Anti-government protesters occupied Manama's Pearl Roundabout, Bahrain's equivalent of Cairo's Tahrir Square. They demanded democratic elections, ending sectarian discrimination favoring Sunnis over Shias, equitable distribution of the country's oil wealth, and resignation of the king's uncle, Sheikh Khalifa bin Salman al-Khalifa, prime minister since 1971. They also want political prisoners released and state terror ended. For weeks, many thousands defied government demands, braving police attacks with tear gas, beatings, rubber bullets, live fire, arrests, torture, and disappearances.
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Thursday, April 14, 2011
Questioning the ACTION Team
Addressing Crime Trends in our Communities (ACTION) is a project of Hamilton Police Services that claims to be targetting violent crime. However, when we look at what ACTION is actually doing, this large increase in policing is in fact a crack-down on minor offenses and crimes of poverty. This is happening within a context of rapid gentrification in Hamilton's core, and ACTION's priorities are geared primarily towards the needs of business owners downtown. Media coverage of policing in the downtown has been "shallowly congratulatory", and this article is the first in what will be a series exploring the real priorities and effects of the ACTION teams' deployment.
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Tuesday, April 12, 2011
Is Uganda on a steady road to a police state?
Clearly put, anybody who was deemed to be a political threat was a candidate for the list of those to be arrested. There are specks of evidence to conclude that Uganda seems to be treading on the path where the police is the master card to subdue any sort of citizen discontent. Citizens’ common sense has been stolen. In its place there are the new laws that have overthrown the long tradition of pragmatism and replaced it with a “legalistic” approach to everything.
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Black & Decker Power Tools To Exclusively Sell Iris Scanning Technologies to Governments and Corporations
In the summer of 2010 a corporation named Global Rainmakers Inc (a leading manufacturer of advanced iris detection technologies), made headlines for its new partnership with the city of Leon Mexico, who planned to create "the most secure city in the world". The privacy implications of this iris scanning technology are unsettling. The person being scanned does not need to consent to the procedure as these scanners are mounted on walls and ceilings and could uniquely scan each person in a crowd at a rate of 1 set of eyes per second. A year later, Global Rainmakers has changed its name to Hoyos and has formed a strategic partnership with Stanley CSS, part of the corporate family Stanley Black & Decker, famous for its commercial power tools. The partnership will give Stanley CSS exclusive rights to sell Hoyos products to public and private clients in US and Europe.
A press release issued from Stanley CSS on April 11th outlines the plan: "Hoyos will transition its entire current global client base, including U.S. governmental agencies, foreign governments and large corporations and financial institutions to Stanley CSS for management."
Advocates of the technology point out the benefits it brings to law enforcement organizations. As Global Rainmakers CEO Jeff Carter stated "If you've been convicted of a crime, in essence, this will act as a digital scarlet letter. If you're a known shoplifter, for example, you won't be able to go into a store without being flagged. For others, boarding a plane will be impossible." Privacy advocates naturally have concerns about the system being abused, as well as the non-consensual nature of the technology. Arguably these kinds of invasive technologies violate our fundamental right from unreasonable search. As for opting out, Carter warns that "when you get masses of people opting-in, opting out does not help. Opting out actually puts more of a flag on you than just being part of the system. We believe everyone will opt-in."
This new partnership shows the growth of biometric technology industries are set to explode. As governments continue to erode civil liberties, expand surveillance networks, and restrict freedoms in pursuit of the war on terror, firms that produce technologies to help them can always count on continued profits and expansion.
Jae Muzzin, State Of Collapse Blog (http://stateofcollapse.blogspot.com)
Monday, April 11, 2011
Legal system lousy alternative for helping addicts
The Justice Policy Institute and the Drug Policy Alliance have released reports that show the legal system is a lousy alternative to community intervention to deal with addiction. There are more than 12 times as many people incarcerated in the U.S. for drug offences as in the 1980s. Drug court supporters are quick to offer heart-rending and very real anecdotal success stories that create the illusion something good is happening. I suspect, however, that if, as in the U.S., they were made available, the numbers, recidivism rates, relapse statistics and the extra cost of the legal system would dispel that rosy emotional fog.
Read more: http://www.windsorstar.com/Legal+system+lousy+alternative+helping+addicts/4566013/story.html#ixzz1JFhUn3vl
Read more: http://www.windsorstar.com/Legal+system+lousy+alternative+helping+addicts/4566013/story.html#ixzz1JFhUn3vl
New Windsor Jail to cost $336 million
SoC Editor: Think about all crime-preventing community services $335 million dollars could buy. Drug rehabilitation centers, counseling, food banks, self-employment and education loans, etc. Who can justify building a maximum security prison when crime rates are falling and the public shows a clear disposition against building new prisons. The only positive aspect of this project being touted are the short-term benefits to our local economy. Very sad.
The province announced Monday that Windsor’s new 315-bed maximum security prison will cost $336 million to build and maintain, under a 30-year contract negotiated with Forum Social Infrastructure.
Read more: http://www.windsorstar.com/Windsor+Jail+cost+million/4595675/story.html#ixzz1JFebpoMW
The province announced Monday that Windsor’s new 315-bed maximum security prison will cost $336 million to build and maintain, under a 30-year contract negotiated with Forum Social Infrastructure.
Read more: http://www.windsorstar.com/Windsor+Jail+cost+million/4595675/story.html#ixzz1JFebpoMW
MPP Bob Bailey says Police Need MORE Impunity
SOC Editor: "I wouldn't agree with forced participation [by police officers in police miscoduct investigations] in any shape or form," Sarnia-Lambton MPP Bob Bailey said. " ... It would be against the Charter of Rights and Freedoms." So in other words, he asserts that police have the right to not participate in investigations by police watchdogs. I think most people would agree that police must be held to the same standard as everyone else, and nobody has the right to withdraw from criminal investigations. Bailey argues that the danger of police officers' jobs make them an exception, but we know that statistically police officers' duties are not very dangerous at all. Ontario's public has lost faith in our police, and the government organizations that oversee them like the SIU. Policies that give impunity to officers only accelerate this distrust.
Sarnia-Lambton MPP Bob Bailey disagrees with an academic's claim in The Observer that police officers should be compelled to participate in investigations by Ontario's Special Investigations Unit as a job prerequisite.
Bailey said University of Toronto police accountability researcher Scot Wortley's opinion is off-base and police officer rights must be respected.
"I wouldn't agree with forced participation in any shape or form," he said. " ... It would be against the Charter of Rights and Freedoms."
Wortley argues that because police officers have the ability to incarcerate and use lethal force they should be subject to extraordinary oversight.
But he also told The Observer changes to the Police Services Act are unlikely because politicians are afraid of tangling with Ontario's powerful police unions.
Bailey said it's more about backing up officers who put their lives on the line everyday.
"The police have a tough job to do," he said. "We need to do everything we can do as a society to give them rules and laws they can obey and enforce."
Lambton-Kent-Middlesex MPP Maria Van Bommel said she wouldn't be afraid to speak up on policing issues if it was warranted. Police unions have never tried to pressure her in an inappropriate manner, she said.
"They do lobby, just like other organizations and professions. I've never felt they were ever more overly representative of their issues than other groups."
The legitimacy SIU investigations was questioned locally after the police watchdog exonerated a Lambton OPP of wrongdoing in connection with the death of a Sarnia man without actually interviewing the officer. The family was outraged.
Bailey said the SIU must strike a difficult balance between the rights of officers to due process and the rights of a family to the truth.
"I understand families want answers. On the other hand, the police are out there every day, they're paid to protect us."
In a report to Attorney General Chris Bentley this week, former Chief Justice Patrick LeSage makes several recommendations to eliminate communication barriers between officers, the SIU and chiefs of police.
Subject and witness police officers in an SIU investigation have the right to counsel, but they shouldn't use the same attorney, he said.
"There has been a suspicion that if the same lawyer acts for more than one witness officer that that lawyer has the right to communicate what he hears from one witness officer to the other witness officer," LeSage said. "It is my view that very clearly the lawyer cannot do that."
Ontario should also make it clear to lawyers representing several witness officers that their notes shouldn't be shared with each other, he said.
Bentley said his government will implement all of LeSage's recommendations, which follow several cases in which the SIU came into conflict with chiefs and officers.
NDP Justice Critic Peter Kormos said LeSage's mandate was to mediate areas of agreement between the police associations and chiefs of police.
"The big outstanding issue, though, and the elephant in the room, is the issue of a police officer's duty to participate or co-operate in a SIU investigation," Kormos said. "Clearly, there wasn't common ground in that area."
With files from QMI Agency.
sjeffords@theobserver.ca
Sarnia-Lambton MPP Bob Bailey disagrees with an academic's claim in The Observer that police officers should be compelled to participate in investigations by Ontario's Special Investigations Unit as a job prerequisite.
Bailey said University of Toronto police accountability researcher Scot Wortley's opinion is off-base and police officer rights must be respected.
"I wouldn't agree with forced participation in any shape or form," he said. " ... It would be against the Charter of Rights and Freedoms."
Wortley argues that because police officers have the ability to incarcerate and use lethal force they should be subject to extraordinary oversight.
But he also told The Observer changes to the Police Services Act are unlikely because politicians are afraid of tangling with Ontario's powerful police unions.
Bailey said it's more about backing up officers who put their lives on the line everyday.
"The police have a tough job to do," he said. "We need to do everything we can do as a society to give them rules and laws they can obey and enforce."
Lambton-Kent-Middlesex MPP Maria Van Bommel said she wouldn't be afraid to speak up on policing issues if it was warranted. Police unions have never tried to pressure her in an inappropriate manner, she said.
"They do lobby, just like other organizations and professions. I've never felt they were ever more overly representative of their issues than other groups."
The legitimacy SIU investigations was questioned locally after the police watchdog exonerated a Lambton OPP of wrongdoing in connection with the death of a Sarnia man without actually interviewing the officer. The family was outraged.
Bailey said the SIU must strike a difficult balance between the rights of officers to due process and the rights of a family to the truth.
"I understand families want answers. On the other hand, the police are out there every day, they're paid to protect us."
In a report to Attorney General Chris Bentley this week, former Chief Justice Patrick LeSage makes several recommendations to eliminate communication barriers between officers, the SIU and chiefs of police.
Subject and witness police officers in an SIU investigation have the right to counsel, but they shouldn't use the same attorney, he said.
"There has been a suspicion that if the same lawyer acts for more than one witness officer that that lawyer has the right to communicate what he hears from one witness officer to the other witness officer," LeSage said. "It is my view that very clearly the lawyer cannot do that."
Ontario should also make it clear to lawyers representing several witness officers that their notes shouldn't be shared with each other, he said.
Bentley said his government will implement all of LeSage's recommendations, which follow several cases in which the SIU came into conflict with chiefs and officers.
NDP Justice Critic Peter Kormos said LeSage's mandate was to mediate areas of agreement between the police associations and chiefs of police.
"The big outstanding issue, though, and the elephant in the room, is the issue of a police officer's duty to participate or co-operate in a SIU investigation," Kormos said. "Clearly, there wasn't common ground in that area."
With files from QMI Agency.
sjeffords@theobserver.ca
Supreme Court Further Protects the Impunity Of Police and SIU
TORONTO — Ontario's highest court has ruled the family of a teen fatally shot by Toronto police can't sue the province's police watchdog over its investigation of the incident.
Duane Christian, 15, was shot by police on June 20, 2006, while driving a stolen minivan in the parking lot of an east-end highrise apartment building.
The Special Investigations Unit cleared the officers of wrongdoing, but Christian's family alleged the investigation was incompetent and filed a $2-million negligence lawsuit.
http://toronto.ctv.ca/servlet/an/local/CTVNews/20110408/family-teen-fatally-shot-toronto-police-siu-cant-sue-provinces-police-watchdog-110408/20110408/?hub=TorontoNewHome
Duane Christian, 15, was shot by police on June 20, 2006, while driving a stolen minivan in the parking lot of an east-end highrise apartment building.
The Special Investigations Unit cleared the officers of wrongdoing, but Christian's family alleged the investigation was incompetent and filed a $2-million negligence lawsuit.
http://toronto.ctv.ca/servlet/an/local/CTVNews/20110408/family-teen-fatally-shot-toronto-police-siu-cant-sue-provinces-police-watchdog-110408/20110408/?hub=TorontoNewHome
Windsor Facebook Group Speaks out Against Police Brutality
A group of Windsor, Ontario citizens have had enough of police abuse in their community. Their response: create a facebook group so people may begin fighting back against the Windsor Police Department and OPP. Its exactly this kind of direct citizen involvement that keeps police abuse in check. Their wall is very active with ongoing reports and their photo section is filled with bruises inflicted on youth by police. They describe their group as a group of people who are:
Fighting back against the Windsor Police Department and OPP. I'm tired of the police beating my child, arresting them for no reason, and setting them up for crimes they didn't commit.I have watched people be punched in the face, beat to the ground, stomped on by the same people that are supposed to protect our city. After filing several police complaints, contacting Mayor Eddie Francis(who doesn't give a darn by the way) and Sandra Pupatello (who did show concern by returning my telephone call), I say it's about time we fight back. Now who wants to go on this journey with me. RED ,WHITE, BLACK or BLUE- race, or age doesn't matter. Lets do this.
The facebook group page can be found here: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=167555813038
You can always count on State of Collapse to report the highlights of this initiative.
G20 testimonials Tuesday
SOC Editor: As long as people keep organizing events like these, the more police will get the message that police-led human rights abuses will not go unchecked. Its good to see people are bringing out truth and justice when our law-and-order establishment is unwilling to.
People are invited to come out to a public forum where they can hear testimonials of injuries and imprisonment suffered at the G20 Summit in Toronto.
The event, Is This What Democracy Looks Like?, is on Tuesday, April 12 at the Lourice Mediterranean Cuisine.
The forum is free, but people are asked for donations to help pay for legal costs of individuals facing court charges from the G20. The event is presented by the Halton Peace Network, along with other groups.
The forum starts at 7 p.m. The restaurant is located at 1289 Marlborough Court.
People are invited to come out to a public forum where they can hear testimonials of injuries and imprisonment suffered at the G20 Summit in Toronto.
The event, Is This What Democracy Looks Like?, is on Tuesday, April 12 at the Lourice Mediterranean Cuisine.
The forum is free, but people are asked for donations to help pay for legal costs of individuals facing court charges from the G20. The event is presented by the Halton Peace Network, along with other groups.
The forum starts at 7 p.m. The restaurant is located at 1289 Marlborough Court.
Friday, April 8, 2011
Secret US prisons in Afghanistan revealed
US officials have acknowledged the existence of secret military-run prisons across Afghanistan where suspected terrorists are held and interrogated without charges, for weeks or months on end.
Over a dozen former detainees claimed they were held for weeks at the Joint Special Operations Command site, forced to strip naked and kept in the cold in solitary confinement with lights on 24 hours a day, Daphne Eviatar of Human Rights First, told AP. In many cases detainees claimed they were told they would be held indefinitely if they did not cooperate.
Read More
Over a dozen former detainees claimed they were held for weeks at the Joint Special Operations Command site, forced to strip naked and kept in the cold in solitary confinement with lights on 24 hours a day, Daphne Eviatar of Human Rights First, told AP. In many cases detainees claimed they were told they would be held indefinitely if they did not cooperate.
Read More
Obama Administration Sees Constitution as "Burden" on Law Enforcement
The Obama administration is urging Congress not to adopt legislation that would impose constitutional safeguards on Americans’ e-mail stored in the cloud.
http://www.wired.com/threatlevel/2011/04/fourth-amendment-email-2/
http://www.wired.com/threatlevel/2011/04/fourth-amendment-email-2/
Ignorance is Strength! The torture of Bradley Manning
Bradley Manning himself describes the experience of being stripped naked at night and made to stand for parade in the nude, a condition that continues to this day. "The guard told me to stand at parade rest, with my hands behind my back and my legs spaced shoulder-width apart. I stood at parade rest for about three minutes … The [brig supervisor] and the other guards walked past my cell. He looked at me, paused for a moment, then continued to the next cell. I was incredibly embarrassed at having all these people stare at me naked."
Description of Torture by Bradley
While many like to point to Obama's successes -- repeal of DADT, the health care bill -- and assert that the man cannot solve all of the world's problems, in reality this is beside the point. Obama explicitly promised protection for federal whistleblowers yet he locks Manning up for exposing the wrongdoings of the armed forces. As Commander in Chief, Obama has the ability to stop the inhumane treatment of a U.S. citizen who is still awaiting trial. The question now is, will he?
Read more
Description of Torture by Bradley
While many like to point to Obama's successes -- repeal of DADT, the health care bill -- and assert that the man cannot solve all of the world's problems, in reality this is beside the point. Obama explicitly promised protection for federal whistleblowers yet he locks Manning up for exposing the wrongdoings of the armed forces. As Commander in Chief, Obama has the ability to stop the inhumane treatment of a U.S. citizen who is still awaiting trial. The question now is, will he?
Read more
Ontario's Police Watchdog Reacts to Public Distrust in Police
SOC Editor: A report from justice policy wonks apologize for the impunity enjoyed by violent police officers in Ontario. Remember that 1/2 of the SIU's investigators are ex-cops.
Former chief justice Patrick LeSage issued a three-page review of relations between police and the SIU with hopes the review will “put aside some of the suspicions” that the system is failing. A recent Toronto Star investigation found that police officers across Ontario are treated differently than civilians when accused of seriously injuring or killing a person. In some cases, the investigation attributed this weaker form of justice to the SIU’s inability to properly investigate.
Read more
Former chief justice Patrick LeSage issued a three-page review of relations between police and the SIU with hopes the review will “put aside some of the suspicions” that the system is failing. A recent Toronto Star investigation found that police officers across Ontario are treated differently than civilians when accused of seriously injuring or killing a person. In some cases, the investigation attributed this weaker form of justice to the SIU’s inability to properly investigate.
Read more
Thursday, April 7, 2011
Windsor Star acts as mouthpiece for the Windsor Police in Reporting of "Marihuana" Bust
SOC Editor: The Windsor Star once again shows its journalistic cowardice by publishing another verbatim communique from our city's biggest drug gang, the Windsor Police. You can read this article or the press release from the police website, as this was copy and pasted from the other. We should be questioning the violence commanded by the state in the pursuit of the war on drugs. We need to end these nanny-state policies that destroy lives and waste tax dollars on employing overpaid police gangsters.
WINDSOR, Ont. -- The Windsor police drugs and guns unit arrested one man and seized a large stash of pot Wednesday after raiding a marijuana grow op in a residential neighbourhood.
Police had “received information” that there was a grow op inside the house at 1405 Norman Rd. The drugs and guns unit went there at 7 p.m. Wednesday to execute a search warrant. Officers knocked on the door and got no answer.
They “breached” the side door and announced they were inside. A man then appeared in the kitchen. Police arrested him and searched the house.
They found 242 marijuana plants between three and four feet tall. They also seized 13,552 grams of marijuana, which police estimate to be worth $135,520.
Police also found equipment consistent with a grow-op. In addition, police said, someone had bypassed the hydro meter.
Enwin Utilities showed up and disconnected power to the residence.
Police said no one appears to have been living in the house. It was being used solely as a grow operation.
Hong-Nghia Phan, 54, of Mississauga, is charged with possession of a controlled substance for the purpose of trafficking, production of a controlled substance and theft of hydro.
twilhelm@windsorstar.com or 519-255-6850
© Copyright (c) The Windsor Star
Read more: http://www.windsorstar.com/news/Windsor+police+bust+east+side+grow/4577033/story.html#ixzz1IstHS9Us
WINDSOR, Ont. -- The Windsor police drugs and guns unit arrested one man and seized a large stash of pot Wednesday after raiding a marijuana grow op in a residential neighbourhood.
Police had “received information” that there was a grow op inside the house at 1405 Norman Rd. The drugs and guns unit went there at 7 p.m. Wednesday to execute a search warrant. Officers knocked on the door and got no answer.
They “breached” the side door and announced they were inside. A man then appeared in the kitchen. Police arrested him and searched the house.
They found 242 marijuana plants between three and four feet tall. They also seized 13,552 grams of marijuana, which police estimate to be worth $135,520.
Police also found equipment consistent with a grow-op. In addition, police said, someone had bypassed the hydro meter.
Enwin Utilities showed up and disconnected power to the residence.
Police said no one appears to have been living in the house. It was being used solely as a grow operation.
Hong-Nghia Phan, 54, of Mississauga, is charged with possession of a controlled substance for the purpose of trafficking, production of a controlled substance and theft of hydro.
twilhelm@windsorstar.com or 519-255-6850
© Copyright (c) The Windsor Star
Read more: http://www.windsorstar.com/news/Windsor+police+bust+east+side+grow/4577033/story.html#ixzz1IstHS9Us
Homeland Security Dept. to use social media for alerts
SOC Editor: More BS from the DHS.
WASHINGTON (KGO) -- The homeland security department plans to use face book and twitter to issue terror alerts.
According to the Associated Press, the government's color-coded warning system will be replaced with a more specific plan that would offer two levels of alert -- elevated and imminent. The new terror system is expected to be in place by April 27.
In Afghanistan, the major general in charge of the 101st Airborne Division at Bagram Airfield, Major General John Campbell, said the troop surge there is making a difference in strengthening Afghan security forces and preventing insurgents from staging terrorist attacks around the world.
"We feel we are contributing to the security of the people back in the U.S., I tell folks when they ask is it worth it, I tell them absolutely, there hasn't been another 9/11 incident since forces have been in Afghanistan taking it to the insurgents," he said.
Major General Campbell said the entire 101st Airborne Division is there helping strengthen the Afghan army, police and local government.
(Copyright ©2011 KGO-TV/DT. All Rights Reserved.)
WASHINGTON (KGO) -- The homeland security department plans to use face book and twitter to issue terror alerts.
According to the Associated Press, the government's color-coded warning system will be replaced with a more specific plan that would offer two levels of alert -- elevated and imminent. The new terror system is expected to be in place by April 27.
In Afghanistan, the major general in charge of the 101st Airborne Division at Bagram Airfield, Major General John Campbell, said the troop surge there is making a difference in strengthening Afghan security forces and preventing insurgents from staging terrorist attacks around the world.
"We feel we are contributing to the security of the people back in the U.S., I tell folks when they ask is it worth it, I tell them absolutely, there hasn't been another 9/11 incident since forces have been in Afghanistan taking it to the insurgents," he said.
Major General Campbell said the entire 101st Airborne Division is there helping strengthen the Afghan army, police and local government.
(Copyright ©2011 KGO-TV/DT. All Rights Reserved.)
Wednesday, April 6, 2011
Homeland Security spends $1 million making a video game simulating their job
SOC Editor: A great example of political will embedded within technology.
Researchers at a government-funded laboratory have built a giant touchscreen video game that simulates the capture of illegal aliens.
In a statement made to Kotaku by an official spokesman, the entire project and underlying systems cost "in the ballpark of $10 million [worth] of internal investments," with the Department of Homeland Security's Customs and Border Protection contributing the final $1 million to create their border simulator.
http://ingame.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2011/04/06/6419756-border-patrol-spends-1-million-making-a-video-game-simulating-their-job
Researchers at a government-funded laboratory have built a giant touchscreen video game that simulates the capture of illegal aliens.
In a statement made to Kotaku by an official spokesman, the entire project and underlying systems cost "in the ballpark of $10 million [worth] of internal investments," with the Department of Homeland Security's Customs and Border Protection contributing the final $1 million to create their border simulator.
http://ingame.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2011/04/06/6419756-border-patrol-spends-1-million-making-a-video-game-simulating-their-job
Miami Police Drones Can See Inside Homes
SOC Editor: The same airborne surveillance technology used in the mideast resource wars are being brought home and used domestically against citizens.
Miami-Dade’s newest crime fighting tool is a literal ‘eye in the sky’.
The Micro Air Vehicle, or MAV for short, is a small radio controlled drone aircraft equipped with a portable camera system. Miami-Dade Sgt. Andrew Cohen said drone will be used to gather real time information in situations which may be too dangerous for officers.
“If an SRT (Special Response Team) has to go into an area they don’t know what’s there, we don’t know what is in the backyard,” said Cohen, “They want to know if there are dogs in the backyard, if there is a shed, things that could be a threat to us.”
The MAV is used by the military to scan dangerous areas before troops are sent in. Miami-Dade police used a $50,000 grant to buy one, but not everyone is happy with the purchase.
“What happens when they fly over backyards and they see something without a warrant that they want to take against,” said ACLU Executive Director Howard Simon.
Police admit the MAV, if flown low enough, has the ability to look into people’s home, but that is not its intended purpose.
“If this thing is deployed, it’s only going to be used in situations where we already have an ongoing police scene,” said Cohen. “They are going to know we are there because we will have tactical teams, SRT teams, we’re going to have a perimeter, it’s going to be secure.”
Meanwhile the police department is awaiting approval from the FAA before they can use the MAV. They have submitted the application, but the approval process can take up to six months.
Harper's Prison Plan Headed in Bad Direction | Cannabis Culture Magazine
Harper's Prison Plan Headed in Bad Direction | Cannabis Culture Magazine
It should be obvious to everyone now that what Stephen Harper has planned is a U.S.-style, for-profit prison system.
This policy has been wildly successful in the U.S.: increased crime and violence, the largest prison population in the history of mankind, huge debt, and a handful of wealthy jailers getting even wealthier on the taxpayers' dime. This is what Harper wants for Canada.
He has already changed the laws to make anything involving marijuana a "serious" crime, making it harder for your kid to make bail or get plea bargains. He is about to pass S-10, which will impose mandatory jail time for growing one pot plant in a rented unit, and six months jail for making pot brownies! That is aimed at your kid, obviously, and not the Hell's Angels.
All evidence shows that this policy will increase crime, further subsidize the 98% of gangsters who will never be caught, further contaminate the products being sold to your kids, and sink us into decades of debt, to be paid off by -- you guessed it -- your kids!
It will also saddle tens of thousands of Canadians -- mostly men, mostly between the ages of 18 and 40, our future work force -- with criminal records that will hinder their ability to travel and find employment and secure housing. He will also use this inevitable increase in crime as justification for future erosions of civil rights and liberties, and future expansions of police powers and budgets. All this at a time when crime is at a 33-year low. Harper isn't trying to protect Canadians, he is trying to hobble us. He is trying to get Canada into the U.S.-dominated Inmate-Manufacturing Industry, using your kids as raw materials. Serves you right for electing him.
Russell Barth
Nepean, Ont.
It should be obvious to everyone now that what Stephen Harper has planned is a U.S.-style, for-profit prison system.
This policy has been wildly successful in the U.S.: increased crime and violence, the largest prison population in the history of mankind, huge debt, and a handful of wealthy jailers getting even wealthier on the taxpayers' dime. This is what Harper wants for Canada.
He has already changed the laws to make anything involving marijuana a "serious" crime, making it harder for your kid to make bail or get plea bargains. He is about to pass S-10, which will impose mandatory jail time for growing one pot plant in a rented unit, and six months jail for making pot brownies! That is aimed at your kid, obviously, and not the Hell's Angels.
All evidence shows that this policy will increase crime, further subsidize the 98% of gangsters who will never be caught, further contaminate the products being sold to your kids, and sink us into decades of debt, to be paid off by -- you guessed it -- your kids!
It will also saddle tens of thousands of Canadians -- mostly men, mostly between the ages of 18 and 40, our future work force -- with criminal records that will hinder their ability to travel and find employment and secure housing. He will also use this inevitable increase in crime as justification for future erosions of civil rights and liberties, and future expansions of police powers and budgets. All this at a time when crime is at a 33-year low. Harper isn't trying to protect Canadians, he is trying to hobble us. He is trying to get Canada into the U.S.-dominated Inmate-Manufacturing Industry, using your kids as raw materials. Serves you right for electing him.
Russell Barth
Nepean, Ont.
Sniper rifle photo draws ire of social media critics
SOC Editor: The Toronto Police Properly gauge the public`s attitude (and deploy a rooftop sniper in preparation of anti-police protest.)
Was it an example of bringing lethal force to a peaceful protest or simply the police being properly prepared?
There are plenty of opinions.
With all of the social media chatter Wednesday about this sniper’s rifle photographed on a terrace at Toronto Police headquarters, you’d swear it had been fired at protesters.
This did not happen. In fact the gun, which in pictures is resting on the ground, was never supposed to be seen by the public.
However, like it did during the G20, citizen journalism has struck once again.
With government seemingly lacking the courage to properly oversee police, amateur photographers and social media commentators are taking it upon themselves.
But while some of my copper contacts question the deployment of such a weapon, many others tell me there is no story here and that it’s just routine policing.
“Our main concern is public safety,” said Const. Tony Vella. “There were a number of officers called in to assist including the ETF and they brought in their equipment.”
Tactical rifles are part of that.
“You just never know what could occur and it’s better to be well-equipped instead of under-equipped,” Vella said. “We received information that there would be a lot more people attending and that there could be violence associated with it.”
But many in the public still seemed upset that such firepower was even contemplated to deal with what turned out to be a handful of protesters.
“What justification can the police possibly provide for having roof-top snipers?” asked lawyer Davin Charney, who Tuesday served police with two G20 lawsuits on behalf of clients. “This march was peaceful. I was there as a legal observer. Was a police officer looking at me through the crosshairs? This is terrifying, intimidating, and totally excessive.”
The photographs captured during Tuesday’s Ontario Coalition Against Poverty protest by a photographer in a building near 40 College St. has already received over 321,000 views on the Internet.
“It’s Rambo on the roof,” was one comment.
“Must be poor hunting season,” was another.
Others asked if police would deploy snipers if it had been the Tamil protesters?
“We were all surprised and there is a sense of outrage,” said OCAP’s John Clarke. “One can assume by having such a lethal weapon on hand there would have been some consideration about the possibility of using it.”
Clarke called it over the top.
“Say what you want about how we on the street handle things or the way police handle things but I don’t think there is ever been any suggestion that amongst OCAP protesters there are trained assassins.”
But they will continue their fight for the poor, he said.
“Certainly a sniper rifle that could tear people apart is concerning but it also will not intimidate us,” said Clarke. “They will do what they do and we will still do what we do.”
There was a time when I would likely have dismissed Clarke and deferred to police but post-G20, neither organization can boast pristine hands.
Some of OCAP’s actions in the past have been disturbing but those were equalled in my view by police during the G20 in the many cases of unnecessary brutality and civil rights violations.
While I still have great regard for cops on the street and in the divisions, I don’t have as much confidence in the command as we await these slow moving reports on how they handled things during the G20. The jury is out on their competence and decision-making acumen.
Still I don’t know what is right in this specific incident and I invite you to decide for yourself if you are comfortable with police having a sniper at the ready.
joe.warmington@sunmedia.ca
Montreal Police Refine Propaganda Tactics
SOC Editor: The police in Montreal are utilizing social media to construct a social bogeyman of the `criminal` protestor. This is needed to counter the anti-police symbolism fostered by annual anti-police protests that capture headlines every year. The Montreal Gazette reports:
NEW PR APPROACH TRIED
Police brass tried out some new PR tactics in the hours before Tuesday's annual showdown between Montreal cops and protesters who were marching against police brutality. Intelligence tactics were revealed. Journalists were tagged. Messages were tweeted.
As part of a daylong information offensive, police explained to reporters in great detail how investigators can spot some suspects before they commit criminal acts, and that this is part of their method to control and contain public protests.
Preventive arrests, Lemay said, can be made under Article 495 (1) of Canada's Criminal Code, which allows the arrest of a person that a peace officer believes "is about to commit an indictable offence."
"We're not profiling people," Chief Inspector Sylvain Lemay, head of police operational planning, insisted. "But when we see people dressed in black, wearing ski masks and knapsacks and they have flags indicating their intent we have good reason to believe they don't fit into the decor. ... I think most regular citizens who see a group like this in the street would agree with us."
Ten people arrested Saturday in Montreal at the start of a march against tuition fee hikes were preventively arrested, Lemay added. Some of them had knives in their knapsacks and flyers about the March 15 anti-police brutality march, he said.
Those arrested have all subsequently been released, with conditions, he noted. "But now we have their photos and their files are on record." Police were to have their eyes peeled for those 10 at Tuesday's protest, he added.
Deputy Police Chief Denis Desroches stressed preventive arrests are made only in the seconds or moments before an officer believes a criminal act is about to be committed.
Police have been using social media and security video cameras to monitor protest participants.
In an effort to better distinguish journalists from traditional media outlets from others with video cameras at protests, reporters on Tuesday were offered Day-Glo orange stickers marked "Médias" in big letters. During the demonstration, police posted regular updates on the department's Twitter feed.
mharrold@montrealgazette.com
© Copyright (c) The Montreal Gazette
Read more: http://www.montrealgazette.com/news/Brutality+demonstration+turns+ugly/4447210/story.html#ixzz1Io21fJ3S
NEW PR APPROACH TRIED
Police brass tried out some new PR tactics in the hours before Tuesday's annual showdown between Montreal cops and protesters who were marching against police brutality. Intelligence tactics were revealed. Journalists were tagged. Messages were tweeted.
As part of a daylong information offensive, police explained to reporters in great detail how investigators can spot some suspects before they commit criminal acts, and that this is part of their method to control and contain public protests.
Preventive arrests, Lemay said, can be made under Article 495 (1) of Canada's Criminal Code, which allows the arrest of a person that a peace officer believes "is about to commit an indictable offence."
"We're not profiling people," Chief Inspector Sylvain Lemay, head of police operational planning, insisted. "But when we see people dressed in black, wearing ski masks and knapsacks and they have flags indicating their intent we have good reason to believe they don't fit into the decor. ... I think most regular citizens who see a group like this in the street would agree with us."
Ten people arrested Saturday in Montreal at the start of a march against tuition fee hikes were preventively arrested, Lemay added. Some of them had knives in their knapsacks and flyers about the March 15 anti-police brutality march, he said.
Those arrested have all subsequently been released, with conditions, he noted. "But now we have their photos and their files are on record." Police were to have their eyes peeled for those 10 at Tuesday's protest, he added.
Deputy Police Chief Denis Desroches stressed preventive arrests are made only in the seconds or moments before an officer believes a criminal act is about to be committed.
Police have been using social media and security video cameras to monitor protest participants.
In an effort to better distinguish journalists from traditional media outlets from others with video cameras at protests, reporters on Tuesday were offered Day-Glo orange stickers marked "Médias" in big letters. During the demonstration, police posted regular updates on the department's Twitter feed.
mharrold@montrealgazette.com
© Copyright (c) The Montreal Gazette
Read more: http://www.montrealgazette.com/news/Brutality+demonstration+turns+ugly/4447210/story.html#ixzz1Io21fJ3S
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