May 24, 2009

HAMILTON- Local members of the provincial anarchist organization
Common Cause fear Hamilton police are seeking to criminalize local
organizers after a Hamilton police report identified the 2nd annual
Hamilton Anarchist Book Fair as a potential source of hate crime.

While presenting the Year-End Hate Crime report (available online)
to the Hamilton Police Board on May 19, acting sergeant Michael Goch
stated police would be “actively monitoring” the book fair scheduled to
take place on June 6.

Alex Diceanu, Ontario Treasurer of Common Cause responded, “As the
organizers of the annual book fair, and as local anarchists and
activists, Common Cause is deeply disturbed by these statements.

“This is a manipulation of hate crime laws to criminalize activism. At
this time of economic and environmental crisis, alongside increasing
political disengagement, activism and educational events such as the
book fair should be encouraged, not chilled with surveillance.”

The report also identifies the 2010 G8 summit (Huntsville, ON), the
2010 Olympics, “local native land reclamation issues”, “the anarchist
movement” and “anti-government and anti-establishment reaction of
economic crisis and job losses” as trends and events that “may have
significant impacts and repercussions on the Hamilton community in
terms of hate/bias related incidents.”

For the first time the report also includes incidents of graffiti
aimed at police even though this contradicts the report’s own
definition of a hate crime.

Diceanu commented, “We are concerned that public resources meant to
investigate hate crimes are being focused upon people trying to
improve this community.”

The Hamilton Anarchist Book Fair is not a threat to the community.

It is open to the public and family-friendly, featuring free child care
and a kid’s workshop.

Over 300 people attended last year’s book fair.  Activists will gather
again this year to exchange literature and other forms of information.

Workshops at the book fair attempt to address issues faced by marginalized groups named in hate
crimes legislation, including indigenous peoples, racialized groups,
people facing disability barriers and others. Other workshops address the
the economic crisis, environmental justice and workplace organizing.

“Common Cause’s Basic Policy states clearly that, and I quote, ‘we actively
oppose all manifestations of oppression such as racism, sexism, [religious]
sectarianism and homophobia and we struggle against them.’

Indeed, anarchists have always sought to understand and end all forms of
oppression in our struggle to create a world marked by true equality,
freedom, peace, and harmony with the natural environment” says Diceanu

The full police report is available here (look for the May 19 Hamilton Police Services Board Public Agenda package at the top of the page).

http://www.hamiltonpolice.on.ca/HPS/PoliceServicesBoard/

For more information please contact:

commoncauseontario@gmail.com

see also:

http://www.hamiltonmountainnews.com/news/article/176460

Five Londoners are attempting to cross the Egyptian border with Gaza today. UWO Students Taylor Davy, Ashley Annis, Peige Desjarlais, along with Dr Nabil Sultan and activist Beth Guthrie are
travelling with the Canadian Delegation to Gaza, part of Code Pink. They have been invited by UNRWA, the Red Crescent, and the government of Gaza, to visit schools, children’s centres and hospitals and to report back to the Canadian people about the disastrous effects of Israel’s bombardment earlier this year, and the ongoing 19 month siege.

Despite the advance preparations made by Code Pink in Canada and the US with officials from Egypt and Gaza, and letters of support from Canadian Members of Parliament, including Glen Pearson and Irene Mathyssen, the Delegation has so far been turned back twice by Egyptian authorities. Each day they are given new names to contact and hope to achieve success the next day.

Of course, at the border many Palestinians are waiting to return to their homes. The Delegation
spoke with 60 year old Sophia, who has been waiting for 2 weeks to rejoin her family. Each night she returns to El Arish, a town about 50 km to the north. She knocks on the doors of strangers, pleading for a place to sleep.

The Delegation also met 2 doctors who have been trying to cross into Gaza for 53 days to train doctors in Gaza hospitals. Dr. Sonia Robbins from Britain, and Greek Dr. Nikolas Botos have worked in Gaza and the West Bank for several years. Twenty days ago they set up an encampment and have refused o leave the crossing even at night. Since Wednesday, they have been on hunger strike, hoping that world governments will put pressure on Egypt and Israel to allow the border to open Dr. Robbins spoke of her frustration with her own government. Her concern is for people in Gaza whose plight is being ignored by both Arab and Western governments.

The border is not completely sealed however. On Sunday a large convoy from Europe was allowed through the first gate. The Delegation saw many ambulances and trucks that were filled by communities in Europe as gifts for Gaza.

The Canadian Delegation to Gaza is taking medical supplies and toys that they purchased in Cairo. Toys include complete outfits for 2 soccer teams of boys, balls and skipping ropes for girls, as well as art supplies.

The Delegation is led by Sandra Ruch, who lived in London most of her life. Sandra went to Gaza with the Code Pink delegation for International Women’s Day last March. On her return to Canada she spoke to a group of Londoners and asked people to return with her. At that meeting, enough money was raised to send a delegate, and Beth, who was on the verge of retirement, was chosen. The students and Dr. Sultan signed up later, along with Mohamed Abokasem, a businessman from Ottawa,
and Cathy Gulkin of Toronto, the videographer for the group. Both Mr. Abokasem and Dr. Sultan have family they have never seen in Gaza, and the journey is especially meaningful for them.

The Delegation asks that Canadians call their MPs to insist that the government press Egypt and Israel to open the borders to them and also, most importantly, to the Palestinian people.

Click Image to connect to Issue 11.

May 12 2009

Police brutality is nothing new. Recall the beating of Rodney King in 1991 captured on film in what was called “The Rodney King video”. The shooting of 15 year old Alexandros Grigoropoulo by the Greek police in December 2009 which sparked a national response including mass rioting. Police brutality is part of the status quo. It is experienced everyday by people in London, Canada and throughout the world.
The newest deadly weapon of the police in London and abroad is the Taser.  Several Londoners have been killed and injured by the device. Yet Tasers are not outlawed and we are reminded that the police are “just doing their job”. However, this response does not address the main issue: Police officers must be held accountable for what they do to citizens.
Accountability is what the students at Beal (among others) have been demanding as they watch their friends and school mates face charges in a court room while their attackers (the police) remain in positions of power. When Beal students show their outrage at the ugly face of police brutality, how are they treated? They are told that they are wrong to say “fuck the police”. Instead they must remain “civil” while their friends face trial on odious charges.
Hundreds of students responded with a march and demonstration in front of city hall and the downtown police station on April 17th. Much outrage was expressed, in many ways, by witnesses and fellow students at the actions of the London police.
Yet authorities and the media are not asking the bigger question. What is the source of this social phenomenon taking place among these students? Where is this unprecedented outburst of discontent steaming from? And why? The reason why students are taking action against police brutality is because what was once subtle has been revealed to them openly. The contradiction of the day-to-day oppression of the police apparatus upon the people of London is being brought to the surface to the students of Beal. Exactly what the police do, how they discriminate and how they cover up their oppression is brought to the surface in open clarity. On April 16th 2009 the students of Beal saw one kind of oppression practiced by the police first hand: the indiscriminate use of force upon the citizen population and specifically among vulnerable peoples such as women, black people, native people and youth. And what did these students do? They had the normal, healthy and ethical reaction that people should have to injustice; they tried to stop it.  They were so outraged that they put themselves in danger to help those who were treated with open oppression. The media then reported that students swarmed the police, when in actual fact they were making an attempt to thwart police from beating their schoolmates for “trespassing”.
The police dropped thee ball; they broke the façade of “Serving the Community”. They openly harassed and assaulted a vulnerable person among her peers. In that moment all was revealed. This is what the police do to people. However the police know that they abuse their authority and had done just that, openly. What was their response? To attempt to destroy the evidence of their oppression; they demanded that students erase the incriminating evidence of police brutality documented on students’ cell phone cameras, to save their own skins. This was not completely successful. As we know, some footage was salvaged. Some footage of the event was played on mainstream media, and can be found on Youtube.
On May 11th, students demonstrated in front of the London courthouse in solidarity with their friends and fellow students being charged inside. The students voiced their opinions with signs, a megaphone and chants of “Drop all charges; charge the Police!” and “No justice, No peace. No racist police!”. They proceeded to march down Dundas while receiving comments from the police that were following “Come on people, keep it together. We don’t want to walk around all day”. Apparently the demonstration is nothing more than a joke to some fellow officers of the London police. These events have apparently had little effect within the ranks of the London Police.
Issues of police corruption should be taken seriously. It is time for people to stand up and demand for their basic right not to be harassed and assaulted. The students are. Where are you?

I  learned a lot at the May 11th protest by Beal students. The protest was to raise awareness about the lunch hour incident at Beal on April 16th, when these students witnessed police officers physically attack and arrest six of their colleagues, including a 15 year old girl. After the violence police ordered bystanders to erase footage of the incident on their phones. This is illegal. The police are therefore corrupt; covering up what they know will incriminate them.
The next day the headlines read that students swarmed police, which is not true. Students were concerned that police were attacking their friends, and tried to stop them. Two of the students who were attacked and arrested were Black (one female), and three others were Native.
The media then portrayed the protest the following day (April 17) by highlighting the angry slogan chanted by some, not all of, the students (Fuck The Police). They had a right to be angry, fed up with being harassed by cops and were expressing that anger in words only.

Back to the protest of May 11th. We marched on the day of the court hearing from the courthouse to downtown.  Some students took the megaphone to ask questions and let their feelings out. Several students shouted; “honk if you are against police brutality!” Many people honked their support, many stared and a few others made some bad comments. Of the 3 negative comments I noticed 2 were from police and the third was the incoherent yet loud ramblings of a man who was drunk at the corner of Dundas and Richmond at 12 noon. This protest was not covered by the local media.

A little bit of context about the incident. I am a former Beal graduate. In my time we also frequented the local businesses during school hours. If it wasn’t for their proximity to a high school these businesses would not do as well, they likely bring in thousands a day from the students. The students are not allowed to use the football field at lunch. This is a crucial issue: the school grounds are off limits, and so the students can either spend free time in the cafeteria or on the streets. The high school is across the street from a Methdone clinic and places frequented by the homeless, and the ever-expanding police headquarters. Beal is then exposed to the harsher aspects of life not seen by students at suburban schools such as Banting. I was a student at that school also, and there is access to green space at lunch and safer areas surround the school for the students to frequent.
Apparently on April 16th a business owner called police to complain of trespassers (kids hanging out without buying). I wasn’t there so I won’t comment on this issue. I am sure that other things happen, such as occasional shoplifting. Lunchtime at Beal will see hundreds of teens on sidewalks and in the parking lots of the surrounding businesses. I do not see how this is avoidable given the fact that they spend cash at the businesses and have few other places to go. If the school won’t allow them onto a green space they need to provide them with other places to be.
I feel that this issue needs to be addressed on a large scale and taken very seriously by the school and community, however it appears to have been swept under the rug by Beal staff and the local media. What was witnessed on April 16th by the Beal students was racism, abuse of authority, police brutality, police corruption and ageism.
So why isn’t this saga front-page news? Likely because these were Beal students. Young people who are not respected by Police or fellow Londoners. I have seen police officers harass and bully teens just because they have skateboards.  I have seen police ask the homeless to move while sleeping on Richmond street. I have watched an officer call my partner a “goof” because he did not jump when ordered to by a rude police officer. I have heard first hand testimony of a teenage girl who was held down on the street at Dundas and Richmond on a cold day during a short and peaceful protest, then told she was being a “bad little girl”. I have also seen Police in this city be treated like gods. They are called heroes, and many feel that they should be, or automatically are, role models. In fact, many believe that anyone legally licensed to carry a gun is automatically a hero.
If anyone is heroic here it is the unarmed, untrained students who stood up for their human rights. They were not wearing guns, tasers or bullet-proof vests, and the law did not protect them. They are not willing to take the ageism, racial profiling, targeting, intimidation and corruption any longer. And I will stand with them.

I suggest the following when dealing with police; after all, it is apparent that they are NOT SAFE to deal with:
-get their name and badge number incase something goes wrong. You can get a hold of them or if necessary file a complaint afterwards.
-discuss any attempt to arrest or detain you, many times this is done illegally. Do not let them violate your personal safety and human rights. You have rights.
-police need soft skills training. They need to understand that we are not always going to be up for questioning. We are not there to take orders from them. Their actions are up for discussion JUST AS MUCH AS ANYONE ELSE’S SHOULD BE. We are not subject to their whims.
-the practice of asking people for their identification is invasive. It creates a world of paranoia that makes even the most pious and careful individual fear cops and the law. We should not have to fear the law but WE ALL DO.
If you want respect, give it out. I feel that the authority figures have set a poor example. They need to be retrained and educated, and be held accountable for their actions.
A MESSAGE TO THE LONDON POLICE FORCE:
The many individuals and communities of London Ontario will ensure that you will be held accountable for your actions as individuals and in groups, so treat us with respect.

The words “mental illness” often strike fear in people’s hearts, which is likely due to the stigmatization it faces in society.  It’s something that often lies hidden in the background of today’s prominent issues, even though it is quite common. One in 5 Canadians suffers from a mental illness of some kind. Despite its frequency in the world, there are great deals of people who know little about it. There are many controversies surrounding mental illness, including what constitutes as a mental illness in the first place, the consequence of labeling people and the use of pharmaceutical medication.
What is a mental illness anyway? Its symptoms are so broad, that it can be difficult to distinguish between what is normal and what is abnormal. People may say, how can one pinpoint what a mental illness is, when there are so many different types of people who experience the world in different ways? This question has some validity. However, there is a way to properly identify when a person is suffering from mental illness. When an individual’s thoughts, emotions, and behaviour are troubling enough to cause significant distress and impairment in day to day functioning, this is when an illness is diagnosed. It’s normal for people to experience sadness and discouragement from time to time, to be unable to concentrate sometimes, to have personal rituals and habits, and to have odd thoughts and ideas that may be outside the norm. This is where people seem to be confused. Yes, it’s normal to have these experiences. But would you say it’s normal to experience debilitating depression so severe that you’re barely able to make it through the day? To have disturbing and troubling thoughts enter your mind constantly, and repeat themselves over and over like a broken record? Or to be unable to distinguish between what is real and imaginary?  These are examples of what people may suffer through when experiencing mental illness. The symptoms of mental illness are so complex however, that find a correct diagnoses can be difficult and often takes time, particularly when more than one may be present.
Some people will say that labeling an individual with a mental illness can have damaging results for this person’s future. That labels will “follow people for life”. Therefore, it’s not important to pay attention to diagnosis. Well let me ask you this. Should we not diagnose a person with cancer or diabetes, due to the repercussions of labeling them as a cancer patient, or a diabetic patient? A mental illness is an illness just as cancer and diabetes is, and should be treated as one. To not recognize that a person may have an illness such as Bipolar Disorder or Schizophrenia for fear of what this label may do is only further increasing the stigmatization of mental illness. It’s saying that these illnesses are fearful and dangerous, so it is better to pretend they don’t exist. This is not to say that a person should be seen and judged only by their illness. It is important to treat these patients with respect and humanity, because they are people like any other. However it is wrong to completely overlook a person’s diagnosis.
Medication is another subject that creates fear and controversy. Not that this is completely unfounded. It is true that psychiatrists often overprescribe medication nowadays, and they can often have very undesirable side effects. They also do not always work as expected, and many patients may need to find one that works better for them, or opt to come off medication and choose a different route of treatment.  Many times though, medication can aid patients in stabilizing symptoms and achieving significant improvement in their overall functioning. Medication would not be denied to a person suffering from cancer, so why should it be denied to a patient with mental illness who needs medication?   Of course medication alone cannot cure what is wrong, but a combination of therapy and medication often work best. Making changes in ones lifestyle is also important towards recovering.  There are social support systems available as well that can assist people in getting their lives back together and to become part of society again. Unfortunately due to our economy, the mental health system is lacking greatly in the adult population. For children and adolescents, these resources are much more readily available. More needs to be done to ensure that adults get the proper treatment needed in achieving a better quality life.
For a person suffering from mental illness, there is nothing worse than hiding in shame and continuing to suffer in silence. Our society has come a long way in the treatment of mental illness, but still needs to improve much further. Accepting diagnosis and treatment is a step towards recovery, even though it may be a long road. More education is needed for the public to learn about mental illness, which will increase understanding and compassion.

Many people hold the misconception that they work hard for what they earn and are doing right in society by fueling the monetary exchange system which benefits us all, this is the very opposite.
The following is an explanation on how you’ve been tricked into slavery.
It shocks me how many intelligent people have completely overlooked or failed to realize the severity of this blindfold being held over the capitalist world.
Slaves are forced to work for nothing, but provided with food and shelter so that they can survive and continue to work.
Workers are forced to work for currency and are forced to seek food and shelter with their limited currency.
If a slave is starving to death their master would feed them, so they can return to good health and continue to work.
If a worker is starving to death, they are forced to work until they can accumulate enough currency to survive.
If a slave refuses to work they are beat, if they do not break they are killed.
If a worker refuses to work they are deprived of currency which is required as an exchange for food and shelter, if they do not break they will starve or freeze to death.
Capitalism forces this situation on every single human on our planet earth. Anything that interferes, or opposes this global enslavement is labeled terrorist and is dealt with by the elite.
You cannot honestly tell any rational human that these two situations are not the same. The ONLY difference is that physical coercion is used in the slave situation, while mental coercion is used on the workers.
The outcome is EXACTLY THE SAME, work or die.
The solution is non-compliance, we need to refuse to work and we must reject capital, because without the workers capitalists cannot produce, therefore they cannot profit. The only reason the paper you call money still has any value is because you, and everyone else accepts this illegitimate currency as collateral.

Zapata Balaclava

There is an orthodox view of what it means to be well educated, that a person is well educated who has gone through all the levels of the education system. The higher up you go, the more degrees you have, the better educated you are. The more knowledge you have, the more facts you have acquired, the more languages you can speak, the more important people you can quote, the more reading you have done, all of that falls within the orthodox definition of higher education. And, of course, a lot of that is legitimate; that is, to me a lot of that makes sense.

However, to me being well educated means not just a mastery of information, not just quantity of information, but being educated in (or coming to the conclusions of) what is important and what is not important, having a sense of what knowledge is significant, what knowledge is not significant, what knowledge is trivial and what knowledge has very powerful ramifications, what knowledge can contribute to the betterment of society and what knowledge is really just sort of static information lying there, whether in a book or in the head.

Skepticism or critical thought is one of the most important qualities that one can possess. I think it arises from realizing that what has been revered is not necessarily to be revered. The acts that have been romanticized and idealized and presented as marvelous deserve to be scrutinized and looked at critically. The actions of your country, the ideas of the people who have been held up to you as important thinkers, should be scrutinized.

Skepticism can turn into cynicism, but I think the way to avoid that is to recognize that ideas, people and actions that we have learned to be skeptical of have also been the objects of other people’s skepticism and other’s reaction, that these things have not gone unchallenged. In learning the history of such challenges, we see that very often in history people have shown their critical understanding of society by rebelling against what they saw and by organizing to change what they saw.

I think that the entire school curriculum, from kindergarten through graduate school, will be tolerated only so long as it continues to perform its institutional role. Universities, for instance, do not generate nearly enough funds to support themselves from tuition money alone: they are parasitic institutions that need to be supported from the outside, and that means they’re dependent on wealthy alumni, on corporations, and on the government, which are groups with the same basic interests. As long as the universities serve the interests of those powers, they’ll be funded. If they ever stop serving those interests, they’ll start getting into trouble.

Sadly as a result the institutions reward discipline and obedience, and they punish independence of mind. You’re not really supposed to think, you’re supposed to obey and just proceed through the material in whatever way they require. In fact, most of the people who make it through the educational system and get into the elite universities are able to do it because they’ve been willing to obey a lot of stupid orders for years and years. Some people go along with it to get ahead, others do it because they’ve just internalized the values. But you do it or else you’re out. Ask too many questions and you’re going to get in trouble.

There are children with behaviour problems -but a lot of them are just independent-minded, or don’t like to conform. And they get into trouble right from the beginning, and are typically weeded out. Or handed a prescription for the latest mind-altering form of Ritalin.

There is great value in every person developing individual thought. Although many of the factors stated above pressure people into accepting myths, dogmatism, conformity, and ignorance it is critical for people to understand their ability to think for themselves. This must be protected and encourage whenever possible. After all we know from history and even our day-to-day experience that blindly conforming to certain sets of beliefs and ideas leads to devastating effect such as unjust wars, discrimination, racism, genocide, sexism et cetera. If society is to be pushed forward to an increasingly moral state (if the world is to continue to be a better place), it will be done by critical and independent thinkers fighting for their moral causes. This is the only way society can be changed for the better.

“It’s no measure of health to be well adjusted to a profoundly sick society” -Jiddu Krisnamurti

Mental Environment refers to the sum of all societal influences upon mental health, and is most often used in a context critical of the mental environment in industrialized societies. It is argued that just as industrial societies produce physical toxins and pollutants which harm humans physical health, they also produce psychological toxins (e.g. television, excessive noise, violent marketing tactics) that cause psychological damage.

“They who have put out the people’s eyes, reproach them of their blindness.” - John Milton

One way to think about mental health is by looking at how effectively and successfully a person functions. Feeling capable and competent; being able to handle normal levels of stress, maintain satisfying relationships, and lead an independent life; and being able to “bounce back,” or recover from difficult situations, are all signs of mental health. The generally accepted definition of health is “a state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity”, used by the World Health Organization (WHO) since 1948.

“(They) Keep you doped with religion and sex and TV,
And you think you’re so clever and classless and free,
But you’re still fucking peasants as far as I can see,
A working class hero is something to be.”
-John Lennon ‘Working Class Hero’

Most may find it hard to believe, but their minds are considered enemy territory by their own government. In fact, in order for a government to manufacture consent for it’s policies it will often wage a campaign of psychological warfare against its own citizens. Despite election year rhetoric and hand-wringing about the decline in voter turn- out, the last thing our political leaders actually want is an informed, active and engaged electorate. That would be a “crisis of democracy” as it has been called before.

Corporations spend billions of dollars annually running advertising, public relations or lobbying campaigns. Corporations want to maintain their position of power and influence unchecked by public accountability. Their main goal and purpose is to maximize profit while “externalizing” its costs to the public’s expense. Of course, all Corporations want to sell you something. Corporations want you to like them and identify with them as if they were just another person – like a good neighbour or a member of your own a family. Of course, Corporations are neither.

“Those who manipulate this unseen mechanism of society constitute an invisible government which is the true ruling power of our country. …We are governed, our minds are molded, our tastes formed, our ideas suggested, largely by men we have never heard of.” -Edward Bernays (Inventor of “Public Relations”)

Come to the Empowerment Centre (636 Queens st) 7pm