June 4, 2014
CBC News – Susanna Mas
Prostitution bill would make it illegal to buy, sell sex in public
Peter MacKay started his press conference saying that for the first time prostitution is illegal in Canada. Supposedly intended to crack down on primps and johns, so called third parties, critics say the specifics of the bill will make matters worse for the safety of the sex trade workers and will likely drive the encounters deeper underground. The bill defines spaces where the prostitute could be charged and also defines age as a basis for charges. Likewise advertizing sex for sale will be illegal, in print or on line. The federal government will provide $20 million to help sex workers exit the profession. http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/prostitution-bill-would-make-it-illegal-to-buy-sell-sex-in-public-1.2664683 (Includes the 22 minute press conference video) Actual Bill: C-36 The Protection of Communities and Vulnerable Persons Act https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/1183056-an-act-to-amend-the-criminal-code-in-response-to.html Related article: Power and Politics – Evan Solomon Interviews with Support workers and MP’s http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/prostitution-bill-would-make-it-illegal-to-buy-sell-sex-in-public-1.2664683Related article: Canada.com – Peter O’Neill, Vancouver Sun Ottawa rejects B.C. study showing its new policy will harm sex workers – Report backs international research saying laws targeting ‘johns’ hurt sex trade workers http://www.canada.com/news/Ottawa+rejects+study+showing+policy+will+harm+trade+workers/9903365/story.html Related article: CBC News – Canadian Press Vancouver sex trade policy a model for what not to do across Canada: advocates http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/vancouver-sex-trade-policy-a-model-for-what-not-to-do-across-canada-advocates-1.2664313
Toronto Star
NRA backtracks on calling Open Carry gun rallies ‘weird’
Can the US gun control issue get any more silly? Yes, of course! The open-carry of automatic weapons protestors in Texas were told by NRA statements that their conduct was weird. Then the NRA withdrew the comments, blaming an over zealous staffer whose criticism went beyond what NRA accepts. Family restaurants in Texas have started prohibiting automatic weapons like the AK-47 on their property because it disturbs other family patrons. http://www.thestar.com/news/world/2014/06/04/nra_backtracks_on_calling_open_carry_gun_rallies_weird.html
N.Y. Times – Joseph Goldstein
Panel to Create Plan to Reduce Number of Mentally Ill People in New York City Jails
Mayor Bill deBlasio has appointed a panel to tell him by September how to reduce the number of the mentally ill in the city’s jails. The Task Force on Behavioral Health and the Criminal Justice System will consults and receive recs from police, department of corrections, health and hospitals, district attorneys and judges. Both intervention and post-release responses are targeted. http://www.nytimes.com/2014/06/02/nyregion/panel-to-create-plan-to-reduce-number-of-mentally-ill-people-in-city-jails.html?_r=0 Related article: The Grio MSNBC – Meagan Barr, AP Rikers Island inmate’s ‘hot cell’ death ruled homicide http://thegrio.com/2014/06/03/rikers-island-inmates-hot-cell-death-ruled-homicide
Huffington Post – Antonia Blumberg
More Than 1,100 Religious Leaders Push Congress For Reform In Federal Drug Cases
Religious leaders, including RC’s Jewish, Evangelicals and mainline Protestant, from nearly all 50 states have petitioned the US Congress to support the Smarter Sentencing Act that would reduce penalties for drug crime as an interim measure to eliminating mandatory minimums. The petition reads in part: “For too long, Congress has ignored the consequences of the harsh sentencing policies it approved during the 1980s and the disproportionate harm it has caused people of color and those convicted of low-level offenses.” http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/06/03/religious-leaders-drug-reform_n_5438181.html
The Washington Post – Joann Weiner
Income inequality is not the biggest economic threat to women
The greatest problem with income disparity is not the gap but the poverty resulting from stagnation of wages for the lowest 10% of the population and flat income levels for the lowest 30%. So even if income stopped growing for the upper levels, the poverty will still be pronounced for the lower 30%, made up mostly of women and girls in poverty. Raising the federal minimum wage is a good way to raise people out of poverty. http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/she-the-people/wp/2014/06/04/income-inequality-is-not-the-biggest-economic-threat-to-women Related article: The Gawker – Hamilton Nolan The Paucity of the Pro-Inequality Argument http://gawker.com/the-paucity-of-the-pro-inequality-argument-1585516075 Related article: Vancouver Sun – Don Cayo Overdue ‘inclusive capitalism’ means sharing the wealth a bit more – Unchecked market fundamentalism threatens capitalism itself, Mark Carney warns http://www.vancouversun.com/business/Cayo+Overdue+inclusive+capitalism+means+sharing+wealth+more/9904268/story.html#ixzz33hWIvUDG
Penal Reform International (PRI)
Is a prison sentence always the solution?
This link provides a 2 ½ minute video examining the issue of the use of prison sentences indiscriminately for minor crimes. Often, the animated video suggests, the use of unnecessary imprisonment is widespread and simply creates a case for alternative non-custodial measures. http://www.penalreform.org/resource/prison-sentence-solution/?utm_source=Penal%20Reform%20International%20e-bulletin&utm_campaign=55d24129a8-PRI_E_newsletter_December_201312_17_2013&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_1c6082fc44-55d24129a8-311886165