Federal Prison Rehab Program Reduces Sentences
According to studies and statistics, a large portion of the federal prison population suffers from alcohol and drug dependency. Many offenders have major alcohol and drug problems before they are arrested and convicted for their crimes. To address these problems and help rehabilitate inmates, the Bureau of Prisons initiated a drug treatment program over 20 years ago. Over the last two decades, the program has helped thousands of inmates to turn their lives around before they are released from prison.
The Residential Drug Abuse Treatment Program, RDAP, is an inpatient program mandated by federal law. For qualified prisoners who enter and complete the program, their sentence can be reduced by as much as one year. This reduced sentence time is in addition to the 54 days per year that inmates can earn if they remain infraction free while incarerated.
The exact amount of time that can be cut from a sentence depends on the initial sentence:
* Inmates sentenced to 37 months or more who complete the program will receive the full 12 months of early release.
* Inmates sentenced to 31 to 36 months can receive a nine month reduced sentence.
* Inmates sentenced to less than 31 months can receive a six month reduced sentence.
RDAP is the Bureau’s most intensive treatment program for alcohol and drug rehabilitation. It is held in a modified therapeutic community atmosphere where inmates experience living in a pro-social community, rather than in the general prison population. Inmates participate in a half-day of treatment programming and a half-day of school, work or vocational activities. The treatment program lasts nine months and takes approximately 500 hours to complete.
The National Institute on Drug Abuse and the Bureau of Prisons have conducted numerous studies on the treatment program over the years. Research findings show that RDAP participants are significantly less likely to relapse with alcohol and drug problems after release than non-participating inmates. According to criminal defense attorneys of Michigan, the RDAP makes a significant difference in inmates' lives and helps them to return to normal life with greater success.
Program Eligibility
To be eligible for the RDAP, the inmate must have a verified alcohol abuse, narcotic drug or prescription drug problem that is documented in a pre-sentence investigation. If the sentencing judge recommends the inmate for the program, eligibility will increase. The inmate must be in a prison facility that offers the treatment program.
Showing posts with label Crime and Piracy News. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Crime and Piracy News. Show all posts
May 24, 2016
February 18, 2014
Harper government asks for help rewriting Canada's prostitution laws
In a December 20th 2013 ruling, the high court unanimously struck down laws against street soliciting, living on the avails of prostitution and keeping a brothel.
Since then the Harper government has been searching for a solution that will make his government look good on paper, but won't violate civil rights.
So instead they are turning to the Canadian public for their ideas and holding a month-long, online consultation period on the Justice Canada website. The consultation began yesterday (Monday February the 17th) and runs to March 17th 2014 (St Patrick's Day).
What is funny is the percentage of male Conservative MPs in the Harper government who regularly use prostitutes as sexual aides, both when they are on the road and lonely, and also when they are closer to home and having marital problems.
In other words we are talking about the kind of people who cheat on their spouses, but because they are politicians and don't want to have any messy affair they use prostitutes because they are more discreet. (It is a well known fact politicians use prostitutes more than the average person.)
A 1998 poll suggested 7% of Canadian men have paid for sex at least once in their life. The % for male politicians is unknown, but we know it is significantly higher - likely around 25% - because politicians value discreetness.
But at the same time, because it is the Harper government, they have to at least pretend that they are against prostitution even though they and many of their colleagues use prostitutes regularly. It is all about optics and what the public sees.
“Our government is concerned about the significant harms that flow from prostitution to communities, those engaged in prostitution and other vulnerable persons,” said Justice Minister Peter MacKay in a release.
Oh really? What harms would that be? Husbands that stray from the marriage bed would still stray from the marriage bed even if they could not find a prostitute. They would find a mistress, a servant, a willing woman of somekind - and that would cause more messy affairs in the media.
If MacKay is referring to STDs we should remind him that prostitutes are more paranoid about STDs than any other profession. They are not taking risks in that respect.
Or maybe MacKay is referring to the "moral decay of society" by the mere presence of prostitutes? (As if they are to blame for society's woes, as opposed to being a product of those woes.)
"Doing nothing is not an option," says MacKay. "We are therefore asking Canadians right across the country to provide their input through an online consultation to ensure a legislative response to prostitution that reflects our country’s values."
So here is a solution for Peter MacKay.
TEACH FEMINISM + GENDER STUDIES IN HIGH SCHOOLS.
Don't bother with trying to eradicate prostitution, governments have been trying to do that for millenia with absolutely no success.
But if you teach feminism + gender studies in high schools, make it part of the curriculum, then you will be raising young women who see themselves as more valuable to society than a $300 per hour mistress for wealthy men.
But lets face it, asking the Conservative government to promote feminism is like asking a Republican to promote gay rights. It just isn't going to happen.
Another solution would be to make Johns (the men who go to prostitutes) illegal (as opposed to solicitation, which is still illegal). But that would probably get half the Conservative Party arrested in police sting operations, along with many of their big donors.
Prostitution is a whole big can of worms. It has religious issues, feminist issues, legal issues, public health issues, civil rights issues, economic issues. The government is not going to solve this with any quick fix.
Long term promotion of feminism in schools, designed to bolster the self-esteems of young women, would over time eventually eradicate much of domestic prostitution - which leads us to the problem of imports, women who are brought into Canada for the sole purpose of working in Canada's sex trade in Calgary, Edmonton, Vancouver, Ottawa, Toronto and Montreal. Calgary and Edmonton are apparently the two biggest importers of sex workers, because of all the oil company executives there who want exotic women.
January 30, 2014
Rob Ford had his brother-in-law beaten in prison
Toronto Mayor Rob Ford is being sued by his sister's ex-husband who alleges the mayor conspired to have him attacked in jail to prevent Rob Ford's illicit behaviours from becoming known to the public.
Scott MacIntyre, the former common law husband of Rob Ford's sister, says in the statement of claim filed Wednesday that he has known about Rob Ford's crack smoking activities for some time.
MacIntyre was in prison in March 2013 after being charged with threatening Ford, when he was deliberately and brutally attacked by a football player who had been coached by Rob Ford during high school.
MacIntyre alleges Ford conspired with Payman Aboodowleh, who coached high school football with Ford, to have one of their former players, who was also in jail at the time, to beat MacIntyre up. It is unknown how much money Rob Ford promised the player, but it is safe to assume that money changed hands to arrange the beating.
The attack came two months before the Toronto Star and U.S. website Gawker reported on the existence of a video showing Toronto's mayor smoking crack cocaine. The video is now in possession of Toronto police, who have confirmed the video is real, and that Toronto police have been keeping tabs on Toronto's crack smoking mayor.
Since then a video has come out with Rob Ford angry rant, during which he threatened to kill Toronto's chief of police.
"Ford's drug and alcohol abuse, and his association with criminals to facilitate his drug abuse...are longstanding," MacIntyre writes in his statement of claim. "Ford was anxious that these matters should remain undiscovered."
None of the allegations have been proven in court, but everyone now knows they are likely true due to Rob Ford's past history of lying, scheming, admitted crack smoking, and history of temper tantrums / drunken rages.
Rob Ford's own wife has called the police countless times due to Rob Ford's history of spousal abuse. But she never presses charges against him, always dropping the complaint out of fear of her husband's rages.
The lawsuit also names Ontario's Ministry of Correctional Services, which is responsible for the province's jails, Aboodowleh and Aedan Petros, the former football player who MacIntyre alleges attacked him.
MacIntyre is seeking $1 million in damages from all of the defendants, plus $100,000 from each of them for aggravated, punitive and penal damages. He is also seeking another $100,000 from the ministry, who he alleges breached his charter right to life, liberty and security of the person.
Scott MacIntyre, the former common law husband of Rob Ford's sister, says in the statement of claim filed Wednesday that he has known about Rob Ford's crack smoking activities for some time.
MacIntyre was in prison in March 2013 after being charged with threatening Ford, when he was deliberately and brutally attacked by a football player who had been coached by Rob Ford during high school.
MacIntyre alleges Ford conspired with Payman Aboodowleh, who coached high school football with Ford, to have one of their former players, who was also in jail at the time, to beat MacIntyre up. It is unknown how much money Rob Ford promised the player, but it is safe to assume that money changed hands to arrange the beating.
Since then a video has come out with Rob Ford angry rant, during which he threatened to kill Toronto's chief of police.
"Ford's drug and alcohol abuse, and his association with criminals to facilitate his drug abuse...are longstanding," MacIntyre writes in his statement of claim. "Ford was anxious that these matters should remain undiscovered."
None of the allegations have been proven in court, but everyone now knows they are likely true due to Rob Ford's past history of lying, scheming, admitted crack smoking, and history of temper tantrums / drunken rages.
Rob Ford's own wife has called the police countless times due to Rob Ford's history of spousal abuse. But she never presses charges against him, always dropping the complaint out of fear of her husband's rages.
The lawsuit also names Ontario's Ministry of Correctional Services, which is responsible for the province's jails, Aboodowleh and Aedan Petros, the former football player who MacIntyre alleges attacked him.
MacIntyre is seeking $1 million in damages from all of the defendants, plus $100,000 from each of them for aggravated, punitive and penal damages. He is also seeking another $100,000 from the ministry, who he alleges breached his charter right to life, liberty and security of the person.
December 23, 2013
Vito Rizzuto, Canadian mobster, dies age 67
Montreal mobster Vito Rizzuto has died. He suffered heart failure yesterday at the age of 67.
Rizzuto was the head of Canada's biggest crime syndicate.
Update December 30th:
Rizzuto was suffering from lung cancer and had begun chemotherapy, but with Christmas approaching, the Mafia don ceased his treatment and had planned to resume treatments in January.
Rizzuto's wife found him lying on the floor in their home in Laval, just north of Montreal. The street Antoine Berthelet Avenue is also famous for Vito's father being killed there, shot through the kitchen window of his home. Upon discovery Vito Rizzuto was immediately rushed to hospital and his condition had deteriorated by Sunday evening.
Rizzuto's health problems weren't new and were publicly known. He had mentioned them in 2006, when he was extradited to New York to stand trial for his involvement in the 1981 murders of three New York mobsters. At the time the Montreal Mafioso spoke of "a spot on a lung", but the health problem was deemed minor and not a reason to delay his extradition.
While he was in prison Vito's father and son were both murdered - and afterwards a series of revenge killings took place as the Rizzuto family tried to determine who their enemies were and who needed to be killed to secure the family's safety.
But now with the death of the Montreal godfather and crime leader you might wonder who will step up to fill the power vacuum?
Rocco Sollecito, one of Rizzuto's most faithful disciples, is now believed to be his replacement. But only time will tell. Transitions from one mafia leader to another are seldom smooth.
Expect more killings in the future as the Montreal mafia has a power struggle to determine who will be the new leader.
June 6, 2013
What would you do with $200,000 to help drug addicts in Toronto?
If you had obtained $200,000 from an Indiegogo campaign dedicated towards buying the Rob Ford crack video (which we all know exists, because even Toronto Mayor Rob Ford admitted to his staff that it does, he just denies that it is crack that he is smoking in the crackpipe) and had failed to get the actual video... what would you spend the $200,000 on instead?The website Gawker raised the money weeks ago in their attempt to buy the video. But the large scale media attention caused the men who were trying to sell the video to think twice about their personal safety and the video and the men have since disappeared.
Copies of the video were made, and they may eventually get released to the public, but for now Gawker has roughly $200,000 ... and no video.
And so, as promised by their Indiegogo campaign, if they failed to obtain the video the money would go to a Toronto charity of some kind which helps people with drug addiction.
But which charity? How does one choose which charity to give $200,000 to?
I personally would try to aim for a charity which gets homeless drug addicts off the street - and into a rehab clinic.
A place like...
Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH)
www.camh.ca
250 College St, Toronto
(416) 595-6000
There are other places and other charities, but CAMH has the best reputation of actually helping people combat their addiction.
And Rob Ford? Well... Nobody can help that guy. Everybody already knew he was on crack even before the news of the video came out. So it isn't really a surprise. And you can't really help someone who's political career is toast.
August 17, 2012
Feminist musicians sent to prison for 2 years
By Suzanne MacNevin
Three women of the feminist punk band Pussy Riot have been convicted of “hooliganism” today for their anti-Putin performance in a Moscow cathedral. The band held a brief guerrilla performance, a "punk prayer" entreating the Virgin Mary to protect Russia from Vladimir Putin, who at the time was on the verge of winning a new term as Russian president.
Judge Marina Syrova sentenced them to two years in prison, a year less than what the prosecution asked for. Nadezhda Tolokonnikova, 22, Maria Alyokhina, 24, and Yekaterina Samutsevich, 30, said they were protesting against close ties between Putin and the Russian Orthodox church and did not intend to offend believers.
The three musicians stood in silence in a glass courtroom cage as the judge read out the verdict. They lifted their cuffed hands in salute to acknowledge supporters after the sentencing and smiled to each other.
After the judge finished reading the sentence, which took three hours, many Russians in the court room shouted “Shame!”
Officially the three were charged with "hooliganism connected to religious hatred", but they have been very clear their goals had little to do with the church and more to do Vladimir Putin's iron grip on Russia's government - including the judicial system which has become puppets of the Putin regime.
The judge also said that the songs being performed were "blasphemous". The case has attracted international attention as an emblem of Russia’s intolerance of dissent.
The case is not alone either. Many other incidents have been happening in Russia and the government crackdown on free speech is becoming ever stronger. This case comes in the wake of several recently passed laws cracking down on opposition political parties, including one that raised the fine for taking part in an unauthorized demonstrations by 150 times from 2,000 rubles to 300,000 rubles. In dollars the fine used to be roughly $60 but is now about $9,000.
Another extreme measure now requires non-government organizations that both engage in vaguely defined political activity and receive funding from abroad to register as “foreign agents.” That way anyone who defies the government can now be arrested for being a foreign spy and has already admitted on a government document to being a "foreign agent".
So yeah... Russia is going down the drain and freedom of speech is pretty much disappearing if you live there.
Judge Marina Syrova sentenced them to two years in prison, a year less than what the prosecution asked for. Nadezhda Tolokonnikova, 22, Maria Alyokhina, 24, and Yekaterina Samutsevich, 30, said they were protesting against close ties between Putin and the Russian Orthodox church and did not intend to offend believers.
The three musicians stood in silence in a glass courtroom cage as the judge read out the verdict. They lifted their cuffed hands in salute to acknowledge supporters after the sentencing and smiled to each other.
After the judge finished reading the sentence, which took three hours, many Russians in the court room shouted “Shame!”
Officially the three were charged with "hooliganism connected to religious hatred", but they have been very clear their goals had little to do with the church and more to do Vladimir Putin's iron grip on Russia's government - including the judicial system which has become puppets of the Putin regime.
The judge also said that the songs being performed were "blasphemous". The case has attracted international attention as an emblem of Russia’s intolerance of dissent.
The case is not alone either. Many other incidents have been happening in Russia and the government crackdown on free speech is becoming ever stronger. This case comes in the wake of several recently passed laws cracking down on opposition political parties, including one that raised the fine for taking part in an unauthorized demonstrations by 150 times from 2,000 rubles to 300,000 rubles. In dollars the fine used to be roughly $60 but is now about $9,000.
Another extreme measure now requires non-government organizations that both engage in vaguely defined political activity and receive funding from abroad to register as “foreign agents.” That way anyone who defies the government can now be arrested for being a foreign spy and has already admitted on a government document to being a "foreign agent".
So yeah... Russia is going down the drain and freedom of speech is pretty much disappearing if you live there.
Love, Crime and Flower Thieves
Today I have flowers on the brain.
Police in New York City are trying to track down a plant-obsessed thief who stole flowers from a Court Street bodega in Brooklyn on July 14th. He apparently approached the shop between Congress and Amity streets around midnight, grabbed some flowers sitting outside the storefront and fled. The shop had already been the victims of a flower thief in a previous incident.
Investigators are still working the case, but police shared a possible motive. “It’s not a large quantity of flowers, but I guess he has a girlfriend or something,” he said.
And he is apparently to cheap to just buy flowers or order flower delivery. In this modern day and age you can even be living overseas, and use your credit card to order flowers online.
Really, its not even that news worthy... but you will soon see I am on a flowers theme today.
Next Christian Bale (Batman!!!) is starring in "Flowers of War".
Directed by Zhang Yimou (House of Flying Daggers) the film is essentially a Chinese version of Schindler's List (with a dash of The Sound of Music) and will be an epic... judging by the fact it is most expensive film in China's history.
It tells the story of a mercenary and alcoholic mortician called John Miller (Christian Bale), who finds himself in the wrong place at the wrong time: The Japanese are invading Nanking in 1937, killing, looting and raping without mercy. To prevent the rape and massacre of children his character poses as a priest... which is complicated by his romance with the local leader of the prostitutes who show up at the church seeking sanctuary. Meanwhile the Japanese commander (Atsuro Watabe) wants the orphans to sing and perform for his fellow-officers. But singing isn't what the troops are looking for...
Presumably there is flowers in the plot somewhere. I imagine its mostly a symbolic metaphor.
July 21, 2012
Understanding Gun Crime in Canada
To put this in perspective here is some interesting statistics for gun crime in Canada.
In Canada in 2010 firearms were used in 1501 assaults, 673 threats, 2973 armed robberies, 55 sexual assaults, 187 attempted murders and 154 homicides.
The most common weapon used in homicides is a handgun, followed by a rifle or shotgun, a sawed off rifle or shotgun, and less common types.
Canada's gun crime rate per capita has been dropping steadily since 1975.
Now to put this in perspective compare to the USA, where gun crime has spiked since the recession in 2007-2009 and where homicides are listed in the 10s of thousands, attempted murders are pretty common, and assaults? Pff. America has so many assault victims annually it could fill a Canadian city.
Now here is an interesting point: Most shooting sprees are conducted by young men. James Eagan Holmes is 25.
Eric David Harris and Dylan Bennet Klebold (the Columbine High Massacre in 1999) were both 18.
Kimveer Gill (Dawson College shooting in Montreal) was 25.
Marc Lépine (École Polytechnique Massacre in Montreal) was 25.
The lions share of firearms homicides in the USA are by people between the ages of 16 and 25.
Seeing a pattern here?
It would make logical sense that if we simply didn't allow people under the age of 25 to purchase guns that the firearms crime rate in both Canada and the USA would drop significantly. It is self-evident that young men don't have the emotional maturity to have guns.
However preventing gun sales to people under the age of 25 would only solve part of the problem. What about guns that are stolen and unregistered? Most guns that are used in crimes are stolen and unregistered. That means people who own guns legally aren't doing enough to protect them from thieves.
The Benefits of Gun Safes
Perhaps you have considered investing in a gun safe for your home or business but are not sure whether it is a worthwhile venture. Learning about some of the advantages of gun safes can help you decide if one would be a sensible purchase and a valuable addition to your gun collection, no matter the size.
We have all heard those tragic stories of a child accidentally shooting himself or another little one, or a teen despondent over a breakup getting ahold of a parent’s shotgun. Of course, if you own guns, your children should be taught at least basic firearm safety from a very young age. Keeping guns locked up in gun safes is an extra measure that will help protect your children, grandchildren and visitors, providing you with an added sense of security.
Another benefit of gun safes is that they safeguard your weapons from would-be thieves. If a burglar breaks into your home and is able to find your guns in a closet or simple cabinet, chances are good he will smash the glass front of the cabinet and take them without a second thought and either sell them in an illegal deal or use them to commit other crimes, which could ultimately be linked back to you. A thief who cases your house or burglarizes you only to find a sturdy, impenetrable safe will not even bother to try.
Gun safes can also protect your firearms from damage. If your home should be the victim of a fire, flood or other disaster, a high-quality safe can prevent your guns from being harmed or completely lost. They can also protect your guns from more minor damage such as dents, dings and mars. In addition, a gun safe may lower your homeowner’s insurance, as the insurance company is less likely to be required to pay for damaged firearms or injuries caused by misuse or mishandling of your guns.
Finally, gun safes can be quite attractive and affordable. If you decide to purchase a gun safe after learning the advantages of owning one, you are sure to find something that suits your style and budget.
July 9, 2012
Toronto Police arrest and beat up black man for playing basketball
In the video below you will see James Bishop being arrested and beaten with batons and attacked by 5 Toronto police officers. The silent security camera video shows that James Bishop was not behaving violently and that the police officers forced him to the ground, pinned him, and then proceeded to beat him a baton.
While three officers hold him down a fourth officer delivers six baton blows and three elbow jabs to the man’s body. A total of seven officers were involved in the incident.
Other players on the basketball court, including James Bishop's son, are visibly troubled by the violence they are seeing and several document what happens on their cellphone cameras. One of the officers then seizes and examines the cellphone after a confrontation with one of the players.
The incident happened in January 2011 and the video was uploaded in July of 2011, but it has taken another year before it started receiving media attention.
James Bishop is now suing Toronto Police and the YMCA, alleging he was the one assaulted while playing basketball with his son, then 11, and was arrested over a “civil dispute” over the status of his YMCA membership which never should have resulted in an arrest.
In a statement of claim filed in June 2012, Bishop, 43, and his family are seeking $2.3 million in damages and name eight officers and an unnamed ninth as defendants, as well as the YMCA and Toronto Police Services Board.
His arrest was a “brutal display of force” and it was “obvious that the intent was to inflict maximum pain" says the suit. James Bishop begged the officers to stop at one point because he could not breathe.
Medical records show he suffered a minor heart attack during the time of the arrest.
The suit also says police seized onlookers’ mobile phones and erased images of the arrest, which “strongly suggest that the police knew that their conduct was illegal.” The security video shows this happening.
Police claim Bishop resisted arrest but the video tells another story.
In the video a YMCA staff can be seen attempting to block one onlooker from documenting the arrest on a cellphone. This suggests the YMCA staff knew what was happening was wrong and were attempting to prevent footage of it.
Although not easy to see in the video, it is revealed in court documents that Constable Glen Espie, the officer who delivered the baton and elbow strikes, used pepper spray on Bishop as well.
All charges against James Bishop for trespassing were later withdrawn when it was revealed that his YMCA membership status was apparently fine and dandy. (The YMCA suspended his membership over a friendly bet on a basketball game, but refused to hear his side of the story.)
The police response for a trespassing call was overblown and has left an entire family “traumatized” says Bishop’s lawyer Osborne Barnwell.
After the incident an officer approached James Bishop's son and deliberately poked him hard in the side with a baton “with intent to hurt” states the suit.
At 43 Division station, Bishop was having chest pain and asked repeatedly to be taken to hospital. A desk sergeant told him “he was fine,” the suit alleges. After a shift change, a black officer took over and following another request by Bishop, an ambulance was called.
Medical records show Bishop had suffered a mild heart attack. He spent two days in hospital under police guard.
Months after the incident the arresting police officers also intimidated James Bishop in a hallway outside court, standing in a “bravado manner” and had their hands “positioned next to their guns,” states his claim, and orchestrated a second arrest against him.
James Bishop was given a copy of the YMCA security video as part of disclosure. He had a friend upload the video, with a title of “Toronto Police Thugs Gang Up & Beat Guy Senseless,” to YouTube.
The incident is remarkably similar to what happened in 2007 when RCMP officers tasered Polish immigrant Robert Dziekański to death by repeatedly and simultaneously shocking him until his heart gave out. Police like to use the excuse that people are resisting arrest and use that as a green light to victimize and brutalize the person they are arresting.
Robert Dziekański was lost and confused. His death could have been prevented if a Polish interpreter had been made available and if police had simply tried to talk calmly to him, but instead they chose to "taser first and ask questions later". The officers were very trigger happy with the taser however and ended up shocking him to death.
While three officers hold him down a fourth officer delivers six baton blows and three elbow jabs to the man’s body. A total of seven officers were involved in the incident.
Other players on the basketball court, including James Bishop's son, are visibly troubled by the violence they are seeing and several document what happens on their cellphone cameras. One of the officers then seizes and examines the cellphone after a confrontation with one of the players.
The incident happened in January 2011 and the video was uploaded in July of 2011, but it has taken another year before it started receiving media attention.
James Bishop is now suing Toronto Police and the YMCA, alleging he was the one assaulted while playing basketball with his son, then 11, and was arrested over a “civil dispute” over the status of his YMCA membership which never should have resulted in an arrest.
In a statement of claim filed in June 2012, Bishop, 43, and his family are seeking $2.3 million in damages and name eight officers and an unnamed ninth as defendants, as well as the YMCA and Toronto Police Services Board.
His arrest was a “brutal display of force” and it was “obvious that the intent was to inflict maximum pain" says the suit. James Bishop begged the officers to stop at one point because he could not breathe.
Medical records show he suffered a minor heart attack during the time of the arrest.
The suit also says police seized onlookers’ mobile phones and erased images of the arrest, which “strongly suggest that the police knew that their conduct was illegal.” The security video shows this happening.
Police claim Bishop resisted arrest but the video tells another story.
In the video a YMCA staff can be seen attempting to block one onlooker from documenting the arrest on a cellphone. This suggests the YMCA staff knew what was happening was wrong and were attempting to prevent footage of it.
Although not easy to see in the video, it is revealed in court documents that Constable Glen Espie, the officer who delivered the baton and elbow strikes, used pepper spray on Bishop as well.
All charges against James Bishop for trespassing were later withdrawn when it was revealed that his YMCA membership status was apparently fine and dandy. (The YMCA suspended his membership over a friendly bet on a basketball game, but refused to hear his side of the story.)
The police response for a trespassing call was overblown and has left an entire family “traumatized” says Bishop’s lawyer Osborne Barnwell.
After the incident an officer approached James Bishop's son and deliberately poked him hard in the side with a baton “with intent to hurt” states the suit.
At 43 Division station, Bishop was having chest pain and asked repeatedly to be taken to hospital. A desk sergeant told him “he was fine,” the suit alleges. After a shift change, a black officer took over and following another request by Bishop, an ambulance was called.
Medical records show Bishop had suffered a mild heart attack. He spent two days in hospital under police guard.
Months after the incident the arresting police officers also intimidated James Bishop in a hallway outside court, standing in a “bravado manner” and had their hands “positioned next to their guns,” states his claim, and orchestrated a second arrest against him.
James Bishop was given a copy of the YMCA security video as part of disclosure. He had a friend upload the video, with a title of “Toronto Police Thugs Gang Up & Beat Guy Senseless,” to YouTube.
The incident is remarkably similar to what happened in 2007 when RCMP officers tasered Polish immigrant Robert Dziekański to death by repeatedly and simultaneously shocking him until his heart gave out. Police like to use the excuse that people are resisting arrest and use that as a green light to victimize and brutalize the person they are arresting.
Robert Dziekański was lost and confused. His death could have been prevented if a Polish interpreter had been made available and if police had simply tried to talk calmly to him, but instead they chose to "taser first and ask questions later". The officers were very trigger happy with the taser however and ended up shocking him to death.
June 5, 2012
Toronto Crips at fault for Eaton's Centre shooting
Christopher Husbands, 23, is facing one charge of first-degree murder and six counts of attempted murder after the Saturday shooting at the Eaton's Centre in downtown Toronto. The shooting killed a fellow gang member Ahmed Hassan and injured 7 others who were in the food court of the Eaton's Centre at the time. Police believe that both men were members of a local Crips gang. (Most gang homicides in Toronto are the result of the Jamestown Crips and the Mount Olive Crips.)Husbands is also facing additional charges for violating the terms of his house arrest.
Yesterday Husbands surrendered to police after investigators announced they had pinpointed a suspect in the case.
However police are quick to point out that the shooting was not the result of gang on gang violence. Instead it appears that both the shooter, Husbands, and the victim were members of the same street gang and they had a private beef.
Most of the homicides in Toronto are actually the result of gang on gang violence, of which the Jamestown Crips and the Mount Olive Crips play a central role. Most of the victims are men and most of the murderers are men too. See the graphic below which shows the history of homicides in Toronto for 2006 to June 2012.
HOWEVER we should note that Toronto has one of the lowest murder rates per capita compared to other regions in Canada.
In order the three regions with the highest murder rates are:
#1. The North West Territories
#2. Saskatchewan
#3. Nova Scotia
March 8, 2012
Who is Joseph Kony?
POLITICS - In the next two months you are likely going to hear the name of Joseph Kony... but you won't know who he is.
Now is your chance to learn.
If you've never heard of Joseph Kony (but maybe you've heard of the LRA) before today you are not alone.
Jason Russell's web-based film "Kony 2012" is calling for international action to stop the Ugandan war criminal Joseph Kony is pure digital activism and quite simply brilliant. The video is being spread at an exponential rate due to bloggers, journalists and activists who are putting their name on a list of millions seeking to publicize and make it clear the objective of stopping the war criminal Joseph Kony should be given priority.
Who is Joseph Kony?
If you didn't watch the video above and still don't know. Joseph Kony is a warlord from northern Uganda who for 3 decades has been abducting thousands of children, turning them into child soldiers and feeding his own power struggle. He takes children and turns them into mercenaries, butchers and rapists.
So much so that Joseph Kony is one of the most wanted war criminals in the world. The top of the list depending on which list you are looking at.
Joseph Kony and 4 of his lieutenants were all indicted by the International Criminal Court in July 2005... One is rumoured to be dead and one is known to be dead, but Kony and his other 2 lieutenants have all evaded capture and have yet to be brought to justice.
LINKS
Facebook Group: Invisible Children
Barack Obama's Letter addressing Joseph Kony and the LRA
PDF on Conditions in LRA controlled region of North Uganda
US Committee on Foreign Affairs Vs Joseph Kony
CIA World Factbook: Uganda
Now is your chance to learn.
Jason Russell's web-based film "Kony 2012" is calling for international action to stop the Ugandan war criminal Joseph Kony is pure digital activism and quite simply brilliant. The video is being spread at an exponential rate due to bloggers, journalists and activists who are putting their name on a list of millions seeking to publicize and make it clear the objective of stopping the war criminal Joseph Kony should be given priority.
Who is Joseph Kony?
If you didn't watch the video above and still don't know. Joseph Kony is a warlord from northern Uganda who for 3 decades has been abducting thousands of children, turning them into child soldiers and feeding his own power struggle. He takes children and turns them into mercenaries, butchers and rapists.
So much so that Joseph Kony is one of the most wanted war criminals in the world. The top of the list depending on which list you are looking at.
Joseph Kony and 4 of his lieutenants were all indicted by the International Criminal Court in July 2005... One is rumoured to be dead and one is known to be dead, but Kony and his other 2 lieutenants have all evaded capture and have yet to be brought to justice.
LINKS
Facebook Group: Invisible Children
Barack Obama's Letter addressing Joseph Kony and the LRA
PDF on Conditions in LRA controlled region of North Uganda
US Committee on Foreign Affairs Vs Joseph Kony
CIA World Factbook: Uganda
March 1, 2012
Stephen Harper's caucus committed election fraud
CANADA - Tampering with election results by tricking voters using Robocalls into going to fake voting booths set up by the Conservative Party isn't just a lame trick... its election fraud.And its illegal.
And it calls in question the legitimacy of the current Canadian government.
Now Stephen Harper has two choices...
#1. Flagrantly ignore the illegality of his party's actions and let various members of the party take the fall for it.
#2. Step up to the plate, take some of blame and call a new election and prove whether his party really deserves to lead Canada for another 3 to 4 years.
It is obvious that the Conservative Party was so obsessed with winning a majority government (with just 24.31% of Canadians who voted Conservative) that they resorted to cheating and criminal acts just to win.
And now EVERYONE KNOWS that Stephen Harper and the Conservatives cheated and committed fraud.
How will we ever be able to trust a leader who won fraudulently? We can't and we won't.
February 21, 2012
Dominique Strauss-Kahn questioned in connection with prostitution ring
By Suzanne MacNevin - February 2012.
POLITICS - Former IMF chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn is being questioned today by French police in connection with a prostitution ring in the northern French city of Lille.
Strauss-Kahn hasn't officially been arrested yet, but he can be held for up to 48 hours and may then be arrested. The French police are investigating if he was benefitting from misappropriated company funds that were used by French executives under the guise of corporate expense accounts to fund sex parties with prostitutes and drugs.
Dominique Strauss-Kahn was once seen as a strong contender for France’s 2012 presidential election, but his political ambitions came to an abrupt end last May after he was accused of sexually assaulting a New York hotel maid. The charges in 2011 were later withdrawn despite damning DNA evidence and numerous other victimized women who have come forward saying they were sexually assaulted by Dominique Strauss-Kahn. See also: Strauss-Kahn freed despite damning evidence
Strauss-Kahn quit his International Monetary Fund job after the sex assault case, but the new allegations against him have a paper trail of money which connect a prostitution ring with wealthy executive clients of Lille’s luxury Carlton hotel. Police also believe Strauss-Kahn was involved with similar sex parties in Paris and Washington.
8 people, including 2 Lille businessmen directly connected to Strauss-Kahn and a police commissioner, have already been arrested in the case. One company has already fired an executive suspected of using company funds to hire sex workers using the executive account.
Hiring prostitutes is not illegal in France, but Strauss-Kahn and other executives risks being charged with defrauding money from companies if the practice of bribing business associates with sex doesn't fly with the French authorities.
There are LIMITS to what executive accounts can be used for.
Strauss-Kahn’s lawyer Henri Leclerc denies his client knew that the women at the sex parties he attended were prostitutes. (Although seriously, if you're paying to get into these sex parties, aren't you going to assume the women are being paid to be there?)
A separate case wherein Strauss-Kahn is accused of attempting to rape Tristane Banon, the Parisian writer, was thrown out in 2011 due to a shortage of evidence (rape and attempted rape cases are very difficult to prove).
Thoughts? For an old man Dominique Strauss-Kahn sure gets around a lot and must be popping pills at his age. His lack of respect for women is clearly evident by the sheer number of women and police accusing him of sexual misconduct.
POLITICS - Former IMF chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn is being questioned today by French police in connection with a prostitution ring in the northern French city of Lille.
Strauss-Kahn hasn't officially been arrested yet, but he can be held for up to 48 hours and may then be arrested. The French police are investigating if he was benefitting from misappropriated company funds that were used by French executives under the guise of corporate expense accounts to fund sex parties with prostitutes and drugs.Dominique Strauss-Kahn was once seen as a strong contender for France’s 2012 presidential election, but his political ambitions came to an abrupt end last May after he was accused of sexually assaulting a New York hotel maid. The charges in 2011 were later withdrawn despite damning DNA evidence and numerous other victimized women who have come forward saying they were sexually assaulted by Dominique Strauss-Kahn. See also: Strauss-Kahn freed despite damning evidence
Strauss-Kahn quit his International Monetary Fund job after the sex assault case, but the new allegations against him have a paper trail of money which connect a prostitution ring with wealthy executive clients of Lille’s luxury Carlton hotel. Police also believe Strauss-Kahn was involved with similar sex parties in Paris and Washington.
8 people, including 2 Lille businessmen directly connected to Strauss-Kahn and a police commissioner, have already been arrested in the case. One company has already fired an executive suspected of using company funds to hire sex workers using the executive account.
Hiring prostitutes is not illegal in France, but Strauss-Kahn and other executives risks being charged with defrauding money from companies if the practice of bribing business associates with sex doesn't fly with the French authorities.
There are LIMITS to what executive accounts can be used for.
Strauss-Kahn’s lawyer Henri Leclerc denies his client knew that the women at the sex parties he attended were prostitutes. (Although seriously, if you're paying to get into these sex parties, aren't you going to assume the women are being paid to be there?)
A separate case wherein Strauss-Kahn is accused of attempting to rape Tristane Banon, the Parisian writer, was thrown out in 2011 due to a shortage of evidence (rape and attempted rape cases are very difficult to prove).Thoughts? For an old man Dominique Strauss-Kahn sure gets around a lot and must be popping pills at his age. His lack of respect for women is clearly evident by the sheer number of women and police accusing him of sexual misconduct.
February 15, 2012
Key witness in police corruption can`t remember details
CANADA - A Canadian man, Larry Vacon, 51, testified yesterday that he can`t remember where a group of corrupt drug squad police officers took him on Jan. 30th 1997.
“I said they took me back to my house and stuff, but I can’t say for sure,” Vacon said.
Larry Vacon was expected to testify that he was not immediately taken to the police station, and that instead drug squad officers took him to his apartment where they raided his place looking for cash and drugs. When they arrived police officers were wreaking the place looking for cash.
Vacon was supposed to say the officers threatened to destroy his apartment worse than it already was if he didn’t tell them where he hid his everything, the jury was told.
But instead Larry Vacon now claims he doesn`t remember what he talked about and doesn`t remember where the conversation took place.
According to previous reports the police had searched his apartment before 4 PM, when the search warrant allowed them to enter, making their presence there illegal.
Police records show Vacon was booked into 11 Division police station at 3:03 PM, so if they were at his apartment before booking him into the station then it was long before the search warrant was available to be used.
See also Five Dirty Cops on trial, Biggest Police Corruption trial in Toronto history.
Miched, 53, John Schertzer, 54, Ned Maodus, 48, Steven Correia, 44, Raymond Pollard, 47 — former Central Field Command drug squad officers — collectively face 29 charges, laid in January 2004, including attempt to obstruct justice, perjury, assault and extortion.
Now we the public isn't stupid. Nor is the judge. It is pretty obvious Larry Vacon was intimidated into conveniently forgetting where he was taken and what was done 5 years ago. Intimidation tactics on the witnesses just smacks of more police corruption.
Presumably they can't scare all the witnesses however. Certainly not in a trial this big.
Larry Vacon was expected to testify that he was not immediately taken to the police station, and that instead drug squad officers took him to his apartment where they raided his place looking for cash and drugs. When they arrived police officers were wreaking the place looking for cash.
Vacon was supposed to say the officers threatened to destroy his apartment worse than it already was if he didn’t tell them where he hid his everything, the jury was told.
But instead Larry Vacon now claims he doesn`t remember what he talked about and doesn`t remember where the conversation took place.
According to previous reports the police had searched his apartment before 4 PM, when the search warrant allowed them to enter, making their presence there illegal.
Police records show Vacon was booked into 11 Division police station at 3:03 PM, so if they were at his apartment before booking him into the station then it was long before the search warrant was available to be used.
See also Five Dirty Cops on trial, Biggest Police Corruption trial in Toronto history.
Miched, 53, John Schertzer, 54, Ned Maodus, 48, Steven Correia, 44, Raymond Pollard, 47 — former Central Field Command drug squad officers — collectively face 29 charges, laid in January 2004, including attempt to obstruct justice, perjury, assault and extortion.
Now we the public isn't stupid. Nor is the judge. It is pretty obvious Larry Vacon was intimidated into conveniently forgetting where he was taken and what was done 5 years ago. Intimidation tactics on the witnesses just smacks of more police corruption.
Presumably they can't scare all the witnesses however. Certainly not in a trial this big.
CRTC is asking people to complain more about telemarketers
CANADA - Almost 10 million Canadian residential phone numbers (landline, cellular and fax) are now blocked to Canadian telemarketers (but still reachable by telemarketers operating overseas or in the USA).
However even if you register your number you may still receive calls from people trying to sell you stuff. The problem is people aren't complaining to the CRTC enough.
Since many calls now come from overseas (especially India) having your number on the Do Not Call List doesn't do much...
And the CRTC doesn't bother to investigate complaints unless at least 1 person complains PER DAY about calls from specific numbers.
And a lot of the calls are coming from overseas using fake numbers or multiple rotating fake numbers it makes it very difficult for the CRTC to block incoming telemarketers from overseas.
6 out of 10 people who get in touch with the CRTC complain about abuses of the do-not-call (DNC) rules. Half a million complaints have been filed since the list was set up in fall 2008, but very little action has been taken because telemarketers know the gaps in the rules... and they have a very good idea of how to avoid detection by staying under that 1 complaints per day limit.
Here is a suggestion to CRTC... LOWER THE LIMIT!
Make it 10 complaints per month. And if that isn't good enough, 5 per month. Just keeping lowering the limit until it reaches an optimal level where CRTC staff can do their job and Canadians can feel like the government is actually working for them instead.
About 10% of CRTC complaints are about organizations that are exempt from the telemarketing rules. They include:
• Canadian registered charities
• Political parties and candidates in federal, provincial and municipal elections
• General circulation newspapers calling to sell subscriptions
• Calls to a consumer who has an existing business relationship with an organization (having bought a product in the last 18 months or asked a telemarketer about a product in the last six months)
• Calls to a consumer who has given express consent to be called
• Calls to business consumers
But here is the thing...
Some people don't want to be called at all. Maybe they don't want a newspaper subscription or to donate to charity. Some people just want to be left alone.
If a newspaper or charity is calling several times per week to harass a person it is still harassment and it should still be punished.
Since many calls now come from overseas (especially India) having your number on the Do Not Call List doesn't do much...
And the CRTC doesn't bother to investigate complaints unless at least 1 person complains PER DAY about calls from specific numbers.
And a lot of the calls are coming from overseas using fake numbers or multiple rotating fake numbers it makes it very difficult for the CRTC to block incoming telemarketers from overseas.
6 out of 10 people who get in touch with the CRTC complain about abuses of the do-not-call (DNC) rules. Half a million complaints have been filed since the list was set up in fall 2008, but very little action has been taken because telemarketers know the gaps in the rules... and they have a very good idea of how to avoid detection by staying under that 1 complaints per day limit.
Here is a suggestion to CRTC... LOWER THE LIMIT!
Make it 10 complaints per month. And if that isn't good enough, 5 per month. Just keeping lowering the limit until it reaches an optimal level where CRTC staff can do their job and Canadians can feel like the government is actually working for them instead.
About 10% of CRTC complaints are about organizations that are exempt from the telemarketing rules. They include:
• Canadian registered charities
• Political parties and candidates in federal, provincial and municipal elections
• General circulation newspapers calling to sell subscriptions
• Calls to a consumer who has an existing business relationship with an organization (having bought a product in the last 18 months or asked a telemarketer about a product in the last six months)
• Calls to a consumer who has given express consent to be called
• Calls to business consumers
But here is the thing...
Some people don't want to be called at all. Maybe they don't want a newspaper subscription or to donate to charity. Some people just want to be left alone.
If a newspaper or charity is calling several times per week to harass a person it is still harassment and it should still be punished.
January 24, 2012
Affiliate Programs = Scams
TECHNOLOGY - There are a lot of websites outside such as Amazon, CafePress, personals websites and more who offer an affiliate program to internet publishers.
The problem with these affiliate programs is they almost NEVER pay the internet publishers doing the hard work of advertising their product. You see the way affiliate programs work is that they're set up to pay the publisher based on every sale that came directly from the publisher's website.
The problem is that once people click on the advertisement they are taken to a website where they are basically given three choices:
1. Explore the website and then maybe choose to join after exploring. (Zero commission for the publisher.)
2. Sign up or buy something immediately. (Very rarely happens since most people choose to explore first.)
3. Leave the website because it doesn't interest them after all.
Next the publisher is trusting that the company running the affiliate program is going to be honest and share a percentage of their profits. The publisher is really taking them on their word for it. You are just a number to them, a number which can be taken advantage of.
The thing about advertising is that it is always a risk for the business paying for the advertising. With affiliate programs there is no risk for the business, the people posting the advertising are the ones taking the risk (and worse, wasting their time because they will never get paid).
The best route is to only accept two kinds of advertising:
1. PPC advertising via a major company such as Google, MSN or Yahoo! because they are guaranteed to pay you.
2. Cash in advance for annual advertising.
If they're offering an affiliate commission then its pretty much guaranteed they are running a scam in an effort to get free advertising and you will never see a dime.
Even the brand name affiliates like Amazon and CafePress never pay because you have to earn over $100 before they send you a cheque... and to earn that much you need to sell over $1000 worth of product via customers who go to their website via your ad and buy immediately without browsing.
The end result is that unless you have a super popular website then affiliate advertising just isn't worth it. And if you had a super popular website you'd be getting offers for cash in advance advertising and making oodles off Google / MSN / Yahoo! advertising anyway.
5 Tips for Spotting Scammers
1. They say "100% Guarantee" on their website. Why would they bother to say that unless they're trying to trick you?
2. They contact you directly and when you respond they launch into pressuring you and "promise" that people make lots of money advertising for them.
3. You've never heard of their company before.
4. They can't spell properly.
5. They're offering to send you a cheque from Nigeria.
The problem is that once people click on the advertisement they are taken to a website where they are basically given three choices:
2. Sign up or buy something immediately. (Very rarely happens since most people choose to explore first.)
3. Leave the website because it doesn't interest them after all.
Next the publisher is trusting that the company running the affiliate program is going to be honest and share a percentage of their profits. The publisher is really taking them on their word for it. You are just a number to them, a number which can be taken advantage of.
The thing about advertising is that it is always a risk for the business paying for the advertising. With affiliate programs there is no risk for the business, the people posting the advertising are the ones taking the risk (and worse, wasting their time because they will never get paid).
The best route is to only accept two kinds of advertising:
1. PPC advertising via a major company such as Google, MSN or Yahoo! because they are guaranteed to pay you.
2. Cash in advance for annual advertising.
If they're offering an affiliate commission then its pretty much guaranteed they are running a scam in an effort to get free advertising and you will never see a dime.
Even the brand name affiliates like Amazon and CafePress never pay because you have to earn over $100 before they send you a cheque... and to earn that much you need to sell over $1000 worth of product via customers who go to their website via your ad and buy immediately without browsing.
The end result is that unless you have a super popular website then affiliate advertising just isn't worth it. And if you had a super popular website you'd be getting offers for cash in advance advertising and making oodles off Google / MSN / Yahoo! advertising anyway.
5 Tips for Spotting Scammers
1. They say "100% Guarantee" on their website. Why would they bother to say that unless they're trying to trick you?
2. They contact you directly and when you respond they launch into pressuring you and "promise" that people make lots of money advertising for them.
3. You've never heard of their company before.
4. They can't spell properly.
5. They're offering to send you a cheque from Nigeria.
January 18, 2012
Escorts: The Underground Sex Industry
By Suzanne MacNevin - January 2012.
In the world of feminism there is nothing more controversial than sex workers (aka escorts, prostitutes, hookers, whores, hoes, whatever word you choose to use). Abortion is a close 2nd.
Why is prostitution so controversial?
Well, because its underground and highly unregulated. Its difficult to say how many "sex workers" there are in the world or in a particular country, but its safe to assume that the conservative estimates are highly inaccurate.
Many feminists argue prostitution should be kept illegal, but policing it doesn't solve the problem. Regulating helps, but the only true cure is education and a strong economy. (And even a strong economy has a downside, as you will see below.)
Below: The legal status of prostitution globally.
In Canada for example prostitution is legal (but solicitation and pimping is not). When economic times are tough we see a rise in prostitution (and suicide rates), proof that its necessity which drives the underground sex industry and not any actual desire. When economic times are good prostitution slows to a crawl.
Thus when young women have job opportunities and career options open to them they see becoming an "escort" as lower down on the list of options.
But that doesn't stop the supply and demand of prostitution. In countries with strong economies (Canada, the USA, Germany, etc.) the demand is high, but the supply is low so the people running the operations (pimps, brothels, etc) rely on foreign labour to help meet the demand.
Thus even though domestic prostitution rates may be lower thanks to a strong economy, the criminal elements bring in foreign sex workers to fill the demand.
Giving visas or Green Cards to sex workers / escorts isn't exactly on each governments' list of priorities however. Thus many escorts are imported illegally using human trafficking and often remain inside the country undocumented because they've been schooled in how to avoid the law and detection.
Then there is also the problems like drug addiction, underage prostitution, pregnancy, HIV/AIDS, other sexual diseases and of course suicide rates. There is really no positive benefits from the sex industry. Its all bad.
For the people supplying the demand (the 'Johns') they might be married or in a relationship and if the wife/girlfriend finds out they could end up with a broken home. If there is children involved it could be a messy divorce.
20% of American men have paid for a prostitute.
The reverse could be equally true. The wife working as an escort in secret. It won't be glamourous either, its all about the money. If they're in an abusive relationship with their boyfriend / pimp will be extorting her earnings and often spending it on drugs.
At the end of all of this is the government and eventually government regulators. There is a strong movement globally now to regulate and control the sex industry. They've realized they can't fight it through policing so now they want to try regulating and taxing it via government regulated brothels.
But even that is not a perfect solution. Many escorts (and their pimps) prefer to operate independently so they don't have to pay taxes. They don't see any benefits to the added protection and better pay / treatment they would receive working for a regulated brothel.
The sex industry is becoming very sophisticated these days with websites like Escort Service Berlin, smart phones, GPS tracking... its a bit like operating a bicycle courier delivery service.
Escort Berlin and other websites have literally dozens (sometimes hundreds) of escorts working for them. Many of whom you will note were not born in Germany but imported.
Germany is one of the top 10 destination countries for sex trafficking in the world and 75% of escorts in Germany are foreigners.
Many of the women are brought into Germany from Thailand and other locations through marriage, false documentation and human trafficking.
Germany deports between 1,000 to 2,000 escorts annually who are discovered to be there illegally.
In Berlin alone it was estimated in 2000 there was 7,000 prostitutes, most of them brought in from eastern European countries from the former Soviet Union.
Sex tourism outside of Germany is also very common. In 1997 it was estimated that 200,000 German men travel abroad annually as sex tourists, many of whom visit Thailand looking to have sex with girls under the age of 14.
The sad fact is that there is very little government can do about the sex industry. Its so underground its virtually unreachable.
The only things we can do is try to help and save the people we can.
References
Street Prostitution in Canada
Prostitution in Germany
Tackling Prostitution in Britain
Sex Trafficking in the USA
In the world of feminism there is nothing more controversial than sex workers (aka escorts, prostitutes, hookers, whores, hoes, whatever word you choose to use). Abortion is a close 2nd.
Why is prostitution so controversial?
Well, because its underground and highly unregulated. Its difficult to say how many "sex workers" there are in the world or in a particular country, but its safe to assume that the conservative estimates are highly inaccurate.
Many feminists argue prostitution should be kept illegal, but policing it doesn't solve the problem. Regulating helps, but the only true cure is education and a strong economy. (And even a strong economy has a downside, as you will see below.)
Below: The legal status of prostitution globally.
In Canada for example prostitution is legal (but solicitation and pimping is not). When economic times are tough we see a rise in prostitution (and suicide rates), proof that its necessity which drives the underground sex industry and not any actual desire. When economic times are good prostitution slows to a crawl.
Thus when young women have job opportunities and career options open to them they see becoming an "escort" as lower down on the list of options.
But that doesn't stop the supply and demand of prostitution. In countries with strong economies (Canada, the USA, Germany, etc.) the demand is high, but the supply is low so the people running the operations (pimps, brothels, etc) rely on foreign labour to help meet the demand.
Thus even though domestic prostitution rates may be lower thanks to a strong economy, the criminal elements bring in foreign sex workers to fill the demand.
Giving visas or Green Cards to sex workers / escorts isn't exactly on each governments' list of priorities however. Thus many escorts are imported illegally using human trafficking and often remain inside the country undocumented because they've been schooled in how to avoid the law and detection.
Then there is also the problems like drug addiction, underage prostitution, pregnancy, HIV/AIDS, other sexual diseases and of course suicide rates. There is really no positive benefits from the sex industry. Its all bad.
For the people supplying the demand (the 'Johns') they might be married or in a relationship and if the wife/girlfriend finds out they could end up with a broken home. If there is children involved it could be a messy divorce.20% of American men have paid for a prostitute.
The reverse could be equally true. The wife working as an escort in secret. It won't be glamourous either, its all about the money. If they're in an abusive relationship with their boyfriend / pimp will be extorting her earnings and often spending it on drugs.
At the end of all of this is the government and eventually government regulators. There is a strong movement globally now to regulate and control the sex industry. They've realized they can't fight it through policing so now they want to try regulating and taxing it via government regulated brothels.
But even that is not a perfect solution. Many escorts (and their pimps) prefer to operate independently so they don't have to pay taxes. They don't see any benefits to the added protection and better pay / treatment they would receive working for a regulated brothel.
The sex industry is becoming very sophisticated these days with websites like Escort Service Berlin, smart phones, GPS tracking... its a bit like operating a bicycle courier delivery service.
Escort Berlin and other websites have literally dozens (sometimes hundreds) of escorts working for them. Many of whom you will note were not born in Germany but imported.
Germany is one of the top 10 destination countries for sex trafficking in the world and 75% of escorts in Germany are foreigners.Many of the women are brought into Germany from Thailand and other locations through marriage, false documentation and human trafficking.
Germany deports between 1,000 to 2,000 escorts annually who are discovered to be there illegally.
In Berlin alone it was estimated in 2000 there was 7,000 prostitutes, most of them brought in from eastern European countries from the former Soviet Union.
Sex tourism outside of Germany is also very common. In 1997 it was estimated that 200,000 German men travel abroad annually as sex tourists, many of whom visit Thailand looking to have sex with girls under the age of 14.
The sad fact is that there is very little government can do about the sex industry. Its so underground its virtually unreachable.
The only things we can do is try to help and save the people we can.
References
Street Prostitution in Canada
Prostitution in Germany
Tackling Prostitution in Britain
Sex Trafficking in the USA
January 17, 2012
Five Dirty Cops on trial, Biggest Police Corruption trial in Toronto history
CANADA - It is largest and one of the longest awaited police corruption trials in Toronto history. Five former police officers from the drug squad, collectively charged with assault, threatening, theft, extortion, corruption, conspiracy and obstruction of justice, amongst other charges.
Nebojsa (Ned) Maodus and 4 other cops are on trial. Backing them up are the creamiest defense lawyers they can find. Against them is a team of crown attorneys tasked with bringing the 5 of them to justice.
The trial is 14 years in coming.
The corruption investigation began 11 years ago. Its difficult to get the ball rolling. They only got formally charged 8 years ago. 4 years ago they had the preliminary hearing. The charges were stayed after "glacial delays", but the decision to stay the charges was overturned by the Ontario Court of Appeal and a new trial was ordered.
Yesterday the opening statements began, giving a broad outline of the case, five different complainants, five separate episodes of alleged police larceny and lying dating back to 1997 and 1998.
The first complainant took the stand, accompanied by photographs of the severe beating he had received while in police custody. The footage is raw and shows purple bruising across his ribs and waist, lacerations over the forehead, abrasions around the eye, redness around the lips, a deep bloodied gash on the elbow.
Former detective Maodus and his colleagues at 53 Division, in the common room on the station's 3rd floor, on the afternoon of April 30th, 1998 were looking for drugs and money.
One of the officers was John Schertzer, head of Team 3, Central Field Command Drug Squad, the one they called “the boss.”
Schertzer, Maodus, Steven Correia, Joseph Miched, Raymond Pollard were once part of an elite team. Now all face a slew of assault, extortion, attempt to obstruct justice, conspiracy and perjury charges. The photographic evidence and missing drugs / money removed from evidence betrays a group of cops who became addicted to the very substances they were supposed to be fighting.
In one incident $31,000 went missing. No pocket change on a detective's salary.
“They engaged in unjustified acts of physical violence against people in their custody,” says Crown Attorney John Pearson of the defendants, drawing a vivid picture not just of rogue cops, but a gang of punks with badges and guns who went after cash and drugs for their own illicit purposes. They helped themselves to whatever they could get.
Then they tried to cover their tracks by falsifying notes, disguising illegal searches, withholding vital information from both prosecutors and defence lawyers, and fabricating tales in court. Conspiracy, obstruction of justice, tampering.
In one incident a complainant was sitting in a car with a friend when the friend handed him a bag containing a pair of sunglasses. Suddenly the car was swarmed by men, 6 of them wearing civilian clothes. “I didn’t even realize they were officers. They were screaming and yelling at me — get out of the car!” says the complainant.
One of the cops grabbed the bag, looked inside and said: “They’re eff-ing sunglasses!”
The police arrested them anyway, not even showing their badges or bothering to identify themselves as police. They searched the car and found nothing. They took them to the station.
The complainant was not permitted to call a lawyer. “We’ll get to that later,” one of the officers told him. They hounded him with questions of drugs and money. They threatened to tear apart his apartment and break all his belongings. They knew he was in the jewelry business and wanted his cash.
Then the beating began.
He was taken into an interrogation room. They threatened to search his mother's home and break all her belongings too. He was moved again to an interview room at the back.
Then the testifying stopped for the day, but the crown had already revealed the order of events in their opening statement. Schertzer “watched” as two drug squad officers delivered a “serious beating” to the complainant.
Two search warrants were obtained. They searched the complainant's home and his mother's. They found a single bag of marijuana at the complainant's apartment, an amount so tiny the officers became frustrated.
Under threats the mother of the complainant revealed she had a safety deposit box where her son's savings were kept from his jewelry business. Feeling intimidated, she gave the officers the key to it. The complainant meanwhile was given over to regular police officers who sent him to the hospital due to the severe beating he had been given.
The complainant was charged with assaulting police. The officers lied on documents claiming he had fought with them and the beating had been necessary to subdue him.
The following morning Schertzer and Correia went to the bank, where there had been $54,000 in the safety deposit box. Schertzer only documented $22,850. $31,150 went missing, presumably into the pockets of the officers.
The trial continues today.
What is truly despicable is how the 5 dirty cops behave in court. They swagger and sneer. They don't even seem to be taking the charges seriously, confident in their highly paid lawyers. Their faces are smug satisfaction, like a bunch of cats who ran loose in a canary store and have been caught the next morning with fat bellies and feathers still stuck to them. Smug, defiant, even though they are obviously guilty.
The conviction rate for dirty cops is below 50% in Canada.
When cops go bad, they go really bad.
The trial is 14 years in coming.
The corruption investigation began 11 years ago. Its difficult to get the ball rolling. They only got formally charged 8 years ago. 4 years ago they had the preliminary hearing. The charges were stayed after "glacial delays", but the decision to stay the charges was overturned by the Ontario Court of Appeal and a new trial was ordered.
Yesterday the opening statements began, giving a broad outline of the case, five different complainants, five separate episodes of alleged police larceny and lying dating back to 1997 and 1998.
The first complainant took the stand, accompanied by photographs of the severe beating he had received while in police custody. The footage is raw and shows purple bruising across his ribs and waist, lacerations over the forehead, abrasions around the eye, redness around the lips, a deep bloodied gash on the elbow.
Former detective Maodus and his colleagues at 53 Division, in the common room on the station's 3rd floor, on the afternoon of April 30th, 1998 were looking for drugs and money.
One of the officers was John Schertzer, head of Team 3, Central Field Command Drug Squad, the one they called “the boss.”
Schertzer, Maodus, Steven Correia, Joseph Miched, Raymond Pollard were once part of an elite team. Now all face a slew of assault, extortion, attempt to obstruct justice, conspiracy and perjury charges. The photographic evidence and missing drugs / money removed from evidence betrays a group of cops who became addicted to the very substances they were supposed to be fighting.
In one incident $31,000 went missing. No pocket change on a detective's salary.
“They engaged in unjustified acts of physical violence against people in their custody,” says Crown Attorney John Pearson of the defendants, drawing a vivid picture not just of rogue cops, but a gang of punks with badges and guns who went after cash and drugs for their own illicit purposes. They helped themselves to whatever they could get.
Then they tried to cover their tracks by falsifying notes, disguising illegal searches, withholding vital information from both prosecutors and defence lawyers, and fabricating tales in court. Conspiracy, obstruction of justice, tampering.
In one incident a complainant was sitting in a car with a friend when the friend handed him a bag containing a pair of sunglasses. Suddenly the car was swarmed by men, 6 of them wearing civilian clothes. “I didn’t even realize they were officers. They were screaming and yelling at me — get out of the car!” says the complainant.
One of the cops grabbed the bag, looked inside and said: “They’re eff-ing sunglasses!”
The complainant was not permitted to call a lawyer. “We’ll get to that later,” one of the officers told him. They hounded him with questions of drugs and money. They threatened to tear apart his apartment and break all his belongings. They knew he was in the jewelry business and wanted his cash.
Then the beating began.
He was taken into an interrogation room. They threatened to search his mother's home and break all her belongings too. He was moved again to an interview room at the back.
Then the testifying stopped for the day, but the crown had already revealed the order of events in their opening statement. Schertzer “watched” as two drug squad officers delivered a “serious beating” to the complainant.
Two search warrants were obtained. They searched the complainant's home and his mother's. They found a single bag of marijuana at the complainant's apartment, an amount so tiny the officers became frustrated.
Under threats the mother of the complainant revealed she had a safety deposit box where her son's savings were kept from his jewelry business. Feeling intimidated, she gave the officers the key to it. The complainant meanwhile was given over to regular police officers who sent him to the hospital due to the severe beating he had been given.
The complainant was charged with assaulting police. The officers lied on documents claiming he had fought with them and the beating had been necessary to subdue him.
The following morning Schertzer and Correia went to the bank, where there had been $54,000 in the safety deposit box. Schertzer only documented $22,850. $31,150 went missing, presumably into the pockets of the officers.
The trial continues today.
What is truly despicable is how the 5 dirty cops behave in court. They swagger and sneer. They don't even seem to be taking the charges seriously, confident in their highly paid lawyers. Their faces are smug satisfaction, like a bunch of cats who ran loose in a canary store and have been caught the next morning with fat bellies and feathers still stuck to them. Smug, defiant, even though they are obviously guilty.
The conviction rate for dirty cops is below 50% in Canada.
When cops go bad, they go really bad.
Websites to protest Anti-Piracy Laws that are too broad
POLITICS/TECHNOLOGY - Wikipedia, Google, Yahoo!, eBay, Facebook and numerous other websites are planning to protest two new anti-piracy laws that would make it very difficult for them to do business. Reddit.com and Boing Boing are also protesting the new laws.
Wikipedia will black out its English-language site for 24 hours to protest the controversial Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) and the Protect Intellectual Property Act (PIPA).
Instead the site will urge Wikipedia readers to contact their local congressman to vote against the bills. Wikipedia's English site receives 25 million daily visitors.
The problem is the new laws are too broad and the proposed new laws would block access to websites believed to be distributing pirated goods... sites like eBay, auction websites, Facebook and Wikipedia would be effected easily because its so easy for people to upload and distribute pirated content onto those websites.
Google has repeatedly said the new laws goes too far and will hurt investment. Major newspapers will also be hurt and are urging lawmakers to rethink their approach.
The White House said it was concerned about SOPA, saying they believe it could make businesses on the Internet vulnerable to litigation and harm legal activity and free speech. (Not to mention creating a huge backlog in the courts, both in the USA and globally.)
News of the White House’s comments prompted a prominent supporter of the bill, News Corp. chief executive Rupert Murdoch, to slam the Obama administration.
Our thoughts? The cat is out of the bag and the genie is out of the bottle, good luck trying to catch them both. Now imagine trying to catch 2.1 billion internet users globally (including 245 million in the USA).
Instead the site will urge Wikipedia readers to contact their local congressman to vote against the bills. Wikipedia's English site receives 25 million daily visitors.
The problem is the new laws are too broad and the proposed new laws would block access to websites believed to be distributing pirated goods... sites like eBay, auction websites, Facebook and Wikipedia would be effected easily because its so easy for people to upload and distribute pirated content onto those websites.
Google has repeatedly said the new laws goes too far and will hurt investment. Major newspapers will also be hurt and are urging lawmakers to rethink their approach.
The White House said it was concerned about SOPA, saying they believe it could make businesses on the Internet vulnerable to litigation and harm legal activity and free speech. (Not to mention creating a huge backlog in the courts, both in the USA and globally.)
News of the White House’s comments prompted a prominent supporter of the bill, News Corp. chief executive Rupert Murdoch, to slam the Obama administration.
Our thoughts? The cat is out of the bag and the genie is out of the bottle, good luck trying to catch them both. Now imagine trying to catch 2.1 billion internet users globally (including 245 million in the USA).
January 13, 2012
How to Avoid Advertising Scams
TECHNOLOGY - In this age of internet advertising companies will frequently approach popular blogs and websites offering to pay for any number of advertising schemes.
The problem is that is exactly what they are: schemes.
Yes, there is legitimate brand name companies out there like Google, MSN and Yahoo! which offer internet advertising to online publishers. They all pay reasonably well.
But then there is the fly-by-night advertising companies... the rogues of the industry. They're headed by get-rich-quick schemers who offer website owners lots of money to post their advertising, but then never actually pay their tab.
Here at Lilith News we've been fortunate. We only deal with brand name companies and accept advertising from individual companies that is pre-paid links for a year. Why because the pre-paid advertising and brand name companies can guarantee their payments. The fly-by-nighters have no guarantee.
Oh sure, they can have a logo on their website saying 100% Guarantee! But why do they need that logo there unless they're completely full of BS?
Sorry, but that is just their word that it is a guarantee. And their word isn't worth the pixels on the screen.
Let me put it this way... whom do you feel safer buying a car from? The Toyota dealership? Or some guy building cars in his garage and selling them on craigslist?
The answer is Toyota, because its a brand name and you can guarantee the car will work. The guy selling cars over the internet has no guarantee that he will actually deliver a car that works properly.
We have no problem dealing with Google, MSN or Yahoo because they're brand names. But other advertising companies that we've never heard of need to pay in advance because their word cannot be trusted.
Indeed that concept can protect you from many other scams. Cheque scams from Nigeria, Green card scams from Europe and the USA. Once you realize there is no guarantee that these people will fulfill their promises you will say: "Hey, why didn't I work with a brand name company instead?"
With any kind of advertising there is a risk. If you put a $50 ad in the newspaper to sell antiques you are taking the risk that you won't sell any antiques. The newspaper isn't taking the risk, they demand payment in advance.
So why should internet website publishers be asked to take the risk when it comes to advertisers? Its the advertiser's responsibility to burden the risk. Not the publisher's.
For more advertising advice see:
SEO Advice
The problem is that is exactly what they are: schemes.
Yes, there is legitimate brand name companies out there like Google, MSN and Yahoo! which offer internet advertising to online publishers. They all pay reasonably well.
But then there is the fly-by-night advertising companies... the rogues of the industry. They're headed by get-rich-quick schemers who offer website owners lots of money to post their advertising, but then never actually pay their tab.
Here at Lilith News we've been fortunate. We only deal with brand name companies and accept advertising from individual companies that is pre-paid links for a year. Why because the pre-paid advertising and brand name companies can guarantee their payments. The fly-by-nighters have no guarantee.
Oh sure, they can have a logo on their website saying 100% Guarantee! But why do they need that logo there unless they're completely full of BS?
Sorry, but that is just their word that it is a guarantee. And their word isn't worth the pixels on the screen.
Let me put it this way... whom do you feel safer buying a car from? The Toyota dealership? Or some guy building cars in his garage and selling them on craigslist?
The answer is Toyota, because its a brand name and you can guarantee the car will work. The guy selling cars over the internet has no guarantee that he will actually deliver a car that works properly.
We have no problem dealing with Google, MSN or Yahoo because they're brand names. But other advertising companies that we've never heard of need to pay in advance because their word cannot be trusted.
Indeed that concept can protect you from many other scams. Cheque scams from Nigeria, Green card scams from Europe and the USA. Once you realize there is no guarantee that these people will fulfill their promises you will say: "Hey, why didn't I work with a brand name company instead?"
With any kind of advertising there is a risk. If you put a $50 ad in the newspaper to sell antiques you are taking the risk that you won't sell any antiques. The newspaper isn't taking the risk, they demand payment in advance.
So why should internet website publishers be asked to take the risk when it comes to advertisers? Its the advertiser's responsibility to burden the risk. Not the publisher's.
For more advertising advice see:
SEO Advice
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