Category: 2

Newfoundland cops no longer require reasonable cause (insane)

10/01/2010

FROM CBC
N.L. police need no reason to stop drivers
Province's Highway Traffic Act changes Friday
Last Updated: Thursday, September 30, 2010 | 6:43 PM NT
CBC News

Police in Newfoundland and Labrador will be able to pull over drivers without having to give a reason beginning Friday.
Legislative changes made to the Highway Traffic Act to address safety on the province's highways come into effect Oct. 1.
Government Services Minister Kevin O'Brien said it's part of an effort to crack down on impaired driving.

"We brought that forward because the police were having a problem in regards to having a specific item to pull a driver over, had to be visual and if you didn't have a specific item to pull them over and they were impaired or under the influence of drugs, or whatever, there is a perception that it wouldn't hold up in court," O'Brien said Thursday.

When the change was proposed last spring, St. John's criminal lawyer Bob Simmons said it would give police too much power and could lead to abuse.

"Right now for police to stop people, they have to have a justifiable objective cause. Why is that? Because if we don't have a reasonable rational reason for police to stop someone then the powers can be misused. That's the law as it presently sits," he said in June.

Beginning Friday, texting with a hand-held device while driving will also be illegal. Fines will range from $100 to $400.

Read more: http://www.cbc.ca/canada/newfoundland-labrador/story/2010/09/30/nl-driving-laws-930.html#ixzz119S727qM

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Preventative detention cumming to Canada

09/29/2010

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From Straight goods.com

Overshadowed by gun registry

Combating Terrorism Act passes second reading.

Dateline: Tuesday, September 28, 2010

by Alison@creekside

On the same day the nation was preoccupied with the national Liberal/Conservative competition for votes to preserve/kill the long gun registry, both parties combined forces to slip the Combating Terrorism Act through second reading in the House — 220 votes to 84 in a classic Lib/Con vs NDP/Bloc split — just ten minutes before the long gun vote.

The Liberals and Conservatives may disagree on whether it is either useful or an egregious invasion of privacy and civil liberties that Canadians should have to spend a few minutes registering a long gun online, but when it comes to locking Canadians up for 12 months without a warrant, or compelling them to appear before a court based on some anonymous tip, they're both just fine with that.

If a person is suspected of intending to commit a terrorist crime in the future "a judge can order the person's detention for up to 12 months."

The right to remain silent, the right not to be jailed without charge, the right to know what the charges are against you — pfft!

In reintroducing Bill C-17 for the third time , to reinstate provisions from the Anti-terrorism Act of 2001, Justice Minister Rob Nicholson emphasized a fabulous new feature:

"The key here is that the person required to attend an investigative hearing is treated as a witness, not someone who is accused of a crime." True, as long as your definition of "witness" includes being arrested if you don't comply and being detained for up to 72 hours if you do. But what if you are also suspected of being likely to commit a terrorist crime some time in the future? Over to you, Mr. Nicholson:

"a judge can order the person's detention for up to 12 months." There's a five year sunset clause again and every 12 months the Attorney General and the Public Safety Minister — that would be Nicholson himself and Vic (lock-'em-up) Toews respectively — must "provide their opinions, supported by reasons, as to whether the operations of these provisions should be extended."

Mark Holland, Liberal critic for Public Safety and National Security, made some noises about balancing national security with individual liberty and noted :

"the government has completely ignored most of the key recommendations that came from Justice O'Connor [re Maher Arar], which were supported by Justice Iacobucci and were repeated by the RCMP Public Complaints Commissioner Paul Kennedy," but then two days later, he voted for it along with the rest of the Libs.

There were hours and hours of speeches in the House about this Bill, at the beginning of last week from MPs, including Liberal Marlene Jennings, NDP Joe Comartin, Bloc Quebecois' Maria Mourani, NDP Wayne Marston, Conservative Colin Carrie and others.

For the Bloc, Serge Ménard noted that under the War Measures Act "almost all candidates who ran against Mayor Drapeau [in the Montreal elections] were incarcerated. A law which goes so far as to incarcerate political opponents has already been used once in our history," he said. NDP Bill Siksay noted that security certificates were intended to expedite deportation of non-citizens yet they have been used instead to jail people for up to eight years without a trial. Slippery slope.

By Wednesday, Libby Davies wondered aloud in the House why there were hundreds of articles in newspapers across the country dealing with the gun registry but no mention of the debate on the Combating Terrorism Act. Good question.

Here's another. After much initial huffing about how absolutely vital this bill is in the fight against 'terrorists', and with the Liberals onside since June 2009, the Conservatives have allowed it to languish in limbo for a whole 15 months. Now suddenly it's back on their agenda again as the first government order tabled on the return of the House this week. Why is that?

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Seven myths about the Tamil refugees

08/21/2010

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FROM RABBLE.CA
Seven myths about the Tamil refugees

BY NO ONE IS ILLEGAL-VANCOUVER | AUGUST 20, 2010

Surviving a dangerous three-month ocean journey, 492 Tamil refugees -- including around 60 women and 55 children -- arrived in B.C. after fleeing war and persecution in Sri Lanka. When the ship the MV Sun Sea first neared Esquimault on Vancouver Island, the territories of the Songhees First Nation, it was immediately boarded by the Canadian armed forces, border services, and RCMP.

As of Wednesday, initial hearings had been completed for about 100 of the migrants. All were ordered to be re-incarcerated in the Fraser Correctional centres and Burnaby Youth detention centre, while officials are confirming their identities. It has been revealed that after seizing the belonging of the migrants into two large U-Hauls, Canadian Border Services Agency failed to keep records to tag the belongings and documents to each individual. This is causing an unnecessary and oppressive delay, and is even more objectionable since same thing happened to the Tamil refugees who arrived last fall on the ship Ocean Lady.

The detention hearings have been opened to media, though identities cannot be published, but are closed to representatives of community organizations. Priorities for hearings are being given to the 25 mothers and 54 children, who are being held together at the Burnaby Youth Detention Centre. It was announced Thursday that one boy was separated from his father, with whom he had been travelling, and held at this detention centre.

This week, No One Is Illegal has announced a national day of action to call for the immediate release of the detained Tamil asylum seekers, an end to racist and restrictive refugee policies, and to demand "Let the Boat Stay!" Actions are being planned in Vancouver, Victoria, Ottawa and elsewhere. Details are found here and an online petition can be found here.

In the meantime, here are some myths about the case:

Myth 1: They are illegals who are jumping the queue

There is no "queue" for refugee claimants. Refugees are forced from their homes in emergency situations due to human rights abuses committed during wars, military occupations, or persecution against a minority group. We cannot expect refugees to wait for Canada to select them from overseas. We must understand that they undertake long and dangerous journeys to protect their lives and the lives of their families. According to the 1951 UN Convention on Refugees, to which Canada is a party, there are no penalties on refugees who arrive without pre-authorization and irregularly.

Myth 2: We have to crack down on human smuggling

Public Safety Minister Vic Toews and Stephen Harper recently declared that Cabinet is "strengthening its laws" to clamp down on migrants and "make this country less welcoming for future shipments of human cargo."

Many refugees have no choice but to use irregular means, including resorting to smugglers, to flee persecution. As a report by the International Labour Organization discusses how many smuggling operations are "difficult to distinguish from legitimate work of travel agencies or labour recruitment agencies." It is not criminal organizations but anti-immigration policies that are the biggest facilitators of human smuggling. Given increasingly restrictive immigration and refugee policies, how are most people able to migrate if not with the assistance of smuggling operations? By today's standards, Harriet Tubman's Underground Railroad would have been considered a human smuggling operation!

It is also important to note that the rhetoric against human smuggling is not intended to ‘protect' victims of smuggling (who are routinely detained and deported), but to reinforce securitization of the border. In the Canadian government's new post-9/11 laws, it does not need to be proven that harm to persons or damage to property took place in order to secure a life sentence for smuggling; the simple act of moving 10 or more people across borders without state permission is sufficient. Such measures only lead to higher fees being charged and to more unsafe routes of migration.

Myth 3: They are terrorists

There is no evidence to substantiate this. Rohan Gunaratna, the government's primary source, has already been discredited by lawyers as well as an Immigration and Refugee Board adjudicator for being uncredible. Last October, when the 76 Tamil asylum-seekers came on Ocean Lady they were similarly labeled as terrorists and security threats. However by Jan. 2010, they were all released from detention when Canadian Border Services Agency admitted they had no evidence of a terrorist connection.

Furthermore, officials are just relying on stereotypes of Tamils as all being associated with the Tamil Tigers to create unnecessary racist hysteria and mistrust of asylum-seekers. National security laws in the post-911 climate have directly targeted and marginalized immigrants, refugees, and racialized people. These laws and policies are less about protecting society than creating a culture of fear. Many of these policies -- such as Security Certificates -- have been struck down in the courts after years of human rights and anti-racist campaigning. The rhetoric of the War On Terror serves as a convenient distraction from the reality that people's daily lives are increasingly unsafe and insecure due to global neoliberal economics and war-mongering that leads to mass displacement, poverty, and human rights atrocities.

Myth 4: The situation is getting better in Sri Lanka

According to a 2010 Amnesty International report, in the past 12 months the Sri Lankan government has continued to jail critics and clamped down on dissent. Some 80,000 Tamils remain in refugee camps, while 400,000 displaced Tamils survive in communities where homes and infrastructure were destroyed. The government continues to extend a state of emergency, restricting many basic human rights, and thousands of arbitrary detentions are justified under the guise of detainees being suspected Tamil Tigers. This past month, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon appointed a panel to investigate war crimes and genocidal acts committed by the Sri Lankan government against Tamils.

Myth 5: They are a burden on taxpayers.

The biggest resource expenditure has been the government's choice to spend thousands of dollars in an unnecessary security operation, including resources spent on incarcerating women and children. Only a tiny fraction has been spent on the health and well-being of the migrants, whose lives are worth more than dollars. Furthermore, scapegoating migrants for being a financial burden lets the government off the hook. All residents continue to receive inadequate access to necessary social services because of misplaced government priorities -- choosing to bail out banks and sink billions into the police and military -- not because of the lack of resources to provide a social safety net for all in need.

Myth 6: Canada has a generous refugee system; we cannot keep accepting people.

Despite border panics, only a small minority of asylum seekers make claims in the Western world. There are about 20 million refugees worldwide and most migrate into neighbouring countries of Africa, Middle East, and South Asia. Canada accepts fewer than 20,000 refugees per year, which is less than 0.1 per cent of the world's displaced population.

Furthermore, Canada's system is not generous. Deportations from Canada have skyrocketed 50 per cent over the last decade, with 13,000 deportations in the past year. With the Conservatives, the number of approved asylum claims has dropped by 56 per cent. Minister of Immigration Jason Kenney's recent refugee reforms create two tiers of refugees, establishing a hierarchy based on nationality. There are countless structural flaws in the system, designed to make it near impossible to claim asylum. Immigration and Refugee Board members are political appointees; certain avenues such as the Pre Removal Risk Assessment have acceptance rates of three to five per cent while others, such as the Humanitarian and Compassionate claim, do not have to be processed prior to deportation. In addition, the refugee system has been termed a "lottery system" because acceptance rates can vary from zero to 80 per cent depending on the judge. The Safe Third Country Agreement between the U.S. and Canada creates a "Fortress Canada" by disallowing up to 40 per cent of asylum seekers.

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CBC assisting in bridging law enforcement/social networking gap

08/10/2010

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FROM CBC "NEWS"
Facebook speeding boast leads to conviction
Last Updated: Tuesday, August 10, 2010 | 3:59 PM ET

A 19-year-old man from a Toronto suburb has pleaded guilty to careless driving after boasting on Facebook that he drove 100 kilometres an hour over the speed limit on a residential street.

Vladimir Rigenco was banned from driving for six months and sentenced to 12 months' probation after entering his plea Aug. 5, York Regional Police said in a statement released Tuesday.

York police were approached by an American man on April 9 who informed them of a post made on a Facebook group in which Rigenco described how he drove his 2006 BMW M5S in excess of 100 km/h over the speed limit on Apple Blossom Drive in Vaughan, just north of Toronto.

According to the police release, several of those who follow the BMW 5 Series Facebook group "lambasted" him and "proved themselves responsible by not encouraging the suspect's behaviour."

Police investigated the case and arrested Rigenco on April 16 and charged him with careless driving.

As part of his sentence, Rigenco also has to complete a remedial driving course and pay a $1,000 fine.

Read more: http://www.cbc.ca/canada/toronto/story/2010/08/10/facebook-speeding-conviction658.html#ixzz0wEwz8Llx

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(Canada) G20 smack down, marijuana harshly criminalized = time for more jails, maybe even private ones

08/07/2010

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Preamble ramble by Fadsmashers:They just kicked the shit out of the kids at the G20 trap, criminalized marijuana usage, and now they are going to expand on 35 more prisons. Where you think they will get the money for that EH? See where this is going, if not reference something called the United States of America. I agree that some jails are crammed and overflowing (Saskatoon is EXPOSE MATERIAL and not even on this fking list!!!) which is first and foremost owed to the rich, but poor in purpose, existentially wilting sacks of flesh that wave their fat fucking fingers around directing the herd, and jail itself, which is merely a con-school and a place to turn out more excuses for more social workers, more counselors, more cops, more drug pimping psychiatrists, more lawyers, judges, security guards, receptionists, janitors and other bullshit after the fact roles. Our society is a fucking farce, top to bottom. Smile and wave like you don't know these things.

From the TORONTO SUN
Corrections (Canada) plans expansion at 35 prisons
By ROB TRIPP, QMI AGENCY

Last Updated: August 6, 2010 7:39pm

KINGSTON, Ont. - The federal prison service plans to build new cells at 35 penitentiaries across the country to make room for an exploding inmate population.

A total of 60% of the country’s 58 federal prisons will see expansion, according to internal Corrections Canada information obtained by QMI Agency.

A list compiled by senior officials shows that new units will be built at six federal prisons in Ontario, including four in the immediate Kingston, Ont., area — Collins Bay, Frontenac, Pittsburgh and Bath institutions.

All six federal prisons for women will see expansion, according to the information.

Corrections Canada would not provide specific comment on details obtained by the newspaper.

“The Correctional Service of Canada is implementing a multi-faceted accommodation strategy to address the increase of the offender population expected to result from the Truth in Sentencing Act,” agency spokesman Melissa Hart wrote in an e-mailed response to a request for an interview.

Hart wrote the government is providing the money to create 2,700 spaces in the next three years.

It’s estimated that the construction spree will cost roughly $2 billion.

Corrections and the federal government have refused to make public specifics of the unprecedented expansion scheme.

The cancellation of two-for-one pre-trial credit is expected to add roughly 4,000 inmates to the federal inmate population by 2015, requiring construction of 13 penitentiaries, according to a report released in June by the parliamentary budget officer.

The government’s plans have been condemned by criminologists, advocates, and many social agencies as an ideologically driven desire to appear tough on crime, despite decades of research that shows mandatory minimums and longer sentences do little or nothing to improve community safety or deter crime.

“This is basically pouring money down a rat hole,” Craig Jones, the Kingston-based head of the John Howard Society of Canada has said.

-------

Expansion

A list of 35 federal prisons where new units will be built to accommodate a surging inmate population:

Men’s prisons

(six Ontario facilities listed first)

Frontenac

Fenbrook

Pittsburgh

Bath

Beaver Creek

Collins Bay

Springhill

Westmorland

Atlantic

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Happy Canaduh day

07/01/2010

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I took a break from my break to post this....

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G20 2010 Fashion Contest report

06/23/2010

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Trees uprooted, fence complete, checkpoints in place in West Bank, I mean... Toronto, Canada

06/16/2010

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A West Bank for bankers!!!! (below Toronto G20 wall)

(Below West Bank wall)

Workers uproot trees, police order cars towed ahead of G20 summitTwo unusual sights unfolded in downtown Toronto Tuesday, both connected to the security preparations for the upcoming G20 summit.

Near the security fence around the Rogers Centre, workers pulled small trees out of the ground, roots and all. Meanwhile, on Front Street east of Bay, police ordered a host of cars, motorcycles and scooters towed away.

The Integrated Security Unit, which is co-ordinating policing for the G20 and made up of RCMP and other police officers, said the deforestation of the security perimeter was a pre-emptive measure designed to thwart any adventurous protestors who might be tempted to uproot the saplings themselves for use as weapons.

The trees will be hauled away until the summit is over, when they will be replanted.

The mass round-up of motor vehicles, meanwhile, was the result of the start of new parking restrictions in force for the summit.

Taxi stands in the security zone were moved east and, in turn, displaced parking zones in the area.

Police put up signs warning drivers of the change, but several didn't see or didn't heed the warning.

"They should have checked and seen that changes are in effect. People are a creature of habit and they didn't check," said Constable Wendy Drummond, spokesperson for the ISU.

She said cabbies complained, prompting officers to roust the vehicles.

Police did offer some respite to the unpleasantly surprised motorists by waiving fines on any vehicles towed on Tuesday. Anyone who gets ticketed and towed Wednesday, however, will be expected to pay up, Constable Drummond said.

The restrictions last until June 28.

READ MORE AT GLOBE AND MAIL SHILLS.COM

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Globe media (Jewish owned) claims Harper wants to fire someone for criticizing Zionists, think about that

06/15/2010

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NOTE: CTVGlobemedia owns the globe and mail, who is currently being run by Ivan Fecan, a Canadian Jew, so why then would they glorify the left in this way. For that exact reason to glorify the left and convince us we have some kind of choice!!!

FROM THE PRO-ISRAEL GLOBE AND MAIL

Stephen Harper called NDP House leader Libby Davies an extremist and then compared her to Helen Thomas, the long-time White House correspondent who was forced to resign recently over controversial remarks about Israel.

He didn’t stop there.

He demanded that her boss, NDP Leader Jack Layton, fire Ms. Davies, a Vancouver MP, who is also the party’s deputy leader, over remarks she made that questioned Israel’s right to exist.

“I am looking forward to seeing the Leader of the NDP get up and unequivocally distance himself from the comments of his House leader and his deputy leader that have called Israel's existence an occupation,” said Mr. Harper. “This is a fundamental denial of Israel's right to exist. It repeats the kinds of comments that were made by Helen Thomas on which she was forced to resign, and the member of the NDP who said that should be forced to resign as well.”

HARPER CONVERTS

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5 reasons to avoid the G20/G8 trap and plan a real protest

05/26/2010

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-Nathan Human/ May 2010

           According to the national post (privately owned post) the Canadian government (special interest zionazis) are planning on spending nearly 1 billion to cover the security and facilitation costs of the upcoming G-Unit meeting.

           While protesters plan their pilgrimage to the red zone, and utter empty threats of resistance at this meaningless affair, the authorities are capitalizing on this galvanic reaction by using it as an excuse to justify the excessive security of the event, which is also falsely justified on the ground of preventing terrorism (which we all know is for the most part fabricated or exaggerated). Of course they realize that the protesters will be even more set off by this gargantuan figure (the most ever spent on a G20/ G8 gangster party events in history),and will provoke them even more, which will prompt EVEN More security. This perpetual cycle is inevitable, because like all G20/ G8 protests, or most protests, the goal is not to bring forth actual change, rather to scream and bellow maniacally at a row of emotionally detached mercenaries, while riding on the hope that someone behind this row of soldiers will sympathize with this collective disdain for their deceptions, and somehow change things for the better. When deep down we all know it will not. You do not ask for freedom, and you certainly do not beg for it, because surely what you will be given is but a more refined and decorated form of oppression. The common excuse is that "we want to be heard"... You think they don't know what you want? LOL!!! I assure you, they know already.
.    If you are serious about bringing forth actual positive change, you will not brush this warning as idealist jabber and simply continue indulging your romanticized notions of protest, and the hope that your street party will accomplish anything more than providing more cause to their selfish cause, you will take some initiative and start thinking for yourself. You will organize on your OWN TERMS.
   You are likely leaning towards writing this off as cynicism; yet I assure this is realism, we all need to stop repressing it and face the facts, before it is too late.

5 Reasons why this kind of protest is counterproductive to its desired end

1) With no intention to revolt, the unconscious attention is to be beaten to a pulp by your own tax dollars. This is a cathartic exercise in nature, a mere reaction. It is far from strategic.

2) When you plan your protest around their schedule (waiting for all the puppet leaders to converge on the symbolic affair) you are not protesting the circumstances nor the problems associated with that affair (those decisions made 364 other days of the year) you are merely protesting the event itself. The point of which is meaningless. They love it when we wait for them.

3) 10 years ago spending this money for security would seem well beyond absurd, however now we have acquired a tolerance for such extensive measures, only because every protest since this time has been a half assed evasion of the truth; THAT IF YOU WANT SOMETHING FROM THESE PEOPLE YOU HAVE TO FUCKING TAKE IT.

4) It is a convenient opportunity for provocation, and will only justify 1.5 billion on the next facade, and prompt a general increase in security and freedom stifling legislation in the host nation.

5) The leaders of these nations are merely spokesmen for multinational business interests, and banking cartels. Protesting their symbolic gathering of solidarity to topple the oppressive oligarchy that reigns overhead, is like trying to kill a weed, by picking at its green with small tweezers. Make no mistake, these weeds are round-up ready, so please... THINK.

-Nathan Human

This is not rebellion, this is sensation seeking. (image below)

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I took a break from my break to post this....

A West Bank for bankers!!!! (below Toronto G20 wall)

(Below West Bank wall)

HARPER CONVERTS

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