Quote of the week:

“He’s almost at the forefront of a very small group of nations who say whatever Israel does is right. ... We’re becoming part of the problem, not part of the solution.” —former Liberal foreign minister Lloyd Axworthy, on Stephen Harper

Mideast action

Montreal activists will hold demonstrations in front of the Israeli consulate (1155 René-Lévesque W.) on Friday, July 21, and Saturday, July 22 to protest Israel’s bombardment of Lebanon and Gaza.

“We’re demonstrating in solidarity with Palestinians and Lebanese and in protest of Canada’s support of Israel,” say Muslim Canadian Forum spokesman Mohammed Kamel. Demonstrators will hold a day-long vigil in front of the Israeli consulate starting Friday noon till next afternoon’s demonstration at 2 p.m.

Over 300 people in the region have been killed, including an estimated 280 Lebanese civilians, in attacks by Israeli forces and Hezbollah rocket strikes on Israel. Eight members of a Montreal family vacationing in Lebanon died over the weekend when an Israeli missile struck the home they were staying in. Israel acknowledged the strike and said the responsibility lay with Hezbollah. Some 40,000 Canadians are now in Lebanon, many from Montreal.

Montreal activists will also gather relief funds for Lebanon, which the Lebanese government has declared a disaster zone. For more information on relief efforts, contact Lara di Tomasso at lara.dito@gmail.com. —Samer Elatrash

Outgames cleansing

With every festival season, homeless advocates will tell you, comes the inevitable crackdown on the downtown homeless population, especially street kids. But this year, as the Outgames throw their rainbow hat into the mix, some groups are worrying that the homeless will be even more targetted than before.

“The Jazz Festival is centred around Place-des-Arts, which is always a closed, fenced-off area with a heavy police presence,” says Bernard St-Jacques, a community organizer with homeless rights group RAPSIM. “The problem with the Outgames is, it takes place over many sites—there are all sorts of parties and events all over the city. We’re worried about the police and security presence not only at the sites, but between them as well. We’re worried that all of downtown will be off-limits.”

St-Jacques says he and sex workers’ rights group Stella will be monitoring the situation and working with the Quebec Human Rights Commission. St-Jacques says he hopes a community that has fought so hard and so long for their rights won’t wind up infringing on those of others. —Patrick Lejtenyi

Innus vs. Hydro

A lawsuit by Innus of the northern Quebec Pessamit reserve against the provincial government and Hydro-Québec over the building of dams on native land will be heard by a Montreal court early next month.

The Innus Council of Pessamit says Hydro has built 13 dams that “disfigured the land and irreversibly changed [the Innus]’ way of life.”

The lawsuit, which asks for $11-billion in compensation, was filed in 1998, but dropped four years later when the Innus agreed to enter negotiations with the government.

Innus Council spokesman Eric Cardinal says the Innus walked away from the talks when they decided the government wasn’t interested in reaching a deal.

“[The Innus] are asking for the recognition of their ancestral rights,” says Cardinal.

“Quebec has grown wealthy flouting our rights and ignoring our land title. It’s unacceptable,” council chief Raphael Picard said in a press statement.

Hydro spokeswoman Marie Archambault says that the company isn’t yet aware of the details of the lawsuit, but adds that the amount sought by the Innus is exorbitant. —Samer Elatrash

Activist camp

Last week, the Quebec Human Rights Commission found metro police guilty of racist conduct towards a young black student in 2002. Yet as the boy’s mother commented to the press, despite the indictment, her son is just one of many who face racial profiling on a daily basis.

Colours of Resistance, a QPIRG-Concordia working group, wants to help take the power back. Their Snap! summer camp, which runs from July 28–Aug. 19, will feature workshops on public speaking, organizing and visual arts for indigenous and youth of colour between the ages of 16–30.

Organizer Tasha Zamudio, 24, says the program will encourage youth to snap out of political lethargy and into the next generation of Montreal activists.

“A big theme of our program is on self-representation,” says Zamudio. “We want to encourage our generation to get active in our communities, and to do it with more confidence.”

Registration for the camp is due by July 24. Participants will receive a $100 honorarium as well as the fruits of their t-shirt-making labour.

For more details, go to http://snap.mahost.org. —Elise Hugus

REAR-VIEW MIRROR

18 YEARS AGO THIS WEEK
July 8–July 28, 1988

On the cover: American comedian Emo Philips, appearing at Just for Laughs. Discussing religion with Mimi Re/Tardif, he says, “For me, coleslaw is the best metaphor for God. I see chopped cabbage as people, chopped carrots as possessions, and the mayonnaise as God holding everything together.”

• Brendan Weston investigates suicides in prison. “Over the last 20 years, the rate of suicides during incarceration has risen 30 per cent in Canada—now at 219 per 100,000 prisoners,” he writes. A prisoners’ rights activist blames deteriorating conditions inside our jails.

• “Deja Voodoo have more songs about monsters and food” on Big Pile of Mud, writes Jenny Ross. Among them: “Espresso Bongo,” “Beat Me to Lunch,” “Red Garlic Shoes” and “Polk Salad Annie.”

• After seeing Coming to America, writes Stan Shantenstein, “Some might say that Eddie Murphy has gone ‘Cosby.’ It’s not just that they’re both black and wildly successful, but both have moved to the middle of the road and blunted the sharper edges of their humour.”

Angel >> Retired U.S. general Anthony Zinni It might seem odd to make a senior American military officer an Angel, but the very public criticism heaped on U.S. Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld and his botched Iraq war by Zinni and five other retired generals merit accolades. Not that everyone thinks so. The Royal Military College in Kingston, Ontario, was planning on awarding Zinni an honorary degree in May. But when Stephen Harper’s inner circle heard about it, the Ottawa Citizen reported this week, the award was nixed. The Harper government, according to RMC civilian and military staff, feared that honouring Zinni would damage relations between the two countries, to say nothing of the current government’s reputation as toadying American lickspittles.
Insect >> Canada’s shuffling response to an international crisis Meanwhile, as Harper continues to parrot Bush about the deteriorating situation in Lebanon, the estimated 40,000 Canadians stranded there are only now getting a lift out, courtesy of seven hired ships shuttling between Lebanon, Cyprus and Turkey. The Canadian government came under furious fire earlier this week, managing to look both callous and flatfooted when hostilities broke out. There was no evacuation plan, no contingency preparations, and not even an updated Web site that wannabe evacuees could consult until early this week, days after the bombs began falling. There are more Canadians in Lebanon than from any other Western country (next is the Philippines, with 30,000), and yet Canada seems totally out of its depth.