Being an ally, being in solidarity

My imminent departure for Unis’tot’en Camp has me thinking about my role at these kinds of events. My decision to go in general has involved a great deal of pondering about what my purpose is for going.

We have been informed by our hosts that the caravan will be met by Unist’ot’en people at the bridge leading into the camp, who will ask us why we are there and determine whether to grant us permission to be there. I started thinking about what I would say before I found out that my crew will be represented by a spokesperson (there are over a hundred of us going, so I think this is to speed up the process). Regardless, there will be lots of informal discussion about these things once we enter the camp, and there is no avoiding the question, even for those of us with group representation.

Acknowledging and leaving the territory

Next week I join a caravan of activists travelling to unceded Wet’suet’en territory to join grassroots community members there in opposition to oil and gas pipelines. This departure will, for me, also represent an indefinite departure from the ‘Greater Victoria/Capital Region District’ area.

I have no immediate plans once I join the caravan. If an opportunity to stay in the camp presents itself and resonates with me, I would stay, but I will likely get back on the caravan headed south and venture off along the coast somewhere, perhaps to Cortes Island (Klahoose/Sliammon territory), where a resistance (mostly settler-based as far as I am aware) to industrial logging is forming.

What I orginally sat down to do here is reflect upon the five years I have spent in ‘Victoria’.

But before I do, I want to explain, if you aren’t already familiar, the quotation marks I use around the word ‘Victoria’.

Free Roaming Human Remembered

I got quoted in a Toronto Star article last week, which is no big deal to the dozens of people quoted in the paper every day, but I grew up in Toronto, and have been in the papers here in Victoria many times, but have never been in the Toronto Star. Anyway, here’s what this is about…

If you’re a long time reader of my blog, or a friend of mine, you may be aware of my very brief attempt in 2007 to walk across Canada. In preparation for this walk I researched previous walks, and wrote a blog post entitled “Other People Who Have Walked Across Canada”.

Special offer: Websites/Blog for $75

The B Channel News site is an example of a website I built using the WordPress platform.

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For a limited time, I am offering to set up a wordpress blog/website for $75 (not including the cost of hosting the site, which starts at $2.95/month).

The above hosting deal includes unlimited storage and bandwidth (perfect for video) and unlimited (web-based) email accounts (with unlimited inbox space). Goodbye gmail and yahoo mail. That same price also allows for unlimited websites. (though additional domain names are extra).

This offer is limited to helping you set up a site using the WordPress Content Management System. This blogging platform, similar but much more versitile and customizable to the wordpress.com blogs (such as this one), can be custom configured to be used for a variety of purposes, including your online small business.

This is a great option if you want a site you can update and maintain yourself. Perfect for individuals and small organizations.

Check out http://bchannelnews.tv for an example of my work with the wordpress platform.

You’ll need to register your domain name and set up a hosting plan using your credit card. I reccomend http://midphase.com.
It takes 24 hours or so for the order to go through, then we can set up your blog/website. If you need any assistance choosing a plan or navigating the midphase.com site, I can help walk you through the process.

chris (at) bchannelnews (dot) tv

Happy 150 Years of Genocide, Victoria!

I thought I was being controversial, writing as I did about things like the doctrine of discovery, broken (and lack of treaties) and other such things underlying the lack of legitimacy behind the founding of British Columbia.

It seems that there are a few of us who have chosed to write dissenting opinions on the City of Victoria’s 150th birthday celebrations, and my own piece is probably the tamest of them all.

Soon after I had written my piece and just before it appeared in No Fun City (a new local publication), Simon Natrass published this column in Monday Magazine, the local ‘alternative’ weekly. In it he quotes someone saying “Really when we look at 150 years for Victoria, what we’re celebrating is genocide.”

“There are Way More People Making Meth than People Making Biodiesel”

This is a story that illustrates some of the adventures one can experience once they start making biodiesel.

There was a certain brand of drain cleaner that we use as a catalyst for biodiesel, as it’s contents were 100% sodium hydroxide (lye), which is pretty much all a homebrewer can use for making biodiesel with.

One day a few years ago I came across a piece of news that the company who made the lye was changing it’s formula, and was no longer offering a 100% lye product, in order to discourage people who were using it to make methamphetamine. I read the news on a biodiesel homebrewer forum, along with the news that homebrewers across the country were buying up the last of the existing stock as quickly as they could.

Demonstration for the Release of Waas-Am-Laxa, James McFadden – July 3, 2012

As I reported back in April, the Ministry of Child and Family Services are holding a 10 year boy in foster care while awaiting a hearing for a protection order.

The boy’s father, Ian McFadden, has provided supporters with proof that the allegations against him are fabrications, but must wait until August 30 in which to present his case.

Since his last court appearance, where his request that the hearing be set aside and his son released was denied, Ian has had his visitation rights withdrawn without explanation, and his son moved to an undisclosed location.

James has already been in foster care for 8 months.

From Ian’s Facebook page: “I ask that anyone who is able to, demonstrate in the vicinity of a Ministry of Children and Family Services/Development for a proper investigation of the Ministry’s current abuse of Waas-Am-Laxa, James McFadden. Information available at http://www.freejames.webs.com and pertinent emails to ianjames2012@gmail.com
Gunalcheesh, How’a, Thank you. Many Blessings and love.
RESCUE JAMES”