Picture of the Day: Current Levels of Action…
From the Reclaim Power Protest in Copenhagen, Denmark, outside the COP15 Climate Conference on Wednesday 16 December. (more to come)
"The current levels of action to fight the suffering & injustice aren't enough. We need to make it the primary aim of human society, & everyone's absolute priority, to maximize well-being for everyone instead of competing for profit. Please help fight the suffering & injustice (& help reform structures so that we can achieve this) & it will help you too. We all want the same underlying things."
Picture(s) of the Day: Bienvenidos a Guatemala
I’ve just arrived in Guatemala. I’ll be here for a month continuing work on Someone Else’s Treasure. Here are a few pictures from my first day here taken during the long drive from Guatemala City to San Marcos in the western highlands near the Mexican border. These were all taken out the window of a moving vehicle, so I can’t wait to be able to stop and meet some people.
- Bienvenidos a Guatemala
- Bienvenidos a Guatemala
- Bienvenidos a Guatemala
- Bienvenidos a Guatemala
Bienvenidos a Guatemala
Picture(s) of the Day: Global Day of Action Against Open Pit Mining
These are three posters that I designed recently for the Global Day of Action Against Open Pit Mining.
1 ounce of Gold = 79 tones of Waste
Mercury | Cyanide | Lead
Native Rights Ignored | Duty to Consult Ignored
BAYAN Canada Calls for Justice in the Philippines
September 21st was the 37th anniversary of former Philippine dictator Marcos introduced a state of martial law in 1972.
A memorial was organized by BAYAN Canada to honour the memories of the thousands of victims who were disappeared, detained, tortured and killed during the Marcos dictatorship. The memorial was also used to remember over 1000 people who have been the victims of extrajudicial killings since current Philippine President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo took office in 2001.
Justice for the Philippines
"While we remember the thousands of victims who were disappeared, detained, tortured and killed during the Marcos dictatorship, we hold Philippine President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo responsible for the extrajudicial killings of over 1000 Filipino citizens and the enforced disappearances of over 200 since she took power in 2001." - BAYAN Canada
Justice for Jose Doton
Justice for Jayson Delen, Armando Javier, and Markus Bangit
Justice for All
Justice!
Justice in the Philippines
Justice for Alice Omengan-Claver, who was a member of BAYAN
Justice for Romy Sanchez
Justice
Justice for Father William Tadena
Justice for Leima Fortu
Justice for Markus Bangit, Armando Javier, and Cris Hugo
Justice!
Filipino Migrant Workers Movement
Oust GMA! - Graffiti calling for the ousting of Philippine President Glorian Macapagal-Arroyo (GMA) at the University of the Philippines in Los Banos, Laguna.
For more information:
Residents of Mankayan Evacuated
Danger Zone: Sinking Area
I was in Mankayan, in the Philippines, about a year and a half ago and one of the issues I reported on was the sinking and ground subsistence in the area as a result of irrisponsible underground mining practices. I recently recieved a message from the Cordillera People’s Alliance reporting that:
“Residents of Brgy* Aurora in Mankayan, Benguet province are now evacuating as a result of the continuing massive land subsidence in Mankayan, Benguet. Long years of Lepanto Mining’s underground large mining operations has created mazes of tunnels underground has been causing land subsidence as early as the 1970’s, the worse cases were in 2009. The disastrous land subsidence in 1999 buried alive a local resident whose body was never found.”
*[Brgy=Barangay=Municipality]
Careless underground mining practices have induced surface subsistence and ground collapse. Many homes and buildings have been abandoned, and can be seen sinking into the ground. One Lepanto worker is quoted as saying that there are tunnels "as big as municipal buildings" underneath the area. Residents of Barangay Aurora, in Mankayan, are now being evacuated for their safety.
This is the spot where there used to be an elementary school, the Victoria Gold mine's tailings pond is visible just below. In 1999, the school building was suddenly swept away in a landslide killing Pablo Gomez, a local villager who was in the building at the time. The loss could have been considerably worse, however, if the landslide had occurred during school hours when there would have been as many as two hundred elementary school children in the building.
The view from Mankayan, where the houses are build along the side of the mountains.
You can see more recent photos from Mankayan HERE
More information at the Cordillera People’s Alliance
Tracking the Tar Sands Toxic Tour
The Polaris Institute and the Sierra Youth Coalition organized a tri-city toxic tour to track the tar sands oil, visiting communities surrounded by oil refineries in Sarnia, Detriot, and Windsor. According to TarSandsWatch, refineries pose a serious concern for human and ecosystem health causing increases in toxic air emissions, acid rain, and greenhouse gas emissions. The following are some photos of these toxic neighbors:
The Sarnia skyline features dozens of oil refineries
According to the 2006 census, Sarnia has a population of 71,419 making it the largest city located on Lake Huron. It has been involved in the oil industry since 1850 and is home to the second busiest US/Canada border crossing.
Sarnia has been heavily involved in the oil industry since 1850 so their economy is almost completely dependent on the industry.
There are four refineries in Sarnia that use tar sands oil, including Imperial Oil, Shell, Suncor, and Nova Chemicals.
Oil refinery in Sarnia, Ontario.
The Aamjiwnaang First Nation is surrounded with the Imperial, Shell, and Suncor refineries. The community has seen twice as many females born as males, and have reported feminization in turtles in the St. Clair River. Suncor refinery is ranked number one for releasing pollutants that are known or suspected to cause reproductive and developmental toxicants.
Oil refinery in Sarnia, Ontario
An Ecojustice report titled Exposing Canada’s Chemical Valley shows that in 2005, facilities within 25km of Sarnia released more than 131,000 tonnes of air pollution. That much air pollution (consisting of mercury, dioxins and other toxins) equates to a toxic load of more than 1,800 kilograms per Sarnia and Aamjiwnaang resident.
Oil refinery in Sarnia, Ontario.
Between June 2008 and June 2009, employment in the Windsor-Sarnia region decreased by 6%. The number of unemployed rose by 15,400 increasing the unemployment rate up to 12.8% - the highest rate in Ontario’s economic regions.
Oil refinery in Sarnia, Ontario
Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., has described Windsor as “the most polluted city in North America,” explaining that “[With] a lot of the industries in Detroit, the air emissions make their way to Windsor. Windsor has high cancer rates, particularly thyroid cancer. Many other respiratory illnesses that are associated with pollution are more prevalent here than elsewhere in Canada as Windsor is downwind from several strong polluters.”
oil refinery in Sarnia, Ontario
The Weather Network has designated Windsor the “Smog Capital of Canada.”
Industrial landscape of Detroit, Michigan.
People living around the Marathon refinery in Detroit, Michigan, “suffer disproportionally in terms of asthmatic rates, their sleep patterns are disrupted, and they have to contend with all the dirt generated by truck traffic in the area.” (Michigan Chronicle)
World Class Cancer Care is Right Down the Street
Many Detroit area residents, despite the economic opportunity, are weary of plans to expand the Marathon oil refinery. Detroit resident Lucille Campbell states: “I have a list of the chemicals that Marathon spews out and what cancers it causes. People are dying. People are sick … we want to have jobs and all these kinds of things, but we need for it to be done right. As far as I’m concerned, Marathon can go someplace else.”
Industrial landscape of Detroit, Michigan.
Ethanol plant in Chatham, Ontario
Ethanol plant in Chatham, Ontario
Beware of Toxic Neighbors
Check out more photos from the Tracking the Tar Sands Tour, courtesy of Kathleen Black.
Group Stages Mock Death Outside RBC Branches
Rainforest Action Network (RAN) organized a die-in outside two Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) branches to protest the bank’s involvement in the tar sands. The following text is from a press release put out by RAN:
Group Stages Mock Death Outside RBC Branches in Protest of Bank’s Involvement in Dirty Oil
Feigned Collapses Represent Real Impacts of Tar Sands Destruction and Water Pollution of First Nations Throughout Athabasca Delta
RBC Die-in
Toronto - Customers visiting RBC’s newly opened downtown banking centre today were met with the sight of motionless bodies strewn along the pavement in front of the bank entrance. The bodies were those of approximately 15 Rainforest Action Network (RAN) activists who, in protest against RBC’s continued financing of Alberta tar sands production, feigned death after symbolically drinking contaminated tar sands water.
RAN activists take a drink from the Athabasca water cooler.
Leading all other Canadian banks, over the past four years RBC has provided $8.9 billion in financial support to companies operating in the tar sands. The tar sands, which are devastating the regional environment, contaminating water sources, undermining local First Nation’s people’s health and preventing Canada from meeting its climate commitments, have become a source of global shame for Canada. RAN is asking RBC to cease financing tar sands production and instead, provide financing for the production of renewable energy.
Would you drinking water from the Athabasca River?
“RBC, as Canada’s largest bank, is positioned to lead the country towards a future of energy sustainability and environmental stewardship,” says RAN activist Kimia Ghomeshi. “Instead, RBC has chosen to become the ‘ATM’ for companies seeking financing for dirty tar sands production. I think RBC’s customers would like to know what their bank is doing with the money in their savings and chequing accounts.”
Kimia Ghomeshi describes the RBC as the "ATM for companies seeking financing for dirty tar sands production."
Tar sands projects, which extract and process bitumen, a type of crude oil, have become the leading cause of CO2 emissions growth in Canada. A water intensive process, production has resulted in the creation of over 130 km2 of toxic tailing ponds, which are now estimated to leak 11 million litres of polluted water into the Athabasca watershed daily. Downstream from the tar sands, a Government of Alberta health study has confirmed that First Nations’ communities are now experiencing elevated levels of rare cancers.
RBC Creates Climate Chaos
The protesters emphasized that RBC’s support of tar sands production is not consistent with its public commitments to leadership in the areas of corporate environmental sustainability and water conservation. As Melina Laboucan-Massimo, who is a member of the Lubicon Cree Nation, asked at the recent RBC annual shareholders meeting, “If RBC is serious about supporting clean water, why are they financing projects that are contaminating the lakes and rivers around my community?”
RBC Die-in
RBC’s “Create” PR campaign touts RBC’s environmental credentials. In one TV ad publicizing the RBC ’s Blue Water Project, we are asked to:
“Think of all the water in the world … oceans, rivers, lakes. It may seem like a lot but only a small fraction is fresh water, and there’s only so much to go around, which is why it is so important to protect it.”
In a November 2008 speech to an environmental group, CEO Gordon Nixon proclaimed that “water is the problem of the ages” and that “life depends on water. It’s high time we remembered that.”
"Life depends on water" - RBC CEO Gordon Nixon.
Yet, in contrast to the $3 million in donations under the Blue Water Project in 2008, RBC in the same year financed an estimated minimum of $641 million with oil and gas companies operating in the Alberta tar sands. An estimate of RBC’s total fossil fuel financing based on public records shows over $50 billion financed across all business lines in 2007 (see: www.climatefriendlybanking.org) And since 2002, RBC has directly invested over $63 billion in tar sands companies such as Encana, Suncor, and Canadian Natural Resources.
Drinking from the Athabasca Water Cooler
According to industry information, toxic lakes in the tar sands stretching over 50 km leak over 11 million litres a day of contaminated water into the environment. First Nations downstream are growing increasingly concerned about water quality and elevated cancer levels and have sued the Province of Alberta over adverse environmental impacts. Tar sands are also Canada’s fastest-growing source of greenhouse gas pollution. (more at: www.ran.org/tarsands)
RBC Die-in
RBC Die-in
RBC Die-in
RBC Die-in
RBC Die-in
RBC Die-in
For more information:
Picture(s) of the Day: Oil Refineries in Sarnia, Ontario
Today’s pictures of the day are of two of the many oil refineries in Sarnia, Ontario, taken during the Tri-city Tar Sands Youth Tour, organized by the Polaris Institute and the Sierra Youth Coalition. I’ll be posting more from that tour and more over the next few days.
Oil refinery in Sarnia, Ontario.
One of the many oil refineries in "Chemical Valley" in Sarnia, Ontario
Oil Refinery in Sarnia, Ontario.
Oil refinery, Sarnia, Ontario
The Effects of Climate Change are the Greatest Threat to Humanity - Oxfam
Oxfam’s recent report, Suffering the Science - Climate Change, People and Poverty, argues that the effects of climate change pose the greatest threat to humanity. The following are a few excerpts from the report, illustrated with some of my photos:
Flooding in the Philippines
The report combines the latest scientific observations on climate change, and evidence from Oxfam’s work in almost 100 countries around the world.
Mother and children on the streets of Bangladesh.
“Women living in poverty, who already face a daily struggle to survive, are being hit the hardest,” - Robert Fox, executive director of Oxfam Canada.
Flooding in the Philippines
A survey of top climate scientists, also published by Oxfam, said poor people living in low-lying coastal areas, island atolls and mega deltas and farmers are most at risk from climate change because of flooding and prolonged drought. The scientists named South Asia and Africa as climate change hotspots.
Drought in Tanzania
Growing rice in the Philippines
More people on the planet depend on rice than on any other crop. Rice plants react very quickly to temperature change: they show a 10% drop in yield for every 1ºC rise in minimum temperature. In parts of the Philippines, farmers have had to stop growing rice completely during the droughts caused by the ‘El Nino’ years, and river delta and coastal rice production has already suffered badly accross South-East Asia because of storms that overwhelm sea defences and salt-water intrusion into paddy fields.
Eating rice and fish in the Philippines.
An Asian Development Bank report warns that rice production in the Philippines could drop by 50-70 per cent as early as 2020.
Fisherman in Tanzania
Crops are only one part of the food story. Fish stocks are also endangered by climate change — threatening the loss of a significant source of protein and income for the 2.6billion people who get 20 per cent of their protein from fish. In many countries, dependence on fish consumption increases with poverty. In addition, 500 million people in developing countries depend — directly or indirectly — on fisheries for their livelihoods.
Fisherman in the Philippines
Both wild and farmed fish are threatened by a whole range of climate-driven problems — from raised sea levels and floods that damage fish farms on coasts and in river areas, to the increasin acidification of the oceans as a result of GHG emissions. A recent study suggests that 90 per cent of the food resources of the ‘coral triangle’ of the western Pacific will be gone by 2050, potentially affecting 150million people.
Health problems in Tanzania
In the last few months, several bodies including the Commonwealth countries’ health ministers have concluded that climate change is the greatest threat to health globally this century. The poorest and hottest countries will suffer the most. The loss of healthy life years as a result of global environmental change is predicted to be 500 times greater amongst poor African populations than amongst European populations. Climate change-driven alterations in patterns of disease and illness are already occurring globally, and 99 per cent of the casualties of climate change now are in developing countries.
Urban slums in Bangladesh
Rapid urbanization — which can be spurred by climatic factors as people seek new livelihoods in cities — brings disease with it. Urban sprawls often lack health infrastructure, and migrant workers may not be able to afford care and medicine. Some of the worst health statistics emanate from cities.
Escaping the heat in Tanzania
Small increases in temperatures hit human beings hard. None of us, no matter how well acclimatised, can do heavy work effectively above 35ºC or so. A couple of degrees higher than that, and our bodies soon get exhausted. Once core body temperature passes 38ºC, heat stress may set in. The body tries to cool down by sweating; dehydration may follow. People’s work rate slows. Ultimately, production and incomes decline.
Rice farmer in Bangladesh.
“Working under the open sky during summer has become nearly impossible in the past four years or so — for farmers and their cattle alike.” — Mir Ahmed, Bangladeshi farmer.
Getting water in Tanzania
Finding and transporting clean water is a central occupation in the working day of many people in developing countries, especially women. When a community is short of food, or suffering an outbreak of desease, there are immediate ways in which they can be helped. However, scarcity of water is a much greater problem. According to the UN Development Programme, over one billion people lack access to safe water today, and that number can only increase.
2009 is one of the most important years in human history. In Copenhagen in December, politicians will meet at the 15th Conference of the Parties (COP) to the UN Climate Change Convention. This meeting will decide whether we face a future on a hot glowering planet, or whether we set a course for climate safety for everyone.
see the full report for more information and references.
Grassroots Reporting and Photos from the Streets of Honduras
Grassroots reporting from the streets of Honduras. Photo by Sandra Cuffe
Sandra Cuffe is on the ground reporting from the streets of Honduras.
Sandra is a freelance journalist, photographer, contributing member of DominionPaper.ca & MediaCoop.ca, and Honduras correspondent for UpsideDownWorld.org
You can follow her reporting from Honduras through the following:
Honduran cell = (504) 9525-6778 (Available for interviews in English, French, and Spanish)
Canadian cell = (514) 5… [while in Honduras, voicemail & text messages only!]
public email = sandra.m.cuffe@gmail.com
twitter = SandraCuffeHN
facebook = Sandra Cuffe
photos = http://flickr.com/photos/lavagabunda
video [content up soon!] = http://www.youtube.com/user/lavagabunda27
Honduras blog [content up soon!] = http://hondurassolidarity.wordpress.com
Dominion blog = http://www.dominionpaper.ca/weblogs/sandra
Akwesasne blog = http://akwesasnecounterspin.wordpress.com
Pride Week
Pride Parade
This is Pride Week in Toronto so I have just added a new gallery of my photos from the Pride Parades from 2008 and 2007.
Solidarity with Indigenous Peoples in Peru
A protest was held outside th Peruvian Consulate in Toronto where about thiry people came to show their solidarity with the indigenous peoples in Peru.
Stop Killing Peru's Indigenous Peoples
The following letter was delivered to the Consul General of the Republic of Peru by the Latin American Solidarity Network - Toronto:
Toronto, June 10, 2009
Gabriel Garcia Pike, Consul General of the Republic of Peru
10 St. Mary Street, #301
Toronto, Ontario, M4Y 1P9
Dear Sir,
The Latin American Solidarity Network of Toronto conveys to you its most emphatic protest against the unjustified massacre carried out by your country’s repressive forces on June 5 against the aboriginal people of Abya Yala in Peru’s Amazon Region.
We have learned that Peru’s security forces, sent to break up a peaceful demonstration by indigenous people, murdered at least 28 of them. The Natives were striving to preserve their ancestral territories from seizure by transnational corporations…
Solidarity with Indigenous Peoples in Peru
Given the gravity of these developments, the Latin American Solidarity Network requests that you transmit to your government the following demands:
1. The national government must withdraw its military forces from Native territory.
2. The civil and military authorities responsible for this massacre must be prosecuted.
3. Peru’s Amazon territories must be preserved as a natural sanctuary, free of interference by transnational corporations who seek only to maximize their gain at the cost of the destruction of nature.
4. The fundamental cause of the Native protests is the increasingly damaging effects of Peru’s free trade agreements with Canada and the US on the economy, lives, and culture of the indigenous peoples. These treaties should be canceled.
We thank you for conveying to your government this indignant protest.
Yours truly,
Carlos Torchia, Coordinator
Latin American Solidarity Network - Toronto
contace: ctorchia39(a)aol(dot)com
The two delegates from the Latin American Solidarity Network were refused entry into the Peruvian Consulate, who also refused to send anyone down to meet with the protesters. One RCMP officer agreed to deliver the letter personally.
The following photos were taken on May 22nd, 2009, in New York City at a similar protest outside the Peruvian Mission in NYC.
Solidarity with Indigenous Peoples in Peru
Solidarity with Indigenous Peoples in Peru
Ben Powless reporting directly from Peru.
Another Day in the Life of Peru and Canada by Bob Lovelace
Police Violently Attack Peaceful Indigenous Blockade in Peru
For more background information:
For something you can do right now:
Picture(s) of the Day: Moment of Discovery at the UNPFII
A moment of discovery for one of the 2,000+ indigenous peoples attending the eighth session of the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues as she figures out how to use the earphone translator.
Curiosity
Wonder
Discovery
Understanding
Focus
See more on the Eighth Session of the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues
Picture(s) of the Day: Earth Week
With Earth Day coming up on Wednesday, April 22nd, here are a few pictures from last years’ Earth Day celebrations in downtown Toronto.
In celebration of Earth Day, Torontonians gathered at Metro Hall to call for action in response to the climate crisis. Participants were demanding a 30% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2020 and a comprehensive and just economic, environmental, and energy policy. They were pointing out that, having signed on to the the Kyoto Protocol, Canada is legally obliged to meet the objectives they agreed to. Given the choice between economic and environmental concerns, participants want to see their government place the environment as its priority.
After gathering outside Metro Hall everyone marched through the streets. The march ended at the intersection of John and Queen and turned into a festive street party.
Falun Gong practicioners join in on the celebrations of Earth Day.
Picture(s) of the Day: York Gets Wasted
As part of York Universities’ Ecojustice Conference students squared off a section of Vari Hall where, over the course of the day, they dumped all the garbage thrown out by students in the building to force people to confront their consumption habits. One interesting fact that was obvious just looking at what was being thrown out was that at least half of what was being thrown out should have been put in the recycling bins instead of the garbage. A few people made comments about the smell but overall the reactions seemed quite positive, especially from the groundspeople that work on the campus. They were very happy to see some of the students taking action on this and were happy to participate in the effort.
York Gets Wasted
York Gets Wasted
York Gets Wasted
York Gets Wasted
EVENT: AfricaFiles
someone-elses-treasure-tanzania
On Thursday April 16th, I will be doing a presentation of my work on Someone Else’s Treasure - Tanzania at AfricaFiles
| Date: |
Thursday, April 16, 2009
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| Time: |
7:00pm - 8:00pm
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| Location: |
300 Bloor St. United Church
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| City/Town: |
Toronto, ON
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Picture of the Day: Car Culture
Manila Highway, Philippines
From Wikipedia:
“Over the course of the 20th century, the automobile rapidly developed from an expensive toy for the rich into the de facto standard for passenger transport in most developed countries. In developing countries, the effects of the automobile have lagged, but are emulating the impacts of developed nations. The development of the automobile built upon the transport revolution started by railways, and like the railways, introduced sweeping changes in employment patterns, social interactions, infrastructure and goods distribution.
The effects of automobiles on everyday life have been a subject of controversy. While the introduction of the mass-produced automobile represented a revolution in mobility and convenience, the modern consequences of heavy automotive use contribute to the use of non-renewable fuels, the generation of air and noise pollution, and the facilitation of urban sprawl and urban decay.”
Picture of the Day: The Question of Sustainability
Today’s Picture of the Day is a poster that i just finished designing for the upcoming “The Question of Sustainability” Conference examinign the Canadian mining industry.
The Question of Sustainability
“The Question of Sustainability: An Examination of the Canadian Mining Industry” will be a one day conference on Sunday, April 26 focusing on the Canadian mining industry in the context of economic, ecological, and cultural sustainability.
It will feature speakers from Tanzania, Papua New Guinea, Chile, the Congo and Peru, as well as many First Nations speakers and academics from Canada.”The Question of Sustainability” is a conference dedicated to examining the Canadian mining industry through the lens of sustainability within ecosystems, culture, and economics.
This conference brings together indigenous people from the global south and the global north, and serves to address some of the complex social, political and environmental issues that relate to the imposition of extractive industries on traditional cultures.
Major issues include water use and contamination, human rights violations by Canadian companies operating abroad, the question of corporate social responsibility, and the autonomy and preservation of traditional cultures.
Moderated by Judy Rebick
$10 (slide scale) to cover cost of meals; free for students. Donations welcome.
venue: Earth Sciences 1050 at the University of Toronto, and 3 breakout rooms in the same building. The auditorium can serve as a fourth breakout room and the hallway (with seats) a fifth if necessary.
Hosts: Science for Peace, Students Against Climate Change / Toronto Mining Support Group, Aboriginal Students Association of York University
Endorsed by Amnesty International
Picture of the Day: Happy Campers, Headless Horsemen: the G20 Rolls into London
An interesting account of the protests surrounding the G20 summit this week: Happy Campers, Headless Horsemen: the G20 Rolls into London
a short excerpt:
“We saw numerous people being bloodied and taken away via ambulance, and still more with minor injuries. This is backed up by testimony in the media, which gives a flavor of how brutal the police were. As one passerby on Bishopsgate put it, “It was a completely pointless show of violence. I was just walking along here when they decided to form these lines to contain the protesters. I came down just to see what was happening and I was swept up in it and was hit in the face. The people at the front were shouting ‘peace not violence’ and ‘this is not a riot’ but they were brandishing the batons anyway.””
Montebello, Quebec. A distraught protester shouts out as riot police aggressively move in. Violent police tactics have become the norm in many large scale demonstrations, posing a greater risk to the public than the protesters themselves.
Another account from the Guardian: “G20: The Strong Arm of the Law”
“As witnesses to the way they mishandled today’s protests in the City of London, we hold the police responsible for the violence.”
“There’s little doubt that today’s and tomorrow’s news coverage will prominently feature the G20 protests and the violence that broke out. We think a broader perspective is needed, because when the mainstream media is so ready to take the police’s side, it is too easy to brand the protesters as the only troublemakers.”
Montebello, Quebec. Riot Police clash with peaceful protesters.
Picture of the Day: G20 Protests Solidarity
As the G20 Summit takes place in London thousands of protesters have been gathering outside. The protests are made up of hundred of groups representing different interests, including NGOs, civil society groups, religious groups, unions, environmentalists, etc. The following Picture of the Day is in solidarity with the protests in London, this photo is from my series on The Battle of Montebello.
Riot police move in to remove protestors in Montebello, Quebec. Protestors gathered to protest meetings between Presidents Bush and Calderon, of the USA and Mexico respectively, and Steven Harper, Prime Minister of Canada, to discuss the Security and Prosperity Partnership.
Further Reading:
Here is an interesting article about why people are protesting outside the G20.
Here is a live play-by-play blog covering the protests outside the G20.
www.g20voice.org - features 50 bloggers who will be joined by 1,000s of others, following the G20Voice live stream, and will ensure that a vibrant and robust discussion about how the current economic crisis is affecting those living in poverty, may impact efforts to tackle climate change, business ethics and more.
Picture of the Day: G20Voice Project
The G-20 summit is being held throughout this week in London, UK.
Keep in touch with what’s actually happening at the G20 summit by following the G20Voice project. Initiated by Oxfam Great Britain, the G20Voice project features fifty expert bloggers from 22 different countries, given a high level of access to the Summit, who will be your eyes and ears at the G20 Summit in London.
Those 50 bloggers will be joined by 1,000s of others, following the G20Voice live stream, and will ensure that a vibrant and robust discussion about how the current economic crisis is affecting those living in poverty, may impact efforts to tackle climate change, business ethics and more.
