Article by Marian Wang | ProPublica, June 14, 2012, 10:05 a.m. A few months after he buried his son, Francisco Reynoso began getting notices in the mail. Then the debt collectors came calling. “They would say, ‘We don’t care what happened with your son, you have to pay us,’” recalled Reynoso, a
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Canadian Progressive World: The day Canada’s white supremacists saluted Stephen Harper
So far, Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s ideology-inspired of project of social and political engineering expresses itself most eloquently as the Conservatives’ egregious assault on civil liberties, the metamorphosis of Canada into a petro-state, and militarization of both Canadian society and foreign policy. We’re yet to acknowledge how this project oppresses
Continue readingCanadian Progressive World: Canadian General Itching For A New Foreign War
In The Twilight War, historian David Crist unravels “the secret history of America’s 30-year conflict with Iran.” A secret conflict that’s looks certain to become a real war soon. Led by Israel. A war Canada’s Chief of Defence Staff General Walter Natynczyk seems to have been itching for since the
Continue readingCanadian Progressive World: Canadian General Itching For A New Foreign War
In The Twilight War, historian David Crist unravels “the secret history of America’s 30-year conflict with Iran.” A secret conflict that’s looks certain to become a real war soon. Led by Israel. A war Canada’s Chief of Defence Staff General Walter Natynczyk seems to have been itching for since the announcement of the
Continue readingCanadian Progressive World: High profile ex-Mountie joins hundreds of Canadian women in RCMP lawsuit
Earlier this week, I blogged that hundreds of current and former female Mounties from across Canada had launched a class-action lawsuit alleging harassment within the ranks of the RCMP. Yesterday, Valerie MacLean, a well-known British Columbian and former head of the Better Business Bureau, joined the lawsuit, according to the CBC News. MacLaren’s story echoes that of Corporal Catherine
Continue readingPolitics, Re-Spun: Act of Valor, Redux
“Before my father died, he said the worst thing about growing old was that other men stop seeing you as dangerous….Dangerousness was sacred.” Last night I watched Act of Valor. I liveblogged it so you don’t have to watch it. You’re welcome. First there was The Lottery, a dystopic tale
Continue readingCanadian Progressive World: London Olympics: 12 Athletes With Very Interesting Names
Names have always facinated me. What do they really mean? Or subtly suggest? If anything. Consider these 12 names carrying the hopes of hundreds of thousands of people around the world at the 2012 London Olympics: Kelsey Titmarsh, Canada, Gymnastics Karen Cockburn, Canada, Trampoline Hope Solo, USA, Soccer Sarah Hammer,
Continue readingCanadian Progressive World: Toronto Mayor Rob Ford’s Official White Supremacist Portrait: PHOTO
Our Ford, the (Lord) Mayor of Toronto is rabidly right-wing. No doubt about that. After all, he recently proposed exiling Toronto’s convicted criminals, most of whom tend to be persons of color. Fellow Conservative and immigrant-bashing minister of Citizenship and Immigration, Jason Kenney, endorsed the idea. Still, I would never
Continue readingCanadian Progressive World: Statistics Canada: Crime rate reached its lowest level in 40 years in 2011
The evidence on the crime rate in Canada is out! Statistics Canada reported yesterday that rate of crimes reported to Canadian police forces across the country reached its lowest level last year. The incidents of serious crimes also dropped. By six per cent. That’s for most offences, including attempted murders,
Continue readingPolitics and its Discontents: A Success Story Rob Ford and Other Reactionaries Won’t Like
Those who see issues in simplistic and absolutist terms will not care to even acknowledge the existence of this letter from a Star reader. It speaks to something that neo-conservatives are loathe to acknowledge, the fact that we live in a society where interdependence and co-operation rather than selfish and
Continue readingCanadian Progressive World: Match.com Paired Colorado Woman With Aurora Shooter James Holmes
A perfect example of one of those WTF moments we encounter in life. A Colorado woman, “Diana”, says that Match.com paired her with James Holmes, the man accused of killing 12 people at the Friday screening of The Dark Knight Rises. Diana claims that she discovered Holmes’ profile among her suggested matches on
Continue readingCanadian Progressive World: This year, Ramadan has a serious Google twist
Today, over a billion Muslims around the world begin to observe the holy month of Ramadan, fasting from dawn to sunset. This year, Google is in on the action. In a serious way. The search engine behemoth will stream Islamic prayers live from Mecca via a dedicated YouTube channel. That means millions around the world
Continue readingCANADIAN PROGRESSIVE WORLD: 15 Crazy Things About Vaginas… And Why I’m A Big Fan
“The idea that an adult man could be distressed by the word “vagina” is hilarious, and also deeply sinister.” – Sarah Ditum Dear reader, before we get to the 15 Crazy Things About Vaginas, I must torture you with my little story. You must understand why I, a middle-aged black male born
Continue readingCANADIAN PROGRESSIVE WORLD: Rob Ford calls Toronto “one of the safest cities in the world” after deadly shooting
Reacting to the Danzig Street shooting, which left two dead and another 24 injured, the “furious” mayor of Canada’s largest city assures us that Toronto has “the greatest police service in the world.” He invites Torontonians to “declare war on these violent gangs.” The kind that will “catch these criminals
Continue readingCANADIAN PROGRESSIVE WORLD: The real “gateway drug” is alcohol, not marijuana
With the recent passage of crime Bill C-10 into law, we can expect a lot of young and first-time Canadian marijuana users in our high school system to do real time in jail. That’s because of the Conservative government’s’ tough-on-crime agenda and legendary disdain for evidence. And, especially, the long-standing societal
Continue readingCANADIAN PROGRESSIVE WORLD: A CLASSE act for Quebec’s next provincial election
Should an election be called, the more militant group of the Quebec student protest movement will mobilze students against ideology and neo-liberal politics. That’s according to CLASSE’s new manifesto, recently launched by Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois (pictured), the organization’s spokesman. The manifesto focuses on four core themes: democracy, feminism, social justice and
Continue readingCANADIAN PROGRESSIVE WORLD: Immigration Bill C31: Auschwitz Survivor Wiesel Confronts Harper
“I feel morally compelled to remain on the side of other uprooted men and women everywhere. Today, as yesterday, a nation is judged by its attitude towards refugees.” The sobering words of Jewish-American political activist, Nobel laureate, writer, professor, Elie Wiesel. The Holocaust survivor’s response to the Harper Conservative governments’
Continue readingProgressive Proselytizing: Anarchist right vs anarchist left ideologies
I don’t much care for the ideologies of either the so called anarchist right (libertarianism) or the anarchist left (a hodgepodge of post- and proto-communist, syndicalist, participatory economic, and other ideologies more common in Europe today). More generally, I don’t much care for ideologies period, especially those determined by a
Continue readingCANADIAN PROGRESSIVE WORLD: Enbridge executive’s company awarded first crime Bill C-10 $38.5-million prison project
Executive and company have strong and lucrative ties with the Canadian military and Harper government. Opponents of the Conservative government’s crime Bill C-10 were justified to argue that private companies would profiteer from the new jail system the legislation proposed for Canada. On Tuesday, the Canadian Press reported that a
Continue readingCANADIAN PROGRESSIVE WORLD: What Republican Texas Said About Harper’s Crime Bill C-10
In this video, the CBC News reported from Texas where even tough-on-crime Republicans told Canada not to follow America’s failed path of mandatory sentences and massive prison expansion, which cost them billions and drove crime rates up. The report warned about the consequences of this un-Canadian and vindictive criminal justice
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