[van-announce] {panel} Police Violence and the War of Terror: June 7th

[Anti-Poverty Committee]

*please forward*

                          POLICE VIOLENCE
                       And the War of Terror

                     Wednesday, June 7th 6:30 pm
                 SFU Harbour Centre (515 W. Hastings)
                            Room 1700


              A panel presentation & discussion featuring:

KRISTIAN WILLIAMS: Author of American Method: Torture and the Logic of
Domination, as well as, Our Enemies in Blue: Police and Power in America.
He is also involved with Rose City Copwatch in Portland, Oregon.

KAT NORRIS: An organizer with the Indigenous Action Group, which has been
mobilizing communities around the murder of Frank Paul by the VPD and
organizing against systemic violence inherent within colonization.

JEAN ST-VIL: Well known Ottawa-based Haitian activist, writer and radio
host. He was born and raised in Port-au-Prince, Haiti and has been an
outspoken critic of the coup and occupation of his homeland by Foreign
forces.

HARSHA WALIA: A writer and activist organizing with No One Is
Illegal-Vancouver and the STATUS Coalition. Harsha actively works
supporting the struggles of immigrants, refugees and people without status.

   Organized by UNITED AGAINST POLICE VIOLENCE  http://uapv.resist.ca




***
Kristian Williams has written extensively on the states use of violence.
Below are descriptions of his two books American Method: Torture and the
Logic of Domination, and Enemies in Blue: Police and Power in America

American Methods is a damning audit of the US record in underwriting human
rights violations around the globe. In the last 25 years alone and under
several administrations, we confront death squads in El Salvador,
genocidal campaigns in Turkey, brutal interrogations done on our dime,
even in our name by various "friendly governments," and more. Returning to
our shores, Williams observes the banality of violence at home—on both
sides of the prison wall.

What emerges is the distinct character of American torture, particularly
its emphasis on sexual violence, misogyny, and racialized spectacle.
Ultimately, American Methods offers devastating conclusions about the
centrality of rape, racism, and conquest to both the state and our
national culture.

Enemies in Blue: Examines the history of police violence from a radical,
but pragmatic and highly readable, perspective. Written for both the lay
reader and for scholars, the book shows that police misconduct isn't just
a matter of a "bad apples," but is a function of the very nature of
policing in the United States. Williams examines the populations most
often subjected to police abuse and the forms that abuse takes. He delves
into the role of police brutality in targeting certain segments of society
and in preserving existing structures of inequality.

Examining the history of policing and observing current practice,
Williams explains how modern police forces evolved from slave patrols and
protection rackets, explores racism in law enforcement critiques
"community" policing, and suggests strategies for combating police
violence. He also includes a chapter on prison economics, with an emphasis
on how police have cooperated with politicians to increase the number of
prisons. Williams also offers practical guidance to activists and looks
forward to making police obsolete.

"Seldom does one come across a book so right on target as this one.
Clearly framed, drawing upon a wealth of data, straightforwardly presented
and reaching uncomfortable but nonetheless unassailable conclusions on
every point, Our Enemies In Blue is imperative reading for anyone in the
least concerned by the implications attending the rampant growth of police
power and violence in the United States."—Ward Churchill

***
Jean St-Vil (pen name Jafrikayiti) was born and raised in Port-au-Prince,
Haiti. He now resides in Ottawa where he works as a senior program officer
at the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC)
and hosts a community radio show.

Jean is an active member of the Haitian Lawyers Leadership Network, where
he promotes the Reparations and Restitution portfolio. He is also the
founding president of REKA, an internet-based network of Haitian Kreyol
promoters (www.kreyol.org).

For one of his many articles outlining the Canadian states involvement in
policing Haiti follow the link:

http://www.zmag.org/content/showarticle.cfm?ItemID=7905

***
Kat Norris is a renowned activist who has fought tirelessly for justice
for indigenous peoples. The Indigenous Action Group has been mobilizing
communities around the murder of Frank Paul by the Vancouver Police
Department and organizing against systemic violence inherent within
colonization.

Among many other things, Kat is a volunteer at the Aboriginal Friendship
Center, a space that is vital to many aboriginal women who are homeless or
at the risk of becoming so.

For more information on the murder of Frank Paul, Gerald Chenery and other
aboriginal people follow the link:

http://www.diversitywatch.ryerson.ca/media/cache/police_firstperspective_feb25.htm


***
Harsha Walia is writer and activist organizing with No One Is Illegal –
Vancouver and the STATUS Coalition, Harsha actively works supporting the
struggles of immigrants, refugees and people without status. More
information about on-going campaigns of No One is Illegal at:

http://noii-van.resist.ca

***

Please check out our website at http://uapv.resist.ca to endorse our
demands and to check out upcomming events including:

          PROTEST THE INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE OF POLICE CHIEFS
                       Wed June 14th @ 5:30
                   Rally & march from Art Gallery
                        (Robson St. side)

Protest opening night of the International Conference of Police
Executives, where police chiefs from around the world will be meeting to
discuss 'control in times of chaos.'

Featured guests, who are not welcome, include the chiefs of Paris, London,
New Orleans, Detroit and other cities notorious for police violence. They
will be greeted by Premier Gordon Campbell, Sam Sullivan and Stockwell
Day.