Linchpin Editorial - linchpin.ca

We live in a political and economic system based on constant violence; exploitation of workers, destruction of the environment, war, racist police killings, hunger and homelessness in an environment of plenty, denial of land and self-government to indigenous peoples, plundering of the resources of the Third World and the arming of repressive regimes. This weekend, this quiet violence continued within the G8 and G20 summits. G20 leaders agreed to halve national deficits by 2013; The expected cuts to educational, social services and health care programs will no doubt continue to be carried out on the backs of workers and poor people.

On the streets of Toronto, the police reminded us of the state’s willingness to use blatant violence. Protesters sitting in the streets this morning at a jail solidarity rally were subjected to violent baton attacks, snatch squads and rubber bullets by the Police. Others were boxed in by riot cops and arrested, while being told they had to leave. Sleeping people have been pulled from their homes at gunpoint in the middle of the night.

As of today, well over 600 people have been arrested. Many have been beaten. People who have been arrested have been strip-searched and held in cages, facing long delays in obtaining legal support, including one deaf man who was denied an ASL interpreter. People arrested have included both corporate and independent journalists as well as approximately 200 people, many local residents, who were surrounded by police and held in the pouring rain over four hours. This is how the state responds to anyone who shows dissent.

Common Cause stands in solidarity with everyone who was arrested or assaulted by the police. As anarchist communists, we oppose all state violence. While the violence on the street may dissipate after this weekend, the police will not be going away; they will be remaining in Toronto, or returning to Hamilton, Montreal, Vancouver, or Calgary.

We will continue to resist austerity measures and other policies that exploit and oppress us in our daily lives. Although the street violence today was directed at us in Toronto, the violence of the state continues around the world. The violence of the capitalist state will not stop with the end of the G20 summit; neither will our resistance. We are with those arrested in Toronto, with those who protested, and with those around the world who will continue to fight for our collective liberation.

Free the Toronto 600!
Build the General Strike!

The stricken waters in the Gulf of Mexico span the coastlines of four states, with the mouth of the Mississippi River in Louisiana and Florida’s Pensacola Bay the worst affected, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

NOAA officials are working to keep oiled seafood off the market – which is well-known for its shrimp and oyster supply as well as being a rich source of crabs and fish.

“There should be no health risk in seafood currently in the marketplace,” Ewell Smith, executive director of the Louisiana Seafood Board said in a statement.

More than a billion pounds of fish and shellfish were harvested by fishermen in the region in 2008, according to government figures.

Eleven BP workers were killed after an explosion on April 20 that sank the Deepwater Horizon oil rig and lead to the massive oil spill.

(TORONTO) - The Ontario Federation of Labour today issued an Open Letter to Shoppers Drug Mart blasting its lead role in undermining a government initiative to lower the cost of generic drugs by 50 per cent for the people of Ontario; threatening its workforce, and using patients and customers as pawns in its battle with the Health and Long Term Care Ministry.

OFL President Sid Ryan has called on unionized workers in London, Ontario, the site of the current Shoppers Drug Mart protest, to take their business elsewhere. The OFL is also is urging the general public in that city to vote with their feet. Shoppers has imposed charges for delivery, a move that targets the most vulnerable people in the community and has cut back hours in its stores.

“In its determined effort to sink a government reform that would see generic drug prices cut by 50 per cent, Shoppers Drug Mart is fast becoming one of Ontario’s worst corporate citizens,” says OFL President Sid Ryan.

“We remind Shoppers that it enjoys the PRIVILEGE of, not the right to, consumer loyalty. We urge this corporation to align itself with the public interest, rather the interests of the generic drug companies.”

The OFL is Canada’s largest labour federation advocating for one million workers.

THE PHARMA PLUS AND REXALL STORES IN LONDON
ARE UNIONIZED and are UFCW Members.

PLEASE DO NOT BOYCOTT OUR UNION BROTHERS AND SISTERS.

Canadian Unions Kick Off World-Wide Petition
for G8/G20 & Universal Access on HIV & AIDS

The Canadian Labour Congress (CLC) and it’s affiliate, the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) have announced the expansion of the “Days of Action” campaign with the launch of an online petition demanding Universal Access to HIV Prevention, Treatment, Care and Support.

The online campaign aims to collect as many thousands of signatures as possible from throughout Canada and the world in time for the April 26 – 28, G8 Development Ministers meeting in Halifax.

A simple “click” of the mouse can insist that the G8/G20 Summits next June deliver on their 2005 commitment to Universal Access.

Make your voice heard: “I Support Universal Access to HIV & AIDS Services”

With this web site, the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) is also paving the way for union members and civil society from throughout the world to fashion their own personal message to the G8/G20 leaders in addition to signing the petition.

The CUPE gesture strengthens the call for all Canadian unions to encourage their members to sign-on, and to join global efforts to do the same. The signatures of the on-line petition will be merged with those collected by the World AIDS Campaign, a longstanding civil society partner of the Global Union AIDS Programme (GUAP), and presented to G8/G20 leaders.

An online “Action Center” is being made available by the Canadian Labour Congress to provide campaign materials, a G8/G20 calendar of information, as well as a Facebook fan page.

* To Sign the Petition for Universal Access on HIV & AIDS
English: http://cupe.ca/action/hiv-aids

* Visit our “Action Center” to support universal Access on AIDS
English: http://www.canadianlabour.ca/action-center

With the close of the 2010 Winter Olympic Games in Vancouver, much of the media was quick to declare them a total success. This goes against the mounds of journalism produced before and during the games by the Vancouver Media Co-op, the city’s newly launched independent media center. Believing that there might be more than one answer regarding the success of the games, and one of those should come from the host communities, The Real News spoke to Franklin López, Video Producer with the Co-op, to find out more about the legacy of the 2010 Olympics for the people of Vancouver.

In a world of self interest and declining resources, hitchhiking rekindles the magic of cooperation. Yet the hitchhiker is in no way a parasite. The stories you bring and even just your example of striking out on the road are often an inspiration for the people who pick you up. Hitchhiking is a give and take kind of thing and it’s in your power to change someone’s day.

By the side of the road your entire reality becomes focused on the next ride. Here you have no appointments, no schedules and all you really got to do is stick out your thumb. You arrive at your destination who knows when after who knows what. Yes, you may end up tired, wet and hungry but you’ll get there with a bag full of stories to tell and that’s more than you can say about a bus or a train.

In an age of organized consumer travel, where everything is mapped out, planned and insured from the start, hitchhiking is one of the few forms of true adventure left.

Tips and Tactics for Hitchhiking

•Men should only really hitchhike alone unless they’re prepared to wait for half a day at a time. Two teenagers together might seem innocent enough that they’ll get rides but other­wise go it alone.

•Keep your appearance smart and clean. Wearing a shirt and shaving (if you’re a guy) can help and don’t wear hats, shades, revealing clothes or outfits that mark you out as a “weirdo”, such as a turban or a kilt.

•When it comes to catching rides there are two main tactics in hitching. One is to stand by the side of the road and leave it to chance. The other is to head to gas stations and solicit lifts. You’ll probably end up doing them both out of necessity but each requires a different strategy.

•When you’re standing on the roadside, choose a place where cars can pull over safely. If you don’t you may either cause an accident or find the local police giving you a hard time. Never hitchhike on motorways unless it’s an absolute emer­gency but you can sometimes get away with standing on the slip roads leading on to the highway.

•Smile as the cars are coming and make sure they can see your face. The drivers have about three seconds to determine that you’re not a serial killer or a freak. Look as normal and harmless as you can.

•Depending on where you’re going a sign drawn with a felt tip pen on cardboard can be a good plan. It also shows that you’re a relatively together person and are going somewhere.

•If you find yourself stuck inside a town or a big city either try to hitch at traffic lights on the highway out of the city or take a bus out to the next small town on your route. Hitchhiking out of a metropolis is all but impossible.

•Hitching from gas stations has the obvious advantage that drivers get to size you up in person before letting you inside their cars. You can ask them where they’re going in a cheerful, friendly way and use all the charm at your disposal.

•You can carry on hitching into the night at gas stations too and load up on drinking water and supplies as you need. Sometimes there will even be enough space for you to kip down in the corridor or an unused part of the restaurant.

•By the side of the road you should give up at night though. No one will see you and so in addition to not getting any rides you might get run over.

•A good hitchhiker always carries a bed. A good sleeping bag and waterproof poncho as a groundsheet are excellent pre­cautions to take – in long distance hitching you have to keep your strength up by sleeping well. Waterproofs can also save your life during a rainstorm and remember that no one wants to pick up a wet and bedraggled hitchhiker. A hat and a scarf can also save your health when it gets cold and windy. Alone on a highway is a bad time to get ill.

•Carry all the elements with you: A bottle of water, a lighter and matches in case you need to make a fire at night, a loaf of bread, some nuts and dry fruit to keep your energy up and lastly a pen, a good map and a torch are all smart things to fill your jacket pockets.

As the name implies, dumpster diving (known as “skip diving” in many parts of the world) is the process of scavenging trash - not always dumpsters, however - for useful or valuable items. Believe it or not, dump­ster diving is quickly approaching mainstream status even in affluent countries. Whether you’re looking to furnish your home, fill your fridge, or cash in on other people’s trash, this brief guide will teach you the basic ins and outs of dumpster diving.

Remember, one person’s trash is another person’s treasure!

Tips and Tactics for Dumpster Diving

•Check out community Web sites for more free things. The free section of craigslist is a good resource if you live in a metropolitan area, and many communities have freecycle groups where people give away their unwanted treasures to keep them out of landfills. If you participate in one of these communities, remember to give as well as receive.

•If you live near a university when graduation rolls around the seniors have to move out fast and leave lots of stuff behind. Some janitors are nice and allow you to paw through the bags of stuff they leave outside the dorms to be picked up.

•Dive with a friend; it’s a lot more fun with company and safer, too. A friend can help you out if you become injured, can help defuse confrontations and keep look out.

•Empty your pockets and take off any jewelry before entering a dumpster so you don’t lose it in the trash for another diver to find.

•If confronted by a business owner, resident, rubbish hauler, or police officer, be polite and explain what you are doing. Many times people will assume that you are illegally dumping trash and will not bother you if they understand that you are not. In any case, always be friendly and respectful, and try to understand the other person’s point of view: business own­ers who tell you to leave the premises, for example, may be concerned about their legal liability if you were to be injured.

•While diving, keep a few cardboard boxes around outside the dumpster in a little pile. If confronted, you can say you were searching for some boxes to help with a move. The employees are more likely to give you a better reaction than if you tell them you were looking for products they sell.

•Let it be known in your neighborhood that you find homes for discarded items. Many people can’t be bothered to call a charity shop, but are all too happy to ask a neighbor to haul things away for them.

•When scavenging for food, look for freshly filled dumpsters rather than full dumpsters.

•Before vaulting into a dumpster, hit the side of the dumpster a few times to warn its inhabitants (i.e., possums, raccoons, rats, squirrels) of your impending scavenging.

•A white butcher smock makes you look like a grocery store employee and you are seldom bothered by other dumpster divers or law enforcement when they see that smock.

•A cheap set of long-handled fireplace log tongs work won­derfully for retrieving items if you don’t want to climb in. A miner’s cap with the light is better than a flashlight because it allows you to work two handed.

•If you don’t like to get very dirty, you can try magazine dumpster diving. The magazine recycling boxes are usually very clean, and sometimes you can find some very good read­ing material in them if you don’t want to buy a subscription to a magazine.

•If you are worried about safety, you can park your car in front of the dumpster to make it impossible to have it dumped. In some cases this is illegal, but if you are diving on a day close to trash pickup day, it could save your life.

Food Not Bombs is one of the fastest growing revolutionary movements and is gaining momentum throughout the world. There are hundreds of autonomous chapters sharing free vegetarian food with hungry people and protesting war and poverty. Food Not Bombs is not a charity. This energetic grassroots movement is active throughout the Americas, Europe, Africa, the Middle East, Asia and Australia. Food Not Bombs is organizing for peace and an end to the occupations of Iraq, Afghanistan and Palestine. For nearly 30 years the movement has worked to end hunger and has supported actions to stop the globalization of the economy, restrictions to the movements of people, end exploitation and the destruction of the earth.

The first group was formed in Cambridge, Massachusetts in 1980 by anti-nuclear activists. Food Not Bombs is an all-volunteer organization dedicated to nonviolent social change. Food Not Bombs has no formal leaders and strives to include everyone in its decision making process. Each group recovers food that would otherwise be thrown out and makes fresh hot vegan and vegetarian meals that are served in outside in public spaces to anyone without restriction. Each independent group also serves free meals at protests and other events. The San Francisco chapter has been arrested over 1,000 times in government’s effort to silence its protest against the city’s anti- homeless policies. Amnesty International states it will adopt those Food Not Bombs volunteers that are convicted as “Prisoners of Conscience” and will work for their unconditional release. Even though we are dedicated to nonviolence Food Not Bombs activists in the United States have been under investigation by the FBI Joint Terrorism Task Force, Pentagon and other intelligence agencies. A number of Food Not Bombs volunteers have been arrested on terrorism charges.

Food Not Bombs is often the first to provide food and supplies to the survivors of disasters. During the first three days after the 1989 Earthquake, Food Not Bombs was the only organization in San Francisco providing hot meals to the survivors. Food Not Bombs was also the first to provide hot meals to the rescue workers responding to September 11th World Trade Center attacks. Food Not Bombs volunteers were among the first to provide food and help to the survivors of the Asian Tsunami and Hurricane Katrina. Our volunteers organized a national collection program and delivered bus and truckloads of food and supplies to the gulf region. We were one of the only organizations sharing daily meals in New Orleans after Katrina. Food Not Bombs is now preparing for the economic crash organizing Food Not Lawns community gardens, housing the homeless with Homes Not Jails, organizing additional meals each week and starting new Food Not Bombs chapters.

Food Not Bombs works in coalition with groups like Earth First!, The Leonard Peltier Defense Committee, Anarchist Black Cross, the IWW, Homes Not Jails, Anti Racist Action, In Defense of Animals, the Free Radio Movement and other organizations on the cutting edge of positive social change and resistance to the new global austerity program. Food Not Bombs provided the meals for the protesters at Camp Casey outside Bush’s ranch in Texas. Volunteers also helped organize and shared meals at the 1999 WTO protests in Seattle and provide logistical support for many other anti-globalization actions. Kiev Food Not Bombs fed the tent city protest during the Orange Revolution and groups in Slovokia started animal rescue shelters in 24 cities. We are also sharing meals at protests responding to the global economic crisis. Many groups organize Really Really Free Markets giving away all kinds of items for free, planting Food Not Lawns community gardens and housing people with the Homes Not Jails project. Many chapters also organize Bikes Not Bombs programs collecting and repairing used bicycles to provide to people in low-income communities. We also provided meals to protesters at the Democratic and Republican National Conventions in the United States. We will provide meals to the families of striking workers and help organize actions encouraging alternatives to the failure of capitalism.

Food Not Bombs activists are currently making plans to celebrate our 30th year of cooking for peace. Along with organizing the celebration each local chapter collects and distributes food every week and there are several other projects that support the Food Not Bombs movement. One collective called “A Food Not Bombs Menu.” helps people find or start local chapters. They also maintain the website www.foodnotbombs.net, organize tours and support Food Not Bombs gatherings. They also provide books, t-shirts and other materials to promote the principles of Food Not Bombs. Another collective Food Not Bombs Publishing in Takoma Park, Maryland publishes books like “On Conflict and Consensus” which has been an important guide for group democracy. We hope you will join us in taking direct action towards creating a world free from domination, coercion and violence. Food is a right, not a privilege.

By Adam Szymanski

At this very moment, there are multiple wars being fought across the globe in the name of first-world imperialism. The wars being waged on Iraq and Afghanistan are prime examples of the New World Order’s insistence on death and destruction. Likewise, first world nations blindly led by the American Oligopoly are waging wars much closer to home - inside of our very minds and bodies – where death and destruction also ensue.

The government has a vested economic interest in certain food industries which are at odds with human health and environmental sustainability. A quick scan of the Canadian food guide, which most doctors cynically recommend as a healthy lifestyle to the general population, suggests economic links between the government and the powerful meat and dairy industries. Could you imagine an Alberta politician condemning the beef industry, or an Ontario politician condemning the dairy industry? Absolutely not. It would be political suicide owing to the pressure that these massive industries are able to exert over the politicians, and the masses through the power of the media.

The assumption that animal products are necessary for human health is plain false, despite the messages found in the mainstream corporate media. Never before in human history has such a mass amount of people relied so heavily on animals for their main food source. The quintessential North American diet is derived mainly from animal products; meat, eggs, and dairy, and is consumed to an excessive degree unparalleled by any other diet in the world. No wonder North American obesity rates are out of control.

So how is it that the government and the animal product industries are able to get away with naturalizing such abhorrent dietary decisions? Through highly developed advertising strategies that create and reinforce cultural norms dependent on dominant representations of gender. In order for this type of food advertising to be successful, it must make people believe that they are fulfilling a gender role through what they choose to eat.

Prime examples include the name of popular beef product the “Manwich,” and the infamous “Manthem” introduced by Burger King in 2006. The jingle’s lyrics “I’m a man, I will eat this meat until my innie turns into an outie” sum up how eating dead cows in a bout of gluttony is equated with fulfilling the food industry’s expectations for men

.

While these examples are more overt, the same advertising strategies are used more subtly in marketing to women as well, since women are the prototypical household grocery shoppers. Descriptors such as “low fat,” “lean,” “grain fed,” “rich in calcium,” and “contains Omega 3” attempt to sell animal products as health food. While it may be true that a yogurt is low fat, the label fails to explain that it comes from a cow which was force fed antibiotics. The creators of these misleading labels are well aware of our consumer culture’s fixation on rapid weight loss and the skinny ideal perpetuated by seemingly every fashion, health, and lifestyle magazine directed at women. These food corporations capitalize on this female fixation, all while fueling unhealthy lifestyles with their unhealthy foods. Obesity rates continue to soar in North America.

Evidently, opting for the chicken salad and “light” egg and milk-based dressing is not the answer to the obesity epidemic, despite what numerous “health experts” will suggest in return for your money.

Not only does our society’s meat consumption pose health risks, it profits capitalists who exploit the environment and low-wage workers who must toil in the abhorrent conditions of a slaughterhouse.

Veganism provides opportunities for community gardening, sustainable living and DIY food production. Given government lies, secrecy, and corruption, we must take action to provide for ourselves and become self-reliant in our food production. Only veganism makes this independence possible.

The government backed meat and dairy industries are waging a war against progressive vegan voices. The battle is over your mind so that they can profit off of what you put into your body - at the expense of your health, the environment and the alienated labour of factory workers. The decision is yours and your health is what’s at stake.

Reject the murder and enslavement of animals for the financial

benefit of big business. Choose veganism.