Affirm-Action, the title and theme of Ethnoculture’s fifth annual event, puts the spotlight on the proactive contributions and experiences of LGBTQ ethnic minorities, queers of colour, and Two-Spirited people in Montreal and beyond. This weekend-long event includes: a keynote lecture; panel discussions; social, political, cultural and fine arts workshops; films; a community fair; performances; prizes; and parties. All aspects of the event (except for the raffle) are free to the public, although donations would be greatly appreciated. This is your chance to attend and participate in something special! Don’t miss out!

Affirm-Action, le titre et la thème du 5e évènement annuel d’Ethnoculture, vise à montrer des contributions et des expériences activistes des LGBTQA minorités ethniques et raciales et des bispirituel(le)s à et au-delà de Montréal. Cet évènement d’un weekend inclut: un orateur principale; des panels; quelques ateliers sociales, politiques, culturels, et artistiques; des films; des tables communautaires; des performances; des prix; et des soirées. Tous les aspects de cet évènement (sauf la tombola) sont gratuits au public, bien que on vous sera très reconnaissant pour des dons. Voici votre chance à vous assister et à participer dans un évènement extraordinaire! Ne le manquez pas!
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PRELIMINARY SCHEDULE/HORAIRE PRELIMINAIRE

02/10/2009
Opening Night Dance Party/Soirée d’ouverture
1. Music/Musique: hip hop, Bollywood, bhangra, latin, and more from/et plus de DJ Shaunna & DJ Sikh Knowledge
2. Performance: Salsa Sophia
3. Place/Lieu: Club Tools (1592 Ste. Catherine E)
4. Time/Heure: 10 p.m. – 3 a.m.

03/10/2009

1. Art Exhibit/Exposition d’art
2. Community Fair/Tables communautaires
3. Performances
4. Workshops/Ateliers: Intercultural, interracial, and interreligious relationships/Les relations interculturels, interraciales, et interreligieux; Discovering, Defining and Living our Sexual Diversities in our cultural communities/Découvrir, définir, et vivre nos diversités sexuelles dans nos communautés culturelles; Kink; Salsa dance/danse Salsa
5. Refugee roundtable/Table de ronde concernant les refugiés
6. Story Circle/Cercle d’histoire: Experiences of LGBTQs from ethnocultural and aboriginal communities living in Montreal with focus on how cultural attitudes in families affect relationships/Les expériences des LGBTQAs qui viennent des communautés ethnoculturelles et autochtone à Montréal, en particulier comment les attitudes culturels affectent les relations familiales.
7. Films
8. Caucusing space/Espace pour les caucus: An opportunity for LGBTQs to meet people from their own ethnocultural communities and possibly create new organizations/Une opportunité pour les LGBTQAs à rencontrer des personnes de leurs propres communautés ethnoculturelles et possiblement à créer des organismes neufs.

04/10/2009
1. Art Exhibit (continued)/Exposition d’art (continué)
2. Panels: LGBTQ ethnic identity among youth/LGBTQA identité ethnique parmi la jeunesse; Living with HIV in ethnocultural and aboriginal communities/Vivre avec VIH dans les communautés ethnoculturelles et autochtone; Ethnic trans sex workers/Les travailleurs et travailleuses sexuel(le)s qui sont transsexuel(le)s ou transgenres
3. Workshops/ateliers: Create your own zine/Créer votre propre zine; Media technology and activism/La technologie mediatique et l’activisme
4. Keynote speaker/Orateur principale: Louis-Georges Tin, Founder of International Day Against Homophobia and the Representative Council of Black Associations in France/Fondateur de la Journée internationale contre l’homophobie et Le conseil representatif des Associations Noires en France
5. Films

04/10/2009
Closing Night Party/Soirée de Clôture
1. Music/Musique: Techno, afro-beat, and more by/et plus de DJ Kani
2. Performance: Classical Indian Dance by Lance Desker
3. Book Launch/Lancement du livre: The Dictionary of Homophobia (English version)/Le dictionnaire de l’homophobie (version anglaise)
4. Raffle/Tombola
Place/Lieu: Gotha Salon Bar (1641 rue Amherst)
Time/Heure: 7 p.m. – 10 p.m.

PLEASE SPREAD THE WORD AND INVITE PEOPLE TO THIS EVENT!

It’s been a while since the last post but we’ve been very busy with our Undergraduate Journal project- KANATA. It came to bear the fruits of our labour and the book was published! This interdisciplinary journal is a compilation of articles on all sorts of subjects relating native and non-native relations in Canada.

For an online copy of Volume 1 of KANATA: McGill Undergraduate Journal on Indigenous Peoples of North America go to http://www.mcgill.ca/misc/undergraduate/studentlife/projects/

http://www.no2010.com/:

Why We Resist
the 2010 Winter Olympics

The Olympics are not about the human spirit & have little to do with athletic excellence; they are a multi-billion dollar industry backed by powerful elites, real estate, construction, hotel, tourism and television corporations, working hand in hand with their partners in crime: government officials & members of the International Olympic Committee (IOC).

10 Reasons to Resist 2010
The modern Olympics have a long history of racism, from its early founding members (i.e., Pierre de Coubertin, a French Baron who advocated sports as a means of strengthening colonialism) to recent IOC presidents. The 1936 Berlin Olympics empowered Hitler’s Nazi regime. Both the 1988 Seoul and 2008 Beijing Summer Games helped legitimize authoritarian regimes in Asia. The 1968 Mexico City Olympics (where over 300 student protesters were massacred by soldiers, days before the Olympics began) also helped legitimize state terror. IOC President Avery Brundage, an infamous US racist and Nazi sympathizer, didn’t even acknowledge the massacre. But when two Black US athletes raised their fists in a Black power salute on the medal podium, he had them immediately stripped of their medals and ejected from the Games! Another well-known fascist IOC president was Juan Antonio Samaranch (IOC president from 1980-2001), a former government official in Franco’s fascist regime in Spain.

1. Colonialism & Fascism

2. No Olympics on Stolen Land
BC remains largely unceded and non-surrendered Indigenous territories. According to Canadian law, BC has neither the legal nor moral right to exist, let alone claim land and govern over Native peoples. Despite this, and a fraudulent treaty process now underway, the government continues to sell, lease and ‘develop’ Native land for the benefit of corporations, including mining, logging, oil & gas, and ski resorts. Meanwhile, Indigenous peoples suffer the highest rates of poverty, unemployment, imprisonment, police violence, disease, suicides , etc.

3. Ecological Destruction
Despite claims to be the “greenest Olympics” ever, and PR statements about ‘sustainability’, the 2010 Olympics will be among the most environmentally destructive in history, with tens of thousands of trees cut down & mountainsides blasted for Olympic venues in the Callaghan Valley (near Whistler) & the Sea-to-Sky Highway expansion. In the summer of 2007, a record number of black bears were hit on the Sea-to-Sky Highway, with at least 11 dying (attributed to loss of habitat). Massive amounts of concrete used in construction have also caused millions of Salmon to die in the Fraser River, where tons of gravel are being mined to make concrete.

4. Homelessness
Since winning the 2010 Winter Games in 2003, Vancouver has lost over 850 units of low-income housing; during the same period, homelessness has increased from 1,000 to over 2,500. It is estimated by 2010, the number of homeless may be as high as 6,000. Since the 1980s, Olympic Games have caused the displacement of over 2 million people (Fair Play for Housing Rights report, 2007). In Seoul 1988, some 750,000 poor were displaced, in Atlanta 1996, over 30,000, and for Beijing in 2008, an estimated 1.5 million have been displaced. Yet still today Olympic officials talk about ‘sustainability’ and ‘Olympic legacies’!

5. Criminalization of the Poor
To ‘clean out’ the poor and undesirables, Olympic host cities routinely begin a campaign to criminalize the poor. In Vancouver, the city has launched Project Civil City and new by-laws to criminalize begging for money, sleeping outdoors, etc. It has also included hundreds of thousands of dollars for increased private security (i.e., the Downtown Ambassadors). New garbage canisters on streets make it more difficult for the poor to gather recyclables, and new benches make it impossible to lay down. These measures fit with government plans to remove poor downtown residents to mental institutions, “detox centers” on former military bases, and the ‘fly-back’ scheme by police to return persons wanted on warrants in other provinces. This is nothing less than a process of social cleansing!

6. Impact on Women
Events such as the Olympics draw hundreds of thousands of spectators and cause large increases in prostitution and trafficking of women. In Vancouver, over 68 women are missing and/or murdered. Many were Native, and many were reportedly involved in the sex trade. In 2007, the trial of William Pickton occurred for six of these murders, and he is to be tried for an additional 20 more. In northern BC, over 30 young women, mostly Native, are missing and/or murdered along Highway 16. The 2010 Olympics and its invasion of tourists and corporations will only increase this violence against women.

7. 2010 Police State
Some 12,500 police, military and security personnel are to be deployed for 2010, including Emergency Response Teams, riot cops, helicopters, armoured vehicles, etc. The RCMP plan on erecting 40 km of crowd-control fencing along with CCTV video surveillance cameras. Special security zones will be established to control entry near Olympic venues. For 3 weeks, Vancouver will be an occupied Police State! And once the Olympics are over, there is no guarantee many of these security measures will not remain (i.e., CCTV).
Repression also involves attacks on anti-Olympic groups & individuals, including arrests of protesters, raids of offices, surveillance, media smear campaigns, cuts to funding programs, etc., all in an effort to undermine anti-2010 resistance. This repression has already been used against anti-poverty & housing groups, environmentalists and Natives, in Vancouver.

8. Public Debt
VANOC and government officials claim the 2010 Games will cost some $2 billion. However, this amount doesn’t include the Sea-to-Sky Highway expansion, the Canada Line Skytrain to the airport, the Vancouver Convention Center, or the lower mainland Gateway Project. Including these costs, since they were necessary to win the bid and had to be completed by 2010, makes the true cost of the Games some $6 billion, which must be paid for through public debt, money that could’ve been spent on social services, housing, drug treatment, healthcare, etc.

9. Olympic Corruption
The modern Olympics are well known for their corruption, including both top IOC officials involved in bribery scandals (i.e. Salt Lake City 2002) or athletes found to be using performance-enhancing drugs (such as steroids). Yet the IOC still claims the youth need an inspiration and a “model” of good sportsmanship! Despite published reports of bribery scandals involving IOC members and host cities (i.e., The New Lords of the Rings, by Andrew Jennings), the Olympics continue to be seen as an honorable & noble enterprise, thanks to the corporate media.

10. Corporate Invasion
Government’s and business use the Olympics as a means to attract corporate investment. In BC, the Liberal government has ‘streamlined’ application processes, cut taxes, and offered other incentives to increase certain industries such as mining, oil & gas drilling, and ski resorts. This includes large increases in transport systems, including new ports, bridges, expanded highways & rail-lines. This is all part of their Investment to 2010 Strategy. The results have been dramatic, record-breaking increases in these industries, resulting in greater environmental destruction and more corporate power & influence over our daily lives.

Many of the main corporate sponsors of the Olympics are themselves responsible for massive ecological destruction and human rights violations, including McDonalds, Coca-Cola, Petro-Canada, TransCanada, Dow, Teck Cominco, etc., while others are major arms manufacturers (General Electric & General Motors).

RESIST 2010

“What causes opponents to come of their own accord is the prospect of gain. What discourages opponents from coming is the prospect of harm.”
Sun Tzu, The Art of War

Progressive Coalition

Check out the above link to see a video on a progressive coalition in Canada!

From Barrier Lake Solidarity: http://barrierelakesolidarity.blogspot.com/

**************************************
WEDNESDAY, NOV 19, 2008, NOON
In front of Jean Charest’s office
corner of McGill College & Sherbrooke
************************************
* bring banners, signs, placards, noise-makers…

Join Barriere Lake Solidarity in a demonstration to call on Premier Charest to STOP using riot police, tear gas and pain compliance and START honouring signed agreements with Barriere Lake Algonquins.

In early October, as a method of last resort, families from the Algonquin community of Barriere Lake blockaded highway 117 in northern Quebec, demanding that the Federal and Quebec governments uphold the agreements they signed with the community, and stop imposing illegitimate leadership on the community in order to avoid their responsibilities.

Norman Matchewan, community youth spokesperson says, “Both the federal and provincial governments have treated us with contempt, refusing to respect the agreements they’ve signed with us. We’ve exhausted all our political options, but they’ve ignored or dismissed our community, leaving us with no choice but to peacefully blockade the highway to force the government to deal fairly with us.”

Instead of sending in negotiators, honouring signed agreements and sending an observer for their leadership re-selection, dozens of riot cops overran the families who were peacefully demonstrating. Riot cops surrounded the area, and launched tear gas canisters, one of which hit a disabled community member in the chest. Nine people, including an elder, a pregnant woman, and two minors, were arrested. Eight demonstrators remained locked down to concrete-filled barrels, but police used “pain compliance”–roughly, torture–to force them to let go, and be arrested.

There have been many outcries against the actions taken by Charest’s government. Angus Toulouse, Ontario Regional Chief, in a letter to Charest on October 10th wrote, “the leadership of the First Nations of Ontario are very concerned regarding the approach taken by the SQ against the ABL…Resorting to aggressive police action is clearly regrettable and further does not address the root causes of this situation.” Several European human rights organizations recently supported Barriere Lake’s demands and condemned police actions taken against the community.

Barriere Lake’s List of Demands:

1. That the Government of Canada agree to respect the outcome of a new leadership re-selection process, with outside observers, recognize the resulting Customary Chief and Council, and cease all interference in the internal governance of Barriere Lake.

2. That the Government of Canada agree to the immediate incorporation of an Algonquin language and culture program into the primary school curriculum.

3. That the Government of Canada honour signed agreements with Barriere Lake, including the Trilateral, the Memorandum of Mutual Intent, and the Special Provisions, all of which it has illegally terminated.

4. That the Government of Canada revoke Third Party Management, which was imposed unjustly on Barriere Lake.

5. That the Province of Quebec honour signed agreements with Barriere Lake, including the 1991 Trilateral and 1998 Bilateral agreements, and adopt for implementation the Lincoln-Ciaccia joint recommendations, including $1.5 million in resource-revenue sharing.

6. That the Government of Canada and the Province of Quebec initiate a judicial inquiry into the Quebec Regional Office of the Department of Indian Affairs’ treatment of Barriere Lake and other First Nations who may request to be included.

7. That the Government of Quebec, in consultation with First Nations, conduct a review of the recommendations of the Ontario Ipperwash Commission for guidance towards improving Quebec-First Nation relations and the SQ’s procedures during policing of First Nation communities.

Athena

Radicallyangrybunnies is a webblog dedicated to the enhancement of public knowledge on political issues and academical inquiries. This webblog is run by McGill University students working to contribute to positive changes in Canadian society as well as internationally. Along with the contributions of fellow students in various disciplines, this webblog will serve as a portal to the minds of the individuals running the site and their intellectual inquiries as well as a forum for discussion on news and issues.