statism watch

Much of this high tech authoritarian rubbish gets trialed in China and then handed down to us in the supposedly free and democratic West. In the final analysis, it certainly doesn’t seem that individual rights as conceived of during the Enlightenment can survive without support from the broader culture – that’s us. Sadly, the members of this culture are now so mesmerized by entertainment, ‘reality’ television, acting cool, and a corrupt sense of entitlement that they think the world owes them freedom. Even a cursory glance at history reveals that this is not the case, and may in fact be a deadly illusion.

Flashback: Pre-Olympic transit ads encourage citizen surveillance | Beijing Taxis Are Bugged ‘For Driver Safety’ | Tanks, Face-Scanning Cameras Part of ‘Discreet’ 2010 Games Security | Vancouver Olympics security cameras raise privacy concerns

David Leppard, The Sunday Times
June 7, 2009

British police are studying Chinese-style surveillance tactics as they prepare security for the 2012 London Olympics, a leaked Scotland Yard report has revealed.

The report, marked “restricted”, reveals that among the “Big Brother” tactics deployed at last summer’s Beijing Games was the installation of miniature microphones in thousands of taxis.

The bugs transmitted passengers’ conversations to a police control room. There, officers could activate disabling devices to stop the cabs if they suspected criminal activity.

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Not to be a cynic or anything, but how much do you want to bet she already has a job offer lined up? It Criminality, it increasingly appears, is a prerequisite for the upper echelons of industry and state (often indistinguishable under the present regime).. Examples: 1 2 3

Flashback: Personal ties exposed in eHealth’s untendered contracts | Ontario eHealth approved 4.8 million in no-bid contracts | Electronic immunization records needed: Toronto health official

CBC News
June 7, 2009

Ontario Health Minister David Caplan has fired the head of the electronic health records agency eHealth Ontario amid a multimillion-dollar contracts scandal.

Caplan said Sunday the agency’s board asked that Sarah Kramer’s appointment be revoked because controversy surrounding spending and expenses since she came on board last November “threatens to delay initiatives” at the new agency.

A government source said Kramer’s departure came after “mutual agreement” between the board and the government.

Sources told The Canadian Press that Kramer will receive nearly $317,000 in compensation, the equivalent of 10 months’ salary under an agreement reached with eHealth’s board.

It is less than what she was entitled to under her contract, which would have included 15 months’ severance, an unspecified bonus and benefits, the sources said.

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Flashback: Lax rules on political financing No. 1 global corruption threat: report | Author wins award for work identifying categories of state corruption | Tories admit to using regional funds for federal campaign last election | Another Conservative candidate attacks ‘in-out’ ad scheme | Donations of money, property and services continue to corrupt Canadian politics

Tim Naumetz, Canadian Press
June 7, 2009

Closed-door sessions lead to looser rules for reporting of benefits lawmakers receive

OTTAWA – Members of Parliament have exempted the cash and benefits they receive from political parties and riding associations from restrictions and public disclosure under the House of Commons conflict-of-interest code.

The move was unanimously approved without a vote in the Commons after committee hearings conducted entirely in secret.

The closed-door decision counters a trend toward more accountability in government and should have come under public scrutiny, a democracy advocate says.

It could also erode the independence of backbench MPs, making them more beholden to party bosses instead of voters, adds Democracy Watch chief Duff Conacher.

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Related: Harper Pledges to Double Funding to International Bank at Americas Summit | Harper vows Canada will remain open to international trade | Canada, Colombia reach free-trade agreement | South American union is created

The Associated Press
June 7, 2009

Curfew announced after clashes sparked by operation to break up roadblock by Amazon Indians opposed to land exploitation

Peru is struggling to contain the country’s worst political violence in years after nine more police officers were killed yesterday in a bloody standoff with Amazon Indians opposed to government efforts to exploit oil, gas and other resources on their lands.

The deaths brought to 22 the number of police killed since security forces moved on Friday to break up a roadblock manned by 5,000 protesters.

Protest leaders said at least 30 Indians, including three children, died in the clashes. Authorities said they could confirm nine civilian deaths.

The cabinet chief, Yehude Simon, said 155 people had been injured, about a third of them from bullet wounds. He announced a 3pm to 6am curfew, taking effect immediately.

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Flashback: Thousands protest in Russia over financial crisis | Russian police beat auto tariff protesters

Luke Harding, The Observer
June 7, 2009

From Vladivostok to St Petersburg, Russians are taking to the streets in anger over job losses, unpaid wages and controls on imported cars

Russia’s prime minister, Vladimir Putin, is facing the most sustained and serious grassroots protests against his leadership for almost a decade, with demonstrations that began in the far east now spreading rapidly across provincial Russia.

Over the past five months car drivers in the towns of Vladivostok and Khabarovsk, on Russia’s Pacific coast, have staged a series of largely unreported rallies, following a Kremlin decision in December to raise import duties on secondhand Japanese cars. The sale and servicing of Japanese vehicles is a major business, and Putin’s diktat has unleashed a wave of protests. Instead of persuading locals to buy box-like Ladas, it has stoked resentment against Moscow, some nine time zones and 3,800 miles (6,100km) away.

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