Category Archives: Police and Security

Jan 14 2013
Activism, Civil LIberties, Communication, Crime, Human Rights, Internet, Knowledge, Media, Police and Security, Politics, Social Change, Youth

Aaron Swartz and the Fight for Freedom of Information

by Tracy Giesz-Ramsay

I had the brief chance to meet Aaron Swartz two years ago while in New York, and was instantly drawn to his charismatic outspokenness and passion when talking about the freedom of the internet and it’s powerful capability to inspire revolution and organize youth activism around the world. The room was full of fellow advocates and friends who when Aaron spoke, listened with awe and intensity to his every word. It was a swift encounter but a truly inspiring one. The following is a collection of statements from his close friends, family, and acquaintances that I find summarize the tragic situation far better than I could hope to myself:

AaronSwartz

“Since his arresting the early morning of January 11, 2011 — two years to the day before Aaron Swartz ended his life — I have known more about the events that began this spiral than I have wanted to know. Aaron consulted me as a friend and lawyer that morning. He shared with me what went down and why, and I worked with him to get help. When my obligations to Harvard created a conflict that made it impossible for me to continue as a lawyer, I continued as a friend. Not a good enough friend, no doubt, but nothing was going to draw that friendship into doubt.

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Oct 02 2012
Activism, Crime, Environment, Human Rights, International, Police and Security, Politics

Holding Shell Accountable: The Catch of ‘Corporate Personhood’

By Tracy Giesz-Ramsay

The question of whether or not multinational corporations should enjoy the same rights as individual citizens has been much in the arena of public debate lately, the focus primarily being on if they should be granted the ability to directly fund political campaigns in the same way that individuals can. Predominant public opinion is opposed to this, but according to the U.S. Supreme Court, in the eyes of the law corporations are free to do so. In 2010, the Citizens United case ruling determined that under the First Amendment, corporations had the same rights as citizens, freeing them to pay for political advertising. This certainly means that corporations can shine the spotlight on politicians who are willing to cater to their interests.

Regardless of how unfair this may seem to so many, ‘corporate personhood’ is, after all, now the law. So considering this, if corporations have been given the ability under law to enjoy the same rights as individuals, then shouldn’t they also share the same responsibilities and face the same punishments as individuals? If a corporation funded a foreign government that tortured, oppressed or even murdered their own citizens, therefore aiding and abetting in these crimes, shouldn’t they be able to be held accountable in U.S. courts for complicity? Well it’s a valid point and is what we’re seeing right now being brought to the Supreme Court in the case of Kiobel v. Royal Dutch Petroleum.

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Oct 02 2012
Activism, Civil LIberties, Community, Crime, Democracy, Economy, Environment, Human Rights, Local, Media, Occupation, Parliament, Police and Security, Politics, Social Change

Protesting Stephen Harpers’ Vancouver Visit

By Marius Stoner

It was shortly after twelve and a brisk summer’s day when I arrived at the Pan Pacific Hotel where Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper was scheduled to speak in a couple of hours. Already there were about a dozen people with signs and placards among the small crowd of mostly tourists that filled the circular, tree shaded benches along the road and a few people sat down in the area just in front of the doors to the Vancouver Convention Centre, the complex that housed the Pan Pacific.

Some video cameras on tripods were also apparent as other news organizations prepared to cover the event. At either side of the main doors were a pair of uniformed Vancouver Police officers in relflective vests. One of these pairs began to openly and actively photograph and videotape people as the crowd began to grow.

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Jul 31 2012
Activism, Charity, Children, Colonialism, Community, Environment, Health, Human Rights, International, Police and Security, Politics, Social Change, Sport, Water, Youth

Shady Sponsorship and Bhopal’s Special Olympics

by Melanie Hadida

Photo Credit: Sanjay Verma

About a week ago I found myself in Cardiff, Wales searching for a place to have a tea and scam some free internet so I could do some work. The best option to meet those specifications (in the city centre of a big UK city) is always Starbucks. It was a rare beautiful and sunny day and I was desperate to get as much time outdoors as possible. When I went up to the counter to order my chai, I asked the barista why their neatly stacked patio furniture had not been placed outside yet. “We’re not allowed,” she told me, “this is the Olympic Park area and no one is allowed to set up outdoors—we could be fined £20,000.” (On account of not giving a crap about the Olympics, I had no idea that Cardiff is apparently one of the event locations.)

Turns out, that since Starbucks isn’t an official sponsor of the 2012 London Olympic games, they could not set up tables and chairs on the lovely sunny cobblestone walkway outside of the café because this would be un-sanctioned advertisement for Starbucks. And this would make Coca Cola and McDonalds angry….and you wouldn’t like them when they’re angry…

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May 22 2012
Activism, Civil LIberties, Community, Culture, Democracy, Education, Equality, Knowledge, Legal, Media, Police and Security, Politics, Social Change

La Hausse La Hausse… On the 100th Day of Student Protests in Quebec

by Annie Guglia

Je m’appelle Annie Guglia, j’ai 21 ans, je suis candidate au Baccalauréat en Administration des Affaire à l’Université du Québec À Montréal, et contrairement à ce que les médias essaient de vous faire croire, je ne suis pas ni terroriste, ni extrémiste, ni anticapitaliste, et j’arrive absolument à comprendre les répercussions directes et indirectes de mes actions.

Je sais que beaucoup de canadiens hors-Québec pensent que les étudiants québécois sont idiots et agissent en bébés gâtés depuis l’annonce de la hausse de nos frais de scolarité postsecondaires. Nous payons effectivement les droits de scolarité les moins cher en Amérique du Nord, nous en sommes conscients. Cependant, toute problématique doit être placée dans son contexte afin d’être comprise, et je trouve que la plupart des médias (et surtout anglais) exposent mal le conflit étudiant que je côtoie presque quotidiennement. Laissez-moi donc vous expliquer objectivement (ou presque) en quoi consiste la hausse imposée par le gouvernement libéral de Jean Charest, et ensuite, je placerai cette hausse dans son contexte socio-politico-économique afin d’expliquer pourquoi elle est inacceptable aux yeux de beaucoup de Québécois. 

My name is Annie Guglia. I am 21 years old, and I study management at Université du Québec à Montréal. Unlike the media is trying to convey, I am not a terrorist or extremist or anticapitalist, and I fully understand the direct and indirect consequences of my actions. I know some of you “off-Quebec” support us, and I thank you! Some others think that Quebec students are currently acting like idiots or spoiled children since our government announced a drastic tuition fee hike. We acknowledge that we pay a lot less that most people in North America, but everything in life must be put in its context to be understood. Let me explain first objectively (but not really) what the increase will be, then I will put it in its socio-politico-economic context to make you understand the reasons why the increase is so unacceptable to most Quebecers at this point.

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Apr 11 2012
Activism, Democracy, International, Police and Security, Politics, Progress, Social Change

The Precipitous Road To Democracy in Burma

by Justin Shoub, writing from Yangon, Burma

When I first arrived in Burma in March, I found that most people I spoke to were feeling somewhat ambivalent about the impending by-election and prospects for real change happening. I began to get the impression that after 5 decades of military rule, most people didn’t want to ‘get their hopes up.’  One taxi driver said to me, “this is all just a trick. They want your money – they want to open up to the world, but they will never give up power.” Others expressed that they thought that the shift towards democracy genuinely had begun, but they made clear that it was just the beginning; the process would be gradual, that change wouldn’t come suddenly. It seemed they did not want to set their expectations too high.

On the eve of the election however, people’s hope finally shone through, and even boiled over into full-on public excitement. The yellow-on-red flag of Aung San Suu Kyi’s political party, the National League for Democracy (NLD) was everywhere – on t-shirts, on stickers stuck to people’s faces,  and flown from poles on the backs of motorbikes.  A tired-looking man in his mid-40s, stuck in traffic, was looking glazed-over and frustrated. But when he saw me pull up beside him as he looked out his truck window, his eyes widened and he began chanting ‘Aung San Suu Kyi! NLD! NLD!’ fervently, as though I had reminded him suddenly of the need to feel excited.  In a telling echo of the 2007 ‘saffron revolution’ protests, I saw a large group of monks spilling out of the back of a pickup truck, all waving massive NLD flags and chanting with great enthusiasm. The fact that monks would again abandon the dictum of avoiding participation in politics to show their support of the NLD is a strong sign that the by-election is widely seen by the people here as the most important marker on the road to real political change in Burma so far.

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Mar 29 2012
Crime, Equality, Feminism, Health, Human Rights, Legal, Police and Security, Politics, Social Change, Violence Against Women, Women

Simone de Beauvoir Institute’s Take on Feminism and the Bedford Decision

Simone de Beauvoir Institute at Concordia University, via Sarah Allan

The Court of Appeal for Ontario recently ruled that two elements of Canada’s prostitution laws cause harm to women (Canada Attorney General v. Bedford, 2012 ONCA 186: http://www.ontariocourts.ca/decisions_index/new_releases.htm). Specifically, the Court argues that the bawdy house provisions and the living off the avails provisions of the Criminal Code violate the security of individuals who work in the sex trade and, as such, are unconstitutional. In more simple terms, the court argues that prostitution laws put women in the sex trade at risk of violence and that these laws violate the fundamental Charter rights of sex workers.

What the Ruling Means
The ruling removes barriers for women working in the sex trade that increase their vulnerability to violence and harm. It allows them to hire a driver or a bodyguard, for example, as a way to ensure their safety-practices that were previously criminalized (living off the avails provision). It enables women to work together out of the same apartment; this practice was criminalized under the bawdy house laws. The ruling means that women can work more safely and that they can work together.

Why We Support the Ruling as Feminists
The ruling begins with the explicit statement that the question at hand is not about morality, but is rather one of constitutionality (paragraph 9). As feminists, we support a legal framework in which complex social issues are disentangled from patriarchal moral norms. Historically, the idea that women should not wear pants in church, the implicit condemnation of women who chose to have a child outside of marriage, or the notion that women who dress sexy in some way invite sexual assault and rape are different examples of the ways the patriarchal moral order has framed how women’s actions, behaviours and dress have been considered, in society at large and in the legal arena. Full equality before the law for women is facilitated when ”morality” is excluded from legal considerations.

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Mar 26 2012
1 Comment
Activism, Community, Crime, Health, Human Rights, Legal, Parliament, Police and Security, Politics, Social Change, Violence Against Women

2 out of 3 Prostitution Laws Unconstitutional: A Partial Victory for Sex Workers

by Sarah Allan

Today, the Ontario Court of Appeal released its judgment in the matter of Canada (Attorney General) v. Bedford, which brought a constitutional challenge to the criminal laws that relate to prostitution. They struck down two of the three laws that were challenged, on the basis that they violated sex workers rights to take steps to ensure their own safety and security, and pretty much needlessly exposed them to increased levels of violence and harm. The five justices determined:

  • the law prohibiting brothels or ‘common bawdy houses’ was disproportionate and overbroad and should be struck down;
  • the law prohibiting ‘living off the avails of prostitution’ was overbroad, and should be read down to only apply where there are “circumstances of exploitation”;
  • the law prohbiting ‘communicating for the purposes of prostitution’ should be upheld, as they felt it served its purposes of combating street nuisance and harm to communities, in a way that outweighed other harms.
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Mar 08 2012
Activism, Children, Consumption, Democracy, Economy, Human Rights, International, Knowledge, Legal, Police and Security, Politics, Social Change, War, Youth

Problem Reaction Solution – Kony 2012

by Dominique Silvan

I’m not usually a viral aficionado, but this particular 30-minute video was plastered all over Facebook and I couldn’t resist.  I was wondering what the content of this fast-spreading buzz piece could be, and why so many of my friends were beginning controversial discussions about it.

[Author’s Note: I knew I would probably want to write a little bit about my insights after watching Kony 2012, but I had no idea I would be SO motivated.  Please bear with the length of this article: I feel that without proper explanation, there would be leaps of logic and omissions of integral facts.]

Right away my heart was torn, witnessing the horrific reality of the situation that has transpired in central Africa, and indeed everywhere else it happens.  I was moved to tears, grieving for the pain and fear these abducted children soldiers and sex slaves experience.  Like everyone, I wondered how this had been allowed to happen and continue.  Surely at this point in our history, despots who wage multi-decade wars of terror on civilian populations would be an international priority for removal.

About halfway through, I became aware of my emotions and how strongly this film was encouraging me to “fight against war” and resent this criminal, Joseph Kony.  I took note of the format in which the film was presented to me, and the people and organizations involved.  I noticed that the viewer were shown the problem – a very pressing and legitimate concern for all humans who know with every cell of their body that we are peaceful and loving beings by nature.  I perceived my reaction with as much mindfulness as possible, noting a strong desire to express outrage, sorrow, and anger, and demand justice.  Promptly, the filmmaker offered up a solution: force the issue into critical international attention so we can all demand that world policy makers commit to military action in Africa.

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Mar 01 2012
Activism, Civil LIberties, Community, Crime, Democracy, Legal, Parliament, Police and Security, Politics, Youth

UBC Law Statement Against Bill C-10

by Fathima Cader and the Social Justice Action Network (SJAN) at UBC Law

The Social Justice Action Network (SJAN) at the Faculty of Law at the University of British Columbia has released a statement against Bill C-10, as per below. We are now seeking endorsements from UBC Law faculty, students, staff, and alumni. If that includes you and you would like to sign on, please send an email to fcader@interchange.ubc.ca or sjan.ubclaw@gmail.com with your name and affiliation. We will be publicly releasing this statement with endorsements on the morning of Friday, March 2, 2012 on the SJAN website: http://sjanubclaw.wordpress.com.

Please be advised that an initial draft of this letter, whose content was amassed from the compiled work of numerous UBC law students, was sent to Senator Mobina Jaffer earlier this week. If you are not associated with UBC Law but would like to voice your opposition to Bill C-10, you can still sign this petition: http://leadnow.ca/keep-canada-safe. This link will allow you to contact all the senators simultaneously.

UBC Law Statement Against Bill C-10

We, the undersigned faculty, students, staff, and alumni of the Faculty of Law at the University of British of Columbia are writing to register our opposition to Bill C-10, specifically with regards to its provisions on mandatory minimums, for the following reasons:

1. Deterrence

First, crime rates are dropping in Canada. Therefore, we do not need a bill that serves only to heighten hysteria. You cannot be tough on crime that does not exist, especially when the people who will be most negatively impacted by this Bill – particularly battered women, Aboriginal Canadians and people with mental health and addiction struggles – are themselves the ‘victims’ this Bill purports to protect.

Second, as we know from the US, mandatory minimums do not decrease crime rates. Indeed, the Conservative government has not put forward any evidence in this regard, especially with respect to drug-related offences.

Third, mandatory minimums cannot in fact deter crime, when the general public does not even know what mandatory minimums are and which offences carry them.

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