Canada: Conservatives’ reactionary “tough on crime” bill soon to become law By Ed Patrick; 31 January 2012 – WSWShttp://www.wsws.org/articles/2012/jan2012/cana-j31.shtml Stephen Harper’s new majority Conservative government has made pushing the Safe Streets and Communities Act, Bill C-10, through parliament a top priority. Comprised of nine bills that were either defeated by the last parliament or died [...]

Selling austerity from Davos By Duncan Cameron; January 31, 2012 – rabble.cahttp://rabble.ca/columnists/2012/01/selling-austerity-davos Stephen Harper does not seem to care how Canadian government policies compare to those of other countries (other than the U.S.), or want to know how other countries build (or not) their industries, and care for (or not) their citizens. When Harper was [...]

Bored but not broken: Ten days down, 314 to go By Mandy Hiscocks; January 29, 2012 – rabble.cahttp://rabble.ca/blogs/bloggers/mandy-hiscocks/2012/01/bored… It’s Sunday, Jan. 22 and this is my 10th day. So far things are going well, there haven’t been any problems and I have no regrets about my decision to do this time. Since I got here [...]

Corporations Have No Use for Borders By Chris Hedges; January 30, 2012 – Truthdighttp://www.truthdig.com/report/item/corporations_have_no_use… What happened to Canada? It used to be the country we would flee to if life in the United States became unpalatable. No nuclear weapons. No huge military-industrial complex. Universal health care. Funding for the arts. A good record on the [...]

B.C. income gap getting worse Province has the biggest gap between top and bottom 20 per cent in Canada January 31, 2012 – CBC Newshttp://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/story/2012/01… A new report echoes what Occupy protesters across B.C. were saying last year — there’s a growing gap in the province between rich and poor. And the report does not [...]

Occupy the Super Bowl: Now More Than Just a Slogan By Dave Zirin; January 31, 2012 – The Nationhttp://www.thenation.com/blog/165952/occupy-super-bowl-now-m… “Upsetting the Super Bowl— I couldn’t care less. This is about my life and my family.” — Lou Feldman, IBEW local 668 The sheer volume of the Super Bowl is overpowering: the corporate branding, the sexist [...]

Europe’s Losing Game – by Stephen Lendman Partnering with America has consequences.  Europe’s paying by shooting itself in the foot. On January 23, EU representative for foreign and security affairs, Catherine Ashton, broke the news. She announced an “unprecedented” anti-Iranian oil embargo, effective July 1 and immediately from new contracts. The ban covers crude oil, [...]

Targeting AIPAC – by Stephen Lendman On January 23, Occupy AIPAC announced plans to confront the powerful Israeli Lobby in Washington from March 2 – 6. More on what’s planned below. Since last September, OWS inspired affiliate groups. Among others they include Occupy Together, Occupy Everything, Occupy Arrests, Occupy Police, Occupy Marines, Occupy Veterans, Occupy [...]

While President Obama’s supporters hailed his withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq as the end of the war in the middle east, behind the scenes the Pentagon has been quietly massing troops andArticle source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/SHTFplan/~3/MLNKX-K6Zv8/massive-u-s-military-buildup-reported-around-iran-up-to-100000-troops-ready-by-march_01302012

Neo-liberalism and the ongoing economic assault on ordinary Canadians By Murray Dobbin; January 30, 2012 – rabble.cahttp://rabble.ca/columnists/2012/01/neo-liberalism-and-ongoi… Two recent stories out of Ottawa underline the ongoing political and economic assault on ordinary Canadians. More Canadians are now working for low wages than at any time in decades, continuing a trend that began in the early [...]

Toronto Mayor Set to Lock Out City Workers By Jane Slaughter; January 30, 2012 – Znethttp://www.zcommunications.org/toronto-mayor-set-to-lock-out… Source: Labor Notes On a scale never before seen in Canada, the mayor of Toronto seeks to privatize city services and is taking on the largest public sector locals in Canada to do so. Counting down to a lockout [...]

The Onus is on Washington, as Usual Fingers Itch for a War on Iran By VIJAY PRASHAD; January 30, 2012 – Counterpunchhttp://www.counterpunch.org/2012/01/30/fingers-itch-for-a-wa… If you ask Iranians, they will tell you that the war against Iran has already begun. Some will take you back to 1953, when the US fired its first shot across the bow, [...]

While the second amendment protects our right to bear arms, some anti-gun advocates think they may have found a loophole. This afternoon the New Jersey Assembly Law and Public Safety Committee is set to consider twoArticle source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/SHTFplan/~3/anwMy2uPnXg/constitutional-work-around-new-jersey-set-to-consider-ban-on-ammunition_01302012

Hundreds arrested in police crackdown on Oakland protests By Jack Hood; 30 January 2012 – WSWShttp://www.wsws.org/articles/2012/jan2012/oakl-j30.shtml [Note: See also Clashes in Oakland: 400 Arrests, Tear Gas, Flash-Bang Grenades.] Hundreds of police clad in riot gear and wielding a variety of weapons attacked a procession of protesters in Oakland, California, on Saturday. It was the largest [...]

What Would Peter Zenger Say? We are the Champions … of the World? By DAVE LINDORFF; January 27-29, 2012 – Counterpunch Weekend Editionhttp://www.counterpunch.org/2012/01/27/we-are-the-champions-… Say it loud and say it proud: We’re Number 47! We’re Number 47! Boo-yah! If you want to know why the US — beacon of freedom, land of the First Amendment – [...]

Washington’s War on Syria – by Stephen Lendman On January 28, Arab League monitors suspended operations in Syria. In early February, they’ll decide whether to end them altogether. League Secretary-General Nabil Elaraby blamed Assad for “resort(ing) to escalating the military option in complete violation of (his) commitments.” In fact, he’s contesting a Western-generated insurgency. League [...]

Forecasting Economic Decline – by Stephen Lendman Economic analyst Harry Dent’s 2009 book, titled “The Great Depression Ahead” became a national bestseller. He predicted the current crisis and worse ahead. His new book, co-authored with Rodney Johnson, predicts “The Great Crash Ahead.” He calls it inevitable and sees protracted trouble worse than 2008. It’s coming [...]

Targeting Iranian Nationals – by Stephen Lendman Washington’s first regime change priority is Syria. At issue is isolating Iran. Then devoting full attention to replacing its current government with a pro-Western one. At the same time, covert war’s raged against Tehran for years. Destabilization tactics include fake accusations, political and economic sanctions, isolation, covert and [...]

Harper’s grand plan: What it is and how to fight it By Syed Hussan; January 29, 2012 – rabble.cahttp://rabble.ca/blogs/bloggers/hussan/2012/01/harpers-grand… “In the months to come our Government will undertake major transformations to position Canada for growth over the next generation;” with these words Stephen Harper has thrown down the gauntlet. On Friday, in a grand, sweeping, [...]

ACTA: Worse Than SOPA and PIPA – by Stephen Lendman Internet freedom’s on the line. SOPA and PIPA threatened Net Neutrality and free expression. So does ACTA. More on it below. For now, the largest on-line protest in Internet history got Congress to abandon SOPA and PIPA for now but not permanently. Expect resurrection in [...]

Ritalin Gone Wrong By L. ALAN SROUFE; January 28, 2012 – New York Timeshttp://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/29/opinion/sunday/childrens-a… THREE million children in this country take drugs for problems in focusing. Toward the end of last year, many of their parents were deeply alarmed because there was a shortage of drugs like Ritalin and Adderall that they considered absolutely essential [...]

Activist Communique: Arresting issues from the G20 summit protests remain unsolved By Krystalline Kraus; January 28, 2012 – rabble.cahttp://rabble.ca/blogs/bloggers/krystalline-kraus/2012/01/ac… A 174-page report by the Office of the Independent Police Review Director (OIPRD) released on Friday January 20, 2012, recommended that five Toronto police officers should face criminal charges for using unnecessary force against activist Adam [...]

Canada’s Harper outlines class war agenda at Davos forum By Keith Jones; 28 January 2012 – WSWShttp://www.wsws.org/articles/2012/jan2012/harp-j28.shtml In a speech Thursday to the Davos World Economic Forum, Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper pledged that his Conservative government will pursue a “transformative” big business agenda — austerity and tax cuts, radical regressive changes to public health [...]

DON’T BE A STRIKEBREAKER FOR ROB FORD! Thursday, January 26, 2012 – Ontario Coalition Against Povertyhttp://ocap.ca/node/983 A MESSAGE FROM THE ONTARIO COALITION AGAINST POVERTY Rob Ford and his friends on City Council are out to wipe out public services in this City and to attack the workers who deliver those services. Thousands of members of [...]

The Corporate State Will Be Broken By Chris Hedges; Monday 23 January 2012 – Truthouthttp://www.truth-out.org/chris-hedges-corporate-state-will-b… I spent Friday morning sitting on a wooden bench in a fourth-floor courtroom in the New York Criminal Court in Manhattan. I was waiting to be sentenced for “disturbing the peace” and “refusing to obey a lawful order” during an [...]