Protesters denounce patriarchy in Hamilton courtroom - August 26, 2010

Hamilton, Ont. - On Thursday August 26, The Sexual Assault Centre of Hamilton and Area (SACHA) organized a protest outside the Hamilton Court House after a rape trial was stopped and the accused was set free. A lively crowd of around 40 people, including local unions CUPE 3906 and USW 1005, members of the Immigrant Women’s Centre and of the Hamilton Coalition Against the G20, denounced the actions of Justice Kim Carpenter-Gunn and defense attorney, Peter Boushy and demanded that the legal system stop blaming survivors of sexual assault.

According to the Hamilton Spectator article that broke the story, the trial was stayed after the defense attorney questioned the credibility of the alleged victim because she had made new allegations against another man. According to Boushy, this “raised the spectre of fabrication.”

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EMERGENCY RALLY TO DEFEND STUDENTS' RIGHTS
Tuesday March 25, 4:10 PM
Simcoe Hall (27 King's College Circle)
University of Toronto
Map: http://tinyurl.com/2oatgu
ACTION ITEM: Statements of solidarity and support; endorse and organize a contingent for the rally.

Join us in a peaceful demonstration outside the University of Toronto's administration building to protest police aggression against students and rising fees: Tuesday March 25, 4:10 PM, outside Simcoe Hall (27 King's College
Circle).

On Tuesday, as a result of the death of another homeless person, an Aboriginal man who froze to death in a stairwell at Yonge and Charles, the Ontario Coalition Against Poverty organized an emergency action at Toronto City Hall. According to Gaetan Heroux, an OCAP organizer, city officials laughably claimed that there were adequate shelter spaces and service provisions for the homeless, defying claims by the very people, social workers and others, staffed at the shelters.

Some interesting numbers on the housing market in Hamilton. As the article says, house prices have gone up dramatically in the west end and even downtown as investment and professional workers are moving in from the GTA. Its like the traditional manufacturing workers keep getting pushed more and more to the east of town.

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Average home price in local area has jumped 77% in a decade
February 22, 2008
Steve Arnold
The Hamilton Spectator
(Feb 22, 2008)

Realtors just love to tell you there's never been a better time to buy a house.

Prices are down? Buy now because bargains are plentiful. Prices are up? Buy now because things will only get more expensive.

That last part has been especially true across Hamilton in the past decade.

A new package of statistics from Re/Max released yesterday show the average price of a Hamilton-Burlington house rose 77 per cent between 1997 and last year.

Despite being held on a Friday night, a reasonable turnout showed up to listen to Japanese anarchist activists, Sabu Kohso and Go Hirasawa, here as part of a speaking tour, discuss the current political situation in Japan, with topics like anti-Japanese imperialism, article-9, Japanese free-trade agreements, as well as, organizational efforts around the upcoming G8 meeting near Lake Toya.

The Common Cause Hamilton members took part in the demonstration against the occupation of Afghanistan. Around 150 people gathered to listen to speeches and then march through downtown Hamilton. It was the first outing for the Hamilton Common Cause Locals new banner, there were also flags there from the Local 548 Postal workers, Elementary Teachers union and Local 1005 AFL-CIO-CLC Steelworkers