Newsletters, articles and events for Kitchener-Waterloo's Peace and Social Justice activists
Lawful and Just are not necessarily the same thing
Theme: Refugee Sponsorship (Obstacles to a Good Life for Refugees) – with discussion.
Guest presenters:
at First United Church – King & William Street, Waterloo map at 7 p.m. (doors open at 6:45 p.m.)
(This is a World Refugee Day Kitchener-Waterloo Event. See http://worldrefugeedaykw.ca for complete listing.)
Two actions, two events: Petition against tax evaders, Citizens’ Climate Lobby, Israeli settlements, Dorothy Day documentary
Here’s the latest newsletter from Eleanor Grant:
Hello KW peace and justice supporters.
Two Events and two Actions:
ACTION 1 on Tax Evaders:
The G8 meeting this week in Northern Ireland will discuss a public registry to prevent individuals or corporations hiding their income or profits behind shell companies. But to implement this much-needed plan, the G8 needs unanimity. CANADA can either be the reason it fails, dooming us all to billions in extra taxes, or it can be the champion that ensures the deal passes.
Tell PM Harper you want Canada to be a backer not a blocker:
Avaaz – Harper: End the great tax scam——————————–
ACTION 2 on Climate:
In early May we passed the milestone of 400 parts per million of carbon in Earth’s atmosphere. This trend must be reversed if there’s to be a sustainable future on this planet.
A local chapter of the Citizens’ Climate Lobby is being formed. Read more at We Generate Political Will for a Livable World
There will be an initial meeting, at the organizer’s home, on Sat June 1, with lots more to follow. If you’d like to get involved in this, please let me know and I’ll put you in touch.
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EVENT 1 on Israeli Settlements:
Thurs May 30, 7 to 9 pm,
UW Student Life Centre, Multi-Purpose Room:A CHALLENGE TO JUSTICE: a PowerPoint presentation by Omar Ramahi, on Israel’s policy of settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem. Omar was a 1948 refugee. Read more at Israeli Settlements: A Challenge to Justice | Waterloo Public Interest Research Group
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EVENT 2 on Dorothy Day, founder of the Catholic Worker movement:
Tues June 4 at 7 pm,
Queen St Commons (43 Queen S Kit):Documentary Screening: DON’T CALL ME A SAINT
Local sponsor Isaiah Boronka writes:
Dorothy Day’s life and the movement she founded exemplify an approach to issues surrounding peace and justice that place an equal emphasis on personal commitment & change as on social change – her remarkable life and the movement she helped start has had a profound influence on many, including KW’s own Working Centre.Read more at: Dorothy Day: Don’t Call Me a Saint
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Hope to see you at these events.
And please sign the Avaaz petition at the top of this msg.
Eleanor Grant
Eleanor Grant writes a semi-regular e-mail newsletter on social justice issues. You can contact Eleanor at eleanor7000@gmail.com
From Eleanor Grant’s newsletter:
And from KAIROS Grand River:
Here is a friendly reminder about our last two KAIROS-Grand River events this spring, on the theme Restoring A Good Life for All.
Both events are at First United Church – King & William Street, Waterloo map at 7 p.m. (doors open at 6:45 p.m.)
Monday MAY 27
Theme: Affordable housing for everyone – with discussion.
Guest presenters:
- Michael Schuster, former Commissioner Social Services at Region of Waterloo
- Colin Gage, GM Victoria Park Community Homes
Monday JUNE 17
Theme: Refugee Sponsorship (Obstacles to a Good Life for Refugees) – with discussion.
Guest presenters:
- Jennifer Ardon, Church Liaison and Volunteer Coordinator, Canadian Lutheran World Relief (CLWR)
- Janet Howitt, Trinity United Church and Chair of the Refugee Committee
(This is a World Refugee Day Kitchener-Waterloo Event. See http://worldrefugeedaykw.ca for complete listing.)
All are welcome.
Eleanor Grant writes a semi-regular e-mail newsletter on social justice issues. You can contact Eleanor at eleanor7000@gmail.com
Eleanor Grant writes:
Hello Friends –
Please take a moment to sign the appeal below from IndustriALL global union.
It calls on Bangladesh to guarantee freedom of association (including the right to unionize), and improve building and fire safety and the minimum wage for the more than 3 million garment workers in Bangladesh. (According to Global Labour and Human Rights, the starting wage in these awful garment factories is 14 cents an hour, and many women work more than 12-hour days. Read more at http://www.globallabourrights.org/ )
And meanwhile, consider joining in the annual Labour Day of Mourning to commemorate workers who’ve been killed or injured or made ill on the job. SUNDAY APRIL 28, 10:30 to 11:30 a.m. in Victoria Park at the workers’ monument – between the pavilion and the river. Hosted by Waterloo Regional Labour Council. All are welcome.
Eleanor Grant
Visit the IndustriALL Web Site or the IndustriALL Facebook page.
Eleanor Grant writes a semi-regular e-mail newsletter on social justice issues. You can contact Eleanor at eleanor7000@gmail.com
Re-blogged from WPIRG
(En)Gendering Resistance: Exploring the Possibilities of Gender, Resistance and Militancy
WPIRG’s 2013 School of Public Interest Conference
April 19th-21st
engenderingresistance.noblogs.org
Examining the social, political and economic realities of gender, as well as the liberatory possibilities of militant resistance to gender based oppression, WPIRG’s 2013 School of Public Interest will focus on the theme of (en)gendering resistance. A purposeful play on words, the conference theme is intended to encompass reflections on the lived experience of gender, the gendering of activism, and strategies for fostering vibrant resistance movements.
Taking place April 19th-21st at the University of Waterloo, the weekend long conference will bring together community organizers, activists and students, to critically discuss issues related to gender and resistance/resisting gender. Shaping, while simultaneously being shaped by the ways in which we live, love, fuck and resist, the intricacies and potentialities of gender will be explored.
Our vision is to provide an inclusive space to engage in dialogue that challenges the narratives of the mainstream feminist movement, expanding its critique and radicalizing its practice. We dream of a feminism that does not seek the inclusion of marginalized identities within the dominant order, but rather, strives to unapologetically challenge the dominant order itself. How can we develop a movement for gender justice that is necessarily anti-capitalist, anti-colonial and critical of state institutions? How can we foster resistance practices that are firmly rooted in anti-racism and an intersectional analysis of gender?
Patriarchy and gendered oppressions are everyday perpetuated within our communities and movements. Sexism, queer and transphobia permeate social justice groups and organizations. Gender violence and sexual assault occur with tragic frequently within our ‘safe’ spaces. How can we challenge the reproduction of gender oppression within broader social and environmental justice movements? How can we develop non-state responses to issues of sexual violence? What potential exists for the construction of holistic and nurturing communities of resistance? How can we strengthen our ongoing work, and build our collective capacity to resist?
In the spirit of engendering resistance, WPIRG invites community-based activists, those struggling everyday against gender oppression, supporters, and anyone who sees value in gathering to resist and share strategies, to participate!
Just testing . .
Friends,
I just heard that the Palestinian students have cancelled the rally against
the war in Gaza, scheduled for Sunday.
But as we all know, the war on Gaza is not over. With the ongoing blockade they can’t even get what they need to start rebuilding – again.
In brainstorming with a friend tonight, I wondered if those of us who are interested could start some ongoing action in KW, to raise awareness of the daily violence that Palestinians face.
Did you all see the 2 excellent letters in Friday’s Record, confronting the unjust way the Palestinians are portrayed by gov’t and media? One was by Rev Desmond Jagger-Parsons of Trinity United Church – who is one of the people on this list. Desmond you were really on a tear! Good for you.
What are some things we might do? Share articles among ourselves? Start a moderated discussion list? Start a blog? Hold a regular public vigil – for Palestinians killed, or imprisoned, or land lost, or homes demolished and trees uprooted …. it’s endless.
Please let’s keep talking and sharing ideas. We’ve abandoned the field to the pro-Israel spin doctors for too long!
Shalom,
Eleanor Grant
Please forward to your friends and networks:
Message from Students for Palestinian Rights:
Please join our peaceful demonstration condemning the attacks by the Israeli Military Forces on:
When: Sunday November 25, 2012
Time: 2:00 p.m.
Location: Kitchener City Hall
Bring any flags, signs, and kuffiyahs or anything else you may have.
Announcement from Shannon Balla:
Remembering Ashley Smith
Community gathering & vigil
October 19th, 7-8pm
Speakers Corner (King and Benton), Kitchener
On the 5th anniversary of Ashley’s death in a segregation cell in Kitchener’s Grand Valley Institution for Women
Come and share a time of collective mourning and a renewed commitment to change as we remember Ashley and others who struggle against the isolation and oppression of the prison system
Hosted by: We Remember Ashley Smith Campaign
For more information: 226-789-6786; shannon.balla@gmail.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/events/198140513653901/
Background:
Ashley Smith (January 29, 1988 – October 19, 2007) died at age 19 in a segregation cell at the Grand Valley Institution for Women in Kitchener. Having been denied a transfer to a psychiatric facility and on suicide watch, Ashley tied a ligature around her neck and, while staff watched (having been ordered not to intervene), asphyxiated to death. The over four years of Ashley’s institutionalization were marked by isolation, violence, forced injections, and frequent transfers. In the 11 months before her death, while in federal custody, she was moved 17 times between 8 facilities in 4 provinces, largely for ‘administrative reasons’. She was denied access to her family, to advocates and to legal counsel.
Reports of the Federal Correctional Investigator and New Brunswick Ombudsman attribute Ashley’s death to failures of individual staff and to much deeper failures within the correctional and mental health systems themselves. A provincial coroner’s inquest was launched in Ontario but was halted in September 2011 due to legal challenges and logistical obstacles. A new inquest is set to begin in January 2013.
Ashley’s death in Grand Valley five years ago exposes the inherent violence of the ‘corrections’ system and demands a response from those of us who live in the community where she died. Remembering Ashley, and all those who have died or been damaged by these institutions, is an act of collective resistance against a deeply unjust ‘justice system’. Strengthening our shared commitment to building communities of love, equity, and true justice is at the heart of this event.
A group of environmentalists are holding a 12-day fast on Parliament Hill.
They have 3 demands:
1. Stop fossil fuel subsidies.
2. Put a price on carbon.
3. Develop a national Renewable Energy Plan.
Please go to their page and pledge your support.