The Media Co-op

Over a century of Western imperialism in Asia, along with stereotypes and legislation persecuting Asian women’s sexuality, has created the dangerous environment we see today. Sophie Birks unpacks the history, and suggests how to fight back.

"The previous government brought in a paid sick day program...One of the first things your government did was kill that program. You’re at home right now. You have the luxury to do that gaining $800 a day or around there. And these folks don’t qualify for anything more than $450...Do you regret the decision to cut that program initially? one journalist asked. A la Trump, all Ford said was that this was going to be the best program in all of North America. Other provinces, such as BC, he said, had already implemented their own paid sick day plans before, but they won’t have the program that we’ll have. Of course, there are no details to the program.

They’ve ignored our calls since the outset, says Carolina Jimenez, a nurse, activist, and the coordinator of the Decent Work and Health Network. So, it doesn't make a whole lot of sense to me. The devil will be in the details.

"The petition from an ex-cop and a Liberal MP to classify criticism of police as 'hate speech' is not just legally unsound and an affront to individuals from persecuted groups, it’s part of a broader attempt in Manitoba to stifle valid public criticism of law enforcement and shield police from accountability."

We'll be livetweeting from the NDP Convention again today, starting in an hour. Here is our thread following what happened yesterday. Perhaps the most significant moment of the day was the passing of the "Justice and peace in Israel-Palestine" resolution by 80% of delegates. This amends NDP policy to call for an end to all trade and economic cooperation with illegal settlements in Israel-Palestine, and to suspend the bilateral trade of all arms and related materials with the ...State of Israel until Palestinian rights are upheld. NDP leader Jagmeet Singh was on CBC show Rosemary Barton Live this morning and gave a less than clear answer about if and how he and the party will enact this resolution. https://twitter.com/mediacoop/status/1381275344129437696

Public Statement from Red Deer: October 1, 2020 My name is Red Deer and I'm from the Nlaka'pamux nation and I'm a part of the Nlaka'pamux Grassroots. Our objective is to work together to protect our territory from environmentally devastating projects. Yesterday, for five hours, I protected a rich, healthy, biodiverse forest from being logged, on unceded Nlaka'pamux Territory. This logging is for the Trans Mountain Expansion(TMX), a project which I know a large number of my pe...ople are against, but feel that it's hopeless to stand up against. I have two messages. One, I was detained temporarily and released without any charges. A colleague did distribute a letter to start raising funds for my legal defense, in preparation for my possible arrest. Since I don't need that sort of support, I encourage people to either give to Nlaka'pamux Grassroots or to make donations to the legal defense fund of a Secwepemc Mother who is facing civil charges for being in the way of TMX's attempted drilling of the Thompson River. She is forced to appear in Vancouver court October 5th, 2020 at 9:30am. Secwepemc Say No to TMX has successfully stopped TMX's plan to drill under the Thompson River this year. This is a high achievment, and our traditional allies in the group Secwepemc Say No to TMX deserve acknowledgement and financial legal support. My other message is to Nlaka'pamux people. We can stop this pipeline and protect our Sacred Mountains. Last summer, there was Elder's Sacred Fire in the Coquihalla Mountains, this was lit by and Nlaka'pamux Elder, and during those four days, Nlaka'pamux Elders and others visited. These prayers were made to our Ancestors to guide and protect those of us that are willing to protect that area from the pipeline. Who cares what band voted yes or no, or what a supreme court decides about our territory? Our connection and our responsibility to our land, to our plant and animal relatives, to our air and water, outweighs everything else. It's time we open our eyes and hearts to this truth, and take action. I expand this message to include every like-minded out there. The pipeline route is lengthy and a lot can be done to protect Mother Earth. All My Relations Red Deer Secwepemc Say No TMX Pipeline Legal Defense Fund https://ca.gofundme.com/f/secwepemc-say-no-tmx-pipeline Black Snake Killas Concert Tour Fundraiser for Nlaka'pamux Grassroots and Secwepemc Say No TMX https://actionnetwork.org//black-snake-killas-concert-tour

"Hi my name is Red Deer and I’m from the Nlaka’pamux nation. I’m blocking the logging that has been planned for Falls Lake Road on our unceded Territory for the Trans Mountain Pipeline expansion. The trees here are much taller than in other areas and there are many species. There’s a beautiful creek nearby, and this is definitely grizzly bear habitat. Today I stand up to protect my territory, and my relatives, the trees, the grizzly, all the other wildlife, the medicines, the air and the water. I stand in support with all other Land Defenders. I uphold all life. All life is sacred. I continue to pray that people do whatever they have to do to stop this terrible transmountain pipeline expansion. All My Relations."

Two concerts are taking place this weekend to raise funds and inspire resistance against the government's TMX pipeline. The in-concerts will be in-person and livestreamed, and feature soulful rock duo Old Soul Rebel, Iranian MC Mo Moshiri, Secwepemc artist Estiqw, and singer/songwriter Xhalida September.

The federal environment minister, when asked whether new pipelines were really necessary for an energy transition, responded that it would be "silly" for Canada to not "continue to extract value for its resources" in coming decades, in this case meaning tar sands oil. Here's what Climate Justice Edmonton member Alison McIntosh had to say in response: "It's silly for the Liberals pretend the oil sands will be viable for ‘decades to come,’ and it's fully heartless to ignore that propping them up kills people via wildfires, hurricanes, and land theft. We can't let them continue to put billions into TMX instead of investing in a green recovery that puts workers and communities first."

This booklet, "Putting Our Own House In Order," was prepared to help provide information and advice on how to bring the People’s voices back into community decision-making and away from the Indian Act Band Council system on our own terms not the federal government’s.

Windel Bolinget, a tribal leader and the chairperson of the Cordillera People’s Alliance in the Northern Philippines shares the experiences of CPA organizers, and also his own family's and his personal experiences with harassment allegedly by Philipine military and police forces. He paints a picture of what militarization looks like in the Cordillera region of the Philippines. http://www.mediacoop.ca//real-pandemic-political-rep/37006

***COMMUNITY UPDATE: MONTH OF DIRECT ACTION DECLARED*** With strength and dignity, our sister has been released by the RCMP who compounded the illegal actions o...f the Canadian Federal government's TMX Pipeline today by displacing and kidnapping a woman from her own territories. We say again, the RCMP and the TMX Pipeline do not have any jurisdiction on our territories and DO NOT HAVE CONSENT of our People. Our sister is charged with basic civil charges and no criminal charges and is forced to appear in Vancouver court October 5th, 2020 at 9:30am. We encourage all People who care for their health, their water and the territories they occupy, to also stand up in whatever ways they can with the knowledge that criminal charges will not stand and basic civil charges can be used to challenge the court injunctions already issued as well as the TMX Pipeline approvals. WE DECLARE A MONTH OF DIRECT ACTION until October 5th's court date and we ask for action from wherever you are and however you can show up STARTING NOW. You are powerful, we are powerful and there are many more of us living, strong and healthy than there are the few left who are still pursuing death economies on the backs of Indigenous People and Territories. Our salmon, our waters, our mountains, our rivers, are sacred and are life giving. Water is life and will be respected as such. FTP FUCK THE PIPELINE FUCK THE POLICE FREE THE PEOPLE FEED THE PEOPLE Contact: 250-320-0335

***COMMUNITY ALERT & MEDIA ADVISORY*** A Secwepemc woman was arrested today and removed from her territories in a coordinated action by the Secwepemc to demonst...rate the lack of consultation and absolute lack of consent for the federally owned TMX pipeline currently attempting to drill under the Thompson River. We are following the RCMP caravan holding our sister unlawfully, to the Kamloops detachment and wait for her release. The RCMP removed our sister on the basis of a court injunction that was filed to clear Burnaby Mountain and which they are using at all TMX pipeline construction sites. The RCMP, the courts, the Canadian government have no jurisdiction on our territories and they will not push a pipeline through without our consent and a court injunction cannot displace us from our territories. We the Secwepemc remain as guardians, stewards and protectors of our lands and waters since time immemorial. We have never forgotten our laws and never stopped practicing our ceremony and traditions on our own lands. Unlike the Canadian Federal government, the owners of the TMX pipeline, we lay no claim to territories that are not ours and today, like every day, we challenge the Canadian state in their violent and destructive claims of jurisdiction on our People, our lands and our waters. We ask for full transparency and accountability as to who is signing these deals, how much they are paid to do so and who will be responsible for the inevitable oil spill clean up? We hold up our sister who stopped construction this morning with the full jurisdictional, cultural and ceremonial support of her Nation, family and of our hereditary Chief. We hold collective title and absolute jurisdiction over the entirety of our Territory. We have never ceded, surrendered or sold our right and title to any nation state, company or corporate interests. We exercise our sovereignty as a Nation and our jurisdiction as a People today by saying and demonstrating we do not consent and have never consented to the formerly Kinder Morgan, now TMX Pipeline in our territories. We rely on our rivers, we rely on our salmon, we rely on our water for our survival and we will defend our right to survive until we do not have to anymore. We will not be displaced. We do not consent to oil spills in our water, the destruction of wild salmon spawning habitat and the construction of man camps that threaten our community, all demonstrated and evidenced outcomes of pipelines in other territories. We will be heard. Our actions align with our traditional practices of sovereignty and jurisdiction in protection of our water, our territories and our future generations. Our first environment is water, we have never left our territories, we give thanks for the only home we have. The TMX pipeline will not pass. Contact: 250-320-0335

The total case count in India has just passed 3 million. New healthcare funding has been announced, but much of it is directed at the private healthcare system, which is out of reach for many. Read about India's humanitarian crisis, in this on-the-ground report from Sanket Jain.

The journalist who got arrested filming this back in February, Melissa Cox, had her charges dropped this week! "August 17th, 2020 Justice Branch dropped contempt of court charges against me that were the result of my arrest on February 24th, 2020 while I was covering the Indigenous railway protest on unceded Gitxsan territory, also known as New Hazelton, British Columbia, Canada. My charges have been dropped, but Justice Branch declined to make a formal finding that I did not breach the injunction and was not in contempt of courtan order that I sought. While I’m happy that the charges have been dropped, I’m disappointed that in his ruling he failed to mention the landmark Justin Brake case, which I relied on in my defenseleaving it untested in British Columbia."

Retail vigilantism is where a noble initiative devolves into an atmosphere of suspicion, and prejudice towards Black shoppers like me. The vigilantism directed towards Black shoppers in some upper-class boutiques often begins with being aggressively tailed around the display shelves. It can then extend up to the till when your personality must match the probable owner of funds.

There's a real possibility there will be a lot of very racist, and potentially violent people here. Angry residents of Blue River, B.C. are calling for a rally to reclaim the North Thompson Valley on Saturday, as Secwépemc land defenders refuse to leave a piece of land where Trans Mountain plans to build a 500-worker camp. https://dogwoodbc.ca//tiny-house-warriors-blue-river-tra/

Four Garifuna youth kidnapped & disappeared by US / Canadian-backed Honduran regime. Violence & ethnocide continue against indigenous Garifuna people. https://mailchi.mp//four-garifuna-youth-kidnapped-disappea

A new statement relased on behalf of the Skat'sin te Secwépemc Neskonlith (Neskonlith Indian Band) rejects the 2019 agreement signed between the BC government and the Secwépemc, which is sometimes referred to as the Reconciliation Agreement. The rejection statement draws attention to the Trans Mountain Pipeline, which is owned by the Canadian government and continues to be built without consent.

Online for the first time, the third WIFF empowered youth, storytellers, and artists.

We need to be asking hard questions about whether or not accountability mechanisms [for police] in Calgary and beyond in this country are functioning.

Pride parties are fun, undoubtedly. Endless capitalist ventures and business opportunities flourish during Pride. Everyone is invited. Ads paint cities bright and colourful. However, for me, as a queer Filipina in Turtle Island and the diaspora, the struggle against racial, class, gender-inequality, patriarchy, white supremacy, and all forms of oppression are what the 50th Anniversary of the Stonewall Uprising was all about.

Canada is fake, and Canada Day is a celebration of genocide and military occupation of Indigenous lands. https://idlenomore.ca/cancelcanadaday/ Lots of actions happening today, and this live broadcast in the afternoon. #CANCELCANADADAY

With all eyes on them, cops around the world are scrambling to try to figure out what they’re going to do to prove their relevance to communities, says Syrus Ware with Black Lives Matter - Toronto. This means in the days and months ahead there will be a lot of shake ups in police forces as they try to desperately maintain control.

"There’s no train for Uttar Pradesh." Prakash Singh, stranded for two months, 1493 kilometres (928 miles) away from home, heard the same reply from over ten officials, including the local police. He is one of around 122 million people in India who lost their jobs in the pandemic lockdown.

As we hear of police killing people in Montreal and Mississauga in the last day, we revisit this article from two weeks ago. >> At the municipal level, police forces are known for widespread intimidation and violence, in addition to being allotted massive budgets. Policing budgets always exceed, many times over, the resources funneled to public resources such as libraries, parks, swimming pools, public housing, arts programs, employment services, public transit, and developments of accessible city infrastructure.