Fredericton Peace Coalition

Murray Dobbin: Well, warriors, another (political) season is gone and a way too many nasty things to write letters about. Here’s the last one until the fall – the outrageous decision by the Harper government to purchase jet fighters for $16 billion (including 20 years of maintenance). And this at the same time that he is handing out $6 billion in tax breaks to corporations and facing a $54 billion deficit. This is grossly irresponsible and we need to say so.

Power plants in Canada – including NB Power’s Belledune plant – and elsewhere get the coal for their power plants from one Colombian mine, the Cerrejón mine. This video report shows how coal consumption is contributing to negative consequences for the people living in the area.

The Danish NGO – DanWatch – has put pressure on their power plant to investigate and respond:
http://www.business-humanrights.org/Documents/DanWatchCerrejon

Democracy Now!: As we continue our G20 coverage, we hear from Sid Lacombe, the national coordinator of the Canadian Peace Alliance. Lacombe had his house broken into and ransacked in the lead up the G20 summit.

” The Federal Court of Appeal ruled unanimously Tuesday that a Canadian immigration official failed to consider the hardships of high-profile American deserter Jeremy Hinzman when she denied him permanent residence in Canada.

The court said the official’s June 2009 rejection of Hinzman’s permanent residence application was “significantly flawed” because the officer did not take into consideration Hinzman’s “strong moral and religious beliefs” against participation in war.”

Check out this statement that you are being asked to sign. We believe it is urgent to get as many signatures on a call for a public inquiry. We believe it is possible to shift the terms to debate, and to shine a spotlight on the abusive police practices during the G8/G20. But we need your help to do that.

Please sign on and circulate the call widely to friends, colleagues, allies and networks who might be willing to sign. Email TheTorontoCall@gmail.com with your name, affiliation and which category you prefer to be placed in (trade unionists, faculty, students, community activists, legal workers, teachers, cultural workers, arrested and detained).

At approximately 4:45 a.m., June 26, about 20 police officers raided a Toronto home. They entered the house without consent through the back door, aggressively dragging unclothed people from their beds, kicking others who were asleep on the floor.

Pride Toronto has reversed its May board resolution banning the term “Israeli Apartheid” and will instead require all participants to sign and abide by the City of Toronto’s non-discrimination policy.

In a historic accomplishment, the leadership of the US Social Forum voted this morning to cancel a workshop proposed by “Stand With US”, a Zionist organization that sought to represent Israel as a safe haven for LGBTQI communities and undermine the broadening support for the cause of justice in/for Palestine. As the National Planning Committee (NPC) put it in its announcement, “the workshop ‘LGBTQI Liberation in the Middle East’ (Thursday, June 24 10:00am to 12:00pm) has been canceled for violating the submission procedure and transparency requirements for all workshops, and for being in violation of the anti-racist principles central to the U.S. Social Forum”.

16 hours after the attack on the humanitarian Freedom Flotilla that killed at least 19 passengers, Israeli naval vessels towed the convoy’s ships to the port of Ashdod. The Israeli military has constructed an extemporaneous jail there to hold the activists until they are deported to their counties of origin.

Carmen Mejía walks two hours to work everyday. She works for an organization currently under attack for its support of indigenous communities affected by the Canadian-owned Goldcorp Marlin gold and silver open-pit mine located in the Western Guatemalan highlands.

The 25 year old daughter of campesinos and mother of a five year old learned about the dangers of mining from a friend when she was studying to be secretary. Today, she passes along this knowledge but she says, “we are not heard because we are women, we are indigenous and we are campesinas.” She says women are never consulted and in some cases it is their inherited land that is being sold by their husbands for the mine.