When I was quite young and much more naive than I am today, I was talking to my dad about drugs. We were talking about all the negative health effects of smoking in school, so I told my dad that I thought that it would be a wonderful idea if
Continue readingTag: war on drugs
Canadian 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 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: 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: 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 readingCANADIAN PROGRESSIVE WORLD: Canada Crime Bill C10 hunger striker takes protest to Parliament Hill
MEDIA RELEASE OTTAWA, May 6, 2012 – Today marks the 53rd day of my indefinite hunger strike against Canada’s new draconian crime law, the deceptively christened “Safe Streets and Communities Act”, formerly omnibus crime Bill C10. My name is Obert … Continue reading →
Continue readingThe Monroe Doctrine is dead
A new age has dawned in the Americas. The Monroe Doctrine, a policy established by the United States ostensibly to keep European imperialists out of the Western Hemisphere but which eventually deteriorated into an instrument to maintain American dominance, is now effectively deceased. At the recent Summit of the Americas,
Continue readingMy Own Experience with Marijuana. Please Read Before You Decide Pot is Okay!
I was really happy when I heard Thomas Mulcair’s position on marijuana as follows (in reasponse to question from Global news reporter Tom Clark on decriminalization or legalization of marijuana) I think that that would be a mistake. Because the information that we have right now is that the marijuana that’s on the
Continue readingWar on drugs. NDP vs. Liberals.
I’ve been increasingly hard on the Liberals since the first days post-Chretien. So much so, I’ve gravitated towards the NDP. A prime indicator for me of my feelings towards the parties has been that which distinguishes their attitudes towards the war on drugs, particularly in regards to victimless pot. For
Continue readingThe Disaffected Lib: Latin America to End the War on Drugs?
When Barack Obama sits down with Latin American leaders in Cartagena to discuss the “war on drugs” he won’t like what they’ve got to say. They’re ready to declare the war on drugs a failure – a failure in the past, a failure now and an inevitable failure in the
Continue readingCanadian Progressive World: A moral argument against the war on drugs
Brazilian police patrol a favela in Rio De Janiero. EPA/Marcelo Sayao Former Brazilian President, Fernando Henrique Cardoso, has argued that the war on drugs has failed and cannabis should be decriminalised. He argued that the hardline approach has brought “disastrous” … Continue reading →
Continue readingDeSmogBlog: Kochtopus Cato Institute Power Grab: A Historical Perspective
Kochtopus-3_0.png A new chapter is being added to the ongoing Kochtopus saga. On March 1 the Washington Post, in a story sure to fill the airwaves for the weeks and months to come, revealed the Kochtopus is suing the Cato Institute for control of the recently deceased and former Cato Chairman William Niskanen's ownership share in the think-tank.
Continue readingDeSmogBlog: Heartland Institute: A Manifestation of the Kochtopus Empire
Kochtopus-3.png It is nearly impossible to discuss the vast climate change denial echo chamber and not mention the Koch Brothers, Koch Industries, and what some have called the Koch Empire. Perhaps unsurpisingly then, the origins of the Heartland Institute — whose internal documents were recently leaked to DeSmogBlog — have a direct historical link to the rise
Continue readingAmerican law enforcement officials: “U.S. is becoming ‘more progressive’ than Canada”
"Hey, this is some good reefer. I just saw the future. It's just like the 30's in Canada only worse!" Harper tells them to buzz off. He is determined to send Canada back a century, if not the middle ages. But the Harper government remains unswayed. In a statement Tuesday, a
Continue readingThe Disaffected Lib: A Central American Free Drug Corridor?
Guatemalan president Otto Perez Molina is proposing that Central America become a zone where drugs are legal to make, possess and transport. Mr Perez Molina will test the waters by discussing the subject with Salvadoran President Mauricio Funes when Mr Funes visits today. The Guatemalan president said the war
Continue readingStephen Harper vs. Vancouver’s mayors
Four former Vancouver mayors recently called for the end of prohibition on pot. The current mayor also weighed in, agreeing with the other four. Their arguments are reasonable and prudent. Then comes a press conference where the subject is broached to the PM. His response, as usual, is to not
Continue readingDepartment of I could’ve told you that: Marijuana prohibition fuels gang violence
Why does it always take scientists, educators and experts to tell the government, media and the captains of industry that what they are doing is counter productive to a safe, progressive and profitable country? Oh yeah, because the politicians, media a…
Continue readingFormer NYPD cop: we fabricated drug charges against innocent people to meet arrest quotas
Next time you see some NYPD thug beating on Occupy Wall Street protesters, remember Stephen Anderson.If you don’t think this is happening in your local burgh, think again. With Harper’s new ‘tough on pot’ laws on the horizon, expect much more of these …
Continue readingSteve Jobs, LSD and Obama’s draconian drug policy
I did not know Steve Jobs had an affinity for LSD. I’ll leave the debate whether it helped or hindered Jobs to another time. I can’t see how it hurt.I’ll let Glenn Greenwald take this one.Unlike many people who have enjoyed success, Jobs is not saying …
Continue readingChart shows how Harper increased pot arrests by 14% in 2010
CBC has an informative chart showing how drastically crime has dropped across the board since 1973. It’s a very impressive drop, including 5% lower for property crime and 3% decrease in violent crime in 2010 from the previous year.However, there is one…
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