Aug 5, 2022
Global News – Heidi Lee
What comes after Pope Francis’ apology? Here’s what advocates say
“Apologies to me are not about words. Most importantly, they’re about actions,” Blackstock, the executive director of the First Nations Child and Family Caring Society of Canada and a member of the Gitxsan Nation, told Global News.” Blackstock has eight ‘to do’s’ as the test of the papal apology drawn from the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. Justice Sinclair added to the failings of the visit: “While an apology has been made, the same doctrine is in place. The Pope and the Church remain silent on the most problematic tenets of its belief system: that Indigenous peoples in Canada and around the world should not have the right to practice their own faith, culture and traditions,” Sinclair, who served as the chair of TRC from 2009 to 2015, wrote in a statement posted to Twitter. https://globalnews.ca/news/9028012/pope-francis-apology-advocates-response/
Toronto Star – Laura Osman and Jordan Omstead, The Canadian Press
Government to use regulation to ban handgun imports in two weeks – Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino says Canada plans to temporarily ban the import of handguns into the country without the approval of Parliament, using a regulatory measure that comes into effect in two weeks.
The federal government will fast track regulations to ban the importation of handguns in anticipation of a promised parliamentary law which did not reach the House before the summer end of sessions. It is set to be debated in the fall. Canada saw an increase in handgun sales when the legislation was first proposed. The ban will also prevent gun sellers from stocking up. https://www.thestar.com/politics/2022/08/05/canadian-press-newsalert-government-bans-import-of-handguns.html?source=newsletter&utm_source=ts_nl&utm_medium=email&utm_email=404CAADEF7EB839FC77B1B04F0C251E1&utm_campaign=bn_138202
Ohio Capital Journal (US) – Patrick Higgins
Facts over fearmongering, and why we need actual bail reform
The difference between correlation and causation is the basis for this article about the need for bail reform, an issue seen by many justice advocates as one that continues to impoverish people caught up in the system. Here’s the spoiler for huge bail for poor people: “…bail reform efforts have caused little-to-no increase in crime, while allowing thousands of legally innocent people to return to their families, communities, and work.” https://ohiocapitaljournal.com/2022/08/03/facts-over-fearmongering-and-why-we-need-actual-bail-reform/ Related article: The Marshall Project – Beth Schwartzapfel Prison Money Diaries: What People Really Make (and Spend) Behind Bars – We asked people in prison to track their earning and spending — and bartering and side hustles — for 30 days. Their accounts reveal a thriving underground economy behind bars. https://www.themarshallproject.org/2022/08/04/prison-money-diaries-what-people-really-make-and-spend-behind-bars Related article: Washington Post – Devlin Barrett U.S. prison officials resist making inmates pay court-ordered victim fees https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2022/08/04/federal-prisons-money-victims/?utm_campaign=wp_post_most&utm_medium=email&utm_source=newsletter&wpisrc=nl_most&carta-url=https%3A%2F%2Fs2.washingtonpost.com%2Fcar-ln-tr%2F378ef2b%2F62ebeeebcfe8a216011a0d82%2F597720279bbc0f6826c0ca16%2F15%2F72%2F62ebeeebcfe8a216011a0d82&wp_cu=fb96708e020cba40746ac3907d799fbc%7C47D0917CB1DA3119E0530100007F9CD3
CBC News – David Fraser
Police still investigating officers’ donations to Freedom Convoy fundraiser – ‘Where did donations come following the declaration of the protest as being illegal’
After six months, investigation into the financial donations of police officers to the Ottawa convoy by both Ontario Provincial Police and Ottawa City Police still have no results, not even the number who made these donations. CBC News estimated those donations with connections to law enforcement at about 60 when the lists were checked. It’s also a timing issue – donations after the convoy was declared illegal are problematic: University of Ottawa criminology Prof. Michael Kempa: “It would be a flagrant problem for police conduct to have made donations after the declaration of the national emergency by the prime minister on Valentine’s Day, the 14th of February.” https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa/police-still-investigating-officers-role-freedom-convoy-1.6541611
Tweet from Eric Reinhart (US):
A sad commemoration…
“Wrongly convicted, Albert Woodfox spent 43 years in solitary. Released at 69, today he died at 75. About 80,000 people remain in solitary confinement in the US, at least 10% of them there for 3+ years. The UN defines 15 days in solitary as torture and a human rights violation.” Reinhart offers a string of commentary outlining the long standing and continued practice of indeterminate and protracted solitary confinement in the US. https://twitter.com/_Eric_Reinhart/status/1555328703055396870?s=03 Related article: The Sentencing Project and ACLU – Shadow Report to the United Nations on Racial Disparities in Sentencing in the United States https://www.sentencingproject.org/publications/shadow-report-to-the-united-nations-on-racial-disparities-in-sentencing-in-the-united-states/
Tweet from Alex Karakatsanis (US)…
Copaganda
“THREAD. The Atlantic just published a terrible piece of copaganda. It’s a good example of copaganda by a smart but confused progressive writer. Because we need well-meaning people to change how they report on the urgent problems of the punishment bureaucracy—I did this thread.” Copaganda is the often unconscious reporting of criminal news with a hidden bias towards policing and revenge punishment. This illustration of copaganda stems from an article in the Atlantic. https://twitter.com/equalityAlec/status/1554169709590990850?s=03
Canada has three days’ worth of O+ blood supply amid lowest level of donors in a decade –
Canadian Blood Services says it needs 57,000 appointments to be filled across the country by the end of August to ensure enough blood inventory. Cf https://www.thestar.com/news/canada/2022/08/04/canada-has-three-days-worth-of-o-blood-supply-amid-lowest-level-of-donors-in-a-decade.html?source=newsletter&utm_content=a06&utm_source=ts_nl&utm_medium=email&utm_email=98AB58CB32931589DF17CC2CAEEF2EE8&utm_campaign=teve_138055