Newsletters
25 July 2010
* EXILE Infoshop is moving on!
* Important library reminder!
* Party!
1) EXILE Infoshop is moving on!
Dear friends and comrades,
The EXILE collective has decided to focus on searching for a better, more
visible and accessible space. It's been a constant learning experience
for the past 3 years, trying to keep a community space open and paying the rent to a profiteering landlord.
This means that the current EXILE Infoshop space on Bank Street will be
closing on Friday, July 30th. Many items will be on SALE (books, t-shirts,
posters, DVDs, 'zines) until then.
Regardless of when and where the new space will be, the collective will
still be active and continue to table books and 'zines at events. The
website will also be updated, so please continue to visit
www.exilebooks.org for news and events.
Thanks for your support and please continue to encourage your
collective-run community spaces. See you soon!
2) Important library reminder!
In light of our closing the current EXILE space, we ask that all materials
borrowed from the library be returned by July 29th.
We hope to find an interim space to house our lending library as we scout
for a new HQ for the infoshop, but if you have lent materials to the
lending library and would like to have them back, please contact us ASAP
so that we can retrieve them for you.
3) Party!
In appreciation of your ongoing support (and in hopes of milking even more of it!), we invite you to a final karaoke-style celebration at the current space, 256 Bank St (second floor) this weekend. The party is on Saturday, July 31st, and starts around 9pm. Come party your ass off as we blow this pop stand for TOTAL FREEDOM.
See you soon,
- the EXILE Infoshop collective
A//E
_________________________________________
July 14 / 2010
G20 / June 18th Prisoner Letter Writing Night
Solidarity Night w/ the Political Prisoners Still Held Captive!
6pm - onwards
EXILE INFOSHOP
256 Bank St, second fl
Dear friends and allies,
there are still approx 10 political prisoners still being held captive in
toronto, two in ottawa. please show up on WEDs and we can send them some letters of support, zines, articles, whatever. exile will have ample
mailing supplies.
legal funds are still desperately required for both toronto's movement
defence committee and ottawa movement defence.
more info:
http://movementdefence.org/
http://g20.torontomobilize.org/
or ottawamovementdefense@gmail.com
_________________________________________
30 June 2010
"Whoever does not take sides in a civil war is struck with infamy, and
loses all right to politics."
- Solon, in The Constitution of Athens
Three items for you:
<<<<<< 1 >>>>>>>>
RALLY AGAINST G20 POLICING / SOLIDARITY WITH THE TORONTO 900
All out against G20 police brutality and in solidarity with the Toronto 900!
A protest outside police headquarters in every city!
**********************************************
5:30pm Wed June 30
Ottawa Police Station, 474 Elgin St
**********************************************
<<<<<< 2 >>>>>>>>
G20 WELCOME-HOME DANCE PARTY
This Friday! We're throwing a welcome-home dance party so you can shake off all that tension from Toronto. You heard the sound cannon, now hear our own sound cannon...of hand-picked, tasty tunes!
DJs and booze will abound, alongside dancing, shmoozing, snackin', cold
chillin', and you....wailing on a Bill Blair pinata.
All money made will go toward G8-associated legal fees and toward Exile's
new space.
Friday, July 2nd at 8PM at
Exile Infoshop 256 Bank st. (2nd floor)
<<<<<< 3 >>>>>>>>
EXILE HAS NEW INVENTORY!!!!!
Check the attached PDF for a list of some hot new goodies in our collection.
_________________________________________
12 May 2010
Justice for Levi Schaeffer Coalition Benefit:
Saturday, May 15th at Cafe Nostalgica:
Knifehammer (P-Bo),
Mt. Trashmore,
Despite All This,
Jon Creeden,
Gillian Turnham,
DJ RonJon @ Cafe Nostalgica (603 Cumberland St.) - AA/8pm/$5
Doors at 7:30, pay what you can/if you can.
Beau's beer featured (proceeds from those sales going to the coalition)
$5/pint. Silent auction with all proceeds going to the Coalition.
Levi Schaeffer, died at age 30 on June 22, 2009, from gunshot wounds
inflicted by an O.P.P. officer in Pickle Lake, Ontario. Levi, who lived in
Peterborough for most of his life, was a man with loving family, friends,
dreams, skills, passions, honesty, challenges, dignity and devout spirit.
Levi was shot and killed at his campsite by a young O.P.P. officer. The
only witness to the shooting was a second police officer. Within minutes
of approaching Levi, the subject officer took aim, and fired lethal shots
into this man with a history of mental illness.
Donate to help raise the funds for the Schaeffer family to pursue its
application to the courts questioning the process of investigation into
the police shooting of their beloved Levi. For the last decade of his
life, Levi, like many psychiatric survivors, experienced endless injustice
as he was socially and economically oppressed, disregarded, denigrated,
institutionalized, and criminalized. Help to empower a chance for some
justice for Levi and his bereaved in the tragic circumstances of his
death. Give a cash donation towards the $20,000+ legal costs.
_________________________________________
11 May 2010
As part of the sporadic (at best!) EXILE Infoshop series of film nights,
we are screening \223Made in Secret: The Story of the East Van Porn
Collective\224 (2005) on Tuesday, June 1st.
DESCRIPTION:
It essentially began with a couple of people wanting to make a documentary about an anarcha-feminist porn collective. Since they knew of no such group, these folks eventually became the collective they set out to document. What unfolds is a part-documentary, part-fictional account of what it might look like for a group of people to collectively make pornography by, for, and about one another according to feminist
principles.
The process developed by this group presents a real and radical challenge
to mainstream approaches to porn production, and even to other
self-described feminist porn producers! For example, the collective
process, at base, is egalitarian and democratic rather than hierarchical
or coercive. Roles within the porn collective rotate every few months to
balance power dynamics and workload responsibilities. Participants in the
project whether appearing on screen or not\227have an equal say in how the film is used, and, true to consensus-based processes, no decision passes unless everyone affected by the decision is comfortable with it. All of these guidelines and more foreground the group's porn-making, and thus help maintain the trust that makes it possible for the group to continue operating as it does.
Even though this film is not wholly based on a "real" project, I think what it describes is very real in its possibilities. Imagining porn projects that so defy industry norms in both content and production process is a small step toward creating a world where people are treated more fairly in all aspects of our lives, and where cultural production is held to a much higher ethical standard.
FILM: Made in Secret: The Story of the East Van Porn Collective
DATE: June 1st, 2010
TIME: 7pm
LOCATION: 256 Bank St, 2nd floor - EXILE Infoshop
_________________________________________
10 April 2010
CHUO 89.1 FM is holding a 2nd Punk Rock Bingo Event. Once again, it will
be taking place at Exile Infoshop (256 Bank st. 2nd floor) on Friday April
16th. Doors are at 9pm with the first game starting at 10. Music will be
provided by DJ Luke Nuclear. All the proceeds go towards CHUO 89.1 FM's
Funding Drive.
The evening will be filled with amazing tunes, great prizes, bingo
madness, and your favorite CHUO volunteers and staff. Did we mention that it's also licensed? Yeah, that's right, you can drink, listen to some punk rock music, WIN SOME GREAT PRIZES AND play bingo. What more could you ask for?!
PRIZES PROVIDED BY:
*Mags 'n Fags (http://www.magsandfags.ca)
*Birdman Sound ((http://www.birdmansound.com)
*Lieutenant's Pump ((http://www.lieutenantspump.ca/)
*CHUO 89.1 FM (http://www.chuo.fm)
*Going Gaga Records (http://goinggagarecords.bigcartel.com/)
*Silver Snail (http://www.silversnail.com)
*Agora Bookstore (http://www.agorabookstore.ca)
*The Bike Dump (http://www.bikedump.com/)
*Bridgehead (http://www.bridgehead.ca/)
_________________________________________
6 April 2010
Fellow artists, Exile Infoshop needs you!
Many of you have probably seen our posters around town, but there comes a time in every infoshop's life when change is needed. As a result, we're looking for people with any degree of artistic talent to participate in
our first ever poster/art call-out!
Here's the deal: if you lend us your artistic talents and design a new
poster, handbill, "Friends of Exile" t-shirt design, or ringbone for us,
we will return the favour and give you a free zine, patch or sticker! The
posters will either be used to spread the word about Exile or to promote
some of our events and give Bank Street's poles a little more
anarcho-awesomeness. Aside from being posted around town, we'll also
display submissions in the shop for an undetermined period of time, giving
you and your art some guaranteed exposure to the folks who come by the
shop.
Interested in participating? Here's what you need to know:
All submissions should reflect the anti-authoritarian, anti-oppressive and
collective values of the infoshop.
Posters and handbills should have:
- "Exile Infoshop" on it, as well as our contact info:
256 Bank street, Suite 200
613-237-9270
www.exilebooks.org
- Our hours of operation:
Wed-Sat: 12-8pm; Sun: 12-5pm
Posters and handbills will usually be printed in black and white but
occasionally in colour. Posters are usually printed on 8.5 x 11 paper and
handbills are of the same aspect ratio. Some posters are printed on 11 x
17 paper.
"Friends of Exile" t-shirt designs should have:
- some sort of text identifying that it is a "Friend of Exile" t-shirt
such as "I am a friend of Exile", but let's be creative
- a wicked cool graphic
T-shirts will be silk-screened so keep that in mind when making your
design. Multi-layer, multi-colour screens will be considered but we're
not rolling in cash.
Ring tones should be:
- purely instrumental
- roughly 5 seconds long and easily loopable
Orchestral scores are preferred but we accept MIDI.
Submissions of other artwork without EXILE-specific information will also
be accepted for use as posters or handbills for future events or anything
else we may think of.
We'd like to have new posters and handbills for May 1st, 2010 so we'd like
to have submissions in by April 24th. You can drop your submissions off
at the infoshop whenever we're open (Wed-Sat 12-8pm, Sun 12-5pm) and pick up your zine, patch or sticker while you're at it.* If you can't get to the shop, feel free to e-mail or snail mail us your submission with some contact info and we'll get in touch with you to discuss a way to get your zine, patch or sticker out to you.
We're looking forward to seeing your art!
Exile Infoshop.
256 Bank Street
Suite 200 (Second Floor)
Ottawa, ON, CANADA
K2P 1X4
*Although you can submit as many posters as you'd like, we can only give
out one zine, patch or sticker per person. Also, the zine, patch and
sticker prizes are limited to the 2$ zines, 1$ patches and 1$ stickers.
The "FINE" print:
The posters and handbills will not be sold, but may be edited with updated
store hours or location or any other information as we deem necessary.
"Friends of Exile" t-shirts will be given away as part of "Friends of
Exile" membership club and may be sold at a later date when we come out with a new "Friends of Exile" design. Other graphics may be used in
'zines, on websites or as patches to be sold. We encourage the sharing of
resources and encourage an anti-copyright policy and may (re)distribute
anything submitted in this spirit. If you disagree with any of these
points then do not send us a submission. If you would like written credit
for your work include necessary info and we will credit you on, and only
on, our website.
Anti-Copyright: Property is theft. Copyright is theft. Profiteering from
other people's ideas and work is theft. So don't steal, don't copyright, and don't profiteer.
_________________________________________
21 March 2010
Greetings EXILE supporters!
We bring great tidings of joy/poverty! EXILE will be open every single day
this week--and this week alone--in order to satisfy your radical
buying/borrowing needs (and to pay our rent)! That's Mon-Sat 12-8, Sun
12-5.
Come on by for books, zines, DVDs, CDs, tshirts, cupcakes, and more!
Looking for a specific book? Just give us a call to see if it's here--if
we don't have it, we can usually order it for you. No sweat! Heck, we'll
take your money for FREE! Almost nothing sounds as good as FREE!
EXILE Infoshop
256 Bank St (at Cooper, upstairs)
www.exilebooks.org
_________________________________________
Hello,
Two items for you. First, we're making an order with Fernwood Publishing.
If anyone has a special request for a Fernwood book, we can get it for you
on the cheap. Please check out their website to see if they have the
goodies you're looking for:
www.fernwoodpublishing.ca
If you do want something, please send the order to:
fucktheborder@exilebooks.org
Second up,
You're favourite green anarchist, Derrick Jensen, is doing a web-talk on
Wednesday. We will be tabling. Jensen will be talking shit. We will
release our most primitive fantasies. You don't want to miss that. See
details below.
----- Forwarded message -----
2 February 2010
ACT 21 - A COMMUNITY TALKS -
FEB 3rd, 7 PM Live Webcam discussion /
Le 3 février, à 19h00/ Discussion en direct par webdiffusion
(Le français suit l'anglais)
Please share with those interested...
ACT 21 - A COMMUNITY TALKS
FEB 3rd at 7PM / LIVE WEB CAM Q & A with author DERRICK JENSEN
DERRICK JENSEN, author of 'What We Leave Behind', 'A Language Older Than Words', 'Endgame 1 and 2', 'The Culture of Make Believe' and 'Welcome to the Machine'. 'What We Leave Behind' ...If we are not responsible for what we leave behind, then who is ?
Join author, Derrick Jensen, live from California via Web conferencing
for a one hour of Questions and Answers. The second hour will be an internal town hall discussion of the topic and other issues from his books on civilization, environment and culture .
Derrick Jensen is a leading voice of cultural dissent.
He explores the nature of injustice, how civilizations devastate
the natural world, and how human beings retreat into denial at the
destruction of the planet. His work examines the central question,
"If the destruction of the natural world isn't making us happy,
then why are we doing it?" Rather than proposing easy answers,
Jensen traces the roots of the culture's pathology and finds
the places where they intertwine, revealing fresh and startling connections.
Wednesday, FEB 03rd, 2010
Start Time: 7:00 pm
Simard Hall , Ottawa University
Cafe Alternative, Basement
60 Universite Priv; Ottawa
A $5 donation is suggested - Seating Limited
More info at:
Email: actcityottawa@gmail.com
Web: http://ato.smartcapital.ca/actcity
Event link: http://ato.smartcapital.ca/actcity?go=2284144
Sponsored by:
SFUO/FEUO, ActCity Ottawa and Exile Infoshop
ACTE 21- "A Community Talks"
Le 3 février, à 19h00/ Discussion en direct par webdiffusion avec l'auteur Derrick Jensen
Derrick Jensen est l'auteur de What We Leave Behind, A Language Older Than Words, Endgame 1 and 2, The Culture of Make Believe et de Welcome to the Machine.
What we leave behind ou ce que nous laissons derrière nous...
Si nous ne sommes pas responsable pour ce que nous laissons derrière nous, alors qui le sera?
Joignez-vous à Derrick Jensen qui nous parlera par webdiffusion
en direct de Californie pour un échange d'une heure en sa compagnie.
L'heure suivante sera consacrée à une séance de discussion portant
sur cet enjeu et sur d'autres thèmes présents dans les ouvrages de Jensen au sujet de la civilisation, de l'environnement et de la culture.
Derrick Jensen est une figure de proue de la culture dissidente.
Il explore la nature de l'injustice, comment les civilisations peuvent détruire le monde naturel, et comment les êtres humains n'admettent pas leur responsabilité dans la destruction de la planète. La question suivant est au centre de ses travaux: "Si la destruction de la planète ne nous rend pas plus heureux, alors pourquoi la faisons-nous?"
Plutôt que de proposer des réponses faciles, Jensen trace les racines
de cette pathologie culturelle et trouve les endroits où elles s'entrecroisent, révélant ainsi des rapports nouveaux et surprenants.
Le mercredi, 3 février 2010
Débute à: 19h00
Université d'Ottawa, Salle Simard
Café Alternative, sous-sol
60 Universite Priv, Ottawa
Une contribution de 5$ est suggérée- Les places sont limitées
Pour plus d'information:
Adresse électronique: actcityottawa@gmail.com
Site web: http://ato.smartcapital.ca/actcity
Lien électronique de l'événement:
http://ato.smartcapital.ca/actcity?go=2284144
Commandité par: SFUO/FEUO, ActCity Ottawa et Exile Infoshop
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
LATEST ARTICLES from ACTCITY OTTAWA
Goto:
http://ato.smartcapital.ca/actcity?go=t1015561
Community Website: http://ato.smartcapital.ca/actcity
Email: actcityottawa@gmail.com
Videos / Documentaries List:
http://ato.smartcapital.ca/actcity?go=z1104086
Fin du message.
_________________________________________
28 January 2010
EXILE INFOSHOP, UMI CAFE and BOOKS to PRISONERS - OTTAWA PRESENT
===++++====++++====++++
Book Release and Spoken Word Event
+++====+++++===++++====
Who Am Eye: a spokenword memoir by
Akili Castlin
A celebration of the writing of Akili Castlin, with performances by local
poets and allies including but not limited to: Festrell, Max Roswell,
Free Will, John Akapata, Yavar Hameed, Zoe Mags, Stéphane L, Peter Pants, and more!!!!!!
DJ dance party featuring your favourites from White Snake, to LL Cool J,
the Black Bean Peas... all your favourites... until the booze runs out.
Yes, Booze available. Must be 19 or have good ID.
========================
UMI CAFÉ
Saturday, January 30 / 2010
7pm - onwards
========================
Akili is a politically conscious prisoner held captive in the Security
Housing Unit (SHU) at Pelican Bay State Prison, where he continues to
write, study and live a life of reverence and respect for those who've
paved the way. His book, Who Am EYE, has been written/edited through
correspondence with allies on the outside over a five year period.
This event will be recorded for broadcast on KHSR-FM, a community station at Humboldt State University in California. This station is the only radio frequency within distance of Pelican Bay. On March 14th, a program called Mad River Anthology will pierce the grey walls of PBay and Akili will hear his works performed to an audience.
WHO AM EYE is a spokenword memoir, presented in three parts, that explores the realities of life as a multiethnic black man. The poems combine sharp political criticism with an honest examination of the author's particular experiences as he tries to "navigate the vertiginous space between being poor, black and living from paycheck to paycheck and middle-class, white and privileged: the equivalent of going from the field to the overseer's house, and back again."
More info available at:
http://akilicastlin.wordpress.com
_________________________________________
13 January 2010
Exile will be tabling at the following upcoming Events!!!!!
Jan 16: h8 the g8 Punk Show
Hull House, punkottawa.com for more info.
Jan 17: Peace Punk legends Oi Polloi
Maverick's punkottawa.com for more info.
Jan 22, 23 : Taqwacore @ the Mayfair
Totally amazing new documentary! Three years in the making, this feature documentary follows the progression of the Muslim Punk scene: from its imaginary inception in a novel written by a white-convert named Michael Muhammad Knight to a full-blown, real-life scene of Muslim punk bands and their fans.
Check out the trailer: http://www.taqwacore.com/
Jan 22, 23, 24: Global Apartheid Conference
Panels and workshops featuring Shawn Brant (activist from Tyendinaga
Mohawk Territory), Rozena Maart (South African anti-racist feminist
activist and scholar), Jaggi Singh (No One Is Illegal-Montreal), Harsha
Walia (No One Is Illegal-Vancouver) Chris Ramsaroop (Justicia for Migrant
Workers), and more!!!!!
http://opirgcarletonpis2010.wordpress.com/
Jan 30: Freedom School
Vegan Baking, winter bike maintenance, more check the veb for details.
Jan 30: Who am EYE: Book Launch and Spoken Word
Locals performing the work of Pelican Bay prisoner Akili Castlin
UMI Cafe, 7pm
Feb 1: Angela Davis
Prison abolitionist, BPP member, critical resistance co-founder, punk
rawker, intellectual dynamo. Bronson Centre, more info coming.
Derrick Jensen, date unknown
-upcoming.
_________________________________________
6 January 2010
Slingshot Organizers Finally Arrived!!!
We have big ones and the small ones. Come by the shop and buy some fuckin shit. We'll be open, promise:
Hours of operation:
Wednesday through Saturday, 12 to 8pm
Sunday, 12-5pm
_________________________________________
11 December 2010
Dear Bonehead the Hate Artist,
An open letter to the fool who continues to denigrate our outdoor sign
with swastikas and mindless comments ("commie scum", etc.):
You got us again! Congratulations for another thoughtful act of sabotage.
You'll notice that we've once again cleared your canvas (i.e. repainted
our sign) and have returned it to its rightful location on our outside
door.
Sorry for taking so long to write you, it is apparent to us that you are
desperately seeking some attention. We work collectively and therefore had to discuss what to do about your "art". As an organization committed to egalitarianism - something we assume you know very little to absolutely nothing about - this sometimes means long meetings and thorough process. It also means that decisions at the Infoshop are addressed by a diversity of opinions but, in the case of your hate-art, there certainly are not many.
Your fascist art is bullshit. It is hateful. It is an expression of violence and intolerance that tests the limits of any sensible thought. It is also embarrassingly moronic. (Embarrassing for you! Did you even realize that?). Collectively we are at a loss over how to address your sad
little hate-doodles.
For the record: we consider ourselves - much like you, it would seem - as
proponents of public art. That said, our shared interests probably end
there. Many of us are practitioners in transforming the monotony of these
empty streets into the wonderful theatres of expression that we'd only
hope any sane person would embrace. It seems that you, on the other hand, are just a racist jerk or just an idiot (some of us suspect the latter but maybe both). We're not sure what to think of whatever propels you to
commit such pathetic, half-assed hate-art. To be clear: we do not want to
encourage you to improve on your midnight hate-scribbles. We are sick of
cleaning the artistic excretion of your sad little mind and we'd prefer it
stops. So in light of these times of hope, here is our first tactic: a
straightforward request. Dear Bonehead, can you please stop drawing your hate scribbles on our sign? If we're mistaken and, for some reason way beyond our abilities to understand, we are misinterpreting your swastikas and "commie scum" comments, we'd actually like to hear you out. That might sound ridiculous. OK, that does sounds completely and totally ridiculous because it is completely and totally ridiculous... but, we're serious. If that is at all appealing to you, we'd encourage you to read our anti-oppression statement and write us your thoughts (preferably by mail or email this time).
If our tactic is unsuccessful - as we suspect it will be, for the record -
we'll have to continue with this (already tired) ritual that you've
initiated. To be perfectly honest, yes it is annoying. Again,
congratulations!!! Hopefully you relish in that big score for fascism!
Despite the small annoyances of re-painting our outdoor sign, please rest
assured that we will continue to do so. When the sheer absurdity of this
ritual grows tired and fails to fulfill whatever kick you're getting from
it, please know that it will end silently and forever remain an empty
story for you to hold close to your little sick heart. When it does end,
we will simply carry about our normal affairs. So please know this: We
will likely never even notice the ritual is over. That will be the payment
for your efforts. This will be the metaphor for your life, dear petty-fascist. Get used to it.
If nothing else, we'll see you in the streets.
EXILE
_________________________________________
8 December 2009
Resist the Olympics: Dominion Launch and Speakers
Tuesday, Dec. 8 at 7pm
Exile Infoshop
256 Bank St.
Sorry this location is not wheelchair accessible
orottawa@gmail.com
This event is both an educational event to raise awareness about the
destructive impacts of the Olympics and the launch party for the newest
issue of The Dominion. This most recent issue of The Dominion is a Special
Report on the Winter Olympics.
- Guillaume Latendresse (Montreal Canadians) will be speaking about the
Olympics for the Olympics Resistance Network
- maybe someone The Dominion
_________________________________________
18 November 2009
TONIGHT!!
7pm
EXILE INFOSHOP
Intro to Radical Clowning (safe space* for adults). A "regular"
clown trains for entertainment, a "radical" clown experiments with
stretching the boundaries of expression and trains for imaginative
stimulation, creativity and revolt of apathy, boredom, and the
miserabilist capitalist death machine which effects our sense of
possibilities. Imagine the impossible! Play! Feel! Scream! Laugh!
Em-body! Come play in a safe space* with Paula, and loosen, enliven,
shake awake. We will be playing various clowning games in
consideration of these things. A practice of engagement with every
day, every moment life to infuse it with imagination. Bring wierd
clothes! (phobias note: for this particular workshop no "actual"
clowns will be present, at most, a red nose might be passed around,
but no "It" characters here)
SAFE SPACE
Because Paula has worked in radical, activist settings, there is a
component of "safe space". There is never a point where anyone has to
do anything they are not comfortable with, that includes touch and
noises. If at any point someone feels uncomfortable or threatened, the
priority is to attend to that reality. Playing when you are an adult
isn't just "pure fun", it can be difficult and confusing. There is
always space for that,and the workshop is run to be able to include at
any time any concerns or difficulties anyone has. The second aspect of
"safe space" is that there is no tolerance for language or behavior
which is oppressive to anyone, that includes language and remarks that
may be felt as sexist, racism, homophobic, transphobic, ableist or
offensive to any group or person. All participants help maintain this
component, and it becomes as relevant as the group needs it.
_________________________________________
10 November 2009
Hey all you radical book lovers.
EXILE will be making an order through AK Press exclusively for special
requests. You can check out AK Press 613-680-4065 or email elkedring(at)riseup.net with your interests and contact information.
3)Wait to receive info on when and where classes occur.
=====================================
In love & rage,
EXILE Infoshop collective
*Toward a life without drudgery -- for a holiday without beginning or end*
_________________________________________
_________________________________________
January 7, 2007
EXILE Infoshop Newsletter #7
Dear EXILE supporters,
Welcome to e-newsletter #7! For lots of great events and updates, read on...
Contents:
1) EXILE Freedom School update
2) Derrick Jensen on "Civilization as Pathology: Collapse, Resilience, and Resistance"
3) Capital Punishment 2010: Punishing Capitalism and Punishing the Capital
4) A note from the unSchooling Oppression conference
----------------------------------
1) EXILE Freedom School update!
Education is freedom! The EXILE Infoshop Freedom School seeks to provide a space for community-based learning in order to empower and inspire each other to take control of our lives and minds.
The school will have two ongoing components: regular weekly courses running for at least 2 months, and a weekly skill-share that changes from week to week. The direction of each course depends entirely on the interests of those involved. All courses are fully participatory and each group will decide its direction, space and schedule collectively. Sign-up sheets were posted at EXILE for each of these classes throughout December, and some groups are going to begin meeting in a week or two so you'll have to email a member of the group to join (see below).
The list of courses has been updated over the past few weeks to include:
- women's health collective (contact evilfragments(at)hotmail.com)
- combat training (contact brownout(at)riseup.net)
- reading group (contact graff_rat(at)hotmail.com)
- winter biking (sign-up at EXILE)
- radical art (sign-up at EXILE)
- food (sign-up at EXILE)
- guitar skills (contact fiberface666(at)hotmail.com)
- political prisoner support (contact brownout(at)riseup.net)
- creating a radical alternative to institutionalized "mental health
programs" (sign-up at EXILE)
- anarchist french class (sign-up at EXILE)
If you have other ideas for weekly classes, talk to us! All ideas are welcome, this project is for the broader Ottawa community and we want as much diverse participation as possible.
Skill-share courses will vary week to week and topics will be determined based on what the community desires to learn or offer. A skill-share sign-up sheet is also in the shop, where you can indicate which skills you'd like to either share or learn. Ideas suggested thus far include:
To learn (if you'd like to give a workshop on one of these or something else, let us know):
- bread-making
- bicycle repair
To share (if you'd like to learn one of these or something else, let us know):
- sign language
- open source technology
- computer skills
The EXILE Freedom School can use the space while it is closed (all day Mondays and Tuesdays, after 8pm any other day). If you know of a larger, more versatile and accessible space that could be used please let us know.
----------------------------------
2) OPIRG-Carleton Presents: DERRICK JENSEN on 'Civilization as Pathology: Collapse, Resilience and Resistance'
January 30th, 2008 @ 7:00pm
301 Azrieli Theatre
Carleton University
Map: http://www2.carleton.ca/campus/
Tickets: $5 - $20 (sliding scale, with no one denied a ticket for financial reasons)
Tickets Available at:
OPIRG-Carleton (326 Unicentre, Carleton University) and Exile Infoshop (256 Bank St., Suite 203)
TICKETS ON SALE TUESDAY, JANUARY 8TH (at EXILE on January 9th)
Activist, small farmer, teacher, and philosopher Derrick Jensen seamlessly weaves together the threads that connect different forms of oppression and domination, from racial and class domination, to technology and surveillance, to domestic violence and abuse, to ecological devastation and global climate change, to form a cohesive narrative about the inherent destructiveness of the cultural forms we know as "civilization." Therein, Jensen sees the roots of the current global ecological crisis, and the possibilities for determined and effective resistance to it.
In Jensen's book Endgame he asks: "Do you believe that this culture will undergo a voluntary transformation to a sane and sustainable way of living?" Nearly everyone he talks to says no. His next question is: "How would this understanding - that this culture will not voluntarily stop destroying the natural world, eliminating indigenous cultures, exploiting the poor, and killing those who resist - shift our strategy and tactics?
The answer? Nobody knows, because we never talk about it: we're too busy pretending the culture will undergo a magical transformation." Endgame, he says, is "about that shift in strategy, and in tactics. And this talk will also focus on that, and the possibilities for the birth and rebirth of different ways of perceiving and being in the world.
----------------------------------
3) Capital Punishment 2010: Punishing Capitalism and Punishing the Capital
A message from PGA Bloc Ottawa:
PGA Bloc Ottawa has been meeting since the early fall to begin organizing around 2010. In solidarity with the original No 2010 call-out and demands from Coast Salish Territory, PGA Ottawa is in the process of working on a campaign entitled "Capital Punishment 2010" (punishing capitalism and the City of Ottawa where we are based).
We are currently gathering research and information to post online with our analysis/communiqué by the end of this year. Capital Punishment 2010 will be launched on February 12, 2008, in Ottawa (2 yrs to the Olympics) with a loud and festive demonstration.
PGA Bloc Ottawa's Capital Punishment campaign is firmly based on anti-colonialism, anti-capitalism and anti-authoritarianism. We are resisting the Olympics, the SPP, and the G8 with an analysis that sees these processes and what they create as all part of the same system of oppression. We are also resisting these events from the perspectives consistent with PGA Hallmarks.
For more info:
http://no2010.com/
http://warriorpublications.com/
http://linux7.sanpal.co.jp/no-g8/
http://pga.roadnetwork.org
RIOT 2010!
PGA Bloc Ottawa
----------------------------------
4) A note from the unSchooling Oppression conference:
Finally, the long-awaited meeting! This Sunday, January 13th, everyone who is interested is invited to the first big post-conference meeting, where we will collectively pickup where the unSchooling Oppression conference caucus left off!
Since this big group has not met before, the conference organizers figured we'd start things off with this meeting and then let the group decide what to do about future meetings, whether we should divide into smaller working groups, etc. There is no set agenda for this first meeting, so be sure to bring some ideas of items you'd like to discuss!
The location of the meeting has not been determined yet. We're not certain how many of you will show up, so we're aiming to find a space that holds about 50 people, to be safe. We're trying to avoid having these meetings on campus, though this first one might have to be. Either way, we'll post the information on our website when we’ve figured it out!
For more info and updates on conference audio files:
http://unschoolingoppression.wordpress.com/
-------------------------------------------
Peace, Love, and Anarchy,
The EXILE Infoshop collective
_________________________________________
_________________________________________
October 22, 2007
EXILE Infoshop Newsletter #6
Greetings, fine supporters and friends of EXILE Infoshop. Here's an update of some events coming up and some exciting additions to our shop.
1. NEW STOCK!
2. Unschooling Oppression conference, Nov. 5-10
3. Friends of EXILE
1. New Stock!
We recently recieved a slew of new books, zines, magazines and patches!! You'll have to come see all the exciting new literature yourself, but here's a sneak peak to arrouse your curiousity...
- A Dangerous Woman, A Graphic Biography of Emma Goldman
- Anarchism and other Essays, Emma Goldman
- Mutual Aid, Peter Kropotkin
- My Life in a Jugular Vein, Ben Snakepit
- No Gods No Masters, Daniel Guerin
- A Place Called Chiapas DVD
- Struggle for the Land, Ward Churchill
- Upside Down, Eduardo Galeano
- Zapata of Mexico, Peter Newell
- The Day The Country Died, Ian Glasper
- Anarcho-Syndicalism, Rudolph Rocker
- Horizontalism, Marina Sitrin
- Sin Patron, Lavaca Collective
- Provo Amsterdam's Anarchist Revolt, Richard Kemton
- A Murder of Crows for social war and the subversion of daily life magazine
PLUS... lots of patches from the victoria anarchist bookfair, and microcosm publishing. New zines are being copied each week!! We also have new additions to the music section with cds by ISKRA, Against Empire, and Conflict.
2. unSchooling Oppression conference Nov. 5-10
Love to learn, but hate school?
Think there must something better than this?
Want to arm yourself against the weapons of mass instruction?
unSchooling Oppression at the University of Ottawa
Conference, November 5-10, 2007
Registration Cost: FREE, but donations are encouraged to cover speakers' travel and accommodation costs
See the full schedule and speaker bios at: http://unschoolingoppression.wordpress.com/
SCHEDULE:
Monday, November 5, 2007 - 6:30pm
Keynote: David Noble
Location: Ottawa Public Library Auditorium (at Laurier & Metcalfe)
A professor at York University, David Noble is a long-time critic of the commercialization of universities. He is best known for his opposition to the corporate takeover of post-secondary campuses and administrations. Particularly notable are his Palestinian solidarity work and his criticism of technology as an educational tool. Noble co-founded the National Coalition for Universities in the Public Interest in 1983 and the York Public Access (an alternative to York University's media relations) in 2005. Over the past few decades, his fight against the continual corruption of post-secondary administrators has been met with an all-out war, eventually leading to a settlement with Simon Fraser University over their denial of his candidacy for the J.S. Woodsworth Chair in 2001.
Notable written works:
· America By Design: Science, Technology, and the Rise of Corporate Capitalism (1977)
· Forces of Production: A Social History of Industrial Automation (1990)
· Digital Diploma Mills: The Automation of Higher Education (2001)
· Beyond the Promised Land: The Movement and the Myth (2005)
____________________
Tuesday, November 6, 2007 - 6:30pm
Keynote: John Taylor Gatto
Location: Ottawa Public Library Auditorium (at Laurier & Metcalfe)
Retired American schoolteacher John Taylor Gatto was named New York City Teacher of the Year in 1989, 1990, and 1991, and New York State Teacher of the Year in 1991 before his retirement from the profession that same year, when he announced that he could no longer, in his own words, "hurt kids to make a living." He then began a career writing and speaking about homeschooling and the problems with compulsory education, traveling all over the US and internationally to do so. Gatto is currently producing 3 parts of a 4-part documentary entitled The Fourth Purpose, which critically examines the institution of school by identifying existing problems, providing their historical context, and suggesting tactics to address these problems.
Notable written works:
· Dumbing Us Down: The Hidden Curriculum of Compulsory Schooling
(1992)
· The Exhausted School: Bending the Bars of Traditional Education (1993)
· A Different Kind of Teacher: Solving the Crisis of American Schooling (2000)
· The Underground History of American Education (2001)
· Against School: How Public Education Cripples Our Kids, and Why (2003)
· Weapons of Mass Instruction (forthcoming)
____________________
Wednesday, November 7, 2007 - 6:30pm
Keynote: TBA
Location: Ottawa Public Library Auditorium (at Laurier & Metcalfe)
[Description TBA]
____________________
Thursday, November 8, 2007 - 6:30pm
Keynote: Cindy Milstein
Location: Ottawa Public Library Auditorium (at Laurier & Metcalfe)
Cindy Milstein is a co-organizer of the annual Renewing the Anarchist Tradition conference, a board member with the Institute for Anarchist Studies, and a member of the Free Society Collective and Black Sheep Books Collective in Montpelier, Vermont. For many years, she taught at the "anarchist summer school" known as the Institute for Social Ecology, an independent institution of higher education in Vermont that incorporates directly democratic and non-hierarchical politics into its own structure and operation.
Her work appears in anti-authoritarian periodicals and the following anthologies:
· Globalize Liberation: How to Uproot the System and Build a Better World (2004)
· Confronting Capitalism: Dispatches from a Global Movement (2004)
· Only a Beginning: An Anarchist Anthology (2004)
· Realizing the Impossible: Art Against Authority (2007)
____________________
Friday, November 9, 2007 - 7pm
Keynote: Tara Guentte & Julie Lalonde
Location: University of Ottawa campus, MacDonald Hall Auditorium (room 146)
Tara Guenette and Julie Lalonde co-chair Carleton University's branch of the Miss G__ Project, a group working to promote equity in education, to combat sexism and homophobia through education, and to encourage active citizenship. The Project's current mission is to get a Women's and Gender Studies course into the Ontario Secondary School curriculum. Equity in education is a policy commitment of the Ontario Secondary School curriculum, but without recognizing gender and its implications, the curriculum fails to meet this commitment. We spend our years of mandatory formal education without ever encountering a critical study of gender and sexuality. In high school, we never encountered a fair and appropriate introduction to the very real contributions and histories of women and feminisms.
____________________
Saturday, November 10, 2007 - 4pm
Keynote: Matt Hern
Location: University of Ottawa campus, room TBA
Dynamic and captivating speaker Matt Hern holds a Ph.D in Urban Studies, and writes and lectures throughout North America on the topics of both Urban Studies and Education. He co-founded and currently operates the Purple Thistle Centre, a youth-oriented, collectively-run drop-in, arts, and activism space in East Vancouver, which also refers to itself as a "deschool."
Notable written works:
· Deschooling Our Lives (editor; 1996)
· Field Day: Getting Society Out of School (2003)
· Watch Yourself: Why Safer Isn't Always Better (2007)
____________________
Saturday, November 10, 2007 - 7pm
Event: Informal Dinner & Caucus
Location: University of Ottawa campus, room TBA
All interested participants will come together to discuss how we can take action to effectively "unschool oppression".
____________________
3. The EXILE Infoshop invites you to become a "Friend of EXILE'!!! The "Friends of EXILE" programme asks that individuals or organisations contribute $5/month ($60/year) to EXILE in order to help us diversify the ways in which we receive income. In return, "Friends" will receive some yet-to-be-determined homemade stuff (t-shirt, patches, stickers, warm thank yous) and, more importantly help EXILE branch-out and rely less on the selling of things.
Support EXILE and help us:
* Expand our radical library
* Help us focus on community organising
* Maintain and upgrade our computers and internet space
* Ensure our shop remains as accessible as possible
* Keep the shopping out of the Shop and help us avoid becoming dependent on selling stuff
* Increase our monkey-wrenching and political sabotage
One of the primary objectives of EXILE's collective is to maintain a focus on organising. We would like to focus on developing action groups focused on specific issues, organising more events, and supporting the work of other groups and individuals. Increasingly, we consider our space as more of an organising/free space - as opposed to a bookstore or some other kind of commercial space. Instead of selling books, EXILE wants to emphasize its lending library; an excellent and growing collection of radical lit.
So, we ask that you consider a donation of 5$ per month (60$ per year), payable in whatever way (except credit card or interact) you would like.
OK, that's it for now. For some more events coming up, keep checking in the space regularly.
In Love and Rage...
-EXILE Infoshop Collective
200-256 Bank St.
Ottawa, ON
613.237-9270
_________________________________________
_________________________________________
October 12, 2007
EXILE Infoshop Newsletter #5
Hello dear email list subscribers!
See below for some important events and news items from EXILE.
1) EXILE presents... Live Nude Girls Unite! @ Ottawa Cinema Politica
2) Introducing... EXILE Press!
3) Ward Churchill in Ottawa - October 16th
4) Friends of EXILE :)
--------------------
1) EXILE presents... Live Nude Girls Unite! @ Ottawa Cinema Politica
When: TONIGHT (October 12)! Doors open at 7pm / Film starts at 7:30pm
Where: MacDonald Hall Auditorium (MCD 146), 150 Louis Pasteur St, UofO main campus
What: Film-screening - Live Nude Girls Unite! see below for details
What else: after-film discussion, books & zines for sale
Cost: FREE
Live Nude Girls Unite! (USA / 2000 / 70 minutes / English)
See http://www.cinemapolitica.org/films/78 for full description.
A documentary about exotic dancers unionizing:
This first person documentary follows Julia Query, lesbian/stand-up comedian/peepshow-stripper, and daughter of a feminist activist, on her raucous journey to help organize the only union of strippers in the United States. Shot on a variety of formats, Live Nude Girls Unite! weaves backstage and dancing footage with labor organizing, street protests, stand-up comedy and comic-book style "animation" making an intelligent and dramatic cutting-edge film.
To join the weekly Cinema Politica announcement email list: dgr(at)uottawa.ca
--------------------
2) Introducing... EXILE Press!
That's right, EXILE has a new publishing project: EXILE Press is committed to publishing and/or republishing quality material that supplements-- in any way-- knowledge(s) surrounding anarchism, anti-oppression (of any form), activism, direct action, revolution(s) or radical social transformations, underground movements, radical histories/herstories, freedom loving, the enabling of complexities, ecological survival, or critiques of the reward-systems of capitalism.
The society/societies we live in are fucked. The people that control and abuse these/our societies are especially fucked. The people within these societies are fucked. We're fucked up, you're fucked up, but there's work that we can do to change the situation. EXILE Press is committed to the expression of ways we can do so. We hope that our material can help change the ways we address our fucked-upness, and challenge ourselves to struggle onwards. If you'd like general info, info on publishing/distro, or anything at all, please contact us!
Issue 001 - Unleashing the Imagination: An Anarchist Tour of the National Gallery of Canada, by Allan Antliff, with an intro by Bones
***first issue on sale NEXT WEEK!!!***
Excerpts from the introduction:
"...In the case of art produced by self-identifying anarchists, we have the presentation of biographical and technical (mis)information that suppresses the social, political, and philosophic context(s). De-contextualization allows institutions like the National Gallery to focus on trivialities (like the current value of a work or anecdotal accounts about an artist's life) instead of the more difficult and informative task of presenting a coherent explanation of an artist's politics and how the art on display reflects it. De-contextualized 'knowledge environments' create a quick and disposable presentation of anarchist 'ART!' stripped of the principles, ethics and radicalism that made it possible.
"We should not, in fact, expect the National Gallery to inform its 'citizens' of the explicitly anti-authoritarian and egalitarian tendencies of the art it currently owns. No more than we might an official history of Canada to detail the ongoing genocide of indigenous peoples or the National War Museum to catalog the crimes of war (OUR crimes that is-- we can expect an exemplary and voluminous account of the OTHERS' crimes). Claiming ownership, the National Gallery, in its role as the state's cultural repository of status quo values, appropriates art in a bid to DOMESTICATE it..."
How's that for a tease? Get your copy next week!
--------------------
3) Ward Churchill in Ottawa - October 16th
In collaboration with the PIRGs, EXILE is pleased to present:
HOLOCAUST DENIAL AS ACADEMIC ORTHODOXY
a talk by Keetowah Cherokee Scholar and Activist WARD CHURCHILL
Author of:
* Agents of Repression
* A Little Matter of Genocide - Holocaust and Denial in the Americas Fantasies of the Master Race
* From A Native Son
* Acts of Rebellion: A Ward Churchill Reader
================================================
7:00pm
Tuesday, October 16th
Alumni Theatre, University Centre Building
University of Ottawa
Ottawa, ON
Map link: http://local.cips.ca/ottawa/events/studentmap07.gif
================================================
TICKETS AVAILABLE AT:
OPIRG-Carleton ( www.opirg-carleton.org)
OPIRG-Ottawa (www.opirg-gripo.ca)
Exile Infoshop ( www.exilebooks.org)
COST:
Sliding scale of $5.00-$20.00, but no one will be denied a ticket
because of financial hardship
WHO IS WARD CHURCHILL?
Ward Churchill (Keetoowah Band Cherokee) is one of the most outspoken of Native American activists and scholars in North America and a leading analyst of indigenous issues. He was, until recently, a Professor of Ethnic Studies and Coordinator of American Indian Studies at the University of Colorado. Churchill served as Associate Director of the Center for Studies of Ethnicity and Race in America at the institution. He is also co-director of the Colorado chapter of the American Indian Movement and vice chair of the American Indian Anti-Defamation Council.
Churchill's many books include Pacifism as Pathology, Marxism and Native Americans, Fantasies of the Master Race, Struggle for the Land, On the Justice of Roosting Chickens, From A Native Son, Critical Issues in Native North America, The COINTELPRO Papers, Indians R Us?, Agents of Repression, Since Predator Came, and A Little Matter of Genocide: Holocaust and Denial in the Americas.
In his lectures and numerous published works, Churchill explores the themes of genocide in the Americas, racism, historical and legal (re)interpretation of conquest and colonization, environmental destruction of Indian lands, government repression of political movements, literary and cinematic criticism, and indigenist alternatives to the status quo.
Churchill is also a past national spokesperson for the Leonard Peltier Defense Committee, has served as a delegate to the United Nations Working Group on Indigenous Populations (as a Justice/Rapporteur for the for the 1993 International People's Tribunal on the Rights of Indigenous Hawaiians), and as an advocate/prosecutor of the First Nations International Tribunal for the Chiefs of Ontario.
FOR MORE INFORMATION
For info about Ward Churchill:
www.wardchurchill.net
For info about the event:
www.opirg-carleton.org
613 520 2757
opirgadmin@gmail.com
--------------------
4) Friends of EXILE :)
The EXILE Infoshop would like to thank all of our "Friends" who've registered their support for us thus far. We really can't do this without your valuable support!
We'd also like to remind our other supporters about the "Friends of EXILEâ" program. Many of you wish to provide financial support but simply don't need more books, DVDs, t-shirts, etc. The "Friends of EXILE" program is great because it provides you with a way to support us financially without accumulating more "stuff." Of course we'll offer you some sweet homemade "stuff" if you want it, because the stuff we make is way cooler than anything we could sell. How's that for a self-contradiction?
The "Friends of EXILE" program asks that individuals or organisations contribute $5/month ($60/year) to EXILE in order to help us diversify the ways in which we receive income. In return, "Friends" will receive some yet-to-be-determined homemade stuff (t-shirt, patches, stickers, warm thank yous) and, more importantly help EXILE branch-out and rely less on the selling of things.
Support EXILE and help us:
* Expand our radical library
* Help us focus on community organising
* Maintain and upgrade our computers and Internet space
* Ensure our shop remains as accessible as possible
* Keep the shopping out of the Shop and help us avoid becoming dependent on selling stuff
* Increase our monkey-wrenching and political sabotage
One of the primary objectives of EXILE's collective is to maintain a focus on organising. We would like to focus on developing action groups focused on specific issues, organising more events, and supporting the work of other groups and individuals. Increasingly, we consider our space as more of an organising/free space - as opposed to a bookstore or some other kind of commercial space. Instead of selling books, EXILE wants to emphasize its lending library; an excellent and growing collection of radical lit.
So, we ask that you consider a donation of 5$ per month (60$ per year), payable in whatever way (except credit card or interact) you would like.
For info please email friends(at)exilebooks.org, or call the shop at
613.237.9270
--------------------
Peace, Love, & Anarchy,
The EXILE Infoshop collective
_________________________________________
_________________________________________
August 10, 2007
EXILE Infoshop Newsletter #4
Greetings, friends :)
I know it's been a while since we've sent out a newsletter; things have been pretty crazy with a lot of us traveling this summer and trying to figure out a functional volunteer-intake and -training procedure.
---------------
In this edition: 1) New Stock 2) Library 3) Events 4) Website
---------------
NEW STOCK
You may have heard that the US no longer allows surface mail to Canada... while this is unfortunate because it costs us more to get stuff shipped up here, it's great because with airmail our books get here much, much sooner! So while an order may have previously taken weeks or even months to arrive, we now usually get our orders within two weeks!
So, as you can imagine, we have new stock coming in all the time. Suppliers include AK Press, Broadview Press, Between the Lines, Microcosm Publishing, Crimethinc, Arsenal Pulp, and more.
We just got some new t-shirts and tons of patches from Microcosm and they're selling quick! Be sure to stop by and check them out.
We've also begun carrying some music from Plan-It-X Records, and it's also selling surprisingly fast! If you're interested in This Bike is a Pipe Bomb, Rosa, Ghost Mice, and others, now's your chance to finally get their music in Ottawa! Also, feel free to reply to this email with requests and we'll see if we can get the stuff for you.
LIBRARY
Due to a lack of shelf space and an abundance of donations, EXILE's librarians have recently gone through our stock to remove some books from the library. This will help us maximize the use of space to fulfill the library's goals: to bring forward an anarchist perspective on issues, to inform you on certain issues, to make for good reading, etc. As a result, we are now left with a few boxes full of donated books which we have decided to either donate to Books to Prisoners or sell for 1$ each, with all funds going towards EXILE's library.
However, there is one catch: some people have donated books to the library with the intention of getting them back at a later date. We unfortunately do not have any way of knowing which books people want back and which books were given away for good. Therefore, if you donated a book to EXILE's library and do not want it to be sold or given away, please reply to this email to let us know. Send us, if possible, your name, and the title of your book you want back and we'll check to see whether or not it's still in the library. You can also come by the Infoshop and check to see for yourself if your books have made the cut or not. So, if you're worried about losing your book, please get in touch with us BEFORE SEPTEMBER 10th.
Thanks,
Team Library!
EVENTS
We don't have any EXILE event details to release yet, but keep your eyes open for a benefit show happening at the end of August. Check the website calendar for details in the coming weeks...
Certainly you've heard about what's going down in Montebello later this month, and we encourage you to get involved in whatever way you can (spreading the word, carpooling, red zone, green zone, medic, legal aid, anything). Check http://pga.roadnetwork.org for more information about events and activities leading up to the demonstrations.
Here are some worthwhile and relevant events to check out this weekend:
Saturday Aug 11th - Picket and Action to Oppose the SPP - 12:30pm - Confederation Square War Memorial (Elgin & Wellington)
The PGA Bloc Ottawa invites all groups and individuals opposed to the SPP to join in confronting one of the corporate backers who will directly benefit from the Montebello Summit. The rally will be followed by a Direct Action picket at a NACC building. Visit http://pga.roadnetwork.org for more info.
Saturday Aug 11th - Full Spectrum Resistance - 7-9pm - PSAC Building, 233 Gilmour Street
Speakers will speak briefly about their organization's perspective on effective strategies of resistance from the "green zone" to the "red zone". The floor will then be open for questions and comments from the audience. Speakers include Larry Rousseau from the Public Service Alliance of Canada, Federico Carvajal from PGA Bloc Ottawa, EXILE's very own Emily, as well as others from peace and justice groups in Ottawa.
Sunday Aug 12th - What is the SPP? Teach-in and Discussion - 1:30pm - Jack Purcell Community Centre
The PGA Bloc Ottawa will be initiating a talk and discussion about the Security and Prosperity Partnership (SPP) at this weekend's Anarchist Discussion Group. See http://adg.roadnetwork.org for more info.
And keep your eyes and ears open for stuff happening on the 19th and 20th...
In other news, probably far fewer of you are aware of the resistance to the Olympics in Vancouver in February 2010. Yes, the resistance has already begun! See http://no2010.com/ for details, and reply to this email if you are interested in joining/forming an Ottawa contingent of the organizing.
WEBSITE
Our website will be undergoing some major structural changes soon, so don't be alarmed if it blacks out for a bit every now and then over the next few weeks. You probably won't see much difference in the end, since it's all happening behind-the-scenes.
Also, our wishlist has been updated! See http://www.exilebooks.org/en/donate/ for details :)
Thank you for your continued support!
In Peace, Love & Anarchy,
The EXILE Infoshop collective
_________________________________________
_________________________________________
May 19, 2007
EXILE Infoshop Newsletter #3
Hello!
Welcome to the third installment of EXILE's e-newsletter.
1) I guess the most pressing thing to say for now is that we're going to be CLOSED on Saturday, May 19, since most of us (and our stock) will be at the Anarchist Bookfair in Montreal that day, in all our bookish glory. Come join us! See http://www.anarchistbookfair.ca/en/ for location, workshop descriptions, and other details. EXILE will open again at noon on Sunday, May 20, as planned :)
2) I guess the most non-pressing thing to say is that, since our opening day, we have received lots of new stock! It's non-pressing because we've had it for almost 2 weeks now and have just been too busy (lazy?) to tell you about it. New and popular titles include the new Straight Edge book (finally!), Bomb the Suburbs, Endgame, How Nonviolence Protects the State, Living My Life (1&2!), Ain't I a Woman? and lots of other stuff that has and hasn't already been sold. This weekend, however, we will be amassing a HUGE amount of new stock from the bookfair, so prepare to be dazzled. Or dazed.
3) Those of you who make it a point to drop by the store every single day may have noticed that our selection of baked goods is steadily gaining strength... so this message doesn't apply to you. For those who haven't come by recently, we have FOOD. Supplied by two local bakeries, Bread & Roses and Bread & Sons (yes, the names confuse us too), all of our baked goodies are egg-free, dairy-free, and sometimes they're even wheat-free. There's also a selection of organic juice and fair-trade coffee and tea. *Be sure to drop by for B&R's fricking awesome peanut butter squares!!!*
4) Anybody want/need paint? We have finished painting our space (clearly) and have quite a few full and half-full tubs of paint of many different colours to give away. I mean, who'd have thought that having multiple cans of flammable liquid in our space is a violation of the lease? Really. So email getbusy@exilebooks.org to help us liquidate it :)
5) EXILE sends a huge THANK YOU out to those folks who've been supporting us in various ways, by donating stuff (computers, silk-screen kit, first aid supplies, etc, etc), as well as the awesome folks who randomly walked in and installed our hard drive, setup our Internet, designed and painted our tabling banner, put up posters and flyers about us, and everything else you've all been doing. This really means a lot to us, and we are totally serious when we say EXILE could not exist without you.
6) Ok, this newsletter is getting a little long. Umm... how to shorten it? Well... I'll just say that there are events coming up soon, check them out! The Rising Tide tour comes to Ottawa on Monday and Tuesday; Monday's event has been moved to the ODLC Boardroom, and the Tuesday session shall take place at EXILE :) See our website for details on times and locations.
7) And now the moment you've all been waiting for... Anybody who's been watching or reading the news over the past week-and-a-half may have seen/read EXILE's name/photos peppered throughout the local and national news media. Thank you all for your kind words and support, even if we have not yet had the opportunity to respond. Here is our 'official' statement regarding the whole deal:
Statement of Solidarity with Bones aka Jeff Monaghan
This statement concerns the recent police treatment of EXILE Infoshop volunteer member Jeff/Bones.
The EXILE Infoshop stands in solidarity with Bones, an experienced activist who has been the object of state repression and media vilification. EXILE denounces his treatment by the police, specifically the RCMP, and the media.
What the local and national media have ignored is that Bones is a precarious worker: he is a part-time temporary contract worker (5am to 8am), having no union representation, receiving no pension, no benefits or holidays. For the sake of sensationalism, the media have framed him as an anarcho-bureaucrat instead of addressing the real and pertinent issue of the inadequacy and failure of the government's environmental program.
Repressive states have long histories of targeting individuals as a way of communicating that dissent will not be tolerated. By creating and supporting gross media spectacles designed to instill fear in potential dissenters, police states succeed in controlling their populations. The Conservative government's communications strategy, incorporating secrecy, intimidation, and centralization, is a strategy that we oppose as we stand in solidarity with Bones.
We admire Bones' strength and composure in such a difficult time, especially in the face of the carnivorous media who have tactlessly invaded his private life. While he cannot be reached through EXILE, we are happy to pass along any encouragement or support.
Don't rock the boat - sink the fucker!
In peace, love, & anarchy,
The EXILE Infoshop collective
http://www.exilebooks.org
"There's a banker and a fascist deep in all of our bones, and it comes as no surprise because it's all that we've known ... If we can manifest these situations in the street and subvert our daily lives that we're walking through asleep, maybe there's hope for us, too, beyond the products on sale, beyond the myths of human nature, and a hundred thousand jails. Imagine tearing down the borders our society defines; imagine what we could become given a little work and time."
- Tom Frampton, "Johnny"
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_________________________________________
April 27, 2007
EXILE Infoshop Newsletter #2
Hello, dear Reader! Here is a quick update of what's going on at EXILE over the next week. Spread it far & wide...
There have been some changes to the Radical Free Skool Day's workshop schedule. Please consult http://exilebooks.org/ for an updated schedule! Also, be sure to be early/on time, as space is limited.
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As planned, EXILE's Infoshop space is officially opening on Tuesday, May 1, 2007 - MayDay! Even though it's a Tuesday we'll be open from noon to 6pm, so be sure to come by on this momentous day in radical history. Munch on some vegan snacks, browse our titles, explore our little library, meet some awesome new people...
Feel free to check out our wishlist ( http://www.exilebooks.org/en/donate/ ) and bring along any radical, political, or otherwise relevant used books and other supplies we need.
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Also, make sure you don't miss the MayDay rally! Everyone is meeting up at the Human Rights Monument (Lisgar & Elgin) at noon on May 1, and we will proceed from there. Come one, come all, bring your family, friends, coworkers, and neighbors. Come out and march/bike in solidarity with all the workers of the world whose lives and livelihoods have needlessly been compromised or put at risk, time and time again. We also march in celebration of the working class and labour movements' various social and economic achievements thus far.
"Statues are things that we build to remind us of things that have died."
-- Evan Greer, "Liberty is a Statue"
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Keep your eyes open for info about EXILE's new arrivals (we're expecting a shitload of stock in May), the Montreal Anarchist Bookfair, the Rising Tide tour's Ottawa stop, and more Free Skool events in the near future...
Peace, love, & anarchy,
The EXILE Infoshop collective
http://exilebooks.org
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April 17, 2007
EXILE Infoshop Newsletter #1
Hello!!!
You are receiving this message because at some point in the past 7 months you showed interest in the EXILE Infoshop, Ottawa's radical and activist resource center, library, and bookstore. If you think you are receiving this message in error or want to be removed from the list, just hit "reply" and let me know :)
We have a few pieces of AWESOME news for you!
1) Our WEBSITE, http://www.exilebooks.org is finally finished and ready to be explored by each and every one of you! It has some pretty neat features, like your ability to choose the colour theme and a great list of groups active in the Ottawa area. Browse at your leisure, and please let us know if anything isn't working or isn't very clear.
2) We are OPENING soon! Tuesday* May 1st, 2007 (MayDay) will be our grand opening. Our doors will be open from noon until about 6pm, so be sure to drop by and check out our (and your) beautiful little space after the usual MayDay festivities :) We'll have plenty of vegan goodies for sale for you to munch on while browsing our titles.
*After May 1, our hours of operation will be Wednesday - Sunday, noon - 8pm, closed Mondays and Tuesdays.
3) If you're wanting to get a sneak peak at the space before May 1st, we'll be holding a FREE SKOOL DAY in the space on Saturday, April 28, 2007. The workshops planned for the day are as follows:
Guerrilla Seed-Planting (w/ Maks Wellington)
Organizing on the Street (w/ Panhandler's Union)
Dealing with Police Brutality (w/ Collectif Opposé à la Brutalité Policière - from Montreal!)
Activism & Risk (w/ Denis Rancourt)
The G-Spot will be there with a meal for you, too. Be sure to be on time as space is very limited! See the website for details.
4) Montreal's 8th Anarchist Bookfair is taking place on May 19. Their website is http://www.anarchistbookfair.ca/en/, so check out the details there. Doesn't matter, 'cause EXILE will be there in all our bookish glory, and you should be, too. 'nuf said.
See you soon!
The EXILE Infoshop Collective
256 Bank St (second floor)
Ottawa, ON
http://www.exilebooks.org
