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Vancouver Indymedia is temporarily offline. While the calendar is still fully functional, posting of articles and comments has been disabled until past bandwidth bills have been paid (over $3,000 is outstanding) and new help comes forward to keep the site current. This outage is unrelated to the recent FBI raid on the UK Indymedia servers.

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• If you have access to free bandwidth with a static IP and would be willing to let us park a server on it and further de-centralize our services, please email us at bandwidth@ender.indymedia.org describing your offer. We are getting a barrage of requests from other Indymedia's to host their sites and we would love to help them out.

The Work Less Party has generously offered to share the proceeds of their upcoming October 15 fund-raiser to help bring us fully back online. Please support this event (more information below).

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Work Less Party Calendar Release Party!
Friday, October 15^th
WISE Hall at 1882 Adanac
Doors 7:30pm

Bands
Performers
Kissing Booth
Body Painters

Sliding scale $7 to $13 (lots of free stuff)
Advance tickets at Our Community Bikes, 3283 Main or 604-215-9395

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STOP STAR WARS

No fancy headline, or photo. Just the links. Canadian defense minister Bill Graham is this close tying Canada into the US and the "weaponization of space. This is REALITY. This is what we must face. Fate is a choice. We all must act now, and speak up.

SIMPLE ACTIONS TO TAKE:

International Car Free Day
September 22, 2004

The goal is to consider, in a public and engaging way, the economic, environmental and social impacts of car use in our cities.

During Car Free Day, 1500 cities around the world, mostly in Europe, will highlight attractive and plausible alternatives to our car-dependent culture, such as mixed-use urban design, active transportation, public transport, etc.

You are invited to check out the Car Free Times newspaper tabloid that recently published in Halifax: Car Free Times pdf

For more info on Car Free Day around the world:
www.carfreeday.ca
www.22september.org
www.uncfd.org
www.worldcarfree.net

Help DaKine
"Da Kine a Store I Like"

Did those cops just finish smokin a chonger or what? Just over a week ago, Da Kine -- Commercial Drive's safest supplier of medical marijauna -- was raided by a swarm of about 30 police. The police confiscated all of the marjijuana and hashish from the store, because their job is to ensure that it stays in the hands of the drug lords and violent gangs.

Yesterday, I learned that the remains of a local young man were identified, and could only be identified through DNA testing. His involvement with the drug trade is what is thought to be behind his death.

There are ethical growers, private growers, small growers, garden growers, all sorts of growers that could provide "good karma" weed enough for everyone. Enough of these insane laws against marijuana.

Here we have a store that provides a safe place for people to purchase their HERB for a reasonable price. The atmosphere is open, friendly, progressive and the presense is beneficial to the community. But it's raided and pillaged.

It's time for Canada to wake up and smell the Ganja and decriminalize marijuana. You can support Da Kine in a few ways. Go to the store and buy some good smoke.

[ Sign the Petition | Da Kine on IMC | Da Kine website ]

Supreme Injustice

Supreme Court of Canada
Favors Global Corporate Genocide

"The Supreme Court of Canada sided with U.S. biotech giant MonSATANo on Friday in the firm's lopsided patent fight against Saskatchewan farmer Percy Schmeiser"

Lack of Foresight In Canada's Supreme Court

Like BC's Working Forest Legislation, the decision for Monsanto over Percy Schmeiser shows a disturbing trend in both our legislature and our courts. Percy Schmeiser's compelling story should give all of us pause for thought: is our world, as The Corporation would suggest, being taken over by non-living entities in the form of companies and corporations? And even more on point, how are ethical decisions made in the race to patent and own life forms? As Canadians, we need to be leaders in this debate. And I don't think it is any small coincidence that this decision closely follows Washington's Project BioShield.

[ Council of Canadians Statement | Percy vs. MonSATANo decision | More Bushit Connections? ]

Spartacus Sizzles

Spartacus Books, Canada's oldest radical bookstore and treasure chest of alternative and "anarchist" knowledge burned to the ground this week leaving a gaping hole on West Hastings and in the hearts and minds of activists everywhere.

The 31 year old bookstore provided essential literature for the progressive movement, provided a place for NGO meetings (like Indymedia) and gave computer access to those without.

Spartacus had no insurance, stating that after 9/11 the insurance rates were not affordable for the non-profit, fully volunteer-run store. But Spartacus collective members decided after an emergency meet this week, that Spartacus will rise out of the ashes.

To help this essential community service get back on its feet, please donate to the Spartacus Book Fund at CCEC Credit Union, 2250 Commercial Drive.

If you have some literature that would be beneficial to Spartacus, please hold on to it for just a while longer until there is a place to accept such donations.

[ Full Story and contact info ]

Union Brass Sell Out HEU

BC HEU workers have been forced back to work after Liberal ass kissing union leaders sold them out in a "deal" reached at about 9:00 p.m, just hours before the union workers across BC were about to go on a General Strike to show solidarity with the workers.

Union honchos Sinclair and Allnut accepted a 15% wage rollback, the contracting out of jobs, and more work hours for the Union employees, who are now, understandably very bitter that this agreement was reached. There are no reports of ANY Union members who are happy with this agreement, and some brave souls have decided to fight the good fight, and have remained on the picket lines.

Please support these people. They are fighting for your future.

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Sisters In Spirit

Over the past 20 years, approximately 500 Aboriginal women have gone missing in communities across Canada. Yet government, the media, and Canadian society continue to remain silent.

In Vancouver, more than 50 women went missing in that city's Downtown Eastside. Sixty percent were Aboriginal, and most were young. These were poor women involved in the sex trade. They struggled with drugs and alcohol. Some suffered from the effects of Fetal Alcohol Syndrome, and many were victims of childhood sexual abuse. Every one of them grew up in a foster home. In other words, their lives bore all of the markings of the violence of colonization.

But these women also had families, hopes, dreams.

[ Full story... | Sisters in Spirit ]

Mass Movement For Peace

REPORTS FROM M20 INTERNATIONAL DAY OF ACTION

This international day of action said no to war and occupation, and yes to peace and justice. Last year, record numbers marched against the start of the illegal and unjust war on Iraq. On March 20th, the world again said no to perpetual war and yes to global disarmament , peace and harmony. The event included an address by Noam Chomsky (.mp3)

[ Pictures, comments and analysis: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 ]

Bad Case of the Smoggies

We have yet to heed the warnings of climate change. The arctic iceshelf has now broken apart. There are natural disasters, directly occuring as a result of climate change, all over the world at alarming rates. This has become the norm. The price of convenience.

We were warned in the 80's but oil industry economists plowed ahead and bankrolled us all into oblivion. What we are looking at now, for the next few centuries, is a world of turmoil, chaos, and anarchy. So says the Pentagon, in a not-so-round-about way.

"Secret" Pentagon report warns of the impact of climate change, and foretells of disasters for the coming decades. If you have been paying attention, it is already obvious to you. But for some, ignorance really is bliss. After reading this report, from "The Observer", it is easy to understand why.

[ News we want to ignore, but can't. | Key findings of Pentagon | Climate Change ]