rebel clowns at the SPP protest in canada!

http://photos.cmaq.net/v/montebello-a20/IMG_1871.jpg.html

more photos including a hilarious and awesome queer bloc here:

http://photos.cmaq.net/v/montebello-a20/

updates on the spp here:

http://ottawa.indymedia.org/

WHY WE ARE PROTESTING!

Montebello, Quebec (August 19-21, 2007) -- George Bush, Stephen Harper and Mexican President Felipe Calderon are meeting behind steel fences and
thousands of police at the Chateau Montebello, as part of the so-called
"Security and Prosperity Partnership".

They talk about "security" and "prosperity", but their agenda really means
insecurity and misery for working and oppressed peoples in the Americas.

In brief, the "Security and Prosperity Partnership" (SPP) combines the
destructive neo-liberal policies of the North American Free Trade Agreement
(NAFTA) with the fear and paranoia of post 9-11 "Homeland Security"
policies. The SPP is firmly rooted within a colonial and capitalist
framework.

There is no mystery to the SPP agenda: murderous wars and occupations
abroad; border militarization; increased detentions and deportations;
attacks on indigenous peoples, the poor, migrants, and working people;
ecological destruction; mega-projects in the service of corporate greed; and
much more and worse.

From mostlywater.org:

**** RESIST THE SPP! ***
(please copy and post to all lists and contacts!)

[Note: The events listed below are in the Vancouver area. Other events are being organized in Montreal, Ottawa and Toronto. Stay tuned for further details.]

See also No One is Illegal - Vancouver: Target the North American Competitiveness Council and Security & Prosperity Partnership!

For an excellent analysis of the SPP, see The Militarization and Annexation of North America

August 20th is a continental day of action to oppose the SPP, a highly secretive agreement between US, Mexico, and Canada. The SPP is essentially NAFTA-plus-Homeland Security, firmly rooted within a colonial and capitalist framework. There is no doubt that the SPP will bring greater insecurity and misery: murderous wars and occupations abroad; border militarization; increased detentions and deportations; attacks on indigenous peoples, the poor, migrants, and working people; ecological destruction; and mega-projects in the service of corporate greed.

Leading upto August 20th, a wide range of educational events, actions, and creative resistance is being planned by a growing network of groups and individuals. Below are just some of the activities being planned, with many more being planned and confirmed...

technorati tags: spp, nafta, canada, mexico, borders

FOR EVERY MOMENT WITHOUT STATUS, FOR EVERY MINUTE IN DETENTION, FOR EVERY INHUMANE DEPORTATION:

ON APRIL 25TH - SHUT DOWN CITIZENSHIP & IMMIGRATION CANADA!

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 25TH
1:00 P.M.
GATHER: Front Entrance, C.I.C. - 300 West Georgia
(corner Hamilton)

How many of us have seen our friends and families go through the fear and humiliation of detention hearings, reporting proceedings, and deportations at 300 West Georgia? Borne the pain of the separation of our families and communities? Witnessed the punishment and criminalization of our loved ones for having made the courageous decision to migrate?

On April 25th we will be rallying to shut down the offices of Citizenship & Immigration Canada (CIC) and the Canadian Border Services Agency (CBSA) in Vancouver - the institutions which daily take away the dignity and security of our communities through the detention and deportation regime.

By Peter Phillips - World News

Threats of terrorism and twelve million “illegal” immigrants are being used to justify new police-state measures in the United States. Coordinated mass arrests, big brother spy blimps, expanded detention centers, repeal of the Posse Comitatus Act, and suspension of habeas corpus have all been recently implemented and are ready to use against anyone in the US.

The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) flooded Mexico with cheap subsidized US agricultural products that displaced millions of Mexican farmers. Between 2000 and 2005, Mexico lost 900,000 rural jobs and 700,000 industrial jobs, resulting in deep unemployment throughout the country. Desperate poverty has forced millions of Mexican workers north in order to feed their families.

No One Is Illegal-Montreal Radio (March 2007)
part of CKUT's Open Conspiracy for Social Change

This special uploaded edition of No One Is Illegal Radio is a
compilation of audio from the launch of the final report of the
"People's Commission into Immigration "Security" Measures." The public launch of the report took place on February 1, 2007 at the Centre Communautaire Musulman de Montreal.

--> LISTEN to this special People's Commission edition of No One Is Illegal Radio

Audio excerpts from the People's Commission launch include:
* FETYA AHMED, SARWAT VIQUAR & JARED WILL, commissioners: presenting
the findings of the People's Commission;
* SARITA AHOOJA, member of No One Is Illegal-Montreal and a
commissioner: speaking on the Land Reclamation at Six Nations;
* KHADIJA BENNIS, spokesperson of the Justice for Anas Campaign:
speaking about the killing of her brother by Montreal police;
* MARY FOSTER, member of the Justice Coalition for Adil Charkaoui and
an organizer of the People's Commission: speaking about the Kingston
Immigration Holding Center ("Guantanamo North") and the Secret Trial
Five;
* TATIANA GOMEZ, member of Solidarity Across Borders and an organizer
of the People's Commission: speaking about the case of Amparo Torres,
a Colombian refugee facing deportation based on secret evidence;
* HICHAM HALLAL, member of the Al Hidaya Association: speaking about
Islamophobia and the racial and religious profiling of Arab and Muslim
communities;
* MARIE-EVE LAMY, member of the Justice Coalition for Adil Charkaoui
and an organizer of the People's Commission: speaking about the case
of Suleyman Goven, a Kurdish refugee to Canada who was denied status
for 15 years due to CSIS harassment and intimidation;
* LEILA POURTAVAF, member of No One Is Illegal-Montreal and a
researcher for the People's Commission: speaking on the current
immigration regime in Canada;
* LAURA SCHEVCHENKO, organizer with the Sogi Bachan Singh Support
Committee: providing an update about the deportation to possible
torture of Sogi Singh, based on secret evidence.

-- Produced by Leila Pourtavaf and Jaggi Singh of No One Is Illegal-Montreal.

Terror Suspect Jaballah Tells Activist Release from Jail is 'Wonderful Dream'
Lauren La Rose; Sunday, April 15, 2007 - Canadian Press

TORONTO - After spending nearly six years in jail without charge, a suspected Egyptian terrorist spent his first full day back with his family on Saturday. Mahmoud Jaballah now has to make the transition from a life behind bars to one where he's confined to his Toronto home.

Jaballah was released Friday from the Kingston Immigration Holding Centre in eastern Ontario after a Federal Court judge said last month that the 44-year-old should be released under strict conditions and placed under house arrest.

MAY DAY 2007
MARCH FOR WORKERS' RIGHTS: SOLIDARITY WITH ALL IMMIGRANT, MIGRANT &
UNDOCUMENTED WORKERS!

Immigrant rights are worker's rights: Justice for All!

++++++++++++++++++++++++++
TUESDAY, MAY 1
Gather at 6pm at Clark Park @ Commercial Drive and 14th Avenue
(close to Broadway Skytrain)
March to Grandview Park for gathering @ 7:30 pm
++++++++++++++++++++++++++

==> Family-friendly march
==> There will be food, water and snacks during the demo.
==> Rest vehicles will accompany the march.

With imperialist globalization, workers in Canada are facing undeniable
attacks. Hard-won wages, benefits and social services are now being
cruelly eroded as Canada joins other imperialist countries in forcing
increased labour flexibility in the name of ‘free trade’ and the
neo-liberal agenda. Even workers’ solidarity is being criminalized and the
right for workers to unionize or to fight for their legitimate rights is
under attack.

You might remember the REAL ID act which passed about two years ago very quietly because its the act which allows DHS to literally waive all laws when constructing border fences or roads for border enforcement.

National ID Card Regulations Issued
The Department of Homeland Security released long-delayed requirements for the standardization of state identification documents Thursday. States must start issuing the new internal passports by May 2008, or else their citizens will not be able to board planes or enter federal courthouses. Civil libertarians say the requirement, known as the REAL ID Act, creates a national identity card that presents significant privacy risks to Americans. Many states oppose the rule as an unfunded mandate and an encroachment on states rights.

The regulations are complex, ranging from the kinds of documents required to get a license, how states databases will interact, the required elements on a compliant I.D. document's face, how states need to store copies of your breeder documents, and how states can attempt to deal with homeless people and other cases, such as judges, police officers and victims of domestic violence and stalking.

While some expected Homeland Security to require the licenses to have smart cards or RFID chips, DHS instead proposes a 2D bar code (magnetic stripe) similiar to those used on many licenses. That information will not be encrypted.

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