… absenteeism, heat and, of course, the Del Mastro edition.. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ There is a lot of talk around this “leaked” document purportedly (I say purportedly, because very few have actually seen it) showing that public servant absenteeism is a BIG problem costing Canadians GAZILLIONS of $$$’s a year!!! The Sixth
Continue readingTag: crime
Saskboy's Abandoned Stuff: ConCalls: 3% Reduction in Voting
I think it’s rather clever how these researchers, Tom Cornwall & Anke Kessler, realized that the individual polling stations within a riding could be used to determine the effect of robocalls and fraudulent live-calls targeted at non-Conservative voters! The various neighbourhoods tend to vote in a particular manner, possibly related
Continue readingSaskboy's Abandoned Stuff: ConCalls: Democracy Retired
“Ex-justice department bureaucrat named federal elections commissioner as major investigations continue” It’s one of those announcements where the appropriate response is probably to weep for lost opportunities. Nothing gets done spending time in the fetal position though, so we’ll have to make the most of the less than ideal situation.
Continue readingSaskboy's Abandoned Stuff: ConCalls: Torn
Dean Del Mastro is facing some pretty serious accusations sworn against him by Elections Canada. The question is, where are the charges? Traditionally, EC has taken a corrective approach to candidates filing erroneous returns or making questionable phonecalls (see Liberals in Guelph and their unidentified abortion issue robocall in 2011),
Continue readingTrashy's World: But hasn’t Tim Hudak been using them for years…
… and at the same rate of success? (6) Trashy, Ottawa, Ontario
Continue readingCANADIAN PROGRESSIVE WORLD: Harper’s Canada “Making Up Terror Identities”
In Stephen Harper’s Canada, we’re all potential terror threats. Until proven otherwise. So suggests a recent study by Queens University’s Jeffrey Monaghan and Kevin Walby, published in the journal Policing and Society. Welcome to Multi Issue Extremism (MIE), Canada’s new classification of so-called domestic terror threats. We saw it coming.
Continue readingmark a rayner | scribblings, squibs & sundry monkey joys: The Disney Gang
They called themselves the Disney Gang, despite the fact that two-fifths of their members were clearly aficionados of the Popeye milieu. In fact, Chester “Popeye” Doyle was their leader; he did a crack impression of the pugnacious cartoon sailor, and … Continue reading →
Continue readingSaskboy's Abandoned Stuff: ConCalls: CEAP Adscam 2.0?
The annoying Canadian Economic Action Plan acronym CEAP appears in the latest Conservative phone calling scandal because a company Dean Del Mastro hired, got CEAP money to develop GeoVote. It’s unclear to me at this moment exactly how the economy would be stimulated by a program that identifies voters geographically
Continue readingSaskboy's Abandoned Stuff: ConCalls: Del Mastro Sits Down, Shuts Up
Ethical Dean should step down from being the PM’s Parliamentary secretary, and from his Ethics Committee posting. The Conservatives should continue to use Vic “The Violator” Toews, Elections Finance Act convict, to defend Del Mastro against accusations of Election Act crimes, because that’s funny stuff. It seems the Conservatives don’t
Continue readingCANADIAN PROGRESSIVE WORLD: Obert Madondo: Today I End My Canada Crime Bill C-10 Hunger Strike
After 85 days on a hunger strike against Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s new “Safe Streets and Communities Act” (crime Bill C10), it’s with great pleasure, gratitude and emotion that I announce the end of the protest. I’ll end the protest at 11.59pm today. I made the decision to end the
Continue readingSaskboy's Abandoned Stuff: ConCalls: Spending Money and Time
On the one hand I sympathize with the speed of the investigation into the illegal robocalls (and live calls). Elections Canada are the pros, and will have to testify in court, etc., and want it to all be done correctly. On the other, bigger hand, it’s bloody insane that the
Continue readingSaskboy's Abandoned Stuff: ConCalls: American Robocall $1Million Fine
WTF Elections Canada? U.S. Fed Judge ruled VOTER SUPPRESSION WITH ROBOCALLS "consultant" must pay 1 million. baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/… #CDNPOLI— Sharpay Point (@truththrust) June 05, 2012 Let’s take a peek south of the border, and see how a judge there treated a voter suppression robocall. (Conbots will gleefully note that the lack
Continue readingYappa Ding Ding: Blind Justice?
Ten years ago it seemed shocking when an American politician complained, “We used to put people in jail because we were afraid of them. Now we put people in jail because we don’t like them.” Today it seems that not liking someone is an accepted reason for prosecution. John Edwards
Continue readingSaskboy's Abandoned Stuff: ConCalls: Robo-Out-of-Con-trol Delay #RoboCon
CEO Marc Mayrand tells MPs, who swept to government on a wave of fraudulent phone calls, to police themselves better. How’s that worked out so far? Well, there are now over 1100 credible reports from Canadians that they were illegally told fake/misleading information designed to suppress their vote. 0 charges,
Continue readingBlast Furnace Canada Blog: The foot which rocks the (Con) cradle
I know, that’s a terrible pun. But the fact that two body parts which were hacked off a torso found in Montréal and then mailed to Conservative Party HQ — one actually got there, the other was intercepted in the mail — makes me wonder what message was being sent.
Continue readingCANADIAN PROGRESSIVE WORLD: A Final Push For Response To My Canada Crime Bill C-10 Hunger Strike: Letter to Stephen Harper
Below is a copy of my letter to Prime Minister Stephen Harper, send today and copied to leaders of elected parties and selected MPs. May 29, 2012 The Right Hon. Stephen Joseph Harper, P.C., M.P. Prime Minister of Canada Langevin … Continue reading →
Continue readingSaskboy's Abandoned Stuff: RCMP – Really Carefully Monitoring People
Originally appeared on BackoftheBook.ca How can I write this without sounding, well, paranoid? I believe the RCMP is watching too many people, and abusing its resources. There are plenty of signs this is taking place, and it worries me. The police should not be monitoring Canadians without having a reasonable
Continue readingSaskboy's Abandoned Stuff: RoboCon: Adversaries and Enemies
Robocalls critics: At least Tories aren't calling us Nazis or chld pornographrs huff.to/KeEbpt via @HuffPostCanada #cdnpoli #elxnfraud— Reclaim Democracy (@Colettestweeter) May 25, 2012 The Conservative Party’s latest salvo in response accuses the council of having “an improper motive” to “damage the Conservative brand through unfounded assertions.” “The applications have been
Continue readingBlast Furnace Canada Blog: Since when did one need a permit to demonstrate?
Consider: During the American civil rights struggle in the 1950s and 60s, virtually every southern state tried every trick in the book to maintain the racist status quo. One was a more than frequent law that said that one had to get a permit to have a demonstration. Since blacks
Continue readingSaskboy's Abandoned Stuff: Who Defends Us?
Who defends the rights and freedoms of Canadians? A) soldiers B) police C) citizens D) lawyers E) press F) politicians If you came to your own conclusion, and answered “G) All of the above”, then you understand a functioning democracy. Daniel explains: The government is clearly aware that this “law
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