[NYTr] And speaking of satire vs reality: Canada Bars Code Pink Activists at Border?!??

[All the News That Doesn't Fit]

(...and apparently genuine. What will Canada do when a real
opposition to the US Empire (with some teeth) comes to town?

Or is that the point? "Hey, here come those earnest liberals. Waste
their time, make them spend their money and call a press conference..."

Dear Abbie, you left us too soon. -NY Transfer


sent by mart, who says:

[If you think things are bad now with a Tory minority government, just
wait until warmonger and Bush-worshiper Harper and his Tories get a
majority -mart]


Code Pink
http://www.codepink4peace.org/article.php?id=3502

Women Barred: 

Canada Refuses Entry to CODEPINK Cofounder 
Medea Benjamin and Retired Colonel Ann Wright 

Contact: Medea Benjamin 415-235-6517 
Ann Wright 808-741-1141
Dana Balicki 202-422-8624

October 3rd, 2007

Two well-respected US peace activists, CODEPINK and Global Exchange
cofounder Medea Benjamin and retired Colonel and diplomat Ann Wright,
were denied entry into Canada today (Wednesday, October 3). The two
women were headed to Toronto to discuss peace and security issues at
the invitation of the Toronto Stop the War Coalition. At the
Buffalo-Niagara Falls Bridge they were detained, questioned and denied
entry. They will hold a press conference on Thursday afternoon in front
of the Canadian Embassy in Washington DC to ask the Canadian government
to reverse its policy of barring peaceful protesters.

The women were questioned at Canadian customs about their participation
in anti-war efforts and informed that they had an FBI file indicating
they had been arrested in acts of non-violent civil disobedience.

WHEN: Thursday, October 4th at 1pm
WHERE: Canadian Embassy, 501 Pennsylvania Ave NW, Washington DC

"In my case, the border guard pulled up a file showing that I had been
arrested at the US Mission to the UN where, on International Women's
Day, a group of us had tried to deliver a peace petition signed by
152,000 women around the world," says Benjamin. "For this, the
Canadians labeled me a criminal and refused to allow me in the country."

"The FBI's placing of peace activists on an international criminal
database is blatant political intimidation of US citizens opposed to
Bush administration policies," says Colonel Wright, who was also Deputy
US Ambassador in four countries. "The Canadian government should
certainly not accept this FBI database as the criteria for entering the
country."

Both Wright and Benjamin plan to request their files from the FBI
through the Freedom of Information Act and demand that arrests for
peaceful, non-violent actions be expunged from international records.

"It's outrageous that Canada is turning away peacemakers protesting a
war that does not have the support of either US or Canadian citizens,"
says Benjamin. "In the past, Canada has always welcomed peace activists
with open arms. This new policy, obviously a creature of the Bush
administration, is shocking and we in the US and Canada must insist
that it be overturned.

Four members of the Canadian Parliament--Peggy Nash, Libby Davies, Paul
Dewar and Peter Julian-- expressed outrage that the peace activists
were barred from Canada and vow to change this policy.  

Interviews available on request.