for the constant upkeep of the website:
Adding articles, photos, monitoring comments etc.; b) Responsible for
maintenance of current layout, or creating a new layout and maintaining it

Copy Editor: a) Receive articles from Copy Editor Coordinator (who is a
voting member of the Collective); b) Edit mechanics and formatting, neither
content nor argumentative stances, using tracking feature (if any content
or legal issues are noticed, notify Copy Editor Coordinator); c) Send
articles back to Copy Editor Coordinator by deadline

Section Editor: a) Manage the Section email account; b) Actively solicit
content, gain permissions to reprint already printed articles; c) Read all
articles submitted prior to Content Selection meetings; d)
Contact/communicate with authors, edit, proofread, fact-check, word count,
consider liability, select pull-quotes, consider aesthetics of Section, etc.


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*OPIRG York Working Groups Applications!*

OPIRG York is very excited to send you this callout for Working Groups-- we
have had many amazing working groups over the years, and are looking for
more amazing groups this coming year. You can see some information below,
and on our website here:

WORKING GROUPS INFORMATION & APPLICATION<http://opirgyork.ca/working-groups>

The full application package and working group policies for OPIRG York are
available at the above link as well! Please check out the callout and apply
to be a working group!

*What role do working groups play at OPIRG?*

Working groups are central to the functioning of OPIRG.  They consist of a
group of volunteers who work on a specific issue pertaining to
anti-oppressive, anti-colonial, anti-imperialist, social justice and
environmental issues. The working groups are dedicated to enacting change
on campus and/or in the broader community, and function autonomously.
Working groups receive funding from OPIRG and access to the OPIRG office.
OPIRG York is committed to change at York University but we ALSO envision
larger community interaction. We want to blend student organizing with
grassroots activism to ensure broad social and environmental change. Thus,
we are encouraging applications for working groups with a broad vision,
especially those who come from traditionally marginalized communities.

*The 2012-2013 OPIRG York working groups were: *

-       YU Free Press
-       Environmental Justice
-       Students Against Israeli Apartheid
-       Art for Justice
-       Progressive Filipino Canadians for Community Empowerment and
Development (PFCCED)
-       Vanier Prison Support Line working group
-       Students for a Free Tibet
-       Justice is Not Colorblind

The OPIRG York board will approve new working group applications as they
come in - so please send in your applications of interest! (
http://opirgyork.ca/working-groups)

Interested in joining one of our existing or past working groups, we can
put you in touch! Our working groups are always looking for new members,
volunteers and people who are passionate about the many issues that they
cover!

If there is a social justice/political issue that you would like to work on
that isn’t represented in our working groups – start your own! We provided
lots of support, funding and outreach help to get your issue out there to
the York community.

For more information on how to get involved with one of our working groups,
email victoria at opirgyork.ca and look online for more information plus the
application package here: http://opirgyork.ca/working-groups.
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*Youth Mural Project/Summer Art Camp Seeking Youth Applicants of 12-15
years old!!!*
(Organized by: sos curatorial collective with Lost Lyrics and the Centre
for Women and Trans People at York University)

*Project* *Title*: The Mural Archive Project
*Dates*: July 29th – August 23rd 2013 (Mondays to Fridays 9:30AM - 3:30PM)
*Eligible Applicants*: Youth 12-15 years old
*Location*: York University Campus
There is no cost to participate in this project

The Mural Archive Project is to create a mural that prioritizes the voice
of future community builders through a collaborative process that includes
three weeks of arts workshops with artists and community facilitators and
one week of producing a mural in North York.

How do youth envision the future of their communities? This project offers
a unique art training opportunity for youth by art professionals working in
Toronto’s contemporary art scene.

Applications are available online at http://bit.ly/10kPkgm

More information at: soscollective.squarespace.com

Find us on Facebook

Contact us at:

e. info at sos-collective.ca

p. 647.998.9649

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*Summer Long Social Ride (Bicycles)*
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Summer Long Social Ride
Presented by the York Cycling Association.

Is there a better way to spend a summer evening than on a bicycle? Every
Tuesday evening throughout the summer the York Cycling Association is
hosting a weekly social bike ride. Come out and meet some fellow cyclists
who work or study on campus. Meets every Tuesday evening at 7:15pm in front
of Vari Hall. Cyclists of all levels welcome!

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*COMMUNITY NEWS*


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*Supa Dupa Fly! A Celebration: Black (Queer) Womyn in Film!*

*Date*: Saturday, July 6th
*Time*: 1pm
*Location*: Buddies in Bad Times Theatre
*Facebook link*: https://www.facebook.com/events/184414671724847/?ref=2

Friends! Family! Lovers! Happy Summer!

What better way to celebrate the brilliance and radiance of summer than to
celebrate the brilliance and radiance of black womyn!

Please join us on Saturday July 6, 2013 at Buddies in Bad Times
Theatre for an afternoon film showcase that celebrates black womyn in film!

We have a great line up of films for you that celebrate the lives and
resilence of black womyn. These films and documentaries are sexy, poignant,
fierce, vulnerable, beautiful and supa dupaa fly. Yes, supa dupa fly!
Some of the films that will be showcased are:

Red Lips (Cages for Black Girls)
Kyisha Williams

This film begins to explore black/racialized/criminalized/queer/trans/
identity and its relationship to the prison industrial complex. It
articulates links between interpersonal and systemic violence- while
celebrating the (sexy) ways in which we survive and celebrate ourselves.

Everyday Monsters
Onyi Udegbe:

One woman watch(ed) – to stay at home within her own skin, navigating
spirituality, bloodlines, sex, race and disability.

Nappy Heads; I Love You
Sabrina Moella

Shot on Super 8 in the streets of Toronto, "Nappy Heads" portrays dozens of
women, men and children who all accepted to "shake their nappy heads" in
front of the camera. Afros, dreadlocks, cornrows... all types of natural
hairstyles are represented. And the jazzy funky score "Seems as though"
(composed by Toronto-based musician Carl Merenick and performed by the Jef
Kearns Culminations) gives amazing life to these charming series of
portraits. The Toronto's Nappy Heads are going to make you wanna dance for
sure!

Janice is an independent and organized black woman. Chris is a relaxed and
creative black man. Although those two are madly in love with each other,
as soon as they decide to move in together, they quickly realize that there
is a thin line between love and hate...A short and funny comedy about love,
Sunday night dinners and relationships.

Who's afraid of the big bad wolf
Bishara Mohamed

An animation made from archived footage and digital animations over a
foresty landscape of nightmares and dreams.

Exhale: Afi Browne
Deviant Productions

Tracing her roots to Trinidad multi-disciplinary artist Afi Browne has
crafted empowering and exciting community spaces in Toronto built on love
and justice. By celebrating her resilience, talent, and community building
strategies, this documentary highlights her candid and beautiful coming of
age story.


There will be laughs and tears!

Entrance is free with a suggested donation of $5-$10 at the door. Way
cheaper than any movie theatre :)

In the spirit of accessibility however no one will be turned away from the
door because, well, the event is free!

Too, this space will be wheel-chair accessible. We regret to inform you
however that not all the films are closed-captioned.

All proceeds collected from the door will be donated to fellow black
supah-sheroe Bishara Mohamed to support her exciting project, The Alphabet
Project. She is attending the Babayan Culture House Residency in Kapodakya,
Turkey this summer where she will be developing an alphabet for the Somali
language. To learn more about this kick ass project from a black sista'
vist:

http://www.indiegogo.com/projects/the-alphabet-project-in-turkey

--

We'd like to thank all the filmmakers who have generously donated their
films for this exciting celebration and supporting Bishara Mohamed on her
journey as an artist. Thank you for your donations and thank you for
affirming black womyn in all that you do. And many thanks to Buddies in Bad
Times for generously donating their space for this intimate celebration of
film and black womyn!


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*Mad Pride Toronto 2013: A Celebration of Madness*

For the full schedule of Mad Pride Toronto 2013 events, please check our
website at www.madprideto.com and the July 1st edition of C/S Info Bulletin
at www.csinfo.ca.

*** DAY ONE: MONDAY, JULY 8 ***
Where? Ryerson University, ENG103, 245 Church Street

12-12:45pm: Mad Pride Toronto 2013 Kick-Off

1-2:45pm: MAD THINK TANK SERIES (PART 1):
Can the International Convention on the Rights of People with Disabilities
stop psychiatric torture?

The United Nations Convention on the Rights of People with Disabilities was
developed with representation by psychiatric survivors and users of
psychiatry. It has been interpreted by the UN Rapporteur on Torture to mean
that treatment imposed on people with disabilities, including mental,
psychosocial or psychiatric disabilities, can constitute a form of torture.
Thus, the state cannot impose treatment, as it does using the Mental Health
Act in Ontario and similar laws in Canadian provinces and territories. This
means that people in distress could ask for psychiatric (or other)
treatments, but should never be forced to take them (though they could ask
for such interventions privately). It also means that disputes attributed
to mental disorder would be handled primarily by the courts.

Regardless of how well state governments follow international agreements,
activists in the disability and mad communities are gearing up to monitor
Canada’s implementation of the Convention on the Rights of People with
Disabilities. However, these two communities have a lot to learn from one
another to strengthen our common voices. Join a public discussion on the
Convention and its implications, on monitoring Canada’s implementation, and
on how disability activism can support the rights of people conceived as
mad or mentally ill.

Community participation in this discussion is welcome. A panel of four
disabled and mad people will introduce the topic. Psychiatric survivor
writer Erick Fabris will discuss a recent meeting of the World Network of
Users and Survivors of Psychiatry and their discussions on the Convention.
Disability researcher Samantha Walsh will relate experiences that indicate
how people conceived with intellectual, psychiatric, and mental
disabilities face everyday discrimination. Mad activist Jeremiah Bach will
suggest how mad people could demand accommodations. And Council of
Canadians with Disabilities spokesperson Vangelis Nikias will discuss how
people with physical disabilities are monitoring Canada’s progress in
implementing the Convention.

3-6pm: NOW WE'RE ALL CRAZY - WHAT NEXT?
You’re invited to join the conversation
The Leadership Project

Featuring:
Kevin Healey
Kwame Mackenzie
Phil Thomas
and more……

6-8pm: ALTERED STATES – FILMS BY MAD PEOPLE: MARS PROJECT
A decade ago rapper Khari "Conspiracy" Stewart was diagnosed with a
psychological disorder, but he has rejected the label and is pursuing a
spiritual path. For half of his life, Khari "Conspiracy" Stewart has fought
a spiritual war against two demons: Anacron, an intergalactic consciousness
that possesses Stewart's mind, and the Canadian mental health system, which
diagnosed him with schizophrenia over a decade ago.

Through artful documentation of Khari's history, daily life and with
insight from psychiatric experts, "Mars Project" reveals the deep
complexities of mental health and the inadequacies of the current Canadian
healthcare system. Khari's diagnosis or spiritual encounters (as he refers
to them) have entrenched themselves so deeply, that it will take much more
than a state-imposed drug regimen or spiritual healing to vanquish his
demons.

Yet Khari isn't just a victim. His plagued mind has simultaneously
debilitated him and formed the foundation for his identity as a
contemporary soothsayer who spreads his message and his experiences through
the recited verb-forms of his rap music. Tormented artist, spiritual
shaman, drug-addled rapper, Khari's unique experience seeks to challenge
our understanding of schizophrenia and mental health.


*** DAY TWO: TUESDAY, JULY 9 ***
Where? 246 Sackville Street

7-10pm: MAD MATTERS BOOK LAUNCH FEAT. MAD COMEDY JAM:

Mad Matters brings together the writings of this vital movement, which has
grown explosively in the years since 1993. With contributions from scholars
in numerous disciplines, as well as activists and psychiatric survivors, it
presents diverse critical voices that convey the lived experiences of the
psychiatrized and challenges dominant understandings of "mental illness."
The connections between mad activism and other liberation struggles are
stressed throughout, making the book a major contribution to the literature
on human rights and anti-oppression.

Followed by:

Mad Comedy Jam

Featuring the best in Mad stand-up comedy! There have been comedians who
talk about craziness, but nothing compares to Mad comedians cracking up
about madness!


*** DAY THREE: WEDNESDAY, JULY 10 ***

3-5pm: THE EMPOWERMENT COUNCIL PRESENTS:
THE MAD HATTER TEA PARTY!
and
LUNACY, LAWS, & LAWYERS: an update on key topics in mental health.

Location: CAMH Cafeteria, 1001 Queen Street

Guest panelists:
Anita Szigeti, Mental Health Lawyer, Toronto, Former Chair of the Mental
Health Legal Committee
Lorne Sossin, Professor and Dean of Osgoode Hall Law School at York
University
Lana Frado, Executive Director Sound Times Support Services

6-8:30pm: “THE WALLS ARE ALIVE WITH THE SOUND OF MAD PEOPLE”
Guided by Friendly Spike Theatre Band
www.globalserve.net/~friendlyspike

Location: Meet outside at the corner of Queen and Shaw

This event is a guided theatrical walk/roll around the Historical Patient
Built Wall on the grounds of the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health
(CAMH). During the 19th Century, walls were built and rebuilt around the
grounds of the asylum by unpaid patient labourers. In 2010, memorial
plaques dedicated to psychiatric patients’ history were unveiled around
this site. By including a lively dimension in the telling of this story, we
embody the past in a way that empowers the present.

7-9pm: BONKERS: BOOK LAUNCH
Location: 246 Sackville Street
www.facebook.com/events/365836726860479/

BONKERS is a group mad book launch & reading event!
Come on out! Experience our words and images. Bring cash to pick up one,
two or all of these!:

1. Sarafin's latest collection of comics: "Asylum Squad: Monster Hospital".
Price: $15.00
Sarafin's Asylum Squad: Monster Hospital continues the story of Madder and
company after they find themselves committed to a notorious psychiatric
hospital.

2. Tom ebook: "SCHIZO: Stable Chaos - How I Zeroed Oppression"
Price: $20.00
Tom will be launching his memoir titled SCHIZO, an acronym for Stable
Chaos: How I Zeroed Oppression. The memoir covers his near-fatal journey as
a successful student through psychiatry and schizophrenia into a Mad
identity. He will be reading a portion of his memoir and answering any
questions.

3. Shawna Dimitry's "Running Through Your Minds", A chapbook of poetry
Price: $10 (ONLY TEN DOLLARS!)
Also featuring live poetry readings by the sensational Shawna Dimitry, a
mad and Bipolar I - identified poet.


*** DAY FOUR: THURSDAY, JULY 11 ***
Where? 246 Sackville Street

12:30-12:45: WOMB RAGE
KERL
A skit using real medical documents in the past describing an unfathomable,
womanly, disease called Womb Rage! This project was created for a history
of madness course.

1-2:15pm: MAD HISTORY TALK
David Reveille

In celebration of the 20th Anniversary of Mad Pride, David Reville will
give a talk on the history of the mad movement in Toronto, with a
particular focus on last 20 years. The major debates and activities which
have characterized the movement during this time will be introduced. He
will draw from the course he teaches on mad people’s history at Ryerson
University. The idea behind this talk is that mad people have a right to
know their own history of struggle and resistance.

2:30-3:45pm: THE TOFU AND POTATOES OF MAD PRIDE
Tina Shapiro

In this vegan-friendly look at the nitty gritty of Mad Pride Toronto 2013,
we explore: What’s mad? What’s pride? What’s the significance of it being
our twentieth anniversary (drawing on Geoffrey Reaume’s article in the C/S
Info Bulletin)? How shall we move forward from here? This will be
interactive with the audience, especially drawing on the insights of any
veterans of the Toronto mad movement who may be in the audience, as a
homage to our mad history.

4-6pm: MAD SPIRITUALITY: FAITH, FOOLS, AND FELLOWSHIP
A panel of peers followed by open discussion.
Everyone is welcome to attend.
• How do we make (non)sense of our madness/distress/visions/voices/ extreme
states/alternative realities through spirituality/religion? How do we
explain this (or not) to our shrinks and biomedical psychiatry? Do they
listen?
• What role do spiritual/religious beliefs, practices, and communities play
in our self-care, healing, recovery, wellness, activism, Mad Pride?
• How do we navigate exclusion from spiritual/religious communities due to
madness or from Mad communities due to spiritual/religious beliefs? How can
we create more welcoming and inclusive spaces? Where do we find good
support?
• How do we provide spiritual care to our peers? What's the relationship
between spiritual care and peer support?
• What's the relationship between Mad spirituality and Mad culture?
• What support do we want from spiritual caregivers, religious leaders,
religious/spiritual/atheist congregations and communities, healthcare
providers, family, friends, allies, peers, consumer/survivor community?

6:30-10:30pm: ARCHITECTURE OF MAD: AN ART EXHIBITION
The name of this exhibition relates to the social construct within which we
are deemed mentally ill and Other. The name reflects our desire to reclaim
pejorative terms and, in so doing, empowering ourselves. To us, Mad is a
great word that describes struggles that most people cannot even imagine,
and coming to terms with the fact that we cannot do things in the same way
as so called normal people. Instead, we develop new ways in which to do
things. We understand that our time-line for getting through life is often
interrupted by crises and hospitalizations and that becomes part of who we
are. But we regard ourselves as survivors of often intense struggles.
Because of this we are powerful.


*** DAY FIVE: FRIDAY, JULY 12 ***
Where? 246 Sackville Street

12:30-2:15pm: MAD THINK TANK SERIES (PART 2):
"If These Walls Could Talk" Film and Discussion
This is a Dream Team sponsored documentary by first time Toronto filmmakers
Naomi Berlyne and Sibyl Likely. Inspired by the resilient lives of
consumer/survivors they know, Berlyne and Likely sought to document the
incredible stories of the ‘patients’ that lived behind the walls of the
institution we now know as CAMH. Depending largely on archives and the
trailblazing work of Geoffrey Reaume, the film traces the history of CAMH
from the mid- 1800’s until the present. The second part of “If These Walls
Could Talk” focus on contemporary narratives of Mad People as they discuss
the challenges they experienced while hospitalized as well as in society at
large. Despite the heavy subject matter, the film ends on a hopeful note
with stories of resistance and resilience.

While the filmmakers will be on site to answer audience questions, the
Dream Team would like to accompany the film with an interactive discussion
about how consumer/survivors continue to challenge the ‘walls’ they face
both within the confines of institutions and outside of them.

2:30-3:30pm: THE MURDER OF RACIALIZED PSYCHIATRIC CONSUMER/SURVIVORS BY
STATE OFFICIALS IN TORONTO, ONTARIO
Tracy Mack

Since the murder of Edmond Yu 16 years ago, the excessive and lethal force
used by Toronto police officers has not ameliorated, resulting in the
deaths of eight additional psychiatric consumers/survivors. By analyzing
each of these murders it becomes clear that identities that are constructed
at the intersection of negative racialization and mental health issues are
perceived as dangerous and deviant for who they are and not for what they
have done, leading to the excessive and lethal force used by police
officers.

3:45-5:45pm: REPORT BACK from THE PSYCHIATRIC DISABILITIES ANTI-VIOLENCE
COALITION

After the death of George Wass in March 2011, community organizers decided
not to memorialize, but to take action to end violent attacks in our
communities, and to expose the layers of systemic violence that our
community members are facing. Two years later, members of PDAC want to
share what we’ve been up to with the Mad Pride community. Based on our
discussions and research, we have four issues that are important to raise
with the community in this political moment. We would like to present these
in the form of a panel, with plain language presentations of the facts and
politics around each issue.

6-7:15pm: HOW TO TALK TO CRAZY PEOPLE: A BOOK READING BY DONNA KAKONGE

How To Talk To Crazy People is a memoir about Donna Kakonge, an
African-Canadian woman, dealing with mental illness during her 20s. A
reading of the book will spark a discussion around what is crazy?, should
the word crazy even be used?, how do the experiences of people of colour
with a mental illness differ from those who are White?

7:30-9:30pm: ALTERED STATES: FILMS TBA

OR
5:30-9:30pm: MAD CULTURE NIGHT
Hosted by Friendly Spike Theatre Band
www.globalserve.net/~friendlyspike

May Robinson Auditorium - 20 West Lodge Avenue

Open stage/mic for mad people to talk, rant, sing, perform, act… Bring your
thoughts, script, lyrics, instrument, voice, friends, props – and share
your stuff with us!


*** DAY SIX: SATURDAY, JULY 13 ***
Where? TBA

11am-5pm: The Mad Market will go all out this year, some might say even
Bizarre! Along with the many mad goods for sale, a myriad of performance
artists will take over the market to celebrate their Mad Pride.

8pm-2am: MAD LOVE: A DANCE PARTY


*** DAY SEVEN: SUNDAY, JULY 14 ***
Where? Meet at Parkdale Library

12:30-3pm: PARADE
3-7pm: BBQ - Trinity Bellwoods Park

THE BED PUSH PARADE AND AFTER-PARTY

Celebrating 20 years of Mad Pride! The parade will begin at Parkdale
Library at 1303 Queen St W, the site of the first Psychiatric Survivor
Pride in 1993. We’ll then march east along Queen Street to Trinity
Bellwoods Park for a BBQ! Join us for some speeches, drumming, and a
march/roll down the sidewalks of Queen Street W. Bring your costumes,
pajamas, hats, mad gear, placards, signs, banners, instruments, children,
family, friends – and yourself! There will be food and fun when we arrive
at our final destination!

*==============================*
*(3)*
*==============================*

*Two Session Campaign Planning Workshop for Activists and Organizers*

http://www.eventbrite.com/event/4121441342#

This workshop will be held at Friends House,, 60 Lowther Ave. Toronto (near
St. George and Bloor)
Dates: Thursday July 11, 6.30pm - 9pm and Thursday July 25, 6.30pm - 9pm.

Workshop description: This workshop is designed to help you and your
organization learn valuable steps, tools, techniques and approaches that
will help you effectively plan and execute a winning campaign plan to help
you achieve your policy goals.

Participants will learn the basic components of a campaign, how to choose a
strategic campaign goal, choosing strategies and tactics that suit your
goals, working with individuals and groups to build influence, and
understanding the key ingredients of successful campaigns. It's recommend
that multiple people from one group attend the workshop as there will be
ample time to strategize to achieve your goals.

Trainer: Jessica Bell is a facilitator and educator. She teaches advocacy
and government relations at Ryerson University. She is the co-founder of
Tools for Change, which provides skills-based advocacy training to
Torontonians. More information about Jessica is at www.jessicabell.org.

COST: $40 for both sessions, or $30 each for activists from the same group.

For more information email: peaceworks at primus.ca or call at 416-731-6605.

Please inquire if cost is a barrier.

PeaceWorks is an initiative of Toronto Friends Meeting (Quakers), in
partnership with Voice of Women for Peace, Toronto Climate Campaign and
Greenspiration.


*==============================*
*(4)*
*==============================*

*RAISE THE RATES RESTORE THE COMMUNITY START-UP BENEFIT *
If you need to access the HSF, come to this event to get help applying on
the spot!
*
*
*Date/Time*: Wednesday, July 17 at 11:00am
*Location*: David Pecaut Square at 55 John St, Metro Hall (bound by King
St. W. and Wellington St. W., Roy Thomson Hall and Metro Hall)

Who can get the HSF? Anyone on OW or ODSP in the City of Toronto who:
· needs to move because of a situation that is harmful to your health
· is currently homeless or in threat of being homeless and need $ for last
month’s rent
· needs the money to stop an eviction from happening or if you are in
rental arrears of up to
two months
· if you have an energy bill that is in arrears
· if you need furniture
· moving to ‘improve your housing’
· if you have just come out of an institution and need housing (jail,
rehab or the hospital)

*==============================*
*(5)*
*==============================*

*s.o.s. + Lost Lyrics present BATTLE OF THE BRUSHES*

Call for Painters/Muralists

Thursday July 25, 2013
4 Artists
1 $400 Cash Prize
1 Party
Live DJ + Cash Bar
19+

To enter, please send:
+ your name
+ short bio (what your art is about - 50 wrds max)
+ 2 images of your paintings (in .jpeg format)

to sos.curatorial.collective at gmail.com
by July 5, 2013

*all materials provided
*for more info: soscollective.squarespace.com



*==============================*
*(6)*
*==============================*

*Jailbreak! Queer Cover Band Show*

In recognition of Prisoner Justice Day, and building up to the Queer &
Trans Anarchist & Anti-Authoritarian Convergence August 23-25, QueerCore
presents
Jailbreak!, the next installment of the Queer Cover Band Show series.

Prisoner Justice Day is an annual day of remembrance for prisoner lives
lost and in recognition of the injustice, oppression and hypocrisy of the
prison industrial complex. On Prisoner Justice Day, we show solidarity with
those inside prison walls in their fight for humane treatment and better
conditions, and work towards the eventual abolishment of the prison system.

They may not be able to hear our songs, but in our hearts they are not
forgotten.
Pay tribute to their struggle.
Bring your stories and songs of remembrance, resilience and resistance.
Light a candle. Light a fire. Let the flames engulf the prisons and the
state.
We'll set this night ablaze and dance in the ashes.

//RIDE A UNICORN\\
//ROCK OUT\\
//SMASH THE PRISONS\\

Saturday August 10th
Doors at 8PM.
Bands at 9PM
Location: To Be Announced,
Check out our Facebook event:
https://www.facebook.com/events/658684767480024/

$5 at the door or pay what you can.
No one will be turned away for lack of funds (seriously, no one will be
turned away)
Proceeds will go to supporting the work of the Prisoner Correspondence
Project Toronto, which runs a letter writing program to Queer and Trans
identified prisoners in the U.S and Canada.

What is the Queer cover band show??

We are bored and tired of straight cis-gendered white dudes taking up the
majority of space at shows. We want more rad folks to sing and play their
hearts out. For too long we have been excluded. It's time for our glittery
selves to shine.

This space is prioritizing queer/trans people of colour, black, indigenous,
women and all those that are underrepresented and alienated from the music
scene. Let's build our own beats to break down barriers and help create a
music scene that aims to be safe, inclusive and empowering. Have no shame
in your skill level. You can do it!

What is Queercore Toronto?

Queecore, besides the wicked awesome music reference, is an autonomous
collective of queer identified radicals in Toronto committed to injecting
anti-capitalist political ideology into queer community organizing. We
fight the pink washing of the police, the state and the corporations and
will not be co-opted or assimilated into heteronormative, patriarchal,
racist systems of exploitation and consumerism.

Contact us at radicalcoverbandshow.to at gmail.com for assistance building
cover bands, borrowing instruments and finding practice space.
*
*
*Find Queercore on Tumblr: *http://queercoreto.tumblr.com

*==============================*
*(7)*
*==============================*
*
*
*Thirteen Years- Mohammad Mahjoub*
*Toronto, 26 June 2013*

June 26th marked thirteen years since Mohammad Mahjoub was arrested under
an immigration security certificate in Toronto. Since then, he has never
ceased fighting to clear his name: first, from Toronto's Metro West
Detention Centre (June 2000 to April 2006), then Guantanamo North in
Kingston (April 2006 to summer of 2007), under house arrest with his entire
family (summer 2007 to March 2009), Guantanamo North again (March 2009
to early 2010), and finally, to the present day, under varying forms of
house arrest and restrictive conditions, living alone in Toronto. He has
waged hungerstrikes, spoken out on every occasion, and actively engaged
in his legal case.

Since December of last year, Mohammad has been waiting for a Federal Court
decision in his case. He has used the time to continue his campaign - among
other things, speaking in Ottawa and Montreal, and embarking on a speaking
tour of Western Canada.

But from his home in Toronto last week, he said that, 'It is very hard; I
don't know when it is going to end and how. I feel that all over the world,
laws have changed and people are challenging oppression, yet I continue to
struggle."

Last fall, Egyptian courts overturned the sole conviction against him; a
conviction resulting from the thoroughly discredited "Returnees from
Albania" trial, the fabric of CSIS's case against him in Canada. And just
last week, Mohammad learned that one of his co-accused in the Returnees
from Albania case had been completely exonerated and granted permanent
residency by Sweden, where he was reinstated in 2012. But in
Canada, Mohammad's case continues.

It continues even though recent years and months have proven that, even on
the inside, officials no longer believe in the case. Last year, media
revealed that a 2008 internal review of Mr. Mahjoub's file concluded that,
“the bulk of information” used against him was associated with torture. And
it came out last month that Bob Paulson, current head of the RCMP, told an
internal government review in 2009 that the security certificate
process was "... completely off the rails.”

Mohammad says, "I feel isolated from the world. I can't see my family in
Egypt; we have been separated for 23 years. My sisters have said to me on
the phone several times that they hope that we can see each other at least
once again before we die. My family here is broken. It is very painful. It
is very harsh."

Although the Federal Court ruled in March that Mohammad could finally have
access to the internet, the government has succeeded in blocking the full
promise of the ruling, including preventing Mohammad from using email.

"Even though the court order allows me to speak to my family in Egypt by
skype, in the last six months my jailer, CBSA, has continued to come up
with different excuses to make it impossible for me to communicate with my
family," said Mohammad.

Thirteen years of immigration detention.

*The Justice for Mahjoub Network is calling on supporters to take action
when the decision is finally rendered. We will have one week’s notice
before the decision is made and will be letting our supporters know
immediately. Please plan actions that you can organize quickly and email
justiceformahjoub at gmail.com to keep us in the loop and receive updates.

If you are on facebook, please “like” www.facebook.com/SupportMahjoub and
"share" this story.*


-- 

-OPIRG York
--
www.opirgyork.ca
416-736-5724
opirg at yorku.ca


*There are many ways to get involved at OPIRG. Apply to be a working group:
**http://opirgyork.ca/working-groups*
Contact victoria at opirgyork.ca for further information.

*We also have three different collectives: *PrOPIRGanda Radio, Radical
Reading Room and PrOPIRGanda Zine- see the callouts below. You can contact
us about ways to get involved in these collectives: opirgyork at gmail.com.
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