Activists disrupt Caterpillar shareholder meeting

Kristin Szremski | The Electronic Intifada

11 June 2010

While pro-Palestinian activists and supporters of Israel lined opposite sides of South LaSalle Street outside the Northern Trust Building in Chicago on 9 June, James Owens, the outgoing CEO and Chairman of Caterpillar Inc., told a room full of shareholders the company was not responsible for the way Israel uses the bulldozers the company manufactures in the United States.

Owens made his remarks at the end of the annual shareholders meeting, which had been disrupted 14 times by individual protestors who stood up one by one and loudly proclaimed that the Israeli military uses Caterpillar’s D9 bulldozer to raze farmland, uproot olive groves and demolish homes, sometimes crushing people inside. As each activist stood, as many as five plain-clothed security personnel descended upon the speaker and physically escorted him or her from the room.

At one point, the audience started chanting, “Out, out, out” as activists were lead away.

Initially Owens stopped speaking with each outburst. But he attempted to speak over the twelfth protestor, Sandra Tamari, a Palestinian American activist from St. Louis. Undaunted, Tamari continued to talk until right before she was taken from the room; she turned and pointed a finger at Owens and at the board of directors seated to his right. The room fell silent as she said with charged emotion, “You should be ashamed! You should be ashamed. People are dying.”

“It is not the D9 that is killing people,” Owens said after the end of the business meeting, during the question and answer session. “People are dying in the Middle East and we’re sorry about that. We can’t help that.”

Owens maintained the company “can’t manage the four million pieces of equipment out there,” adding that if Caterpillar did not sell the machines to Israel, the bulldozers still could be purchased off the Internet.

In addition, Owens hid behind the US Foreign Military Sales program, which handles the sales of the CAT machines to Israel. “We’re not in the business of international relations. You need to take it up with Washington,” Owens said.

Several humanitarian organizations contend that since the D9 is sold through the FMS program the bulldozers qualify as weapons and as such Israel’s use of them to illegally demolish homes and target civilians violates the US Arms Export Control Act of 1976, which prohibits the use of military aid against civilians, according to a 2004 University of Wisconsin document on its investments in trust funds.

The D9 is no ordinary earthmover: it is more than 13 feet tall and 26 feet wide, weighs more than 60 tons with its armored plating, and can raze houses in a matter of minutes, according to the Center for Constitutional Rights. The CCR is one of the organizations that helped Cindy and Craig Corrie bring lawsuits against Caterpillar and the State of Israel for the 2003 death of their daughter, Rachel.

An Israeli soldier driving a CAT bulldozer crushed Rachel as she was defending a home in Gaza, targeted for illegal demolition. The case against CAT was dismissed but a civil trial began in Tel Aviv in March.

In addition to being retrofitted to hold heavy machine guns and in some cases grenade launchers, many D9 bulldozers are now driverless and can be operated by remote control, according to a March 2009 article in The Jerusalem Post.

“The unmanned D9 performed remarkably during Operation Cast Lead,” a commander was quoted as saying in the article. The Israeli military also used the driverless vehicle, dubbed “Black Thunder,” in the 2006 war on Lebanon. The commander was not named in the article.

Israel has demolished some 24,000 homes using the D9 since it illegally occupied the West Bank, Gaza and Jerusalem in 1967, according to Joel Finkel of Jewish Voice for Peace, who introduced a shareholder proposal requesting a review of CAT’s global corporate standards.

“This means that Israel has intentionally made hundreds of thousands of people homeless. … For decades, its primary tool to accomplish this has been the D9 bulldozer, which our company builds and services solely to help Israel cleanse Palestine of its non-Jewish inhabitants by destroying their homes,” he said.

In 2003, Caterpillar’s sales and revenue totaled $22.8 billion, with more than half of that coming from overseas markets. This year, the company projects sales and revenues to reach as high as $42 billion, with a goal of $100 billion by the year 2020. Dividend payouts have increased 125 percent since 2003, according to the Quarter 1 2010 analyst conference call, filed with the US Securities and Exchange Commission. While CAT executives point to emerging markets such as Latin America for the company’s recent growth, revenues were down by about 22 percent in the first quarter of 2010 in the Europe, Africa and Middle East sector compared to the same period in 2009.

The shareholder proposal asked Caterpillar to amend its current policy, the “Worldwide Code of Conduct” — which does not include language pertaining to international human rights — to conform with international human rights and humanitarian standards, according to the proxy statement filed with the US Security and Exchange Commission in April.

Shareholders have been submitting proposals to the annual shareholders meeting since 2004, when members of the Catholic organizations Sisters of Loretto and the Ursuline Sisters submitted a proposal in 2004 asking CAT to probe how Israel used the bulldozers. Then, the proposal was supported by a mere four percent of shareholders; 20 percent supported the current proposal Wednesday.

That the Israeli military uses the bulldozers has been well-established. Now, however, the military is taking things a step further. The Israeli military is now conscripting Caterpillar mechanics as “reservist soldiers” so they can maintain the machines on the front lines in an Israeli military operation, according to a November 2009 article in the Israeli daily Haaretz.

“During Operation Cast Lead and before, during the Second Lebanon War, our staff essentially volunteered, and were nearly at the front in order to care for the equipment. Sometimes they risked their lives,” Yossi Smira, director of Zoko Shiluvim, which owns the Israeli company that supplies the armored bulldozer, said in the article.

When a reporter asked Owens during the question and answer session whether he was personally affected by stories that mechanics are being conscripted as soldiers or that disabled people were crushed to death when bulldozers collapsed their homes around them, he said, “Absolutely. It’s tragic. But we can’t manage four million pieces of equipment out there.”

Meanwhile, the expelled activists were convened in an alley near a back door, waiting to receive their cell phones and other electronic items, which had to be checked prior to the meeting. They waited for more than two hours. And when a guard finally brought their items, he brought them from the fifth floor — one at a time.

The group of 14 was convened by Matt Gaines of Chicagoans Against Apartheid in Palestine. Activists travelled from Boston, St. Louis and Louisville to attend the shareholders meeting.

The only ticketed offense during the day came when an activist from Chicago was cited by Chicago police for “incitement” after a pro-Zionist protestor punched him in the chest. He was not allowed to file a complaint against the man who hit him, he said.

Kristin Szremski is the director of media and communications for American Muslims for Palestine. She is also a freelance journalist based near Chicago.

Activists to demonstrate outside of European Commission Delegation in Barcelona

NOVA

8 June 2010

The European Union must put an end to the shameful and illegal siege that Israel imposes on Gaza. For 4 years, 1.5 million people have been living in inhumane conditions for having democratically elected a party Israel does not accept; for 43 years, Israel has been blocking all access to Gaza and controlling its territorial waters.

From Friday 11 to Monday 14, when we know the outcome of the EU Foreign Affairs Council meeting in Luxembourg, we will rally with nonviolent action at the doors of the European Commission Delegation in Barcelona(P de Gracia, 90)*

(FRIDAY 11, SATURDAY 12, SUNDAY, 13 from 10 to 21h. MONDAY 14, from 10 to time we know the outcome)

The European Union must put an end to the shameful and illegal siege that Israel imposes on Gaza. For 4 years, 1.5 million people have been living in inhumane conditions for having democratically elected a party Israel does not accept; for 43 years, Israel has been blocking all access to Gaza and controlling its territorial waters.

The latest acts of violence, including injured and dead, committed by the ultraconservative Israeli government against the ‘Freedom Flotilla’ in international waters and the sweeping reaction against them that has arisen around the world are a turning point: we cannot continue accepting the impunity and arrogance of the Israeli government and the siege on Gaza must come to an end.

On Monday 14 June, the Spanish Presidency of the EU has its last chance for advancing peace in the Middle East. We demand, as Union citizens, that the EU Foreign Affairs Council approves an urgent plan to put an end to the siege on Gaza in the coming days.

From Friday 11 to Monday 14, when we know the outcome of the EU Foreign Affairs Council meeting in Luxembourg, we will rally with nonviolent action at the doors of the European Commission Delegation in Barcelona(P de Gracia, 90)*

We are calling on unions and cultural, political, academic, and religious organizations, and all citizens in general to support our demand, to submit their statements to the current President of the EU, Mr. J.L. Rodríguez Zapatero, and to read them at the rally **. We are also inviting artists, intellectuals and anyone who wants to join us to show their solidarity in silence, with poems, songs, and drawings.

We are calling for similar actions to take place across Europe and beyond, in front of EU institutions and delegations, Governments, Ministries of Foreign Affairs, and municipalities, so that our demands are conveyed to our respective governments.

We do not want history to judge us because we were complicit in the largest and most enduring concentration camp of the century through our silence and inaction.

For the respect of international law. For an end to the siege and the occupation. No more impunity

Organised by: Coordinadora d’entitats Amb Palestina al Cor www.alcor.palestina.cat

ACSUR-Las Segovias, Alliance for Freedom and Dignity, Associació Catalana per la Pau, CIEMEN, Comunitat Palestina de Catalunya, Institut de Drets Humans de Catalunya, Moviment per la Pau, Sodepau, Nexes, Nova – Centre per a la Innovació Social, Servei Civil Internacional (SCI), Xarxa d’Enllaç amb Palestina, Fundació Nous Horitzons i Consell de la Joventut de Barcelona (CJB).

(*) This action is part of a whole week of mobilisation in Barcelona against Israel’s impunity – demos on Monday and Saturday and, human rights activists in chains at the Spanish Government Delegation in Catalunya on 4 and 5 June requiring Spanish President Zapatero to demand Israel to allow the Rachel Corrie into Gaza.

(**) Organizations and people who would like to speak at the rally, please confirm if possible day and time: ambpalestinaalcor@yahoo.com

Spokespersons: 635 437 485 / +34 671 002 015 Press: +34 651 341 406 comunicacio@nova.cat www.noviolencia.nova.cat

Action Alert: Israeli forces sieze MV Rachel Corrie

The MV Rachel Corrie
The MV Rachel Corrie

Just before 9am GMT this morning, the Israeli military forcibly seized the Irish-owned humanitarian relief ship, the MV Rachel Corrie, from delivering over 1000 tons of medical and construction supplies to besieged Gaza. For the second time in less then a week, Israeli naval commandos stormed an unarmed aid ship, brutally taking its passengers hostage and towing the ship toward Ashdod port in Southern Israel.

Israeli forces stopped the other boats of the Freedom Flotilla on Monday, killing at least 9 activists while violently boarding the Turkish ship, Marvi Marmara. Since the murders, Israel has confiscated all videos aboard the ship and detained hundreds in its jails. Refusing an independent investigation into the attack, Israel continues the blockade of Gaza.

Witnesses refute Israel’s claims:
Democracy Now: Ambassador Peck’s account of the attack
Guardian: Gaza flotilla raid: ‘We heard gunfire – then our ship turned into lake of blood’
Archive of all Gaza Freedom Flotilla news

TAKE ACTION:

1. Organize an emergency protest to show Israel that its illegal blockade will not be tolerated

Register your demonstration or find a planned action in your area: http://gazafreedommarch.org/cms/en/flotilla/protest.aspx

2. Contact your representatives to demand that Israel be held accountable for violence against the Freedom Flotilla and end the siege on Gaza

International
Call your representative to Israel
http://www.embassiesabroad.com/embassies-in/Israel
United States
Call or send an email to your representatives
http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/o/641/p/dia/action/public/?action_KEY=3973
White House: 1.202.456.1111
Department of State: 1.202.647.4000

3. Support the call from Palestinian civil society for Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) for an intensification of the sanctions campaign to compel Israel to end to its aggression, http://www.bdsmovement.net/?q=node/710

Target local shops that sell Israeli products, http://www.bdsmovement.net/?q=node/4
Supermarkets, clothing stores and consumer goods from Israel can be the focus of a BDS campaign. Find a campaign in your area or launch one today!
Ongoing campaigns: http://bdsmovement.net/?q=node/54
Activist resources: http://bdsmovement.net/?q=node/49

Refuse to load/offload Israeli ships and airplanes,
Follow the historic example set by the South Africa, Norway and Sweden.

BDS action against Israeli pharmaceutical company at COSMOFARMA expo

Rome Palestinian Solidarity Network

13 May 2010

On Saturday, May 8 a protest organized by the “Rome Palestinian Solidarity Network”(comprised of numerous associations and committees who stand with the Palestinian struggle for freedom) was held at the entrance to Rome’s exhibition center during COSMOFARMA, a pharmaceuticals expo attended by thousands of health professionals. The Rome Palestinian Solidarity Network, which endorses the international campaign for Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) on the Israeli economy, aimed at raising awareness of the BDS campaign, calling on physicians, pharmacists and health workers not to purchase or prescribe products from the Israeli pharmaceutical company TEVA, the leading global manufacturer of generic drugs, or from L’Oréal, which through its substantial investments in Israel is helping to strengthen the Israeli war economy.

It is this economy, as denounced by the activists present at the Expo with Palestinian flags, banners and flyers, which continues to enrich itself through the occupation policies of the West Bank, East Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip, through policies of apartheid and ethnic cleansing that continue to oppress the Palestinian people, through land confiscation, military violence and the illegal siege of the Gaza Strip. All taking place with the complicit silence of international community. While the protest was taking place outside, activists entered Hall 11 of the Expo to distribute leaflets at the TEVA stand, informing and engaging attendees on the reasoning and objectives of the Boycott Campaign. For more than 15 minutes, activists of the Rome Palestinian Solidarity Network attracted the attention of thousands of visitors through chants, conversations and leafleting while waving the Palestinian flag. The protest was cut short as the police arrived, taking five activists to the police office within the fairgrounds, where they were detained for over two hours in custody, and then charged with “unauthorized demonstration.” The police confiscated a megaphone, a Palestinian flag, the t-shirts worn by the activists reading “Free Palestine” and “Boycott Israel” and the video camera used to film the action.

The BDS campaign is expanding and intensifying throughout the world, and continues to have an impact on the image of a country, Israel, which despite the occupation of Palestine and the policies of apartheid still refers to itself as “the only democracy in the Middle East”. A country that uses opportunities such as that offered by COSMOFARMA to show its more “attractive” side. The effectiveness of the BDS campaign is in its ability to unmask this unacceptable hypocrisy, and just as activists standing with the Palestinian liberation struggle were present for COSMOFARMA on Saturday, tomorrow we will continue to exert political pressure through the BDS campaign, which is beginning to produce significant results.

Montreal: 500 Artists Against Israeli Apartheid

Tadamon!

February 25, 2010

A call from Montreal artists to support the international campaign for Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions against Israeli apartheid.

Today, a broad spectrum of Montreal artists are standing in solidarity with the Palestinian struggle for freedom and supporting the growing international campaign for Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) against the Israeli state. Last winter, the Israeli state launched a violent military assault on the Palestinian people of the Gaza Strip, leaving over 1400 Palestinians dead, including over 300 children. Despite the official end of military operations, the blockade continues to this day, with devastating consequences for Gaza’s residents.

Over 60 years from the beginning of the ongoing Palestinian Nakba (catastrophe) in 1948, in which hundreds of thousands of Palestinians were forced from historic Palestine through Israel’s creation, Montreal artists are united in solidarity with the Palestinian struggle for freedom and justice.

Montreal artists are now joining this international campaign to concretely protest the Israeli state’s ongoing denial of the inalienable rights of Palestinian refugees to return to their homes and properties, as stipulated in and protected by international law, as well as Israel’s ongoing occupation and colonization of the West Bank (including Jerusalem) and Gaza, which also constitutes a violation of international law and multiple United Nations resolutions.

Palestinian citizens face an entrenched system of racial discrimination and segregation, resembling the defeated apartheid system in South Africa. A matrix of Israeli-only roads, electrified fences, and over 500 military checkpoints and roadblocks erase freedom of movement for Palestinians. Israel’s apartheid wall, which was condemned by the International Court of Justice in 2004, cuts through Palestinian lands, further annexing Palestinian territory and surrounding Palestinian communities with electrified barbed wire fences and a concrete barrier soaring eight meters high.

Gaza remains under siege. Israel continues to impose collective punishment on the 1.5 million Palestinians of Gaza, who still face chronic shortages of electricity, fuel, food and basic necessities as the campaign of military violence executed by the apartheid state of Israel endures. UN officials recently observed that the “situation has deteriorated into a full-fledged emergency because of the cut-off of vital supplies for Palestinians.” As a result of Israeli actions, Gaza has become a giant prison.

The global movement against Israeli apartheid, supported by a large majority of Palestinian civil society, is not targeted at individual Israelis but at Israeli institutions that are complicit in maintaining the multi-tiered Israeli system of oppression against the Palestinian people.

In fact, the Palestinian civil society BDS call, launched by over 170 Palestinian organisations in 2005, explicitly appeals to conscientious Israelis, urging them to support international efforts to bring about Israel’s compliance with international law and fundamental human rights, essential elements for a justice-based peace in the region. The present appeal is also rooted in an active engagement with many progressive Israeli artists and activists who are working on a daily basis for peace and justice while supporting the growing global movement in opposition to Israeli apartheid.

During the first and second intifadas, Israel invaded, ransacked, and even closed down cinemas, theatres and cultural centers in the occupied territories. These deliberate attempts to stifle the Palestinian cultural voice have failed and will continue to fail. Around the world, the call for BDS is growing and is strongly rooted in the historic international solidarity movement against apartheid in South Africa.

In keeping with Nelson Mandela’s declaration that “our freedom [in South Africa] is incomplete without the freedom of the Palestinians,” we believe that international solidarity is critical to liberating Palestinians from Israeli colonialism and apartheid. This struggle will continue until all Palestinians are granted their basic human rights, including the right of return for all Palestinian refugees living in the Diaspora.

Today, a diverse array of artists in Montreal, from filmmakers, musicians and dancers to poets, authors and painters, are joining the international movement against Israeli apartheid. On the streets, in concert halls, in words and in song, we commit to fighting against apartheid and call upon all artists and cultural producers across the country and around the world to adopt a similar position in this global struggle.

To add your support to this letter or to present questions or suggestions please write to info(at)tadamon.ca.

1: Aidan Girt, musician, 1-Speed Bike
2: Alexander Moskos, musician, AIDS Wolf
3: Chole Lum, musician, AIDS Wolf
4: Yannick Desranleau, musician, AIDS Wolf
5: Esmeralda Súmar Jara, Amérythmes
6: Karen Lliana Lemus, Amérythmes
7: Ronald Lemus, Amérythmes
8: José Sermeno Rosales, Amérythmes
9: Daviyd Yisrael, Amérythmes
10: Pierre Allard, Action Terroriste Socialement Acceptable, ATSA
11: Annie Roy, Action Terroriste Socialement Acceptable, ATSA
12: Hamid Nach, musician, Bambara Trans
13: Kattam Laraki-Côté, percussionist, Bambara Trans
14: Iqi Balam, singer, Banda de Gaza
15: Owain Lawson, musician, Black Feelings
16: Brian Mitchell, musician, Black Feelings
17: Kyle Fostner, musician, Black Feelings
18: James Di Salvio, Bran Van 3000
19: Bronwen Agnew, Chaotic Insurrection Ensemble
20: Maire White, Chaotic Insurrection Ensemble
21: Skyla Mody, Chaotic Insurrection Ensemble
22: Annabelle Rivard, Chaotic Insurrection Ensemble
23: Veronica Post, Chaotic Insurrection Ensemble
24: Sonja Engmann, Chaotic Insurrection Ensemble
25: Cathy Inouye, Chaotic Insurrection Ensemble
26: Anne Gorry, Chaotic Insurrection Ensemble
27: Andrea Miller-Nesbitt, Chaotic Insurrection Ensemble
28: Joseph Boulos, Chaotic Insurrection Ensemble
29: Matt Corks, Chaotic Insurrection Ensemble
30: Florence Richer, Chaotic Insurrection Ensemble
31: Maggie Schreiner, Chaotic Insurrection Ensemble
32: Jon Boles, musician, Clues
33: Ben Borden, musician, Clues
34: Brendan Reed, musician, Clues
35: Don Wilkie, co-founder, Constellation Records
36: Ian Ilavsky, co-founder, Constellation Records
37: Andy Williams, DJ Andy Williams
38: Tyler Megarry, DJ Backdoor
39: Robyn Maynard, DJ Dirtyboots
40: Kevin Moon, DJ Moonstarr
41: Vladimir López, DJ Palosanto
42: Scott Clyke, DJ Scott C
43: Mike Lai, DJ Static
44: Mado Lamotte, Drag Queen Diva
45: Nader Hasan, musician, Echoes Still Singing Limbs
46: Aidan Jeffery, musician, Echoes Still Singing Limbs
47: Amine Benbachir, Elby & Woods
48: Jordan McKenzie, musician, Elfin Saddle
49: Emi Honda, musician, Elfin Saddle
50: Deeqa Ibrahim, singer, Empress Deeqa
51: Normand Raymond, musician, Ensemble Acalanto
52: Carmen Pavez, musician, Ensemble Acalanto
53: Rafael Azocar, musician/composer, Ensemble Acalanto
54: Rebecca Foon, musician, Esmerine
55: Jean-Sébastien Truchy, musician, Fly Pan Am
56: Lisa Gamble, Gambletron
57: Emilie Mouchous, electronic musician, Gamackrr
58: Sub Roy, musician, Grand Trine
59: Zayid Al-Baghdadi, musician, Hazaj Ensemble
60: Fadi Halawi, musician, Hazaj Ensemble
61: Michael Farsky, musician, Homosexual Cops
62: Joel Janis, singer, Jahnice +
63: Radwan Ghazi Moumneh, artist, Jerusalem in My Heart
64: Lubo Alexandrov, musician, Kaba Horo
65: Erik Hove, saxophonist, Kaba Horo
66: Zibz Black Current, poet, Kalmunity Vibe Collective
67: Matin Heslop, contrabass, Kalmunity Vibe Collective
68: Ron G. vocalist, Kalmunity Vibe Collective
69: Katalyst, poet, Kalmunity Vibe Collective
70: Adam Kinner, saxophonist, Kalmunity Vibe Collective
71: Mohamed Mehdi, guitar/voice, Kalmunity Vibe Collective
72: Jordan Peters, guitar, Kalmunity Vibe Collective
73: Fabrice Koffy, poet, Kalmunity Vibe Collective
74: Gordon Allen, musician, L’Envers
75: Simon Leduc, musician, Le Descente du Coude
76: Fanny Bloom, La Patère Rose
77: Kilojoules, La Patère Rose
78: Roboto, La Patère Rose
79: Simon D., Léopard et Moi
80: Lynne T., Lesbians on Ecstasy
81: Bernie Bankrupt, Lesbians on Ecstasy
82: Mathieu Farhoud-Dionne, rapper, Chafiik, Loco Locass
83: Geneviève Beaulieu, musician
84: Steve Lamothe, musician
85: Fred Savard, musician, Metis Yeti
86: Matthew Jacob Lederman, musician, Moondata LABprojects
87: Nantali Indongo, Nomadic Massive
88: Modibo Keita, Nomadic Massive
89: Diegal Leger, Nomadic Massive
90: Nicolás Palacios-Hardy, Nomadic Massive
91: Lou Piensa, Nomadic Massive
92: Ralph Joseph, Nomadic Massive
93: Meryem Saci, Nomadic Massive
94: Vox Sambou, Nomadic Massive
95: Jason Selman, Nomadic Massive / Kalmunity Vibe Collective
96: Sébastien Fournier, musician, Panopticon Eyelids
97: Félix Morel, musician, Panopticon Eyelids
98: Nicolas Basque, guitar/voice, Plants and Animals
99: Matthew Woodley, percussionist, Plants and Animals
100: David Bryant, musician, Set Fire to Flames
101: Thierry Amar, musician, Silver Mt. Zion
102: Sophie Trudeau, musician, Silver Mt. Zion
103: Mohamed Masmoudi, musician, Sokoun Trio
104: Greg Napier, musician, Special Noise
105: Jeff Simmons, musician, Special Noise
106: Edward Lee, artist, St. Emilie SkillShare
107: Reyrey Castonguay, artist, St. Emilie SkillShare
108: Machaulay Culkin, artist, St. Emilie SkillShare
109: Amanda Oliver, artist, St. Emilie SkillShare
110: Rochelle Ross, artist, St. Emilie SkillShare
111: Tasha Zamudio, artist, St. Emilie SkillShare
112: Kerri Flannigan, artist, St. Emilie SkillShare
113: Jessie Stein, singer/guitar, The Luyas
114: Yassin Alsalman, musician, the Narcicyst
115: Gern F., singer/guitar, The United Steel Workers of Montreal
116: Martin Cesar, musician, Think About Life
117: Greg Napier, musician, Think About Life
118: Caila Thompson-Hannant, musician, Think About Life
119: Graham Van Pelt, musician, Think About Life
120: Andrea deBruijn, poet, Throw Poetry Collective
121: Alessandra Naccarato, poet, Throw Poetry Collective
122: Merrill Garbus, musician, Tune-Yards
123: Sundus Abdul Hadi, visual artist
124: Jean-Marc Abela, filmmaker
125: Faiz Abhuani, Artivistic collective
126: Paul Ahmarani, actor
127: Mitchell Akiyama, electronic musician, intr. version recordings
128: Patrick Alonso, photographer
129: Hala Alsalman, filmmaker
130: Tito Alvarado, poet, Proyecto Cultural Sur
131: David Arancibia, pianist
132: Sabrien Amrov, photographer
133: Fortner Anderson, poet
134: Tasha Anestopoulos, DJ
135: Daniel Anez, pianist
136: David Arancibia, pianist
137: Amelie Ares, artist
138: Shahrzad Arshadi, artist/photographer
139: Nedaa Asbah, musician
140: Natali Asbah, violinist
141: Maroupi Asbah, violinist
142: Jon Asencio, musician/performance artist
143: Martine Audet, poet
144: Mila Aung-Thwin, Eye Steel Film
145: François Avard, author
146: Shira Avni, filmmaker
147: Magali Babin, electronic music composer
148: Gina Badger, visual artist
149: Rebecca Bain, musician
150: Anaïs Barbeau-Lavalette, filmmaker
151: Kate Bass, visual artist
152: Philippe Battikha, musician
153: Mireya Bayancela, comedian
154: Jonathan Belisle, Transmedia StoryTeller
155: Nabila Ben Youssef, comedian
156: Kamal Benkirane, writer/editor
157: Serge Bérard, writer
158: Patricia Bergeron, film producer
159: David Bernans, author
160: Isabelle Bernier, artist
161: Josué Bertolino, documentary filmmaker
162: Santiago Bertolino, documentary filmmaker
163: Mark Berube, singer, The Patriotic Few
164: Kawtare Bihya, artist
165: Eli Bissonnette, founder Dare to Care Records
166: Pierre-Guy Blanchard, percussionist
167: Julien Boisvert, filmmaker
168: Michel Bonneau, musician
169: Rana Bose, writer
170: Marie Boti, director, Productions Multi-Monde
171: Magda Boukanan, pianist
172: Bachir Boumediene, Eye Steel Film
173: Arnaud Bouquet, documentary filmmaker
174: Marie Brassard, actress/theatre performer
175: Derek Broad, designer
176: Richard Brouillette, filmmaker
177: Marion Brunelle, jazz singer
178: Alexia Bürger, comedian
179: Chris Burns, musician
180: Louise Burns, artist
181: Peter Burton, musician, executive director of Suoni per il Popolo festival
182: Antoine Bustros, pianist/composer
183: César Càceres, visual artist
184: Philippe Cadieux, visual artist
185: Michel Campeau, photographer
186: Olivier Campo, Bar Populaire
187: Daniel Canty, writer/filmmaker
188: Paul Cargnello, singer/songwriter
189: Boban Chaldovich, filmmaker
190: Vincent Champagne, filmmaker
191: Mazen Chamseddine, graphic artist/architect
192: Yung Chang, filmmaker, Up the Yangtze
193: Sarah Charland-Faucher, filmmaker
194: Elsa Charpentier, artist
195: Julie Châteauvert, Dare-Dare art gallery
196: Ghada Chehade, poet
197: Geneviève Chicoine, artist
198: Shayla Chilliak, musician
199: Jordan Christoff, musician
200: Stefan Christoff, pianist/photographer
201: Jacob Cino, music producer/DJ
202: Moe Clark, poet
203: Andrea-Jane Cornell, sound artist
204: Michel F Côté, musician
205: Marie-Hélène Cousineau, filmmaker
206: Mateo Creux, pianist
207: Jean Michel Cropsal, painter
208: Daniel Cross, filmmaker, founder of Eye Steel Film
209: Vincenzo D’Alto, photographer
210: Amy Darwish, artist/dancer
211: Noémie da Silva, photographer
212: Marie Davidson, singer, Les momies de Palerme
213: Mary Ellen Davis, documentary filmmaker
214: Luke Dawson, artist
215: Susanne de Lotbinière-Harwood, literary translator
216: Étienne de Massy, artist
217: Sylvie de Morais, comedian
218: Lhasa de Sela, singer
219: Julie Delorme, DJ/CKUT host
220: Sophie Deraspe, filmmaker, Les Signes Vitaux
221: Jean Derome, jazz musician
222: Nathalie Derome, interdisciplinary artist
223: Marcelle Deschênes, composer/multimedia artist
224: Robert Deschênes, artist
225: Richard Desjardins, artist
226: Denys Desjardins, filmmaker
227: Keiko Devaux, pianist, the Acorn/People for Audio
228: Omar Dewachi, musician
229: Benoît Dhennin, photographer
230: Nathalie Dion, artist, Zazalie Z
231: Xarah Dion, musician, Ample collective
232: Dominique Lebeau, Domlebo, musician
233: Kim Doré, poet/editor
234: Julie Doucet, comic artist
235: Robyn Dru Germanese, artist
236: Frédéric Dubois, cultural worker
237: Bruno Dubuc, filmmaker
238: Martin Duckworth, documentary filmmaker
239: Philippe Ducros, theatre director, Hotel Motel
240: Katie Earle, artist
241: Marlene Edoyan, filmmaker, Multi-Monde Productions
242: Will Eizlini, musician
243: Hassan El Hadi, musician/singer
244: Majdi El Omari, filmmaker
245: Darren Ell, photographer
246: Nirah Elyza Shirazipour, filmmaker, Eyes Infinite Films
247: Yves Engler, author
248: Bérenger Enselme, Bar Populaire
249: Claudia Espinosa, photographer
250: Tony Ezzy, musician
251: Julie Faubert, visual artist
252: David Fennario, playwright
253: Javier Fernàndez-Rial, pianist
254: Carlos Ferrand, filmmaker
255: Ian Ferrier, poet
256: Riley Fleck, percussionist
257: Arwen Fleming, musician
258: Lindsay Foran, visual artist
259: Andrew Forster, artist
260: Tammy Forsythe, choreographer
261: James Franze, musician
262: Kandis Friesen, visual artist
263: Fanny-Pierre Galarneau, graffiti artist, Aïshaaglyphics
264: Carmen Garcia, film producer
265: Francisco Garcia, artist
266: Brett Gaylor, filmmaker, RIP! A Remix Manifesto
267: Chloé Germain-Thérien, filmmaker/illustrator
268: Christine Ghawi, musician/actress/winner of Gemini Award
269: Olivier Gianolla, painter
270: Peter Gibson, visual artist, Roadsworth
271: Serge Giguère, filmmaker
272: Yan Giguère, artist
273: Dan Gillean, visual artist, Fiver
274: Jason Gillingham, artist
275: Miriam Ginestier, DJ/artistic director of Studio 303
276: Michel Giroux, filmmaker
277: Ernest Godin, producer/filmmaker, Kondololé films
278: Anne Golden, video artist
279: Malcolm Goldstein, violinist/composer
280: Amber Goodwyn, singer, Nightwood
281: Ashley Gould, DJ
282: Janna Graham, sound artist
283: Étienne Grenier, sound artist
284: Neil Griffith, musician
285: Steve Guimond, artistic director of festival Suoni per il Popolo
286: Alexandra Guité, filmmaker
287: Freda Guttman, artist
288: Malcolm Guy, documentary filmmaker, Productions Multi-Monde
289: Tamara Abdul Hadi, photographer
290: Rawi Hage, author
291: Linda Dawn Hammond, photographer
292: Katy Hanna, artist
293: Shannon Harris, documentary filmmaker
294: Tim Hecker, electronic musician
295: Dorothy Henault, documentary filmmaker
296: Anne Henderson, documentary filmmaker
297: Hanako Hoshimi-Caines, contemporary dancer
298: Magnus Isacsson, documentary filmmaker
299: Yuki Isami, musician
300: Naledi Jackson, visual artist
301: Yohan Jager, pianist
302: Stéphane Jaques, theatre director
303: Jocelyn Jean, artist
304: Rodrigue Jean, artist
305: Sandra Jeppesen, poet/professor
306: David Jhave Johnston, poet
307: Sophie Jodoin, visual artist
308: Norsola Johnson, musician
309: Nicole Jolicoeur, artist
310: Sawssan Kaddoura, visual artist
311: Stephan Kazemi, designer
312: Kaie Kellough, poet
313: Arshad Khan, documentary filmmaker
314: Nika Khanjani, filmmaker
315: Maya Khankhoje, writer
316: Valerie Khayat, poet/singer
317: Catherine Kidd, poet
318: Sergeo Kirby, cinema producer, Loaded Pictures
319: Courtney Kirkby, sound artist
320: Aysegul Koc, filmmaker
321: Nick Kuepfer, musician
322: Devlin Kuyek, author
323: Sylvain L’Espérance, cinéaste
324: Danièle Lacourse, cinéaste
325: Stéphane Lahoud, cinéaste
326: Jean-Sébastien Lalumière, cinéaste
327: Ève Lamont, documentary filmmaker
328: Noam Lapid, visual artist
329: Chantale Laplante, composer
330: Rodolphe-Yves Lapointe, artist
331: Monique Laramée, multidisciplinary artist
332: Graham Latham, musician
333: Hugo Latulippe, cinéaste
334: Brian Allen Lipson, musician
335: Klervi Thienpont Lavallée, actress
336: Franck Le Flaguais, artist
337: Sophie Le-Phat Ho, Artivistic collective
338: François Leandre, visual artist
339: Michel Lefebvre, artist/multimedia editor
340: Vincent Lemieux, artist/DJ
341: Jean-François Lessard, writer/composer
342: Anna Leventhal, writer
343: JJ Levine, photographer
344: Mika Lillit Lior, choreographer/dancer
345: Sarah Linhares, singer
346: Paul Litherland, artist
347: Amy Lockhart, filmmaker/artist
348: Guillermo Lopez, cinema editor
349: Jacinthe Loranger, visual artist
350: Ehab Lotayef, poet
351: Lousnak, singer/multidisciplinary artist
352: Caytee Lush, poet
353: Kit Malo, artist
354: Khalid M’Seffar, radio host/DJ
355: Jessica MacCormack, multidisciplinary artist
356: Emmanuel Madan, sound artist
357: Rob Maguire, editor ArtThreat.net
358: Claude Maheu, musician
359: Hernán Maria, musician
360: Omar Majeed, filmmaker, Taqwacore – the Birth of Punk Islam
361: Iphigénie Marcoux-Fortier, filmmaker, Multi-Monde productions
362: Natalie Marshik, artist
363: Billy Mavreas, visual artist
364: Valerian Mazataud, photographer
365: Kirsten McCrea, artist, Papirmasse
366: Taliesin McEnaney, theatre artist
367: Catherine McInnis, artist
368: Meek, electronic musician
369: Feroz Mehdi, filmmaker/activist
370: Elany Mejia, musician
371: Amy Miller, documentary filmmaker
372: Jeff Miller, writer
373: Claude Mongrain, sculptor
374: Émilie Monnet, singer, Odaya
375: Evan Montpellier, musician
376: Vincent Moon, filmmaker
377: Allison Moore, artist
378: Katie Moore, singer/songwriter
379: Jean-Guy Moreau, artist/comedian
380: Dominic Morissette, filmmaker/photographer
381: Nadia Moss, visual artist/musician
382: Krista Muir, musician, Lederhosen Lucil
383: Mehdi Nabti, musician
384: Tyler Nadeau, photographer
385: Dimitri Nasrallah, author
386: Rawane Nassif, filmmaker
387: Pamela Navarrete, artist
388: Norman Nawrocki, musician/author
389: Joshua Noiseux, photographer
390: Kelly Nunes, DJ
391: Alexis O’Hara, multidisciplinary artist
392: Sean O’Hara, founder Alien 8 Recordings
393: Sarah Pagé, musician
394: Cléo Palacio-Quintin, musician/composer
395: Catherine Pappas, documentary filmmaker
396: Marie-Hélène Parant, artist
397: Richard Reed Parry, musician, Bell Orchestre
398: Alain Pelletier, multidisciplinary artist
399: Yann Perreau, singer/songwriter
400: Sara Peters, poet
401: Pierre Petiote, artist
402: Mauro Pezzente, musician, founder Casa del Popolo
403: Alisha Piercy, artist/writer
404: Pierre-Emmanuel Poizat, musician
405: Carole Poliquin, filmmaker
406: Janet Ponce, singer/author/composer
407: Jeannette Pope, filmmaker
408: Rozenn Potin, filmmaker
409: Levana Prud’homme, dancer
410: Jean-François Poupart, writer/professor
411: Thea Pratt, artist
412: Alain G. Pratte, photographer
413: Kern Prophete, hip-hop artist
414: Jesse Purcell, artist, Just Seeds
415: Nelly-Eve Rajotte, artist
416: Anne Ramsden, artist
417: Nada Raphael, documentary photographer
418: Louis Rastelli, author
419: Antonella Ravello, photographer
420: Coire Ready Langham, circus artist
421: Fred Reed, writer
422: Victor Regalado, artist
423: Monique Régimbald-Zieber, artist
424: Alain Reno, illustrator
425: Gisela Restrepo, artist
426: Gerard Reyes, dancer
427: Andrea Rideout, theatre artist
428: Coco Riot, artist
429: Matana Roberts, saxophonist
430: Antoine Rouleau, photographer
431: Guilaine Royer, cultural worker
432: Daïchi Saïto, filmmaker
433: Trish Salah, poet
434: Babak Salari, photographer
435: Samian, hip-hop artist
436: Miriam Sampaio, multidisciplinary artist
437: Marjolaine Samson, artist
438: Julian Samuel, artist/writer
439: Ariel Santana, artist
440: Claire Savoie, artist
441: Dorothy Saykaly, contemporary dancer
442: Patti Schmidt, radio host/cultural commentator
443: Anita Schoepp, artist/musician
444: Nadia Seboussi, artist
445: Fran Sendbuehler, graphic artist
446: Marcel Sévigny, author
447: Sam Shalabi, musician/composer
448: Nik Barry-Shaw, writer
449: Eric Shragge, author/professor
450: Bridget Simpson, musician
451: Michelle Smith, documentary filmmaker, Productions Multi-Monde
452: Prem Sooriyakumar, filmmaker
453: Jennifer Spiegel, writer
454: Laurel Sprengelmeyer, artist, Little Scream
455: Darlene St. Georges, art educator
456: Alexandre St-Onge, sound artist/musician
457: Allison Staton, photographer
458: Victoria Stanton, performance artist
459: Gab Perry Stensson, artist
460: Martha Stiegman, documentary filmmaker/author
461: Kiva Stimac, visual artist, founder Casa del Popolo
462: Brett Story, filmmaker
463: John W. Stuart, graphic designer/writer
464: Caroline Tagny, graphic artist
465: Roger Tellier-Craig, musician
466: Vincent Tinguely, poet/writer
467: Juan Toro, musician
468: Tanya Tree, documentary filmmaker
469: Benoît Tremblay, artist
470: Philippe Tremblay-Berberi, filmmaker
471: Gisèle Trudel, artist, Ælab
472: Svetla Turnin, executive director of Cinema Politica
473: André Turpin, cinéaste
474: Armand Vaillancourt, painter/sculptor
475: Rufo Valencia, writer/poet
476: Sylvie Van Brabant, filmmaker
477: Niek van de Steeg, artist
478: Francis Van Den Heuvel, filmmaker
479: Rahul Varma, theatre director, Teesri Duniya Theatre
480: Chris Vaughn, violinist, Free Benny Meanz
481: Adrian Vedady, jazz musician
482: Felipe Verdugo, pianist
483: Sebastián Verdugo, pianist
484: Stefan Verna, documentary filmmaker
485: Gilles Vigneault, artist
486: Sam Vipond, musician
487: Tamara Vukov, filmmaker/academic
488: Shannon Walsh, documentary filmmaker
489: Francesca Waltzing, artist
490: Erin Weisgerber, sound artist
491: David Widgington, journalist/filmmaker
492: Ezra Winton, founder Cinema Politica
493: Britt Wray, artist
494: Gary Worsley, founder Alien 8 Recordings
495: Dexter X, filmmaker/musician
496: Eileen Young, visual artist
497: Karen Young, singer/songwriter
498: Kevin Yuen Kit Lo, graphic designer
499: Michael Zaidan, filmmaker
500: Kim Zombik, singer