aug 2010
WAR on the ENVIRONMENT
NEWS
Grassy Narrows Saga Enters New Era
A rural ghetto that just won’t give up By Drew Penner
Standing in his kitchen, Tom Payash, an aboriginal elder from Grassy Narrows First Nation, strains to look out the broken window at a powerful river sparking in the afternoon light. This beautiful life-supporting waterway has borne much pain. “I got more mercury than anybody else,” he said, referring to the estimated 20,000 lbs. of the heavy metal that leaked into the English River and Winnipeg River system nearly half a century ago from a paper mill upstream, poisoning his people. “The eyesight – that’s what bothers me. It’s real bad. Everybody’s got it bad.” Sometimes as he hobbles along with his wooden cane he’ll overhear comments about his poor coordination, a symptom of Minamata disease, caused by mercury exposure. “They say, ‘Oh that old man. You must drink a lot,’” he said, laughing. “I don’t even drink. No alcohol, nothin’.” As kinship networks were destroyed during the relocation of the community in 1963 and by the subsequent industrial calamity, Grassy Narrows descended into chaos. During the 1970s deaths due to alcohol or drug-induced violence soared to 75 per cent of all deaths. More recently, Grassy’s successful fight to stop clear-cut logging in their traditional territory made the community a poster child for the environmental movement. Now, with new research indicating the vast majority of Grassy and nearby Whitedog residents exhibit varying levels of symptoms of Minamata disease, the Assembly of First Nations (AFN) has thrown their weight behind Grassy. Having empowered chief Shawn Atleo, to lobby on behalf of the band, the AFN is gearing up to press for a public inquiry into mercury contamination, an end to logging in the band’s traditional territory, and permanent monitoring of the long-term effects of mercury poisoning on residents. “It’s going to be very difficult for any politician to ignore them now that they have the support of national chiefs’ assembly,” said Earthroots’ Grassy Narrows campaigner David Sone. “The question does remain, ‘How come mercury levels haven’t gone down as much as expected in sediment?’ It’s important to investigate.” The Grassy Narrows saga has entered a new era. Back in the 1970s executives of Dryden Chemicals and Reed Paper Limited, who were ultimately found responsible for the industrial leaching, tried to shirk liability by blaming high levels of mercury discovered in the wildlife downstream on naturally occurring mercury. Once again the significance of natural mercury has become a central discussion point, as international researchers and environmental groups point to industrial operations as a potential source of mercury disruption. Concerns are particularly resonant now as exploratory gold, granite and lithium mining operations continue on traditional Grassy territory, according to Sone. Payash says it’s something he’s tried to warn about. “Mercury comes from under earth,” he said. “Yeah, it’s not only from the paper mills or anything. It’s from under earth.” After extensive testing, Health Canada studies showed levels of mercury in the English River system had dropped to safe levels, and fish were declared edible once again. Now the First Nation fears natural mercury is increasingly responsible for the specter of death that hangs over the reserve. “That’s why everybody’s getting mercury and all that,” Payash said. “Even little kids, when they’re inside they’re mommy’s stomach. When they come out, they’re dead.” Just don’t waste your time trying to convince local loggers. “I’ve never heard of that,” said Mark Wilcott, laughing. Today Wilcott hauls gravel through “downtown” Grassy, a collection of largely unfinished, burnt out and broken down houses, complete with junked cars scattered here and there that looks much like a poor neighbourhood in Detroit than an average Canadian subdivision. Only a few years ago he was working as a contractor for forest industry giant Weyerhaeuser, at a time when Grassy members halted logging trucks, and the Rainforest Action Network led a market campaign against the company to discourage North American buyers from using wood the traditional territory. “It caused a lot of trouble for many contractors,” Wilcott said. “Big time.” Like many others, his family-owned business suffered when the mills in the region finally pulled the plug on wood from the Whiskey Jack forest. In a sad irony, countless logs were cut and left to rot across Grassy territory. Decomposing wood is one of the greatest sources of natural mercury, according to experts.
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“The mills didn’t want the wood and the price of wood was going down down,” he laughs. “There comes a time when you can’t operate anymore.” But he looks back with fond memories at his logging days. “I would love to go back cutting,” he said. “I’ve been doing it for 25 years. I prefer cutting wood than drivin’ truck.” Sone, who was on the front lines at Grassy with the Rainforest Action Network at the time, says Weyerhaeuser remains the number one threat to Grassy right now. “These are Canada’s ghettos – reserves,” said Grassy Narrows councilor Randy Fobister, adding he feels like the concerns of his First Nation has not been heeded. “If we don’t make ourselves heard, we won’t get anywhere.” Government health experts have often been criticized for not taking early indications of mercury in the English River system seriously. Grassy officials are terrified they’ll face something similar now. “They’re just playing the same game pretty much, trying to downplay it, just like they did originally,” said councilor Rudy Turtle. “It basically has to do with economics. If they declare our rivers are poisoned then no tourists or developers will come around our area.” Health Canada said it stands behind a 2004 study by Dr. Laurie Chan of McGill University it commissioned that indicated mercury levels found in local residents and in fish “are significantly lower” than historical data. It continues to fund the testing of hair samples from residents. Japanese Minamata disease expert Dr. Masazumi Harada identified 79 per cent of people tested in 2002 and 2004 in Grassy Narrows and Wabasseemoong as displaying varying levels of symptoms of Minamata disease, though the Mercury Disability Board found only 38 per cent of these people could be compensated. Grassy Narrows officials are frustrated with the board. Fobister said he took his eight-year-old son to Winnipeg to be tested, having noticed the boy’s poor coordination and serious rashes. But when the letter from the disability board came back it said his son only scored two of a six-point minimum required for compensation. “I think that whole thing should be scrapped,” he said. “Maybe one day he wants to be a football player, but he can’t because of his coordination.” Grassy officials say they are excited the AFN has taken up their concerns. “One of the complications is that there’s no perfect test for this,” explains disability board chair Mararet Wanlin, noting that the current diagnostic method is based on performance of traditional tasks, like tying on a fishhook or agility with a chainsaw. “You and I can eat the same amount of fish and have different symptoms at different times.” As the Mercury Disability Board researches new methods of testing, an inter-ministerial group comprised of all relevant ministries from across the Ontario government is reviewing Harada’s report. “The Ontario government is trying to forge a new relationship with Grassy Narrows First Nation,” said Greg Flood, a spokesperson for the provincial Ministry of Aboriginal Affairs. “Ontario officials have been in discussions with the Chief and other representatives of Grassy Narrows on how to move forward on its many socio-economic conditions and land use issues.” Grassy Narrows remains extremely cautious about developing any new economic partnerships and remains primarily focused on securing rights to their territory. The band has been considering business proposals and is working to developing markets for wild rice. “If we just keep saying, ‘Oh it’s too late, we can’t go anywhere, we’re a ghetto,” said Fobister, “if we keep thinking like that we’ll end up like that.” Perhaps the hopes and dreams of Grassy Narrows are best summed up by Taryn Maracle, a community member, imagining what she would do with $50 million, for a fun entry in a local newsletter. “I WOULD GIVE MONEY TO BUY NEW HOUSES FOR THE PEOPLE THAT LIVE IN OLD HOUSES. I’D GIVE MONEY TO THE SCHOOL SO THEY COULD HAVE MORE TEACHERS, AND MORE GRADUATES.” The spirit of optimism bubbles like magma under a hardened crust. They want the right to a good life. Heartbreak is by no means behind them, but buoyed by support from the AFN and prominent social justice organizations like Amnesty International and the Council of Canadians, Grassy Narrows is taking tentative steps forward, maintaining a fierce sense of activism that just won’t quit. PHOTOS: DREW PENNER
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Michigan’s Oil Mess Oil spill latest example of Enbridge’s environmental record By James Burrows, News Editor
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Features and Opinions Editor A Michigan pipeline owned by Canadian oil and gas company Enbridge Inc., recently recognized as one of the most sustainable companies in the world, has leaked as much as one million gallons or well over 19,000 barrels of oil into the Kalamazoo river in Michigan. The company has been accused of ignoring repeated warnings that its system for monitoring pipeline corrosion was inadequate. This has left many wondering if the disaster could have been avoided. At least two letters were sent from the federal Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration that questioned the “discontinuation of corrosion monitoring systems,” along the section of pipeline, known as 6b, that began leaking July 26. Enbridge and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) have also been heavily criticized by Michigan Governor Jennifer Granholm for their responses. Granholm has stated that the companies response was nowhere near the response that she was told would occur by the Environmental Protection Agency, stating that “from my perspective, the response has been anemic” and “completely inadequate.” Granholm has also called in the coast guard to assist with the spill. Enbridge has made several lists of the most sustainable and ‘green’ companies in Canada and the world based on the working environment it promotes and several carbon offset initiatives, such as planting a tree for
every one uprooted. Enbridge was recognized as a Corporate Knight and ranked 16 on the list of the 100 most sustainable companies in the world by Corporate Knights, the magazine for clean capitalism. Other companies on the list include Coca Cola, Proctor and Gamble, Royal Bank of Canada, Suncorp Energy and Starbucks. The list appears to ignore the history of oil leaks that Enbridge pipelines have experienced, including one in January of this year that leaked 6,000 barrels in North Dakota. Several significant spills also occurred in 2002, 2003, 2005 and 2007. Following a 2007 fire that killed two workers Enbridge was fined for allowing pressure in the pipe to exceed allowable limits. In 2009 Enbridge agreed to pay $1.1 million to the state of Wisconsin for violating state environmental laws during pipeline construction that occurred in 2007 and 2008. At the time state Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen stated that “While some of the individual violations were likely of limited direct impact, the incidents of violation were numerous and widespread, and resulted in impacts to the streams and wetlands throughout the various watersheds.” At the time Enbridge refused to take full responsibility and blamed poor weather, claiming underground pipeline construction is inherently “messy.” As of August 8, 44 people have reported to emergency rooms in Michigan since the spill
began with concerns about exposure to fumes from the oil according to local reports. The EPA is investigating whether Enbridge was negligent. On August 7 Enbridge announced that the spill appears to have been caused by a tear less than five feet long. Enbridge has rushed to replace broken pipeline’s in the past following leaks. In Wisconsin in 2007 one local organizer commented “Obviously, it does not make us feel very comfortable to trust Enbridge to do the right thing…I think they are in a hurry to move forward with the project. It makes you wonder if these spills are a part of their M.O.” Initial reports suggested that a quick fix was in order for Michigan’s pipeline but the EPA has assured the media that government must approve a restart plan before oil can flow again. The pipeline runs from Ontario to Indiana and is part of a network of pipelines that run from Canada into the United States. The 6b line that leaked into the Kalamazoo carries 190,000 barrels a day. Enbridge is Canada’s largest pipeline operator and works heavily in Alberta’s oil sands. According to Enbridge, the section of oil pipeline that is devastating the Kalamazoo River is part of the Lakehead pipeline system, one of the largest pipelines in the world, stretching from Edmonton to Montreal. The system can deliver two million barrels of oil per day to refineries in the Midwestern United States and eastern Canada.
James Clark
Layout Editor Andrea Yeomans
Culture Editor amanda connon-unda
Photo Editor Dan Rios
Cover Photo Contributors john bell james burrows ELIZABETH CHIANG AMANDA CONNON-UNDA DIANA DUONG KAITLIN FOWLIE graeme z. johnson Meaghan kelly nora loreto haseena manek dave markland mark naser drew penner tyler roach jes sachse SEMHAR WOLDEYESUS
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Ryerson Free Press August 2010 3
Survivors of Huronia Regional Centre Fight Back The class-action lawsuit that could break ground in Canada By Jes Sachse Under the gaze of a packed and teary-eyed courtroom, a class-action lawsuit against the Ontario government was certified last month by Mr. Justice Maurice Cullity. The suit alleges systemic abuse occurred at the Huronia Regional Centre, which at one time was the largest residential institution for the intellectually disabled in Ontario. It is the first time courts have allowed a class-action lawsuit against a government-operated residential institution run for those diagnosed as developmentally disabled. If it goes to trial, it will be a first in Canada. The lawsuit against Huronia Regional Centre, located in Orillia, Ontario, was filed in March of 2009 - the month when the facility was finally forced to close its doors. The reports of abuse, neglect and even deaths at this and other similar institutions have been surfacing since the 50s and 60s. Several gathered in the lobby of Osgoode Hall with the plaintiffs before the hearing, many of whom were disability rights activists from across southern Ontario. Among them was Marilyn and Jim Dolmage - litigation guardians to Marie Slark and Patricia Seth, both former residents of Huronia and lead plaintiffs representing the case. Also in attendance was Peter Park, founder of People First, proudly donning the group’s t-shirt, proclaiming ‘Equality for All Citizens.’ Neither formal facilities nor public policies existed in Ontario for populations diagnosed ‘mentally ill’ before 1791. Often incarcerated, it was not until 1841 that the first temporary asylum was created from the Toronto Jail, and only after increased pleas to provincial magistrates for more appropriate facilities. In 1876, Huronia Regional Centre in Orillia was established as a residence and treatment facility for intellec-
tually disabled children and adults, under the name Orillia Asylum for Idiots. In their conception, these facilities (spread throughout North America) aimed to provide safe living environments for those diagnosed as mentally ill. But in practice and under the weight of expansions in the size of asylums, they became sites of overcrowded, untherapeutic neglect and isolation. It wasn’t until the movement to deinstitutionalize care for people with disabilities living in this and many regional centres that documents of abuse began to surface in public media and government reports. Despite many calls for reform and the closing of Huronia Regional Centre, few changes were actually made to the institutional system, said Kirk Baert, representative to the plaintiffs. It was not until 2004 that the Ontario government announced plans to shut down the centre. Much time was spent during the hearing discussing methods of contacting former residents of HRC. The province, still yet to file a statement of defence, will tender the names of former residents between 1945 and the closure in 2009, closing to plaintiffs counsel within 120 days. Crown lawyer Robert Ratcliffe announced to the court that, “in the case of family members, it may take up to six months to trace that information back.” As Ontario family law courts were only introduced in 1978, a difficult legal precedent is conjured by the marriage of the culpability of individual families and unique guardianship. Some are frustrated that much of the dialogue found online in response to recent media coverage (Globe and Mail), seeks to speak on behalf of the ‘innocent taxpayer of tomorrow,’ victim to the $1-billion suit the government could
potentially soon shoulder, for the neglect of past governments. However, for Doug Tebow, Patricia Seth and Marie Slark, it’s not about a big pay off. In fact, Seth has the future in heart and in mind as well: “I’m not even looking for money; I just want an apology. I don’t want these places built again. Never again.” Seth, a resident for 16 years of her life, has disturbing stories of her own experience to add to countless accounts of abuse. Humiliating punishments, infantilizing treatment: being paraded naked for disobedience and washroom stalls without doors. Outlined in her affidavit and to the press, following the final hearing, litigating guardian and former employee Marilyn Dolmage (a social worker at Huronia from 1968-73) speaks fervently about the lack of human rights retained in the care of the centre: “They had all of their citizenship rights stripped away. They had no control over their lives. They were lined up to eat, they were lined up to shower.” She goes on to describe horrific punishments from residents being sprayed with a water hose after eating, kept in caged cots, having all of their teeth removed for ‘safety reasons’, being held upside down with their heads under running water for not eating, to being forced to clean the floor with their own toothbrushes. Other affidavits filed by and on behalf of former residents, and testimonies provided at the hearing also describe routine beatings and the use of psychotropic drugs to manage behaviour. Huronia Regional Centre was one of twenty such institutions in Ontario. In December of 2009, the province of B.C. negotiated a proposed settlement in a class action brought by former residents of Woodlands institution.
11 arrested during anti-poverty protest Treatment of OCAP protesters alarming By Graeme Z. Johnson Eleven protesters from the Ontario Coalition Against Poverty (OCAP) were arrested July 21 at the St. Mary Street offices of the Ontario Liberal party in downtown Toronto. The group was part of a larger protest attempting to draw attention to the provincial government’s cuts to social assistance funding, in particular the recent removal of the Special Diet benefit that helped provide many of Ontario’s poorest individuals with healthy and nutritious meals. The delegation entered the Liberal Party Offices to deliver an invoice “demanding full re-payment of benefits taken from people living on social assistance.” The activists also read a prepared speech from the second-floor window of the building. The cuts to social assistance were initiated by the Mike Harris administration in 1995, which slashed payments by 22.6 per cent and froze rates for a further eight years. According to anti-poverty activists, in order to bring social assistance payments to the level they were before the cuts, welfare must be increased by at least 55 per cent. “You have people on Ontario Works or on ODSP (Ontario Disability Support Program) having to make the choice of paying rent or buying their food,” states Kelly O’Sullivan, president of CUPE 4308, “That shouldn’t be happening in this country.” According to police, the eleven activists were arrested when they refused to vacate the Liberal Party offices. However, a statement released by OCAP declares that protesters “were given no opportunity to leave the Liberal office and, once they had been handcuffed, were hit not only with Provincial Offences tickets, but with the criminal charges of mischief and forcible entry.” In response to the arrests, OCAP organized a rally the following day to show support for the detained activists and protest the actions of police and officials in this matter. “These are dangerous times...the McGuinty government is trying to silence us,” anti-poverty activist Gaetan Heroux told reporters, “The charges those people are facing are politically motivated because OCAP is a very vocal organization and what is going to happen is we’ll face in the next three to five years, at the provincial and federal levels major, major cuts.” Though only about 50 of the group’s supporters were able to squeeze into the courtroom, others lined the hallway of the downtown court. The activists are charged with mischief to interfere with property and forcible entry. All nine have been released on bail with the conditions that they remain at least 50 metres from the Liberal Party headquarters, not communicate with each other, and not participate in ‘unlawful’
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protest action. The defendants’ lawyer, Mike Leitold of the Law Union of Ontario Movement Defence Committee agreed with OCAP organizers that there is a definite political motive behind the detentions. “People have a right to assemble,” states Leitold, arguing that laying criminal charges against those voicing political opposition “points towards a pattern of criminalizing dissent.” Leitold’s concerns echo those of OCAP organizer Liisa Schofield, which were expressed in a press release the day of the arrests. “Nobody should be surprised when the police are once again called in to crush public outcry against these kinds of policies,” Schofield stated, referring to the widespread detention of peaceful protestors during the G20 summit last month, “The G20 leaders met in Toronto to call for austerity measures just like the cuts to welfare in Ontario.” Of further concern for some protesters was the treatment of OCAP members with disabilities. Anne Abbott, writer of the speech made from second-floor window called police officer’s conduct “horrendous.” “I went to the demonstration to demand the special diet not be cut and that welfare and ODSP rates be raised 55 per cent for those of us on social assistance,” says Abbott, “Instead, I was arrested and the police called me ‘a pawn’ because I am disabled. I am not a pawn. Disabled people fight against governments that make and keeps us poor everyday, and we will fight until we win enough money to eat healthy food and pay our rents.” Although Abbott, who uses a motorized wheelchair, was not taken into custody with the other protesters, police refused to release her assistant. “When I said I need my attendant they told me, ‘No problem, we can just put you in a hospital’,” Abbott told the Toronto Star after the incident, “I’m not sick.” Abbott also suggested that police should be trained in order to interact with people with disabilities in a more informed and respectful manner. OCAP has called the actions of the police and courts “intimidation” and vowed that “the McGuinty Liberals are going to face the anger of poor communities and they won’t have enough cops and prosecutors to hide behind. We will not go without decent food and proper housing to pay for their crisis.”
Labour’s struggle with Vale over after 12 months Mining giant, federal government criticized for ignoring legal obligations By Meaghan Kelly After almost a year on the picket line, more than 3,000 United Steelworkers (USW) Local 6200 and 6500 production and maintenance employees are preparing to go back to work after a deal was signed to end the strike that began July 13 2009. The labour battle could have been aptly deemed The Steelworkers vs. The World, as they faced a government at home unwilling to defend Canadian communities, and the international mining company Vale, who had bought out the Canadian-owned mining company Inco in 2006 in a highly contested swath of takeovers. The production and maintenance employees, their families, and their surrounding communities are now unwinding after a stressful and tedious labour battle that failed to resolve the tensions between the union and the mining giant, even with an end to negotiations. This strike garnered international attention as it turned into the longest strike in the history of the Sudbury operations and one of the longest in Canadian history. It served as an uneasy testing ground for the future of labour movements in a rapidly shifting economic environment. USW International President Leo Gerard claimed that he had “never, ever dealt with any company that was as nasty, uncaring and as greedy as Vale Inco.” After the settlement, Vale CEO Roger Agnelli blamed the lengthiness and difficulty of the strike on the Steelworkers’ “history of strikes,” saying that they were “not willing to accept change, and these changes were necessary,” in an interview Vale’s Carajás Iron Mine, 2009. with the Sudbury Star. company. That tone changed last year when he deemed the former Inco mines “expensive” The tense and embittered strike came to an end with USW members voting with 75 per and “unsustainable.” Vale then began to issue lay-offs, despite, as labour websites such as Fair cent approval for the new deal. Vale had wanted to scrap the nickel bonus, and to change the deal now have protested, Vale being a highly profitable company that made twice as much structure of pensions. There are now signing bonuses for returning and retiring employees, a pay raise of 90 cents per hour, and retirement incentives. The deal includes an increase to the profit in two years as Inco made in 10. The recession certainly played a role in the creation of the labour struggles. The value nickel bonus, capped at 25 per cent of the employees’ wages. of nickle dropped so much last year that Vale decided to stall productions, despite a legal The profit-sharing nickel bonus was one of the most contentious issues, as it can greatly obligation to not cut jobs for three years after the purchase in order to provide a “net benefit” increase employees’ wages when nickel production is high, and the USW wanted to ensure to Canada, under the Investment Canada Act. However, Vale International President Tito that its workers still had access to this incentive. As the USW bargaining committee wrote in Martins warned the Steelworkers that operations in Canada would not be treated differently a press release, “Vale is picking a fight not because they are in financial trouble but because than their other operations, claiming that workers in Canada are not “an exception.” they want to use this opportunity to bring Canadian workers to the lowest common denomiVale also had the support of the Federal Conservatives throughout this shift from proud nator.” Vale’s profit last year alone was $13.2B, and despite a recession. to indignant. The Minister of Industry Tony Clement told off reporters by claiming that SudIn the midst and the aftermath of a global recession, many in the labour movement have bury would have been a “valley of death” were it not for Vale. Many in the labour movement commented that it has been the employees, and not the employers, who have been expected point out, however, that this ignores the other potential buyers (and mergers) of the thento make sacrifices to keep internationally-operating, multi-billion dollar corporations stay afloat- even when they have no real danger of sinking. When Vale purchased Inco, Agnelli was successful Inco and leaves Vale’s lack of adherence to its own promises and legal obligations totally unchecked. beaming about the quality of the Sudbury operations and his pride in purchasing a Canadian
Beautification and the Beast Victoria attempts to displace poor populations from downtown campsites By Tyler Roach When many hear of the Downtown Eastside they know exactly what people are speaking of. Vancouver’s homelessness problems have become world renowned despite the incredible level of hiding, gentrifying and ignoring that went on in the past four years for the 2010 Olympics. But Victoria BC’s Pandora Avenue or the 900 block are much less known. Pandora Avenue in Victoria has, however, become the newest area of controversy in the Canada’s most westerly provincial capital. Victoria’s street population has won an important Supreme Court battle. Canada’s highest court recently ruled that the city of Victoria had no right to enforce anti-camping by-laws on public property if there are not adequate shelters available. Victoria is the site of a homelessness/ impoverished population that is exceptionally high in comparison to the approximately 80,000 people that reside in more traditional housing within the city. The anti-camping fight began as City of Victoria enforced their bylaws by kicking
the homeless out of parks, bus shelters, and stealing their tents and other shelter building equipment. But the street population and their advocates organized and took the city to court. Despite threats by the city of Victoria to fight the Supreme Court ruling the campers have been allowed to set up non-permanent structures but only between very specific hours. Since the Supreme Court decision, the 900 block of Pandora Avenue has become the mainstay of camping in Victoria. Although the court ruling was a serious set back for the city, anti-poverty activists believe that they have taken a page from their larger sister city Vancouver and are taking on the tactic “If you can’t beat’ um, gentrify them,” citing Victoria’s new quarter million dollar Harris Green Beautification project. This project is strikingly similar to Vancouver’s tactics in other formerly run down areas, such as Gas Town and Yale Town. Although the city denies that this has to do with the street population camping out, the entire beautification project is centered pri-
marily on the 900 block of Pandora Avenue that sits alongside the Social Assistance office and Our Place, a community run center for the street population. “What is entailed here is essentially a re-landscaping of the entire block,” notes one member of the Victoria Coalition Against Poverty. “Victoria is attempting to pave over of the grass, and replace benches with new ‘single-seat’ benches that discourage and make sleeping impossible. Essentially making the block unwelcoming and uninhabitable to those who have made Pandora their home.” A coalition of different community members and organizations have come together to demand a halt to and a reexamination of the entire project and the creation of a plan that involves taking into account the needs and wants of the actual people living and using the services available. Community organizers have spent time handing out free food and coffee and believe that important and meaningful conversations with the people living on Pandora
are a more suitable alternative to rampant gentrification. One organizer stated that while talking to many who call the Pandora Avenue their home, he “found that, aside from not appreciating being told that they are in need of ‘beautifying,’ many have confided in us that they believe that there are many options available that do not involve simply creating an inhospitable space and forcing the community to move along to a more hidden location.” Due to delays, the beautification plan is on hold yet again. Organizers hope this will give enough time for community members and organizations in Victoria that stand in solidarity with the 900 block population to convince the city to re-create a plan that takes a dramatic new direction. A plan that works with campers to create a beautiful space that meets the needs of the population who use the services available and a plan that will involve permanent housing initiatives that will give people the option not to camp out.
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OPINION Once more around the Bloc Tactics, democracy and mass politics Canadian Dimension editorial Our democratic freedoms hang by a narrow thread, and a police state is always near at hand – that is one of the lessons of the G20 debacle that unfolded in Toronto on June 26 and 27. The federal government spent a billion dollars on security and deployed 19,500 police on the streets of downtown Toronto. Activist groups were infiltrated, and organizers were targeted for preemptive arrest. Despite the overwhelming police presence, a small number of smashed windows and burning police cars shown on constant loop by TV news were enough to persuade much of the population that police violence and the arbitrary arrest of more than 1,000 people were justified. The responsibility for this unprecedented repression lies squarely with governments and police forces. All detainees must be released and trumped-up charges against activist organizers must be dropped. Those who made the decisions to suspend civil liberties must be discovered and held to account. But they did not act without a pretext. That pretext was provided by a small number of people who employed “black bloc” tactics, masking up and smashing and burning things before disappearing into crowds of peaceful protesters. Some might argue that the tactics were a success, provoking awareness of the violent authoritarianism inherent in the capitalist state. Such claims reveal the privileged perspective of those who make them. Who, exactly, was not aware of the state’s violent authoritarianism? Young Black men in the
suburbs? Indigenous people? Immigrants? The poor? Those who were shocked at the police violence come largely from the privileged classes. What has been mobilized in response is not a challenge to the system, but a defense of liberal democracy. Movements building a base for more fundamental critiques, like the Indigenous justice or environmental justice movements, have now been overshadowed by the movement to defend basic democratic freedoms. Headlines are about protest and policing, not about the sweeping cuts to social programs that will come out of the G20’s austerity agenda. This brings us to the first problem with black bloc tactics: they do not work. There is no example of the successful use of “the propaganda of the deed” in liberal democracies. These tactics legitimate authoritarianism, which is fought by defending liberal rights. Black bloc, and similar tactics, disorganize and divide social movements and discredit radical ideas. They mire activists in legal process and court support. They serve the interests of the state, which is why liberal democracies have continually employed infiltrators and agents provocateurs to promote them within movements. Black bloc tactics are also deeply undemocratic. Socialists and anarchists alike believe that those who are affected by a decision should have a say in making it. Black bloc tactics have a profound impact on the movements and place an additional burden of repression on those who are already most
oppressed. Yet the decision to use these tactics is made by a small number of selfstyled radicals without consent from the vast majority who will be affected by them. The unaccountable use of these tactics is just as authoritarian and colonial as the system they are supposed to fight. Far from practicing accountability, those who favour these tactics have campaigned to impose on the movements the doctrine of “diversity of tactics,” which enjoins that no one shall be publicly held to account for the tactics they choose. This doctrine abandons mass organizing, collective strategy, and democracy for a kind of ultra-vanguardism in which those who use the most extreme tactics get to impose the consequences of their choice on the majority without consultation. Underpinning “diversity of tactics” is not an alternative vision of democratic collectivity, but a supremely entitled liberal individualism. That has no place in our movements. Like police repression, the black bloc and “diversity of tactics” require nourishment to thrive. During the G20, the labour movement and NGOs provided this nourishment. Early on in the organizing, their representatives weakly acceded to the demands of “radicals” on diversity of tactics, which gave the black bloc the space they needed. The unions and NGOs were also incapable of providing ideological leadership or focus in the events they organized. The major mobilization of June 26, which saw tens of thousands on the street, was themed People First and its slogan was “We deserve better.” It had no clear demands
or strategic goals, and no vision that inspired. Like the black bloc actions, the labour march, which brought out 20,000 people, was pro forma. While vibrant, unlike the black bloc actions, it lacked any tone of militancy. Organizers caved to police demands not to approach the security fence surrounding the G20 conference centre. With tens of thousands of people on the streets, labour leaders chose a symbolic demonstration of their weakness, turning away from the fence and circling back to their starting point. This was the context that gave power to calls for militant breakaway actions to go to the fence. Some have used the opportunity of the G20 fallout to argue that protests don’t make a difference. Subsequent mobilizations defending civil rights have certainly put the lie to that claim. Certainly, weak protests and weak leadership don’t make a difference. While the black bloc eschews mass organization and accountability, organized labour is abdicating any leadership role in political struggle. That will only change by building mass organizations inside and outside the unions that can exert pressure on them and provide ideological leadership. Only when we practice political leadership, accountability to the base, and an orientation to mass politics can our movements for radical change be strong. This article was originally published by Canadian Dimension and can be found here: http://canadiandimension.com/articles/3211/
Stockwell Day, crime shopper Dawg’s Blawg Doris’ cheery crime-shoppers philosophy on prisons seems to be: If you build them, they will come. According to Shockwell Doris and JusticeMin Rob Nicholson yesterday, we’re going to need more prisons to deal with the “alarming” increase in “unreported crime” (http://bit.ly/bDOhPC) ... that was last reported six years ago. Well, you can see their point, can’t you? If more people aren’t reporting crimes, then unreported crimes must be going up and we’re going to need somewhere to put all them unreported criminals! And why aren’t people reporting those crimes? Via The Jurist: “(A Statistics Canada) analyst said the No. 1 reason given by individuals for not calling the police about a crime is that they believe it was not serious enough. Only two per cent said they feared retribution, and one per cent said they felt the police may be biased. “Statistics Canada reported in their last General Social Survey (GSS) that an estimated 34 per cent of Canadians who are victims of crime still aren’t reporting the crime to police, including: - an estimated 88 per cent of sexual assaults; - an estimated 69 per cent of household thefts, and - and (sic) estimated 67 per cent of personal property thefts” (http://bit.ly/d9hhjr) Kady (http://bit.ly/a2Gpwh) advises us that Doris is basing his claims about unreported crime on
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the 2004 International Crime Victimizations Survey (http://bit.ly/bQN5cm). Three years ago, I had a look at that survey (http://bit.ly/aBhvlA). Here are some of the more buckety questions in it: Under “Spousal Violence”: “Puts you down or calls you names to make you feel bad” Under “Stalking”: “Sent you unwanted email messages” Under “Property Damage”: “During the last 12 months did anyone deliberately damage or destroy any property belonging to you or anyone in your household, including a window or a fence?” Puts you down? Unwanted emails? Broken fences? Holy crap! Build more prisons! Meanwhile back in the real world, here’s the reported 2002 StatsCan crime stats: http://bit.ly/9291Ky from the year Doris is still bleating about. Yup, going down since 1991. And if I may be so rude as to bring up something a bit more current, like for instance this year’s report: crime still going down (http://bit. ly/9M7Ssj). Deal with it, Doris. This article originally appeared on Dawg’s Blawg on August 4, 2010: http://drdawgsblawg.blogspot.com. Check out Dawg’s Blawg for more progressive commentary: http://drdawgsblawg.blogspot.com. ILLUSTRATION: ALISON
Palestine and Israel: Two Sides of the Same Coin Why Israel’s future depends on freedom for Palestine By Mark Naser You can call heads or tails, but if the penny drops into the sewer, no one wins. What happens to one side of the coin happens to the other. Either Israel is unaware of this or its simply hoping no one will notice. Israel’s deadly raid on the Gaza flotilla in late May is a shining example of the latter, with the pro-Israeli contingent claiming that the activists struck first, and human rights supporters decrying the unnecessary deaths of nine of aid activists. There is little to no doubt that Israeli commandos were excessive in their actions: the proper and professional use of force would not have resulted in such an asymmetrical body count. Not surprisingly, footage of the Israeli “counter” attack was withheld from the media, which instead received videos that explicitly detailed the initial aggression against the commandos as they invaded. Forget the fact that Israel invaded a ship on international waters, or that this is symptomatic of the bigger problem that Israel wants to control how much - and under whose credit - Gazans prosper. Rather than assigning culpability, it’s important to address questions concerning the long-term. For one, how much longer can Israel go on violating international laws and still be taken seriously? The pro-Israel media are really good at two of the three Rs - recycling and reusing. In particular, they like to circulate the myth that those who criticize Israel want to see its destruction. Quite the straw man, isn’t it? I am half-Palestinian myself, and I don’t want Israel destroyed. I want a single state where people aren’t relegated to second-class treatment for being born with non-Jewish blood, one where human rights are afforded equally to all citizens. I want Israel to renounce the inherently racist tenets of Zionism (as many Jewish people have done so already), and come to see that theocratic rule and democracy are incompatible. I want Israel to carry on existing and become the democracy it claims to be, and I’d say the overwhelming majority of Palestinians (and their supporters) have the same desire. At this point, with most people wanting peace, only the Israeli government seems to want to feed the divide. And yet, if the blockade on Gaza is any indication, Israel is unwilling to relent. Never mind that South Africa and Turkey recalled their ambassadors and that countless world leaders denounced the flotilla raid. As far as Israel is concerned, it was a necessary measure. Israel seems insistent that they don’t act by anyone’s standards but their own. No criticism it faces is warranted; rather, it’s a “biased rush to judgment,” in the words of Netanyahu. That we’re all just anti-Semitic is another common refrain. Not even supporters of a dignified existence for the Palestinian people can freely voice their concern. The movement to suppress Queers Against Israeli Apartheid (QuAIA) from participating in Toronto’s Pride parade this year came from a lobby group that ignored the fact that these people sought to combat hateful Zionist policies. Instead, they appropriated
that charge, claiming it was the protesters that were being hateful by daring to consider Israel an “Apartheid state.” Two other common threads emerge from those unable to find fault with a nation that’s “free.” For one, why does the world focus so much attention on Israel when countless other nations are subjecting their citizens to human rights abuses, often in much graver forms? Because none of these countries call themselves “democracies,” and in most cases, they don’t even claim to value human life over social order. Israel pretends it does so it can be accepted with the world’s other respected nations, hence this not-so-benign request to shift attention away from the scene of the crime. Another is that Israel is a shining beacon of human rights, at least as far as homosexuality is concerned. But just because gays and lesbians have won reforms in Israel doesn’t mean that Palestinians aren’t struggling to do the same – a struggle that becomes a lot harder when you’re living under occupation. And Israel’s support for gay rights isn’t an excuse to break international law and stealing Palestinian land. Accepting one minority into society should not mean we ignore abuses inflicted on another minority, one whose very cultural essence is being extinguished by a government that would go to any length to rid a land of its ancestral inhabitants. Mere discussion of Israel’s growing list of criminality is effectively targeted by a numerous Zionist lobby groups in North America and around the world. Just look at the name Wikipedia gives to the siege on Gaza in the winter of 2009 (seems a long time ago, doesn’t it?): the “Gaza War.” Can it really be a war if there is one sole architect? Just look at the death tolls - roughly 1,400 Palestinian lives lost compared to that of 13 Israelis. War usually means a relative symmetry of force; in this case, there was no such symmetry. Without a continued response of indignant outrage from the international community, there doesn’t seem to be much hope that Israel will loosen its grip on the future of Palestine. A recent inquiry that Israel conducted on its own deadly flotilla raid determined that even though some communications mistakes were made, the use of live fire was justified. Predictably, Israel allows no other government or body to investigate the raid, lest they come up with “dishonest” results. While no one can be certain what direction Israel will take on the international stage in the near and distant future, one thing is clear: the future of Palestine depends wholly on the courage of those watching from afar. The less intimidated we are to withhold outrage at Israel’s illegal occupation of Palestinian land, the greater the flourishing of Palestine. Ironically, that goes for Israel, too. Read the Goldstone Report on Israel’s attack on Gaza in January 2009: http://bit.ly/99GPQb
Bring the troops home now Documents reveal horror in Afghanistan By John Bell The release of U.S. military documents at the end of July reveals the brutality of the war and occupation in Afghanistan. The over 91,000 records of incidents and intelligence reports expose indiscriminate killings, murder of civilians at checkpoints, in the streets, in their homes and on protests against the occupation. Documents also detail a secret “black” unit of special forces that hunts down suspected Taliban leaders for “kill or capture” without trial, the increased use of the deadly Reaper drones, the shooting of unarmed civilians and put the amount the U.S. has spent on Afghanistan $300 billion. But this is only the tip of the iceberg. It will take months to sift through the thousands of pages. The NATO powers and their Afghanistan figurehead, Hamid Karzai, emerged from a July conference in Kabul calling for an extension of the war and occupation until 2014. Kabul is supposed to be the NATO stronghold in Afghanistan, but insurgent rocket attacks disrupted Karzai’s opening address and forced the airport to close, preventing some NATO delegates from arriving in time. Violence and insurgent attacks have risen sharply. The number of IED attacks is up 97 per cent over last year. Assassinations of Afghan officials collaborating with NATO are up 45 per cent. Barack Obama and his supporters claim that things have changed since he became president last year. But this is a cruel lie. The slaughter in Afghanistan is getting worse, not better. The sacking of military commanders – U.S. General Stanley McChrystal – for open disrespect towards Obama’s leadership, Canadian Brigadier General Daniel Menard for improper sexual behaviour – reveals confusion and broken morale that goes to the top. Karzai boasts he will be ready to assume control of security by 2014. In reality, his government, such as it is, is riddled with corruption. He wouldn’t last long without NATO troops to prop him up. Although Stephen Harper and his Foreign Affairs minister Lawrence Cannon are sticking to the script, repeating that 2011 is their withdrawal date, they are content to let PHOTO: ISAFMEDIA/FLICKR
others prepare the ground for continuing Canada’s military misadventure to 2014, in a new disguise. Liberal spokesman Bob Rae calls for Canadian troops to remain beyond 2011: “[T]he Liberal Party has made it clear that we support a continuing non-combat commitment by Canada as part of the broad UN effort to sustain a stable, effective government in Afghanistan. This commitment can include a role in training the Afghan army and police, as well as support for other institutions of government…” The fact that insurgents could attack the conference in the capital reveals that the Taliban enjoys massive support among the civilian population, at least in terms of kicking out NATO troops. In such circumstances, all forms of occupation must involve combat and casualties. And in hushed voices, NATO leaders admit that even the 2014 exit date is pure fiction. NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said after the conference: “We will not leave Afghanistan until we know for sure that the Afghans can take care of their own security.” No real exit strategy. No clearly defined goals or objectives to justify the war. And through it all the insurgency
grows stronger militarily and politically. There is only one rational response to this horrific disaster: bring the troops home now. This article originally appeared in Socialist Worker, no. 521, August 2010: http://www.socialist.ca/En/currentissue.htm. Read Socialist Worker online: http://www.socialist.ca/En/ currentissue.htm.
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London’s ‘Democracy Village’ While living and working in London, Haseena Manek captures Parliament Square, the patch of green in front of Parliament and Westminster Abbey, where protesters gather, camp and call for action.
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photos: haseena manek
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Deconstructing bias in 140 characters How Twitter is going to change everything about journalists, their biases and relationship with the public By Nora Loreto, Editor-in-Chief How many characters does it take to destroy a career? Perhaps as many as it takes to slowly evolve a system that tries desperately to protect itself from expressions of bias: 140. Twitter and other social networks have rapidly changed online interactions and many of us are relative newcomers. The more seasoned Twitterers tend to be people who have a lot to say and a platform from which to speak: bloggers, social media gurus, celebrities and journalists. But some journalists have been slow on the uptake and, as Twitter becomes more mainstream, have joined the chorus more recently to get in on all that atting, hashtagging and quippy fun. Twitter allows everyone a quick way to express what they think. While an excellent outlet for many people, Twitter poses a problem for journalists: the mainstream ones
are not supposed to have opinions. Many journalists become journalists because they want to change the world in some way, so the fact that they have opinions shouldn’t be news to anyone. What is interesting though, is that through Twitter, the average person has a glimpse into what journalists think about a variety of topics: Stephen Harper’s failings, the occupation of Afghanistan, boring committee meetings, how cute are their kids, their workout schedules and so on. In absence of such a platform, access to such thoughts has not previously been granted to the general public. This begs the question; will this access to journalists’ opinions change how average readers see them? If yes, how will it affect their understanding of fact, if presented by a biased human? CNN seemed afraid of this question. Earlier this month they fired Middle-East correspondent Octavia Nasr for a
Tweet that exposed her feelings toward the founder of Hezbollah upon his death. “Sad to hear of the passing of Sayyed Mohammad Hussein Fadlallah.. One of Hezbollah’s giants I respect a lot.. #Lebanon” read her CNN-career-ending Tweet. Despite the fact that no one should be surprised that a Middle-East correspondent has an opinion on the death of someone on her beat, the expression of her opinion on this issue caused her to lose her career at CNN. No journalist is unbiased, but myths perpetuated by the corporate media are crafted so that the audience believes that a newscast is free from a particular slant. This manufactures an image that may can help woo an audience from one outlet to another. Or it upholds myths on which our fragile democracy is built. Or it supports some opinion perpetuated by advertisers. Twitter will likely continue to keep open this window into journalists’ biases, and undoubtedly there will be others who trip up and fall, especially if their transgression calls into question the integrity of the publication for who they work. Never mind that the history of the Canadian news media is deeply rooted in politically-motivated journalism. Precursor newspapers to the Globe and Mail were supporters of the Conservatives, and the Toronto Star’s beginning was rooted in helping Wilfrid Laurier. How careful journalists have to be on Twitter will depend on the personal beliefs of a particular person. If a person has something to say that maintains the status quo, are they safer than someone who may have an opinion that doesn’t? Is there more of an impetus to stop opinions from flowing when they may be at odds with the corporate interest or editorial bias of a particular newspaper? In this new realm, where thoughts can be instantly self-published, there’s no doubt that journalists must be careful. Some careers are tarnished because of inappropriate comments on Twitter, like former Ryersonian David George-Cosh losing it in a flame war with someone he wanted to interview (full disclosure: we didn’t get along). That resulted in an apology published by his employer, the Financial Post. But what the Twittersphere hasn’t changed is that journalists still must be fair and balanced in how they report on any particular issue; a fact that is too often absent from mainstream coverage already. Twitter may be a small part of social media’s revolutionary movement, but it has the possibility of helping to inject truth into the mainstream press in a more significant way than is currently possible. As more people have access to journalists’ biases and opinions, they can be more aware of why someone decided to take a particular approach or angle and use certain facts or sources for their story. For me, the question that remains is this: how long will journalists be able to Tweet freely, away from the fear that they may be fired, and blamed on their opinioned Tweets? Or will the fear of being CNNed force many to self-censor?
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FEATURES The Afghan anti-war movement grows Resistance spreads in Afghanistan to kick out NATO troops By Dave Markland Coverage of Afghanistan’s burgeoning anti-war movement is sadly quite scarce, though we have seen in this space some of the more interesting reporting (see http://bit.ly/ btdGuD for example). Lately, however, there have been developments which shed some interesting light on the (mostly) non-violent Afghan anti-war movement. The Afghanistan Solidarity Party (ASP) has a platform dedicated to “women’s rights, democracy, and secular society, a disarming of the country, and freedom of the press,” according to a spokesperson interviewed by Sonali Kolhatkar and James Ingalls. Formed in 2004, the ASP has its roots in Maoist parties of the past, though it may be mentioned that Maoism in Afghanistan was often simply a label for anti-Soviet Marxists and socialists. In a manner typical of Afghan political parties, the ASP operates as a coalition of six parties and forms a part of a larger association of like-minded secular parties oriented toward democracy. It reports being active in most of Afghanistan’s 34 provinces. The party’s pursuit of a human rights-centered value system has earned it many members. The internationally respected former Afghan foreign minister Dadfar Spanta, once a member of Germany’s Green Party, joined the ASP a while after its founding. As well, the ASP has won the admiration of widely known Afghan activist Malalai Joya. When asked by an Italian audience last year about what groups they could financially support, Joya recommended RAWA, the Afghan Women’s Mission and the ASP. Indeed the ASP has gained a wide variety of supporters. Canada’s own liberal war-boosters the Canada-Afghan Solidarity Committee (CASC) have helped raise money for it. CASC’s
Terry Glavin, a pro-war fanatic if there ever was one, wrote in 2008: “It’s heartening to see the Afghanistan Solidarity Party making a comeback after key party leader and co-founder Lal Mohammad was beheaded by the Taliban three years ago...These are precisely the kind of Afghans the Canada Afghanistan Solidarity Committee wants Canadians to know more about, and to support, politically, morally and materially” (http://bit.ly/9VvvbF). At the time the ASP was involved in the kind of mobilizing that Western war advocates can easily get behind. The party headed up a large demo in Kabul that year in support of Pervez Kambakhsh, the student journalist who has since been freed from death row. The CASC, however, will no doubt be disappointed to hear that the ASP is now mobilizing against the U.S.-led occupation of their country. Here you can see a YouTube video of an ASP protest in Herat this past May condemning Iran’s hanging of several Afghan nationals living in Iran: http://bit.ly/a1f4xI. The video shows a woman lifting her burka to speak into a megaphone, some minor property damage inflicted upon the Iranian embassy as well as what appears to be tussling with police. Participants are evidently a fairly broad mixture of people from secular and religious walks of life. The Herat protest was part of several that the ASP organized in various cities. All of them featured rhetoric aimed at the United States as well as Iran, and ASP banners denouncing the American-led occupation were prominent. On July 30, a significant event occurred on the streets of Kabul, near the American embassy. A DynCorp SUV was involved in a collision with a civilian vehicle, killing one and seriously injuring two more. Accounts differ as to what followed, as U.S. officials deny that the security contractors opened fire on the gathering crowd. In any case, a spontaneous protest broke out among those present, resulting in rioting as two DynCorp vehicles, the first having been joined by another, were set on fire. While most reports say that demonstrators set them on fire, AFP has an interesting account: “It was unclear how the vehicles were set alight, as some security firms torch cars they are forced to abandon as a matter of policy, a security contractor in Kabul said, speaking on condition of anonymity” (http://bit. ly/axX2Hc). The DynCorp employees reported injuries from the rioting. Press photos show young Afghans joyously stomping on a burning American SUV as others wield clubs and throw rocks at the wreck. The ASP soon organized a protest to harness the anti-occupation sentiment. On August 1, hundreds of Kabulis hit the streets behind ASP banners and placards of various antioccupation themes, one of which featured the iconic media image of young protesters smashing a DynCorp truck. The photos from the demo appear to show young men using face coverings to hide their identities (see http:// bit.ly/bV3yge and http://bit.ly/bwkvWF in particular). Here’s the story in the Afghan media: Kabul residents protest against foreign troops By Abdul Qadir Siddiqui KABUL, Aug 1 (Pajhwok) Hundreds of men and women protested against foreign troops on Sunday in Kabul and demanded their withdrawal from Afghanistan. The demonstration started at around 10 a.m. from Shah Do Shamshera area of Kabul toward Deh Aghanan square, where the protesters chanted “death to the invaders,” “death to the countries which interfere in the affairs of Afghanistan” and “killers of Afghans should leave Afghanistan.” The demonstration follows the deaths on Friday of four civilians [later said to be one killed, several injured - DM] whose car apparently pulled out in front of an armoured vehicle belonging to an American Embassy contractor and was crushed. The accident drew large crowds who threw stones and set the contractors vehicles on fire. The protesters also chanted slogans against Pakistan and Iran, two other countries they accuse of interfering in Afghanistan’s affairs. They condemned the acts of US and its alliance in Afghanistan, said chairman of Afghanistan Solidarity Party, Daud Razmak, who led the demonstration.. (http://bit.ly/a2ebgW ). The Washington Post has more on the August 1 protest: “Many times NATO troops and these cars have killed our innocent people. They never care whether we are Afghans or animals,” said Samia, 26, an activist from Kabul who took part in the demonstration. Samia, who like many Afghans goes by only one name, said that she did not want the Taliban to return to power in Afghanistan but that NATO has only aggravated the situation over the past decade and fed a parasitic and dependent Afghan government. ”We want NATO troops and American troops to leave Afghanistan. Even with their huge army, they couldn’t do anything in the past 10 years. And in the future, they won’t be able to do anything” (bit.ly/bFF598 ).
This article originally appeared on the StopWar blog on August 7, 2010, the blog of Vancouver’s city-wide anti-war coalition, StopWar.ca: http://stopwarblog.blogspot.com/ Check out the StopWar blog: http://stopwarblog.blogspot.com/ PHOTO: MEDMOISELLE T/FLICKR
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CULTURE Caribana Art Exhibition: From the Soul By Diana Duong Just this one time, the speed of sound travels faster. Visitors strolling down the tranquil hallways at the Royal Ontario Museum will begin to hear faint calypso music dancing in the distance. This is no fool’s paradise; instead, the breezy steelpan melodies are playing as part of the art installation called From the Soul for the Scotiabank Caribana Festival, Toronto’s largest and most vibrant cultural celebration. Marking its fourth year at the ROM, the exhibition presents the largest single juried display of art works by African-Canadian artists. Although Caribana is generally known for the parade on Lakeshore with its brilliant mas costumes and energetic music, there is more to Caribbean culture that needs to be showcased. The exhibit, displaying over 150 works from almost 50 African-Canadian artists, is the final chapter to the Caribana festivities. Curator Joan Butterfield gave the exhibition the title From the Soul as a theme to encourage the artists to paint with their heart and not feel constrained. “As a curator, the walls of this gallery are my canvas. I have to make it a cohesive body of work that would become a whole,” she said. “This collection of works will arouse the conscious, still the mind and soothe the soul.” Butterfield says the exhibit symbolizes the escape, conveys the passion and recaptures the rapture of past memories. “We want the silence of the works to prompt reflection and random reverie,” she explained. The artists come from a variety of backgrounds, from Bermuda to Nigeria. Hailing from Nigeria, Izzy Ohiro’s works focuses on festivity and celebration by creating layers of simple shapes and dark, warm colours. A recurring motif among his pieces includes string instruments, including cellos, violins, and a double bass. His use of mellow characters and a smooth colour palette radiates a relaxed ambience from his collection. Most of the pieces are done in acrylics or oil, but Butterfield told the artists to paint with whichever method they were comfortable. One restraint the artists did encounter was the rules of contemporary art. Butterfield points out a long canvas stretching across an entire
wall panel. “See Jason’s piece there?” she said, indicating Jason O’Brien’s painting featuring a woman wearing a makeshift halter top. “The girl with the halter, she was originally painted nude. We wouldn’t be able to show it because of that. So he had to go back to find a way to try and cover it up and still keep the essence of the picture.” The individual studs glued onto the canvas can be removed so the real meaning of his painting is not lost. As a child growing up in Dominica, David Vasquez was sold as a child slave and sent to Haiti. Today, he celebrates the future and good times, however. In each of his five pieces, there are three musicians, each playing a different instrument. The symphony of trumpets, saxophones, cellos, and even a piano play as the foreground on top of astonishing splashes of colour. Harmonizing each other, the paintings and the music of famous calypsonian Byron Lee playing in the background has children laughing, dancing and bursting with glee around the exhibit. A dazzling light shines down from above the art pieces, near the ceiling. Instead of a blazing sun that many attendees at the Caribana street party will be dancing under, it is the reflection of millions of small sequins shining. Feathers, glitter and frills glimmer from the brassieres, headpieces, and costumes that the Mas dancers wear in the exhibit. Butterfield says that she borrowed these costumes from the company that collected the girls’ costumes after last year’s Caribana street party as a lovely and visually rich addition to the exhibit. “Our goal is to attract a new and expanded audience to this exhibition with the hope of inspiring others with the message of courage, love and respect prevalent throughout the displays,” Butterfield said. “Art is an expression of life around us and a powerful way to bring difficult topics of discussion out in the open.” “It is my belief that a work is not complete until it has been presented, admired and acquired,” concluded Butterfield. Located in the ROM’s Bronfman Hall, the exhibit is on display from July 15 - August 15, 2010.
Kensington Market comes alive By Amanda Connon-Unda, Culture Editor Citizens filled the streets to the sounds of electronic belly-dancing music. A crowd huddled in a circle around a group of performers who wore belly-dancing costumes and jingled their bells in time to the music. People took photos and clapped after each dancer went into the middle of the circle. Walking down Augusta Avenue, the smell of hot corn tomales and empanadas, samosas and thai spring rolls emanated from each food stand and wafted into the nostrils of passers by. Local artists and vendors sold their jewelry and paintings to visitors and residents who make their homes in Kensington Market. Pedestrian Sundays in Kensington Market are a time when cars are banished from the streets and people take over the streets to build community. The event in July was called Water! Streams of Consciousness. Over in the wading pool in the Bellevue Square park, children and their parents mingled on a picturesque summer day. The market is always full of sites and sounds – only Pedestrian Sundays are better because the market is enhanced by the presence of more people and a greater feeling of celebration that permeates the space. Imagine what our city streets could be like if they were allowed to flourish the way the Pedestrian Sundays festival has enabled Kensington Market to, each summer since 2004. Over the years, the idea of Pedestrian Sundays has spread to different neighbourhoods, in both Mirvish Village and Baldwin Village. Perhaps the idea is ripe enough to spread across the entire city. Pedestrian Sundays don’t propose to permanently change the streets, instead, the website tells us: “they forever change the way you perceive them.” The idea behind Pedestrian Sundays is stated simply on pskensington.ca: “Remove the automobile and the streets become a cultural playground – an expression of our community’s diverse ethnicity, age and interests.” The festival is very DIY and encompasses the human touch that is missing in so many large over-produced festivals that draw people to the city in the summer. It’s all about local community and building a sustainable future by going back to the roots of how cultures thrive through local ecologies. As the website explains this link to the global ecological movement: “A community takes back their common space and celebrates a day of cleaner air.” On this particular Sunday in July, many groups came out to build ties with the community, reach out to the public and sell their wares. The Toronto Vegetarian Association, Oxfam Canada, and Spacing magazine were all there. Even Blocks Recording Club, an indie label collective run by artists, set up a little table to sell music by acclaimed local artists such as Owen Pallett, Kids on TV and Katie Stelmanis. Meanwhile, many bands performed - at least one per corner along the route from College to Dundas on both Augusta Ave and Kensington Avenue. The band Escalate had set up outside of the Embassy bar on Augusta and drew quite a crowd. With their jazz-lounge sounds and confident style, the four piece band did an excellent job captivating a self-selected audience of younger hipsters and families alike. Theatrical performers were found along the route too. A puppeteer had set up a little theatre and drew a small crowd toward his interactive performances. Meanwhile, Clay & Paper Theatre had set up a large caravan loaded up with books for sale. Books were only a dollar each and the proceeds went toward funding their cycling oriented puppet squad and other theatre projects. It was like a scene from a bohemian movie, or a blast from the hippie
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era of the past. People looked at books and made their selection, while a cheerful lady with a hula-hoop twirled around and sang a song. On Nassau Street a group of dancers from the group who run Standupdance.com did modern improvisation on the street. They moved fluidly like water around one another and communicated freely with their bodies as people watched. They paid no attention, and as the postcard they gave me explained, they were there to ‘dance like no one is watching.’ Further along Nassau Street, a group of musicians played music as a group of ten people played musical chairs. When the music stopped everyone scrambled to find a seat. The music got faster and faster until there were only two women players left. Finally only one declared victory, and another round started. It’s not too late to attend the next Pedestrian Sunday. There are several more slated to happen before the end of the season. On August 14 the market will remember the blackout in Toronto, when people enjoyed acoustic music, community meals and low consumption activities. August 28 will mark the market’s celebration of Air! The Kensington Community Air Show. “In contrast to the Toronto International Air Show, we fly messages of peace, blow horns and hot air, eat chili, blow bubbles and dance in the street,” says the Pedestrian Sundays website (pskensington.ca). On September 25, Pedestrian Sundays will celebrate earth and global harvest traditions, and on October 30, Halloween celebrations will honour ancestors.
PHOTO: amanda connon-unda
The Warrior Emperor and China’s Terracotta Army Conquer the ROM By Diana Duong Deep in the bowels of the Royal Ontario Museum, several solemn soldiers stand in spotlights, towering above hundreds of visitors in the dimly-lit Terracotta Warriors exhibit. These 2,200-year-old warriors have travelled from China to showcase one of the most incredible archaeological finds in history: an extraordinary excavation of an army of 6,000 unique life-sized pottery men and horses, each one with a distinctly different face from the next. In the spring of 1974, local farmers in the Shaanxi province first stumbled upon the underground army. Since then, archaeologists have unearthed over 6,000 soldiers, 67 horses, 140 wooden chariots, and tens of thousands of bronze weapons, all dating back to 210 BC; however, the Warrior Emperor and China’s Terracotta Army exhibition concerns much more than the Terracotta Army. It follows Qin Shihuangdi (pronounced “chin shih-hwong-dee”), the tyrannical First Emperor who successfully unified China and initially ordered the construction of the Great Wall of China and the Terracotta Army. The exhibit investigates the First Emperor’s tomb complex, the greatest burial site in China, and recounts his revolutionary achievements and remaining legacy in the history of imperial China. Rising action always precedes the climax. Undoubtedly, the Terracotta Army will be considered as the main attraction; however, the exhibit is constructed as a three-part storyline, in chronological fashion. Before viewing the army Qin Shihuangdi built to guard him in his afterlife, visitors have to walk through his life first, quite literally. The first section of the exhibit, the Rise of Qin, covers the Spring and Autumn Period (771-481 BC) and the Warring States Period (481-221 BC). Upon entrance, display cases of rare artifacts line the passageway. The presentations of some pieces, nearly 30 per cent of the exhibition’s objects, have never travelled outside of China. Around the corner, a mock battle scene is projected across a giant screen. There is no voice-over, but the sounds of cavalry horses charging, and the sights of soldiers being shot down, are enough of an explanation of the rivalry and war during this time of political distinction. With seven major states battling for supremacy, the Warring States Period was aptly named. Many military strategies were devised during this era, The Art of War, the most renowned military treatise written by Sun Tzu is believed to be dated from this era. Qin Shihuangdi would eventually lead his state to dominance, enabling his victory to conquer the whole country. His reign over a unified China was progressive; he was the first to codify laws, standardize coin currency, start a network of road and canal systems, and
establish a centralized empire. However, his rule over China was also ruthless; he burned Confucian school books and buried the scholars alive because he believed they threatened his rule. Because of a series of assassination attempts, Qin Shihuangdi became paranoid and started to live in secrecy, trusting only a handful of eunuchs. Superstitious and spending his last years seeking immortality, Qin Shihuangdi oversaw about 700,000 workers construct an enormous mausoleum with life-sized terracotta warriors, he believed the terracotta guardians would protect him in the afterlife. The second section of the exhibit is fairly dark, with light only emanating on each of the haunting, hovering figures. There are two generals, an archer, a cavalry soldier standing beside his horse, a charioteer with his horse, an infantry soldier, a civil official, and an acrobat. The 10 bodies standing scattered across the ROM floor do not represent the splendor of their thousands of counterparts back home standing in formation; however, with each stern-faced warrior standing at six-feet-tall, even one seems like more than enough to conquer the room. The general is the highest ranking in the army, their serious expression and height convey their authority, only nine were ever unearthed, two of which are standing in the ROM. The kneeling crossbow archer, unlike the rest of his eight-man army here, is enclosed in a glass display. He still has a bit of colour on his armour. Each of the Terracotta warriors was originally painted with mixes of blue, green, red, purple and white. Inept ‘70s preservation techniques and somewhere over the course of existing for 22 centuries caused some pigmentation to fade. The cavalry units would stand ready at the rear of the formation. The stone-faced soldier stares ahead, weapon in one hand, the horse’s reins in the other. On the other hand, the charioteer would stand and direct formations. The chariot horse, one of a team of four, neighs with flared nostrils, ears alert. Slight differences between the chariot and cavalry horse suggested they were specially selected for their roles. The civil officer and the acrobat are one of the very few of its kind still intact. The details in their costumes remind visitors of the incredible capabilities of such an early civilization. The infantry soldier was found to be the most common, more than 1,000 low-ranking soldiers have been unearthed. Thousands of unique human figures. Each man’s individuality shone through his hairstyle, head gear, clothing, accessories, physical stance, and armour-plating style. No man looked alike, and each one wields real weapons, not models. Perhaps Qin Shihuangdi wanted his belligerent soldiers to be more powerful in the afterlife. The third section of the exhibit explores life in the Han Dynasty, following the First Emperor’s death in 210 BC. Han emperors maintained the First Emperor’s governing practices, and they also buried terracotta figures. The artifacts unearthed in the ‘90s reflect the peaceful life during the Han Dynasty. They are much smaller in size and could never rival the sculptures from the Qin Dynasty, however. The discovery of the terracotta warriors are the most tangible evidence of the First Emperor’s legacy, and it is merely the beginning. Archeologists have only excavated one of the three pits to this day, and they believe thousands of more great finds are at the site. The Warrior Emperor and China’s Terracotta Army exhibition marks the first time the Terracotta Army has appeared in Canada. It is also scheduled to travel to the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, Calgary’s Glenbow Museum and Victoria’s Royal BC Museum. But for now, they will reside in the ROM until January 2, 2011.
TIFF finalist has fresh take on dirty pollutants By Semhar Woldeyesus
As barrels of crude oil continue to leak into the Gulf of Mexico, there is another body of water that has become a toxic dumping ground. In northern Alberta, the surrounding communities of the Athabasca River Basin have long experienced the social and ecological consequences of oil sands extraction. In Keepers of the Water, director Ayelen Liberona vividly explores the effects of the river’s pollution. Specifically, Liberona highlights the Aboriginal community of Fort Chipewyan and its proximity to Syncrude Canada. As the world’s largest producer of synthetic crude oil, the company has faced widespread criticism for its destructive mining practices, and its lack of regulation and corporate responsibility. However, the film is not concerned with statements made by company officials, federal MP’s, or even environmental groups. Instead, it is concerned with children’s responses to the environmental crisis. “I have always been inspired by the way children approach ‘adult’ issues. They come out with these phrases that really hit the nail PHOTO: DIANA DUONG
on the head when it comes to telling the truth about something,” says Liberona. “I thought it would be a really amazing opportunity to show their perspective and let them tell the story.” The Athabasca oil sands hold an estimated 175 billion barrels of crude - the largest oil source outside of Saudi Arabia. The film brilliantly overshadows the lucrative potential of the oil sands by drawing attention to harsh realities of environmental degradation. As children within the community recount their experiences, stunning images of neighborhood streets and snow peaks unfold- a gentle reminder of what exactly is at stake. “They are angry about it, I mean their parents grew up drinking water right out of the lake,” explains Liberona. “It is children who are inheriting the water and all the mistakes that we are making; they are the ones who are going to have to clean up this mess and pay for the consequences.” Large amounts of water are needed to process the oil sands, and extract bitumen the heavy crude petroleum which is further
distilled into synthetic oil for commercial use. “The oil sands industry is cutting down boreal forests faster than they are in the Amazon. Not only does this separating process use huge resources of natural gas to heat water, but that water actually gets dumped into massive tailing ponds. These lakes of toxic waste are so big; you can actually see them from outer space. Liberona points out, “they found deformed fish in Fort Chip and the kids call it the ‘two-headed monster, it has four eyes and growth coming out the side of its head.” Fort Chipewyan represents one of the many communities around the world fighting to survive the onslaught of rising oil and water consumption needs. In watching Keepers of the Water, one is forced to acknowledge the destruction of an entire way of life; and that for Liberona, is exactly the point. “For certain community members, it almost feels like a cultural genocide. There is no compensation; families in Fort Chip have been dying from rare forms of cancer. They are on the front-lines of this issue, their lives are directly
affected. People in cities are generally disconnected from the earth, so until our lives are directly affected, then we will continue to take things for granted.” Liberona submitted Keepers of the Water to the Toronto International Film Festival’s Emerging Filmmakers Competition. The jury panel asked filmmakers to interpret the subject of water for a chance to be short listed and win the Fan Favourite Award. Yet for Liberona, the goal of her film is more than just about winning a prize. “I am hoping we can use it in the classrooms as an educational tool, so children can become aware of the issue; so that when they grow up, they become active, and know that their words have power.” The Toronto International Film Festival’s jury panel has selected Keepers of the Water as a top-five finalist in their 2010 Emerging Filmmakers Competition. Designed to support up-and-coming filmmakers, the winner is determined through online votes. To check out the films and cast your vote, log on to https:// tiff.cment.net/step1.html.
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Globetrotting on a budget By Amanda Connon-Unda, Culture Editor Chances are you might be heading out this summer, or you’d like to be – if only you could afford it. Time and money are always an issue preventing us from travelling, but if money is stopping you, consider saving up and incorporating some money-saving habits into your future travel plans. Sometimes it can be difficult to get everything organized before a trip, or you might want to plan one and not know where to start. Here are some helpful resources to get you started. Selecting your destination When considering cities to visit and looking for things to do, check out the local weekly free paper in its online version before you arrive. If it’s in another language, you can always use a free (but approximate) website translation service (such as freetranslation.com) to read the articles and listings in English. If you want a guided tour, many cities have websites set up where local volunteers offer to guide specific tours for visitors. It’s kind of like Craigslist. Tourists write a description of the kind of tour they’d like before they travel, and the guides pair themselves up with the tourists. For an example of this kind of service check out http:// www.parisiendunjour.fr For cultural excursions, The New York Times has a fantastic resources for budget travellers – with everything from restaurant recommendations to museum happenings found at
http://frugaltraveler.blogs.nytimes.com. Look into individual gallery websites to find out which days and times museums offer free or reduced entrance fees. There are often also pay-what-you-can events or special first-time trial sessions at yoga or athletics classes. Best of all, there are huge benefits to be gained from walking in a new city. One can explore the city from ground level, mingle with locals and discover unexpected places off the familiar tourist map. It’s also healthy and beats taking buses or taxis everywhere. If you’re wondering about the safety in a region you want to visit, check out the Canadian government’s travel advisory website (http://www.voyage.gc.ca/countries_pays/ menu-eng.asp), where they post warnings and notices about the conditions in the country you’re intending to visit. Find out which areas are dangerous and should be avoided, learn about the visas and medical vaccinations you might need. Learn about precautions you should take and find out where the Canadian Embassy is, in case you get into trouble. Find out what kinds of identification you are required to carry in the host country. Getting there Budget airlines are a good option if you need to fly to your city of choice. Try getting a price on your city from different airlines and ticket sellers online. Don’t settle until you find a price you’re happy with. One sure way to fly cheap is to select your destination based on the cheapest flight price. Frequent routes from Toronto are often less expensive, but just as far away as national flights – For example, flights to Las Vegas, Los Angeles, or London can be a bargain. The season also matters for flight prices, as does the time of the sale. Try to book early to get a good price, or go for lastminute deals on a site like redflagdeals.com. Within Europe, check out the prices at ryanair.com and easyjet.com. Or if you’re planning to get to Montreal or New York for cheap, try megabus.com or neonbus.com. Often new buses have free wifi on board and sometimes power outlets. If you’re taking a long trip, you can use your laptop and watch dvds or work the whole way there if you want. Packing is an important part of any travel - but
Burlesque
especially for air travel. Ultimately packing light whether by car, train, or plane makes your travel simpler. Comfortable shoes and clothes go a long way for a budget-conscious traveller. You’ll want to get around on public transit after-all and you’ll want to carry as little as possible up and down stairs. Packing a good book is great for any long waits that you’ll have to endure. If you end up hanging out at a public space (that’s free too!) you will always be entertained with a paperback. If travelling by air, avoid a checked bag fee, and remember to pack only travel-sized toiletries and essentials in your carry-on bag. Where to stay Consider calling up a friend in the city you intend to visit. See whether you can sleep on a friend’s couch or whether you can offer a contribution toward rent or groceries. Let them know you’ll return the favour in your own home. Always bring a host gift and be a gracious guest. Be prepared to entertain yourself if your host is busy. If staying with a friend is not an option, then consult a websites like airbnb.com, homeaway.com or craigslist vacation rentals pages which allow you to book a room or an entire apartment that belongs to a local resident. The service is available in cities all over the world. The finds on these vacation rentals are often much cheaper than even the most basic hotels, plus you’ll often get more space and a kitchen to use – which really saves you money. You can buy groceries and cook! Pretend you are a local and enjoy exploring the markets in the city. Communication abroad The Internet is the cheapest way to communicate when you travel. If you’re looking for a way to communicate with family and friends, skip the expensive roaming charges on your cell phone calls and use your own laptop with a free wifi connection at a library or cafe. If you don’t have a laptop with you, simply run to the nearest internet cafe. Then download skype and call home from skype. Or, simply send emails and update your blog for friends and family. Next time you travel, consider making a budget, stick to it and have fun.
A testament to our cultural desire for shameless freedom and alternative culture
By Kaitlin Fowlie
As The Toronto Burlesque Festival enters its third year of provocative entertainment, the age old art form continues to evolve in the contemporary world without dwindling in appeal. But how does burlesque continue to stand as a cultural phenomenon long after its original feminist objectives have (for the most part) been attained, and [at least for some of us] shock art no longer shocks? The notorious art form has its origins in nineteenth century British music halls, where the term referred to satirical theatrical entertainment that threatened dominant ideals. Burlesque was risqué, as it often cast women in men’s roles, or vice versa, and aimed to shatter polite expectations of how women presented their bodies in public. It wasn’t until the trend was exported to the United States that burlesque became associated with striptease, causing many to question its artistic credibility. In post Civil War America, burlesque evolved as an assimilation of elements of commercial theatre and other entertainment forms that arose during rapid urbanization, such as dime museums, gig saloons, minstrel shows and circuses. During this time, the wit and eroticism of the act was, according to some, reduced to a low grade product of a male dominated theatre scene. What was once a revolutionary spectacle became, according to some, a quasi-pornographic routine. Today, burlesque is something of a pop culture phenomenon, manifest in the performance art of many multi talented artists, who have transfixed hoards of fans in a fashion that the movement never knew before contemporary (apparently fascinating) creatures like Dita Von Tees, Christina Aguilera and Lady Gaga. It is clear from these icons that we have entered a new phase of burlesque, far removed from the initial shock of female flesh in public and further still from the male dominated spectacle on the post civil war American stage. In 2010, burlesque and pop culture have reconciled themselves in such a way that variety show values have not only influenced almost every popular celebrity performance, but are a necessary part of celebrity success. People come out to shows to see a spectacle. Co-producer/headliner of the Toronto Burlesque Festival, Coco Framboise states, the world of burlesque is a “world of creative change,” its versatility and influence extending beyond the confines of the subculture it once was. She believes that “it’s quite common to discover new sides of (artists) whom we may have only seen in one light. I think it can be a powerful reminder that we are all multi-faceted and some of those facets can be quite contradictory. Leave room to be more of who you are!” she exclaimed. The five-day festival truly keeps up with the changes underway in contemporary bur-
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lesque. Wheels were turning for events long before the festival occurred this summer, and encompass much more than dance numbers. One event offered a provocative take on a reading series. Aptly titled “Naked Girls Reading,” the affair featured a few actresses reading excerpts from books of their choice. Often the subject matter of paintings and photography throughout history, the image of a naked woman reading a book inspired the salon style performance. Also in the mix was a film, “Dirty Martini and the New Burlesque” which explored the outrageous world of the contemporary burlesque scene in New York. As well as depicting fun live performances, the film portrayed an exploration of the artists struggles to pay their bills, cultivate stable relationships and envision the future after burlesque. The film asserts that new burlesque is not a fad; it is above all, performance art, feminist action, and modern dance. Some critics of the feminist dialogue assert that feminist dialogues are self defeating insofar as they draw attention to the normalization of female empowerment but insert it into a context that demands it be seen as exceptional. Contemporary burlesque doesn’t plead for such validation, but rather makes its statement by making no apologies for its shamelessness. One New York based burlesque performer, Peekaboo Pointe states “[Burlesque] is a woman’s world! Women do all of it, it’s pretty much the one art form for us! Granted there are men in burlesque, but when you stop and think about burlesque, it’s the women you think of first!” The feminist aspect of burlesque is no longer an overt goal of the art form, but rather simply empowers its participants in the same way as any other art. Some performers aren’t even conscious of the feminist implications that exist, like Coco Framboise, whose performance is oriented simply toward entertainment. According to her, “some performers feel very rooted in a feminist perspective when it comes to burlesque. I’m not sure how much I have to say about that because I’m not coming from a perspective of feeling marginalized. I’m not trying to gain power, (but rather) simply to explore, engage, enjoy and share interesting new aspects of character through various show concepts. I’m at play and I hope others choose to play more in their own lives too. Maybe that is a form of empowerment.” The long standing success of the Toronto Burlesque Festival is testament to our cultural desire for the alternative. These pockets of subculture allow a space for the outrageous to be celebrated, woman artists to be an authority, and beauty to attain a new criterion. The market for burlesque in Toronto is rooted much deeper than our nostalgia for, and obsession with vintage pin up culture. Burlesque speaks to our deepest desires for shameless freedom and challenging culture. It is, after all, the new punk rock. PHOTO: ANDREA YEOMANS
Life Ball in Vienna Europe’s largest AIDS charity impresses By Elizabeth Chiang Vienna’s annual AIDS charity events took place at the Rathaus (City Hall) on July 17 preceding the 18 Annual International AIDS Conference in Vienna, Austria this year. This year 3,780 tickets were issued to the fundraiser which merged the Viennese ball tradition with contemporary music, fashion and social awareness events. Gery Keszler, one of two founders of the independent nonprofit organization AIDS LIFE, responsible for Life Ball, explained why Vienna, Austria was chosen to host the international AIDS conference this year: “As little as 370 km away from the Austrian border, the situation is still to be referred to as catastrophic... Thanks to Vienna’s geographic location, building a bridge to Eastern Europe and Central Asia – two regions with the highest HIV infection growth rates...” Keszler also explained that the two regions are also supported by AIDS LIFE and their international partners. In 2009 Life Ball’s “Circle of Life” theme began with water as its symbol and the motto “Let Love Flow!” This year’s corresponding element was earth and the motto “Sow the Seeds of Solidarity!” Next year, it will be air and “Spread the Wings of Tolerance!” and the quadrennial cycle concludes with fire and “Fight the Flames of Ignorance!” in 2012. Keszler said that this year’s theme – earth “... must be understood as a synonym for internationality and the connection of peoples. The balancing act between the necessary commercialization – the provision of financial funds ... for people affected by HIV and AIDS – and loyalty to the principle [of providing] preventive information, are supposed to happen in a ... balanced way.” Last year Life Ball raised 1,469,000 Euros and half of the net proceeds went to international projects, administered through their partner organizations; Elton John AIDS Foundation, The Foundation for AIDS Research, and Clinton Health Access Initiative of the William J. Clinton Foundation. Major awards handed out in 2010 The Crystal of Hope award for 100,000 Euros that honours the work of pioneers in the field of HIV/AIDS went to the Odessa Charity Fund Way Home – a project by the Elton John AIDS Foundation. The award was donated by the Belinda Stronach Foundation. John Demsey (President of M.A.C Cosmetics and Chairman of M.A.C AIDS Fund) and Dita von Teese presented a cheque for 100,000 Euros to Bill Clinton for the William J. Clinton Foundation, which supported projects in Haiti after this year’s earthquake. Notable artists and fashion show participants in 2010 The United Children’s Orchestra - an international orchestra consisting of children and youth who benefit from projects supported by AIDS LIFE – performed, as did musicians from the Ensemble Wien Klang. Dancers from Ballet St. Pölten and the Vienna waltz project also performed. Fashion designers present included: Diane von Furstenberg, Kenneth Cole and Francisco Costa for Calvin Klein Collection. Musicians included: Bunny Lake, Aura Dione, Les Farfadais, David Garrett, Patti LaBelle, Ledisi, Blair Darby, Mojca Erdmann, Olga Esina, Patrick King, Johan King Silverhult, Tomasz Konieczny, Natalia Krekou, Morten Frank Larsen, Mehrzad Montazeri, Bettina Schweiger, Mihail Sosnovschi, and Natalia Ushakova.
PHOTOS: ELIZABETH CHIANG
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