[Wamvan] Fwd: July in Review, Part I: Canada not disarming, Israel not boycotting, prisoners not eating, ships not sailing (nor flying)

[Tami Starlight]

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: The Dominion <dru at dominionpaper.ca>
Date: Sat, Jul 16, 2011 at 5:09 AM
Subject: July in Review, Part I: Canada not disarming, Israel not
boycotting, prisoners not eating, ships not sailing (nor flying)
To: dominion-notify at ftm.koumbit.org


++ Mark it on your calendar: August 3 is the Media Co-op's 2011
<http://goog_353720242>*Annual General
Meeting<http://www.mediacoop.ca/AGM_2011>.
*We'll elect four new Directors to the board, vote on co-op policy and
budget and meet Media Co-op members from across the country! Meeting in
Toronto with Local meet-ups, on the phone and online. ++

++ Run for the Media Co-op Board of
Directors<http://www.mediacoop.ca/newsrelease/7743>,
or nominate someone to run! Deadline is July 25. ++

++ Read Media Co-op journalist *Miles Howe*'s account of attempting to sail
out of Greece for Gaza, and his overland journey to see through his trade
mission to Gaza. *Dispatches from the
Tahrir*<http://halifax.mediacoop.ca/boat_to_gaza>++

++ Share a story idea <http://www.mediacoop.ca/group/1496/discuss/7337> with
our journalists <http://www.mediacoop.ca/group/1496/discuss/7337>; check out
Local coverage in Vancouver <http://vancouver.mediacoop.ca/>,
Toronto<http://toronto.mediacoop.ca/>,
Montreal <http://montreal.mediacoop.ca/> &
Halifax<http://halifax.mediacoop.ca/>;
b <http://goog_353720273>ecome a member <http://www.mediacoop.ca/join/> and
cash in on voting rights at the AGM. ++

++++

To read July in Review, Part I, on the web, with pictures, visit:
<http://www.dominionpaper.ca/articles/4071>
http://www.dominionpaper.ca/articles/4071

July in Review, Part I Canada not disarming, Israel not boycotting,
prisoners not eating, ships not sailing (nor flying)

*St. Mary's Bay* residents and wild salmon groups filed an
appeal<http://halifax.mediacoop.ca/newsrelease/7763>to the Nova Scotia
Supreme Court to oppose the creation of one of the
province’s largest fish farms. St. Mary's Bay, one of the richest lobster
fishing grounds in the world, is being considered by Parks Canada as part of
a new national marine conservation area. Salmon farms in Nova Scotia are
drawing ire from wild salmon
associations<http://www.novanewsnow.com/News/2011-06-27/article-2614613/Fish-farms-change-draws-protest/1>and
lobster
fishermen<http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-scotia/story/2011/06/17/ns-fishermen-protest-salmon-farms.html>,
as salmon farms produce toxins and disease that threaten the wild runs and
lobster nurseries.

BC's Provincial Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure set
plans<http://vancouver.mediacoop.ca/newsrelease/7749>to demolish the
Glenrose Cannery as part of the
*Gateway* freeway expansion program. The cannery, a historic property, was
built in 1896. The provincial government originally claimed that no heritage
properties would be affected by the development.

Six environmental activists in *Montana*
occupied<http://itsgettinghotinhere.org/2011/07/12/over-100-climate-justice-activists-occupy-mt-capitol-and-tell-gov-schweitzer-%E2%80%9Cbig-oil-out-of-montana%E2%80%9D/>the
office of the state governor while about 100 others protested inside
the
Capitol building. The action was taken to oppose the controversial Keystone
XL pipeline that would bring tar sands oil from northern Alberta through the
state, as well as the large shipments of heavy machinery being shipped to
Alberta, known as "megaloads." Five protesters were arrested. Montana
Governor Brian Schweitzer has been vocal in his support for the pipeline.

Residents of *Durham, NB,* tore
up<http://www.globalmaritimes.com/video/index.html?releasePID=wnAdN0tCmLvY_9MNm7IRw9DOiW7zKCqI>stakes
marking areas set for shale gas exploration, saying they have not
been consulted by companies or government. "We want to slow them down, we
want to stop them. We don't want them here," one person told GlobalTV. SWN
Resources, the exploration company, has been opposed by
Maliseet<http://www.nbmediacoop.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1619:shale-gas-protests-heat-up-in-durham-bridge&catid=82:environment&Itemid=197>and
Mi'kmaq<http://www.nbmediacoop.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1609:video-shale-gas-meeting-crashed&catid=82:environment&Itemid=197>people,
who also cite lack of consultation.

French senators
voted<http://upstrm.wordpress.com/2011/07/01/france-becomes-first-country-to-ban-extraction-of-natural-gas-by-fracking/>176
to 151 to ban the controversial process to extract natural gas from
shale known as fracking, making *France* the first country to do so.

A prominent *Honduran environmental activist* was
arrested<http://halifax.mediacoop.ca/story/honduran-human-rights-activist-who-spoke-nova-scotia-arrested/7727>along
with two others for his participation in an action that blocked
loggers from accessing a watershed near the municipality of El Porvenir in
his home country. The watershed is owned by a group with ties to Canadian
mining company Goldcorp, and it is widely speculated that the logging of the
land is a preliminary step towards Goldcorp gaining permission to mine in
the area.

Roger LeBlanc, a former worker at the Brunswick Mine in *Bathurst,
NB*, appeared
in court <http://lavoixdurestigouche.jminforme.ca/gallery/1421101,693140> to
continue what is being called a groundbreaking workplace health and safety
case. Leblanc is seeking compensation from WorkSafeNB for the heavy metal
poisoning treatments he has undergone since 2006, which he says came about
from unsafe working conditions at the Brunswick mine.

Ten thousand Koreans
marched<http://www.labourstart.org/cgi-bin/solidarityforever/show_campaign.cgi?c=1046>to
Hanjin Heavy Industries shipyard in the
*Philippines* to protest the
mass-dismissal<http://hronlineph.wordpress.com/2011/07/05/statement-dignity-and-justice-for-hanjin-workers-sdk/>of
members of the Korean Metal Worker Federation, which has been
demanding
safer working conditions at the Hanjin Shipyard. Five thousand accidents
were reported in the yard's first year of operations and 31 work-related
deaths have occurred. Police responded to the protesters with tear gas and
water canons. Fifty unionists were arrested and released. One worker at the
shipyard has been
protesting<http://widget.demotix.com/news/746691/workers-protest-against-hanjin-shipyard-working-conditions>from
a crane since January.

The *Simon Fraser University Student Union* locked
out<http://www.the-peak.ca/article/22873>20 of its
employees <http://cupe.ca/education/simon-fraser-student-society-serves>,
all members of CUPE Local 3338, ending two years of pay negotiations. The
next day, the Simon Fraser Student Spacing (SFSS) Committee
issued<http://vancouver.mediacoop.ca/audio/sfpirg-under-threat/7771>a
surprise termination of Simon Fraser Public Interest Research Group's
lease. Supporters of the locked-out
staff<http://vancouver.mediacoop.ca/audio/lockout-sfu-womens-centre-out-campus-targeted/7772>and
organizations rallied
at the university <http://vancouver.mediacoop.ca/story/CUPE-SFU-PIRG/7778>.
A poster by the SFSS student board claims that $748,911 paid out to SFSS
staff is inflated compared to the $115,908 transferred to clubs and student
union funding. Last year, the SFSS spent $831,000 renovating a campus pub.

National Football League (NFL) union legend John Mackey
died<http://www.thenation.com/blog/161849/john-mackey-death-football-and-union-legend>of
frontotemporal dementia. NFL
*football players*, whose average careers last three-and-a-half years and
who live an average of twenty years less than the average American male,
were locked out of their current season by NFL owners over issues including
post-career health benefits.

*Canadian civil society* expressed outrage
<http://www.dominionpaper.ca/articles/%E2%80%9Chttp://rabble.ca/blogs/bloggers/making-waves/2011/07/budget-cuts-environment-canada-and-how-they-affect-canada%E2%80%99s-wate%E2%80%9D>over
Environment Canada’s proposed budget cuts that will eliminate more than
1,200 full-time positions over the next three years. The main focus of the
cuts are climate change and clean air programs.

*California* prison officials agreed to
negotiate<http://sfbayview.com/2011/corrections-officials-accede-to-pressure-begin-negotiating-with-hunger-strikers-as-their-health-deteriorates/>with
inmates at Pelican Bay Prison as hundreds of prisoners entered the
third week of a hunger strike. Thousands of prisoners across at least 13
other California prisons joined the strike. Prisoners were protesting the
slow implementation of correctional reforms, including the elimination of
long-term solitary confinement.

Solidarity protests across North America included actions in *Montreal*,
where demonstrators
gathered<http://contrelesprisons.blogspot.com/2011/07/actions-in-solidarity-with-california.html>twice
outside the US consulate and anti-prison activists sent an open
letter <http://montreal.mediacoop.ca/newsrelease/7759> to California
officials in support of the prison strikers' demands. Actions were also held
in Toronto, Kingston, Vancouver, New York, Los Angeles, Chicago and Las
Vegas.

*Halifax mayor* Peter Kelly was
accused<http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/atlantic/halifax-mayor-under-fire-for-cash-advances-to-promoters-of-high-profile-concerts/article2075220/>of
bribing high profile concert promoters: since 2008 the mayor signed a
series of contracts that advanced promoters amounts exceeding $300,000.
Kelly has refused several requests to resign since the scandal emerged.

*Charity workers* across Canada receive upwards of six-figure
salaries, according
to<http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/six-figure-salaries-at-canadian-charities-raise-questions-on-how-money-is-spent/article2092654/>an
analysis of Canada Revenue Agency tax filings by The
Canadian Press. As organizations are only required to report the wages of
their top ten earners, even more donations may be going into workers' bank
accounts.

Fifty to sixty *Quebec families* remained homeless after the province's July
1 moving day, reported <http://www.frapru.qc.ca/spip.php?article803> the
Front d'action populaire en reamenagement urbain. The housing rights group
denounced higher rent, a lack of social and affordable housing and
insufficient provincial aid strategies.

Social justice organization *Kairos* led a news conference calling on the
Conservative government to
act<http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/story/2011/06/20/pol-aboriginal-declaration.html>on
the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, which Canada
has
endorsed with qualifications but has not yet implemented.

Eight hundred women
marched<http://rabble.ca/news/2011/07/women%E2%80%99s-worlds-2011-800-march-parliament-murdered-and-missing-aboriginal-women>on
*Parliament* to draw attention to the high number of murdered and missing
Aboriginal women in Canada.

Assembly of First Nations National Chief Shawn Atleo
called<http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/first-nations-chief-wants-to-disband-aboriginal-affairs-department/article2094191/>for
the abolishment of the Aboriginal Affairs department and
*Indian Act,* replacing them with a new agreement between First Nations and
the Crown that would create a new way to deliver services to Indigenous
peoples. Atleo also suggested the AFN may try to
develop<http://aptn.ca/pages/news/2011/07/12/afn-wants-to-sever-financial-dependence-on-ottawa/>alternative
funding sources in order to break its financial dependence on
the federal government, which he says has prevented the organization from
fully advocating for the rights of First Nations.

Three thousand Canadian soldiers packed
up<http://www.dawn.com/2011/07/07/canada-ends-combat-mission-in-afghanistan.html>and
prepared to leave
*Afghanistan,* as Canada's $11 billion combat mission in the country draws
to a close, almost a decade after it began. Nearly 1,000 soldiers will
remain in the country to conduct training, though. The departure comes amid
questions<http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2011/06/22/afghan-detainees-document_n_881927.html>surrounding
the government's handling of detainees captured by the Canadian
Forces.

Canada jumped<http://www.vancouversun.com/news/Canada+world+12th+largest+arms+exporter+Data/5077218/story.html>from
fifteenth to twelfth largest exporter of
*military* hardware in the world. The country exports to several governments
engaged in human rights violations, like the Philippines, Israel, Saudi
Arabia, China, Libya and Tunisia.

The military geared
up<http://www.dominionpaper.ca/articles/%E2%80%9Chttp://www.torontosun.com/2011/07/05/flex-our-arctic-muscles>for
1,000-personnel show of force in the
*Arctic*.

The *Canadian military*
secured<http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/military-secures-new-mideast-operations-base/article2093866/>a
new base in Kuwait.

Canada announced it would boycott the United Nations Conference on
Disarmament because *North Korea* has taken on the rotating presidency of
the conference, a move critics
called<http://www.ottawacitizen.com/news/Canada+boycott+conference+over+controversial+North+Korea+appointment/5084315/story.html>"grandstanding"
that would have no measurable effect on negotiations. No
other countries followed Canada's example.

*Canada* opposed<http://www.thestar.com/news/canada/article/1022744--canada-opposes-palestinian-bid-for-recognition-of-statehood?bn=1>Palestinian
efforts to be recognized as an independent state at the United
Nations. Palestinians are reported to have the support of 100 countries, but
will need two-thirds support in the assembly before the matter is considered
by the Security Council.

Boats in the *Freedom Flotilla II* were
sabotaged<http://english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2011/06/2011630155647950458.html>,
threatened<http://en.rsf.org/israel-israeli-government-openly-27-06-2011,40529.html>and
falsely
accused<http://therealnews.com/t2/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=31&Itemid=74&jumival=6989>of
homophobia and planning to kill Israeli soldiers. The mission was
grounded
in Greece<http://halifax.mediacoop.ca/audio/canadian-boat-gaza-grounded-greece/7659>at
the bequest of the Israeli Foreign Ministry. After one last-ditch,
failed
attempt by the Tahrir, the Canadian boat, to escape Greek authorities by using
kayaks <http://halifax.mediacoop.ca/photo/how-it-went-down/7695> as
deterrents, many of those hoping to bring humanitarian aid to Gaza returned
to Canada. Some Canadians decided
<http://www.dominionpaper.ca/audio/4068>to continue to Gaza by land.

In *Canada,* supporters<http://vancouver.mediacoop.ca/story/pro-palestinian-activists-picket-outside-greek-consulate/7691>of
the flotilla
protested <http://halifax.mediacoop.ca/story/halifax-gaza-love/7701>Greece's
illegal
prevention<http://halifax.mediacoop.ca/photo/death-thousand-papercut/7666%3Cbr%20/%3E>of
the
Tahrir from leaving Greek port.

The Israeli Foreign Ministry
provided<http://therealnews.com/t2/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=31&Itemid=74&jumival=7012>airlines
heading to
*Israel* with lists of people they were not to allow on planes in order to
stymy what activists were calling a "fly-in." Hundreds were denied entry to
Israel, interrogated and jailed. Four people listed were finally allowed
entry to Palestine.

Israeli warships that had been firing water cannons on fishing boats two
miles off the coast of *Gaza*
fired<http://www.cpsgaza.org/2011/07/cps-gaza-crew-attacked-by-israeli.html>on
the
Olivia, a Civil Peace Service Gaza boat which monitors human rights
violations in Palestinian waters. Israel claims to allow fishing boats to
work within three miles off the coast of Gaza.

The *Israeli parliament*
passed<http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/jul/11/israel-passes-law-boycotts>a
law allowing any individual or institution claiming that it could be
damaged by calls for boycotts <http://www.bdsmovement.net/> to sue for
compensation, in effect banning citizens from calling for academic, consumer
or cultural boycotts of Israel.

Some tax payers were not happy about paying for Will and Kate's royal
honeymoon. *Heritage Canada*
spent<http://www.dominionpaper.ca/articles/%E2%80%9Chttp://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/will-and-kates-visit-awakening-anti-royal-sentiments-in-some-canadians/article2083898/print/l%E2%80%9D>over
$1.2 million in preparation for the nine-day visit of the Duke and
Dutchesse of Cambridge. Meanwhile, it
pulled<http://www.dominionpaper.ca/articles/%E2%80%9Cttp://artthreat.net/2011/06/toronto-theatre-fest-gets-funding-pulled/%E2%80%9D>the
plug on funding to independent theatre festival SummerWorks.

The first Purple Thistle Institute, an educational experiment where manual
labour and intellectual labour are equally valued, was
launched<http://vancouver.mediacoop.ca/story/purple-thistle-institute-thrives-east-van/7739>in
*Vancouver*.

The first *Halifax Queer and Rebel Days*
offered<http://halifax.mediacoop.ca/story/rebellious-queers-plan-week-long-anti-corporate-alternative-pride/7672>an
anti-capitalist alternative to July's Pride parade. Built on
community-building, education and empowerment—not partying—the celebrations
were further justified by
comments<http://www.xtra.ca/public/National/Halifax_Pride_board_clarifies_apologizes_for_promiscuous_kerfuffle-10385.aspx>by
the co-chair of the Halifax Pride Festival. Dan Savage, the long-time
organizer, said that he strives to make the Halifax parade "less
promiscuous" than others. The Halifax queer community's outrage prompted the
festival's board to apologize.

CTV’s *Quebec City bureau chief* quit his job due to dissatisfaction with TV
news in Canada. In an open letter he outlined his reasoning behind the move
and went on to describe<http://www.dominionpaper.ca/articles/%E2%80%9Chttp://rabble.ca/blogs/bloggers/media-watch/2011/07/journalist-kai-nagata-has-quit-his-job-and-he-wants-you-know-why%E2%80%9D>the
kind of news Canadian mainstream media should be covering, but isn't.

*Eska Water* announced<http://zeus.megavolt.ca/erep_3575/email/showEmail.php?envoiID=0266e33d3f546cb5436a10798e657d97>it
was pulling an ad campaign after First Nations groups called for a
boycott of Eska Water, one of Montreal Pride Week's official sponsors. The
ads depicted stereotypical images of Native people protecting the purity of
water with spears. Indigenous people
say<http://montreal.mediacoop.ca/audio/ckut-radio-mohawk-perspective-eska-water-boycott/7712>the
ad campaign reinforces the stereotype that Natives use violence to
resolve conflict, while their ancestors were in fact peacemakers. Eska's
water is piped from Algonquin territory. One-hundred-eighteen First Nations
communities are under a drinking water
advisory<http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/fniah-spnia/promotion/public-publique/water-eau-eng.php#how_many>
.

An audit of forestry practices in *North-West Ontario*'s Whiskey Jack Forest
confirmed<http://www.kenoradailyminerandnews.com/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=3212123>what
Native groups in the region have been saying for years: industry is
not
conforming to the laws around lumber extraction. In an effort to halt the
destruction, the Asubpeeschoseewagong First Nation (Grassy Narrows) has been
engaged in the longest running road blockade in Canadian history.
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-- 
Meegwetch/Thank you/Merci
*Tami M. Starlight*
Vancouver, Canada
tamistarlight at gmail.com
tami.cosmic (facebook)
tami_starlight (twitter)
cosmictami (skype)
604-200-2445home
604-790-9943cell
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