August 2010, No. 63 (8)
For the past 35 years August 10th has been commemorated as Prisoners’ Justice Day, a day in which nearly all prisoners across Canada fast in homage to those who have fought and died for the right to be treated in a humane manner as they live behind bars. In a known hostile environment, this remarkable display of universal solidarity is a phenomenon to be recognized in and of itself.
Anyone who has spent any time at all here knows that Hamiltonians have a taste for knock-down-drag-‘em-out fights. And we have had some doozies over the years. Outside observers sometimes complain about this aspect of Hamiltonian culture. We may have problems, but our pugnacity is not one of them. Truth comes from conflict, eventually. Whether anyone acts on it is another matter.
I sat down with Chris Hogue, animal rights activist and local artist, to talk about his upcoming August show at the Sky Dragon Center. The pieces submitted for this show are richly abstract, done with vibrant and well-balanced colors.
On Saturday June 26, the apex of the planned days of action against the G8 and G20, I arrived in Toronto with a busload of activists, students and steelworkers from Hamilton. Our bus disembarked at the Steelworkers Hall on Cecil St., and the day began with speeches, a free barbecue and re-connecting and reminiscing with protest friends from all across Ontario. The steadily pouring rain couldn’t dampen our collective enthusiasm, and we left for Queen’s Park at 1 pm chanting slogans, waving banners and passing out leaflets. At Queen’s park we excitedly saw our numbers swell to well over 25,000 people, as gropagebups converged from all over the city for the big People’s March against the G8/G20. I was covering the march for Mayday Magazine, a Hamilton-based independent publication, and had my camcorder at the ready.
The 2010 Hamilton Fringe Festival was held from July 15th to 25th across four venues. The festival saw 27 plays performed over ten days. It was the seventh Fringe Festival in Hamilton. According to the official website, the Fringe Festival is the largest Theatre event in Hamilton.
From June, 2007, until June 2010, Israel and Egypt imposed a blockade on Gaza after Hamas, an Islamist political party with an armed wing, took control of Gaza in June, 2007.
Following Israel’s attack on a Gaza aid flotilla on May 31, 2010, and the international condemnation that resulted, Israel started to take steps to loosen the blockade. As a result of the attack on the flotilla more attention in the media has been given to why there is a huge need for supplies to reach Gaza.
In my high school, marks for projects were often grouped into two categories, “Content” and “Style”. This reflected a powerful presupposition: content was a distinct entity separate from style. And since more marks were allotted to content, it was implied that style was less important.