[Org4j-announce] Israel protest 5pm, Ottawa Workers Assembly, and more

[Organizing 4Justice]

Breaking news is that Israel forces (are they pirates? terrorists? or
'security forces'?) have massacred civilian activists who were part of a
flotilla of boats bringing aid to Gaza ... the incident happened in
international waters, and all boats have been taken under control (hijacked)
by Israel

Twitter.com is blocking #Gaza and #flotilla from trending on their system,
so the key word to search for is 'Israil'

*Israeli PM (and war criminal) Netanyahu is in Ottawa today*, and there is a
protest happening at *5pm (Mon) at the Human Rights Monument* (Elgin and
Lisgar) ... a busload is coming from Montreal to show their outrage, please
join in if you can make it ... the organizers of this protest are the Ottawa
Palestine Solidarity Network, ottawa.palestine at gmail.com

~~~~

There are a lot of other upcoming events, we're not going to list them here,
but please check OPIRG-Ottawa's http://opirg-gripo.ca/ for an online
calendar ... also email OPIRG-Carleton at
vcopirg at gmail.com<http://ca.mc542.mail.yahoo.com/mc/compose?to=vcopirg@gmail.com>with
the subject 'WW subscribe' to get a weekly update of events and other
information sent to your email every Wednesday ... also remember that one of
the projects coming out of the O4J MayDay Weekend was the creation of a
shared online event calendar for the radical activist community; if you're
interested in helping make this happen please email keb at cyblings.on.ca


*But there are two events this week we wanted to let you know about from us:
*

1) Organizing For Justice debrief meeting on Thurs - the planning committee
is meeting to discuss how the MayDay weekend event and organizing went, we'd
love it if you could fill out our feedback survey before then for us to take
into account: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/QCMSNZX ... or contact us at
org4justice at gmail.com

2) (forwarded message - not from O4J):

*
*

*Dear friends, *



                *AS SOME OF YOU ARE AWARE*, there will be a meeting at *7:00pm
on Wednesday June 2nd (Hintonburg Community Centre 1064 Wellington St W. in
the “Willington Room”)* to explore the idea of creating a Workers Assembly
in Ottawa similar to the one created in Toronto and elsewhere. We hope that
in addition to attending yourself, you’ll extend an invitation to others who
may be interested.  To help explain the idea and get people thinking about
what this could involve, we’ve included the vision statement produced by the
Toronto Workers Assembly. Please note: The Assembly is an organization that
individuals belong to without giving up their membership in other
organizations.  If you would like more information, please see the material
on their website www.workersassembly.ca



*Vision Statement:*



*CAPITALISM* is a barrier to human development. It has defined our successes
as obstacles to progress and has deepened the grossest inequalities here and
across the globe in the name of ‘competitiveness’. Its drive for profits at
any cost has threatened the survival of the planet and narrowed the meaning
of democracy as well as individual and collective possibilities. Never
satisfied, it demands that working people and the poor pay for the crisis
that the system itself created by further cuts to our quality of life and
living standards.



*AS THE FINANCIAL SYSTEM* teetered on the edge of bankruptcy, and we more
clearly came to see the bankruptcy of capitalism itself, something else was
revealed: our own inadequacy in challenging this staggered but still
powerful social and economic system. Many of us have been involved in
various impressive movements and political projects but whatever successes
we might have had, we were pushed to acknowledge that our capacities to
resist have not matched what we are up against. The Assembly is an attempt
to address that failure.



*THE ASSEMBLY* calls on activists to join together in a democratic process
to create a new politics. It is both a space for dialogue and learning
within the popular left movement and an organ of common action. Seeking to
move beyond coalition and network politics the Assembly is committed to
developing our understanding of what we’re up against, who our potential
allies are, and to organize and act in new ways that will take us from a
politics of resistance to emancipatory alternatives.



*INSPIRED BY THE TORONTO WORKERS ASSEMBLY* we are calling on all
anti-capitalist, anti-racist, feminist, queer-positive and anti-oppressive
activists in the Greater Ottawa Area to join us in hopes of discussing where
spaces of opportunity and contestation exist. We want to build unity and
solidarity amongst the working class defined in the broadest terms,
throughout Canada and internationally: among unionized and non-unionized
workers; those who have lost their jobs or are unemployed; those who live
and work in Canada but have been denied full status; those who do paid or
unpaid housework and childcare; all those who face discrimination because of
gender identity, including queer and trans people; those with disabilities;
and others who are living in abject poverty at the edges of society. We
stand in solidarity with communities against racial profiling,
anti-Semitism, Islamophobia, and all forms of discrimination.



*WHILE CAPITLAISM ITSELF* has created ongoing suffering and oppression in
its “normal” phases, the crisis has made things worse. But crises do not
just come and go; they bring both great dangers and significant
opportunities. Historically, they have represented new openings for either
the consolidation of, or shifts in, social power. The question is whether we
can take advantage of the new openings and threats to build a new kind of
politics. The Assembly represents one alternative to that challenge.



*PLEASE JOIN US TO DISCUSS THESE ISSUES ON:*

 *Wednesday JUNE 2ND AT 7:00PM AT** **Hintonburg Community Centre 1064
Wellington St W *



*For more information, to join our list or stay up to date with events,
please send your name to
OttawaAssembly at live.com<http://ca.mc542.mail.yahoo.com/mc/compose?to=OttawaAssembly@live.com>
*
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