Baby Turtles TODAY + Is OPIRG-Carleton done? + Zines!

Greetings,

Today’s newsletter is somewhat concise.

There was a lot I was thinking to include, with this being the first newsletter in a few moons… but given that we are releasing baby turtles this morning, I wanted to get this to you ASAP (it’s even a day early from the full moon).

The three (and a half) things, each in more detail further below, are:

• Sunday 11am (August 18) - Baby Snapping Turtles Release.

• Not good news: OPIRG-Carleton may be shutting down.

• Printables: Small Press Book Fair & Hallow Zine fair; and… the ICJ ruling.

Most of the turtle-protection work our group, Turtles of Old Ottawa East and South, does is about protecting the eggs in the ground after the mothers lay them.

Occasionally, the Canadian Wildlife Federation will take the eggs from a nest and incubate them over the summer, which is the case for the babies being released later this morning.

They were laid in the sand of a play structure at Brantwood Park, and now that they’re hatching - about a month earlier in incubation than if they were in the ground - the CWF will bring them back to Brantwood Park to release into the river.

The bonus is that since we know when it’s happening, we can let people know, and people can come to see the babies! It’s especially popular with the kids.

Here is the link to the event page, and the basics:

11:00am at Brantwood Beach, approximately 100m south of Clegg St.

The release will go ahead unless there is severe rain / thunder and lighting.
Before (10:30am+) and after the release, we will also be doing some brush-clearing in the special sandy area for turtles (‘Turtle Beach’) at the corner of Scholastic and Oblates.

Is OPIRG-Carleton shutting down?

I’m not sure, and I hope not, but I heard something that indicates it may be.

I was unable to confirm prior to sending this newsletter, though.

There’s no official public notice from the organization, but they haven’t sent out a newsletter since the lead-up to their AGM this past April, when they had the annual elections for their Board of Directors positions.

So keep an eye and an ear out for news.

Is there anything we can do about it, if that is happening? I don’t know, but I do think the community should have some say prior to the organization potentially ceasing to exist, if that is what they’re planning.

This excerpt from my 2013 article, highlights the importance of institutions like OPIRG, and thus the responsibility to the community I think is inherent to communicate:

Note that both the uOttawa OPIRG(/GRIPO), and the uOttawa campus/community radio station CHUO 89.1 FM, were defunded via student referendum earlier this year. The defunding comes into effect next month at the start of the academic year. It’s unclear how they will continue to function, given the lost funding makes up the vast majority of their budget. Also disappointingly, neither organization was particularly communicative to its supporters about the nature of the threat in advance, so it happened before most previously-involved people had opportunity to do anything. Thus, my note here about what I heard re: OPIRG Carleton, even without being able to confirm it yet.

The Small Press Book Fair went decently well, although I think there were less attendees than at most prior events (it is regularly 2x per year).

1) If you’d like a customized package of zines, print articles, etc from me, please send me a note. I can put together a package of items, customized to your interests, and send them to you (or drop them off, depending upon location).

I generally operate by sliding scale, though by mail there’s a base rate of $3 for postage and envelope. Most of the items are available as PDFs for printing on my website (see the Printables tab along the top), but there are a few I have available only in physical form, and I also have various not-from-me activist materials I’ve picked up over the years I can include as well.

2) I started doing something of a write up about the Fair, but realized that it fits under the scope of the ‘Activist Media - Stories From The Trenches’ project I currently have a (relatively small) Ontario Arts Council grant for. Thus, I think it deserves to be a bit of a more comprehensive piece than what I’d envisioned, before I publish it with the ‘Appreciation to the OAC for their support of this work’ acknowledgement added on.

For part of the grant, I want to find somewhere to write with more focus, ‘away from the daily hustle and bustle.’ I haven’t found that somewhere yet, so in case you have any suggestions, please let me know! (I’m hoping it may be easier to find somewhere once the school year gets going again)

3) Note the HallowZine event coming up this fall:
October 13, 10am-2pm at the Glebe Community Centre.

I took a photo of the poster featured above, and the organizers have a different poster up on Instagram. Registration for any interested tablers is by the end of this month.

International Court of Justice ruling re: Israel in the Occupied Palestinian Territory

As summarized in a United Nations public release:

I am including this news here, because it directly relates to an article I’m been writing on the Israeli real estate events in Canada that were selling properties in the settlements.

The preview I’ve published, both in print (2-page PDF) and online (password: gazasolidarity) includes elements of the legal issues now backed up by the ICJ. This new advisory opinion will be something further for me to include in the piece… which I’m still looking for a home (publisher) for, in case you might have suggestions.

PS - I have shared this article preview before in this newsletter, but in case you didn’t read it and the ICJ ruling provokes your interest to read it now. 

Until the next, solidarity!

- greg