The rise of Totalitarianism in Canada: A Time to Act
The author of this piece is the Anglican bishop of the diocese here (Quebec), and we went to school together. He has a long history of activism both inside and outside the NDP.
Police State
Thu, 2012-04-26 20:25
#52
Boom Boom
Thu, 2012-04-26 20:28
#53
Boom Boom
Good stuff Boom Boom. Pretty straight up for a C of E bible-thumper..
Hasn't been C of E for decades now. It goes by The Anglican Church of Canada (ACC).
Thu, 2012-04-26 23:48
#54
'CISPA: Patriot Act for the Web' - Internet
http://rt.com/usa/news/cispa-patriot-web-swartz-081/
"The previous bills were about giving the government the power to censor the Internet. And this is more like a Patriot Act for the Internet. It sort of lets the government run roughshod over privacy protection and share personal data about you, take it from Facebook and Internet providers and use it without normal privacy protections that are in the law..."
New US Spy Service Targets China and Iran
http://rt.com/news/pentagon-service-clandestine-defense-817/
"China and Iran are the high priority targets for a new spy service created by the Pentagon. The Defense Clandestine Service is aimed at ramping up spying operations overseas, and suggests a shift in national threat assessment. The plan, approved by Defense Secretary Leon Panetta last week, will see hundreds of case officers working alongside the CIA..."
Fri, 2012-04-27 11:58
#55
Boom Boom
Is this still a democracy? You be the judge (borrowed from BNR)
excerpt:
As noted, abuse of the democratic process is hardly new. The decline of Canadian democracy is a long-running story. On abuse of power, the record of the Chretien government, as myself and other journalists reported at the time, was hardly pretty.
But with the billy-club governance of the Harper era, we are breaking new ground in the subverting of the democratic process. Technically we might still call it a democracy. In practice it's a democracy in name alone.
Fri, 2012-05-04 05:33
#56
Re-Education Camps and Psy-Ops Missions Aimed at Activists
http://rt.com/usa/news/psyop-activists-internment-resettlement-526/
"An American military document just uncovered appears to detail a US Army plan that calls for detaining 'political activsts' at re-education camps staffed by military 'psy-ops' officers in both America and abroad.."
Sat, 2012-05-05 09:08
#57
Surveillance exerts a covert pressure. Under constant surveillance, we are more prone to conform, less liable to ask vexing social questions that might draw attention to ourselves and upset someone-who? We are less inclined to develop our own ideas and opinions, work them out in our thoughts and words, test them in public venues-and stick to them. We become more careful, less likely to take chances and engage in risky behavior.
Tue, 2012-05-08 19:45
#58
Kelly Thomas Video: 'Dad They Are Killing Me' (and vid)
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article31266.htm
"Two officers, Manuel Ramos and Jay Cincinelli are charged in Kelly's death.."
Thu, 2012-05-10 17:52
#59
Canadian Anti-Masking Bill Imminent
http://vancouver.mediacoop.ca/story/canadian-anti-masking-bill-imminent/...
"Bill C-309, known as the Concealment of Indentity Act was introduced by Conservative MP Blake Richards...In effect it will dramatically increase potential penalties for rioting and unlawful assembly while wearing a mask. NDP MP Charmaine Borg said that the bill 'takes away an individual's right to demonstrate anonymously..."
Thu, 2012-05-10 18:01
#60
Boom Boom
CBC: Harper government has increased jail terms for masked rioters from five to ten years.
Fri, 2012-05-11 19:28
#61
Boom Boom
Regina Mom: Canada creeps toward becoming a closed society
excerpt:
Canada is creeping towards closing down as a society, to becoming a fascist state.
Fri, 2012-05-11 19:29
#62
Boom Boom
From: The rise of Totalitarianism in Canada: A Time to Act
29. Facebook has been a very busy place for me over the past year as a way to share thoughts, observations and news widely as it breaks. The one thing I have noticed is that people are more willing to call this [ahem] government what it is: fascism. We are willing to risk breaching "Godwin's Law" to speak the truth while documenting the systematic dismantling of Canada's democracy.
Fri, 2012-05-11 20:38
#63
It was always a fascist country. They've spied on the lives of Canadians and lefties for a long time.
State capitalism is fascism with the mask on.
Fri, 2012-05-11 21:06
#64
Boom Boom
That's the Fidel we all know and love. Bravo!
Mon, 2012-05-14 21:34
#65
Towards A North American Police State and Security Perimeter: US-Canada 'Beyond the Border Agreement' - by Dana Gabriel
http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=30845
"As the US-Canada action plan implementation process continues, there still remains many concerns with the further integration and militarization of the northern border. This includes the loss of sovereignty and risks to privacy rights related to more cross-border sharing of personal information.."
Wed, 2012-05-16 23:03
#66
G20 Report Slams Police for "Excessive Force' (and vid)
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/story/2012/05/16/g20-policing-rep...
"Poor planning by the RCMP, OPP and Toronto police for the G20 Summit, along with orders by a Toronto deputy police chief to 'take back the streets' are to blame for the more than 1,100 arrests during the 2010 weekend summit, says the province's top civilian police watchdog. 'What occurred over the course of the weekend resulted in the largest mass arrests in Canadian history.."
Fri, 2012-05-18 19:03
#67
The NDAA's Coup d'Etat Foiled - by Naomi Wolf
http://readersupportednews.org/opinion2/277-75/11489-the-ndaas-coup-deta...
"On Wednesday 16 May at about 4 PM, the republic of the United States of America was drawn back - at least for now - from a precipice that would have plunged our country into moral darkness. One brave and principled newly-appointed judge ruled against a law that would have brought the legal powers of the authorities of Guantanamo home to our own courthouses, streets and backyards.
In her written opinion, the judge noted that she had been persuaded by what the lead plaintiffs - who include Pulitzer prize-winner Chris Hedges of the Nation Institute, editor Jennifer Bolen of Revolution Truth, Noam Chomsky, Daniel Ellsberg; co-founder of Occupy London Kai Wargalla, Days of Rage editor Alexa O'Brien, and the Icelandic parliamentarian and WikiLeaks activist Brigitta Jonsdottir had argued..."
Sun, 2012-05-20 20:16
#68
THE FRAMEWORK FOR SUPPRESSING INFORMATION: Public Opinion in America's 21st Century Police State (U.S.)
The technocratic mindset of agencies such as the DHS and Federal Bureau of Investigation that oversee federal, state, and local policing procedures seeks to short-circuit and quell dissent by identifying transgressive thought that deviates from an assumed normalcy, then interlinking it with perceived threats or violent actions against the state. In a grand governmental exercise of Freudian-style projection, the DHS's usage of inflammatory terms such as "terrorist" and "extremist" are routinely utilized to emphasize the nature and degree of various activist groups' alleged deviant ideologies. This practice proceeds in light of the fact that most every "terrorist" act within the US since 9/11 has been carefully guided by the FBI or, as was the case with the initial "underwear bomber, Western intelligence agencies likely working in concert.
First it was bin Laden who orchrestrated 9/11. Then they were handed this former mujahideen fighter for the CIA in 1980s-90s Afghanistan, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, prolly sold to them by warlords like so many others. And so then Khalid Sheikh Mohammed became the "9/11 mastermind". They have no proof that would stand up in any regular court of law other than his tortured confessions over several years after finally breaking him down into a babbling idiot whose words essentially became those of the military inquisition's.
Their military courts at Guantanamo are probably less legit than Stalin's show trials.
Mon, 2012-05-21 12:36
#69
Israel's Butterfly
http://www.rt.com/news/israel-drone-indoor-butterfly-672/
"Israel developing insect drone for indoor surveillance"
Tue, 2012-05-22 11:32
#70
Geist: Telecoms Secretly Support Internet Surveillance Law
http://www.ottawacitizen.com/business/Geist+Telecoms+secretly+support+In...
"The close cooperation between the government and telecom providers has created a two-tier approach to internet surveillance policy, granting privileged access and information for telecom providers. Meanwhile, privacy and civil society groups, opposition MPs and millions of interested Canadians are kept in the dark about the full extent of the government's plans..."
Thu, 2012-05-24 14:55
#71
Banning Anonymous Online Speech
... bills - S.6779 and A.8688 - proposed by the New York State Assembly that would "amend the civil rights law" in order to "[protect] a person's right to know who is behind an anonymous internet posting."By "web site," the bill means just what it seems to: Any New York-based website, including "social networks, blogs forums, message boards or any other discussion site where people can hold conversations in the form of posted messages."
Something similar may eventually appear everywhere as an intimidation tactic and as an additional identification tool. They can already narrow down an individual's coordinates based on IP. This would make it easier to narrow down and identify exactly who in any given household is responsible. Email addresses are already required for most corporate news blog sites.
Mon, 2012-05-28 00:30
#72
Foreign Agents Creep into US & Canada Under Integration Scheme
http://thenewamerican.com/world-news/north-america/item/11519-foreign-ag...
"As the so-called trilateral North American 'integration' process marches toward an ever-closer union between the governments of Canada, the United States and Mexico, national law enforcement agents are slowly creeping across borders through a variety of shadowy schemes. The Defense chiefs from the governments of Mexico, Canada and the US also met earlier this year and signed their own deals to integrate the three militaries and discuss ways to expand the use of the armed forces in continental law enforcement operations..."
Tue, 2012-05-29 11:53
#73
Newly Discovered Malware Most Lethal Cyberweapon to Date
http://www.cbc.ca/news/technology/story/2012/05/28/tech-malware-flame-cy...
"A new kind of malware that is more sophisticated than the notorious Stuxnet and Duqu worms is likely being deployed by a nation state, says the cybersecurity experts who discovered it. 'Duqu and Stuxnet raised the stakes in the cyberbattles being fought in the Middle East, but now we've found what might be the most sophisticated cyberweapon yet unleashed,' wrote analyst Alexander Gostev in a blog post on the website of Kaspersky Lab, Monday.
The worm, which has variously been dubbed Flame, Flamer and skyWIper based on file names that appear in the decrypted malware code is able to mine a vast array of data from infected machines. 'It's a complete attack tool kit designed for general cyber-espionage purposes.."
notice how they don't name the nation state...which is usually a clue that it's one of two.
Thu, 2012-05-31 11:46
#74
Sample Anti-Drone Ordinance for your City - by Nick Mottem
http://warisacrime.org/content/sample-anti-drone-ordinance-your-city
"Protection of the public against use of unmanned aerial vehicles (drones)
Israeli Designed Drones Fly Over Alma Quebec
http://www.cjnews.com/news/israeli-designed-drones-fly-over-alma-que
"Last August, CAE, a leader in the manufacture of flight simulators and other aviation training equipment, and Aeronautics Ltd, one of Israel's largest defence corporations, announced an agreement on a research-and-development project in the non-military use of drones.."
Thu, 2012-05-31 11:53
#75
Sample Anti-Drone Ordinance for your City - by Nick Mottem
http://warisacrime.org/content/sample-anti-drone-ordinance-your-city
I read that and thought the link was going to be to sites telling one how to build low tech weapons to knock them out of the sky. I was hoping that maybe BB gun pellets would be effective.
Thu, 2012-05-31 12:39
#76
I thought/hoped the same. Or double ought buck...
and if it didn't work on the drone it might on the new Israeli military attache whose job it is to push this kind of thing here...
Thu, 2012-05-31 15:58
#77
No personal violence for me but I have long admired Luddites for trying to stand against the dehumanizing industrialization process with a little "capital" bashing.
Thu, 2012-05-31 16:13
#78
by whatever means necessary...
Tue, 2012-06-05 22:01
#79
Assange Ep 8: Cyberpunks, Stumbling Block in the Way of Total Surveillance (and vid)
http://www.rt.com/news/julian-assange-internet-war-cypherpunk-989/
"In Episode 8 of the Julian Assange Show, the host goes back to his hacker roots and sits down with members of the Cypherpunks movement to discuss the invisible battlefield: the internet. 'Total surveillance of every communication.'
Mon, 2012-06-11 05:49
#80
We're already quite aware that the landscape of this society as a whole represents a zone of exception, where the police can designate any and all areas as requiring the implementation of extraordinary security measures which ramps up the normal functioning of the repression that already exists. There's no difference then between the police, and a political class that remains silent when these extraordinary security measures are revealed against segments of the population.
Sat, 2012-06-16 09:41
#81
Boom Boom
Parks Canada staff banned from criticizing Feds
Workers told they have 'duty' to support Harper government
Sat, 2012-06-16 10:57
#82
THE COUP OF 2012: Encroachment upon Basic Freedoms, Militarized Police State in America
Communities must organize to de-militarize their policeCommunities must organize to de-militarize their police. By analyzing police budgets, cutting the "special ops" training and funding and weapons transfers that fuel the militarization of law enforcement, we will most certainly decrease the level of police violence directed against the citizenry, and bridge issues and communities concerned with the epidemic of racist "police brutality" and the burgeoning of militarized police forces, veritable occupation armies in communities of color across America.
Along with criminalizing the militarization of local police we must work to criminalize racial profiling on the part of the police, a practice (indoctrinated in soldiers) that provides naked justification for "stop and frisk" harassment and the murdering of young black men. Make killer cops liable for these murders, stripped of the "sovereign immunity" that is their 007 license to kill. Ditto for "stand your ground" or more-arms-for-the-white-right laws, which along with the high rates of gun ownership in certain demographic regions of the country, create the ominous potential for "deputized" armed posses, who along with state sponsored "defense forces" on a mission to presumably protect the "homeland" promise only more violence and repression. Disarm and expose them, expose the fraud of a hyped-up "law enforcement" establishment willing to break any laws to please the master, the financiers, the power brokers who manipulate them for gain, who are really only pawns in their game.
A really good essay on the increasingly militarized police state in America since 9/11/01 and even since 1992 and the Joint Chiefs of Staff essay contest. Cops are supposed to defend the democratic right to protest peacefully not brutalize their fellow citizens for daring to do so.
Sat, 2012-06-16 21:59
#83
Ottawa Airport Wired with Microphones as Border Services Prepares to Record Travellers' Conversations
http://www.ottawacitizen.com/news/Ottawa+airport+wired+with+microphones+...
"Sections of the Ottawa airport are now wired with microphones that can eavesdrop on travellers' conversations. The Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) is nearing completion of a $500,000 upgrade of old video cameras used to monitor its new 'customs controlled areas,' including the primary inspection area for arriving international passengers. As part of the work the agency is introducing audio monitoring equipment as well.."
Sat, 2012-06-16 23:16
#84
Boom Boom
If you have a friend named Jack, don't start your conversation with "Hi....". 
Sat, 2012-06-16 23:47
#85
good one!
Sun, 2012-06-17 11:35
#86
If you have a friend named Jack, don't start your conversation with "Hi....".
I have a brother named Jack and its been decades since I have said Hi Jack to him in an airport. These days I try not to say it on my phone either. It is really hard when writing e-mails with all those security agencies and their programs that flag phrases. Starting an e-mail with hi Jack and then going on to talk about the price of fertilizer in Sask could get you into big, big trouble.
This is too funny but sadly too true. In fact it is likely that this post will be read by various agencies from around the world.
Sun, 2012-06-17 11:45
#87
"Hi Jack, what time do you fly? How was your hotel? Did you get the night-rate?"
Sun, 2012-06-17 21:50
#88
Boom Boom
Thu, 2012-06-21 20:03
#89
The $11 Million Brand: Amid Budget Cuts, the RCMP Splurge on Propaganda - by Matthew Behrens
http://rabble.ca/columnists/2012/06/11-million-brand-amid-budget-cuts-rc...
"While Ottawa engages in deep budget slashing (including the elimination of the office of the Inspector General of the Canadian Security Intelligence Service, a savings of $1million) the feds are anually investing $1.3 million in promoting the Mounties' 'brand', which is currently subject to 89 licensing agreements and memoranda of understanding as well as 22 national and international 'strategic partnership agreements entered into to promote the RCMP's image.."
Fri, 2012-06-22 11:55
#90
That claim comes in a short letter sent Monday to civil libertarian Senators Ron Wyden and Mark Udall. The two members of the Senate’s intelligence oversight committee asked the NSA a simple question last month: under the broad powers granted in 2008′s expansion of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, how many persons inside the United States have been spied upon by the NSA?
The query bounced around the intelligence bureaucracy until it reached I. Charles McCullough, the Inspector General of the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, the nominal head of the 16 U.S. spy agencies. In a letter acquired by Danger Room, McCullough told the senators that the NSA inspector general “and NSA leadership agreed that an IG review of the sort suggested would itself violate the privacy of U.S. persons,” McCullough wrote.
I am sure many Americans are relieved to know that their privacy means that much to the people running the 16 spy agencies paid for by taxpayers who can't afford health care or social security.
The letter from McCullough is the type of thing that the Onion would publish as a parody.
Fri, 2012-06-22 12:36
#91
Parks Canada staff banned from criticizing Feds
Workers told they have 'duty' to support Harper government
When employees are laid off, they're often issued a gag order that is reinforced by a severance package that is a bit more than what is stipulated by the Employment Standards Act. Lawyers talk a lot about civil legal precedent where severance is higher than the bare minimum that the Act outlines, but in reality it's hush money. When you get that little extra severance, you usually have to sign an agreement to keep your trap shut or get dragged into court, lose the extra severance (plus the legal bills, you'll have to pay - a lose-lose situation), and generally have your life and reputation ripped apart (as if being laid off weren't enough).
What sets this apart is that public sector employees who aren't being laid off are effectively having their silence extorted in the same way. The implication is that if you object to what the Feds are doing, your job is next to go. It's not just wrong on a moral level. It violates each individual's legally guaranteed rights and freedoms, something that the Harper gov't has little or no regard for.
Disgusted? Yes. Surprised? No. Repressing free speech is this gov't's MO.
Fri, 2012-06-22 15:26
#92
It's tough for government scientists etc in Canada and the US. Not much protection or protocol for whistleblowers. Truth movement and sicentists for accountability are not on good terms with governments in either country.
Situation pretty bad.
Tue, 2012-07-03 22:47
#93
Challenging the Surveillance State (and vid) by Glenn Greenwald
http://www.salon.com/2012/07/01/challenging_the_surveillance_state/
"How can the sprawling domestic spying apparatus be undermined?"
Tue, 2012-07-10 17:53
#94
Obama Gives Himself Control of All Communications Systems in America
http://rt.com/usa/news/obama-president-order-communications-770/
"US President Obama quietly signed his name to an Executive Order on Friday, allowing the White House to control all private communications in the country in the name of national security..."
Sieg Heil!
Wed, 2012-07-11 14:28
#95
Cross-Border Policing Provokes Sovereignty Worries
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/story/2012/07/10/cross-border-policing-int...
"...Stuart Trew, a spokesperson for the Council of Canadians, said the act in its current form is already ' a pretty serious compromise of sovereignty when it comes to policy and security[. Are we just going to expect down the road when they do expand this program, that it just becomes normal to expect armed American agents on Canadian territory?' Trew said..."
Wed, 2012-07-11 16:27
#96
Obama Gives Himself Control of All Communications Systems in America
http://rt.com/usa/news/obama-president-order-communications-770/
"US President Obama quietly signed his name to an Executive Order on Friday, allowing the White House to control all private communications in the country in the name of national security..."
Sieg Heil!
I read the Executive Order. It's nothing but an appeasement of the conservative wing of his party and the GOP. If you read it carefully, it is simply an establishment of another layer of bureaucracy to deal with the Homeland Security activities already sanctioned.
He/they control shit.
Wed, 2012-07-11 17:38
#97
Executive Order Grants Authority to Seize Private Communication Facilities
http://epic.org/2012/07/executive-order-grants-authori.html
I see POTUS is saying 'false alarm' - that there is no new expansion of authority in the order. However, section 5.2 (e) 'The Secretary of Homeland Security shall...satisfy priority communication requirements through the use of commerical, Government and privately owned communications resources when appropriate..' would seem to suggest cause for closer study if not alarm. If this is old, well it's good that people rediscover and analyze its implications anew. if it is new then good its on the radar screen. I'm sure there'll be lots more commentary and analysis to come..
Thu, 2012-07-12 05:15
#98
World Wants Obama's Hands Off the Internet's Off Switch
http://www.theatlanticwire.com/global/2012/07/world-wants-obamas-hands-o...
"..potential criticisms basically boil down to a line in section 5.2 It states that the Secretary of Homeland Security will 'oversee the development, testing, implementation and sustainment' of national security and emergency preparedness measures on all systems, including private non-military communications networks.' That's the passage thought to refer to the proverbial 'on/off' switch to the Internet..."
Thu, 2012-07-12 06:06
#99
Obama's Executive Order on Communication Violates US Constitution: Analyst (and vid)
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/2012/07/12/250542/us-telecommunication-laws...
"US president Barack Obama has issued an executive order, enabling the government to take over all private communications in the country under the pretext of ensuring national security. Discussion with analysts
Sat, 2012-08-11 01:31
#100
Stratfor Emails Reveal Secret Widespread TrapWire Surveillance System
http://rt.com/usa/news/stratfor-trapwire-abraxas-wikileaks-313/
"Former senior intelligence officials have created a detailed surveillance system more accurate than modern facial recognition technology - and have installed it across the US under the radar of most Americans, according to emails hacked by Anonymous...In one email from 2010 leaked by Anonymous, Stratfor's Fred Burton allegedly writes,
'God Bless America. Now they have EVERY major HVT in CONUS, the UK, Canada, Vegas, Los Angeles, NYC as clients..."
Sun, 2012-10-07 20:00
#101
Open Letter On the Occasion of the Seating of the Bertrand Russell Tribunal on Palestine - by Cynthia McKinney
http://www.opednews.com/articles/Open-Letter-on-the-Occasio-by-Cynthia-M...
"This open letter addresses what is happening to me as I challenge a system that no longer serves the interest of the people and push for the kind of change that will really make a difference..."
On 'soft repression' - which in Canada is also a well practiced art by the PTB, especially when so many are wilfully blind and politically inert.