Free software, peer-to-peer file sharing, independent media networks -- all these developments demonstrate the ease with which information can be copied and transmitted these days. Such galloping advancements in the realm of 'digital freedom' are nonetheless directly threatened by new restrictions on "intellectual property" being pushed by enormous commercial interests, as well as the general atmosphere of paranoia stirred under the banner of the so-called 'war on terror'.

It's against this backdrop that Montreal will host, this Sunday, July the 3rd, a visit from the great Richard M. Stallman. RMS -- as he is affectionately known by geeks worldwide -- is the man behind the idea of free software, the revolutionary concept of copyleft, and the GNU project (at the base of the GNU/Linux operating system). He is also a notorious and tireless promoter of digital freedom [...]

CMAQ volunteers will be on hand at UQAM this Sunday to document the proceedings -- multimedia files will be posted here as soon as they are available.

 
Pour une deuxième fois en un an, un autre serveur d'Indymedia a été saisi.
Cette fois, c'est le serveur d'Indymedia Bristol.

Les festivités de la Fête nationale du Québec à Montréal ont été marquées cette année par la présentation d'un spectacle "alternatif" au Parc Jean-Drapeau, organisé sous l'égide d'un des groupes parmi les plus populaires de l'heure, les Cowboys Fringants. L'un dans l'autre, ce spectacle hautement commercial fut surtout l'occasion de propager le discours péquiste et la collaboration de classes.

 
I apologize to the Honourable Pierre Pettigrew for the "fake blood" accidentally spilt on his favourite Calvin Klein suit during my protest Friday against human rights abuses in Haiti and Canada's role in overthrowing the country's democracy.
I intended for the fake blood to stain only Mr. Pettigrew's hands.

La marche Personne N'est Illégal / SSF est arrivée sur la colline parlementaire à Ottawa, achevant un voyage d'une semaine à pied à partir de Montréal. Les participants et leurs supporteurs, plusieurs centaines de personnes en tout, manifesteront devant l'édifice du Parlement avant de se rendre dans un parc du centre-ville pour célébrer la fin de la marche lors d'une autre fête de quartier. FORMAT: MP3 DURÉE: 2:07 TAILLE: 125 Ko (version OGG `haute' qualité: ici)

À ÉCOUTER ÉGALEMENT :
JOUR 8 : 1: OGG/MP3 2: OGG/MP3 3: OGG/MP3
JOUR 7 : 1: OGG/MP3 2: OGG/MP3 3: OGG/MP3 4: OGG/MP3
JOUR 5 : 1: OGG/MP3 2: OGG/MP3 3: OGG/MP3
JOUR 4 : 1: OGG/MP3 2: OGG/MP3
JOUR 3 : 1: OGG/MP3 2: OGG/MP3 3: OGG/MP3 4: OGG/MP3 5: OGG/MP3 6: OGG/MP3 7: OGG/MP3
JOUR 2 : 1: OGG/MP3 2: OGG/MP3 3: OGG/MP3 4: OGG/MP3
JOUR 1 : 1: OGG/MP3 2: OGG/MP3 3: OGG/MP3 4: OGG/MP3 5: OGG/MP3 6: OGG/MP3

AUSSI :

•  photos : JOUR 1 : ici et ici | JOUR 2 | JOUR 3 | JOUR 4 | JOUR 5
•  un reportage audio de dix minutes sur la première journée de la marche a été publié par roberto
•  une séquence vidéo du départ de Montréal et  une autre du jour 2 de la marche ont été montées par O.D. Asselin
•  un mini-clip vidéo tourné en soirée du jour 1, avec Nomadic Massive est également disponible

 
Live from the No One Is Illegal / SAB March, walking down Rideau street less than 2 km away from Parliament Hill, PatC speaks with refugee and march participant Amir Hodod. The marchers, having made their way on foot from Montreal this past week, are now minutes away from their goal.

FORMAT: MP3
LENGTH: 2:40
SIZE: 158 KB

(better-quality OGG version: here)

 
As the main group marches from Thurso to Masson, a special delegation has been sent ahead to Ottawa to try to speak with Joe Volpe, minister of Immigration, before the march and its supporters converge on Canada's capital tomorrow.
Presently (about 12:50 on Friday) the marchers' delegation is at the CIC building on Laurier street, and it appears a few of them will be allowed to meet with Immigration officials after 'arguing with police and security for 40 minutes'.

FORMAT: MP3
LENGTH: 2:50
SIZE: 167 KB

('hifi' OGG version: here)

 
As of the last posted update, 8:30 AM on Friday, the SAB / No One Is Illegal march has entered its seventh day as the participants make their way from Thurso to Masson. They plan to cross the Outaouais again tonight, to rest one last time in Orleans, before a final push on Ottawa, Saturday.

More updates are to be posted shortly .. in the meantime check out the links below.

AUDIO LINKS FROM THE MARCH SO FAR :
DAY 5 : 1: OGG/MP3 2: OGG/MP3 3: OGG/MP3
DAY 4 : 1: OGG/MP3 2: OGG/MP3
DAY 3 : 1: OGG/MP3 2: OGG/MP3 3: OGG/MP3 4: OGG/MP3 5: OGG/MP3 6: OGG/MP3 7: OGG/MP3
DAY 2 : 1: OGG/MP3 2: OGG/MP3 3: OGG/MP3 4: OGG/MP3
DAY 1 : 1: OGG/MP3 2: OGG/MP3 3: OGG/MP3 4: OGG/MP3 5: OGG/MP3 6: OGG/MP3

ALSO :

• SAB Thursday Update by Aaron
•  photos : DAY 1 : here and here | DAY 2 | DAY 3 | DAY 4 | DAY 5
•  CKUT Radio: 7 Audio Reports from the March to Ottawa
•  a video clip from the start of the march in Montreal and  another from day 2 of the march have been submitted by O.D. Asselin
•  a mini video clip shot on the evening of day 1 and featuring Nomadic Massive is also available

 
Montreal activist pours fake blood on the hands of Pierre Pettigrew to symbolize the blood on Canada's hands resulting from its actions in Haiti.

 
The sentiment behind the prohibition of panhandling is disguised behind the word "aggressive". But really, this is about the creation of a class of untouchables and the creeps that don't want to touch them.

 
In a bid to denounce Canada's poor treatment of immigrants and refugees, the Solidarity Across Borders coalition is organizing a march from Montreal to Ottawa, from June 18th to the 25th. Aiming to bring the public's attention to the situation of refugees and immigrants in the country, the coalition has made the following 4 demands:

1. The regularization of all non-status persons ;
2. An end to deportations ;
3. An end to the detention of migrants, immigrants and refugees ;
4. The abolition of security certificates.

Some 200,000 people now live and work in Canada without any legal status.

On Saturday, June 18th, the march will depart from Cabot square (Atwater Metro), heading for Côte-des-Neiges. The first day of the march will come to a close with a neighbourhood street party in Kent Park (Côte-des-Neiges). The event will feature Nomadic Massive, Syncop, and Muzion. The adventure will continue in truth when the marchers hit the road the next day, heading for Ottawa.

Check out this article by Aaron Lakoff and Seth Porcello to find out more about the campaign.

You can follow the march by listening to CMAQ's audio reports, which will be made available here as the march progresses. Regular updates will be made to the photo gallery, as well.

The Solidarity Across Borders site will also be featuring news updates from the participants and the organization.

 
Du 18 au 25 juin, la coalition Solidarité sans frontières organise une marche de Montréal à Ottawa pour dénoncer la guerre menée aux immigrant(e)s et réfugié(e)s. Le but de la marche est d’attirer l’attention de l’opinion publique sur la situation des immigrant(e)s et réfugié(e)s au Canada. Voici les 4 revendications de la coalition :

1. La régularisation de toutes les personnes sans-statut;
2. La fin des déportations;
3. La fin des détentions des migrant(e)s, immigrant(e)s et réfugié(e)s;
4. L’abolition des certificats de sécurité.

Il y a présentement quelque 200 000 personnes vivant et travaillant au Canada sans statut légal.

Le samedi 18 juin, la marche s’enclenche au square Cabot (métro Atwater) en direction du quartier Côte-des-Neiges. Le premier jour de la marche sera marqué par une fête de quartier au Parc Kent, vers 18h00, en compagnie de Nomadic Massive, Syncop, et Muzion. Le lendemain, la route attend les marcheur(se)s pour la poursuite de leur périple en direction d’Ottawa.

Pour mieux s’informer sur la campagne, écoutez le reportage radiophonique de Mohamed Lofti.

Tout au long de la marche, suivez les capsules sonores provenant de la marche qui seront disponibles sur le site du CMAQ, ainsi que la gallerie de photos régulièrement mise à jour.

Aussi, suivez les mises à jours des marcheur(se)s et de l’organisation sur le site de Solidarité sans Frontières.

 
Les barrages de routes ont été levés et dans la ville de El Alto, la "normalité" a commencé à reprendre ses droits hier, malgré les positions radicales des dirigeants de quartiers qui durant l'après-midi se sont trouvés forcés de déclarer une pause au niveau des mesures de pression en demande de la nationalisation des hydrocarbures.

 
Montreal – As Bombardier executives and shareholders left their annual general meeting at the Sheraton today, a student hung a Tibetan flag off the hotel as protesters below demanded: “Bombardier: hors du Tibet / out of Tibet

Montréal et Québec, 2 juin 2005. Le Board of Immigration Appeal des États-Unis vient de reconnaître Mohamed Cherfi comme réfugié politique en renversant la décision de refus qui avait été émise par un juge de la Cour d'Immigration américaine le 22 octobre dernier. Cette reconnaissance met en lumière toute l'injustice dont a souffert M.Cherfi dans le cadre du traitement de sa demande d'immigration au Canada et au Québec, où les graves risques qu'il court en Algérie ont été niés à plusieurs reprises. Les organismes et les individus qui l'appuient, de même que sa conjointe Louise Boivin, exigent que les autorités québécoises et canadiennes prennent des mesures pour que Mohamed Cherfi puisse revenir au Canada immédiatement.

 
This is a call for financial support and solidarity for an independent media initiative of CKUT Radio's Community News Collective in Montreal, with the collaboration of the Electronic Intifada, Free Speech Radio News and members of the Independent Media Center in Beirut.

Between June & September 2005, Stefan Christoff, an independent journalist and community organizer in Montreal, will travel to Lebanon to produce written, audio, and visual reports on present-day struggles for social justice in Lebanon. He will be the Electronic Intifada's "Special Correspondent" in Lebanon. Christoff will also be producing regular radio reports for Free Speech Radio News and recording material for a radio documentary series to be produced at CKUT Radio in Montreal and distributed to community radio stations throughout the world in the fall of 2005.

El 12 de Septiembre, 2004, en mi comentario referente a la "Crisis Energética Mundial ... el Contexto Venezolano" publicado por VHeadline.com, hice las siguientes preguntas pertinentes: "¿Será verdad que realmente estamos en medio de una 'Crisis Energética Mundial'? ¿Existe una conexión histórica global entre esta 'crisis' y los dramáticos acontecimientos sociales sucediendo en Venezuela? Y, ¿por qué América Latina es una bomba de tiempo revolucionaria?"
http://www.vheadline.com/readnews.asp?id=22749

FRANZ J. T. LEE, JUTTA SCHMITT
Y MARIA GABRIELA M. C. EN ACCIÓN

 
L'ensemble des pays membres de l'Union européenne seront bientôt appelés à approuver ou à rejeter le projet de constitution européenne. Une campagne européenne est aujourd'hui créée en vue de contribuer à développer un large mouvement pour le rejet de ce projet de constitution.

Vous pouvez la soutenir et y adhérer en souscrivant au texte ci-dessous

 
Listen to an interview with independent journalist Dahr Jamail, who speaks on the growing number of Iraqi refugees fleeing the ongoing U.S. lead military occupation into neighboring Jordan....

Comunicado de apoyo a nuestros camarades de la Argentina para su lucha estudiante.

 
La stigmatisation est le plus important thème qui soit ressorti des discussions qui ont eu lieu tout au long du Forum XXX. Un article de Cybersolidaires, qui a couvert l'événement en direct avec Stella.

Lors de la plénière finale, Maria Nengeh Mensah soulignait que la stigmatisation est le plus important thème qui soit ressorti des discussions qui ont eu lieu tout au long du Forum XXX. Toutes les personnes travailleuses du sexe la vivent, ce qui en fait un problème social. Les étiquettes qui leur sont attribuées d'emblée, dont celle de criminel-le, produisent leur victimisation. Tant la police que les féministes abolitionnistes, les médias et le grand public produisent cette stigmatisation. Les travailleuses du sexe en génèrent aussi elles-mêmes via certaines divisions internes (au sujet des travailleuses du sexe séropositives par exemple, ou encore entre danseuses nues et travailleuses du sexe de rue et aussi entre professionnelles originaires du pays où elles oeuvrent et travailleuses migrantes illégales).

 
Port au Prince (HIP) - Thousands of demonstrators took to the streets of Haiti's capital May 18 to demand the return of President Jean-Bertrand  Aristide and freedom for political prisoners. The U.N. provided security for the march but allowed SWAT units of the Haitian police to enter the otherwise peaceful demonstration with automatic weapons drawn.

Se viene la Decima Ronda del TLC ¿El lugar? La kapital económica del Ecuador, Guayakil. No podemos kedarnos kallad@s, todas y todos kontra el colonialismo corporativo. El boycot a esta amenaza debe ser una realidad. Organizarse es emanciparce.

 
A lawyer gave a brief opinion piece on Canada's public radio, the CBC, in which he flatly said that criticism of Israel is a form of anti-Semitism.

I guess we should be grateful that people in Canada are much less violent in their opinions than people in the U.S. where one lawyer wrote an essay, published on the Internet, seriously advocating the execution of the families of those who commit terrorist acts in Israel. Another American lawyer, a very prominent one, has advocated protocols governing the legal use of torture in the United States.

 
The Canadian mining industry has come under scrutiny lately, thanks to the mobilization of activists, NGOs and solidarity groups who organized a number of events to shine a spotlight on human rights and environmental issues, culminating in a demonstration in front of Alcan’s AGM on April 28th.

 
Wal-Mart just gave one group of heroic workers in Quebec the grand 'fuck you'. This is a message and a sign of these unfortunate times.

 
A while ago, we saw who all bid farewell to Pope John II, who all brought his beloved, favorite successor, Benedict XVI, into power. The international mass media, like during the two US military invasions of Iraq, day and night, gave full coverage, disseminated precise, concrete details, about the global, pharisaic fraternity of attending, mourning guests, especially of the bewailing presidents and great statesmen, spearheaded by the family Bush.

 
Over sixty people rallied last Tuesday in Montreal in front of both the U.S and French consulates as well as the major federal government offices, marking the 18th anniversary of Haiti's post-Duvalier (Baby Doc and Papa Doc) constitution. Montreal’s information picket was in solidarity with a much larger mobilization in Port au Prince where, despite a terribly repressive political climate, tens of thousands gathered to march from the slum of Bel Air.

 
Earlier today [ed: Thursday, March 31st] around 500 students swarmed into the Complexe Dejardins as part of CASSÉÉ's week of "economic disruptions". While inside, many students blocked entrances, clapping and cheering, while others went into the IGA supermarket and raided food, cheese, and wine.

 
March 30, 2005 -- Police surround the student-occupied Vieux Montreal CEGEP, dismantle blockades, and appear to be preparing to take the building. Other students surround the police, and an hour later, they go back from whence they came. In the meantime, the people inside wait for police to move, and play foosball while keeping the table ready to block the doors. After the police leave, students gather to rebuild the barricades. Completely by chance, I was inside when all of this happened, and took some photos.

High resolution versions available (email dru at dru dot ca). All photos are under the Creative Commons 2.0 license (use however you want, but give credit).