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London Ontario-Boom Town

London Ontario - Boom Town. This mockumentary gently exposes the conservative values of a mid-size city with humour, performance and archival footage. London, Ontario, Boom Town parodies the nuclear family, suburban lifestyle and conventional attitudes of our fellow citizens. Created by Iconoclast Media.

The World is in an uproar in a new way.  Yes, things have been much worse many times before, but we are facing a new situation.

1] Even in London some people are thinking about perhaps organising some sort of Democratic response to alienation, oppression and exploitation.  Even in London anti-democratic, authoritarian clique-ists are putting on a democratic mask.

2] Globalised “free market” capitalism is facing multiple crises.  The financial crises appears to be under control, however finance actually is based upon the economy and the economy is beginning to tank.  Yes, beginning.  The economic downturn did not become serious until the 4th quarter of 2008.  This quarter expect to see lay-offs increase dramatically.  By this time next year people will be talking depression not downturn.  Of course the economy will never recover.  Get used to it.  Finally, a fiscal crisis is just starting.  Forty four states in the U.S. are now running deficits.  Although the federal government in the U.S. can seemingly run up massive debts the States have trouble selling debt.  They are up against the wall.  New York’s fiscal year begins April 1st.  Their revenue is falling rapidly and their costs are rising.  California is in even worse shape.  Their fiscal year begins July 1st.

The U.K., Ireland, Spain and a few other countries are in worse shape than the U.S.  As social and economic conditions of working people deteriorate political views become more radical.

3] The situation in Gaza (7th January) has become intolerable.  Governments throughout the Middle East and Europe, no matter how much they dislike Hamas and the PFLP are pressuring Israel to stop.  Egypt, Turkey and France are crying for a truce.  Every day that goes by increases the hatred that those peoples have for their governments.  Israel is hastening the overthrow of several anti-popular Arab regimes.  The destruction of Gaza will be very expensive, politically, for Israel.  The longer this incident goes on for, the more isolated Israel will be and the more vulnerable the anti-popular governments in the region will become.

4] On January 1st transit police in California shot a black man in the back and killed him.  This was done a point blank range.  He was lying on the ground face down at the time.  A video was made of the incident by a witness.  It is very clear.  There is no doubt.  There was no riot, unlike in Athens when a similar event occurred.

On the other hand on the night of Dec 31st over 1,100 cars were burnt in France.  What we see here is a radicalisation of the youth in Europe.  This is a point which should be followed closely.  A small shift in popular voting patterns in many Western European states will result in the new governments distancing themselves from U.S. hegemonic projects.

5] Revolutionary forces are continuing to grow in strength and influence both in Latin America and in Asia.  Two revolutionary models are making headway.  In Asia, the model of protected people’s war has been with us for decades and now appears to be assuming greater importance as the economies of the region deteriorate.  In both Asia and Latin America a model more closely aligned with the urban working class and its allies is also becoming more prominent.  Once again, as the promise of a better future under globalised  neo-liberalism proves to be a mirage: people are turning to Marxism-Leninism in both its urban and rural flavours.

Summing up:

Hopefully, throughout 2009 these trends will be reported on in Iconoclast.  From time to time, with any luck, this project will not merely move forward, but will help folks to understand the social-economic forces driving today’s political-economy.

Listen to London Indymedia Radio for radical coverage and analysis.

There are interviews, roundtables, event coverage and more!

http://chrwradio.com/talk/indymedia/

Protesting the SPP (Montebello)

Because there are only a few ways to attempt to influence government such as writing letters, becoming a politician or a lobbyist, everyday people band together to make politicians who ignore them, know their grief. In Canada not many people bother to protest (compared to Millions in countries like Mexico). Protests and those involved are seen as irritating and irrational, and are often portrayed by the media as violent.
Politicians and others are protected by the police who are often violent. Quebec police admitted to placing cops in protest-wear to incite a riot at Montobello, QC in August of 2007 (google/youtbe it). Officials were expecting thousands of protestors and prepared the small town with hundreds of armed and armored cops, barricades, cages and designated protest areas. Why? Stephen Harper was meeting with President Bush and the Mexican Prime Minister Felipe Calderón to plan the already-in-progress anti-national unification of these 3 countries (this is called the Security and Prosperity Partnership, but that’s another story: a scary one).
Protestors do provoke police and politicians by yelling and staring them down, occasionally vandalizing. Cops however ruthlessly beat protestors, man or woman, old or young, whether they are defending themselves or not. Crowds are pushed back and controlled with tear gas, sound machines and other high-tech equipment that violate human rights.
Protestor Dudley George was shot by police because they claim that they thought he was carrying a gun (it was a stick) during a legal protest. They also shot his dog. The ways that First Nations peoples are treated in protests and in other situations is disgusting.
Why do we “need” so much force put upon our peoples? The Canadian government must not be doing its job if the people are unhappy and feel left out of their own politics.
The next time you hear about or see a protest happening try to find out about it, participate or honk your horn to show solidarity and support. It’s cathartic, creative and really a lot of fun too. More than that it’s important to show politicians, corporations and each other that we care and we are willing to do something to ensure that our people, animals, land and resources not be exploited by our leaders.

A note about HEROES:

This is a culture that constantly labels police and the military as Heroes. I find the fact that we treat those legally licensed to kill above all other citizens this way to be disturbing: ARE HEROES SUPPOSED TO BE VIOLENT?
My Heroes are: teachers, nurses, farmers, wait staff, writers, spiritual leaders, construction workers, activists and protestors to name a few. These people put out an effort to ensure that we are well as a community and as individuals.
Note that they are not licensed to carry firearms or kill.

Most, actually almost ALL of the products we use, buy and eat daily were brought to you buy a company trying to save big bucks by exploiting whatever resource they can get away with. We must be clever to avoid these products in order to be healthy and aware of how our lifestyle is keeping poor countries poor.

Our North American privileged livelihood and abundance is based on corporations EXPLOITING 2 things: The Earth environment and its living beings: animals and the poorest people on the planet. These workers have no choice but to work, die or loose their land and resources by being forced to submit to the will of a higher power. That higher power is the corporation working hand in hand with governments (even our own).

Please note a few ways to help move out of the lifestyle that corporations have created for you:

Education:
Take an interest in something new or something related to your current passions in life; look into topics such as sustainable housing and energy, political activism, protest, war resisters, Native issues, military weapons (see General Dynamics here in London). Visit the Empowerment Centre in London On (empowermentinfoshop.com) to learn about environmental, political and social activism in this area. We need you!

Consumer choices:
There are many places to buy organic foods in our communities. We must stop listening to what Febreeze and Coke are telling us.

Learn hard SKILLS:
Get off the computer already! Who here knows how to grow her own food? Frame a house? There is much benefit and satisfaction to be gained from using your hands and disengaging with anything technical.

Learn about Your CONTEXT:
Look around and consider your position racially, economically, socially, geographically: how are you connected or estranged from others and from your very back yard?

Please email your responses to this article to iconoclastzine@gmail.com and we will publish excerpts in our upcoming issues. Thanks for your contribution!