OPIRG is excited to welcome Maude Barlow, National Chairperson of the Council of Canadian, and Sid Ryan, CUPE Ontario President, to Brock University as they tour 15 cities speaking about the politics of water and the corporatization of this public resource. br /br /The bottled water industry has worked hard to undermine our faith in public water. The industry sells water - a shared public resource - for HUGE profits. It's time to get the facts!br /br /strong Kick The Bottle br / Tap into Public Drinking Water! /strongbr /br /img src="http://www.fastcompany.com/files/imagecache/bucket_image/files/feature-water2LG.jpg"_align="right" /br /br /Friday January 16 at 7:00pmbr /Brock Universitybr /Thistle Building, Room TH247

OPIRG Brock welcomes Julia Kerr as the new Organization, Research and Volunteer Coordinator, as Jen Coorsh finishes up her time with us. Please come and introduce yourself to Julia at the campus resource office in the Student Alumni Building, room 204, come the new year. br /br /Julia comes to us from London Ontario, where she recently finished her MA in Women Studies and Feminist Research. With a strong background in the student movement and community activism, Julia is excited to begin organizing in St. Catharines. Julia's activist street cred! include coordinating the Women's Issues Network at UWO, over three years of membership with London's organic food co-operative, a long history of volunteerism with Oxfam Canada and great enthusiasm for grassroots radio.br /br /Her current interests revolve around theories of participatory economics and society, the young Canadian feminist movement and provincial solidarity and community building.br /br /As for Jen, she is wrapping up her BA in environmental studies and human geography and has hopes of moving to montreal come the spring. We will miss her greatly, but thankfully will still see her often at the resource centre and at OPIRG events.br /br /Hope everyone is well, and enjoying a safe and pleasurable holiday

a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_qZJiHGwdYp0/SSMVqvrtSfI/AAAAAAAAAM8/-a9e29WO100/s1600-h/diySmall2.png"img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 143px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_qZJiHGwdYp0/SSMVqvrtSfI/AAAAAAAAAM8/-a9e29WO100/s200/diySmall2.png" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5270079813052090866" //abr /T-Shirt Surgerybr /After a delicious vegetarian dinner at 10% off for crafty D.I.Y. folks, we started our second DIY Collective event at Strega Cafe. With options for no-sew projects, hand sewing and machine sewing, it was made easy for beginners. We chopped up second hand and slightly damaged t-shirts to create tube tops, t-shirt hybrids, patches and tanks. I had some examples from an earlier surgery session this week, including a knotted tube overlay and a pair of cotton cassette tape print underwear I made from a $2.00 t-shirt. I brought my t-shirt surgery bible along - Generation T: 101 ways to modify a shirt, to inspire. That book as well as this do it yourself session really make one realize how easy it can be to modify, customize and creatively re-use clothing. Hopefully we`ll do another one in the new year, and maybe venture out into the t-shirt rug, patchwork scarves and totes.br /-Sheena Swirlz

On November 17, 2008, the Bottled Water National Day of Action came to a close. During the week of November 10 to 14th students volunteered to promote awareness about bottled water and the issues that revolve around it, including the water industry itself, water privatization and the growing lack of access to free public tap water systems on university campuses around Canada. Volunteers gave out brochures during this week, as well as asking students to sign saying that they would not purchase water bottles anymorebr /On the day of action, the 17th, students created a chain of consumption that displayed empty plastic water bottles. The display had 70 bottled waters attached to it, outlining the amount of water bottles consumed by one person in North America each year. The chain of consumption was then walked through the halls with volunteers passing out brochures about the environmental, economic and health impacts of bottled water. This was a great way to get the word out about the water bottled industry since it was very noticeable and many students stopped to read the posters and brochures that were being passed out. Hopefully students at Brock will think before they buy a water bottle now!br /br /For more information regarding the water bottled industry and the environmental and health issues please check out these websites located below:br /www.insidethebottle.orgbr /www.polarisinstitute.org

a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_qZJiHGwdYp0/SSMNVIZpS4I/AAAAAAAAAM0/G0riSTVbpUk/s1600-h/tortureCar2.jpg"img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_qZJiHGwdYp0/SSMNVIZpS4I/AAAAAAAAAM0/G0riSTVbpUk/s200/tortureCar2.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5270070645637073794" //abr /On October 23rd, demonstrators dressed in orange jumpsuits with black hoods over their faces sat in the green space in front of Schmon Tower with a sign reading: "Stop Canadian Involvement in Torture". Activists bearing a chilling likeness to Guantanamo Bay detainees knelt with their hands behind their backs, faces down. The Caravan Against Canadian Involvement in Torture came to Brock University to share their experiences traveling across the country, educating communities about processes of rendition, policy and lack of transparency when it comes to torture related issues. br /br /Although Canada has traditionally been no wallflower when it comes to supporting regimes that engage in the most brutal of human rights violations (whether politically or economically), its complicity in the torture of human beings has come into sharper focus in the years following 9/11/2001. The Canadian government is openly flouting its international and domestic legal obligations NEVER to be involved directly or indirectly in acts of torture or other forms of cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment. Some of the world's most vulnerable people are being abandoned in the name of "national security." Canada has consistently been criticized by the likes of the United Nations, Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch and other groups for the government's refusal to respect international laws governing the absolute prohibition on complicity in torture. And yet whenever there are efforts to determine the full extent of Canada's involvement -- with the intent of ending such behaviour -- they are generally shut down or held in secret.br /br / As Manfred Nowak says, torture is democracy's antithesis. Whether it is the federal government's refusal to release documents about the torture of Canadian-captured detainees in Afghanistan; the holding of completely unaccountable secret inquiries into the torture of Canadian citizens; or the use of secret hearings and the lowest available standards of justice to deport people to torture, we see that the government's efforts to protect institutions involved in such heinous practices are actually undermining the principles of openness, fairness, and equality that are supposed to be hallmarks of democracy. br /br /The Caravan To End Canadian Involvement in Torture follows in the path of long-distance journeys throughout history have played a key role in social justice struggles. In Canada, there have been cross-country caravans in solidarity with First Nations struggles, long-distance walks for refugee rights, freedom rides, the 2006 Freedom Caravan to End Secret Trials, and treks by train, such as the 1930s "On to Ottawa" anti-poverty mobilization. Such journeys are both political and spiritual pilgrimages, opportunities to get beyond the world of sound-bite politics and engage in dialogue at a slower pace.

On October 14th, the newly formed OPIRG working group; the Do-It-Yourself Collective gathered for their first workshop which was all about paper art. People collaged, made magnets, bookmarks; really anything you could do with paper. A few new faces showed up to the event and contributed ideas for future workshops and discussions about how to foster DIY culture. All the DIY workshops include hand made crafts that you can take home right after the workshops. No skills are needed and there are little to no costs involved for the workshops. br /br /The DIY Collective has an excellent line up of events including:br /br /October 29th, 5pm: Jam Making Workshop - learn all the skills you will need to make jam and other basic preserving skills from experienced jam makers in the Niagara region. Limited supplies available. Fruit and jars will be provided, but to ensure that you have your own jar to take home, bring one with you.br /br /November 5th, 5pm: Stuff Swap - you don't need to go to the store to get new stuff, you can get it from other people, who are giving it away for free; bring your stuff to trade with other people and go home with a new wardrobe and then some.br /br /for location infomration contact OPIRG Brock.

a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_qZJiHGwdYp0/SP4E4ZFZbDI/AAAAAAAAAMs/9JA6aLzfhxE/s1600-h/DSCN0892.JPG"img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_qZJiHGwdYp0/SP4E4ZFZbDI/AAAAAAAAAMs/9JA6aLzfhxE/s200/DSCN0892.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5259646781668027442" //abr /International best selling author on the health risks of genetically engineered foods Jeffrey M Smith visited Brock University on Thursday, October 2nd. Smith has spent much of the past few years on the road as the Executive Director for the Institute of Responsible Technology a popular keynote speaker, has traveled to over 30 countries where he has been consulting with scientists and governments regarding the adverse health effects of genetically engineered foods.br /br / Smith discussed some of the over “65 health risks of GMO and linked them to thousands of sick, sterile, and dead livestock, thousands of toxic and allergic reactions, damage to virtually every organ in virtually every system studied.” The Canadian and American governments have based their policy on false, inaccurate assumptions based on “industry sponsored studies that are designed to avoid finding those problems. There is more than enough evidence … overwhelming, irrefutable evidence right now that GM foods are inherently unsafe.”br /br / Smith discussed how Dr. Arpad Pusztai conducted one of the most comprehensive studies done to date on the effects of GMO on mammals in 1996. Pusztai and his team of 20 scientists at the prestigious Rowett Institute in the United Kingdom received a 3 million dollar grant by the British government to create the new safety protocol to test new GMO foods. He found that the inherent process of genetic engineering was unsafe and created numerous health problem with the rats in his study within only ten days, including; potentially precancerous cell growth in the digestive track, smaller brains, livers and testicles, partial atrophy of liver and damage to the immune system. Dr. Pusztai with permission went on television to warn against consuming these products. After an alleged phone call from UK Prime Minister’s office Dr. Pusztai was fired after 35 years. His study was published in the Lancet Medical Journal in Vol. 354, Issue 9179 August 1999.br /br / This prime example is one of the major reasons why European are very concerned about GMO foods. North American media conveniently gave little to no attention to Dr. Pusztai’s work. In fact Project Censored ranked this story the 7th most censored story in 2001. As European consumers became hostile to GMO foods, within a week of Dr. Pustai’s television appearance virtually all-major food companies including McDonalds, Nestlé, and Burger King in Europe promised that their products would be GMO free. However their North American brands would continue to use them.br /br / Smith believes that the tipping point of GMO rejection in North America is coming within the next couple years, as the health risks become known. As some countries such as Peru, Ireland, trying to become the first GMO Free Country, within the past two years consumer rejection in the United States to the genetically engineered bovine growth hormone has reached a tipping point. Many major brands including Wal-Mart, Starbucks, Ben and Jerry’s and 40 of the 100 largest dairies all publicly committing to not having dairy products contaminated with the growth hormone.br /br / There are four things consumers can do to stop eating GMO foods:br /1) Buy organic br /2) Buy products that are voluntarily labeled GMO Freebr /3) Buy products listed on a Non-GMO Shopping Guidebr /4) Avoid at risk ingredients: Corn, Soy, Cotton Seed, Canola, Hawaiian Papaya, and as of the Autumn of 2008 Sugar Beet, and all products made from these derivatives. ie: soy lecithin, high fructose corn syrup. Read full listbr /br /| GM Watch List Serve | Eat Local Niagara | Canadian Organic Growers |br /| The Seasoned Spoon: Food Related Resources University Student Initiatives |br /br /OPIRG-Brock is happy to be hosting Smith's books for use in our alternative resource library. We are also excited to be able to offer, for sale, copies of two films, endorsed by Smith, from the International Institute for Responsible Tecnology: "The GMO Trilogy", and "The World According to Monsanto" - both available in the OPIRG-Brock Resource Library.br /br /For more information on the films, or books, which are also available for sale in the Brock Bookstore please contact us.

OPIRG's Disorientation week closed off on Friday September the 5th: We held a coffee house night at Strega Café on King St to showcase the Toronto's Slam poetry team, who opened the night with some beautiful spoken word performances! Toronto Poetry Slam is all about ideas, with one in particular: people sharing poetry for everyone to enjoy. Deeply felt truths combined with a performance-centered style results in an often moving, always entertaining, evening of spoken word. The slam team as folleded by an incredible musical performance by Toronto based LAL, a protest band representing Uganda, Bangladesh, Barbados and India. They shared tracks from their new record " Deportation" which was creatively triggered by 9/11 and it's affects, the deportation of Queen Nzinga [an artist and activist who was deported to Costa Rica on International Women's Day in Toronto in 2004], and many others, Project Threadbare [a campaign to stop the deportation of 24 Pakistani men due to racist immigration and national security measures].br /br /We are very thankful to everyone who came out to enjoy this experience and enjoy these rare talents !