The Courage to Speak Truth to Power

The more we challenge the status quo, the more the entrenched powers resist and attack us. Fortunately, social justice is not a popularity contest.

Activism is healing, spiritual growth, self-defense, and it’s protecting our future.

I gave the following speech as the homily for the Capital Unitarian congregation. January 10, 2009, Victoria, BC

Thank you for the opportunity to launch my speaking career. Some of you may know me as a writer and an advocate for social and environmental justice. I’m also available for workshops, interviews, conferences, writing and editing, cat-sitting, domestic help, and other odd jobs. (Laughter) I knew when I started out in this line that I would never be a millionaire and I was right. But I have a certain freedom and flexibility that your average millionaire might envy.

The market demand for social justice advocates is huge right now. It’s a growth industry. And the job security is fantastic – there is no shortage of urgent issues demanding our attention. Experience is not necessary, people come to activism at every age and stage in their lives. It’s that easy!

A Crucial Message from Rising Tide North America

A crucial year end message from Rising Tide North America

Greetings friends and supporters of Rising Tide North America!

Would you like to see RTNA continue to grow and build its network of groups and individuals striking directly at the root causes of climate change? RTNA is humbly asking you, your family, friends, neighbors, and colleagues to support our grassroots efforts by putting your money where your heart is.

RTNA fills a niche in the fight for Climate Justice that is very hard to raise money for the traditional way since we advocate non-violent direct action and loudly oppose corporate power: as such your involvement in our work is essential to our success.

Denver anarchist held without bail in Copenhagen: Call for Solidarity!

From our comrades at the Denver Anarchist Black Cross:

Today we learned that an anarchist comrade and dear friend of ours has been arrested on two charges at the ongoing Cop15 actions in Copenhagen, Denmark and will be held without possibility of bail for at least three weeks. Solidarity in the form of letters of support (free to send), as well as legal donations, is urgently needed.

Noah “Rockslide” of Denver, Colorado moved to Copenhagen several months ago and has been active in the organizing of resistance to the Cop 15 Summit. He has been arrested and charged with two counts (one is the Danish equivalent of a felony, the other a misdemeanor): Violence Towards Police and Disturbing the Public Peace. He is being held on remand at a jail outside Copenhagen awaiting a preliminary hearing on Jan 4th 2009, when he will be able make a petition for his release. It is possible that this preliminary hearing could be his trial, though this is unexpected because they normally take longer to prepare and the courts will be on holiday because of Christmas.

CrimethInc. – The Climate Is Changing

In the past few years, scientific consensus has finally emerged that global warming is taking place as a result of industrial capitalism and with dire consequences for life on earth. Corporate efforts to bribe scientists to argue otherwise are attracting fewer and fewer takers; this is especially telling in view of how many researchers depend on industry backing. But rather than engaging with the fact that capitalism itself is destructive, governments and liberal environmentalists are promoting corporate responses to the problems posed by climate change.

This week, representatives of governments around the world are meeting in Copenhagen for the COP15, ostensibly to make decisions on how to respond to the climate crisis. The results are bound to cater to the agenda of corporate interests hoping to legitimize carbon trading and other false solutions. Fortunately, anarchists and other opponents of self-inflicted extinction will be there to crash the party.

Comrades have published a full-length critique of the prevailing narratives around climate change, Introduction to the Apocalypse [PDF, 1 MB]. Likewise, we’ve added new material to our online reading library addressing the issues:

The Climate Is Changing & A Field Guide to False Solutions

COP15: Be part of the party!

Copenhagen – COP15 – World Climate Summit

On December 12th 2009 a mass demonstration against the COP15 Climate Summit will take place in Copenhagen. A mixture of very different people, groups and organizations are going to participate.

Unfortunately, the official route of the demonstration will directly lead out of the city centre into a barren part of town around the conference building, where it is going to end. It will also not be possible for us to change our mind on the way and turn around in order to bring our protest to public places, as after 30 minutes the demonstration will cross a draw-bridge, which can prevent us from returning to the inner city in the blink of an eye. This is why we think it is important to make up our minds beforehand, which way we want to go.

All information about travel, sleeping places, legal rights, actions, maps, food, medics, etc. can be found at www.climate-justice-action.org.

The Occupation Movement: Take Back The Land Call To Action For Mayday 2010

The USHRN Land and Housing Action Group is calling for a month of direct actions throughout the country, commencing on May Day 2010 (May 1st, 2010) to reclaim our homes and communities from the banks, speculators, and gentrifiers. Join us by organizing actions in your city and region, designed to meet your own local conditions and needs. We also ask everyone who supports this initiative to spread the word and help the campaign reach the critical mass necessary to effect change.

Building a Movement

A severe housing crisis exists in the United States. All across the country, despite courageous struggles against divestment, land speculation and gentrification, public housing communities are being permanently displaced as developments are razed to the ground. Millions of families have been dispossessed of their homes, wrongly evicted and displaced from their communities by the escalating foreclosure crisis. Homelessness is escalating to levels unseen since the 1930’s as a direct result of the various forces of displacement stated above and economic dislocation from increased automation, deindustrialization, and the globalization of production.

Resisting Desert Rock

(Yet another in our series of articles written for GNN.tv by users of the now closed online community, originally published Mon, 05 Mar 2007. Some info may be outdated.)

Indigenous resistance against the proposed Desert Rock coal-fired power plant continues despite intimidation and harassment.

On the Navajo Reservation of New Mexico, indigenous elders and youth have been battling energy giants—and their plan to construct a new coal-fired power plant on Navajo lands—in an attempt to protect their lands and traditions. In December of 2006, resisters erected a barricade and engaged in a tense standoff with law enforcement. Though the barricade has since been removed, indigenous resisters remain on site to vigil and protest against the destruction of their sacred lands, while others seek to educate, organize, and rally their people, as well as the public at large.

Demolishing Disaster Capitalism

(This article is another in our series of articles written for GNN.tv by users of the now closed online community, originally published Fri, 21 Dec 2007)

Resistance against public housing demolitions in New Orleans

“If you try to bulldoze our homes, we’re going to fight.
There’s going to be a war in New Orleans.“
^{— Sharon Jasper, New Orleans low income housing resident}

The Battle of City Hall

On Thursday, protesters and police were battling in the streets outside City Hall in New Orleans after more than 100 activists stormed through the gate. Meanwhile, inside the council chambers, City Council members were voting on whether or not to resume planned demolitions of low-income housing units, despite local and national resistance. Residents say the brick buildings are perfectly habitable, and accuse the city, the Housing Authority of New Orleans (HANO), and Housing and Urban Development (HUD) of a program of class warfare and racially motivated gentrification.