July 28, 2015
Canada.com – Adrian Humphreys
Anonymous releases hacked CSIS document after member’s death, threaten to leak ‘stunning secrets’
Following the death of Peace River Anonymous activist James McIntyre at the hands of the RCMP, the group threatened, and now has followed through, with a threat to released secret documents about the foreign stations that CSIS uses to spy and gather information. Anonymous is threatening to release more of “Stephen Harper’s secrets” if the death of McIntyre does not result in charges against the officers involved. http://www.canada.com/news/national/Anonymous+releases+hacked+CSIS+document+after+member+death/11247070/story.html
Canadian Press – Will Leroy
Alberta appeal court judge Russell Brown named to Supreme Court of Canada
Named to replace retiring Justice Marshall Rothstein, whose departure takes effect as of Aug. 31, Justice Brown will be the second Alberta justice on the SCC – Chief Justice Beverley McLachlan is also from Alberta. With this appointment, Harper has appointed seven of the nine justices to the SCC. http://www.nationalnewswatch.com/2015/07/28/alberta-appeal-court-judge-russell-brown-named-to-supreme-court-of-canada/#.Vbd5i_lQR0o
Winnipeg Free Press – Larry Kusch
Ideology over safety in prisons – Needle-exchange program would save lives: group
This discussion has been around for a long time, so long that the real puzzle is why the problem is still around. 20-40% of the federal inmates are Hepatitis C positive and the most frequent cause for the spread of the disease is dirty needles. A needle exchange would correct what John Howard’s (Winnipeg) John Hutton calls “shameful!” “Here’s a group of Canadians whose health is not being protected — when it easily could be — for ideological (reasons), not for economic or for operational reasons,” Hutton said of the government’s stance. http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/local/ideology-over-safety-in-prisons-318608361.html
Blogger Monia Mazigh
Rendition: Canada, Sweden and Denmark share the same barbaric practice
Rendition is the practice of delivering people to countries that admit of torture for suspects in terrorist activity – remember Maher Arar? Note that the practice does not require conviction for any offense, just suspicion and the ability to return citizen to a country willing to torture. Once rendered, there is no follow-up or interest even in what happens to the person rendered. The article outlines the practice in Denmark and Sweden who do as Canada does: share information about its citizens with foreign states given to torture. https://moniamazigh.wordpress.com/2015/07/26/rendition-canada-sweden-and-denmark-share-the-same-barbaric-practice/
Jacobin Magazine (US) – Christian Parenti
The Making of the American Police State – How did we end up with millions behind bars and police armed like soldiers?
Here is an intriguing explanation for why mass incarceration and over-militarized policing have arisen over the years. The discontent resulting in rioting in the 60’s, according to the Kerner Commission in 1967, sprang in every case from police brutality. One of the results was the Law Enforcement Assistance Administration (LEAA) which began spending millions on police agencies. There followed in the seventies all sorts of corruption investigations, and later still the drug war and the war on terrorism. https://www.jacobinmag.com/2015/07/incarceration-capitalism-black-lives-matter/
Tracking the Politics of Crime and Punishment – Ottawa
Prisoners’ Justice Day 2015 on Algonquin Territory / in Ottawa: Planned activities and call for contributions – Aug 25, 2015 in Ottawa
c/o Journal of Prisoners on Prisons, Justin Piché, PhD justin.piche@uottawa.ca
Department of Criminology, University of Ottawa, 120 University Private, Room 13049 Ottawa, Ontario, Canada K1N 6N5
An afternoon of solidarity with the criminalized and imprisoned followed by a public march to protest deaths in custody and human rights violations behind bars. http://www.tpcp-canada.blogspot.ca/2015/07/prisoners-justice-day-2015-on-algonquin.html
Winnipeg Free Press – Carol Sanders
Connecting with convicts – Volunteer visitation service gives inmates support
This is a heart-warming article on the possibility of friendship over the years and between the bars of life sentences. Open Circle volunteers are visitors organized by Rev. Glenn Morison to provide friendship to long term inmates in federal prisons. Phil Loewen and Dianne Copper reflect on their experiences over the years. http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/local/connecting–with-convicts-318522931.html