Excerpted from article by Ashley Burke · CBC News · Posted: May 30, 2022
Military should give up control of sexual assault cases permanently: former Supreme Court justice
Military must adapt to a new reality – the women warriors are here to stay,’ says Louise Arbor.
The time has come for the Canadian Armed Forces to permanently give up control of investigations of sexual offences by its members, says a major new report by a former Supreme Court justice.
Concluding more than a year of work, Louise Arbour today released her much-anticipated report on the military’s sexual misconduct crisis. It recommends, among other things, that civilian police and courts handle all sexual assault cases involving allegations against military members.
“As challenging as it is, this organization must demonstrate enough humility to accept external help and open itself to the outside world,” wrote Arbour in the roughly 400-page report.
“Meaningful change will rest on the political will and determination of the civilians who oversee the CAF.”
Military sexual trauma complainants have been demanding for decades that civilians take over sexual misconduct cases, arguing that the Canadian Armed Forces has failed to properly support victims and to thoroughly investigate and prosecute cases.
Images of Canadian women soldiers in Afghanistan from AHM war artist files.
…as the increasing vitriol of the National Rifle Association (NRA) proved politically effective, some in the gun business realized this messaging could be adopted by the firearms industry to sell more guns. All that was required for success was a dedication to frighteningly dangerous rhetoric and increasingly powerful weaponry. Cultural norms and responsibility would have to go.
In the wake of a horrific mass shooting at an elementary school in Texas, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has signalled that the Canadian government will be moving ahead on new gun-control measures “in the coming weeks.”
However…
With just a few weeks left in the House of Commons’ spring sitting before MPs take a summer hiatus from debating and passing legislation, and other priority bills already moving through Parliament, should a new gun-control bill be presented in as Trudeau has said “the coming weeks,” it’s unlikely it would pass before the fall.
Between factoring in the time opposition parties would want to study any proposed new legislation, and the time that may be needed to implement any regulations stemming from potential new laws, it could be some timebefore further updates to Canada’s firearm laws are in effect.
During his time in office, under Presidents Ford & Nixon, Henry Kissinger had been involved in three genocides : Pol Pot’s “killing fields” in Cambodia, which would never have occurred had he not infamously ordered an illegal four-and-a-half-year bombing campaign in that country; Indonesia’s massacre in East Timor; Pakistan’s in Bangladesh both of which he expedited and later as a vociferous public supporter of invading Iraq.
Source: Salon/November 10,2015
The former US Secretary of State has said in the past ‘that the temptation to launch a pre-emptive strike on North Korea is strong and the argument rational’, remaining consistent in his steadfast support for “bombing as an instrument of diplomacy.“ Kissinger has been credited with being the modern architect of America’s propensity for “endless war”.
Quebec runs roughshod over Charter rights while feds stay largely silent — again
The fact we’re not having a serious conversation about the casual use of the notwithstanding clause to undermine fundamental rights is just bonkers.
By Supriya DwivediContributing Columnist Toronto Star ,Sun., May 22, 2022
EXCERPT FROM ARTICLE:
It doesn’t matter which party is in power or what year it is — Quebec politicians using language strife in the province for political gain is as Quebecois as poutine itself.
As such, it is unsurprising that Quebec Premier François Legault and his Coalition Avenir Québec (CAQ) government would try and further exploit linguistic anxieties in the province for their own gain. Bill 96, formally known as “An Act respecting French, the official and common language of Québec,” was introduced in the National Assembly a little over a year ago under the guise of further strengthening French in the province.
There are multiple objectionable parts to the bill, and there are several aspects that are blatantly unconstitutional. Arguably, one of the most egregious elements is contained in provisions that relate to strengthening the powers of investigation and inspection of the province’s language police, known officially as theOffice québécois de la langue française. It would allow them to enter premises other than homes or dwellings, and access any and all electronic devices and any other documents located on the premises — all subject to the whims of the individual language inspector.
If this sounds like it goes directly against Section 8 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, which states “Everyone has the right to be secure against unreasonable search or seizure,” it’s because that’s precisely the case. Section 111 of Bill 96 lays out this constitutional overreach very clearly, and nowhere in the bill does it further specify there would at the very least need to be a requirement of reasonable suspicion — or the need to obtain a warrant or other legal authorization — in order to enter the premises and conduct a search.
Please note: Court Painter finds Jordan Peterson so irritating that he will interrupt other profitable commissions at the drop of a hat just to inset JP images to accompany the stinging criticism of the thickness of his tissue paper pallid skin.
Excerpt from: 17 May /22 Guardian article
Thin-skinned Jordan Peterson is wrong about everything but right about Twitter
The academic has quit the platform in a huff after he was criticised for calling the Sports Illustrated swimsuit model Yumi Nu ‘not beautiful’
‘One rule for public life in the modern age – certainly one that every woman in the public eye has discovered – is that you have to develop a very thick skin. Peterson’s, however, seems to be like tissue paper. Today’s Twitter meltdown isn’t the first time he has reacted very badly to criticism. There was the infamous time, for example, when the Indian essayist Pankaj Mishra accused Peterson of peddling “fascist mysticism”. Peterson, in turn, called Mishra an “arrogant, racist son of a bitch” and proclaimed: “If you were in my room at the moment, I’d slap you happily.”
And let’s not forget when Peterson took extreme offence at an interview by Decca Aitkenhead in the Sunday Times and immediately cancelled all other media appearances. “I do not think that it is mere thin-skinned sensitivity on my part to believe that I would have fared no worse had I discussed my affairs with an avowed enemy,” Peterson wrote on his blog.
What makes Peterson’s aversion to criticism extra hilarious is that one of the rules in his famous book (12 Rules for Life) is “Set your house in perfect order before you criticize the world.” Peterson’s own house, alas, is a complete mess. The man is a self-proclaimed free speech warrior who has made a living arguing that people should be able to say whatever the hell they like and offend whoever they like. Snowflakes be damned! But when people use their freedom of speech to criticize him? That’s a step too far! Like every prominent person who likes developing “rules” for other people to live by, Peterson doesn’t seem to think they apply to him.‘
BBC News: Rupert Murdoch, the billionaire owner of Fox News, has acknowledged some of the network’s stars endorsed false claims the 2020 election was stolen.
Tucker Carlson in a moment of rare transparency
Court Painter in moment of reflection said every successful painting requires bones…
Supermassive black hole seen at the center of our galaxy
Astronomers on May12/22 unveiled the first image of a supermassive black hole that roils the center of our galaxy, its gravity so powerful that it bends space and time and forms a glowing ring of light with eternal darkness at the core.
Meanwhile on a related story….Supermassive black hole seen at the center of our common sense
Excerpted from
THE BREACHjournalism for transformation Paris Marx | Paris Marx is a socialist writer and host of the left-wing tech podcast Tech Won’t Save Us. May 10/22
Supernomial snake oil
‘Even though 90 per cent of Canadians have heard of Bitcoin, a mere five per cent have bought in, according to a recent Bank of Canada study. Bitcoin owners in Canada tend to be “young, educated men with high household income and low financial literacy”—not the people currently excluded by the financial system. Meanwhile, despite the claims of all its benefits, the same study found half of cryptocurrency owners reported being victims of “negative events” like price crashes, scams, and data breaches.
Court Painter with new painting entitled “Product Placement”
Time and again, technology has been wrapped in the promise of freedom. And time and again, it has delivered surveillance, deregulation, and major profits for tech companies at the expense of the working class. Even its promise of a libertarian freedom from state control—whatever you think of it—fails to be realized in practice. Pierre Poilievre’s use of Bitcoin as part of a pitch for extreme right-wing populism shouldn’t fool anyone. It’s part of a political program that will ultimately further serve the wealthy while promising to do the opposite.
We’re watching Poilievre push right-wing economic fantasies that promise easy solutions to complex and highly political problems. As the current frontrunner for the Conservative leadership, he’s also selling a vision of private money where the Bank of Canada will be banned from introducing digital currencies to ensure private companies can develop cryptocurrencies that compete with the Canadian dollar. But as the US treasury secretary recently noted, governments didn’t always control their national currencies, and the system of competing currencies that preceded centralized governance was defined by “immense disorder.”
Placing our faith in the crypto industry won’t solve any of the serious challenges facing Canadians today. Instead, increasing the number of people who engage with speculative financial products that are compared to Ponzi schemes by critics and supporters alike will only increase the risk of a devastating crash.
The left does need a response to rising cost of living, the housing crisis, and the problems with the banking system—but it must entail the decommodification of essential services, major investments in public housing, and a massive expansion of public banking to counter the stranglehold of the Big Five banks. Without such an alternative, people frustrated with rising inequality are left to Poilievre’s Bitcoin fantasies.’
In interviews, three former and current UCP senior political staffers told The Tyee how the premier’s office instructed staffers to delete emails, use personal phones to conduct government business, and communicate through Slack and WhatsApp channels that are regularly wiped. “The directive would come from the premier’s office staff during regular weekly and daily meetings, reminding everyone to ensure that they’re up to date on their ‘records management,’” one former senior staffer said.
“‘Records management’ was code for deleting emails.” Another senior staffer said they understood the unwritten directive was to “delete everything, to have no records” so that nobody could get any of our information.”
Sean Holman, a University of Victoria journalism professor and FOIP expert, said he was disappointed but not shocked by the Kenney government’s attitude toward freedom of information.
“This is part and parcel of an overall trend, both in Alberta and across Canada, as governments have become more secretive, less open — and by extension, less democratic,” he said.
