News of and debates about the FTAA Summit and protests are still being posted to Summit Features, Summit Letters, FTAA Citizen Journalism, and Summit Links. Check out eye-witness testimony from the street - including many reports of police brutality - and debates over appropriate response by citizens groups.
Protesters take on the Black Bloc
Globe and Mail reporter Mark MacKinnon tells of non-violent protesters taking on anarchist vandals on Rue St Jean and of dancing through the tear gas. Previously published in papmag.com.
Spontaneous collective action wows Sarah Polley
Actor/activist awed by respect shown for one another by disparate protesters.
"We're here to strengthen ties and bring it back to Parliament"
NDP's McDonough in an interview by Tabassum Siddiqui in Quebec City at the People's Summit.
Dangerous change in police Summit tactics - Sam Boskey
Documenting a dangerous change in the use of police force against a civilian population.
Raging Grannies save young protesters from police attack - Peggy Land
Moments of Faith at The Wall, Quebec City April 21.
Diary of a Protest, 48 hours on the frontlines - Tabassum Siddiqui
- Part 1 and
- Part 2
A documentary-length, first-person account.
It takes a movement to change the world - Mick Lowe says a new movement has been born and traditional organizations and leaders must figure out how they fit with it or wither.
Brutal police attacks on medics & peaceful protest - Sara Ahronheim's first-hand account of dangerous police tactics in Quebec City.
From Seattle to Quebec City - Protest veteran Chaitanya K Kalevar compares protests and police actions at events since Seattle and concludes Seattle was more dangerous.
Summit's political prisoner Jaggi Singh still in jail - From the Globe and Mail, April 27.
"We built the catapult, Judy Rebick Got the $$$" - Deconstructionists
A mind-bending warp to the Jaggi Singh story from the Deconstructionist Institute for Surreal Topology. From 
.
(Un)Reasonable Search and Seizure in Québec City - A harrowing tale from documentary filmmaker Malcolm Rogge.
Civil Disobedience or Servile Obedience? - John Hollingsworth outlines dilemmas and directions for the anti-capitalist democratic left.
Akwesasne Crossing - Eric Mills
Police brutality and terror under cover of tear gas - Jen Chang and Darryl Leroux
Many protestors snatched, beaten and denied rights in jail.
Locked in the bowels of the Americas - Raphaël Thierrin
Squalid conditions and nasty treatment forged bond among jailed protesters.
Bonding through tear gas - Naomi Klein writes that there weren't just two protests in Quebec City - a "peaceful" one and a "violent" one - there were hundreds, marking a new era in protest. A link to the Globe and Mail.
Where were the unions? - Paul Jones
If labour marchers had gone to the wall, the fence could not have held.
Effective action requires planning, responsibility - Pam FitzGerald
First-hand experience of police excess and "Black Block" irresponsibility.
Police were unnerving but didn't over-react - civil liberties activist Randal Marlin
Report on the Quebec Summit from Outside the Perimeter Fence.
Straight goods on tear gas
A comment on the anti-FTAA events and the use of carcinogenic tear gas, by Helen Armstrong.
A plea for fresh air - Holly Dressel
David Suzuki went to Quebec City to speak for the environment but had to leave because, as an asthmatic, the tear gas threatened his health.
Sinclair Stevens condemns police abuses in Quebec City
Former Tory minister supports FTAA but says the government has forgotten what democracy is all about. A link to The Globe and Mail.
Injury and arrest reports mount as situation calms down
Cliff Pearson of IndyMedia reports on police gas attacks on protestors, an emergency medical centre, and its newsroom.
Policing the People - Judy Rebick
Some demonstrators fought police. Others didn't. It made little difference. From .
Dancing with Teargas in our Eyes
Written report and digital photos by Gary Morton of Citizens on the Web.
Photos from Saturday in Quebec City
By Kingston, Ontario activist Peter Boyle.
Information for tear gas victims
Editorial
Uncivil disobedience - Ish Theilheimer, with Mel Watkins and Kathy Eisner
Civil society groups must work with - and help protect - the new generation of activists.
Post-Summit humour:
Channel-surfing can be scary
A post-Summit hangover inspires an animated vision from Jim Kempkes.
Eye-witness news: Where is Jaggi Singh? - David Creighton
Non-violent activist jumped, beaten and arrested by plainclothes police.
LEAK: 50,000 march peacefully through Quebec City
Photos by Ish Theilheimer.
Education's move from public right to industry
A People's Summit panel report from Paul Pellizzari.
When Bush Comes to Shove - Mel Watkins
You've got to be doing something awfully bad to get thousands to come all the way to Quebec City when it's barely spring.
New FTAA leak - Kyoto commitment dropped
"Not surprising but disgusting," says Elizabeth May of the Sierra Club.
To Serve and Protect Whom? - Paul Pellizzari
Police harassment in Quebec.
Free trade widening income gap in 15 countries
Study confirms damaging effects of trade deals on poor and working people.
Edmonton Radical Cheerleaders "Jelly Bean" and "Downtown Sugarbrown" rehearse their act outside the big tent that houses many of the activities at the People's Summit in Quebec City. Radical cheerleading is a new craze sweeping North American campuses. In March, 600 radical cheerleaders from across the continent met for a pre-summit practice at Carleton U. in Ottawa.
Where are the aboriginal people? - Mel Watkins
Hurting badly from globalization, indigenous people even get short shrift at People's Summit.
Results of NAFTA turn Quebec labour movement against trade deals
The first violence is institutional...
José Bové says there is a moral obligation to resist trade agreements that hurt poor people and deprive farmers of their ability to make a living.
CLC’s Nancy Riche moves Labour Forum to tears
Poem by St. Lucia activist evokes image of blood, tears and death for workers around the world under free trade.
Does trade create democracy? - Mel Watkins
Some day, our children will be amazed we let the corporations decide who should live and die.
Trade agreements need democracy clauses with teeth
Warren Allmand, Gerry Barr join with international activists to propose specifics that will ensure international rights conventions are honoured.
EXTRA: See the leaked draft of the FTAA
The draft FTAA negotiating position on investment was leaked on Wednesday, April 18 and is now on the Internet. It's an important read, especially the investor-state provisions, and different only in small respects from NAFTA.
Hectyor de la Cuevea (Mexican Network Against Free Trade), Carol Philipps (Common Frontiers-Canada) and Monique Richard (Réseau québécois sur l'intégration continentale) at a news conference at the People's Summit, April 17. The three pressed demands for a Summit-to-Summit meeting between representatives of the People's Summit and the Summit of the Americas. "We're not optimistic that of their own good will the government will see the light," said Phillips, "I'm optimistic we can force them to see the light."
Quebec City ominous site for Canadian Left? - David Frank
Historically the walled city has not been kind to democratic forces.
Mainstream media adopts different tone around Quebec summit? - Barrie Zwicker
"Funny" is a useful word to describe advanced media coverage of summit.
Trade deals threaten Canadian health care - Dr. Gordon Guyatt
Canada's position likely to lead to NAFTA challenge.
FTAA and me - Penney Kome
Reading the receipt takes a lot of the gloss out of free trade.
Imagine life with even more free trade
The latest animated vision from Jim Kempkes.
(You need Shockwave® software to view this cartoon and others in the Straight Goods cartoon gallery - it takes a few minutes to download, but it's not hard to install and it's absolutely free.)
Will trade lift poor out of poverty? - Derek McKee says it's unlikely in light of poor performance of poor countries since launch of WTO.
From "Me" to "We" in a World of Freer Trade - Paul Pellizzari writes that international agreements must benefit everyone, not just consumers and investors.
Youth teach parents in protest movement - Darryl Leroux says youth bring unprecedented energy, sophistication to trade protests.
NAFTA at Seven - New study says stagnant incomes, lost jobs, increased insecurity, and rising inequality for workers Canada, US and Mexico.
Straight Goods' Mel Watkins outside the People's Summit's big tent in Quebec City.
Corporate rights come at expense of citizens, taxpayers - Linda McQuaig
Corporate polluters like Methanex can sue cities their victims under NAFTA/FTAA rules.
Ten reasons to oppose FTAA - Duncan Cameron
Why Canadians should protest the upcoming Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA) negotiations in Quebec City.
Will Canadian border close to FTAA protesters? - Darryl Leroux
Protestors plan to cross from US through Akwesasne if denied entry at border points.
Why students are going to Quebec
Privatization and global trade agenda linked and dangerous - Ken Georgetti, Canadian Labour Congress
But WTO's running scared - explaining why its next meeting's in Qatar.
Mr. T vs. the FTAA
Amazing as it may seem, Media Aware joins Mr. T in fighting the world of jibba jabba known as the FTAA. A link to Media Aware.
Kingston City Council goes anti-FTAA
Murray Dobbin headlined teach-in.
Field Guide to the FTAA Protest in Quebec City
You simply MUST print this guide out if you're going to Quebec City. It's got everything you need to know.
FTAA and the WTO promote corporate mindset
U of Guelph Prof. John McMurtry outlines 15 meta-principles of the push for global trade that "threatens to usurp every level of social and ecological life".
Images of a Parliament Hill teach-in on FTAA - April 1, 2001
Hundreds pack Parliament Hill to learn about the FTAA and plan resistance.
The slow march to authoritarianism - Murray Dobbin
Summit of the Americas Speech in the House - Bill Blaikie
Pre-summit Quebec City convergences draw hundreds - Darryl Leroux
International indie media and anti-capitalists meet despite border hassles.
New from CCPA:
Most detailed info yet on proposed deal and its implications
Study peers behind fortified walls of Quebec City into trade negotiations.
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A SUMMIT PROTEST DIARY
Straight Goods is planning to establish a bureau at the Quebec City Summit of the Americas in order to provide ongoing coverage that unspins, clarifies, and gets underneath the media headlines. Stay tuned for the details...
Do you have Summit news, info or digital pix? Send them to the Straight Goods Summit Bureau at summitnews@straightgoods.com
Join one of our Summit Forums or catch the latest news and info on the Summit and the protest movement in our Summit Features section.
New day for the Left? Activists role-play at an FTAA Summit Teach-In on Parliament Hill Sunday, April 1 in Ottawa. Civil disobedience training is in preparation for the planned April 2 "liberation" of the trade deal text.
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Dummy's Guide to Quebec City Protest - Darryl Leroux
A Canadian activists' manual for getting involved in protesting the Summit of the Americas.
FTAA FAQs from the Council of Canadians
A Fete for the End of the End of History - Naomi Klein reports from the first annual World Social Forum in Porto Alegre. A link to The Nation.
Naomi Klein's new No Logo website
A great source of information, links and chat.
Get ready for FTAA - Glenn Wheeler
Activists prepare for global trade summit in Quebec.
Last updated: May 07, 2001
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