“Freedom in Jeopardy’: Thousands rally across Canada against New C-51 “Anti-terror” Law

By RT
March 17, 2015
RT

 

Thousands of demonstrators have united across Canada to take action against proposed anti-terrorism legislation known as Bill C-51, which would expand the powers of police and the nation’s spy agency, especially when it comes to detaining terror suspects.

Organizers of the ‘Day of Action’ said that “over 70 communities” across Canada were planning to participate on Saturday, according to StopC51.ca.

The biggest gatherings were reported in Montreal, Toronto, Vancouver, Ottawa and Halifax.

“I’m really worried about democracy, this country is going in a really bad direction, [Prime Minister Stephen] Harper is taking it in a really bad direction,” protester Stuart Basden from Toronto, the Canadian city which saw hundreds of people come out, told The Star.

“Freedom to speak out against the government is probably [in] jeopardy…even if you’re just posting stuff online you could be targeted, so it’s a really terrifying bill,” Basden added.

The ruling Conservative government tabled the legislation back in January, arguing that the new law would improve the safety of Canadians.

Anti-terror bill labeled ‘too vague’

Demonstrators across the nation held signs and chanted against the bill, which they believe violates Canadian civil liberties and online privacy rights.

Protester Holley Kofluk told CBC News that the legislation “lacked specificity…it’s just so much ambiguity, it leaves people open [and] vulnerable.”

One of the protest organizers in Collingwood, Jim Pinkerton, shared with QMI Agency that he would like to see the Canadian government “start over with Bill C-51 with proper safeguards and real oversight.”

“We need CSIS to be accountable. It’s not OK for CSIS to act as the police, which is what’s indicated in Bill C-51. We need accountability and Canadians deserve that,” Pinkerton said.

The Day of Action is being backed by more than 30 civil liberties groups, including Amnesty International Canada, LeadNow, OpenMedia, Canadian Journalists for Free Expression, the Council for Canadians, and others.

One of the biggest concerns the new legislation raises is the additional powers it grants to police and Canada’s spy agency – the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) – by increasing information sharing and allowing detention on mere suspicion.

“This bill disproportionately targets indigenous communities, environmental activists, dissidents, and Muslims, many of whom are already subjected to questionable and overreaching powers by security officials, [and] will make it easier and ostensibly lawful for government to continue infringing upon the rights of peaceful people,” StopC51.ca said.

 

Govt ‘rejects argument’

A spokesman for Public Safety Minister Steven Blaney, Jeremy Laurin, spoke in support of the bill on Saturday, telling CBC News that the government “rejects the argument that every time we talk about security, our freedoms are threatened.”

“Canadians understand that their freedom and security go hand in hand [and] expect us to protect both, and there are safeguards in this legislation to do exactly that,” Laurin said.

Blaney’s parliamentary secretary, Roxanne James, also issued comments of support, saying she was happy to answer any questions or concerns about the proposed law.

“Most people across Canada believe that if one branch of government comes across information pertinent to the national security of this country and the safety and security of our citizens, then that branch of government should be able to relay that information to our national security agencies,” James said. “That is precisely what Bill C-51 would do, and I was pleased to be able to answer those concerns.”

British Police Do NOT Want You Watching Live Terror Events! Why might that be?

By Stuart J. Hooper
February 1, 2015
21st Century Wire

 

In a move that should not shock anyone familiar with the alternative media, British Police are practically admitting that what goes on during a terror event is not all that meets the eye.

Sir Bernard Hogan-Howe might come to be known as Captain Coverup…

We are told that there are “fears that broadcast of live images could increase difficulties for police and military and risk lives of hostages”. Alternatively, we could suggest that ‘authorities’ do not want anybody to have any evidence available to them that could possibly used to argue against, and damage, their ‘official’ narrative of an event.

Plans have supposedly been “reviewed and refined”, as a consequence of what was “discovered of the French experience”; with the recent attacks in Paris.

A detailed analysis of the events in Paris, including expert testimony on what was witnessed, suggests that the attacks fit the bill for what can deemed a false flag event for geopolitical purposes. It is true that without such witness testimony, coming to such a definitive conclusion would be a task much harder to achieve. Many people are now familiar with the signs and red flags that can indicate a false flag terror event, and perhaps that is why British Police do not wish you to have any evidence to do your own, independent, analysis.

Do you trust the ‘officials’ to give you all the evidence?

Apparently, the Police want you “to be informed” on terrorist incidents; as long as they are ones doing the informing. How can we trust a Police establishment riddled with corruption to truthfully inform us of anything?

Police “want to make sure that our ability to respond is not restricted by things like live coverage”, which is understandable to an extent.

But the question still remains, what exactly are you worried about us seeing? Perhaps something along the lines of the time the BBC reported that WTC 7, a building the vast majority of people have never even heard of, collapsed 20 minutes before it actually did.

Watch that ridiculous mess below:

With almost everyone on the streets of Britain carrying a video camera on their phone now, eyes are everywhere; watching and waiting to expose ‘official’ lies. And, more importantly, the truth of false flag events occurring in the real world has been exposed. This move will only raise more questions, more doubt and more distrust of the ‘official’ line.

If you want to see how to destroy an ‘official’ argument when zero hard-evidence is presented find my piece on Greece being named as a ‘hub’ for terrorism, which proves how flimsy ‘official’ narratives can truly be.

Keep your eyes open and cameras rolling.

Follow here: http://twitter.com/StuartJHooper

Police urge TV stations to scale back live coverage of any terrorist siege

Vikram Dodd, Mark Sweney and Tara Conlan

Television news organisations are to be asked by Scotland Yard to consider not broadcasting live images of police or special forces preparing to storm any terrorist siege in London to avoid jeopardising the lives of hostages or armed forces trying to rescue them.

Sir Bernard Hogan-Howe, the Metropolitan police commissioner, said on Thursday he feared live coverage could hamper the ability of police or the military to respond.

Recent terrorist sieges in Paris and Sydney were accompanied by extensive live coverage on television. The fear is that hostage-takers may be tipped off about an impending rescue mission, with the authorities losing any element of surprise.

Metropolitan police officials held initial meetings with the UK’s major broadcasters last week, specifically about broadcasting after the Paris attacks.

In previous terrorist incidents in the UK, police have had a voluntary agreement with broadcasters, under which they agreed not to show live pictures of police or special forces preparing to storm a site. In return they were permitted to keep filing for broadcast afterwards.

Continue reading the full story on The Guardian

Social Justice Quiz 2015: How Much Do You Know about Inequality?

By Bill Quigley
January 13, 2015
Dissident Voice, January 12, 2015

 

Question One. In 1990, twenty percent of all children in the US lived in poverty. What percent of the children in the US live in poverty today?
A: Ten percent
B: Fifteen percent
C: Twenty percent

Question Two. The median wealth of black households in the US is $11,000. What is the median wealth of white households?
A: $22,000
B: $62,000
C: $141,000

Question Three. In 1960 the median earnings of women who work full-time year-round were about 60 percent of men’s. In 2010, women’s median earnings were about 77 percent of men’s. At this rate, in what year will women’s median earnings equal men’s?
A: 2028
B: 2038
C: 2058

Question Four. The average Chief Executive Officer was paid 20 times as much as the average worker in 1965, 30 times as much in 1978, and 122 times as much in 1995. How much more were CEOs paid than workers in 2013?
A: 195 times as much.
B: 245 times as much.
C: 295 times as much.

Question Five. The six Walton heirs to the Walmart fortune are worth roughly $140 billion. The net financial worth of these six people equals the same as how many US families?
A: Five million.
B. Twenty Five million.
C. Fifty Two million.

Question Six. The US is number one in the world in military spending. How much more does the US spend than other countries?
A: More than China and Russia combined.
B. More than China, Russia, Saudi Arabia, and France combined.
C. More than China, Russia, Saudi Arabia, France, United Kingdom, German, Japan and India combined.

Question Seven. How many people in the world suffer from chronic hunger?
A: Forty million.
B. Four hundred million.
C. Eight hundred forty million.

Question Eight. How many people in the world have no access to electricity?
A: Eight hundred forty million.
B: One billion.
C. One billion five hundred million.

Question Nine. How much does the US spend on foreign aid each year?
A: One billion dollars.
B: Ten billion dollars.
C. Forty six billion dollars.

Question Ten. How much do people in the US spend on their pets each year?
A: One billion dollars.
B. Forty billion dollars.
C. Sixty billion dollars.

Question Eleven. The federal government keeps statistics on young men, ages 15 to 19, killed by the police. How many times more likely is a young black man to be killed by police than a young white man?
A: Three times.
B: Ten times.
C: Twenty-one times.

Question Twelve. There are over 60,000 immigration court cases of unaccompanied children who arrived at the US border. In how many of those cases do the children have a lawyer?
A: Ninety-five percent.
B: Fifty percent.
C. Thirty two percent.

Question Thirteen. There are 34 countries in the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. Where does the US rank in the percentage of children in poverty?
A: The US ranks 1st and has the least percentage of children in poverty.
B: The US ranks 6th and has the sixth least percentage of children in poverty.
C. The US ranks 28th and is sixth from the bottom in child poverty.

Question Fourteen. In the US, how many people stay in homeless shelters each night?
A: 250,000
B: 400,000
C: 570,000

Question Fifteen. The US Department of Housing and Urban Development issues a national survey every year listing fair market rents for every county in the US. HUD also suggests renters should pay no more than 30 percent of their income on housing costs. In how many of the USA’s 50 states can someone who works full-time and earns the federal minimum wage pay 30% of their income and find a two-bedroom apartment at the fair market rental amount?
A: Five
B. Two
C. Zero

AnswersOne. Twenty percent of children in the US live below the official poverty line in the latest Census Report. In 1990, twenty percent of children lived below the poverty line as well.

Two. Median wealth for white households in the US is $141,000. Pew Research.

Three. Women’s median earnings will equal men’s in 2058.

Four. The average CEO of a S&P 500 company receives 295 times as much compensation as the average worker. Economic Policy Institute Report 2014.

Five. The six Walton heirs own the same amount of wealth as 52.5 million US families. EPI.

Six. The US spends more on defense than China, Russia, Saudi Arabia, France, the United Kingdom, Germany, Japan and India combined. Peter G. Peterson Foundation.

Seven. The United Nations reports that 842 million people suffer from chronic hunger. UN Development Report 2014.

Eight. There are 1.5 billion people in the world who do not have access to electricity and another billion have access to unreliable electricity networks. United Nations Foundation.

Nine. The US budget for foreign assistance in 2015 is $46.2 billion, much of that is for foreign military assistance. This is about one percent of the US budget. State Department.

Ten. The US Department of Labor reports people in the US spent approximately $61.4 billion on their pets annually.

Eleven. Twenty one times. Pro Publica.

Twelve. Thirty two percent. Children in immigration cases, just like adults in immigration cases, are not entitled to an attorney. Syracuse University Report.

Thirteen. The US ranks 28th, 6th from the bottom of the 34 countries in the OECD in child poverty.

Fourteen. Over 570,000 people stay in homeless shelters each night according to a recent federal government survey.

Fifteen. In not one of the 50 states can a full-time minimum wage worker afford a two bedroom apartment at 30% of their pay. In fact, a full time minimum wage worker cannot afford even a one bedroom apartment except in a few counties in Washington and Oregon where the minimum wage is higher. USA Today.

Bill Quigley is a professor of law at Loyola University New Orleans and Associate Legal Director at the Center for Constitutional Rights. He can be reached at: quigley77@gmail.com. Read other articles by Bill.