Freedom

United Republic: Creative Organization Grows from OWS

- Adam Clare

Democracy takes time, and it’s rough and tedious work, so it’s amazing that in the two short months since the Occupy Movement began an organization has sprung up that will help the movement. United Republic aims to support the Occupy Movement by championing the idea that political decisions should be based on reality and not on the claims of lobbyists.

Lawrence Lessig Welcomes Rootstrikers to United Republic from Rootstrikers on Vimeo.

We aim to transform our nation’s outrage over corruption, gridlock, and cronyism into a powerful political force that can demand and deliver lasting change. We will hold politicians accountable; expose how corporate lobbyists hurt ordinary Americans; build a coalition of supporters from left, right and center; and provide financial support to the best people and organizations working on solving the problem.

Already our coalition is growing. In the fall of 2011, we joined forces with Rootstrikers, a group founded by Harvard law professor Lawrence Lessig that shares the goal of ending the domination of Big Money over the political process. The group’s name is inspired by the Henry David Thoreau quote, “There are a thousand hacking at the branches of evil to one who is striking at the root.” And we’ve recently merged with the Get Money Out campaign, an effort started by MSNBC host Dylan Ratigan that shares similar goals.

Via bOing

UN: Canada Prevented Torture

- Adam Clare

The Afghanistan war that has been going for 10 years(!) has caused a lot of horrible things to happen to all the belligerents. The American forces have been accused of torture and other horrible actions to Afghanis, and in Canada a few years ago there was accusations that Canadian forces let people be tortured as well. Unlike the American government, the Canadian government has been found by the UN to actually stop torture form happening!

“For those arrested by Canadians, two NDS officials were allocated for further interrogation and those interrogated by them never complained about ill-treatment by NDS officials.”

Between 2009 and 2010, Canadian and British forces reportedly handed over some 2,000 detainees to Afghan authorities, according to the report, with caveats and monitoring in place to ensure they were not tortured.

The treatment of Afghan detainees became a political issue for the federal government after allegations of abuse and mistreatment first arose five years ago.

Read more.

Thanks Janet!

Insite Can Continue to Operate: Supreme Court

- Adam Clare

Insite is a safe injection site for drug users which has had proven health benefits for individuals and the community. Through their work Insite has been able to help many addicts stay safe and secure while consuming drugs, this is in stark contrast to doing drugs on the streets which is way more dangerous.

In the past, Insite had to defend itself against the British Columbia Supreme Court and won, and today Insite won in the Supreme Court of Canada. This is a blow to the anti-safety, anti-drug, pro-prison campaign of the ruling Progressive Conservative Party of Canada and will hopefully mark a turning point in how Canadians support drug addicts.

This is a huge victory for results-based and preventative health care and for people who are unfortunately addicted to drugs.

If Insite wasn’t allowed to operate it would prevent injection drug users from accessing the health services offered at the facility, threatening their health and their lives, the ruling said. Withdrawing the exemption would even undermine the purpose of the federal drug law, which includes public health and safety, the court said.
…

Health groups, including the Canadian Medical Association and the Canadian Public Health Association, also applauded the decision.

The Supreme Court said that if the health minister, currently Leona Aglukkaq, receives applications for more exemptions, she must continue to exercise her discretion and aim to strike a balance between Charter rights and protecting public health and safety.

Read more coverage and see the full court report at the CBC.

Remember don’t consume dangerous drugs!

No More Bull Fighting in Catalonia

- Adam Clare

Bull fighting is animal cruelty that has some legitimacy in Spain, but that has started to change. For many years animal rights activists have been championing the safety and good-treatment of bulls and in Catalonia the last bull fight happened a couple days ago.

With any luck, the rest of Spain will follow suit and ban bullfighting.

Hundreds of anti-bullfight protesters gathered outside the bull ring carrying posters reading “RIP,” “Goodbye” and “A great day for the bulls” under the watchful eyes of squads of police.

“It is a small victory, but the thought of having it in the rest of Spain and still having Correbous (local fiestas) here does not make me happy. I am here because six animals are going to be tortured here today,” said an anti-bullfighting activist who gave his name as Luis.

The law banning bullfighting in autonomous Catalonia was passed by the regional parliament in July last year after a citizens’ petition. It comes into effect in January but Sunday was Barcelona’s farewell as it is the end of the season.

Read the rest of the article.
Info on why bull fighting is not good.

Mobiles Without Borders

- Adam Clare

M4Drinks_torontoInternational Institute of Mobile Technologies and Engineers Without Borders Toronto have joined forces to create Mobiles without Borders to encourage the use of mobiles in development.

To start things off there’s a networking event happening in Toronto tomorrow Thursday July 7th:

With over 5 billion mobile subscriptions worldwide, mobile technology is becoming more than a form of communication. In North America, Sparked is using mobiles to allow people to microvolunteer and in Kenya, M-PESA is using mobiles to provide financial services to locals. Mobiles are being used in both developed and developing countries for banking, healthcare, marketing campaigns, fundraising and so much more.

Whether you’re a local non-profit looking to build a mobile app to increase awareness about your organization, an international development practitioner looking to build a mobile platform, or a young professional, technologist or marketing professional, join us for a drink and the opportunity to meet others and discuss all things mobile.

Date: July 7, 2011, and every first Thursday of each month
Time: 6:00pm until late
Location: Fionn MacCool’s, 70 The Esplanade, Toronto, ON M5E1R2 (map)

Full disclosure I’m working with the International Institute of Mobile Technologies.

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