by: MICHAEL GEIST | June 4, 2014 In recent years, it has become fashionable to argue that Canadians no longer care about their privacy. Supporters of this position note that millions of people voluntarily post personal information and photos about themselves on social media sites, are knowingly tracked by Internet advertising giants
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The Canadian Progressive: Bill C-13: Harper tries to turn Canada into a surveillance state… again!
by: Obert Madondo | May 20, 2014 Call it the Harper Conservatives’ resurrection the Orwellian ghost of Vic Toews. Back in 2012, Canadians nuked the then public safety minister’s Bill C-30. The bill, deceptively christened Preventing Children from Internet Predators Act, had sought to give law enforcement agencies unlimited power to spy
Continue readingThe Canadian Progressive: Illegal Spying: Class action lawsuit filed against Canada’s electronic spy agency
by: BC Civil Liberties Association | Press Release | April 1, 2014 VANCOUVER – Today, lawyers for the British Columbia Civil Liberties Association (BCCLA) filed a proposed national class action lawsuit on behalf of Canadians whose private communications and metadata information has been collected by the Communications Security Establishment Canada (CSEC) in a manner that
Continue readingOpenMedia.ca: Protect Our Privacy with our Letter to the Editor tool
Highlight Image: Highlight Link: https://openmedia.org/privacy/letter
Continue readingSusan on the Soapbox: Alberta’s “Traffic Court Reform”: One Step Closer to a Police State
Justice Minister Denis is touting “Traffic Court Reform” as a “citizen-friendly” dispute resolution process to “resolve” traffic tickets. It’s also the first step into a quagmire that erases our civil liberties in order to save money (and help the minister meet his 2014 budget targets). The Justice minister requested “feedback”
Continue readingThe Canadian Progressive: Rights groups demand independent oversight of federal agency CBSA
by: BC Civil Liberties Association | Press Release Public inquiry recommended oversight in 2006 – no action since that time The BC Civil Liberties Association, the Canadian Council for Refugees and the Canadian Association of Refugee Lawyers today called on the government to end its long inaction on the need for
Continue readingwmtc: freedom to read week 2014: celebrate your freedom to read
Image from Freedom to Read website Freedom to Read Week 2014 runs from February 23 to March 1. This year marks the 30th anniversary of Freedom to Read Week in Canada. Freedom to Read Week – called “Banned Books Week” in the United States – encourages Canadians to think about
Continue readingwmtc: surveillance at the border: outrage fades as we accept the new normal?
The surveillance state continues to grow; news of its magnitude continues to trickle out. Some people shrug, claiming only criminals and terrorists need be concerned, but in these extreme conditions, that attitude looks increasingly ridiculous – or government-sponsored. The rest of us shudder and shake our heads… but what more?
Continue readingwmtc: canadian woman refused entry to u.s. based on confidential health records
According to this news story, a Canadian woman named Ellen Richardson was refused entry into the United States because of a prior medical condition. That is, when the US border guards swiped her passport, information taken from her health records came up. Now, the US can refuse entry to any non-citizen
Continue readingThe Canadian Progressive: Canada’s privacy czar questions Harper’s cyberbullying Bill C-13
Canada’s privacy commissioner Jennifer Stoddart says the Harper government’s new cyberbullying Bill C-13 lacks “accountability and reporting mechanisms to shed light on new investigative powers”. The post Canada’s privacy czar questions Harper’s cyberbullying Bill C-13 appeared first on The Canadian Progressive.
Continue readingWritings of J. Todd Ring: NAFTA, “Free Trade” and the TPP: Fast-Track To Full Corporate Rule
“Twenty years ago, the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) was signed into law. At the time, advocates painted a rosy picture of booming U.S. exports creating hundreds of thousands of new jobs, and economic development in Mexico, which would bring the struggling country in line with its wealthier northern
Continue readingwmtc: on the internet, everybody knows you’re a dog (the story behind the iconic cartoon)
We all know the iconic cartoon the title of this post refers to. Boing Boing has republished a story about it, originally run in The Magazine, an ad-free, reader-supported magazine that looks really interesting. It’s a wonderful little piece: the story behind the story, a glimpse into the life of
Continue readingThe Canadian Progressive: Civil Liberties Group Sues Spy Agency Over Illegal Spying On Canadians
The BC Civil Liberties Association has filed a lawsuit against Canadian spy agency ASEC, claims its surveillance of Canadians is unconstitutional. The post Civil Liberties Group Sues Spy Agency Over Illegal Spying On Canadians appeared first on The Canadian Progressive.
Continue readingPolitics and its Discontents: For Those Who Don’t Know Their Place
What do you do when citizens believe that democratic rights should be more than an illusion? Call in the authorities to remind them of their true place in the foodchain. On a related topic, The Star’s Rosie DiManno has an excoriating assessment of yet another free pass given by the
Continue readingwmtc: snowden: mass surveillance threatens to be the greatest human rights challenge of our time
The heroic Edward Snowden, in his own words, via Jesselyn Radack, at the European Parliament’s Civil Liberties Committee in Brussels. I thank the European Parliament and the LIBE Committee for taking up the challenge of mass surveillance. The surveillance of whole populations, rather than individuals, threatens to be the greatest
Continue readingWritings of J. Todd Ring: The deeper reasons for the “war on drugs”
There is a deeper reason for the war on drugs, which is the central reason for the policy, even outweighing profits from private prisons and seizure of property by law enforcement officers, both of which no doubt are also significant and strong motivations for keeping the “war on drugs” going.
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: a witchunt and its backlash: interest in "a people’s history" surges, thanks to censorship attempts
Once upon a time in the state of Indiana… Howard Zinn, author of A People’s History of the United States, one of the country’s most widely read history books, died on January 27, 2010. Shortly after, then-Governor of Indiana Mitch Daniels got on his computer and fired off an email
Continue readingdrive-by planet: Democracy Now interview: Ladar Levison talks about decision to close Lavabit rather than comply with U.S. government
In a follow-up to the previous entry I’m posting a Democracy Now interview with Lavabit owner and operator Ladar Levison. Levison made the difficult decision to shut down the encrypted email service, Lavabit, after an apparent bid by the U.S. government to gain access to customer data. As mentioned in
Continue readingThe Canadian Progressive: Bradley Manning found not guilty of aiding the enemy, guilty of lesser charges
Military judge Colonel Denise Lind found whistleblower Bradley Manning not guilty of the serious charge of “aiding the enemy”, and guilty of lesser charges which still carry the possibility of over 100 years behind bars. The post Bradley Manning found not guilty of aiding the enemy, guilty of lesser charges
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