Protester boot camp

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by George Maddux

Protesters gearing up for the Free Trade Area of the Americas conference in Quebec City, April 20-23, had best be more prepared than they were at the Montreal G-20 summit in September. "At the G-20, people acted naively because they didn't know better," says protester Scott Weinstein. "Many protesters put themselves at high risk of either getting captured by police or trampled by horses, because they weren't reading the various signs of what was going on. It's something to work on, how to be aware of what's going on around you during intense action."

Thus all rebels with a cause are invited to a free conference this weekend to brush up on the essentials of protesting not taught at Boy Scouts. Among the group leaders will be Starhawk, a well-known Californian, pagan, feminist writer, as well as Alexander Popovic, Jaggi Singh and Phillipe Duhamel. The conference starts at 6 p.m. Friday, Jan. 12, with a workshop called Training of Trainers at 2149 Mackay. It continues on Saturday at 11 a.m., with Surviving Jail, and at 3 p.m. with Affinity Group Decision-Making. Meanwhile, Reggie's will host Effective Tactics for Protests at 11 a.m., and Avoiding Paranoia and Maintaining Vigilance in the Face of the Security State at 3 p.m. The conference continues with four more workshops on how to stay lively and alive at protests, Sunday from 11 a.m.-6 p.m. at 1710 Beaudry.