By Jeff Shantz
State Repression Columnist

Only a few days into the Olympic spectacle and much talk had turned to black blocs and a few broken insured Hudson Bay Company windows. Yet much of the discussion has been framed within a strange liberal duality of choices between militant demonstrations (said to be offensive to working class observers) and supposedly “peaceful” symbolic protests, like the march the night of the opening ceremonies (which is presented as more palatable to working class audiences). As if the actions of the demonstrators are the real question and determine the structure of events. Anyone who has ever been on a picket line might find this a bit strange —working class folks have never been involved in dust ups with the cops?— and it has me reflecting not so much on the specific actions in Vancouver as on the broader context for policing and protests.

By Scott Neigh
Northern Ontario Correspondent

A new group based in Sudbury, Ont. is working to build national support for John Moore, an Ojibway man wrongfully convicted of second degree murder in 1978. Moore and the committee are currently asking groups and individuals from across Canada to sign on to a one-paragraph statement that outlines the injustice and asserts that "in recognition of the long history of indigenous people being targeted unfairly by the Canadian justice system, we, the individuals and groups listed below, call upon the Government of Canada to conduct a review of Moore's conviction."

Moore, a member of the Serpent River First Nation who grew up in Sault Ste. Marie, Ont. was accused of involvement in the murder of cab driver Donald Lanthier in August 1978. Moore said, "I unequivocally did not commit the crime."

By Jeff Shantz
State Repression columnist

Criminal justice systems in capitalist liberal democracies like Canada have criminalized work that is predominantly done by women. Examples of this regulation of women's labour range from the witch hunts — the punishment of women largely for medicinal knowledge; the criminalization of midwifery and abortion provision; and the criminalization of sex-trade workers. Three sex-trade workers challenging Canada's prostitution laws in a court case in Toronto show the struggles over the regulation of sex work in Canada.

The three sex-trade workers involved in the court case, dominatrix Terri-Jean Bedford and prostitutes Valerie Scott and Amy Lebovitch, argue that the laws against keeping a common bawdy house and communicating for the purposes of prostitution perpetuate violence against women by forcing them into more dangerous working conditions.

By Jeff Shantz
State Repression Columnist

The 2010 Olympic Winter Games are scheduled to take place from February 12-17, in Vancouver-Whistler on land that was never given up by indigenous communities. For growing numbers of indigenous people, homeless and poor people, low-income tenants and sex workers the Olympic Games represent a continued history of colonization and “social cleansing” of poor communities.

Construction for the Olympics infrastructure is adding to extensive destruction of indigenous peoples’ traditional homelands and contributing to the displacement and criminalization of people living in poor urban neighbourhoods.

Local media have responded to our press release (see below) that drew attention to local police manipulating hate crime laws to criminalize activism. The following articles appeared in the May 29, 2009 edition of MountainNews.com, the Dundas Star News and the Ancaster News.

Anarchists cry foul over police targetting of book fair Monitoring seeks to criminalize political dissent, organizer says.

Hug a cop or be charged
By Hamilton Community News Editorial
Editorial

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

Anarchists call Police report comparing activism to hate crime "chilling"

May 24, 2009

HAMILTON- Local members of the provincial anarchist organization
Common Cause fear Hamilton police are seeking to criminalize local
organizers after a Hamilton police report identified the 2nd annual
Hamilton Anarchist Book Fair as a potential source of hate crime.

While presenting the Year-End Hate Crime report (available online)
to the Hamilton Police Board on May 19, acting sergeant Michael Goch
stated police would be “actively monitoring” the book fair scheduled to
take place on June 6.

Alex Diceanu, Ontario Treasurer of Common Cause responded, "As the
organizers of the annual book fair, and as local anarchists and
activists, Common Cause is deeply disturbed by these statements.

"This is a manipulation of hate crime laws to criminalize activism. At
this time of economic and environmental crisis, alongside increasing

*~SPARK IN ATHENS, FIRE IN TORONTO~**

Recognize the system as flawed and transform it!

What: Solidarity rally with the Greek uprising
When: THIS Friday Jan 9 at 12 NOON
Where: Outside the Consulate General of Greece at 365 Bloor St. E (at Sherbourne)

Sponsored by: Association of Part-time Undergraduate Students, Common Cause, CUPE 3903, CUPE 3907, No One Is Illegal Toronto and Ontario Coalition Against Poverty

Why: Privatization of education, corporatization of campuses, barriers to immigration, police repression, poverty and institutionalized racism all led to the current uprising in Greece. We are struggling here with the very same issues! This is why we stand with our brothers and sisters in Greece.

Hundreds of dead and thousands of injured, sacrificed on the altar of Zionist expansionism and fundamentalism. In Canada , the foreign affairs minister Lawrence Cannon, talks about only Israel's “right to defend itself” and “First and foremost, those rocket attacks [against Israel] must stop.” reversing the true situation with an operation that would make the most cynical illusionist feel proud by making the aggressor, the State of Israel, appear to be the victim.

We didn't need another martyr

Solidarity with the Greek anarchist movement and with the victims of repression, international solidarity with all social struggles, in Greece and in the rest of Europe!

[Italiano] [Castellano] [Ελληνικά] [Français] [Nederlands]

October 19th marked the beginning of Hassan Almrei's eighth year in prison, most of it spent in solitary confinement, and of course without ever having been given any kind of fair hearing or opportunity to clear his name.

The following day, in downtown Montreal, a few people set up a mock solitary confinement cell, decorated on the inside with drawings of torture techniques. The drawings in recognition of the fact that Hassan has not only been locked up all these long years, he has been kept under the threat of deportation to Syria. As Hassan knows - and as all the judges, government ministers, members of Parliament, government lawyers, and CSIS officials who
have been involved in keeping him in this situation know - Syria is the country where Maher Arar, Abdullah Almalki, Muayyed Nureddin, and Ahmed El Maati were detained and tortured with, as it turns out, the involvement of
Canadian officials.