Fredericton Peace Coalition

Adil Charkaoui says he is appearing before the Supreme Court of Canada Thursday to denounce the investigation against him. Lawyers for Charkaoui, who was detained under a national security certificate in 2003, are expected to question how the Canadian Security Intelligence Service handled its records of an April 2001 interview with him that the spy agency says it recently discovered.

“The first use of nuclear weapons must remain in the quiver of escalation as the ultimate instrument to prevent the use of weapons of mass destruction.”
-We must use weapons of mass destruction to prevent the use of weapons of mass destruction? Somebody needs to take a basic logic course.

Mohamed Harkat has just been re-arrested at his home in Ottawa South. Dozens of officers came down to arrest him on breach of bail conditions, claiming that Sophie’s mother did not live at the residence, even though the conditions state that someone — either Sophie or her mother — must be with him 24-7. Is this is a ploy to make the government’s case for C-3 stronger? The Council of Canadians was set to film Mohamed tomorrow afternoon for a youtube entry as a way to implore Liberals to vote against Bill C-3 when it comes up for second reading, probably this Thursday.

The federal government is having trouble recruiting an experienced pool of lawyers to work as “special advocates” on behalf of terror suspects under Canada’s security certificate law.

We were a small group of 10 demonstrating in front of Fredericton MP Andy Scott’s office on Friday at noon as part of the national day of action against the proposed security certificate legislation. A media release was sent to the Fredericton/NB media but unfortunately they chose not to cover the story at all. We held 2 banners that read “Stop Secret Trials and Deportations to Torture in Canada” and “Let Laibar Singh Stay”. Our camera batteries didn’t like the cold so we got no photos. Carol Ferguson with the NDP expressed her party’s opposition to the new security certificate legislation and I said a few words on the situation of Laibar Singh in Vancouver. Since we were a somewhat small crowd, we went inside and requested a meeting with our MP to discuss his position on the new security certificate legislation. But he was in Ottawa and not available to speak to us. The office later confirmed a meeting on Friday, February 8th at 2pm. We did mention that the security certificate vote in parliament could occur before that date. His office administrator said they will watch the schedule of votes and if the vote is before February 8th then we will be notified and they will set up a conference call where we can all go to his office and talk to him on the phone in Ottawa. His office also confirmed receipt of the Fredericton Peace Coalition letter sent to him on this issue at the end of December. More Liberal MPs are deciding to vote against it and I think we can convince him to do the same. After our visit to the MP’s office, we passed out flyers on secret trials and Laibar Singh around Fredericton, in cafes, the mall, bus station, etc. Later that evening, we watched Whose Rights, Anyway? Justice for Mohamed Harkat to a crowd at Cinema Politica Fredericton followed by an update on security certificates and Harkat’s situation.

How Benamar Benatta ‘disappeared’ after 9/11. The Canadian government sent him to the U.S. where he was accused of being behind the 9/11 bombings: ‘The way they accused me, I thought my life was over’

We, the women of Afghanistan, only became a cause in the west following 11 September 2001, when the Taliban suddenly became the official enemy of America. Yes, they persecuted women, but they were not unique, and we have resented the silence in the west over the atrocious nature of the western-backed warlords, who are no different. They rape and kidnap and terrorize, yet they hold seats in [Hamid] Karzai’s government.

Sex outside marriage remains illegal in post-Taleban Afghanistan, and the prisons are full of women who have been convicted of “fornication”, a charge that carries a penalty of from five to 15 years in jail. “The men who come to my house work in NGOs [non-government organisations], and some of the city’s wealthiest people also come,” he boasted. “I have placed this entire house at their service, and they can feel quite safe and secure.”

Join a in a workshop on security and immigration in Canada focused on security certificates, sanctuary and deportations, and detention. This workshop will provide organizers with a framework for understanding these issues and a base from which to effectively organize against them.

Sunday, January 27 (as part of an National Day of Action)
2.30 PM
Renaissance College, 811 Charlotte St.
Wheelchair accessible
Contact emmastrople@riseup.net for more information

THE SCOTS MISSION

The crofter Scots who tilled the hills,

Loved clan and kilt and caber,

Saint Andrew’s kirk and Bible tales,

When forced to leave the heather.

No piper played the clan lament,

No neighbours marched for justice,

No friends or help from government.

No home. No hope. No haggis.

They sailed to settle Canada.

And helped to build the nation,

Where love of neighbour tempers law,

With justice and compassion.

They built the Church to help the Saints-

With Celtic Cross for healing,

And ringing bells for hopeful hints,

The service is beginning.

Inside the people praising God,

Are telling tales of Jesus,

Outside the noisy protest crowd,

Is asking God for justice:

The women want to stop abuse,

The workers fair employment,

And victims, taught by Scots, refuse-

The “Crofter clearance” treatment.

The mission message given Scots,

Is serve your God like Jesus,

By helping hurt compatriots,

Find love and truth and justice.

R.H.Young 506-451-8999 Fredericton NB

THE MODERN MICMACS

HOMELAND SECURITY

The modern Micmacs* not forgot,

Ancestors welcomed Clearance Scots;

When refugees from power plots,

Their leaders hatched from luxury spots.

Our violent world, two-thousand eight,

Has refugees from greed and hate,

Around Goliath’s armoured gate,

Where space age victims congregate;

Engaged in social change debate:

“Will faithful voters legislate

Non-violently our future fate -

Or must we terrorize the State,?”

The Christian answer’s sane and strange:

“Our God is love’s non-violent change”.

* Native North Americans, Gaspe’ to Cape Breton Nation

THE DRUMMERS REMEMBRANCE DAY

In kilt and tam Remembrance Day,

I help to praise the fallen.

I roll my drum then give a tap,

As each one’s name is callen.

And as I beat my drum thru time,

I watch the children listen -

And think it’s time to change the tune -

And bring this world more loven.

DREAMERS

Our armaments are made for sale,

To help the peace agenda –

Like Doctors selling castor oil,

To cure diarrhoea.