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Continue readingTag: abuse of police power
wmtc: amnesty international urgent action network, writing for rights all year round
I knew working full-time would mean cutting back on activism. What time I can squeeze out, I’m investing in my own union, where I have much to contribute and feel I can really make a difference. I still belong to the War Resisters Support Campaign, of course, but it’s been
Continue readingwmtc: snowden, greenwald, miranda, and the creeping police state: one month later, we should still be disturbed
One month ago, something happened that should trouble us gravely. Something happened that people who believe in democracy and free speech and an independent media and civil liberties and human rights should find appalling and unacceptable. It’s old news by now; anything that occurs one month ago is ancient history.
Continue readingwmtc: jeju island and the constitution-free u.s.-canada border: empire and resistance, at home and abroad
I’ve been hoping to write about this for months, but the right post and adequate time never seem to arrive at the same time. Rather than put it off any longer, I’ll pretend this is Tumblr or Pinterest or somesuch, and post it here without additional commentary. * * *
Continue readingwmtc: land of the free: anti-drone activist removed from flight and detained
Via Common Dreams: Pakistan’s anti-drone politician and former cricket-star, Imran Khan, was taken off an international flight from Toronto to New York for questioning over his political views, and his critical stance on US foreign policy, immigration officials have confirmed. “I was taken off from plane and interrogated by US
Continue readingwmtc: dispatches from post-racial america: stop-and-frisk on a national level
Remember when Barack Obama was elected, how international media declared that racism in the US had been vanquished? How academics and pundits started using the term “post-racial” to describe US culture? Was that before or after the tea-partiers paraded around with pictures of monkeys and openly called for assassination? Before
Continue readingwmtc: coming soon to a canadian town near you: the fbi
I seldom play the scary “US is taking over Canada” card, but if the Harper government was any deeper into Washington, you’d need a colonoscopy to find them. I blogged about this here, and I’m glad to see the CBC recognize the issue. This is scary, dangerous, and truly disgusting. When
Continue readingwmtc: marxism 2012 program notes: the quebec student strike, or, why every canadian needs to bang on a pan
I want to begin my posts from Marxism 2012 with the Quebec Student Strike, because it’s currently the most important progressive development unfolding in Canada. By now it should be obvious that the Quebec student strike is not only a student strike and is not only about Quebec. It should be
Continue readingwmtc: fbi to operate within canada, cbsa using us-style tactics: the deep integration we should fear and protest
The CBSA harassing political journalists trying to enter Canada: bad. The FBI free to operate within Canadian borders: worse. Years ago when people stoked fears of co-called “deep integration” between Canada and the United States, conversations tended to focus on tangible signs like a North American currency. I admit I
Continue readingwmtc: montreal, nous t’aimons! show us how it’s done!
On the 100th day of student protests, 250,000 people take to the streets! Supporters bang on pots and pans from their windows! Solidarity rallies in New York and Paris! Montreal, we are with you!
Continue readingwmtc: ten things everyone should know about the quebec student movement
From Coop média de Montréal: 1. The issue is debt, not tuition. 2. Striking students in Quebec are setting an example for youth across the continent. 3. The student strike was organized through democratic means and with democratic aim. 4. This is not an exclusively Quebecois phenomenon. 5. Government officials
Continue readingwmtc: good news all around: etobicoke centre results thrown out, montreal students and unions stand united
The 2011 federal election results for Etobicoke Centre have been thrown out. Yes! We’re still waiting to hear the details. and Unions and students are standing united against Charest’s attempts to punish them and shut them down. Quebec students are fighting for all of us. If only the students of
Continue readingwmtc: last shred of oversight removed from csis
Andrew Mitrovica, author of Covert Entry: Spies, Lies and Crimes Inside Canada’s Secret Service: Late last week, in its familiar stealth-like fashion, Stephen Harper’s Conservative government shuttered the office of the Inspector General (IG) over Canada’s spy service, CSIS. The IG acted as the public safety minister’s eyes and ears,
Continue readingwmtc: (un)lawful access: watch, share, remix, and take action
Last summer I worked as a research assistant on a project about video surveillance in stores, malls and public spaces.* That project was headed by Andrew Clement, an expert in the field of identity, privacy, and surveillance. Andrew co-created this mini-documentary with Kate Milberry, about the so-called “lawful access” legislation
Continue readingwmtc: hedges: what happened to canada? (corporations have no borders)
Chris Hedges: What happened to Canada? It used to be the country we would flee to if life in the United States became unpalatable. No nuclear weapons. No huge military-industrial complex. Universal health care. Funding for the arts. A good record on the environment. But that was the old Canada.
Continue readingwmtc: "are there terrorists? i just see kids!": police vs ows continues
This is happening in my hometown. The cops chased us into City Hall Park. They followed us on their motorcycles as we ran into City Hall Park. Please keep in mind, we are a group of twenty people that were walking up the street. The only thing that separates us
Continue readingwmtc: emergency rally to defend occupy toronto: 5:00 today
Message from Occupy Toronto: OCCUPY TORONTO IS BEING EVICTED. Mayor Rob Ford has angrily taken to television, even gritting his teeth, to say he wants protesters “gone NOW”. City Manager says by midnight force will be used, but mayor is pressing for even faster. Ford and the judge point to
Continue readingwmtc: constitution? never heard of it.
This and many others courtesy of BoingBoing, via the OWS Library blog.
Continue readingwmtc: freedom of speech, freedom of assembly, as long as you don’t mind being beaten and abused
Further to an older post “the definition of a police state depends on where you live – what country, and what postal code “, I present these without comment, because what is there to say? Police drag OWS protester by her hair Police officer calmly and methodically uses chemical agent
Continue readingwmtc: libraries abound
Please enjoy these library-related thoughts and links. I love these Little Free Libraries, which I discovered thanks to M@. These birdhouse-like structures sheltering books are like the domesticated version of Book Crossing, which wants books released “into the wild”. Here are some libraries changing lives on a scale Andrew Carnegie
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