Episodes
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COVID AWARE ORGANIZING
If we're going to build accessible, safe spaces to organize, that needs to include ways to reduce COVID transmissions amongst our comrades. Shira Lurie, a COVID aware activist with Protect our Province Nova Scotia (POPNS) and Mask for Mask Queers, joins host Jessa McLean to give easy, affordable precautions we can incorporate into our organizing and event planning.
Filling in the gaps where our governments have failed to protect us isn't new to progressives. Neither is having to buck popular trends, or create new ones. So why the resistance to masking and other initiatives around air quality? We unpack that and how we can start to bring more people along, even after five years.
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Resources:
COVID Conscious Under Capitalism - Blueprints of DisruptionRabble Rants: Mask Bans (podcast episode)Need a Mask? Can you Donate a Mask? DonateMask.caHow to build your own Corsi-Rosenthal Box - Corsi-Rosenthal FoundationGuest: Shira Lurie
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Canada recently adopted the IHRA definition of antisemitism, which is nothing but unmasked anti-Palestinian racism that looks to criminalize criticisms of Israeli State. The Ontario Progressive Conservatives are going to pay organizations like CIJA $550 million to teach that definition in schools. Our hosts remind us all of this is coming at a time where the Canadian state is spending unprecedented resources on weaponizing the legal system against activists. The repercussions are already being felt.
Within days of the adoption of the IHRA, the Crown dropped charges against a woman, not because she didn't commit the violence she was accused of, but because it was justified by the mere mention of a Free Palestine.
Why is Canada so invested in defending Israel's occupation and genocide of Palestinians? People may not like the answer....
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Resources:
CBC: Hijab Assault Charges WithdrawnCBC: Ontario expands Holocaust education in schools to combat rise in antisemitismHarsha Walia: Colonialism, racism and the IHRA | The Monitor
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Missing episodes?
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We will remember this 5th of November. A bonus Rabble Rants for the Blueprints of Disruption audience in response to the 2024 U.S. Presidential election.
While some blame voters and activists, our hosts examine how the DNC is to blame and what the results mean for the movements we feature on the show.
To be sure you don't miss another Rabble Rants, subscribe here.
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Be sure to catch more RABBLE RANTS on its dedicated feed.
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This installment of the TENANT POWER series features three members of the Ottawa Neighbourhood Organizing Centre (NOC) and their work supporting tenants in their fight against landlords, and of course, capitalism.
The work of the NOC began in the most organic way. By going into their community and talking to as many people as possible. Listening to their neighbours and finding common ground. Overwhelmingly, people needed and most importantly, wanted to fight, as tenants.
Hear how they continue to learn from one another and build power where they are. Quite literally going door by door, building by building and block by block to Activate the Tenant Class.
Guests: Seema Shafei, Shivangi Misra, Ethan Mitchell
CALLS TO ACTION:
If you are a tenant organization, please reach out to NOC through their Instagram, or email us at [email protected] can be made to the Bank Block Tenants here____________
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Resources:
“A So-called Tenants’ Union”: Defining the Organizational Power of Tenants within and outside the LawFollow NOC on Instagram
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The wealthy bought up the neighbourhood like their own personal game of Monopoly. Now they want to tear down some of the only affordable units in Ottawa - places where some of called home for 40 years.
Demovictions, like renovictions are eating away at the bottom of the housing market, targeting low cost rentals and turning them into places most people can not afford. Even with new renoviction bylaws in place, there is seemingly no help coming from City Hall for the tenants on Bank Street.
We interview Ben Emond from Bank Street Tenants and ask about their beginnings; how they came together after all receiving N13s (eviction notices). We hear about the resistance they've faced from their landlord, the rubberstamping approvals process at City Hall and the tactics the these tenants are using to push back against it all.
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Bank Street Tenants Confront Smart Living Properties to say No to Mass Eviction - The LevellerLearn More – Bank Block Tenants
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Support Systems Amid State Suppression with Dalia Awwad and Rachelle Friesen, both members of the Toronto Legal Support Committee.
Toronto Police have escalated their harassment and surveillance of Palestinian solidarity activists across the City, with arrests nearing 100. Our guests provide firsthand accounts of the oppressive tactics being used and the impact they are having on individuals and the larger movement. But not to worry...
Just as the tactics used by Police, the Crown, the media and politicians have been multi-faceted, so has been the response of these activists. Rather than go underground, stay quiet and 'out of trouble', they have risen up and created a community around the arrestees that goes way beyond legal support.
CALL TO ACTION
Donate to the Toronto Community Justice Fund
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Resources:
Unlawful Assembly While Masked - Blueprints of Disruption | PodfollowBlockades and Bail Conditions - Blueprints of Disruption | PodfollowDonate to the Toronto Community Justice Fund
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Journalist and human rights lawyer, Dimitri Lascaris on Lebanon, the resistance and bringing down an apartheid state.
After returning from his fourth trip to Beirut in the past year, Lascaris describes the changes he's seen in Lebanon, laments on the depravity of our politicians and the need to reassert the right to armed resistance for the Palestinian people.
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Resources:
Disrupting Politics with Dimitri Lascaris - Blueprints of DisruptionLebanon Palestine and Resisting Colonialism - Blueprints of Disruption
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Unverified: The Grind Uncovers New Lows in Canadian Media
Journalist Dave Gray-Donald from the GrindTO spent months analyzing Canadian media reports and attempting to hold his follow journalists accountable for repeatedly printing unverified claims about October 7th, 2023. His piece, Global News and Postmedia Refuse to Correct Oct. 7 Falsehoods exposes some of the most horrific failures of our legacy media - but its not getting the exposure it needs...
...so we also discuss how to combat the impacts of shoddy, even malicious reporting by supporting independent media and good reporting when we see it.
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Resources:
Global News and Postmedia Refuse to Correct Oct. 7 Falsehoods - The Grind Magazine
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Decades of climate organizing hasn't really produced many victories to feed off of. Why?
Climate Justice Toronto took a hard look at the environmentalist movement, studied Labour organizing models and decided to undertake a major shift in their work. One that focused on actually challenging points of power while building their own.
Hear how they went from a class-based climate organization to one that is almost entirely dedicated to tenant organizing, without compromising the end goal of defending the planet.
CALL TO ACTION: Sign up for Climate Justice Toronto October 2024 Orientation - Action Network
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Resources:
Referenced Episode with York-South Weston Tenants UnionNational Observer (Seth Klein) The climate movement must shift gears or it's doneInstagram: CJTOClimate Justice Toronto –Homepage
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Harm reduction advocates have their work cut out for them in this current political climate that has Provincial governments targeting their services using dehumanization language and legislation. Ola Skudlarska, of the Leslieville Harm Reduction Coalition helps myth bust some of the commonly used narratives to criminalize and displace people who use drugs.
Safe consumption facilities have been the focal point of moral panic that is playing out in harmful legislation aiming to shut them down. Hear how people are coming together to defend these sites in their communities that provide support, connection, and a pathway to recovery for individuals who use drugs.
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Resources:
Other Harm Reduction ResourcesToronto Life: Safe Consumption Site Kensington MarketToronto Star: Supervised Consumption Site What its Really LikeLeslieville Harm Reduction Coalition
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230 Fightback has been battling over a crucial piece of real estate in downtown Toronto for a very long time. A real estate investment company, Kingsett Capital is who owns the building, but their fight has been just as hampered by Toronto City Hall.
Hear how the campaign persisted through organizational changes, set backs and discouragement from their own City Councilor.
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CALL TO ACTION:
Contact KingSett Capital and Toronto City Councilor Chris Moise to protest against the redevelopment of 214-230 Sherbourne.
History - 230 FightbackRabble: Questions remain about eviction of 150 Toronto seniors 2019Tenant Power - a Podcast Playlist
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Our hosts get personal with their lived experiences with ADHD.
Its a very candid discussion on how ADHD impacts their lives, the accommodations that help them thrive and the politics behind preventing us from realizing more inclusive spaces for neurodivergent folks.
The episode was largely left uncut to better demonstrate some of the very characteristics people associate with ADHD, but also to challenge the misconceptions that are out there.
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Resources:
Referenced video: How to ADHD's Wall of Awful Part 1Related Episode: Autistic Resistance: The Foundations - Blueprints of Disruption
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Hear a story of tenants forming a union to fight back against a slumlord, going on Rent Strike and winning!
Bruno, an organizer with York-South Weston Tenants Union is back to share a victory from an unlikely place, the Ontario Landlord Tenant Board. We previously heard from Bruno on one of our favourite episodes, Blueprints of a Rent Strike.
We don't just get the story - we get the blueprints of how they did it.
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All of our content is free - made possible by the generous sponsorships of our Patrons. If you would like to support us: Patreon
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And be sure to check out our other podcast:
Resources:
The Tenant Class - Blueprints of Disruption | PodfollowBlueprints of Rent StrikeFollow YSW Tenants Union on Twitter (X)
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Canada's has deep ties to Haiti's current political dilemma, and deep pockets when it comes to meddling in their democracy. Since 2022, that is $300 million and counting.
Teacher and writer Travis Ross, of the Canada-Haiti Information Project gets us up to speed on what is happening on the ground in Haiti right now and how we got there. It includes a foreign policy discussion, but also explains from a local perspective the various coalitions and classes battling it out on the streets of the capital, Port-au-Prince.
Learn more on this topic:
Referenced Documentary: Another Vision (YouTube)Follow Travis Ross on Twitter (X)Global Fragility Act Statement - President BidenCanada announces $123 million in funding to improve security in Haiti - Canada.caLatest News | The Canada-Haiti Information ProjectAll of our content is free - made possible by the generous sponsorships of our Patrons. If you would like to support us: Patreon
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Alex Cosh, Managing Editor at The Maple joins us to talk about their work holding the powerful accountable. Their most recent story, ignored by Canadian media, is explosive, as it proves Trudeau has been lying about an arms embargo with Israel. There is lots to learn about the Canadian arms trade if we're going to shut it down.
We also talk about the importance of finding the truth and exposing it - especially as it related to the work of the movements to disarm Israel.
CALL TO ACTION: Get involved with #ArmsEmbargoNow
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Resources:
Al Jazeera: Canada's Off the Record Arms TradeAppel and Cosh: Pierre Poilievre’s Incoming War On Support For PalestineThe Maple: U.S. Names Quebec Contractor In Newly Approved Arms Sale To IsraelFollow Alex Cosh on Twitter (X)The Maple
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Not only does Unicorn Riot put out impressive, badly needed content that covers our movements - but they do it using a decentralized, non-hierarchal model that we could all learn from. A model that frees their members, pulls in as many people as possible and gets a lot done with little resources.
We get to talk to three members of Unicorn Riot about how they work with contributors from all over the globe to tell previously untold stories of resistance, state suppression and more. For example, they are the folks imbedded in the protests we're seeing around the Democratic National Convention (DNC).
They certainly do provide, Blueprints of Disruption.
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Resources:
Unicorn Riot's Legal Defense Fund
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Despite what they'll tell you, Scotiabank is feeling the heat from No Arms in the Arts, a coalition of cultural sector workers who have deftly weaponized the banks own PR machine to get them to divest from Israeli weapons manufacturers.
Aliya Pabani from Canlit Responds and Michael DeForge of Writers Against the War on Gaza (W.A.W.O.G) talk about how they were able to turn Scotiabank's sponsorships of things like the Giller Prize and Hot Docs into liabilities as a means of pressure.
Its also a discussion about creating, activating and structuring coalitions, encouraging folks to go beyond their craft and look beyond the typical leverage points.
Resources:
Attention Required! | CloudflareHow the Giller Prize Became Associated with Genocide | The WalrusCanlit RespondsToronto Star: Scotiabank Divests_______________________
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Groups of White Nationalists took to the streets around the U.K. in a wave of racist, xenophobic violence in early August 2024. Although they attempted to capitalize on a tragedy to target mostly the Muslim Community, their numbers were small and the show of force against them daunting.
Our hosts discuss the possibilities of this occurring in Canada, and what our response should be.
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Don't miss our Rabble Rants; our newest podcast where hosts Jessa McLean and Santiago Helou Quintero comment on current news from an anti-capitalist perspective.
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The City of Toronto evicted yet another encampment. When pressed for a reason, City Staff claimed it was at the behest of the organizers for Caribana. Marilyn Bell Park had been the home of several community members for the last year. Listen in as organizers with Voices for Unhoused Liberation tell that story and share what they're doing to fight back - not just against this latest eviction, but against the war on the poor.
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Resources:
Fundraiser by Unhoused Liberation : Support the Fight for Unhoused Liberation
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Would a coalition, similar to what we saw in France, stop Pierre Poilievre in the next election? This is a scenario independent journalist, political analyst and author Jeremy Appel lays out in his recent piece for the Tyee.
Jeremy joins host Jessa McLean to talk about the feasibility of a one-time political coalition to keep the Conservatives out of power, the need for electoral reform and the state of the electoral 'Left' here in Canada.
Is voting a tool for change or simply harm reduction? Let us know what you think.
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