T.O. Greenspiration Events - tar sands, war, 9/11, GMO food
angela bischoff
greenspi at web.ca
Sun Nov 9 17:05:56 EST 2008
Toronto Greenspirational Events
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Toronto friends: join me for what promises to be an earth shaking
presentation by Right Livelihood Award Winner Tony Clarke...
-a
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Tar Sands Showdown
book launch with author Tony Clarke
Tues. Nov. 11, 7 p.m.
Koffler Institute, Multifaith Centre
569 Spadina Avenue (North of College St, South of the Spadina Subway Station)
Free
Canada's oil patch is booming. The Alberta tar sands have become the
number one foreign oil source for the United States, replacing Saudi
Arabia.
Within the next 15 years, Canada will be pumping four to five times more
crude than today from the tar pits of northern Alberta into the US market.
The tar sands are key to the claim that Canada is the new "energy
superpower".
As the new backbone of Canada's economy, the tar sands are bound to define
and shape Canada's role and destiny as a nation in the twenty-first
century. What is lacking is independent, reliable information on the host
of
questions raised by the tar sands - and thoughtful analysis of the issues
they raise. What is the real cost to Albertans and to Canadians? How far
are we willing to go to fuel America's oil addiction? What will the
ecological and social impacts be? What can be done to build an alternative
energy future in an age of global warming?
Tar Sands Showdown provides a tool for stimulating public discussion and
debate about these important issues.
Tony Clarke is the director of Polaris Institute, which is designed to
enable citizen and social movements to develop tools for education and
action on major environmental policy issues for more effective
participation in democratic social change. In 2005 he was awarded the
Right Livelihood Award (alongside Maude Barlow) for his long-standing work
on trade, justice and water issues.
Event sponsored by: Polaris Institute, Kairos, Council of Canadians,
Greenspiration, and Students Against Climate Change
For more info: <greenspi at web.ca>, ph. 647 342 1964
http://tarsandswatch.org/
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Canadian journalist and author
<http://www.georgebrown.ca/News/Gwynne_Dyer_oct08.aspx#Gwynne_Dyer>Gwynne
Dyer to visit George Brown College on Tuesday November 11, 2008 and will
deliver two outstanding lectures:
1. "<http://www.georgebrown.ca/News/Gwynne_Dyer_oct08.aspx#After_Iraq>After
Iraq" draws on Gwynne Dyer’s most recent book, “The Mess They Made”
(McClelland and Stewart, June 2007). The lecture focuses on a nearer
future, after the US military withdraws from Iraq. Will terrorism really
get worse? What will happen to all those Arab regimes that depended on
American support when it is no longer guaranteed? What will happen to oil?
What will happen to Israel?
[<http://www.georgebrown.ca/News/Gwynne_Dyer_oct08.aspx#After_Iraq>More...]
This lecture will take place from 12:00 to 2:00 PM in Room 303 at
<http://www.georgebrown.ca/campuslocations/index.aspx#StJames>290 Adelaide
Street East.
Lunch will be provided.
2. "<http://www.georgebrown.ca/News/Gwynne_Dyer_oct08.aspx#Climate_Wars>Climate
Wars", based on his forthcoming CBC "Ideas" series and Random House book
of the same name (out in fall 2008) deals with the frightening
geopolitical implications of large-scale climate change. Governments are
starting to make some calculations that they would prefer not to discuss
in front of the children.
[<http://www.georgebrown.ca/News/Gwynne_Dyer_oct08.aspx#Climate_Wars>More...]
This lecture will take place from 3:00 to 5:00 PM in the Student Centre at
<http://www.georgebrown.ca/campuslocations/index.aspx#CasaLoma>Casa Loma
Campus, 142 Kendal Ave.
Refreshments will be provided.
These lectures are being co-sponsored by the Office of the Vice-President
Academic, the Centre for International and Immigrant Education, the Centre
for Liberal and Prepatory Studies and the GBC Green Team.
For additional details about Gwynne Dyer or about these lectures, go to
<http://www.georgebrown.ca/News/Gwynne_Dyer_oct08.aspx>www.georgebrown.ca/News/Gwynne_Dyer_oct08.aspx.
There is no fee, but participants need to reserve a seat by sending an
e-mail to <>msmall at georgebrown.ca.
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BODY of War
The true story of an anti-war hero
A film by Phil Donahue and Ellen Spiro
Featuring original songs by Eddie Vedder
Film screening
Tuesday, November 11
7:00pm
Bloor Cinema
506 Bloor Street West
Advance tickets: $11
At the door: $15
- About the movie -
Body of War is an intimate and transformational feature documentary about
the true face of war today. Meet Tomas Young, 25 years old, paralyzed from
a bullet to his spine - wounded after serving in Iraq for less than a
week. Body of War is Tomas' coming home story as he evolves into a new
person, coming to terms with his disability and finding his own unique and
passionate voice against the war.
The film is produced and directed by Phil Donahue and Ellen Spiro, and
features two original songs by Eddie Vedder. Body of War is a naked and
honest portrayal of what it's like inside the body, heart and soul of this
extraordinary and heroic young man.
- Solidarity -
This is a solidarity event with all proceeds going to Iraq Veterans
Against the War (www.IVAW.org). This event has many local ties to Toronto:
the funds raised will support the legal cases of US Iraq War resisters
seeking refuge in Canada, and who are resisting Stephen Harper's attempts
to deport them to the US.
Historically, the Canadian government has provided sanctuary to war
resisters, but something has changed with the current government. There is
a legal and political battle underway to keep the resisters in Canada. If
deported, they face jail time for not participating in a war that has been
deemed illegal under international law.
Organized by
Body of War Toronto
For more information and to reserve tickets, please visit
<http://www.bodyofwartoronto.com/>www.bodyofwartoronto.com.
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No Cops in Schools Campaign - Organizing meeting
Wednesday, November 12th
6:30 p.m.
Room: 8-192
OISE (Just above St. George Subway Station)
252 Bloor Street West
Toronto, Ontario M5S 1V6
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Genetic Engineering in Your Food - Things You Need to Know
Wednesday, November 12
7:00 - 8:30 pm
Location: U of T Conference Centre, St. David's Room, 89 Chestnut St.,
Toronto
Cost: Free - everyone welcome
What in the world are we eating? As we shop the grocery store aisles or
peruse the menu at a restaurant, we are becoming more and more aware that
we really don't always know what we're eating. A big unknown is whether
or not our food has been genetically engineered. Over and over again,
polls show that consumers would dearly love to have genetically engineered
food labelled, but governments have backed away from mandating labels. So
what's a consumer to do?
This diverse and knowledgeable panel will help clarify the muddy waters
around genetic engineering. What is it? How prevalent is it in our food?
Without labelling, how can we know if we're eating genetically engineered
food? What about growing our food when more and more seeds are being
genetically engineered? How is that affecting farmers, both our own and
around the world?
Panel: Ann Slater, organic farmer, President, Ecological
Farmers Association of Ontario and COG member; Lucy Sharratt, Coordinator,
Canadian Biotechnology Action Network; and Julie Daniluk, registered
nutritional consultant at The Big Carrot.
Info: Christine at ccarstens at dynamic.ca or 416-761-1533
Presented with support from The Ontario Trillium Foundation, an agency of
the Government of Ontario.
Hosted by: Canadian Organic Growers (COG), Canadian Biotechnolgoy Action
Network, Ecological Farmers Association of Ontario and National Farmers
Union of Ontario
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After the U.S. election -- What next for the world?
Wed. Nov. 12, 5 p.m.
Speaker: Sid Lacombe
Bahen Centre for InformationTechnology, Room 3004
(West side of St. George, North of College)
Organized by the University of Toronto International Socialists
international.socialists at utoronto.ca
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Action Alert:
Tell Toronto City Council to ‘Turn on the Tap and Ditch Bottled Water’
On November 12th, 2008 the City of Toronto’s Public Works and
Infrastructure Committee will vote on a recommendation to restrict the
sale and provision of bottled water on city owned and operated property.
We need YOU to contact your city councillors and tell them to support
public water by ditching bottled water.
In the past year Canadians have made a commitment to public water
services. Across the country municipalities, schools and universities,
faith-based organizations, restaurants and unions have stood up for
Canada’s public water services by restricting the provision and sale of
bottled water. Will Toronto City council also commit?
In Toronto, municipal water systems are among the safest and strongest in
the world. Meanwhile bottled water costs more, is less regulated,
consumes more energy and releases more harmful toxics into the environment
than tap water.
Take Action NOW:
· Send an email to members of the City of Toronto’s Public Works
and Infrastructure Committee telling them to vote in favor of restrictions
on bottled water. Click
<http://www.insidethebottle.org/action-letter-tell-toronto-city-council-turn-tap-and-ditch-bottle>here
to access a list of members of the send an email to all members of the
committee.
· Contact your City Councillor and encourage her/him to support
restrictions on bottled water. Click
<http://app.toronto.ca/im/council/councillors.jsp>here to access a list of
city councillors and their contact information.
· Attend the next Public Works and Infrastructure Committee
meeting and show your support for restrictions on bottled water: November
12th.
Not only does committing to tap water reduce costs and protect the
environment, it demonstrates support for Canada’s public water services.
For more information visit
<http://www.insidethebottle.org>www.insidethebottle.org.
Joe Cressy
Polaris Institute
<mailto:joecressy at polarisinstitute.org>joecressy at polarisinstitute.org
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The Tyranny of Oil
Thur. November 13th, 2008
7:00 p.m. - 9:00 p.m.
Earth Sciences Centre (5 Bancroft Avenue, Room 1050), University of
Toronto, Canada
** This event will also be streamed live at
<http://www.therealnews.com/>www.therealnews.com. **
In The Tyranny of Oil, Antonia Juhasz exposes an industry that thrives on
secrecy. She shows how Big Oil manages to hide its business dealings from
policy makers, legislators, and most of all, consumers. Juhasz then
provides a clear set of meaningful and achievable solutions, including the
break-up of Big Oil.
Cover charge: $8 at the door or help us build The Real News Network by
becoming a Member at $10 a month (or $120 a year). With your membership
you can get in free and receive a copy of the Antonia Juhasz's book.
The Real News Network is the missing link in the independent media
landscape. TRNN questions assumptions and challenges the official version
of events; it follows verifiable facts to rational conclusions.
We are a non-profit video news and documentary service based in
Washington, DC and Toronto. We are building a 24/7 news and documentary
service on the Web and a one-hour news and debate show on television. We
are building to compete with cable news for an audience in the millions.
<http://therealnews.com/permalinkedgraphics/oise/invitation-08.html>http://therealnews.com/permalinkedgraphics/oise/invitation-08.html
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Transportation Futures:
Ontario's Inaugural Road Pricing Forum
http://www.rccao.com/events
Thursday, November 13, 2008
NEW Location: InterContinental Hotel Toronto-Yorkville (220 Bloor Street
West, Toronto)
Traffic congestion. Lost time. Crumbling roads. Increasing emissions.
Few transportation choices. And insufficient government revenue streams
available to fix these problems.
Most Canadians agree that there is an urgent need to bring predictability
and ease of mobility to the country's transportation network -- especially
near large urban centres. Can road pricing play a role in improving
mobility, air quality and the state of the nation's transportation
infrastructure? Or is it just a cash grab?
Find out the real answers at Transportation Futures, the first Ontario
transportation forum to rationally discuss road pricing policy
development, public acceptance, technology, governance and investment.
Five international experts will showcase their country's approach to road
pricing, including:
· Reg Evans on London's Congestion Charging Scheme
· Nicolas Mery on France's Variable Tolling System
· Germa Bakker on Holland's "Different Payment for Mobility" Plan
· James Whitty on Oregon's VMT-Based Road Charging Pilot Project
· Martin Rickmann on Germany's Satellite-based Toll Collection System
for Heavy Trucks
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WALK FOR WATER - STOP DUMP SITE 41
Friday November 14, 2008
8:00 a.m., Queen's Park
Seven-Day Walk to Protect Surface Springs, 600 gallons per minute flowing
naturally
Seven-Day Walk with Native drumming and singing to Queen’s Park to ask
Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty, John Tory, and Howard Hampton and the
Right Hon. Stephen Harper, Hon. Stephane Dion, P.C., M.P. Hon. Jack
Layton, M.P., Elizabeth May, Hon. Bruce Stanton, M.P. and Hon. Olivia
Chow, M.P., to STOP DUMP SITE 41 which has been proposed to be built on
one of Ontario’s and the world’s cleanest surface springs of Georgian
Bay’s aquifers.
Beginning with a traditional Native Sunrise Ceremony at 8:00 a.m. followed
by drumming and singing to honour our sacred Mother Earth and Mother
Earth’s sacred blood, the Water and our Great Creator and all the
life-giving forces.
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Nuclear energy and climate change: is nuclear a solution?
Lecture by Dr. Gordon Edwards and others, focusing on the pitfalls of
nuclear energy and Ontario's $50 billion nuclear expansion plan
Friday, November 14 at 12 noon
Hart House, U of T
Free
The Ontario government. working from Ontario Power Generation, plans to
spend roughly $46 billion over 20 years on nuclear energy, to meet
Ontario's rising energy demands.
Critics maintain that this plan destracts from much-need conservation
efforts, uses enormous amoutns of valuable public funds better spent on
renewable energy projects (namely wind), poses an unacceptable safety risk
to the GTA (which will be within a 30 km radius of a potential Chernobyl,
if the power plants implode), will not adequately mitigate climate change
(as claimed by advocates). and poses the additional problem of whether
nuclear waste can safely be buried (it cannot they contend).
Advocates for nuclear energy, such as Murray Elston and other members of
the nuclear energy lobby - including many Liberal MPPs - contend that
Ontario's "baseload" energy needs cannot be met through renewables, that
coal-power is too dirty (too many GHGs) and that nuclear is the only
viable alternative, despite its risks and cost.
Against this position, the "Renewable is Doable" campaign of 13 ENGOs
issues a position paper illustrating base load power can be generated
through a mix of renewables and conservation. They contend that nuclear
energy is a clean, safe, and healthy way to produce energy, in contrast to
coal-fired power.
So who is right?
Dr. Gordon Edwards of the Canadian Coalition for Nuclear Responsibilty
will address this issue, through an educational slideshow. He is a part of
a panel which includes Dr. Dorothy Goldin-Rosenberg, who will speak on the
health risks of radioactive materials released by nuclear power plants,
and Jack Gibbons of the Ontario Clean Air Alliance, a group dedicated to
ridding Ontario of its reliance on coal-fired power plants.
This talk is co-sponsored by University of Toronto Students Union and the
new Sustainability Commission, Graduate Students Union Social Justice
Committee, and Students Against Climate Change (a U of T campus club).
Light lunch will be served.
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CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON 9/11 AND CANADA'S WAR ON TERROR
Friday November 14, 2008, 7:00 – 9:30 pm
Sidney Smith Hall 2102, University of Toronto
100 St. George Street,Toronto
Free
AN EVENING WITH :
1) Prof. PAUL ZAREMBKA (USA)
Professor of Economics, State University of New York at Buffalo
Editor of "THE HIDDEN HISTORY OF 9-11-2001"
General editor for RESEARCH IN POLITICAL ECONOMY
and FRONTIERS IN ECONOMETRICS
2) Prof. MICHAEL KEEFER (CANADA)
Professor of English, U. of Guelph
Graduate Royal Military College of Canada
Widely published on "War on Terror", "Toronto 18", 9/11, and philosophy
For more information, Contact: Adam Parrott
911Truth.org, Grassroots Organizer
E-mail: <mailto:adam.parrott at gmail.com>adam.parrott at gmail.com
Telephone: 905-487-7531
www.911inquiry.org
www.waterloo911.ca
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PAKISTAN/AFGHANISTAN: ON THE FLIGHT PATH OF AMERICAN POWER
A conversation with Tariq Ali
British-Pakistani historian, novelist, filmmaker, political compaigner,
and commentator
Friday, November 14
7:00 pm
Ontario Institute for Studies in Education (OISE)
252 Bloor Street West
University of Toronto
TTC: St. George
Tickets: $10.00
Seven years after the US-led invasion of Afghanistan, the Taliban are
resurgent and "Talibanization" has spilled over into Pakistan.
A wonderfully-informed, iconoclastic and spell-binding speaker, Tariq Ali
will be speaking on the current situation in Afghanistan, the spread of
extremism in Pakistan, and the aims and policies of the West in Central
Asia.
For more information, please contact:
Abbas Syed: 416-284-4893 or 647-637-1891 or sabbas at canada.com
Hamid Bashani: 416-399-7602
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Edible Action Book Launch Party
Local organic food, delectable wine, good tunes and a great book to boot!
Friday, November 14th, 5:30-7:30 Centre for Social Innovation, 215 Spadina
Avenue, 4th floor (Sullivan and Spadina, between Dundas and Queen on the
west side). contact: promotions at fernpub.ca
Come celebrate, eat great food, and meet Sally Miller, the author of
Edible Action: Food Activism & Alternative Economics, published by
Fernwood. "In this wonderfully readable book, Sally Miller reveals how
people are taking back the economy as a space of democratic
decision-making through activism around food." (J.K. Gibson-Graham).
Sally Miller has worked for almost twenty years in the alternative food,
agriculture, and co-op sectors in both the U.S. and Canada as a manager,
consultant, organizer and researcher. She has a PhD in anthropology and a
Masters in environmental studies.
Sponsored by Local Food Plus (LFP), rabble.ca <http://rabble.ca> and
Fernwood Publishing
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Ceremonial Solidarity Arts Celebration
-Through rituals, music, dance, poetry and video...
Friday, November 14th 2008
Native Canadian Centre <http://www.ncct.on.ca/>www.ncct.on.ca
16 Spadina Ave. (1/2 block north of Bloor St. W)
7:30pm - 9:30 pm
A ritual / ceremonial solidarity arts event in memory of Indigenous
peoples murdered by the Colombian army and denouncing the abuse, arbitrary
actions and disrespect of peoples/communities. Also, organized in support
of the "National Indigenous, Popular and Social Movement MINGA"*
The peoples' Minga brings together the diverse agendas/perspectives of
social popular sectors. These sectors, including the workers', peasants',
Afro-Colombian, women's, peoples' movements and processes, are called upon
by the Indigenous movement to formulate and implement a common future
agenda from their particular struggles.
Initiated in October 12th 2008 (in southwestern Colombia), the Minga is a
form of resistance by Indigenous peoples who are opposed to the infamy,
ongoing attacks and stigmatization by government officials. The Minga
began its mobilization in the area of Piendamó, Cauca, to comply with
community-based rights and the collective agenda, including Indigenous
peoples' opposition to Free Trade Agreements (FTAs), war, laws being
implemented to sell-off the country to multinational corporations and a
development model that is detrimental to the future of
peoples/communities.
<http://www.nasaacin.org/>http://www.nasaacin.org/
<http://mamaradio.blogspot.com/>http://mamaradio.blogspot.com/
*The word Minga describes an ancestral practice by Indigenous peoples in
the Andean region. It refers to a collective effort called upon to carry
out a common objective and it takes priority over other activities.
Neither the Minga, nor its outcome has "owners". It's an expression of the
maturity, discipline, community-based capacity and humility of the
peoples. In the Minga, the common objective over-rides individual needs,
however, each individual effort is viewed an important.
Organized by:
Movimiento Matiz
"A Latin-American focused ideas and creativity movement
Generating space for arts-based cultural expression & inclusion".
<http://movimientomatiz.blogspot.com/>http://movimientomatiz.blogspot.com/
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Safe Cycling Coalition Bloor Street Court Challenge Update
A loss in the courts – but nonetheless a step forward for cyclists
On October 29, 2008 the Ontario Superior Court of Justice rejected an
application for judicial review brought by William Ashley China Ltd. to
declare that the City of Toronto’s decision to proceed with the Bloor St.
Transformation Project was illegal. The ruling was a defeat for cycling
advocates --- who intervened in the case --- but not a loss for the
movement to make Toronto safe for cyclists.
The project is a $25 million redevelopment of Bloor between Avenue Rd. and
Church St. undertaken jointly by the City and the local Business
Improvement Area. The project will widen sidewalks, add trees, and remove
43 parking spaces -- but it squanders an important opportunity to reduce
motor vehicle traffic (in fact volume and speed may actually increase) and
to provide for bike lanes, even though this is one of the busiest --- and
most dangerous --- cycling routes in Toronto.
Full article: http://www.ibiketo.ca/node/2652
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