Briarpatch Announcements

Queries due March 5, 2010

This call for submissions takes as its departure point John Berger’s description of the global system of apartheid that defines our present circumstances:

“The present period of history is one of the Wall. When the Berlin one fell, the prepared plans to build walls everywhere were unrolled. Concrete, bureaucratic, surveillance, security, racist walls. Everywhere the wall separates the desperate poor from those who hope against hope to stay relatively rich. The walls cross every sphere, from crop cultivation to health care. They exist too in the richest metropolises of the world. The wall is the front line of what, long ago, was called the Class War. [ . . . ]

“The choice of meaning in the world today is here between the two sides of the wall. The wall is also inside each one of us. Whatever our circumstances, we can choose within ourselves which side of the wall we are attuned to. It is not a wall between good and evil. Both exist on both sides. The choice is between self-respect and self-chaos.”

(John Berger, “A Master of Pitilessness?,” Hold Everything Dear: Dispatches on Survival and Resistance, 88)

Declaring war on walls of all kinds, Briarpatch invites submissions to its July/August 2010 issue on “Fences, walls & borders: Migration and the politics of movement.” We are looking for articles, essays, investigative reportage, news briefs, project profiles, interviews with luminary thinkers and frontline activists, reviews, poetry, humour, artwork & photography that address some aspect of the issue of migration. We are particularly interested in contributions informed by an anti-imperialist/anti-capitalist analysis of global and local power relations.

We also invite organizations who could use this issue of Briarpatch as an organizing/educational tool to get in touch to discuss opportunities for shared distribution, bulk issue orders and possible in-kind exchanges.

Possible article topics could include (but are no means limited to):

• assessing the recent changes to Canada’s immigration system;
• migrant worker programs  in Canada or elsewhere;
• “No One Is Illegal” and struggles for migrant rights;
• freedom of information, net neutrality and the struggle for control of the Internet;
• gated communities;
• the rise of private security firms;
• the Israeli Apartheid Wall and the Palestinian struggle;
• privatization of public land, wealth, and knowledge;
• the struggles of environmental refugees, economic refugees, and/or other non-status peoples;
• the gentrification of urban spaces;
• the walls within: accounts of personal transformation and political emancipation;
• policing poverty;
• “free speech zones” and the geography of protest;
• urban counterinsurgency and the future of warfare.

We also welcome pitches for short profiles (approx. 600 words) of individuals, groups, initiatives, organizations and trends that are on the cutting edge of struggles and efforts to break down walls of all kinds.

Please note that the deadline for queries is March 5, 2010. Your query should outline what ground your contribution will cover, give an estimated word count, and indicate your relevant experience or background in writing about the issue. If you haven’t written for Briarpatch before, please provide a brief writing sample.

Please write for a general audience, employing standard journalistic conventions. Please review our submission guidelines before submitting. Send your queries/submissions to editor AT briarpatchmagazine D0T com.

We reserve the right to edit your work (with your active involvement), and cannot guarantee publication.

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Other upcoming Briarpatch issues:

September/October 2010: Health
Query deadline: May 3, 2010

November/December 2010: Global solidarity & the labour movement
Query deadline: July 5, 2010

January/February 2011: The soul of activism: Personal transformation & social change
Query deadline: September 6, 2010

March/April 2011: Gender
Query deadline: Approx. November 1, 2010 (TBA)

May/June 2011: Indigenous activism & the Fourth World War
Query deadline: Approx. January 5, 2011 (TBA)

Reposted from Next Year Country.

Forty years ago a manifesto entitled “For an Independent Socialist Canada” was published by a group of left NDP activists. This movement, strong in Saskatchewan, came to be called the Waffle.

Rebuilding the Left aims to have participants reflect upon the experience of the Saskatchewan Waffle and discuss what the left needs to do to rebuild a movement here to challenge the growing attack from the right.

To register for the conference, contact Joe Roberts at sjroberts@sasktel.net or phone 352-9282.

The Conference is free. Lunch provided but donations will be requested to defray costs.

Bookmark this page as more information on the agenda is developed.

Facebook page.

Draft Agenda for Rebuilding the Left

Saturday, January, 30

Conference Begins 10:00 a.m.
Chair - Hugh Wagner, former Waffle member

Morning:

Brief Presentations on the Waffle Experience
Speakers  - Lorne Brown, former Waffle member and historian
- Don Mitchell, Waffle candidate
in the 1970 provincial NDP leadership election
Brief Presenattions on left activism today
Speakers   - Cara Banks, feminist and trade unionist
-  David Mitchell, Briarpatch editor and activist

Questions and Discussion will follow the presentations

Afternoon:

Facilitator - Adriane Paavo
What can the left do?

Adjourn 3:00 p.m.

Recommended Pre-conference readings:

Statement on Rebuilding the Left: Reflections from the Waffle

Forty years ago a manifesto entitled “For an Independent Socialist Canada” was published by a group of students, young faculty and social activists in Ontario. It was soon endorsed by many who sought the same goals across Canada, including Saskatchewan. Strangely, perhaps, 1969 was not a time of economic crisis in the capitalist world that might explain such a manifesto. But it did come at the end of a decade in which the crisis of democracy had become glaringly apparent.

Recently there have been invitations issued for gatherings in Winnipeg and Toronto to celebrate the memory of the Waffle Manifesto. The Waffle experience in Saskatchewan arose differently and had different effects from other places. Many who participated in that movement and were influenced by the experience remain politically and socially active today.

Now Canada and the world are in the grip of a severe economic and social crisis of capitalist development. To those who experienced the mobilization forty years ago it must seem strange that there has been no similar uprising of protest and demand for change comparable to what the manifesto in its innocence proclaimed. For as alarming as the present crisis is, it is far worse that no voice of challenge has arisen from a left demanding a new social system.

So some obvious questions seem to present themselves: for those who experienced the Waffle here is there anything useful to be said about the present state of affairs? Would it serve any purpose in stimulating initiative to gather and discuss the present crisis?

Of course, many issues unexamined during the Waffle era have now become evident and contribute even larger threats than the cyclical economic crisis. The most awesome is environmental breakdown. But the development of industrial agriculture which began to be evident forty years ago is now a scourge globally as well as in our own neighborhood. The long record of injustice to the aboriginal population, generally overlooked by the left in the past, is today inescapable. These and other changes significantly affect the landscape now faced by us who felt confident of change in those past decades.

Yet it is also true that those who are no longer with us have been replaced by others who, as if fellow travelers, aspire to a society – a world – no longer in thrall to capital accumulation, war and class rule. Of necessity this message is addressed initially to those who experienced the Waffle call, but those who emerged subsequently with similar views are invited to respond to this initiative.

1969 Waffle Manifesto: For an Independent and Socialist Canada
Link here.

1973 Saskatchewan Waffle brochure
Link here.

Socialist Project: What Should We Do To Help Build a New Left?
Link here.

“Canada remains in a very special place in the world. . . . We also have no history of colonialism. So we have all of the things that many people admire about the great powers but none of the things that threaten or bother them.”

– Stephen Harper, September 25, 2009

“”Until now I believed that the nation that has done most to sabotage a new climate change agreement was the United States. I was wrong. The real villain is Canada. Unless we can stop it, the harm done by Canada in December 2009 will outweigh a century of good works.”

– George Monbiot, November 30, 2009

Queries due January 11, 2010

Pursuing the most environmentally destructive megaproject in human history. Turning a blind eye to the torture of Afghan detainees. Sabotaging climate talks. Deporting refugee claimants to certain death. Pulling critical aid from Africa. Supporting a coup in Honduras. Displacing Indigenous peoples at home and abroad. Providing unconditional support for Israeli apartheid. . . . It’s been four years since our last foreign policy issue, and the time has never been more ripe for a long, hard look at Canada’s role in the world.

Read the rest of this entry »

It’s that time of year again, when malls become clogged with garish holiday décor and frenzied shoppers. This year, why not get all your shopping done without ever setting foot in a mall . . . and help instigate a media revolution while you’re at it? Here’s how the Briarpatch Holiday Offer works:

• Give one gift subscription, and we’ll send your loved one a year’s worth of the ‘patch for only $28.95.
• Better yet, give two gifts and we’ll throw in a third gift FREE.
• Can’t give enough ‘patch? Give 10 gift subscriptions for the absurdly low price of $125.00.

The stories that Briarpatch covers aren’t readily available in the mainstream media, which makes it the perfect gift for thoughtful people who want relevant, independent and trustworthy information about the most important social and environmental issues of the day.

Taking advantage of this offer now will save you time and money on holiday gifts later. In December we’ll send your gift recipients each a card to notify them of your thoughtful gift, and start them off on their year’s subscription.

Order your gifts online or call 1.866.431.5777.

Dear Briarpatch reader:

We sent our subscribers an appeal for donations in the mail September — if you’ve already received this appeal and either responded or decided you’re unable to donate at this time, kindly disregard this follow-up message.

We’re getting close to our fundraising target of $7,000 for our fall donor drive, but we’re not quite there yet. That’s why I’m writing you now. If you haven’t donated recently but appreciate the work we do, please consider throwing us a few bucks — or better yet, become a sustaining subscriber making an automatic monthly donation of $5 or more — to help us reach our goal.

Briarpatch is an independent non-profit, and we depend on readers’ support (subscriptions and donations) to sustain our efforts — if you’ve been thinking about subscribing or making a donation, I would encourage you to do so.

To donate, or become a sustaining subscriber, please visit http://briarpatchmagazine.com/webstore/category/donations/

Thank you for your time!

Regards,
Dave Oswald Mitchell, Editor

The next wave will come from the south: Globalization and the future of feminism

Gender issue call for submissions/involvement

Want to read Briarpatch paper-free? Subscribe to our digital edition for only $ 16.05 Cdn / $14.95 US.

Briarpatch’s digital edition is part of Magazines Canada’s digital newsstand, and powered by Zinio.

Subscribe or preview our digital edition.

Dear Briarpatch subscriber:

Global migration. Healthcare. International feminism. These are just a few of the issues we’re working on in our effort to inform, inspire and empower our community of readers. But to get there we need your help.

We need to raise $7,000 in our fall donor drive to sustain
our operations. I hope we can count on your support today.

Briarpatch runs one of the leanest machines in the business, punching far above our weight with very limited resources. But we simply can’t meet all of our expenses - let alone take the sorts of daring leaps that will enable us to reach more readers - without calling on your support from time to time.

Because our subscription price of $28.95 covers less than half of the total cost of producing 6 issues, we’re extremely grateful to those readers who are willing to make up the difference through donations. Whether you choose to give $10, $25, $50, or $500 or sign up as a Sustaining Subscriber, your generous donation will help ensure that Briarpatch not only survives, but thrives.

It’s a dynamic and exciting time for Briarpatch. Nine months ago we changed our publishing format, moving from 8 smaller issues to 6 larger ones per year. This change has given us both more space and more time to focus each issue on a specific theme, using high-quality journalism, creative non-fiction, political analysis, illustrations and photography to ask hard questions and provide unexpected answers. In recent issues we’ve looked at food politics, crime & punishment, unplugging from a growth-based economy, education, and more. And we’re overflowing with ideas for what to cover next!

I’m excited about the direction Briarpatch is taking. In the coming years we hope to make Briarpatch THE go-to source for thoughtful, radical and ethically engaged magazine journalism in Canada, serving the progressive community and helping it to grow. With your support, we can make it happen.

Your donation will help ensure that this bastion of fearless journalism can continue to wage the war on error and celebrate grassroots alternatives long into the future. We’ll print the names of all donors in an upcoming issue. (Or if you prefer, you can elect to keep your donation anonymous.)

Please, take a moment right now to show
your support for Briarpatch and the spirit of
engaged citizenship we work hard to foment!

Your loyalty and past support for the magazine are deeply appreciated. I hope we can count on you again today.

In solidarity,

Dave Oswald Mitchell
Editor

p.s. Because we’re a non-profit organization, every penny we receive goes towards producing the best magazine possible. You can rest assured that, large or small, your donation will be put to very good use.

p.p.s. Go to www.briarpatchmagazine.com/webstore right now to make a secure online donation or set up your sustaining subscription, or call us at 1-866-431-5777.

“Confronting the manifestations of global capitalism at their summits and meetings is no doubt a part of the tactical arsenal of anti-capitalists. . . . However, the enduring challenge of the post-Seattle moment remains to link mass mobilizations and direct action against global capitalism to the on-the-ground day-to-day struggles against colonialism, poverty, racism, and police brutality - to root them in long-standing struggles for dignity and survival.”

-Jaggi Singh, “Roundtable on G8 Resistance: Perspectives for the next phase of global anti-capitalist uprisings.” Upping the Anti, Interventions #1

2010 will witness the eruptions of three major manifestations of global capitalism — and the protests against them — on Canadian soil: the Vancouver Olympics, the G8 Summit in Muskoka, and a Security and Prosperity Partnership summit (date and location not yet confirmed). To what extent can the mobilizations against these events, building on the legacies of summit protests past, serve to expand and advance the work of popular movements for social justice and environmental sustainability?

In anticipation of a great deal of media, police and government disinformation about the protesters and their grievances, Briarpatch invites submissions to its January/February 2010 issue, “Resistance 2010: Confrontational politics, social movements & the state of anti-capitalist organizing in Canada.”

This is an opportunity for activists, supporters and sympathizers to share information about the issues, challenges, successes, goals and strategies of anti-capitalist organizing and social movement practice. What is being planned? Why should (and/or how can) allies and sympathizers get involved?

It is hoped that this issue can serve as a critical space for documenting, discussing, evaluating and critiquing the state and trajectory of social movements in Canada. Where are we now? What have we learned from the legacies of APEC, Quebec City, Kananaskis, Montebello and other flashpoints?

We are looking for articles, essays, investigative reportage, news briefs, project profiles, interviews with activists and strategists, reviews, poetry, humour, artwork & photography that addresses the issue at hand.

Article queries could spring from such seed questions as:

• What’s behind the slogan “no Olympics on stolen land”?
• What has the SPP been up to lately and why should we care?
• The G8 vs. the world: Can the Group of Eight be a force for good?
• Summit-hopping 2.0: What have we learned? What’s changed? What next?
• How successful have anti-capitalist activists been at forging meaningful links with indigenous and migrant justice organizing efforts?
• Goals, strategy, tactics: What is “victory,” and how will we get there?
• “Confrontation without compromise” vs. strategically chosen, achievable demands: How much to ask, how much to take?
• Learning from the South: What can Canadian social movements learn from allies elsewhere in the world?
• Anti-capitalism, the labour movement and the non-profit industrial complex: What are the points of convergence? To what extent is broad coalition building on the Left possible?
• (This is NOT intended as an exhaustive list!)

We also welcome pitches for short profiles (300-600 words) of groups, initiatives and organizations that presage the next generation of anti-capitalist/social movement organizing. (Please note that we do not accept profiles of organizations written by staff of those organizations. Such organizations are welcome - indeed, encouraged - to take out an ad <http://briarpatchmagazine.com/files/2009/07/mediakit09sm.pdf> in this issue.)

Queries are due by September 6. If your query is accepted; first drafts are due by October 18. Your query should outline what ground your contribution will cover, give an estimated word count, and indicate your relevant experience or background in writing about the issue. If you haven’t written for Briarpatch before, please provide a brief writing sample.

Please write for a general audience, employing standard journalistic conventions. Please review our submission guidelines before submitting. Send your queries/submissions to editor AT briarpatchmagazine D0T com.

We reserve the right to edit your work (with your active involvement), and cannot guarantee publication.

Note: Potential contributors to this issue may also be interested in contributing to The Dominion’s special issue on the 2010 Olympics.

Other upcoming Briarpatch issues:

March/April 2010: Feminism International: The global fight for women’s autonomy
Query deadline: November 2, 2009

May/June 2010: Canadian foreign policy & its discontents
Query deadline: January 4, 2010

July/August 2010: Fences, walls & borders: Migration, global apartheid & the right to freedom of movement
Query deadline: March 1, 2010

September/October 2010: Health
Query deadline: May 3, 2010

November/December 2010: Work
Query deadline: July 5, 2010

January/February 2011: Indigenous activism & the Fourth World War
Query deadline: September 6, 2010

It is with great sadness that we mark the recent and untimely death of farm activist and columnist Paul Beingessner. Paul’s was a clear, courageous, and principled voice of sanity, and his weekly columns helped us all to better understand the issues affecting farmers and rural communities, both in Canada and around the world. He will be deeply missed.

National Farmers’ Union President has written a moving open letter in response to Paul’s death, reproduced below.

Also below are links to a few of Paul’s articles, which have appeared in Briarpatch over the past few years.

Read the rest of this entry »