noun
Canadian political straw man used by politicians and police to justify abuse of power. Empty word to describe anyone they are afraid of. See: citizen
—————————————————————————————-

Want to see one of the G20 “anarchists”? Still unconvinced about the abuse of power that took place here in Toronto last year? Listen to John Pruyn, 57, of Thorold speak at the G20 Redux protest at Queen’s Park one year after the largest mass arrests in Canadian history.

It’s time Canadian politicians, police and hockey commentators of dubious fashion sense are forbidden to use the word anarchist.

[Texas] State Rep. Debbie Riddle (R) would fine or jail anyone who employs undocumented immigrants — unless it’s to clean the house, mow the lawn, or do other work “performed exclusively or primarily at a single-family residence.”
the week.com

House Bill 1202 will allow the wealthy to continue to hire their servants, indeed it sees the hiring of illegals in poor paying jobs as completely acceptable. Whatever will the rich do if they can’t pay substandard wages? Face it, illegals have no rights and this bill enshrines this in law. Come to Texas and be our cleaning staff and servants, but don’t think you can upgrade your skills or become a full member of society – we’ll throw you in jail.

This Bill does not address the problem of illegal immigration – it compounds the problem and codifies a 2 tier system of society: we are rich and will make any laws we want. You are not so we’ll jail you for doing the same as we are.

This is coming from an elected official. Do we want an elected official here that sees nothing wrong with this? Riddle justified her Bill by stating well home owners have no way of verifying if the person they want to hire is illegal. Others are backing her justification, saying we just don’t understand the problem. Wouldn’t the solution be to allow all potential employers access to E-verify (the system designed to vet whether a potential job candidate is eligible to work)? Yes I know it would entail cooperation at the Federal level and may run into some privacy issues, but it has to be better than this nonsense. Changing laws is not always easy, but setting up a system that allows a 2 tier system of society and sanctions it is wrong.

Further reading:

Slate Magazine on the Bill
Valley Central article
Houston Chronicles has a good article as well

Watching Mubarak’s televised statement yesterday seems to indicate his grasp of power is more tenuous than previously believed. I think this is the first time Mubarak has responded to discontent with anything but a hammer blow to the public. He spoke of being one with the poor of Egypt, and understanding their pain. A man who has lived in splendor, and the architect of a repressive police state has nothing in common with the poor or the middle class for that matter. He was clearly attempting to divide the protesters with “Us vs Them” rhetoric. The protests have continued, so I guess it didn’t work. People are not blind to the fact their lives have become much worse under Mubarak and his band of torturers. The Globe and Mail ran a column today by a Toronto professor who recently made a trip home to Cairo – the city he grew up in. He succintly wrote: “It’s not like I could pretend not to see the widening gaps between the haves and have-nothings. …I am an outsider now. I speak the language and understand the issues that Egyptians are protesting against – high food prices, unemployment, wage disparity – but can offer nothing more than reflections and memories.” Yes, the people see the rampant corruption and ever widening gap between the haves and have nots. Mubarak’s plea that he “understood” must have stoked their anger further. He is the direct cause of their plight.

Mubarak’s answer to the call for freedoms and basic human dignity was to fire his cabinet and reappoint a new group of yes men. Not once in his speech did he address the real causes – elections with no real opposition, closed extra judiciary courts ruled by military judges, censorship of and outright ban on news, books, radio and as we saw this week the Internet, extraordinary powers to suppress any assemblies & movements of citizens and more. Human rights groups have long monitored and documented the situation in Egypt and estimated that as many as 15,000 Egyptian citizens were held with no charges. The security forces have been accused of rape, torture and murder.

During the Nov 2010 elections, Mubarak’s people were busy cracking down on anyone who didn’t talk the party line. According the Human Rights Watch, there were “mass arbitrary arrests, wholesale restrictions on public campaigning, and widespread intimidation of opposition candidates and activists in the weeks leading up to parliamentary elections” which means, the very people he’s assigning to his cabinet today are the same ones who aided and abetted in the corrupt elections.

In May 2006, there were protests against the repression. Protesters were beaten, arrested and murdered. The protest fizzled in the face of a massive and brutal crackdown. Why is this week’s protest different? Hard to say, perhaps because the world is watching this time, watching and paying attention. Despite efforts to cut the protesters off from the world, Aljazeera, Twitter, Youtube and other avenues have pushed the event into the forefront of people’s minds. It’s much more difficult to murder your own citizens when the world is watching videos of it happening.

As well, this protest has a much broader base, more momentum. They have the Tunisian success to push them along. There is also the notion that enough is enough. The people are simply tired of living in fear. We’ve seen this happen before. I grew up with the Iron Curtain casting it’s long shadow on the world. It was always there for my generation, and shaped our world view. We assumed it would always be. When mass protests swept the Soviet Bloc countries, it was a bewildering image of people holding their ground and saying “No more”. How does a government rule when the people refuse to cooperate? More repression? Problem with that is, if the people are determined enough, you eventually either run out of people to kill or the army will stand down and refuse to participate. There are a few signs that this may be occurring in Egypt now. Will young men turn their weapons on the mothers and grandmothers who have joined the protests? Ask the Argentinian generals who faced the steely determination of the Mothers of Plaza de Mayo.

But who will win? The opposition? Exactly who is the opposition? Mass movements can move mountains, but what happens when the average citizen goes home? Who will fill the power vacuum is the question of the day. After decades of seeing viable opposition destroyed, Egypt may flounder as it tries to find it’s path. My fear is the hard core fundamentalists will seize control and things will remain the same. Well, not exactly, life will become even worse for the women in Egypt. Egyptian women already face a life filled with discrimination – it is common for women to be groped publicly, and sexual harassment is a depressing way of life. It must be freedom for all – faith is no excuse for discrimination.

I am a firm believer that every government needs a vigorous opposition to keep it honest. Regardless of whether it’s a political party I voted for or not, no government should be in power without a strong opposition watching it. This applies to all levels of government – from the lowly city hall to the leaders of the country. You cannot and should not advocate the eradication of people who voice an opposing view. When you do, you set up a powder keg of discontent that will come back to haunt you.

Please distribute this widely.

You may have heard that OCAP is having a TTC action (see below). We are looking for help with flyering.

Flyering Times:

1) Outside/Inside Broadview Subway Station:

Tuesday, December 8th: 4:30pm

2) Outside/Inside Dundas West Subway Station:
Wednesday, December 9th: 4:30pm

Also, if you would like to sign up to to do outreach, or organize a separate leafleting time, please email us at the OCAP office at: ocap@tao.ca

Lastly – if you have access to a photocopier let us know.

————————————-

Angry about the TTC Fare Hike?

It’s time to make transit affordable!

Public Action Against the Transit Fare Hikes
Saturday, December 12th
1pm
Toronto City Hall (Queen and Bay)

The Toronto Transit Commission is facing a $100-million deficit in its operating budget for next year. On November 17th the Commission ignored community outrage, and instead voted for a TTC fare hike of 25cents/fare and an increase of over 10% per monthly pass. In the new year, they expect us to pay $6 for ONE round trip on transit! Riders already cover more than 80% of TTC operating costs and it is by far the least-funded mass transit system in North America. This increase is outrageous and unacceptable – and we should refuse to pay!

Lately, we’ve been hearing a lot about shortfalls and deficits. We cannot forget where these deficits come from. When the economic
crisis hit, the federal and provincial government quickly found BILLIONS of dollars of public money to bailout banks and corporations.

Now these same governments want us to believe that they can’t find any money to support public transit? As usual, big business gets bailed out, and the people get sold out. Worst of all the bourgeoise socialists affiliated with the NDP on Toronto City Council behind such trying to end the special diet and trying to prevent those eligible for Ontario Works from receiving it.

For poor and working people in this city, especially for families, transit costs are already too high and often unaffordable. This fare hike will hurt the people who are already struggling to make ends meet. The TTC deficit should not be loaded onto the backs of people who need transit.

It should not be paid for by riders and it should not be paid for by the workers who run the buses, subways and streetcars.

Paying more for transit is only one attack on already inadequate public services. Lay-offs and deeper cuts to all essential services like Welfare, Disability, and the Ontario Drug Benefit are coming next if we don’t fight back. Our communities demand affordable transit, real income levels, affordable housing, childcare, and education.

Transit is a necessity and it is a basic right. Not only are we fighting this fare hike, but we are demanding that transit be federally funded and affordable for everyone. If we mobilize, and together refuse to accept this fare hike, we can take back transit.

Come out December 12th

Ontario Coalition Against Poverty (OCAP)
ocap@tao.ca / 416-925-6939

http://www.ocap.ca

Nice to see American ideals of right and wrong creeping back into the political arena.

Waterboard for charity

Yes, it has been standard practice to offer ex-Speakers a Peerage, but previous holders of office have never brought this hallowed office into such disrepute. Mr. Martin is certainly not the worse offender in the “I’ll charge everything including sink stoppers to the British public” scandal, but he was the guardian of the public purse. It was his job to ensure the MPs behaved and did not profit from their positions. Instead, he helped the scandal along by ignoring the abuses and in some cases encouraging them. Any other person who behaved so badly, would be bounced on their ear, pension be damned. But to actually reward him with a Peerage?

And the British politicians wonder why there is such a fury among the voters.