rabble.ca - G8/G20

Activist Communiqué: "Call For Court Support, Fuck Remorse, Smash The State, I will always be a revolutionary!"

Krystalline Kraus — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 18:48:20 -0500

Below is a portion of a glob written by Julian Ichim.

Fwd text:

"Call For Court Support Fuck Remorse, Smash The State I will always be a revolutionary!!!!
Feb 8th 8:30 am Front Steps of Old City Hall
Rally in Defense of our politics and for Political status!!!
Bring Flags, banners and symbols of our politics!!!

On Feb. 8th, once again I am called to bow my head in fear and approuch the court of her Majesty cowering at the power and might of the state with fear in my heart. Once again I refuse to do this and hold high my bright red banner of revolution and call on people to join me.

Smash the State Report: Bill C-10, CETA and decolonizing Occupy

dan kellar — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 19:29:16 -0500

The show starts with a Smash the State report looking into a slightly confused report about a neo-Nazi attack in Vancouver (check http://van-noii.resist.ca for a statement and more accurate report), the cost of #omnibus imprisonment bill #c10, an action against the Canada-EU trade deal (CETA), John Baird's hypocrisy and more. We are also saddened to announce the passing of long-term street warrior Ricky Lavaille, a Vancouver #DTES resident. And Erik is Out!

G20 report: Continued crackdown on dissent, demanding accountability

dan kellar — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 01:30:25 -0500

Our G20 report has updates from the May 2010 police slaying of Junior Manon and his family's quest for justice, the call for police accountability, the crackdown on another anti-police blogger, spying on librarians, and a call to "action" from the KW Spot collective (https://julianichim.wordpress.com/2012/01/21/call-and-email-the-attorney-general-demanding-political-status-and-an-end-to-political-persecution/).

Smash the State Report with Julian Ichim

dan kellar — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 19:29:08 -0500

Friday January 20, 2012 -- An extended Smash the State Report with guest co-host Julian Ichim, who reports on the SOApaRtycommittee New Year's Eve prison-noise demos, the continued growth of the security state across the Commonwealth, and London, Ontario's battle with corporate villain Caterpillar. We also read an update from the Toronto Stop the Cuts protests against the austerity of Rob Ford, and we report on the death of freestyle skier Sarah Burke.

The full 2.5 hour radio show is available at:

http://peaceculture.org/drupal/radio/aw@lradio-2012-01-20.mp3

Conspiracy of the Crowns: A G20 fallout update with Julian Ichim

dan kellar — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 19:38:40 -0500

G20 report

Julian Ichim joins us in studio as we read a piece from Shailagh Keaney giving us an update on the continuing fallout from anti-capitalist organizing from the Dominion (http://www.dominionpaper.ca/articles/4318), give an update on the Adam Nobody case and discuss police impunity. We finish with a discussion about the conspiracy of the Crowns, and the ongoing criminalization of organizing in Canada.

Bored but not broken: Liberation

Mandy Hiscocks — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 11:43:42 -0500

The other day I opened a book appropriately entitled Liberation. On the very first page, written in pencil, was this:

Why I am here?
How long am I going to be here?
How do I get out of Prison?
Who put me here?
Who do I speak to, what do I say?
Who will help me?
What do I need?
What type of help do I need?
Where do I go? for help.
When do I get out?
When does someone tell me what I am supposed to do?

Global corporate power and the decay of Canada

M.Gregus — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 06:36:18 -0500

What happened to Canada? It used to be the country we would flee to if life in the United States became unpalatable. No nuclear weapons. No huge military-industrial complex. Universal health care. Funding for the arts. A good record on the environment.

Criminal charges against Montrealer who filmed undercover police at Montreal G20 protest to be heard in court

M.Gregus — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 09:32:07 -0500

Montreal -- The trial of a Montreal man who was arrested after taking photos of undercover police will be heard in court later this week. Scott Weinstein was arrested on July 1, 2010, during a Montreal march denouncing mass arrests at the Toronto G20 protests. Julius Grey will appear for the defence in what promises to be an important political trial.

Weinstein left the march to take a video of a group of undercover police officers, who were described as "scary-looking" by another videographer. The undercover officers had earlier attempted to enter the march, only to be repulsed by watchful activists concerned about potential violence by police provocateurs. When Weinstein approached the undercovers, they were walking as a group in a street parallel to the march.

Bored but not broken: Ten days down, 314 to go

Mandy Hiscocks — Sun, 29 Jan 2012 18:16:44 -0500

It's Sunday, Jan. 22 and this is my 10th day. So far things are going well, there haven't been any problems and I have no regrets about my decision to do this time.

Since I got here I've been taking it easy and learning the lay of the land -- which hasn't been very complicated since I'm in Unit 2F, the same one I was in while waiting for bail. Not much has changed since the summer of 2010 -- just some little things, like now we get compostable "ecotainer" cups instead of styrofoam, and instead of real soy milk there's this horrible "Smart Milk" non-dairy milk replacement powder. Kosher, vegan and gross.

Activist Communique: Arresting issues from the G20 summit protests remain unsolved

Krystalline Kraus — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 16:28:47 -0500

A 174-page report by the Office of the Independent Police Review Director (OIPRD) released on Friday January 20, 2012, recommended that five Toronto police officers should face criminal charges for using unnecessary force against activist Adam Nobody.

The recommendations from OIPRD were based on interviews with a dozen police witnesses, the five officers involved, five civilian witnesses and Adam Nobody himself.

Activist Communique: The legendary Mandy Hiscocks

Krystalline Kraus — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 12:08:50 -0500

News of Hiscock's court sentence of 16 months for G20-related conspiracy charges spread through Twitter with the hashtag #TheLegendaryMandyHiscocks.

Her new blog -- "bored but not broken" -- which will chronical her life "on the inside" is being hosted on rabble.ca. In her introduction, she writes: "my name is mandy hiscocks, and i expect to spend most of 2012 in jail for my participation in organizing the protests against the G20 leaders summit in toronto in the summer of 2010. this blog is for me to communicate with you while i'm locked up. ideally, this will take some of the pressure off of my friends and family. i'll also share useful information about jail and the criminal 'justice' system, as well as stories from the inside."

Mandy Hiscocks: Welcome to the next year of my life

Mandy Hiscocks — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 14:22:59 -0500

Today is Monday, Jan. 16 and this is my first written dispatch from jail. It feels strange to write with paper and these little golf-sized pencils we get (no pens allowed) -- it feels a bit like high school all over again. It also feels weird to write about what I've been doing the last few days, it's so mundane that I wonder how it can possibly be interesting. But one of the main ideas behind these dispatches is to share this experience, which is what it is, so here goes!

Lots has happened since I got to unit 2F last Friday, but for today I want to tell you what happened before I got here.

G20 Report: Mandyland's vicious truth about the racist and colonial injustice system

dan kellar — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 18:27:44 -0500

On November 28, 2011, three members of the Southern Ontario Anarchist Resistance were forced to jail for their participation in organizing resistance to the 2010 G20 Summit in Toronto.

And on Friday, January 13, 2012, Mandy Hiscocks was sentenced to 15 months in jail for her participation in organizing for a better world. Today's AW@L radio presents Mandy's legendary statement to the courts along with statements of love for Mandy and Co., as we start off with "the Average Joe vs. the CEO," presented by the Centre for Policy Alternatives.

Hear the statement from the 17 charged -- Regarding our Plea Deal -- https://conspiretoresist.wordpress.com/about-2/

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MIjEv6VtV0w

Mandy Hiscocks: My statement to the court

Mandy Hiscocks — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 00:42:21 -0500

On Friday, Jan. 13 Mandy was sentenced to 16 months in prison. During the sentencing hearing, she made this statement to the court, which was interrupted eight times, by both the judge and the prosecutor. In the end, they spoke more during the time allotted to Mandy than Mandy spoke herself. A version which includes all of those comments will be posted separately.

It's not every day you get the opportunity to speak directly to a judge, and I have a lot to say. This is my first opportunity to speak since this entire process started last June so I hope you'll hear me out until the end.

I plan to take about 10 to 15 minutes at most.

I don't know you as a person or as a judge, so my comments are directed at the legal system in general.

Whose Streets? Reliving the G20 from a safe distance

alex — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 23:07:10 -0500

Call me an anarchist, but I think everyone should get an equal voice. And that's one of the first things that endeared me to Whose Streets?

I love that editors Tom Malleson and David Washsmuth made the democratic and risky decision to include a broad spectrum of opinions in their book, to the point where two different authors and opinions on the subject have tiny battles of wit between the pages.

Necessary -- though not necessarily pretty -- topics and opinions (for example, the spectre of Diversity of Tactics and the role of unions) are raised in Whose Streets?, but without the hot anger they elicited during the G20 Summit itself.

Regarding his G20 resistance jailing: Adam's statement to the court

dan kellar — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 23:36:42 -0500

On November 28, 2011, three members of the southern Ontario anarchist resistance were forced to jail for their participation in organizing resistance to the 2010 G20 Summit in Toronto. Here is a representation of Adam Lewis's statement to the court before and a message from Erik Lankin as he went in: conspiretoresist.wordpress.com/individual-statements/adam-lewis-statement-to-the-court/

For the statement from Peter Hopperton see: conspiretoresist.wordpress.com/individual-statements/peter-hoppertons-statement-to-the-court/

Smash the State Report: November in review

dan kellar — Sun, 25 Dec 2011 18:37:29 -0500

The Smash the State Report takes the @mediacoop's November in review, adds some comments, and focuses on anti-Olympic actions and the use of Western spy-tech against the freedom fighters of Syria, Bahrain, Iran and more.

Our friends are in jail

hussan — Wed, 21 Dec 2011 00:07:04 -0500

Today, Leah, went to jail. For the last 18 months, I could not write to her, talk to her, argue with her. We could not hug, or hold hands. There was no texting, no phone calls, no emails. The one person that I talked to a few times a day every day, was someone I was not allowed to make eye contact with if I ever saw her on the street.

And then suddenly a few weeks ago my bail conditions were gone. Our friendship, which was considered a threat for so long was now legal.

Former alleged G20 'conspirator' charged for refusing to obey a court order

johnbon — Tue, 13 Dec 2011 17:53:12 -0500

Listen to the complete audio from the press conference held on the steps of Old City Hall prior to Julian Ichim's court appearance at 11am.

From the Toronto Community Mobilization Network (TCMN) press release:

Three days after starting to blog about his experience at the G20 and with undercover infiltration, activist Julian Ichim was ordered by the OPP to take down a blog post about his personal relationship with one of the undercover cops who infiltrated community organizations across the country in the lead up to the 2010 Olympics and the G20.

G20 'conspiracy' arrestees: 'We emerge united and in solidarity'

rabble staff — Tue, 22 Nov 2011 14:24:48 -0500

Group statement by 17 people charged with conspiracy during the G20 regarding a plea deal.

November 22, 2011 -- As people across Turtle Island look towards the global wave of protests against the austerity agenda, the memory of the 2010 G20 protests in Toronto looms large as both inspiration and caution.

We are 17 people accused by the state of planning to disrupt the leaders' summit -- the prosecutors call us the G20 Main Conspiracy Group.

rabble turns 10! Our story: Frontline coverage of the G20 protests

rabble staff — Tue, 01 Nov 2011 22:56:02 -0400

On April 18, 2011, rabble celebrated its 10th anniversary. Highlighting 10 important moments of rabble's history over the course of our 10th year, current and former people involved with rabble have been asked to share their personal highlights from their time with rabble. This monthly rabble history series elaborates on some of the most common highlights submitted.

We also know that many of you have your own ideas of what the highlights of rabble's 10 years have been, and we want to know what you think. If you have thoughts on how you'd like to see us grow, please share as well in the comments section below.

A number is never just a number: Agitating for change

rabble staff — Mon, 31 Oct 2011 19:25:47 -0400

• Early-1900s

The women's suffragette movement exercised quiet persistence, securing Canadian women's right to vote in federal elections in 1918. Provinces and territories eventually followed suit. (Source)

• 1919

The Winnipeg General Strike paralyzed the city for days. Citizens joined the unions in a mass strike in a bid for better working conditions. Collective bargaining was recognized as a right 20 years later. (Source)

• 1935

Occupy comes to Hamilton

ProgressiveVoices — Thu, 27 Oct 2011 09:54:51 -0400

On this week's episode of Progressive Voices, we speak with the Media Committee of Occupy Hamilton on the origins of the Occupy movement, the importance of the protests, what Occupy Hamilton hopes to achieve, and what is in store for the future.

Charlie Angus gets first G8 response

Anita Krajnc — Tue, 25 Oct 2011 16:42:37 -0400

Timmins-James Bay MP Charlie Angus finally gets Tony Clement to answer questions on the G8 spending scandal

Occupy Wall Street: Lessons from anti-globalization protests

M.Gregus — Fri, 07 Oct 2011 09:25:58 -0400

I can't help but compare the Occupy Wall Street protests to the movements that sprang up against corporate globalization at the end of the 1990s, most visibly at the World Trade Organization summit in Seattle. Like today's protests, those demonstrations were also marked by innovative coalitions among students, trade unions and environmentalists.

Here are the things I think today's activists are doing better than we did back then. We chose summits as our targets: the WTO, the International Monetary Fund, the G-8. Summits are transient by nature, and that made us transient too. We'd appear, grab world headlines, then disappear. After the 9/11 attacks, it was easy to sweep us away completely, at least in North America.