Sandra Finley

2013-10-30 NSA intercepts Google, Yahoo traffic overseas: report. Google says it was not aware of U.S. government tapping of its internal traffic

 Edward Snowden, Glenn Greenwald, Ladar Levison, Freedom of Speech. (Remove some wrong postings from category), Lockheed Martin, War Economy (includes Cdn Census & Trials), Technology  No Responses »
Oct 302013
 

#surveillance

http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/10/30/us-usa-security-google-idUSBRE99T18S20131030

Reuters

The National Security Agency has tapped directly into communications links used by Google and Yahoo to move huge amounts of email and other user information among overseas data centres, the Washington Post reported on Wednesday. It was unclear how the NSA accessed the links.

The report, based on secret NSA documents leaked by former contractor Edward Snowden, appears to show that the agency has used weak restrictions on its overseas activities to exploit even major U.S. companies’ data to a far greater extent than previously realized.

Previously reported programs included those that allowed easy searches of Google’s, Yahoo’s and other Internet giants’ material based on court orders. But because the interception in the newly disclosed effort, code named MUSCULAR, occurs outside the United States, there is no oversight by the secret intelligence court.

Google, which recently said it is speeding its efforts to encrypt internal traffic, told Reuters: “We’re troubled by allegations of the government intercepting traffic between our data centers, and we are not aware of this activity.”

Like other major companies, Google and Yahoo constantly send data over leased and shared or exclusive international fiber-optic telecommunication lines as they sync information.

The newly disclosed program, operated jointly with the United Kingdom’s Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ), amassed 181 million records in one recent 30-day span, according to one document reported by the Post. It could not be learned how much of that included material from U.S. residents, how the agency redacted data on them or how much of the information was retained.

An NSA spokesperson said in a statement that the suggestion in the Post article that the agency relies on a presidential order on foreign intelligence gathering to skirt domestic restrictions imposed by the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act and other laws “is not true.”

“The assertion that we collect vast quantities of U.S. persons’ data from this type of collection is also not true,” the statement said. “NSA is a foreign intelligence agency. And we’re focused on discovering and developing intelligence about valid foreign intelligence targets only.”

Asked at an event in Washington about the latest report, NSA Director General Keith Alexander said that he had not read it but that the agency did not have unfettered access to the U.S. companies’ servers.

“I can tell you factually we do not have access to Google servers, Yahoo servers,” Alexander said at a Bloomberg Government conference. “We go through a court order.”

He did not directly address whether the agency intercepts such traffic in transit. The NSA is known to tap undersea cables.

A Yahoo spokeswoman said: “We have strict controls in place to protect the security of our data centers, and we have not given access to our data centers to the NSA or to any other government agency.”

The report is likely to add to growing tensions between the U.S. intelligence establishment and the tech companies, which have been struggling to assure customers overseas that they needn’t fear U.S. spying.

 

2010 Illusion. The world wants to be deceived. Flash-points.

 Peace or Violence  No Responses »
Oct 272013
 

Related:

  •   “THE SPIES OF WARSAW”,  2008, by ALAN FURST.
  • Propaganda, Democracy: . . . The Cellist of Sarajevo.

 

I have great difficulty seeing myself because I am the centre.  It’s hard to “get outside” myself for an objective look at what I’m really like.   Hey,  I’m great! … Faults?  Me?  Hell, I’m perfect!

And so it is with our society.  We are at the centre.  What’s real?  What’s not?  Can we ever know?

For some time I have wondered what it was like in the countries of Europe in the lead-up to World War Two  – Norway for example where my maternal line is from.   Some people saw the signs of war, but how many?   Could they have formed a critical mass in order to avert the destruction?   In some situations people have done so.

During the 1990’s, people around the globe worked together to avert a large pending disruption that would have come as computer calendars  automatically tried to go from 1999 to the next year when the “19” part of the date was hard-wired into most of the systems.  This was the turn-of-the-century  “Y2K” (Year Two Thousand) problem.  The disaster that could have happened didn’t, because people identified the problem in advance and worked ferociously to make sure it didn’t  happen.   Success!  And the knowledge that we CAN do it, if we focus our energies.

I don’t have personal experience with growing up during the build-up of Naziism.  But through the years I’ve read enough history to know something about World War Two.

Kitty Werthmann’s warnings about the parallels in the U.S. today resonate with me.  Many Americans are seeing the same as Kitty; they are organizing in creative ways to avert a pending disaster.

Flash points, the moment at which the population mobilizes, are unpredictable.

As I see it, there are two flash points that have come together in North America:

  1. Dec 30, 2009.  Canada:  the proroguing of Parliament to shut down public debate over Afghan detainees (among other things).

Three weeks later:

2.  Jan 21, 2010.  U.S.:  the Supreme Court decision on corporate financing of political parties that further entrenched the idea that corporations have the same rights as people.

 

The two events had the same outcome:  masses of people in North America finally drew the line.   Enough is enough.  They are standing up, speaking out and mobilizing.

In August 2007 I was disturbed when Canadian police officers were trained and deployed,  disguised as protestors, to turn the peaceful protest at the SPP Montebello Meeting violent (“professional provocateurs”).   There have been repeated, persistent calls for a public inquiry.  I do not believe there is one underway, to this day.  Police and their masters MUST be held accountable in a democracy.

Six months later, in February 2008 I was nervous about the Canada-U.S. Troop Exchange Agreement (“Civil Assistance Plan”), initially announced in the U.S. but not in Canada.

Two months later, in June 2008 I was nervous about the “Canada First Defence Strategy” which means that Canada has “compatible doctrine” with the Americans and “interoperability”.  Along with an integration of top military commanders.

Six months later, in December 2008 I read the story of what happened to Jackie Stower and her family in Ohio, at the hands of a Department of Agriculture SWAT team.  The Stowers run “Manna Warehouse”, a food co-op.  The story was so outrageous I thought it could not be true; it could not be happening in the U.S..  Well, it DID happen.  (See  2008-12-11  Please join my conspiracy. . . .  SWAT team raids Ohio Food Co-op, Jackie Stowers. . . ).   Google coughed up a phone number; I phoned Jackie.  We are both involved in court proceedings.

All of this is on top of knowing too much about how the large corporations work in the world.  And how the American Government routinely subverts regimes in order to appropriate natural resources on behalf of its corporations, especially oil and gas.  To mention nothing of the attempts to own and control the food supply (the chemical-biotech corporations).   Health facilities (the pharmaceutical-biotech corps).  Water.  Knowledge (universities).

On the same topic but earlier than the Troop Exchange Agreement, I did not fill in my census form when part of the work was out-sourced to Lockheed Martin Corporation, principal agent in the American Military-industrial-congressional complex.  And alas! I now know the role of census data in Nazi Europe.

As I am preparing this email, when I re-read Jackie Stower’s story I am appalled all over again.  I want to reach out to Ohio and put my hand on her arm to make sure she is real.

And therein lies our frailty:  I do not WANT to believe.  I prefer the illusion – the myth – to reality.

Our society is very comfortable with illusion.   Think of all the capability for taking pictures; cell-phones are everywhere.  They are routinely used to capture the moment.  I am reminded of a quote by Arnold Newman:

Photography, as we all know, is not real at all. It   is an illusion of reality with which we create our own private world.”

 

We are steeped in illusion.   But denial of reality can be a very dangerous place to be.

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http://thinkexist.com/quotations/illusion/

Freud:

Illusions commend themselves to us because they save us pain and allow us to enjoy pleasure instead. We must therefore accept it without complaint when they sometimes collide with a bit of reality against which they are dashed to pieces.”

 

Patrick Henry:

“It is natural for man to indulge in the illusions of hope. We are apt to shut our eyes against a painful truth, and listen to the song of that siren till she transforms us into beasts… For my part, whatever anguish of spirit it may cost, I am willing to know the whole truth, to know the worst, and to provide for it.”

 

http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/keywords/illusion.html

A great deal of intelligence can be invested in ignorance when the need for illusion is deep.
Saul Bellow

 

A poor man with nothing in his belly needs hope, illusion, more than bread.
Georges Bernanos

 

And, hey, I’m not under the illusion that everything’s just going to be hunky-dory                         work wise forever. I’ve never been under that illusion. Things could go away tomorrow.
Mel Gibson

2013-10-27 “THE SPIES OF WARSAW”, 2008, by ALAN FURST.

 Peace or Violence  No Responses »
Oct 272013
 

“THE SPIES OF WARSAW” (2008) is an historically-accurate novel written by Alan Furst.

From the chapter “A shadow of war”:

(p. 225) “Even better,” Dr. Lapp said.  “A General Staff is always a field of divergent opinions – ours is no different – but among these officers there are always two or three who have an intuitive understanding of what the future might hold.”

“One wouldn’t have to be all that intuitive to understand Herr Hitler’s intentions.”

“You would think so, wouldn’t you, but you’d be wrong.  Do you know the Latin proverb Mundus vult decipi, ergo decepiatur?  Herr Hitler’s favorite saying:  The world wants to be deceived, therefore let it be deceived.  And he isn’t wrong.  Newspapers on the continent explain every day why there won’t be war.  And I assure you there will be, unless the right people determine to stop it.”

(p. 265)  “I found a way to acquire important information.  They, the officers of the General Staff, have chosen not to believe it.”  (that the Nazis would attack through the Ardennes Forest in Belgium).

(p. 266 – last page) “Then she raised her glass.  “Anyhow, salut, and vive la France,” she said.  “It’s the good side, and I do mean the three of us, who will win in the end.”

They didn’t.

Twenty-four months later, with Guderian in command, a massive German tank attack through the Ardennes Forest breached the French defenses, and – on 22 June, 1940 – France capitulated.  The former Colonel Charles de Gaulle, by then promoted to general, left France and led the resistance from London.  …

And on 25 June, 1940, Marshal Philippe Pétain accepted the leadership of the Vichy government.”

2013-10-16 Cheney coming to Canada October 31, to get Arrested!

 Freedom of Speech. (Remove some wrong postings from category), George Bush war criminal  No Responses »
Oct 162013
 

Dick Cheney is to be “keynote speaker” in Toronto on Oct 31. 

PROTEST:  Thursday, Oct 31,  11:00am EDT  

Metro Toronto Convention Centre

255 Front St W

Toronto

(Facebook)

This is about the Rule of Law.

What is that worth to you?

 

An incredible array of organizations and people have assembled, to see that if Cheney comes into Canada he is arrested.  

 

Irony:  TODAY, in the Speech from the Throne, (twice)

The Government is committed to  “The Rule of Law”

 

Let’s hold them to it!  

There are ideas below (spread the word, contact your MP, be creative – – see #5.) 

 

(1)    2013-09-30  Bar Dick Cheney from Canada or arrest and prosecute say U.S. and Canadian torture opponents 

                EXCERPT:

A letter has been sent to Canada’s Prime Minister, Attorney General and Ministers of Foreign Affairs and Immigration advising them of Canada’s legal obligations. For a complete copy of the letter submitted click here.

 

(2)    2013-10-16 Canada must arrest & Prosecute Cheney for torture if he enters Canada, NO RESPONSE FROM GOVT – –  Protest Planned on Halloween at Metro Toronto Convention Centre 

 

Mount the steeds!   Let’s pitch in!

 

(3)    What a beautiful time to contact your MP and quote the Throne Speech to them!   

(4)     Help spread the word:   Protest on Hallowe’en at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre.  The Facebook page for the protest is here.

I’m on facebook for activism reasons.  I joined a bunch of peace groups, initially to make the argument that if there is to be peace,  we have to address the profitability of making war, the “war corporations” (like Lockheed Martin).    

I will post to the peace groups I joined, about this Cheney initiative.  Am hoping that lots of phone calls will be made to MP’s.

 

(5)     I’ve done some checking.  See Who puts on International Economic Forum of the Americas? (Cheney is guest speaker for them.)

 

= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =  = = 

My ego does not like to be so wrong!  Written at the end of August:   

George Bush and Dick Cheney didn’t get arrested for war crimes when they came to Canada, but have you noticed that they stopped coming?!

                                From The POwer of Fun. Fun in the streets. 

(They’re back.  Hopefully this time will be bad enough that it’s the last time.)

= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =  

Background for newcomers: 

 

2013-10-16 Who puts on International Economic Forum of the Americas? (Cheney is guest speaker for them.)

 Freedom of Speech. (Remove some wrong postings from category), George Bush war criminal  No Responses »
Oct 162013
 

You increasingly see this – some “organization” sets up the event, it is hard to pin down who they are.  See below.

In this case it’s the International Economic Forum of the Americas (I notice that it has a “Director of Security “.)

The registration form is on-line.  (Don’t see one person who is responsible)

Here’s the guys behind it; their contact info is included.  (UPDATE:  I’d say we’re having an impact!  By October 25 all the contact information for “the guys” has been removed from the website.  There is one general email contact address.)

http://forum-americas.org/toronto/team

The”Partners” include 2 universities (Concordia is one).

http://forum-americas.org/toronto/2013/partners

/Sandra

—– Original Message —–

From: Sandra Finley

Sent: Wednesday, September 25, 2013

Subject: Raise some hell.   Cheney is a war criminal.

There are 75 confirmed speakers for a 2-day conference?

Anyhow – they are corporate types, for sure.   It looks as though there was a 2012 Conference – – Harper spoke.

I looked at just 3 of the speakers.   Complicit.

FROM  The list of Confirmed speakers to date  :  http://forum-americas.org/toronto/2013/speakers

 

Maha   K. Al-Ghunaim
Chairperson & Group Chief Executive Officer
Profile
Mrs. Maha Al-Ghunaim, along   with other distinguished members, founded Global Investment House in 1998.

Can send an email to her company from this page:

http://www.globalinv.net/contentdisp.asp?pageId=268

Message her by facebook?  https://www.facebook.com/maha.alghunaim.39

Does she know that Cheney is a speaker?  What about Islam’s belief in helping society.  They have a strong commitment to that principle.

= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = ==

How about this fellow ?   How does he see his role?

He is a member of the council of Canada’s Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council and is a board member of Evangel Hall, a social housing provider and inner city centre for Toronto’s homeless and working poor.

He is currently serving at McMaster University as Special Advisor to the President. Paul is pursuing a Master of Theological Studies, M.T.S., at McMaster University’s Divinity College. 

Paul K. Bates

Special Advisor to the President, McMaster University, Chair, Investor Education Fund, and Chair, Investor Advisory Panel, Ontario Securities Commission (OSC)

A Chartered Professional Accountant (CPA), Fellow of the Society of Management Accountants (FCMA) and Certified Management Consultant (CMC), Paul’s career has spanned: senior academic administration; business and divinity school lecturing;

Paul K. Bates, FCMA
Special Advisor to the President, McMaster University
batesp  AT  mcmaster.ca
905-525-9140 Ext. 20512

= = = = = = = = = = =

Otaviano Canuto

Senior Advisor on BRICS, Development Economics Department, World Bank

Otaviano Canuto is the Senior Advisor on BRICS in the Development Economics Department, a new position established by President Kim to bring a fresh research focus to this increasingly critical area.

He previously served as the Bank’s Vice President and Head of the Poverty Reduction Network (PREM), a division of more than 700 economists and other professionals working on economic policy, poverty reduction, gender equality and analytic work for client countries.

Here is Otaviano, on Huff Post:  http://www.huffingtonpost.com/otaviano-canuto/bucking-the-trend-poverty_b_1574987.html

 

He blogs and is on F/B:  https://www.facebook.com/ocanuto

2013-10-16 Canada must arrest & Prosecute Cheney for torture if he enters Canada, NO RESPONSE FROM GOVT, Protest Planned on Halloween at Metro Toronto Convention Centre

 Freedom of Speech. (Remove some wrong postings from category), George Bush war criminal  No Responses »
Oct 162013
 

How ironic is this:  twice – in the Throne Speech today – –  The Government is committed to  “The Rule of Law”.

Let’s see what the value of their words is.

 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

October 16, 2013

 

Contact:

Gail Davidson, Lawyers Against the War (LAW), 1-(604) 738-0338, law  AT  portal.ca

Professor Francis Boyle, LAW, Tel: + 1 217-333-7954; email: fboyle@  AT  llinois.edu

Elizabeth Ramos, War Criminals Watch/World Can’t Wait, (866) 973-4463,

warcriminalswatch  AT  worldcantwait.net*

Nancy Mancias, CODEPINK, (415) 342-6409

Tasha Moro, National Lawyers Guild, (212) 679-5100 ext. 15, communications   AT   nlg.org 

 

Harper Government Ignores Torture Opponents’ Call to Ban Dick Cheney from Canada or Prosecute Him 

Protest Planned on Halloween at Metro Toronto Convention Centre 

(Toronto) Lawyers from the National Lawyers Guild (U.S.), International Association of Democratic Lawyers, European Centre for Constitutional and Human Rights (Germany), Brussells Tribunal (Belgium), International Initiative to Prosecute US Genocide in Iraq (Iraq, Egypt, Spain), Lawyers Against the War (Canada) and Rights International Spain (Spain) are urging Canada to either bar Dick Cheney from Canada – as a person credibly accused of torture – or to arrest and prosecute him on arrival, as required by the Convention against Torture. A letter from Lawyers Against the War (LAW) sent to Canada’s Prime Minister, Attorney General and Ministers of Foreign Affairs and Immigration has been gravely ignored. 

 

“It is long overdue for Cheney and other Bush administration officials to be held to account for the high crimes of instituting and implementing the systematic practice of torture. This record of impunity must not be allowed to stand.”

Azadeh Shahshahani, President, National Lawyers Guild.

 

Torture and war crimes suspect Dick Cheney is scheduled as a keynote speaker at the October 31st luncheon of the Toronto Global Forum, hosted by the International Forum of the Americas.  Should Cheney be allowed to freely enter Canada despite the illegalities involved, civil society groups are planning a rally beginning at 11:00 am on Halloween, Oct. 31st, outside the Metro Toronto Convention Centre.

 

The Facebook page for the protest can be viewed here.

 

Brussells Tribunal (BT)is peace organization and think tank with a special focus on Iraq. BT founded IAON, the International Anti-Occupation Network which continues to monitor Iraq.  Members of the BT network include Noam Chomsky, John Pilger, Denis Halliday, Hans von Sponeck, Tun Mahathir, Richard Falk, Father Miguel d’Escoto Brockmann, Eduardo Galeano and many others. 

 

Canadian Peace Alliance(CPA) is Canada’s largest umbrella peace organization working for global nuclear disarmament and peace. CPA organizes campaigns, facilitates actions and provides education for peace. Since its foundation in 1985 the organization has been helping member groups to act as a broad network, in order to provide a strong, coordinated voice for peace issues at the national level.

 

CODEPINKis a US women-initiated grassroots peace and social justice movement working to end US- funded wars and occupations, to challenge militarism globally, and to redirect our resources into health care, education, green jobs and other life-affirming activities –www.codepink.org.

 

European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights(ECCHR) is an independent, non-profit legal and educational organization dedicated to protecting civil and human rights throughout Europe. ECCHR engages in innovative strategic litigation, using European, international, and national law to enforce human rights and to hold state and non-state actors accountable for egregious abuses.

 

The International Association of Democratic Lawyers (IADL) is committed to the principle of equality among peoples, the rights of all peoples to self-determination, the elimination of imperialism and colonialism and the peaceful settlement of international disputes. IADL has members in over ninety countries and has consultative status with ECOSOC and UNESCO of the United Nations.

 

International Initiative to Prosecute US Genocide in Iraq  is mainly concerned with possibilities for legal action against those responsible of war crimes, crimes against humanity and the crime of genocide in Iraq.

 

Lawyers Against the War(LAW) is a Canada-based committee of jurists and others who oppose war and advocate for adherence to international humanitarian law and against impunity for violators.

 

National Lawyers Guild (NLG) is a U.S. national non-profit legal and political organization comprised of lawyers, legal workers, law students, and jailhouse lawyers, founded in 1937.

 

Rights International Spain(RIS) is an independent, non-profit, NGO, composed of jurists specialized in international law, human rights, transitional justice and criminal law. RIS mission is to strengthen human rights accountability in Spain by monitoring government activity, with a particular focus on rule of law and access to justice, as well as raising civil society’s awareness and mobilize support to demand justice.

 

Toronto Coalition to Stop the War(TCSW) is the largest peace organization in the Greater Toronto Area and represents over 60 labour, student, faith and community groups. The TCSW opposes war and occupation and supports civil liberties.

 

World Can’t Wait  is a US-based movement formed to halt and reverse the terrible program of war and repression, initiated by the Bush/Cheney regime as well as the on-going crimes that continue to this day – www.worldcantwait.net.  War Criminals Watch is a project of World Can’t Wait – www.warcriminalswatch.org.  

  – 30 –

2013-09-30 Bar Dick Cheney from Canada or arrest and prosecute say U.S. and Canadian torture opponents

 George Bush war criminal  No Responses »
Oct 162013
 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
DATE: September 30,2013.

Torture Opponents Say Ban Dick Cheney from Canada or

Arrest and Prosecute Him


(Toronto) Torture suspect and former U.S. Vice President Richard (Dick) Cheney is scheduled to speak at the Toronto Global Forum, October 31, 2013, at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre. The event is hosted by the International Economic Forum of the Americas.  

Lawyers and others are urging Canada to either bar Dick Cheney from Canada as a person credibly accused of torture – or to arrest and prosecute him on arrival, as required by the Convention against Torture. That Dick Cheney authorized, directed and failed to prevent the widespread use of torture by US officials on non-Americans detained in off-shore prisons is no longer open to question. The United Nations Committee Against Torture has determined that torture suspects temporarily in Canada must be dealt with in accordance with the Convention.

A letter has been sent to Canada’s Prime Minister, Attorney General and Ministers of Foreign Affairs and Immigration advising them of Canada’s legal obligations.  For a complete copy of the letter submitted click here.

Gail Davidson, spokesperson for Lawyers Against the War noted, “Evidence of Dick Cheney’s involvement in torture and other gross human rights abuses is overwhelming.  It is time for the law to step in. “

“Former Vice President Cheney led the Bush administration into a war based on lies which destroyed Iraq, directing a far-flung regime of torture, rendition and detention he referred to as ‘the dark side.’ He should be indicted and prosecuted for violations of the conventions against torture,” stated Debra Sweet, director of World Can’t Wait.

“Thus far the U.S. has failed to prosecute anyone up the chain of command for abuses that have occurred in the highest offices of the United States of America, setting a precedent for future leaders to repeat the same crimes,” states Nancy Mancias, CODEPINK organizer. “We look to the leaders in Canada to take steps to ban former Vice President Dick Cheney from entering the country because of his involvement in torture and the Iraq war.”

Lawyers Against the War (LAW) is a Canada-based committee of jurists and others who oppose war and advocate for adherence to international humanitarian law and against impunity for violators.

World Can’t Wait is a US-based movement formed to halt and reverse the terrible program of war and repression, initiated by the Bush/Cheney regime as well as the on-going crimes that continue to this day – www.worldcantwait.net.  War Criminals Watch is a project of World Can’t Wait – www.warcriminalswatch.org.

CODEPINK is a US women-initiated grassroots peace and social justice movement working to end US- funded wars and occupations, to challenge militarism globall, and to redirect our resources into health care, education, green jobs and other life-affirming activities –www.codepink.org.

 

Contact:

Ø  Gail Davidson, LAW, +1 604 738-0338, law@portal.ca

Ø  Professor Francis Boyle, LAW, Tel: + 1 217-333-7954; email: fboyle@illinois.edu

Ø  Elizabeth Ramos, War Criminals Watch/World Can’t Wait,  (866) 973-4463,   warcriminalswatch@worldcantwait.net

Ø  Nancy Mancias, CODEPINK, (415) 342-6409

2013-10-15 The making of the Harper court, Globe&Mail

 Freedom of Speech. (Remove some wrong postings from category), Privacy of Personal Information; Charter Right; Surveillance; StatsCan Censuses & Surveys  No Responses »
Oct 152013
 

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/globe-debate/the-making-of-the-harper-court/article14844626/

By Lawrence Martin

 

It’s been an extraordinary period for the Prime Minister and the Supreme Court. In fewer than eight years in office, Stephen Harper has appointed six of the top court’s nine justices. Next year, he gets to name another. It’s one of the biggest and quickest turnovers the court has seen. In short order, it has become the Harper court, one that differs widely from its predecessors.

As a staunch conservative, Mr. Harper was expected to change the court accordingly. He has done so. Most of his six picks, the latest being this month’s selection of Justice Marc Nadon, lean toward a tougher stance on crime and a limited interpretation of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

Gone are more liberally inclined justices such as Ian Binnie (who left in 2011) and Morris Fish, who retired to make way for Justice Nadon, the Federal Court of Appeal judge from Quebec who sided with the government’s hard line against repatriating Omar Khadr.

Some analysts see the Supreme Court changes as being of such scope that it’s left with hardly anyone who will advocate for the rights of the accused. With the exception of Justice Marshall Rothstein, Mr. Harper’s appointees will be serving for anywhere from 10 to 20 years, meaning that the new court’s tilt will likely survive Mr. Harper for a while. In assessing the ways this Prime Minister has made Canada more conservative, his stamp on the high court may well be near the top of the list.

Mr. Harper, often called an incrementalist, has managed the transformation in a way that has stirred little controversy. He has avoided lightning-rod selections of right-wing ideologues, thus sparing himself from criticism that he has been politicizing the court. He has also instituted a modest parliamentary review process for the screening of appointments.

The selection of Justice Nadon has engendered more controversy than others, not only because of some his rulings but because of the gender imbalance perpetuated by the selection. Of Mr. Harper’s six picks, no fewer than five have been male, notes Liberal MP and former justice minister Irwin Cotler.

Mr. Harper received high marks for his first two selections: Justice Thomas Cromwell and the conservative-leaning Justice Rothstein. Justice Andromache Karakatsanis, a former Ontario Court of Appeal judge appointed in 2011, has yet to make an impact. (A key factor in her appointment, some groused, was her experience as deputy to Jim Flaherty when he was attorney-general of Ontario.) Justice Michael Moldaver is viewed as a strong law-and-order judge less sympathetic to Charter rights. Another appointment, Justice Richard Wagner, is seen as somewhat conservative, though not as tough as his father, Claude Wagner, who was called the hanging judge in Quebec and later sought the federal Tory leadership.

Overlooked because of their tilt toward judicial activism or somewhat liberal reputations, critics say, were outstanding candidates such as Justice Robert Sharpe of the Ontario Court of Appeal and Justice Marie-France Bich of the same court in Quebec.

The court, which will soon make pivotal decisions on the future of the Senate and the issue of euthanasia, has been criticized for a lack of bold decision-making. Beaten down over the years by attacks on judicial activism, it lacks the fortitude, some analysts say, to guarantee fundamental rights.

In addition to gender imbalance and the screening process on appointments, the court confronts other serious problems. Justice Wagner said recently that the justice system is too laggardly, costly and opaque. He wants a national summit of lawmakers and the judiciary.

That might be a good idea, but it isn’t going to happen. Canada’s top court does not get nearly the exposure of the U.S. Supreme Court, where the identities of the chief justices are well known. There simply isn’t the degree of media interest or level of public engagement in our court. It’s an area where the Prime Minister, without facing much resistance, has been able to put a lasting conservative imprint on the country.

Earlier online versions and the original print version of this column incorrectly described Justice Andromache Karakatsanis as a top aide to Jim Flaherty when he was attorney-general of Ontario. She was deputy attorney-general, a public servant and not an aide.

2013-10-13 I doubt I can explain the importance of this – GMO video, Ronnie Cummins. Nov 5 vote in Washington state to require labelling of GMO’s.

 Freedom of Speech. (Remove some wrong postings from category), Genetically Modified, Health  No Responses »
Oct 132013
 

For health and other reasons:

The video at this link explains why the Washington State vote (labelling of GMOS’s) on November 5th is so important to all of us in North America, and in the world really.  The battle is peaking.

Please help spread the word.  Forward the link.

http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2013/10/13/cummins-gmo-labeling.aspx?e_cid=20131013Z1_SNL_Art_1&utm_source=snl&utm_medium=email&utm_content=art1&utm_campaign=20131013Z1

 

Note:  I copied the TEXT from the URL, for back-up purposes, at   http://sandrafinley.ca/?p=10675

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MANY THANKS to everyone around the world who was able to join a March Against Monsanto on the weekend.  It REALLY boosted the level of awareness.  The not-aware folks started asking questions!   Hoorah!

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