8.1.09

RESPONSE in the COMMUNITY

Despite our lack of funds and leagues of registered members, we know that we need to get out into the community and get to work. There is so much information, story and experience waiting to be heard, published, shared. 

It may take us longer to get our work done but it will get done. Community has a voice that has been silenced for far too long. We are out and about and we will shout. If need be. This does not ignore the fighting that one must do everyday for either your many legislated rights, your voice to be heard or processing the trauma of the continual rape of one's dignity and constitutional rights.

We sincerely believe that community and its people have many undervalued resources, talents and skills. Often we are not given a chance to use them or develop them due to circumstances out of our control. From time to time we will be doing various community projects to  foster opportunities to assist in rendering communities healthier and safer.   
Community needs to look after community.

Every skill is important and necessary to function. The wheel does not wake up one day to be the handle bars nor the seat wakes up one day to be the spoke. In our very defined roles we work together as a functional organism that can move us from one place to another.

It is the total sum of our skills and contributions that will make us 'successful' in our aspirations to have respectful and equal rights for all so that each one of us can enjoy a healthier life for ourselves and those we care about.....
We thank you in advance for your community contributions.

Whenever someone seeks to speak the TRUTH and that TRUTH brings corruption and crime to the public's attention there will always be retaliation from those who have most to lose. Our organization is not immune to the defensive mechanisms of rats backed into a corner. The HRM police ARE the governments armed forces!

One of our team members was threatened of eviction if he hosted any of our meetings with me in attendance-threatened by property manager of Uniacke Square.

Another one of our members was constantly followed around and vehicle pulled over by police for trumped up reasons, sometimes within yards of his front door in Uniacke Square.

On another occasion one of our team members had the police bash in their door and had guns in her sleeping children's faces while they were still in bed.

Another, who was subsequently terminated, knowingly engaged in a fraud scheme to gain 2 computers through accepting a city voucher from HRM police Dean Simmons, paid by tax payers-filed with NS Police Commission who gave this police thug  a pass. Thankfully we intercepted in time and although Simmons lied we know it to be true and the computers were never bought.

It was our original intent to publish as many voices as possible. We had various stories submitted but did not want anyone put in harm's way of retaliation aimed at us or me. Since we respectfully understand how government has no problem fragging and abusing those who scream out in pain with each of their punches, we decided to keep matters/reports to a very few people which then dwindled to just me as team members were being harassed and abused in retaliation but we do so knowing each story here represents at least 
a 1000 VOICES....

...our hat off to the hundreds of people in poverty who signed their names to the petitions sent to the federal government when they had the choice to mark spot with an X.

All of these brave souls are part of our 'team' as they stood up for what they knew was wrong. Each one of you is  a community advocate and an honorary member of 
RESPONSE: A THOUSAND VOICES

For every one of your signatures you represent 1000 voices as well.

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Discussions on the role and expectations of advocate and allies:

Is there truly such a thing as an altruistic advocate or ally?

Can they be loyal to two masters: community and government who are community's abusers?

Do they know that selectivity is not inclusivity?

Who or what do they really work for?

What do they think is their role?

Can they be greater betrayers/offenders/perpetrators /violators than government?

What do they expect from government?
What do they expect from community?
What do they expect from themselves? Do they discriminate?

Who are the real allies and advocates for the vulnerable in Nova Scotia? Can volunteers be allies and advocates?

Who would you name as a reliable and loyal advocate or ally and please explain why.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

Are you a Volunteer ?

An Act to Limit the Liability of
Volunteer Serving Non-profit Organizations


~~Volunteers~~

Allies and advocates can take the form of Volunteer be it in a formal or informal capacity. Are all volunteers alike?
This comprehensive read says NO!

The Voluntary Health Sector: Looking to the Future of Canadian Health Policy and Research 

Part I

http://dsp-psd.pwgsc.gc.ca/Collection/H13-5-02-9E.pdf

Part II

http://dsp-psd.pwgsc.gc.ca/Collection/H13-5-02-10E.pdf

II. Volunteers Are Not all the Same: The Case of Health Organizations

by Paul B. Reed Statistics Canada and L. Kevin Selbee Carleton University

Introduction

'This study compares individuals who volunteer for health organizations with those who volunteer for culture and recreation, social service and religious organizations. Three questions directed our inquiry. Do health volunteers differ from volunteers for other kinds of organizations? If so, in terms of what traits do health volunteers differ? And, what characteristics do health volunteers have in common with each other? Answers to these questions will enhance our understanding of the voluntary sector as a whole, and could also provide health organizations with information about the socio-demographic characteristics and social dynamics associated with health organization volunteers, thereby identifying components of the population they currently do not draw volunteers from and enabling them to adapt their recruitment strategies to tap such resources.
This analysis lies on uncharted terrain: there is little research on the interesting questions of who volunteers for what and why? Even a brief review of the literature reveals a considerable number of studies of who volunteers; nonetheless, there are still a substantial number of inconsistent, even contradictory, findings. A systematic picture of who volunteers and why is beginning to emerge but remains far from complete (Wilson 2000; Smith 1994), in part because research on who volunteers typically treats all volunteers as a homogeneous group.
Our research here examines the traits of volunteers in several types of organizations that can be differentiated along two dimensions, one that follows the distinction between religious and secular organizations, and another axis of classification that is similar to the expressive-instrumental and the mutual benefit-program volunteer distinctions. However, our classification rests not on who benefits from the activity (members versus clients), but rather on whether the service or product provided is an amenity or fills a basic human need.'
con't in links
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Looking to volunteer for an organization or maybe just a specific event?
We have started an informal directory to assist people who are just getting involved with the volunteer sector. It is still in its sampling stage so please bear with us. If you are looking for volunteers let us know or you can post directly by registering at the second link provided here.

For more formal listings please check out...
http://www.nsvolunteerforum.ca/

WE do not personally support any programs associated with silver tongued Tory Minister Barry Burnett but since others community persons worked on this website in good faith we can refer it to you with that intent.
Some tips when selecting an organization:
In order to make the best choice possible it is encouraged that you ask the organization that you are considering as many questions as you need to make a comfortable decision. The more questions asked and answered allows you and the organizations to know each other's expectations.

Please note that certain organizations require personal informations such as criminal checks and/or child abuse registry checks. These requests are not meant to offend you, they are required by law for your protection as well.

If at any time your availability is changing due to illness, moving or other reasons please let your organizations know as soon as possible. This will allow the organization to make other arrangements.
Many organizations have provincial and /or national offices. If you are planning to change residences let your organization(s) know, they can assist with your transition with as much ease as possible so that you can continue to volunteer.
When you are applying for a volunteer position it may take time to process. Please call the organization periodically to make sure your application was received and is in fact being processed.
The issue of confidentiality does not just apply to what happens during your volunteer shift. It is quite common to 'run' into persons you work with in other contexts and settings, it is imperative that you respect their right to privacy. If they choose to engage with you first then take it from there based on your comfort levels but the volunteer must never initiate the interaction.
Finding the right organization to volunteer with is like finding that comfortable pair of shoes, it may take a few tries.There is a 'right' fit for everyone. Please be patient as you look for the organization that best suits your goals, time schedule, needs, skills and hopes.
It is important before signing any contract with your selected organization to read all wording. If you have any questions or concerns please ask someone of authority at your placement. Please note all signed contracts are legally binding.
Volunteers are like water to the body, an essential element. Although their work is unwaged it is as valuable and important as those who are employed at each placement. In April we formally acknowledge the efforts of all volunteers in Nova Scotia however, we ask that you show your appreciation throughout the year for without their dedication and contributions your workload would be more.
Although the volunteer's work is unwaged he or she is entitled to be treated with respect and civility with every placement. Every working environment should be 'safe' for everyone's comfort.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Vote To Make Poverty History Campaign Launch
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Dear Canadian Citizen
A federal election is a great opportunity to advance our campaign to make poverty history. 
Please help to make this an election that will make a difference.
We can greatly improve the chances of governments taking serious actions to make poverty 
history at home and abroad if we make poverty a key election issue. If we can use the election
to secure commitments from party leaders on anti-poverty policies, it will be much easier 
to get them to keep these promises after an election.  We need to show candidates t
hat many voters care about poverty and want to know what candidates and parties will 
do to make poverty history.
 
That is why we have launched the Vote to Make Poverty History non-partisan, third party 
campaign with the following goals: 
  1. Make poverty an issue during the election campaign; 
  2. Get a significant number of candidates to endorse Make Poverty History’s campaign goals;
  3. Secure a commitment from political parties on Make Poverty History goals in party platforms and leader’s statements;
  4. Motivate voters to vote to make poverty history; and
  5. Help to create favourable conditions for realizing Make Poverty History goals after the election.




EIGHT WAYS TO MAKE POVERTY AN ELECTION ISSUE
 
1. Ask Candidates Questions About Poverty
 
Ask candidates to support the Make Poverty History Call to Action and wear a white
band to show their support. All candidates will be sent a white band with a request 
that they wear it during the campaign to show they support the Make Poverty History 
Call to Action. Follow up with candidates in your riding by asking them to wear the 
white band to show they support the Make Poverty History campaign and that they will 
work towards realizing its goals if elected. 
  • When candidates or their canvassers knock on your door, ask them if they support Make 
  • Poverty History and pose some of the Questions to Ask Candidates.
  • Attend all-candidates meetings and ask questions from the Questions to Ask Candidates.
  • Stop by campaign offices, speak to candidates at community events, at the mall and 
  • on the street. Ask them if they support Make Poverty History and if they'll work to 
  • make poverty history if elected. Ask them to wear the white band if they support the 
  • Make Poverty History Call to Action.
  • Check the Vote to Make Poverty History website one week before voting day to see 
  • which candidates in your riding have indicated their support for the Make Poverty 
  • History goals. Then vote for the candidate you feel is best able to help make 
  • poverty history.
  •  
2. Let the world know “I’m voting to Make Poverty History”


3. Advertize
  • Organize an “I’m voting to Make Poverty History” gathering and photo shoot and place the photo in a local community newspaper as an ad. Invite friends on facebook or use a meeting where people are already gathered and ask people to hold up “I’m voting to Make Poverty History” signs and wear buttons. Even better, create a large banner! Take a photo. Collect donations of a few dollars each to pay for placing the photo in a local community newspaper as a paid advertisement. You can download ad templates from our website.
  • Download and post the “Vote to Make Poverty History” banner to your website.


4. Donate


5. Organize an All-Candidates Meeting
  • Make Poverty History has prepared a Guide for Organizing an All-Candidates Meeting. Get together with some friends or groups concerned about global and domestic poverty issues, book a hall, invite candidates, invite the public. Or ask questions on global and domestic poverty issues at candidate meetings organized by other groups. Use the Sample Questions Make Poverty History has prepared. 
  • Make Poverty History has email addresses of hundreds or even thousands of supporters in your riding. We can send out notices to these supporters of an all-candidates meeting or photo shoot you organize. Simply send us an email with all the details and we can pass the word on. In your email, remember to include the date, time and complete location of the event. 


6. Get Visible with Party Leaders

7. Take Media Action
  • Publicize your views. Tell your local media you care about poverty and urge reporters to ask candidates what they'll do to help end poverty.
  • Write letters to the editor, send in opinion articles and call in to radio shows. See a Sample Letter to the Editor and Sample Opinion Article Make Poverty History has prepared and revise it to add your own local angle.
  • Blog, tweet and facebook about the Vote to Make Poverty History campaign. 


8. Go online
  • Make Poverty History will be doing a series of online actions during the election campaign. Sign on and take action. Encourage your friends to sign-on.
With your support we will be able to mount a Vote to Make Poverty History campaign that will make a difference.
 
Sincerely,
Dennis Howlett
National Coordinator, Make Poverty History
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
http://www.frugalshopper.ca/


We are not endorsing any particular company, contest or item on this website, Frugal Shopper, it is here for you to have access to in hopes that it can be of assistance to you financially.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Advocacy can be quite creative:
Poverty Student Song

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cr2LiQGrC7A&feature=player_detailpage#t=187s

~~~~~
 
BEA: BLACK EDUCATORS ASSOCIATION
(excerpt for article/book)

In the early years of integration, as well as before, it was very difficult for the students to learn about the achievements of Blacks. Many Blacks have contributed, in many ways, to the welfare of our country. But that history appears to be "Lost, Stolen or Strayed." Students were unable to have any self-esteem because they had always been "put down," and they knew nothing of the past contributions of the Blacks. Today black history has been incorporated in the curriculum but it is merely a course for whosoever wants to take it. I feel that it should be incorporated in the Social Studies Program -- starting with the elementary grades.


The Black Educators Association was formed in 1969 to assist communities throughout the province to develop strategies to improve the quality of education for Blacks. ...


It appears that Doris Evans et al were the Originators of bringing Africentric Programming to the mainstream mandatory curriculum in Nova Scotia in the late sixties...


The critical question asked over and over today...has BEA met its own objectives?
One need only walk through the most impoverished of Black communities and ask parents and the resounding answer is NO!
It is NOT our intention to itemize all commentary from the community but wish to bring this discussion to light about what is going on and who is being effected by the lack of effectiveness from BEA.


WE have in 2008 a shameful number of Black children and youth throughout this province still falling between the cracks of education despite the annual funds given to BEA. The community wants to know where all the provincial and federal monies are going? The community says they hardly see any of it (via programming, events, focus groups, discussions about their issues) and are not even allowed to be part of the Association because they cannot afford the fees.
Is this deliberate exclusionary practice based on socio-economics?


We are aware that the firings of two employees was the direct result of poli-blacklashing within the organization between those (minority) who know that BEA must be more creative and engaging in the community to be effective versus those, the majority who prefer the reactionary defensiveness of finger pointing that has nothing to do with cultural cohesion and every thing to so with being 'stuck' and 'rigid' and 'retentive': the antithesis of inspirational and aspirational.
There will be more to follow when the matters are no longer in legal process.

---------- 

Man swarmed by teens

ALEX BOUTILIER Published: February 04, 2011 4:48 a.m. Last modified: February 03, 2011 10:50 p.m.
 
Halifax Regional Police are investigating a swarming by a large group of teenagers in the midst of Wednesday’s storm.

According to police spokesman Const. Brian Palmeter, a 49-year-old man was assaulted near the North Memorial Public Library on Gottingen Street by a group of 10 to 15 teens.

The man was treated by paramedics for minor injuries.

The incident took place at roughly 5:30 p.m., when there was limited foot and vehicle traffic.

The victim was able to provide descriptions of two of the youths, Palmeter said.

Anyone with information is asked to contact police. 
RESPONSE: The reason(s) why popo rarely do anything is because of the geographics and race dynamics-these are communities where this happens more than others and because this is 'usually' a black on white crime and NS aint ready for that Undiscussable yet.I was swarmed in Mulgrave Park where they chanted 'kill the white b**ch' and MRHA/Irvine Carvery and police/ Police Commission tried to bully me out of pressing charges. All 25 of my perps were black including the parents, I am European white. 
Are you ready for THE racial hate crime discussion? The police did nothing nor did Carvery or Housing b/c they are classist, racist and /or afraid of the race card PLUS as a bonus for them I was outing their incestuous corruption/depravity so they thot I deserved it-took popo 2.5 hours to get to my house after 911 call b/c I was the victim.
Thugs protect thugs~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Nova Scotia man camps in cold to help hungry

  Published: January 13, 2011 12:54 p.m. Last modified: January 14, 2011 12:45 a.m.

CLYDESDALE, N.S. - A Nova Scotia man is camping out in the cold to help the hungry.

Peter Jowett has pitched a tent in the backyard of his Clydesdale home for the winter to raise money and awareness for Feed Nova Scotia.
The charitable organization collects and distributes food to more than 150 food banks across the province.
While camping out for fun last winter, Jowett said he began to think about the homeless and people who can't afford to heat their homes in the winter or buy food.

So far, Jowett said he's earning $17 a night in pledges.

"Sometimes when it's not so fun being in the tent, I go to bed thinking 'Well, here's another meal for somebody,'" he said. "So it does make a difference."
Jowett said he hopes to spend 80 or so nights in the tent.

RESPONSE:Best wishes to Jowett and his poverty project..... great idea....and even if he cannot endure the colder nights the thought and effort are fantastic. Hip Hip Hooray!
~~~~~~~HRM (HALIFAX) CITY COUNCILLOR PATRICK MURPHY REFUSES LIE DETECTOR TEST FOR RAPE
MAYOR KELLY AND CHIEF BEAZLEY TREATING HRM TAX PAYERS LIKE THEY ARE IDIOTS

It has been a long time away form being in touch, such is the nature of the POVERTY beast when systems work in unison to distract and exhaust your energies placing you into other states of unwellness...just some issues that have been going on that the NS public should be aware of:

In May 2007: Received a letter from Detective Penny Hart that the HRM police were NOT going to press rape charges against Patrick Murphy, if I wanted to know more to contact her. Well my good reader this cop was already told months prior that any communications regarding the decision not to press charges were to be in writing WITH the reasons why. She chose not to do that no doubt as not to perjure herself in any other related official capacity but also knew I had no intention of contacting her-I filed 6 times with the NS Police Commission to have Hart removed and investigated for not doing a rape investigation which included not contacting my critical witness list. When I repeatedly asked police to take a lie detector test they would not even acknowledge my request, when I ask how the rapist did on his test they did not answer. I would find out many months later that CITY COUNCILMAN PATRICK MURPHY REFUSED TO TAKE A LIE DETECTOR TEST.

This letter for the cop was responsible for much of the long silence on the blog for despite knowing I live in a city with a sociopathic police department and incompetent city council nothing can prepare a victim to be further degraded by those passing themselves of as ethical, humane and intelligent....I cannot post much about the aftermath as some of you may already know via the August 23 2007 CH(B2) news article that I have been charged with 4 criminal charges against Patrick Murphy. Please note that the media wishes to mislead the public by stating " The Circumstance of the charges have not yet come out in court". Now for you that did not fall asleep during history class Joe Howe would be appalled at such a misleading statement as this author let CH know every step of the way: the CH knew minister Murray Scott, Peter Kelly, Frank Beazley and the Police Commission knew all about it: if they are not the court then who is?

What the Chronicle Herald hopes is that you do not know that they have received every a copy of every single report of corruption in various municipal and provincial departments I submitted since 2001 to various agencies in HRM and did nothing to inform the public about how sick HRM really is. The CH did know at the time of this print what those charges were about and did know about the faux rape investigation but kept that from you the PUBLIC, it was kept from you as not to let the Commonwealth Game Bid be interrupted.

Please note that Murphy and chief Beazley opened a community police office just in March of this year during the time he was supposedly being investigated for rape. So for almost a year they pretended to do an investigation while Murphy was paid wages with your tax dollars. I thought at least a suspension until the investigation was done. What you also need to know is that letter to not charge PM was sent to my house in May the same time I attempted to take my life because of these very people and they knew this. They ignored my numerous communications checking in for the of the investigation since September then hit me with this bomb. I think you know what they were trying to do.


Also, because of crimes committed against me by NS civil servants I have multiple disabilities and I live in poverty. It should sicken you to know that Murphy sits on the HRM Advisory Committee for Persons with Disabilities yet he is related to my trauma, family suffering and displacement and disabilities.

So now I have these charges, know a good lawyer? I wont tell you about the abuse by cop Colin Brien another sociopath. Just come to court and you will see the video yourself unless its suddenly disappears.!

So you would think that would be an automatic approval at NS Legal Aid?Now just think who sits on the board of NSLA.

So I meet with a lawyer who looks 16 her name is Nicole Campbell. I knew within minutes she knew exactly what was going on-looks are deceiving. She was the one who told me about PM refusing to take the LDT-she knew the police would not give me one so she said she would look into it. I was very excited about that because the justice system namely the scumbags:crown and police have been getting away with calling my vile names including calling me a liar so a test would put all that to rest which is exactly why the police would not give me one. I would want the questions to go way back to the beginning of the police/crown gang-raping my family into permanent trauma 1992.

Anyway I left that meeting feeling like finally the public will get know their mayor, city councillors , police chief, crown and minister for the first time. But she would have another thing waiting for me at our next meeting: she blamed it on my fax of witnesses and explanation. She REFUSED to take my case. Now when your lawyer smells like your rapist and the scum that protect him then you are in trouble. Now I cannot itemize everything as not to retraumatize myself but lets just say I told her that I wanted the judge to know about how many times she violated my constitutional rights never mind she knew about my 6 chronic disabilities I had the audacity to tell me to represent myself..this after all the time she knew I just spent in courts and hearings since 1992 because of lazy, incompetent, sociopathic civil servants? I asked her if she thought it was okay for me to cross-examine the scum who raped me? She did not answer.
I went into shock.

I already did not trust these people for they defended every black thug that harmed my family but only those where the police finally laid charges which was not many when they seen that I was the victim. The police thoroughly enjoyed the abuse I endured which led to my attempt to take my life in 2004 a year before Frank Beazley's own son took his. If these lawyers were that stupid to be fooled by the sociopaths from Mulgrave Park then they could not possibly represent me anyway. I asked fro a referral to the Certificate Program ,she rudely denied it.It was not until I mentioned my rights being violated that she said she will take it with her manager. I bet she will. It amazes me how people who claim to work with the poor think poverty means stupidness.

Two minutes after I got home the phone rang it was the lawyer: she said they discussed it and agreed to represent me if I agreed to not testify, enter evidence or witnesses to the trial for my defense. This is a blink blink moment. YES you heard right!!!!

I was to sign not one but two contracts BEFORE speaking with the judge, the one I had already said I highly respected. Because I was in shock I could not process the afternoon's rape.

Then the rage hit.

I walked into court exactly at 1:30pm. Nicole came over to me and made me want to vomit.I could not even look at her. About 2 seconds before court she told me I could appeal the refusal for the CP. I made sure the judge knew about as much as I could convey given my trauma at the moment. I am sure he was very confused at what took place:ethical people usually are. He adjourned the matter until December 19 2007 so I could use the appeal process. See the reason why they did that is abuse needs privacy so by bringing in outsiders (CP) the gig is up. So by not telling me about the appeal process was one of several constitutional violations by NSLA.

So PEOPLE please exercise your right to attend public meetings. You have the right to know that your tax dollars are paying the wages on those who have perpetrated crimes against my family since 1992.

Your money should be converted into per diem for their incarceration not modified days off and 4 week paid vacations.

Now back to the article: I wish to point out that as an avid reader you should have already thought that there is an awful lot of words and nothing really being said other then to depict me as a crazy woman who damages property and threats rapist for no reason. Note the inclusion that I am barred from city hall and PM home: the place he raped me in and still resides. Don't most sickos return to the scene of the crime. Murphy still lives there, sleeps in the same room no doubt still 'getting off' on the night he raped me. I have not set foot in city hall since about 2002 and I do not even know where Dawn Sloan lives and who cares where that lazy fake lives anyway. I had already ended my relationship with Nancy Snow in April ( a great therapeutic counsellor by the way) So what you have is media working closely with city council and Murphy trying to create a distraction for you the PUBLIC based on their arrogant attitudes that you the unassuming PUBLIC are quite stupid and apathetic. Remember that movie Wag the Dog...considered yourselves wagged.

So why does that article writer go to such length to create an illusion for the reader but deliberately leaves out the information they know too well about the rape investigation and of one rapist Patrick Murphy?

Notice that in the article Murphy declined comment like he declined taking the a lie detector test. YOU not I pay his wages, he works for YOU not me:
DEMAND HIM TO TAKE THE TEST!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
May 05 2007

RESPONSE: A THOUSAND VOICES
PRESENTS:
A POW PRODUCTION


A Holistic Approach to ADHD and Poverty
No Child Left Behind
May 05 2007 Halifax Nova Scotia


Hello Community,

Those of us that meaningfully engage, either professionally or personally, with the multi-dynamic issues of poverty have noticed that there is a knee-jerk reaction in vulnerable communities where manifestations of poverty are automatically symptomatic to then be addressed with a fast fix, usually medication and often self medicating behaviours that often become life- long and/or generational.

Many youth and children in these communities are being diagnosed with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (herein ADHD) and are prescribed pharmaceuticals to address these complex issues that may or may not have anything to do with a medical diagnosis.
We know impoverished families do not have privy to private assessments therefore are at the mercy of insensitive and often desensitized systems that mass produce diagnosis and create patterns of dependent prescription usage, yet these individuals are still being suspended from school and are 'falling' behind their classmates.

It is our mission to promote a holistic approach to this issue leaving pharmaceutical usage as a last resort when those involved have had the benefit of having made an educated choice according to their need and ability. We want persons in poverty to have the benefit of a private assessment to eliminate potential gender, racial and socio-economic/ class biases that often are retaliatory or punitive to those living in poverty.

The relationship between school and home on the issue of drugs and who assessed the ADHD diagnosis is usually contentious in these communities. The problem and suspicion in these communities right now is that people are not being properly and unbiasly assessed to then endure the cyclical frustration of the inevitable fall out as some of these children and youth are still being suspended from school and some are zombiefied from improper drug prescriptions, use and dosages.

We want school and family and community to work together in that when a qualified physician says this is ADHD and medications are the recommendation then school and home must work as partners in complying. Advocating for a holistic approach, the family should have the right to choose to include reasonable and ethical alternatives or complimentary treatment modalities.
We advocate that the qualified physician, assessment and recommended medication are considered a last resort deconstructing the dysfunctional practice of medicating the child on unqualified comments which is not in the best interest of child and /or family which is now the first and only resort often causing more harm then benefit.
We are advocating that alternative holistic remedies be exhausted first before medicating children and youth who may otherwise not be medicated and labeled if they were privy to a private assessment and /or holistic remedies.

Poverty does not have a monopoly on ADHD but we know the resources, or lack thereof, are part of the issue in poverty that is not an issue elsewhere. Increased accessibility to more viable solutions will not be in place until we meaningfully discuss this issue in public once and for all. We first must replace fiction with facts and confirm who has the legal authority to diagnose. As so many of us are stakeholders the participants must reflect the diversity in both the community, who has potential allies and services and in the community most directly affected by Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder.

We want meaningful engagement from all stakeholders to address, discuss, assess and comply with an intelligent, sensitive and ethical approach to diagnosing children and youth in poverty.
We hope to involve community for a working day in dealing with the socio-medical realities of ADHD and poverty.
As this function is adult learning based it is suggested than no persons under the age of 16 should register.

This project intends to discuss:

- multi-directional support amongst all stakeholders of this issue including the family often ignored in this discussion, involvement from the family empowers family, provisions of age appropriate learning tools that assist in building the confidence of youth and children who are otherwise struggling due to embarrassment, suspensions and falling behind in class from the lack of such complimentary tools, supports and understanding.

- the role of socio-economic class, the most economically vulnerable do not have access to private assessments or insurances to give their child or youth the best of possible opportunities for an adequate and thorough diagnosis. Regardless of economics, alternatives need to be included in the choices, using often intrusive pharmaceuticals as a last resort. As it is now the Impoverished do not have the luxury of choosing more suitable remedy options for ADHD defined by their own family beliefs, structure, abilities and practices.

- children/youth who will be labeled throughout their entire school careers as problem children and that these children, spending most of their time in day suspensions and not in the classroom, were inadvertently being sentenced to a life of dysfunction and poverty. We need to find complimentary alternatives to responding to children and youth that have ADHD in the classroom: suspensions are exacerbating the problem at school and in the community as idle and often unsupervised children and youth do get into mischief whereby symptoms and behaviours of ADHD become criminalized.

- that poverty must be assessed in terms of trauma symptomology first before considering other diagnosing and too often culture, geography, environment, familial structuring, sibling order and lack of disposable income are not considered.
Quality is not an accident: it is the deliberate result of intelligent effort (unknown)

Relevant persons of interest would be:

Community voice ( any age over 16 years old), teachers, school boards, guidance counselors, child welfare workers, resource centres, child and youth service providers/ programmers, community/family advocates and school liaisons.

For the purpose of this event we are defining Community voice ( herein CV) as those directly affected with the ADHD diagnosis and poverty either as the one diagnosed and /or family member(s) that reside with a person with ADHD.

We recognize that critical discussion and analysis of poverty and illness are long overdue in certain communities and we strongly encourage CV from MISA, Native, Black, French, any visibly or perceived impoverished community, non-poverty persons with ADHD diagnosis, disabilities and brain injuries to register for they have the expertise through experience with this very 'disabling' label that affects performance at school and at home.

As we have limited seating every attempt will be made to accommodate those who are most affected and involved with this issue of ADHD and poverty.

As not all possible participants have access to a computer we ask that organizations make registration forms available to those individuals they think would enjoy participating in an interactive working conference. Every effort will be made to have flyers and registration packages available to those who do not interact with organizations or community resources.

More information about registration packages coming soon.....
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BOYCOTT FILM OF POLICE AND CARVERY

“UNIACKE SQUARE BLUES” Film Premiere

Being held at North Branch Library in Halifax. This film , Canada based, is obviously confused as two persons that will be on panel for the premier are none other than two of HRM's corrupt crew: Irvine Carvery and Don Spicer. Anyone who knows anyone in HRM knows that Carvery , a racist, has harmed more people in his own community than the police. Anyone who knows anyone knows Don Spicer, as with all ignorant cowardly white people, is notorious for kissing the ass of social issues hoping they will 'go away'.
This panel discussion is a fraud!

Carvery should be in prison for crimes against humanity and organizing and encouraging racial violence while Spicer should be in prison for lying continually to the public on criminal activities of the police.
Of course, if you decide to go then make sure to bring long rubber boots, a shovel and your voice to out these fraudsters.
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December 2006

Stolen Sisters: Stop the threat of violence

READERS: Please submit your letter of support to eradicate Native women abuse to your MP . See link for forum. Start your own petition for signatures to take action against women who are victims of all forms of violence from the domestic husband to the punitive government policies and civil servants that harm women through sociopathic retaliation or infringed/enforced poverty.

Copy of your message that has been sent to Stoffer, Peter:
To: Stoffer, Peter
Member of Parliament for Sackville—Eastern Shore

Peter, sadly since the issue of native violence is not pervasive in our
community we tend to ignore it but that does not give us permission to ignore
the larger damaging issue of violence against all women and any woman.

All women are at the mercy of a permissive government that allows violence to
continue to suffocate their spirits and voices.
Native women still struggle to
have a voice and it is time for them to be heard.
Please show your support that Eastern Passage will not tolerate the abuse of any
one protected by the Canadian Constitution.
Just because we cannot see it in our own community does not mean
it is not our collective responsibility to do
something about it.
WE know violence against women is everywhere, the more
vulnerable the woman the greater the chances of being abused.. Thank you
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December 8 2006-
BOYCOTTED event of Human Rights for Women as too many perpetrators would be in attendance. There is a dangerous misnomer that only men abuse women. RESPONSE cannot knowingly engage in any activity where known violators( women and men) who harm women are invited. We do acknowledge the energies of those sincerely about the rights and dignity of other human beings and in our own way we have respected the International Day for Human Rights event.
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December 5 2006-
PRESENTATION TO THE ADVISORY COMMITTEE FOR CHILD WELFARE-COMMUNITY SERVICES:
Despite the trauma that had to be processed by RESPONSE team presenter RESPONSE presented at the Community Services office Spring Garden Road. The commitee graciously extended our time to an hour as we discussed the generational abuses on families by Community Services who fail to enforce the Childrens and Families Services Act (1990) evenly and with due diligence to protect vulnerable families and children from harm.
(see child welfare section of the blog)
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November 2006
BOYCOTTED HOUSING and POVERTY events sponsored by CAH or CAN or HRM or Community Services.
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October 2006

RESPONSE proudly joined 21 other organizations who had been hard at work in the quest for a fair and equal tax system. We originally joined in recognizing the lack of fairness for elders and women who made choices to stay at home exempting them from any benefits in their elder years for pensions. Hoping to contribute to the eradication of poverty for elders we joined forces and so far we are being heard. Please contact your local MP on the issues of PENSION SPLITTING for all.

November is a month that we give respect to those elders and veterans that fought for many rights benefits by all. It is now time that we show them our appreciation by supporting them and encouraging them to enjoy a life of dignity and that can only be accomplished though treating elders with dignity and by way of giving them more disposable income as the live in their senior years.
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October 26 2006.
TOOLS FOR LIFE: DISABILITIES CONFERENCE. Held in beautiful Wolfville at the new Hortons Centre/school it was by far one of the most informative and stimulating conferences on the very ignored topic of disabilities and barriers. Four team members were present and we all thoroughly enjoyed the day bringing home lots of networking and discussions. We wish to thank DIAL ( Disabilities Individual Alliance) for their support!
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October 24 2006.
PRESENTATION TO FINANCE COMMITTEE. We represented in da house! Breaking reading records we managed to get our recommendations on record and interact with this committee in a respective and hopeful way. We received much respect for our submissions and we thank this federal committee for giving us the opportunity to present the real concerns in our most vulnerable communities.
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October 16-21.
We at RESPONSE have deliberately BOYCOTTED all events sponsored by Community Action on Homelessness (CAH) and (CAN) Community Advocacy Network for their continual 'passive aggressive and polite' way they wish to ignore the urgency on the abuse of the Impoverished in HRM.
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October 2006.
PHEONIX YOUTH SERVICES: YOUTH CONFERENCE. Great key note discussion, Dr Michael Unger, on the holistic modalities and assessments that must be used if we are to engage in an effective way with youth within their respective environments. Held in Halifax at the Westin Hotel. Smaller discussions on youth issues and we attended the ADHD discussion facilitated by Dr. Erica Baker who gave the most comprehensive presentation I have ever seen. Great to know we have such intelligent practitioners in our HRM area that are working to properly interact with our vulnerable youth and children.
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September 2006.
UNIAKE SQUARE COMMUNITY CONFERENCE. I had been asked to present on either the topic of Community Violence or Community Leadership two very critical issues in communities that are very vulnerable. I accepted but then was told that I was not allowed to present. Irvine Carvery, property manager for Uniake Square once again abused his authority to then slander my name stating that I had slandered his name. 

I still attended the conference as a community advocate. Within about 20 minutes I was asked to go outside into the GEORGE DIXON foyer by a woman I did not even know. She had two witnesses, I did not know I needed any. There I was told that some people did not feel comfortable with me in the room. I smiled. In the calmest voice that almost shocked me, I told this stranger that I felt more uncomfortable with my perps in the room. She told me I had to leave. I told her to call police and have me removed.
 
I stayed for the day afterall. A letter from RESPONSE: A THOUSAND VOICES will be sent to the USTA in the near future on their outrageous unethical behaviour that is NOT about community and all about silencing the abuse they do to community.

We are pleased that are our very own team member co-ordinated this successful 2 day event that brought community together in discussion and talent.
GREAT JOB TYLER !
Uniacke Residents open doors for a conference
document.write(dateConvert("2006-09-15 16:29:32"));
September 15, 2006 - 4:29 pm By: Laura Graham
AdSpot("news957","news",8,250,250);


Workshops focused on leadership building, violence, discovering community needs and the public's perception at the first annual Uniacke Square Community Conference.
When Uniacke Square is Googled, one of the most popular sites is the Urban Dictionary entry, that defines the public housing community as: "a crime ridden gathering of apartment buildings...where no sane white person should ever walk at night."

It is that negative and racist perception that resident Tyler Morton wanted to change, by organizing the conference.

Morton says if you come down to the neighbourhood, you'll see for yourself that it's not that bad.
"I try to take the first step and invite people into the community and say, you can be a part of the community -- once the community gains your trust. That will not happen overnight."

Steven Benton is a community educator who spoke about leadership at the conference. He says he says it's difficult to hear bad media reports about Uniacke Square.
But he says conferences like this one will help strengthen the community and show the rest of the neighbourhood that they can fix their problems from within.

Jim Silver is a Professor of Politics from the University of Winnipeg who champions the idea of working from within. He works to help improve the public housing community in Winnipeg and he says public housing is necessary and can be a wonderful place to live.
Silver suggests several pathways to improving the neighbourhood -- creating an adult learning centre, fundraising for education incentives and making sure service providers are working in unison.
The role of the police was also discussed.
A community police office moved into Uniacke Square at the beginning of this year. At the same time, Halifax was tagged as the most violent per capita in the country.

At least one policeman from the office acknowledges it will take a while to build trust. Constable Dean Simmons one officer is known as cousin Dean to many residents. While he grew up in North Preston, he has many relatives in the Square and he makes it a point to coach a basketball team, tutor students and help to keep the neighbourhood clean.
But he acknowledges there are residents who are not happy with the police presence.
"Some people feel differently about the police right now but I think it's a trust issue. It's a new office...and it's a tight community."

Gayle McIntyre is one of the residents who has not been entirely happy with the police. She says they begged for the police to move in years ago, but the relationship has been damaged since then.

"Because the police have caused so much damage in the poverty community and the visibly poor communities in public housing, they have to do cartwheels before people are even going to start trusting that they're here sincerely and they meaningfully want to engage in the community in the right way."

McIntyre says as long as the police continue to be involved in positive community work, the relationship will grow -- and hopefully it will reduce crime in the area.
 
The conference continues Saturday with entertainment and a barbeque. All are welcome

I would like to clarify that I, at no time, implied to this reporter that 'police continue to be involved in positive community work'......this reporter was told quite the opposite, that we have a police commission file against Dean Simmons who tried to corrupt one of our team members with computers he was going to bill to NS tax payers. She was also told about how the police have abused many in housings especially those like me, they target as threats..why..because they can with.... impunity.

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September 2006.
NOVA SCOTIA HEALTH PROMOTION and PROTECTION: Addressing Suicide in Nova Scotia: A Draft Strategic Framework. We met for consultations with other interested parties for review of the draft that is being submitted to NSPP in assessing the services and understanding of this very serious topic. There was also a web site survey that could be completed. I did voice a few of concerns that evening and on the survey:

1) I asked if the persons/agencies dealing with chronic disabilities and those living in poverty including elders, if they were told about the consultations and survey. The facilitator was not sure. This was an immediate concern and revealed immediately those who have undertaken this project are very limited in their scope of who should have been involved. To exclude persons in these vulnerable groups is to show a lack of understanding of this very issue and those who are at high risk.

They had the obligatory categories: Black, Native, Gay and NI( new immigrant) but ignored the ill, elder and the poor. I have to come to view such divisions as a measure of the total sum of intelligence working on any given project. It does not require any skill to make sure you you have the PC selections with selection NOT the same as inclusion. To not include these other groups affected daily by suicide or thoughts and ideations as a last resort, is further proof of the lack of sincere thought that went into defining those people most affected.


2) I asked if community voice was part of the drafting process: facilitator said that they had 'one'. That is already a concern for no doubt that one was outnumbered by the many who worked in waged positions in this area and more than likely not directly/personally affected by this issue. I asked if community voice would be part of the further process- they said they will make attempts to include. I was then told that this 'one' had to resign and I asked if that seat was replaced. I was told 'no', they 'did not want have the new person have to catch up' ...... I did not expect these middle class white people to understand that this ONE is part of the process!
~ Was it that they were concerned that the ONE could not catch up or that were they afraid their draft would be slowed down?

So we have concerns already on the blatant exclusions and ego of this project. We did offer to continue to part of the process.....and did suggest that this issue of suicide be taken OUT of the mental health scope as CMHA is more a perp than ally as we have 'pills for profit' medicine in Nova Scotia. We should be very suspect of the fact that NS had the highest rate of psychiatric issues in 2005*. Being that I am a victim of doctor/hospital and drug abuse by the QEII..I have great concern for those sitting at this table in the guise of sincerely and humanely engaging truth in their findings. To me it is equivalent to having convicts sitting down with advocates for justice to rewrite the Canadian Criminal Code.

*Public Health Agency of Canada. INEQUITY and CHRONIC DISEASE in ATLANTIC CANADA. 2005
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August-September 2006.
FINANCE COMMITTEE PRE-CONSULTATIONS. During August and the first part of September we worked on our 15 paged 5 recommendations to this Pre Consultation for the Finance Committee that is visiting across Canada to hear what Canadians have to say. Presentations will be heard on October 24 2006 in Halifax. Due to the volume and length of some submissions not all submissions will be heard but we do encourage you to go hear what is being asked of the federal government as they allocate funds to provinces/territories. We will post our submission soon...
For more information:
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August 2006. FUND THE CHILD.
We co-partnered with Sara Landriault of the Ontario based organization. WE believe it is a step in the right direction as suggestions were made to allow choice to parents for child care options and compensation for such. Those living above the poverty line would have tax breaks and those living below would have allocated funds for compensation.
RT would like to soon see caretakers of all kinds included in this for extended family members, grandparents, and those caring for the elderly and disabled. These care takers provide valuable services to our most vulnerable and are so under appreciated. Including fathers in the choice for child care is the one thing missing in any NS initiative that really just focuses on poor single mothers.

Sadly, we had to withdraw from our partnership with Sara after so much time invested, due to Sara conducting herself in a manner insensitive to the Impoverished and disabled and other issues.

Gladly we will maintain working relationships with Mike Savage (MP) and Kevin Deveaux(MLA) on those issues that are important to Nova Scotia's most vulnerable socially, politically, medically and legally.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
August 2006.
RESPONSE :A THOUSAND VOICES SHAME AWARDS. Not an exhaustive list but the point was made. We look forward to the many votes that will come from community in the following years. Starting next year there will be both OUTSTANDING and SHAME AWARDS voted on by community voice ONLY to those individuals they deem worthy of either in their contributions, or lack thereof, in alleviating the hardships of the vulnerable.

For a list of 2006 recipients please read the blog.
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August 2006.
NOVA SCOTIA BRAIN INJURY CONSULTATION.
Focus groups were held throughout NS and although we didnot participate in person we were able to forward concerns via discussions with the co-ordinator. We felt that the definition of who qualifies as having a brain injury was too limited therefore excluding certain types and experiences from already very scarce resources. Our greatest concern was the lack of proper basic training and edu-sessions for case workers who have different types of injuries on their case loads. We know and have personally experienced very damaging interactions with case workers who are not properly trained in the field of common sense or the humanities let alone basic symptomology of brain injured behaviours.

It is a new project and we hope that the information gathered will be used responsibly by those government agencies who have or should have invested interests with this research.
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August 2006.
BLACK EDUCATORS ASSOCIATION (BEA)
We attended the AGM where past and proposed educational programs were discussed. BEA member Steve Benton states that although they are funded and focused on the Black communities throughout Nova Scotia they realize that this issue belongs to all Nova Scotians as we push for higher standards of learning for all children.

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July 2006.
HALIFAX REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT AGENCY (HRDA)
We attended the AGM at the North Preston Community Centre where completed and newer projects on economic development especially with youth, labour skills, training/certification and rural communities were discussed. Great attendance and input from various voices on needing accredited programs for generational skills.

Contact Judy at 'halifaxrda@halifaxrda.ca' if you wish to be a member or if you would like to subscribe to their newsletter.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
June 2006.
liar liar pants on fire. Our debut! Finally after a few set backs as I recovered from the stress of CAN and CAH I was able to concentrate on the team's agenda, free from the baggage of those pretending to do real work for real people. This night was to get out there and be heard as we talked about the immeasurable acts of corruption and criminality committed by various civil servants and colluding agencies on those vulnerable in Nova Scotia. Sadly, there was too much to talk about and we will be talking until people are held accountable for acts against Impoverished and vulnerable persons and until the deplorable conditions of poverty are eradicated.
Some supposed community advocates boycotted our event followed with lies of why they could not attend, we prevailed without them. It was not the quantity of people in the room it was the quality of those persons all of which directly affected by the same abusers. Apparently we were not the only ones sick and tired of the rhetoric and distractions that continue to harm community.
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May 2006.
TRURO CONFERENCE. I had already resigned from CAN but had committed myself to co-ordinating this conference in Truro for community voice around the province: for community sakes. Despite it being a very exploitive process by a few fake advocates prior to the conference, it was a great success and it was fitting that we met in the hub of NS to share our voices as we networked on issues that affect all of us. Naming issues is just one task, we then moved to put actions into place that could be done individually among NPO and CBO and collectively as plans for action province wide on public awareness of poverty and the need to eradicate such before it rendered some of our communities extinct.
I met alot of really motivated people from around the way who worked really hard in this 2 day conference.
The food at the NS Agricultural College was tasty and we highly recommend that as a venue for your conferences.
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March 2006.
OUR ORIGINS. This date does not reflect the only time that community for community was needed. One of the most comment remarks from community was---'where were you guys when'......well community, we are here now ... despite the attempts made by agencies inclduing CAH to silence us and stop us from getting to other interested parties we will prevail the truth always does and despite the abuse, threats and harassment inflicted on RESPONSE TEAM members: WE ARE STILL HERE!

Talk about a captive team: we are the issues, the issues are us, the personal is political, the political is personal!



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Found this new site, not quite sure who is the host, there is speculation but please feel free to register and post your comments about the city council and mayor.
www.dumpkelly.com

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I received permission to copy this letter here. 
 

I read it on a very highly intelligent webblogsite [i] Click Here[i]If you are about knowing the TRUTH I highly recommend reading this blog, it supports everything I have been saying for years....dang there goes my insanity defense!.....


An open letter to Nova Scotian Politicians and Bureaucrats.


From taxpayer C.Smiley Halifax County Nova Scotia
Dear Editor:


This is an open letter to all political parties and “their” elected representatives. It was sent to the Chronicle Herald and the Daily News on January 10, 2007, both have refused to publish it. So I hope that your News Blog will be so kind as to accommodate my request?Thank YouC. SmileyDated: Jan. 10, 2007To The Attention of all Politicians:I have been voting for over 60 years and now that I am nearing the end of my journey through life, I finally realizing that the whole process is wrong . You see, all I have been doing is maintaining and justifying a system that has gone badly wrong and one where political parties abuse our trust and the power we entrust them, with. We have failed as responsible citizens, we should never take a politician who belongs to a political party at his or her word, for they are proven liars.


We should all be educated to the fact that political parties hold a membership well below 2% of the entire voting population and when these party candidates get elected , they govern for that 2% . The rest of us, who hold no party affiliation are ignore, because we are not party members, thus we are overlooked as taxpayers, except when it comes to taxes or user fees.


Over the years, I have tried out all three political parties here in Nova Scotia, both federal and provincial, but never was a member of any of the three, this explains why the candidate elect , has never visited me or replied to any of my letters of concern. But I do pay their wage and their very handsome benefit packages they receive.


What is wrong about this whole voting process, is that these elected candidates purposely overlooks the fact that YOU and I , are taxpayers first and that policies and legislation are passed into law to benefit the parties agenda. Instead of introducing legislation , policies and regulations that best fit the needs of all of the taxpayers. These policies and tax collecting scams/ user fees are designed to serve, not the majority, but the minority, which just happen to be party members , who sit high on the party membership ladder.


If taxes reflected the cost to employ the bureaucrats (public servants), cost to maintain the public infrastructure, services and programs which service just the citizens and not go to financing private business, we would most likely see a reduction in taxes or user fees. Not to mention the debt, as well.


But instead we are seeing a staggering high debt , driven by grants, forgivable loans, and payroll rebates to the private sector, while the cost to service these free handout are downloaded onto the back of the middle class , thus turning them into working poor. Yes the taxation system needs to be investigated , maybe it is time that we get those fools that someone voted for to sit down and listen to “we” taxpayers, don’t you think?


What is the job description for a politician anyway? Lets face it when these guys and gals are sworn into the legislature, aren’t they sworn in to represent all citizens in Nova Scotia, if this is true, then why don’t they?


The responsibility should not be put on the back of a political party to “govern” this province , because they have proven to put in place destructive policies, regulations and have nothing more than a self serving agenda. History has well documented the problem the party system has left behind or should I say downloaded onto those of us who struggle with daily life just survive.


What ever happened to common sense , accountability and responsibility ? I am of the opinion that in order to achieve common sense , accountability and responsibility within “government” , our legislators must hold the Deputy Minister and most senior bureaucrats feet to the fire.


Tell me do the taxpayers of Nova Scotia need Nova Scotia Business Inc: , all it is, is a bunch of well dressed bums, who run around giving away our tax base? These companies who set up in Nova Scotia, do only for the payroll rebate, but they also benefit from a sound public infrastructure,so why not share the cost? Lets get rid of this NSB Inc. and recoup all of our tax dollars, that sit in their private vault.


Let me suggest that these high paid political liars, that government has hired in Communication Nova Scotia, and those who do the public relation work, should all be let go, why does “government” , need spin doctors anyway, unless it is “governments” and those you elected intent to lie spin and weave their way into our pockets.


These people are being paid with our taxes to lie and mislead, this is morally wrong, but then again, politicians have taken morality out of “government”, haven’t they?


I end in saying that myself and many other Nova Scotian’s have lost faith in both the process we use, to choose who we will sent to the Nova Scotia Legislature, to look out for our best interest, because they haven’t. If they were, we would not be seeing taxes collected to finance private business.


You see, this is why we have a banking act and banks. For years we taxpayers wanted both levels of our governments to pay attention to the plight of health care, they ignore our many voices, now the number one crisis is global warming, it is the new issue , health care has gone off the political radar and will they pay attention to global warming? No! So, you tell me, why in the hell we vote? Who benefits?


Sincerely C. Smiley
Halifax County
Nova Scotia
HawkeyeNews wishes to thank C. Smiley for the letter.

~~ as does Gayle McIntyre and any one else desperately seeking responsible and accountable government in Nova Scotia.BRAVO BRAVO !!!!


edited to add: We noticed that the owner of the blog www.HAWKEYENEWS.blogspot.com recently took down their posting about rapist Patrick Murphy. Since he had it up on his blog quite some time we respectfully sent them a communication requesting an explanation for its sudden removal. It has been relocated on that site. We thought maybe they had be legally threatened.
http/hawkeyenews.blogspot.com

Please also note as we do some house cleaning some google searches may show up as PAGE NOT FOUND please click on cache and you will find other 'in- house' references on our blog or use the blog search engine located at the right side of the screen page. Thank you.

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PETER KELLY HIDING A RAPIST IN CITY COUNCIL
HRM Police Sergeant Hart
Regarding Pat Murphy rape investigation Incident number:06-58970
posted December 17 2006

December marks the time when we take a special moment or two to think about the different acts of violence perpetrated against women, young and old.

This is a very traumatizing time for me as in 1995 I spent 4 days at Supreme Court of Nova Scotia in criminal trials as the individual who raped me for 5 years as a child was on trial. He got 6 months on week ends and I got life after being forced to testify on a crime that was over 20 years old, a crime Community Services, police and crown forgot to investigate while I was a ward of the court.

Now in 2006 I mentioned at a public meeting at Province House on December 6- how many people in that room knew that a city councilman was being investigated for rape?

4 media sources were in the room and not one covered the story-RESPONSES reason for boycotting media to events about TRUTH..

Every level of government is supposed to be transparent and we know abuse and violence has a co-dependent relationship with privacy.

In February 2005 each city council member received via email a letter written to Patrick Murphy by his rape victim. Nothing was done. In 1999 all partisan poli-groups knew about the rape as the victim hand delivered to each head quarters a letter of the graphic details of the rape to each of them when Murphy tried to run for office. City hall already had a copy of the rape in 1999 and the victim was told that it would be left on file.

So against her better judgement the victim, me , approached HRM police knowing that they are primary abusers of her for a decade since 1997 and the key facilitators that lead to me attempt to take my life. Peter Kelly was fully aware of all the police-BEAZLEY-SYKES/Irvine Carvery /Housing abuse as well and did nothing.

So in May 2006 I went to HRM to press charges and from moment one this rape was treated differently, three times I asked the commission to remove detective Hart- during this time 4 RESPONSE team members were abused by police. Attempts were made by police ( Dean Simmons) to corrupt one member who was immediately terminated from the RESPONSE team.

Despite my taking the mysogynistic police to the commission in 1999 that resulted in the creation of a supposed progressive and humane sexual assault until, nothing has changed, the sociopaths are still running the police department.

It is now December 17 2006 and the case is the shameful reality of how HRM police, crown and legislators do not take rape seriously. I have no doubt that the recent bids for Games is what has kept this story on the down low....

in 1997 Patrick Murphy did commit the hate crime of rape against Gayle McIntyre in the fall of 1997 because she rejected his several arrogant and unwarranted drunken sexual advances from him in his Liberal office the previous year.

Conveniently Murphy cannot locate his best friend Haniff Jiwani who just so happens to be the key witness for the victim....if he chooses truth over loyalty to a best friend that is.

The HRM Police Hart state they cannot locate this best friend either...imagine that...this one witness is what will put Murphy in prison where all mysogynistic sociopaths should be..Perhaps I am being unfair, am I a victim of too much CSI?

For those not up on their psychology 101- for the city council to not conduct an internal inquiry into the accusation of rape by one of their own would inherently mean that city council engaged in offensive violations to my constitutional rights and must have assassinated and slandered my character to deem me not a valid victim. Kelly already had a list of people that contributed to the total sum of trauma and suffering of my family because of the sexual abuse in 1997- abuse the police contributed to causing more psychological damage to me and my son than surpassed the damages that were the result of the primary crimes. Had my childhood rape case been dealt with while I was a ward of the court and when it was disclosed to Community Services, group home staff and police on my 16th birthday: Murphy, Beazley and Sykes and other sociopaths and parasites like Carvery would never have been in my life. That was the list.

Murphy's name was on that list PRIOR to being elected into office.

The fact that Kelly did not approach police or conduct a public inquiry is directly related to previous failings by him to investigate Irvine Carvery's racial violence in Housing supported by HRM police who abused me prior to my being in housing and poverty. Carvery's son is HRM police and yes you should be scared.

Through malicious persecution and deliberate abuse set out by Beazley and Sykes, Kelly has consistently neglected to eradicate the corruption in his police department and city council.

Please note that the HRM city council Murphy is still employed as a city council.

If you have any information regarding the whereabouts of Haniff Jiwani please contact this website. Thank you

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The RESPONSE: A THOUSAND VOICES feels that it should be the community that votes on who they think are the best and worse of those they interact with on a regular basis. Too often community is 'told' who they think should receive awards although in many cases this is at odds with their own betrayal, disappointments and experiences. 
Too often those who are busy patting their own backs are the ones who sell community down river hoping no one is keeping score. Too often community will be retaliated against if they should speak out against a person they know to have violated their rights.
No more! 
 
This blog site is honoured to host the true voice of community as it will be the community ONLY that will be able to select the top five of those who have compassionately and selflessly devoted their energies to poverty issues and those who have committed crimes against humanity.

Since this is the first year RESPONSE will make the selection based on their own experiences and that shared by many others. There will be only SHAME awards this year as we feel there are enough people patting their own backs that we thought only to give them a break!

ONLY community voice can vote: meaning NO GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEES or CIVIL SERVANTS or ELECTED OFFICIALS or WAGED NON PROFIT workers and organizations or steering committees or media for what should be obvious reasons by now. If not, I suggest you start reading this blog from the beginning and do so until you do understand it.

Nominations will be encouraged either in writing or via email. For those voters who cannot write or read or are limited in any way : you can select a person to do this on their behalf but both names, voters and advocates, must be provided.
All nominations are to be sent to: responsevoices@live.com

Nominated persons for the APPRECIATION certificate can be any one you think has acted in a manner becoming of humanity and conversely the SHAME certificates are those who have acted unbecoming of humanity. It can be your neighbour but not your neighbour's dog. What that means is choose wisely as your one vote is all you have. Please note that names of minors will not be accepted for SHAME awards.

Also the finalists will received their certificates in person and their names will be published here as well. The names of contenders will also be published, within reason, as there may be too many to itemize. The names of those who submit the votes will be the property of RESPONSE ONLY!
THEY WILL NOT BE PUBLISHED.

ANONYMOUS VOTES WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED!
 

So community get out your tab books and sharpen your pencils, time to keep score!

Submit to responsevoices@live.com

RECIPIENTS of SHAME AWARDS for 2006 :
Michael Baker,  
David Morse, 
Peter Kelly/Council,  
Maureen MacDonald, 
Daily New,  
Chronicle Herald, 
 CBC
Patricia Lawrence, 
Harold Dillon, 
Irvine Carvery, 
Shirley Feltmate,
Frank Beazley and HRM Police, 
NS Police Commission( Nadine Cooper Mont, Gary Mumford), 
Crown Office ( Martin Herschorn, Frank Hoskins, Denise Smith)
Human Rights Commission( James Dewar, Viki Samuels, Lynn Hartley, Mayann Francis, Michael Noonan),
Ombudsman Office ( Christine Brennan, Elaine Venturini, James Stewart)
(see Community Events category for full list)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I, Gayle McIntyre the administrator of this blog and founder of RESPONSE: A THOUSAND VOICES, wish to acknowledge with great respect the RESPONSE TEAM for forming and meeting together despite barriers and intimidation tactics used by district manager for Housing Pat Lawrence and her partner in crime, Irvine Carvery and various tricks committed by the HRM POLICE against some of the members.
We still prevailed! The truth always will!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
SHAME ON GLORIA MCCLUSKEY
mcclusg@halifax.ca

In the weekly Daily News this former Dartmouth mayor goes on record against the HAWTHORNE HOUSE YOUTH HOME(July 14" Why do they have to be on my block?" ...)

Gloria has a serious case of the NIMBY..."it is a problem.They ( youth) cause so much trouble and I wish they weren't in this area"....FOR SHAME GLORIA !!!!!

Here is a thought Gloria, I will slow it down for you : how about getting rid of unsafe homes for children/youth and hiring qualified family social workers, you wont have to build or put up with one youth centre any where?????
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
RT recognizes the civil and humane accomplishments of the following:
BROWN VERSUS BOARD OF EDUCATION
50th ANNIVERSARY

Case Background
May 17, 2004 marks the 50th anniversary of the Supreme Court's ruling in Oliver L. Brown et. al. vs. the Board of Education of Topeka, (KS) etc. al.

The decision is widely considered to be among the court's most important. Put simply, the Brown opinion transformed America.

Until Brown, many public school systems had two sets of schools: one for whites and one for African-Americans. The rationale for this racial segregation was that although the two sets of schools may have been separate, they were "equal."

http://www.courttv.com/brown/background.htm
Recent talk in HRM are on the table, those whose table exactly is still a mystery, the issue of having All Black Schools...see The Coast for their main spread as seen by self appointed Wade Smith and of course we had a...response.
www.thecoast.ca/Articles-i-2007-06-07-150600.113118-A_matter_of_principle.html

 Response:

It starts at home

To the editor,


Carsten Knox's article "A matter of principle" (June7) about Wade Smith was a great read and I hope to see more sincere discussion on this. There is so much to say but keeping it brief, I agree with Patrick Kakembo. Cocooning or quarantining issues in visibly impoverished communities, where a great number of residents are generational blacks, allows two things to happen: It keeps the issues segregated from mainstream, therefore reducing the options and resources that could be applied, and it allows for abuse and neglect to continue to flourish with impunity, eroding the integrity of the family.


Wade Smith has an interpretation of Africentricity that is akin to starting to build a bridge over deep waters. Having worked with impoverished black issues for years, it is clear to me that the Nova Scotia black community needs its own Department of Community Services/Family Services.


Issues of poverty predispose children's attitudes toward education more that any other single factor. Smith neglects to address the issues of families in poverty. By ignoring violence, drugs and poverty in visibly poor communities, Smith is neglecting the first rule of school: Come prepared.


Start education in the home during the formative years and then let's worry about an all-black school. Aspirations for higher education start in the home, in the family, in the community, long before the age of five and kindergarten.
Gayle McIntyre 
Halifax
June 21, 2007



~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
We  are asking that HCAP events be boycotted!

Enclosed is a letter sent to HCAP back in December of 2006. As of December 2007 we can confidently state that HCAP is no longer privy to the status of community ally or advocate for engaging in selfish, immature and self destructive behaviour that has harmed the work of other NPO working diligently on vulnerable issues. 


Had we known that HCAP was receiving funds from the government union (NSGEU), a union that protects those who have committed immeasurable crimes against the poor, had we known they received monies from carpenter unions to verbally /physically harass those just trying to pay their bills: had we known had we known .....WE KNOW NOW!.

The recent bully tactics in Truro was the final straw for this undisciplined infantile organization that ploughs through the trauma of others for a place in the paper. Notwithstanding their own insults to me personally in their blatant disregard to have intelligent and safe demonstrations their continual ignorance toward dealing with real issues that are criminal HCAP has made a mockery of the suffering of the poor too many times.


RESPONSE, after much debate in having the same discussion once again,was already set to do a presentation with the recently formed committee for poverty. Organizer Alison of the Dept of Community Services had been gracious and courteous as we made plans to do the presentation after the Truro public event. That was before HCAP decided to once again throw a tantrum. Now after several emails to her unanswered, the explanation for this silence was sent to me anonymously:

...in Legislative House it was Judy Streatch, a minister hiding crimes by her staff, who announced into record that CAH-Community Action on Homelessness was the unofficial official example of NPO working on this issue. This comment was predictable for several reasons:

 
(1) those in power who are most criminal need to align with scum just like them namely CAH who also harm persons in poverty by kissing the ass of the perpetrators in govt harming the poor
 
(2) Judy and her posse want to make sure that CAH is known as the 'experts' even though it is false. 

(3) Judy knows CAH aligns with NDP namely Alexa and Maureen, the token poor person named in CAH by Judy- Wayne- is a flaming NDP kiss ass junkie-mister token white guy that was homeless. 


(4) Judy needed to let HCAP know their bullying tactics back fired.

Now we already knew the committee would try to find a way to exclude us because we are about ethical and constitutional practice, accountability and actually doing real work so we did expect an allergic reaction to such demands but to declare an unethical NPO such as CAH as the example of NPO was tad bit over the board and those who work in community found it both hilarious and scary at the same time.

Anyway, HCAP, who aligns with CAH is as disgraceful as those who harm persons in poverty and we proudly denounce any more support in solidarity with such a displaced and confused organization. Sadly they learned nothing from the letter we sent over a year ago and that lets us know that they really are not about discussing the issues, they are like their partners in crime NDP: pimping the poverty platform for patronage and papers.

WE gave them a chance to clarify their boundaries in the community and realized they had none which is why they are so reckless.

 


the letter...
Response : A Thousand Voices
a Prisoners Of Welfare Production

Halifax Coalition Against Poverty HCAP
December 2006
Andrew and members,
Thank you once again for including RESPONSE: A THOUSAND VOICES in the call for solidarity on yet another issue of concern.

However and due to no contention with you at all Andrew , I have to ask at this time that our name and number be removed from the HCAP list of supporters for the following reasons:

1) albeit the 10.00 /hour is very attractive, the action places RESPONSE in a double standard position that cannot be ignored. Recognizing that unions were originally created in early Canada for a few reasons one namely the protection of workers, those of us who have been victimized by staff of Department of Community Services know too well that unions also act as shields to hide crimes against humanity and enable criminals to remain employed causing further trauma and undue hardship to those who are Impoverished. 

Also we will not take any stance against those who are non- unioned and are working. We cannot with clear conscience begrudge anyone trying to feed their families or avoid homelessness and although we can know that HCAP is taking a stance against the business it inadvertently harms those who are as deserving of wages for basic living necessities. Any one of us could be in the position of being casually employed or working full -time especially at this time of the year. Does that person not deserve our support as well?

Union issues are not part of the RESPONSE platform.

2) I did mail out an invitation to our blog some time ago but never heard back from HCAP even in a courtesy to let us know they had received it. I am aware that some HCAP members do have access to it. The fact that HCAP has asked to stand with people we name on our blog as perpetrators of the poor shows a lack of sincerity for had HCAP respected our platform HCAP would know not to ask us to events where they have also invited named offenders.

RESPONSE does not support HIH (hypocrites in hiding) or those with selected moral outrage and both are seen with HCAP’s supporters. RESPONSE applauds the Standing Committee, Provincial Party Caroling and the TRANSGLOBE meetings, inevitable actions, however, we cannot take visible allegiance with HCAP while HCAP continues to stand with known HIH. It is difficult to have mixed feelings in that RESPONSE supports the action itself but not the company HCAP keeps.

It is easy to go after the obvious perps like NS government and TRANSGLOBE. It is the HIH that are far more dangerous, often found in posses of self importance and inappropriate practices against the poor and disabled. RESPONSE will not knowingly take any political action or stance with the likes of Jeanne Faye, Paul Ohara, Darcy Harvey, CANS, CAH steering committee, NDP MacDonald or Dalhousie Legal Aid

For more information on that please read out blog, although not an exhaustive explanation it reveals that RESPONSE does not enable those who have harmed the Impoverished in unethical manners of degradation against the poor, gossiping to cause harm, malicious persecution, enabling of other offenders, assassination of the characters of the poor, and lying about poor persons motivated by unhealthy egos. By reading the blog HCAP can see who and what we take visible allegiance with and conversely who and what we refuse to enable.


One of the primary reasons RESPONSE was formed was in reaction to the blatant HIH exacerbating issues of poverty. HIH, due to their cowardice and ‘whiteness’ choose to act in ways that embolden the abuse against the poor. HIH is offensive and RESPONSE cannot knowingly engage in actions that are hypocritical. If such is not acceptable in our own organization it is not acceptable elsewhere.

3) That Cole did ask a RESPONSE team member for feed back on the Uniacke Square Community Conference and at that time Cole was told that the member had been wrongfully terminated by USTA which is controlled by Irvine Carvery. Cole upon hearing this then stated he would speak with some one else offering NO words of comfort or solidarity to this member. This was a slap in the face to community and RESPONSE. It is quite unacceptable to dismiss the abuse to a community voice and worse, then to seek out those who did the abusing.

I was so shocked that I had to have this member explain it to me several times as I could not believe Cole, a proclaimed community advocate, could be so offensive and insensitive. By telling this team member that he would go to another source he was in fact saying it was okay that this happened. The only reason that this member was terminated from employment immediately after the conference was because Carvery and his posse could not physically remove me from the conference despite lies to other guests that there had been restraining orders on me. I told the posse members to call the police to remove me, they refused and then fired this RESPONSE member.

So for HCAP, through Cole to take such an unethical position to find value in the voice of persecutors is not acceptable and was the main reason why we pulled out last minute of the action against the Do CS on Gottigen Street. Had I known sooner I would never have agreed to go in the first place. This member did not feel valued and his abusive experience was further devalued by Cole. Please note I was not privy to this actual call but was told about it from the member. After several internal discussions and as chair I withdrew our support to HCAP because this RESPONSE member was offended by someone obviously confused about the real dynamics while pointing fingers at others.

4) That Cole was invited to be a panel speaker with our RESPONSE debut but at last minute declining for work. When I pointed out that he had the wrong date he was silent for some time and then again at last minute he stated he could not be there. This prompt me to do some underground work and it was conveyed to me by a reliable source that Paul/CAH had conveyed to Cole that if HCAP wished to be taking seriously by such agencies like DoCS he could not be seen taking a stance with me. This is believable due to the sneakiness and unethical behaviours of Paul Ohara I had come to expect, he had been one of the primary reasons I resigned from CAN as I detest fake advocacy that abuses the voice of community while pretending to be advocating against such.

This combined with Darcy’s lies, Paul and CAH steering committee deliberately refusing to put RESPONSE flyers and events on the CAH list server was an abusive control of community voice for TRUTH and EMPOWERMENT. Again read the blog for more information on that. HCAP through Cole, misappropriated the truth to support covert agendas with CAH/CAN.

Paul Ohara goes on record ( see blog) claiming that to have posted RESPONSE event flyers would have interfered with the 11million for Housing allocation to provinces (paraphrasing). The truth is that CAH steering committee have acted badly for some time often bashing certain poor such as myself for being vocal about the level of sociopathology in civil servants dealing with the Impoverished. CAH made the deliberate, hostile and retaliatory gesture to community by ONLY boycotting our posting while lying. CAH steering has enjoyed the permissiveness of posse mentality that has harmed this author and others who dare speak out against the HIH at the CAH level who keep company with people who should be in prison for crimes against humanity. Abusers can ONLY abuse when there is opportunity and opportunity is created by environments and colluders.

Do not forget the ‘hand me down’- that CAH was getting the bigger office from Housing – the real reason for not posting our flyers. The real reason for attempting to silence community voice of protest against the real offenders. Despite all efforts to ignore, silence or degrade RESPONSE we are still here and plan to be as long as the Impoverished are being abused by civil servants and HIH.

When HCAP truly wishes to hold people accountable for both the direct and indirect unethical practices against the Impoverished then please include us in that action at that time. We at RESPONSE do acknowledge that HCAP does engage in the community in a meaningful way and we do support the primary initiatives of HCAP as you, like us, work against the issues that promote and sustain and poverty and its abuses. However when any organization aligns with those who are part of the problem motivated by personal agendas and unhealthy ego, it sends a mixed message to community voice and community is tired of being betrayed. When HCAP is ready to do the real sanitation work let us know. Until then HCAP is acting in the very same manner as HIH, creating actions against the obvious offenders while hiding those who are supporting this abusive and dysfunctional infrastructure.

I did get a chance to peruse the HCAP website: it is looking very impressive, love the background/lay-out.

I do have one concern however and that is the repeat of bad habits by HIH. Uniacke Square is not the total sum of the public housing system. If HCAP does not understand the pervasive and generational reality of the deplorable conditions of substandard housing and criminal behaviour of all systems then it does a great disservice playing the poli-game to just bringing attention to convenient over exposed Uniacke Square. Some of us have been taking action against Housing and staff and Residential since 2001 with much retaliation from the likes of CAH steering committee, Human Rights Commission, NS Police Commission and Ombudsman Office.

Those same people, RESPONSE, recently have went into each system and spoke with many of the residents of ALL systems to get their feedback on the abuse they endure in Housing. WE have engaged in a signature petitions/surveys door to door for federal government attention to respond to the violence and living conditions of ALL residents in public housing in HRM. WE have included violence committed and maintained by Housing staff starting with Harold Dillon down the ranks. Some of us have lived and died in public housing.

So as a community voice and advocate I ask that HCAP refrain from taking poli-stances that are convenient ‘white washing’. Get into the real communities and get the real work done but again until you get rid of the HIH baggage you are, like them, just skimming the surface for you own ego.
To exclude the experiences and suffering of the other public housing systems is to act like those you claim to be so morally outraged about.

What do you know of Greystone, Jellybean, Mulgrave Park, the PUBS ?

By excluding these people HCAP is disrespecting their voice. HCAP is smelling quite ‘white’ these days and finally, for those reasons RESPONSE cannot support HCAP until it becomes more inclusive and refrains from being driven by media attention and starts focusing on the more pervasive and entrenched issues rather than gaining from the obvious ones. Those voices HCAP have excluded need your support the most as they are often neglected by those claiming to be doing community work.

RESPONSE deliberately excludes media for their colluding behaviour in protecting civil servants, police and elected officials that harm the poor directly through force or indirectly through passive aggressive silence. While public awareness is achieved by using various mediums there is a great risk of wagging the dog when we focus on media inclusion inherently rendering the issue at hand, secondary. Do not be afraid to be who HCAP claims to be.

Deplorable conditions are NOT the issue, they are the manifestation of the issue. The issue being among a few things is the deliberate degradation and abuse committed on the Impoverished by those such as Housing staff and police that give themselves permission to treat an identifiable group of people with utter disdain, contempt and apathy.

I was recently told that Wayne M of CAH goes on record as suggesting that if public housing just fixed up the empty units it would help toward the issue of homelessness. Confirming once again that Wayne suffers from selective listening on issues I have discussed for 6 years now, fixing up units does NOT resolve anything other than providing ‘white-washed’ stats for politicians. Placing human beings into war zones of inevitable trauma and suffering is NOT remedying anything. It only hides the real issues: hypocrites in hiding. Cancer spreads when only topical applications are performed. Healing of communities ONLY can be achieved through permanently removing the ‘cancer’.

By cleaning out the cancer such as Housing staff and police and replacing them with diverse qualified educated persons we begin to resolve the multi-dynamic issues. Humane people create humane environments through the development and implementation of humane practice and policy.
Keep on keeping on…in pursuit of healthy and safe community for all.
There is no peace without justice
Gayle McIntyre

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Question from GC. what is RATV?
Thanks much GC.

I (we) have not been on the train from day one but jumped on as the caboose and it has been busy since. I will try to be brief yet brief and Gayle often are not found in the same sentence.
RTV is a floating non partisan community based organization that was formed in 2006 as the direct response to the lack of ethical response in the HRM area to the blatant abuses to vulnerable persons.

Here is an exerpt from our blog.
'We are a newly formed floating non partisan community based organization that consists of members from the various marginalized communities that are most affected and damaged by our Nova Scotian government and civil servant sectors. We are responding to the overflow of '3-c': corruption, criminality and constitutional violations that are inevitably harming the safety, integrity and health of our families and in turn, our communities. Neutral agencies such as Human Rights Commission, Legal Aid, Ministerial Offices, Mayor's Office, Police Commission,City Council, MLA/Partisan politicians and Ombudsman Office are fully aware of these abuses and refuse to act in accordance to the various pieces of Legislation and Acts designed to protect our Nova Scotian-Canadian legal rights. 
We recognize that communications such as the local media are also aware of the abuse and have colluded without embarrassment with such inhumane acts as they deliberately take visible allegiance with the 'offenders' in power at the expense of humanity. We have only our voices and our wills to stop this deliberate destruction of our souls, well being, families and communities. '

As you can see it is not for the squeamish.

We recognize there are groups of people in any given community that are not considered equals although the law say they are.WE are floating in that although home base is wherever I am (LOL) we are issue driven so we go where the issue is happening. It is common for me to get requests from other NPO to get a RT team to a protest or campaign. WE support other poverty driven projects while acting as watch dogs to those in HRM who are violating the lives of the most vulnerable. Elders and disabled and children/youth are our most vulnerable so you are bound to find RTV on any issue that involves these people- Canada/Nova Scotia has forgotten there is the deserving poor..

WE also have sent recommendations/presentations to various committees( federal, provincial, municipal) for the enforcement of already established legsilation and advocate for the creation of new ones that address the blatant disparity of treatment toward those not in poverty and those in poverty.

The Departments of Justice and Community Services, all divisions, are the greatest abusers and violaters of the rights of persons that are vulnerable be it mental illnesses, seniors, public housing or single parents. Department of Health by withholding prescribed medical necessities for those in poverty keeps the sick people sick and the poor people poor.WE have government sanctioned poverty in Nova Scotia.

We call it fragging, borrowed from the US Military. For the non military in CB/EP briefly fragging is the agenda to create an illusion in that it appears to be friendly fire or an accident but the harm to another is actually sanctioned and made to look like an accident, deflecting all attention from those creating the damages.

In Nova Scotia there is an incestous relationship among government elects and civil servants that has existed for a long time. The nepotism and classism has maintained the maltreatment of many people in the HRM area. By making the issues of poverty to be something genetic freakish and lazy about humans distracts the real agenda of punishing those in poverty as they are not part of the production line that is the premise of a Capitalistic machine.


Unlike other poverty groups we know poverty cannot be eradicated it is the inevitable by- product of Capitalism. We also know Canada has no intention in the near future if ever of dismantling capitalistic systems and infrastructures , it is just too good for business....so working within this economic system we recognize that there is deliberation to make it look like poor people are not deserving of humanity.

It is clever and dangerous at the same time as are most sociopaths. Nova Scotia is contaminated with a sociopathic bureaucracy that has abused and injured for so long that it is incapable of holding itself accountable for raping the rights of our most vulenerable.

It reminds me of the not that long ago sentiment of MIND OVER MATTER put out by the Department of Health on the issue of Environmental Illnessess...the caption read: we do not mind that you do not matter Same is the sentiment toward the vulnerable in Nova Scotia...

Notwithstanding the ideal that we are all a masters of our own universe there are people who are being controlled and exploited by various external factors that are too organized and powerful to resist rendering them defeated and in states of learned hopelessness/helplessness.

Do we have many enemies- heck YES- and that is confirmation that we are doing our job Hope that helpful....that was the short version.


~~~~~~~~~~~~

This question was emailed and wishes to remain anonymous.

" why can't I post a comments in the sections I read?"

GREAT QUESTION.
First reason- I am computer illiterate and do not know how to use the moderating screen

Second reason- to ensure safety and comfort we need to be able to edit post for content this requires skills on the moderating screen

Third reason- this website is for community voice and advocates/allies to speak their voices as loudly as they can. This will be jeopardized if we let just anyone post namely government, oppressors, or NPO agencies who have harmed vulnerable persons in their collusions, personal agendas and retaliation tactics. 
By disallowing their commentary we can attempt to provide safe place to post.FINALLY!!!!!!

hope that helps....
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
RESPONSE: A THOUSAND VOICES is also cross-listed under GOOGLE-Undiscussables.

Please read paper in link it has very interesting and informative discussion on those who step forward to discuss the undiscussables.... 


www.collectionscanada.ca/obj/s4/f2/dsk1/tape3/PQDD_0024/NQ49802.pdf

Apparently healthy individuals are the ones who are the motivated to bring Undiscussables forward in team, work, group dynamics recognizing with this openness there is more functionality, efficiency, integrity and productivity. 

Conversely, unhealthy individuals work more to silence or thwart those efforts preferring to maintain the status quo of dysfunction....often bringing their unresolved emotional baggage to the table which is incited by the emotionality of discussing Undiscussables- be them topics or about group dynamics..

WHO KNEW!!!!! Note sarcasm...

I know alot of government employees, civil servants and supposed neutral agencies that think the huge grey elephant is supposed to be in the living room therefore they do not see anything out of sorts. I know a few supposed community advocates that rather feed the elephant and wear noseplugs than remove the elephant despite having the phone number for the elephant removal company.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~


MAYOR PETER KELLY and COUNCIL doing the WHITE thang and not the RIGHT thang ?


Africville gets unanimous OK from council

But status of Genealogy Society questioned, could lead to court challenge



ALEX BOUTILIER
FOR METRO HALIFAX
February 24, 2010 12:23 a.m.



Halifax regional council was forced to take a brief recess last night after shouting erupted when they voted to ratify a reparations package for the former community of Africville.

Council voted unanimously to approve a deal for the historic black community, razed in the 1960’s to make way for the MacKay Bridge. Details of the deal will be announced today.

Denise Allen, a former Africville resident, attempted to interject before council’s vote. She claims the Africville Genealogy Society, the group that will oversee the use of the reparations money, is in conflict with the law.

Mayor Peter Kelly adjourned council for five minutes, asking Allen to refrain from interrupting. After appealing to Coun. Jerry Blumenthal, Allen and about 20 supporters left the meeting.

“City council (is) entering into an agreement with an organization that isn’t in compliance with the Joint Stocks Companies Act,” Allen told reporters. “Right now, (the society) is not in a legal position to represent anybody.”

Allen alleges she provided evidence to council prior to yesterday’s vote.

“I sent them out an email (Monday) at three o’clock,” she said. “They also received information by courier from my lawyer.”

Kelly confirmed council had received Allen’s correspondence.

“It was referred to the solicitors,” Kelly said. “But council has made the decision to move forward.”

Details of the deal will be released this morning at the Gottingen Street YMCA by Kelly and society president Irvine Carvery.

Kelly will also offer an official apology to former residents and their descendants on behalf of council and HRM.

“We’ve heard it time and time again that this has been an issue that should have been resolved, has not been resolved, and there is desire in the community to resolve it,” Kelly said. “And hearing that desire over and over again, council has indicated they wish to bring this issue to the community (today).”

Allen said she will be consulting today with her lawyer, Robert Miedema. She vowed to fight the deal in court.

Protesters decry voting process
At a anti-racism rally yesterday in Halifax several people linked to Africville expressed their displeasure with the settlement. “They robbed us once. We don’t want to be robbed twice,” said former resident Wayne Dixon. He believes the settlement doesn’t do enough for those who were displaced. He’s one of several people criticizing the Africville Genealogy Society for counting hands rather than using ballots in a vote Saturday on whether to accept the deal.

– Paul McLeod/Metro Halifax



RESPONSE:
Kelly stop doing the white thang
I support Allen's move to bring the legalities of the Society into focus and for Kelly and council to ignore this legal issue is in keeping with the rest of the illegal/unethical things they do. Irvine Carvery is a self appointed spokesperson and there is mutiny in his own ranks because if it, many do not trust him for good reason. Allen who has worked on the harder issues of the Black community is in my experiences a very credible person who sincerely has the community at heart. IF kelly continues he is making a deal with the devil himself and is only trying to do the white thing and not the right thing..

___________
Irvine Carvery owes my family Reparations for Racism in Housing just up the Street from ole Africville


I sincerely hope Irvine Carvery receives a sum settlement from the reparation discussions so I can finally file my civil law suit against him for the racist hate crimes he committed against me while he was the property manager in Mulgrave Park where daily allowed the most depraved Black residents to commit hate crimes against my family with impunity. Often referring to me as the crazy fucking white bitch to anyone who would listen namely those committing crime against my family, Irvine Carvery incited and encourages new tactics for terrorism against me family telling his scum posse that I would eventually get tired of their abuse and move. The police even offered to help me move.

I attempted to take my life instead and Irvine Carvey is yet to see prison time for many acts of hate crimes including being part of fabricating a letter to submit to tenancy that I assaulted 22 children in the community which of course was not true. The HRC has this letter and the police still did nothing about his racist hate crimes. So many including MLA Maureen MacDonald have hidden this matter so I am forced to take it to civil courts for all the damages and injuries that occurred during my stint at Mulgrave and the subsequent damages and injuries that were the direct result of my losing housing to protect Carvery.

Because I could no longer live in Housing I was forced into a living arrangement with scum who tortured and molested me for 15 years of my life. David Pryde, Housing staff, fabricated the house inspection to get me out of Housing on behalf of District manager and someone who allowed Carvery to slaughter my family, Pat Lawrence. His illegal inspection put me into 20,000 dollars of debt and allowed my child abuser who bought the home for me to abuse me from July 2004 until I left that house in August 2009. The amount of torture I endured and the financial debt that incurred because of Carvery has yet to be addressed by those agencies supposedly to be in charge of such issues. Had he been fired as any white man would have been saying and encouraging the same types of racist hate crimes I would still be in housing and never would have been at the receiving end of abuse and trauma so depraved by Eric McIntyre. But then again I was in Housing because of the very scum who protect Irvine Carvery: Community Services and Police.


Have no doubt Irvine Carvery will pay for the slaughter of my family since 2001 because of his racial hate crimes committed against me as white woman because his race card didnot work.

So Peter Kelly pay up! The next file will be against HRM namely Peter Kelly for what he allowed to happen to my family both by police and his own city counsellors who protected rapist Patrick Murphy.


__________
BOYCOTT LET IT SHINE with IRVINE CARVERY
Feb 23 2010 Pier 21



Irvine Carvery aligning himself with projects that are billed as being about racism choke me every time.
Carvery, one of the more dangerous racists I have ever met has been protected by Community Services and Human Rights Commission and HRM Police and Mayor Peter Kelly for his organized and brutal racial hate crimes against my family from 2001 to 2004.

The acts of racial hate are horrific and yet he has not seen day of prison for his hate crimes and those he encouraged. What Community Services Harlod Dillon and Pat Lawrence and David Morse and Judy Stretch allowed Carvery to do to my family nonstop was so brutal the Human Rights Commission didnot proceed with an investigation to keep it from the public :

1) because they were launching their faux Kirk Johnson case 2 weeks after my filings

2) they didnot want Metropolis to find out that Blacks can be violently racist in an organized manner

3) those who hid these crimes at HRC were all Black and knew Carvery personally including May Ann Francis who soon after received a promotion by Mike Baker to where she is now. ( Baker played a critical role in putting my family in the company of sociopathic scum like Irvine Carvery starting in 1996.)

4) That NS has been held racially hostage by self appointed Black 'leaders' and the benefits continue to be reaped at the expense of their victims.

5) That Irvine Carvery encourages racial hate in his public servant position as property manager for public housing

6) The the conditions of both Mulgrave Park and Uniacke Square have not improved with him there so his claims to be about Blacks who have been done wrong by in housing issues he is the first one guilty, what he has allowed happen is crminal and hidden by CS and Residential Tenancy Board- again all weak white people.

7) That he has ignored serious health issues that have injured others namely elders and persons with disabilities while manager and is still employed by Housing despite his obvious abuse of authority, gaining an unearned pay cheque, spending most of his time on a tax paid phone doing everthing but what he is paid to do.

8) Carvery's son is HRM police allowing him a foot in the legal door and an ear for things he should not have access to. It is this relationship with Police that gave HRM the permission to abuse me into an attempt to take my life to stop their abuse as Carvery and police tag teamed me into emergency visits and medical crisis for this entire time. Not one Black person or police officer at the Police Commission, despite many requests for investigations, were charged or convicted to keep Irvine Carvery appeased. Beazley and Sykes helped Carvery slaughter my family with crimes they all should be in prison for.

Peter Kelly was aware of this violence and did nothing. He went on to hide the Patrick Murphy rape matter with same police, one of the major reasons I ended up in Housing for in the first place. The police abuse I endured starting with William Morris in 1998 on the David Swim rape matter ( hiding Susan Potts/crown and police corruption and Victim Services Ed Gores corruption) and onward is what put me in the hospital and then subsequent drug damages and permanent disabilities that put me into scums' way for them to have their way with impunity.

Community Services, all scaredy white folks, didnot want Carvery held accountable for his crimes that caused me and mine injuries because they are ascared of his race card which he uses at will and whim. CS and HRC had an legal obligation to let the public know what a deprave sociopath he and his posse really are but chose the pussy way of handling matters.

For Irvine Carvery to call any one racist is the pot calling the kettle Black. Members of his own Geneology Society state that he has embezzled money from the Society in the past and cannot stand him, they too have no recourse.

I am willing to put my good name on it: that the tax payers of Nova Scotia and Canada and those who do not pay taxes for whatever reasons would not give Irvine Carvery a penny if they knew what he was and that he should be in prison sharing a cell with those who colluded with his racial hate crimes:

Peter Kelly to chief of police and super Beazley and Sykes, the Police Commission Nadine Cooper Mont and Human Rights Commission, May Ann Francis, Viki Samuels, Lynn Hartley, James Dewar and Community Services: 2 Tory ministers and Housing management from top down and the MRHA Board of Directors and Dalhousie Legal Aid Donna Franey who knew of every act of abuse and did nothing,, she is still in position at Legal Aid despite the crimes she knew were killing my family and 2 Ombudsman Officers-Elaine Venturini and their legal rep Christine Breenan and NDP Maureen MacDonald; Libs Michel Sampson and Tory Baker, Muir, Scott, Morse and Stretch.


I do believe tax payers provincially and federally would rather pay the per diem for the aforementioned incarcerations than modified days off for criminal and corrupt public servants. What MLAs are being outed for in 2009  by the frauditor general pales in comparison to what MLAs and others are getting away with. What Ed Morris did years ago pales in comparison to what Community Services has been getting away with.
_______________________

RCMP Police Brutality and HRM/ Crown Corruption Hearing in Dartmouth January 19 2010 @7:00pm


Info sent to Metro news 01/10/10

January 19 2010 @7:00pm There is a hearing being held in Dartmouth night court, G McIntyre versus HRM/RCMP, on an issue of a forced 911 ticket of two RCMP abusing me into medical crisis after I called for assistance to have a known perpetrator removed from my private property.

That the RCMP despite recent news about the Hyde police abuse and tagteamed doctoring notes and the recent RCMP Commission report showing the ineffectiveness of police policing police these two officers, RCMP-J.Demers and S. Stevens are still employed at RCMP after lying profusely about the events of this day that resulted in another 911 call for assistance but the 911 operator Heather Johnson didnot dispatch any medical services despite my requests and she helped cover-up the violence I endured by these two female officers.

These two officers are a Hyde Commission waiting to happen. Copies of 911 audio show police refer to me as a 'what' and not 'whom' to justify their abuse toward me after repeatedly being told to leave my home. Such objectifying and dehumanizing language is used by sociopaths to give themselves permission to abuse their victims. This matter was sent to local headquarters Halifax where Carl Hubley made a mockery of the violence so it was sent to Ottawa and the allegations were substantiated by the Commission* although in the report, they did diminish the seriousness of the deliberate and malicious attacks against me in my own home after being rude to me on a cell phone after they were told not to come to my home.

The deliberate diminishing of police brutality by police agencies and affiliates is an organized attempt to hide the reality of police pathologies from the public, that the psychological testing done during recruitment is a false security net and a lie to the unassuming public to create images of public safety where little exists. There is a societal misnomer that men abuse women but this issue clearly reveals women in positions of unmonitored and permissive power abuse can be as mysogynistic as their male counterparts. The Commission recommended that these two officers receive training in how to respond to persons in crisis but this is a lie as I was not in crisis until the police placed me in crisis with their tagteam abuse tactics. The police didnot like me telling her that she was wrong for speaking to me on a cell phone and I ended our conversation as she was abrupt and rude to me. It further escalated when she peeled into my driveway and pounded on my door like an escaped baboon. It only got worse from there as they tagteamed me into medical crisis and they continued to abuse me after being told to leave my home, they continued to abuse me because I would not respond to their provocation so they could justify their abuse to me.

I feared for my life as I knew they could use a tazer and take my life and get away with it. This day of this police abuse was January 31 2008 the day after HRM police were reprimanded for tazering a local teen in an abuse of power situation.

These officers abused me after I placed a 911 call to have a child abuser removed from my property one the police forgot to start an investigation on in Dec 2007 of historical sexual abuse one crown Susan Potts knew about in 1992 and used this perp to enter in his fabricated statement to Supreme Court to incarcerate another child molester. The matter is still being hidden by Integrated Services RCMP /HRM. That I am known to police because of the Patrick Murphy trial where I recently received a suspended sentence from Judge Digby as I made public the amount of police and crown and city council corruption during the Commonwealth Game Bid on the table. That women known to police for whatever reason especially community advocates that speak out against police brutality are often victims of same said brutality, committed with impunity.
· Commission Report PC-2009-0339
-Hearing canceled by crown so that public does not hear how depraved those two female RCMP officers are: Stephanie Stevens and Jennifer Demers are corrupt, depraved and violently dangerous. This is discussed in depth in the section of police abuse.
______________________
Councillor Sue Uteck Blaming lack of Oxygen for bad decisions
Besides sounding like a whiney cry baby...Sue implies that the lack of scheduled and timely breaks is why they are a mess. By using an appeal for sympathy, always a logical fallacy, she would like the voters to believe that if they just had proper breaks they would be making better decisions with much more effective debtaing....was this the first meeting after the summer.....how long of a break does this korrupt ass need?????
She would like our pity for she who looks like she never missed a break in her life...... she who could not care less about the health of my family after I was raped by one of her peers, after she received an email from me in 2005 about the damages done to my family.....and did nada
Sue is sounding more and more like the malignant moan and groan Sloane....
Have no sympathy for those who support rapists!!!!!!
__________
Dexter done did a dodo dung dilly
The new premier seems a bit confused. Mike the Faker to get Nova Scotia Order?

Michael Baker is in the top ten most corrupt public servants in this province. He deliberately didnot do investigations into the corruption in the:

crown's office-Martin Hershorn, Susan Potts, CDriscoll, S MacDOnald, Frank Hoskins, Denise Smith

legal aid services/commission: Spring Garden Road and Dalhousie-Gottigen Street offices

victims services: Mike Pugsley, Ed Gores, Joanne Marriott Thorne

police department:Frank Beazley, Stepehn Sykes, Kennedy,Peter Kelly
NS police commission: Nadine Cooper Mont

Human Rights Commission: Mayann Francis, Viki Samuels, James Dewar, Lynn Hartley-Irvine Carvery and MRHA

.....when he ignored those requests he fabricated a letter to Premier Hamm implying that I was a disgruntled person of a court mattter that didnot exist!

When I called his office with my outrage toward a copy sent to me by Hamm's office, Baker's assistant hung up the phone on me. I then sent Hamm a letter explaining that the letter Faker sent him was corrupt and Hamm did nada. I sent a letter to federal Tories Stockwell Day and Bob Nicholson and Vic Towes and Sheila Fraser to investigate several public servant including Baker and they did what they do best NADA...

Corruption is the cancer that is epidemic and contagious in Nova Scotia with Michael Baker as one of the main ring leaders..he did not die of cancer..he IS the cancer.

Please note Murray Scott was given these requests to investigate as well, his response was laden in the Patrick Murphy rape corruption.

SHAME on Darryl Dexter who rather look diplomatic than do his homework into the the outrageous stunts of Mike Faker...of course lets just ignore the tax and insurance fraud he committed as well. How about his role in the monies spent on the Commonwealth Bid?
Dexxie done did a dodo dung dilly...no doubt more to come....
________________

Calder Corrupt?
Please note the Legal Aid Commission was told of Calder's unethical and outrageous behaviour before this drug incident and they did nothing though knew in March 2009 that she was fired by me for these reasons. Just like they did nothing on the Nicole Campbell corruption. LAC knew that Calder was out of sorts for quite some time and should have removed her from the LAC registry but hey what do poor people care-we should be thankful that anyone would take our cases right???? WRONG!!!!
The Impoverished in Nova Scotia are mind over matter: the Non-poor  do not mind that the Poor do not matter.


'A Halifax lawyer is accused of smuggling drugs to an inmate at the Burnside jail.

Police wouldn’t release the identity of the accused, but sources said it was former Crown prosecutor Anne Calder.

A source said Wednesday that Ms. Calder was due in Kentville provincial court to represent a client and when she didn’t appear, those in court were concerned. Inquiries were made and it was discovered that she had been arrested, the source said.

Ms. Calder could not be reached Wednesday for an interview.

Halifax Regional Police spokesman Const. Brian Palmeter said that a 56-year-old woman was arrested at 8:58 p.m. Tuesday in Halifax’s west end in connection with “a complaint involving drugs at the correctional centre.”

Const. Palmeter said the woman was released from custody Wednesday evening and is to appear at a later date in Dartmouth provincial court on charges of trafficking.

Police were called to the Central Nova Scotia Correctional Facility at 4:21 p.m. after guards noticed something during a face-to-face meeting between a woman lawyer and the unidentified male inmate.

“We suspected because of video surveillance that an individual was attempting to bring illegal substances into the facility and police were called right away,” said Carla Grant, spokeswoman for the provincial Justice Department.

The drugs, described by Const. Palmeter as a “prescription narcotic” not in a proper bottle, were allegedly passed to the inmate by the accused.

The officer didn’t know if she had a briefcase, but she had papers with her and was “there in an official capacity, meeting with the inmate."

Corrections officers “were able to secure the package, at which time we were contacted,” Const. Palmeter said. The drugs did not make their way to the jail’s general population, he said.

The lawyer was still in cells at the Gottingen Street police station, he said Wednesday at 4 p.m. She is expected to face a charge of drug trafficking and the inmate will likely face a count of drug possession, the officer said.

But the charges had not yet been laid as of 4 p.m., and police could still hold the lawyer without charges until 8:58 p.m. When the charges are laid, the woman will likely be released on a promise to appear in court at a later date.

Ms. Calder is an Amherst native who, in 2006, graduated with a journalism degree from the University of King’s College in Halifax. She is also a graduate of Dalhousie and Carleton universities and the University of British Columbia Law School.

The Nova Scotia Barristers’ Society website states that Ms. Calder was called to the bar June 14, 1995. After having worked as a casual Crown attorney in both the Truro and Halifax offices, Ms. Calder was appointed by director Martin Herschorn to the New Glasgow office of the provincial public prosecution service.

Chris Hansen, spokeswoman for the prosecution service, said that Ms. Calder worked out of the New Glasgow area until she left the Crown’s office in March 2005.

After attending university, she began working as a defence attorney.

In April, Ms. Calder's failure to watch a client’s videotaped interview with police led to a mistrial. Ms. Calder ceased representing accused murderer Desmond Maguire on May 12 after the Crown in that case had previously applied to have Ms. Calder removed due to a possible conflict of interest.

On May 8, she was fired by an Eastern Passage woman on trial for mischief and uttering threats against a Halifax municipal councillor.

(It is amazing how the reporters are usually wrong about the facts. She was fired in March 2009 and refused to return the case file to me so I had to ask Judge Digby to order her to return them because she refused to come to court to respond to my firing her.

I sent a letter to Legal Aid about how unstable she was, sadly had they not been so pathetically inept they could have interacted and saved this woman, one of their own, public humiliation...to go down is bad enough but for a pimp who rapes?


I warned the right people, and they could not be bothered acting responsibly or ethically or timely. Dang so many 'pimps' in this province we should make it legal and tax it!

The reporter P. Brooks has the Legal Aid letter as does the Barristers Society-V Rees.)



“My life is a bit topsy-turvy right now,” Ms. Calder told Judge Bill Digby in Halifax provincial court May 8.

Two weeks after that quote appeared in The Chronicle Herald, Ms. Calder sent an email to the reporter expressing her displeasure and offering further explanation:

“My life went topsy-turvy when my dad died very suddenly and unexpectedly and I have been caring for my mother (in Pictou County) ever since, while moving her and preparing their house for sale – not to mention many dozens of other tasks which must be looked after,” she wrote

Her father is believe to have died in December.

Illegal drugs are an issue at all correctional facilities, Ms. Grant said.

In 1999, Anthony Emery Deslauriers, a part-time guard at the former Halifax Correctional Centre was sentenced to three years in jail for smuggling drugs into the Lower Sackville jail. The man claimed he was forced to bring in the drugs because an inmate had threatened to harm his family and he needed to support his gambling habit.

Neither Ms. Grant nor Const. Palmeter could recall a single incident of a lawyer facing charges here on similar allegations.

“We’re surprised and disappointed that a lawyer would be suspected of such activity,” she said.'
P.Brooks C.Herald
__________________________
Congrats to Barack Obama!


I think we are yet to calculate the magnum of this moment.
The one area of possible new hope is now the Black community as a collective in North America will no longer use self defeating language and mentalities to enable their own lack of aspiring to greater things in life.

I cannot recall the number of times I have heard casually stated 'well I will do that when a black man is president/prime minister', the cultural version of 'I will do that when pigs fly' - or ' its not like we will ever have a black person as president so why bother'....it has been used as an excuse to no excel in what we do as a community, what is the point of exerting ourselves if we will not achieve our rightful reward?

Barack Obama has shown the Black community of all communities that those excuses are null and void and for that the black community will grow and move forward knowing that there are no ceilings....ask for the stars and settle for the moon.......Obama has done more for the Black psyche than any other person. That is not to say others have not 'lifted' the people, for many have done just that, but it is Obama that has removed the last shackles for the Black people in western civilization.....the shackles they themselves put around their own ankles to keep them prisoners of their own perceived limitations..

Obama....congratulations you have finally freed the people. No more should anyone tolerate the excuses of what cannot be done.......Obama as spoken...oh but yes you can!

I do think he is getting less than his just credits. It is fine to celebrate the fact that he is the first black man as president, a historical feat in USA for sure. We know of course that some voted for Obama just because he is black, something I witnessed here with Linda Carvery while she canvassed as a Liberal, only speaking to black people-of course that is not what Obama did, it would be considered ignorant by his standards. Barack Obama was voted in by all kinds of people not just black and would offer that more than not voted him in because of what he represents not by the colour of his skin......

I hope we can all keep that in mind. He is president not because he is black but because of who he is as a human being. Lets not take that away from him.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Irvine Carvery named chair for schoolboard


We will report more on this in the future, right now we are just sick that some local media have the audacity to compare Irvine Carvery with Barack Obama...Carvery is the antithesis of all that Obama stands for...Obama despises racism ALL RACISM, Irvine Carvery manipulates people with the race card and maintains the hostility between blacks and whites so he can keep the people 'controlled' with his hate so he can thrive.
Obama is about dismantling the race card as an enabler, Carvery is about holding folks racially hostage to do his bidding for fear of his race card.

Barack Obama is ethical, intelligent, exudes class, integrity, strong moral leadership versus Irvine Carvery the social pimp who lives off his own people and their issues for the next opportunity to feed his pathologies again.
Fear for all children now

~~~~~~~~
LIAR LIAR PANTS ON FIRE

In today's METRO the mayor Peter kelly talks about the use of lie detectors administered by his police force namely one 'dedicated' officer and that the overflow is assigned to two other officers.

What does 'dedicated' mean...that he is ethical to the law or believes in the blue code which may have nothing to do with ethics and more to do with loyalty?

Any lie detector test (LTD) administered for the hiring of any police or fire fighter should be conducted by a third party independent agency that is selected through a proper tender process.

I was shocked about this but then realized who we were talking about.

So the mayor supports the use of LTD for hiring which he says is administered by a dedicated officer which suggests that he believes in its ability or perhaps validity as a useful tool for evaluating the 'integrity' of others...

I wonder what he thinks about those who refuse to take them like his own city councillor Patrick Murphy for rape?

Anyway much like the MMPI that police are to take as cadets the LTD and the MMPI can be and are manipulated by sociopathic personalities which do include pathological liars and malignant narcissists.......

What is scary is the number of possible police ( not yet hired) that will have access to guns and batons and tasers and unmonitored power and they are the very personalities that we should be keeping an eye on....

LTD ONLY measures the belief of truth there is no device that can measure the TRUTH.

Now what scares me too is that the mayor believes they should be used for hiring yet they are not allowed in criminal court matters unless both parties agree...... so why is our mayor relying on a test that has been deemed invalid by the courts to hire police and firefighters?

Did each city council member have to take one...I think they should be expected to take one...if they are good enough for the police they surely must be good enough for each city council member and mayor.

Over the years several devices/techniques have been said to measure TRUTH such as biofeedback (like LTD) and eye/gesture/facial linguistics........

Any measure created my man to measure the integrity of man should be suspect in and of itself.

Liars are skilled in the art of deception, they come in shapes and sizes. Only the good ones never get caught, the rest are amateur.

The American annals for criminal pathology recognized awhile ago that sociopaths pass LTD that are administered by police. There are manuals on line to buy that teach folks how to trick them written by men, some were law enforcement, who used to administered them.

Despite the evidence that LTS are not reliable measures our mayor uses LTD to choose who gets to be the armed forces of our city. If he believes in their effectiveness then he should administer them on his own council too especially if they have been accused of serious crimes.

Why did Peter Kelly not demand his city councillor Patrick Murphy to take the test when accused of rape?

Because he knew Patrick Murphy would fail his lie detector test and the unassuming Metropolis would finally  know how depraved and corrupt the HRM police chief, his minions , the mayor , crown, , 2 Tory minister for justice, and  council truly are!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
23 mo' popo...

....
The Chronic Horrid covered a story of HRM police graduates at the Pier 21. Enclosed are excerpts from the presentations of Tweedle-Gee and Tweedle-Scum. Both Peter Smelley and Skank Beazley should be studied in a petri dish so that we can further understand, from a clinical perspective, how sociopaths manage to blend with the those who are selected to enforce the law. These two have picked a great hiding place, to hide along side those are in charge of locking up those who break the law.

'Like he does at every police graduation, Mayor Peter Kelly advised the new officers to get out of their cars and interact with citizens whenever possible.


RESPONSE: Peter Kelly needs to be in court and public record about why he allowed so many police offisewers to commit so many crimes and obstruct so much justice that my family is in permanent trauma. He needs to go on record why he has protected a rapist in city council since 2005! Patrick Murphy is a sociopathic raping thug who is right under their noses yet they do nothing...yet the good folks are trying to figure out why are we so unsafe as a city.


Chief Frank Beazley agreed and told the new officers to treat every call as if it involved a family member or friend going through a tough time.'


RESPONSE: when I read this part bile came to my throat. Please do not treat people like they are your family. Skank's own son after years of heavy drug use and criminal behaviour threw himself off a bridge to get away from his own father-that would be the same father that keeps this city unwell, unsafe and violent.
He who cannot heal his own family cannot heal yours.!.

Skank Beazley should be in prison for the rest of his life for the crimes he committed against my family directly in cahoots with hiding crimes committed by crown and black thugs in housing including by Irvine Carvery and indirectly through his minions. He has made sure that YOU the public do not know the police commision with the criminal assistance of Nadine Cooper Pooper Scooper is hiding the sickest of the lot by keeping their crimes from public scrutiny.

The commission, Smelly and Skank know that if the public knew what the HRM police are capable of, murdering good families while empowering the scum of our city, the HRM public will find out that the youth were never the issue. Like Hilter playing on the emotional vulnerability of the Germans, the NS Dept of Justice and namely the police chief and the mayor have distracted the public long enough, blaming the youth to hide their own mental instabilities, our city being run by scum that should be in prison.

It is our own home grown sociopaths in the police business that keep this city hostage.
As soon as Skank and Smelly are in prison, this city will be safer.

Skank Beazley and his minions murdered my family since 1998-he is why my family ended up in poverty, agony and public housing. Skank Beazley is the scariest thug in this city for he blends so well among the police force, they cannot smell this dangerous sociopath although he is right under their noses.
If he could not heal his own son he was not letting yours heal especially if you belonged to a marginalized group that was the target of his 'isms'....if you are non-white, poor and/or a single mother he and his minions gave themselves permission to treat you like garbage......he treats his family like garbage?
OR
How about treating citizens like citizens of a free country that have an equal right and expectation to be protected by the law.



So.......No.... please do not treat them like they are family for no doubt that standard is much too low.

WE do not need mo'popo!
WE need police officers that remember the Walt Disney motto: that GOOD should truimph over EVIL, that the moral road is always the right road despite how rocky and that the law is written with the intent to be applied impartially without prejudice and discrimination.

And that batons, tasers, guns and power should not be used as phallic replacements!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

wuzzupdates: Liberals go on record that Dion does not speak for Liberals, they will not be amending the Pension Splitting after all.

LIBERALS WANT TO CAUSE SENIORS MORE $$$$ STRESS!



Stéphane Dion threatens to raise seniors' taxes by cancelling pension income splitting
October 01, 2008
Today, on International Day of Older Persons, Stéphane Dion must come clean on his comments that he would cancel income splitting for pensioners.

Appearing on CTV’s Canada AM, Dion was asked: “[W]hat is your position on income splitting of pension income?” He responded, “Well, we, it is not our priority. It would be very, very costly.” The Liberals also voted against pension income splitting when the Conservatives introduced it in 2006 (Division No. 57, November 7, 2006).

“It is shocking that Stéphane Dion would cut programs and raise taxes for some of our most vulnerable Canadians – our seniors. In a time of rising prices and global economic uncertainty, seniors deserve stable, certain leadership from government. We must do more to let seniors keep more of their hard-earned dollars, not eliminate every positive tax measure our Conservative Government has delivered to them,” said Senator LeBreton.
LeBreton added: “Income splitting for pensioners has delivered real tax relief to senior couples. It has support from thousands of seniors across this country. Stéphane Dion is clearly out of touch if he thinks that seniors won’t notice when he cancels this program.”
In addition to income splitting, the Harper Conservatives have brought in other highly popular measures aimed specifically at easing the financial burden on our seniors, including:
  • Increasing the Guaranteed Income Supplement (GIS) to benefit more than 1.6 million seniors.
  • Passing legislation so seniors don’t have to reapply year after year to receive the GIS.
  • Increasing the age credit by $1000 to $5,066, and pledging to increase the credit by an additional $1000, if re-elected.
Stéphane Dion’s comments demonstrate a history of ignoring the needs of older Canadians. In a meeting with seniors in 2006, Dion wasted little time before rejecting their suggestion to have a cabinet minister for the elderly. "Please, do we have a better topic?" he asked impatiently. (Globe and Mail, September 6, 2006).
LeBreton concluded: “In total, our Conservative Government’s Tax Fairness Plan has put $1 billion into the pockets of Canadians, with a large portion going to seniors – and seniors deserve every penny. Dion would cancel income splitting for pensioners and pile on a risky carbon tax that would increase the cost of just about everything. That’s a risk our seniors can’t afford to take.

....Are Liberals planning to violate United Nation Initiatives?



U N I T E D N A T I O N S N A T I O N S U N I E S
THE SECRETARY-GENERAL
--

MESSAGE ON THE INTERNATIONAL DAY OF OLDER PERSONS
1 October 2008

The theme of this year’s International Day of Older Persons, “Rights of Older
Persons”, is especially apt in this year in which we mark the 60th anniversary of the
Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

Promoting the independence, participation and dignity of older persons has long
been on the agenda of the United Nations and is central to implementation of the Madrid International Plan of Action on Ageing. In adopting that Plan six years ago at the Second World Assembly on Ageing, UN Member States committed “to eliminating all forms of discrimination, including age discrimination”. They recognized “that persons, as they age, should enjoy a life of fulfillment, health, security and active participation in the economic, social, cultural and political life of their societies”. And they determined “to enhance the recognition of the dignity of older persons and to eliminate all forms of neglect, abuse and violence”.

Despite this commitment, in many parts of the world, the rights of older persons are violated every day. Older persons often face age discrimination at a workplace. In social environments, they may experience a lack of recognition and respect. They may be deprived of full inclusion and participation in social, economic, cultural and political affairs. Most disturbingly, in many countries, incidences of neglect, abuse and violence against older persons are not at all rare or isolated events.

Acknowledging the crucial role that older persons play in society is an important pillar of the Madrid Plan of Action. Earlier this year, the first review and appraisal of the Plan made abundantly clear that much more needs to be done at the national level to support older persons, promote their income security and social protection, and ensure quality health care as well as the provision of long-term care services.

To make this possible, national ageing-specific policies must be improved substantially and the concerns of older persons mainstreamed into a wider policy framework.

This International Day is an opportunity to stimulate discussion on promoting the
rights of older persons and strengthen partnerships aimed at securing their full
participation in society. Let us all redouble our efforts to realize the rights of older
persons, and make the dream of a society for all ages a reality.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
wuzzupdates: the HRM electronic voting system DOES allow for you to decline to issue a vote for each section......


ELECT TO REJECT

Who votes?
What issues are we voting on? 
Who represents my own beliefs and ideas of how society should be functioning?
Does voting really make a difference?

Regardless of socio-economic background these are the questions we ask as we slide into this autumn with three elections coming up within days of each other. The good folks of HRM metropolis are given the privileged task of choosing a school board, a city council and a member of parliament in the hopes that each of us will have our own voice heard through each person we vote for.

If you are living in Nova Scotia and in particular the HRM, you have been lulled into a numbness with the campaigning rhetoric of promises of a better and safer tomorrow. It seems with each passing election the masses are becoming so numb over the expectation of nothing from their representatives that there really seems to be no need for elections and the vulgar waste of money spent each time. So why have elections and go through the inconvenience of the voting process?

Who votes?
In auld Canada, the voting process was an exclusive ‘members only’ process. It was one of the most single events that separated the people into visible social categories which, at that time, meant for those who were academically educated, the progeny of generational wealth and class privilege, male and Caucasian.
We know historically this elite club, no doubt against its will, was forced through legislation and movements for human dignity and rights, to open the door to allow non-members to enjoy the privilege of voting for those that would bring Canada into the future. Although voting is said to be democratic in the nature of electing a representative, it could not boast of being truly democratic or representative of the people until it included all the people.

So why is it then that after a relatively brief history of political development that enables all Canadians to have the right to vote do we not have a great voter turn-out at the polls? Why in a place as small as HRM do we not have 100% turn-out at the stations despite the right that was once a privilege? The answers are similar across class lines, each person having strong opinions on why voters in this city and province are so without enthusiasm.

What issues are we voting on?
The real numbers are unknown but it would be interesting to know who still votes for the person or party their grandparents voted for. How many choose because of the poli-platform that each party claims to represent? Or do you vote for the person who has the strongest hand shake?

Or are you like us, grown bored and tired of the same ole same ole that you rather bath the cat that is not declawed on election day, deeming it less painful. Here in this province and city we have the devils you know versus the devils you know, each party wearing their cheap smelling version of eau du Halifax Harbour. Despite being a scent- free province there is a stench of politricks, elected representatives gone afoul, nobody taking the lead, nobody being responsible at every level.

What issues are important to you are often pimped by fast talking ventriloquists, somebody always has their hand up someone else’s… well you know how it goes. More schools, more jobs, less crime, less pollution… the list is long. We at RESPONSE: A THOUSAND VOICES vote for less government corruption, less personal spending accounts for public servants, more ethics, more accountability, more intelligence and more responsibility. We have never seen these on anyone’s political handouts to date….were they assumed to be givens? We argue that with our list the other items will inevitably be resolved.

Who represents my own beliefs and ideas of how society should be functioning?
The obvious should be noted: had there been anyone one person or party that represented the same ideals and beliefs that we do our organization would be rendered obsolete. It is the void of ethical, accountable, intelligent and responsible government that created the need for RESPONSE: A THOUSAND VOICES. We are the inevitable by-product of the ‘politricking’ in this city and province as a whole. No one party is the perpetrator or victim, they are equally guilty playing out their dysfunctional roles where the good folks of metropolis lose with each spin of the bottle.

Does voting really make a difference?
Brief answer….YES!
It first and foremost makes a difference in the life of those elected who now get to enjoy a wage and on-the-book-off-the-book benefits at the tax payer’s expense.
Does it make a difference at the community level? That depends on how you define community. If you define it solely by its members then we may have a problem. No one elected person could possibly represent the needs of all their constituents equally, it would be most unfair to expect them to do so. And what if those needs are opposing? Who gets the short straw? Who decides the ‘worthiness’ of the issues?
Meet Mister Money.

Mr.Money belongs to the oldest party in the world, the Money Party, with exclusive membership. The more money you have the more connections you have, the more connections you have the more resources you have, the more resources you have the more ’friends’ you have.

Poor folk ain’t got nae friends.

Sure, issues that plague the vulnerable and impoverished are often talked about at election time but we all know how much work Talk got done. Sure, the visibly poor communities get lots of attention but either it is negative or convenient. The former is self explanatory, the latter, the polite word for social pimping, a politrick done shamefully to boost poli-platforms for patronage from the poor. At no other time but election time are the issues of the poor pimped with promises of sugar plums for those with no food in their bellies. It is somewhat profound that the people who need the loudest voices are often ignored or silenced except by Johnny Gladhand and Smiley Jones.

Do the wealthy vote more that the sick and poor? Do the wealthy vote differently that than the sick and poor?

We believe the wealthy tend to choose the very people and parties that assist in the segregation of the classes motivated by the intense fear that poverty is somehow highly contagious and therefore in need of desperate measures such as social quarantine and persecution.

And who do the Poor vote for?

Two years ago we took on the arduous but rewarding task of petitioning door to door through public housing systems. As we heard one story after another of the deplorable conditions here in HRM it was inevitable that the discussion of ‘who is responsible’ would come up. When asked each resident if they vote, the same replies would be sounded: ‘not any more’, ‘why bother’, ‘they lie and lie and lie’….

How do we motivate a people who have seen the ugly truth of society? How do we get their voice out of the kitchen and into the polling stations? We introduced them to Mister Scratch. Having worked elections myself we often had to disregard certain ballots for it was not clear who the vote had been intended for. Since this was an odd occurrence they were deemed accidental scratches but I often wondered if that was true, perhaps the people had scratched their ballot deliberately as a poli-protest.

When we offered the scratch and explained how it could be done people smiled more and stood straighter. It was as if the new option gave hope to an otherwise hopeless situation. We then agreed the tallies of scratched ballots should also be made public along side the tallies of candidates so the public could see the true democratic process at play. But how would we know what ballots were deliberately scratched and which ones were accidental, an act of poor eye sight or language barriers, perhaps even illiteracy.

We advocate that Elections Canada: federal and provincial and municipal elections publish a slot for ELECT TO REJECT as an option to scratch your ballot. This is a hopeful political voice and allows voters to not be forced to pick the least of all the devils. It will motivate them to leave their homes and go to the polls, a prediction we feel confident about if we are to use the words of those we petitioned as liking the idea of scratching very much indeed.

Recently federal and provincial governments have been in minority positions having to look over their shoulder at the dog nipping at their heels. The ELECT TO REJECT option would place at least one other dog at the heels of the ‘winners’ to let them know there is no room for boozing, snoozing or smoozing, it is time to get to work.
If we continue to be exposed to the devils versus devils as choices we will live long enough to see Mister Scratch beat Mister Money at the polls. It will act as a wake up call to those who have enjoyed the slide and glide into elected seats with just a handshake and a smile much like that of the ventriloquist doll. We predict the option to ELECT TO REJECT would extend far outside the walls of impoverished communities by those who have grown as weary as the vulnerable at watching lips move and nothing but noise coming out of mouths with permanently painted smiles.

As the election count down begins we are seeing more new candidates for each election and this is a good sign for the hopelessly hopeful, much like the farmer’s rotten crop being burned to the ground, the old crops being ripped out at the roots to give the new crops a solid chance to start anew.

We encourage each citizen to get out and vote for each election: school board, municipal and federal. If you do not like the choices on your ballot card, we ask that you have enough respect for the democratic process to scratch your ballot, a valid vote, instead of staying home constantly complaining about cousins ‘woulda, coulda and shoulda’…..Shen Anigan and Tom Foolery.



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SOBEYS: Burning the Candle at Both Ends

Recently, many non-profit organizations throughout Nova Scotia, in particular HRM, found out that at the end of this week they will can save all the grocery tapes they want, Sobeys will no longer refund them for $2.00 every $ 1000.00 spent on receipts, a program run by Sobeys for 25 Years.

Spokesperson for Sobeys says that they are now focusing on the Breakfast Program that will feed many impoverished children, a noble task indeed.

However, not all non-profit organizations are serving impoverished children. Ranging from services and provisions for the homeless to the disabled to stray family pets to injured wildlife, non-profits are filling in voids left wide open by government budget cuts, ignorance, politics and apathy.

Is it a coincidence that Sobeys rubs elbows with the very governments that are keeping the poor poor and the sick sick? Sobeys would like us to remember that they have donated 5 million dollars for 25 years through the tape refund program, a noble task indeed.

However, how much did they donate in 25 years to St Mary’s University Business Programs? How many tax breaks has Sobeys enjoyed by donating to either the tape program or business programs?

So Sobeys enjoys tax breaks and patronage from those who create and maintain the impoverish status then turn around and withhold refunds from the very organizations that are trying to meet the needs created by the same gaps in the services created by those who benefit from connections with corporate Sobeys?

Sobeys wants us to be mindful they are feeding the poor children of metropolis. However, while feeding these poor children, they have also decided to stop the sales of older and dated products often bought by the poor who are hungry of which many have hungry children.

Okay, this is smelling a lot like the Tory math our finance minister Michael Baker does, the convenient and forgetful kind of math that keeps youth locked up in justice systems for $370.00 odd dollars a day while keeping the families of many of these youth hungry, poor and traumatized. The kind of math that ‘justifies’ spending over 7 million to flirt with the big boys over Commonwealth Bids while his pal Barry Burnet whines about how KIDS SPORT needs your money so poor kids can play sports which will keep them of the street and out of crime.

All is not lost we suppose. Instead of refunds for tapes, those dealing with the vulnerable in HRM can still save the paper tapes and then burn them each winter for heat so they do not freeze to death.

Unless Sobeys plans to give all the non-profit organizations free candles that they can burn at both ends for added warmth.

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(third party submission)

Dear Friend of Democracy, 
 
The federal election is on, and your support is needed to help ensure an honest, good Canadian government no matter what party is elected. No matter what problem or issue you are concerned about, if politicians and government officials can be dishonest, unethical, secretive, unrepresentative and wasteful, it is not very likely they
will solve the problem or address the issue.

Here are the 4 things you can do now to help ensure an honest, good federal government:
1. COPY THE 2 QUESTIONS SET OUT BELOW, AND SEND THEM in an email to:
urging that the federal political party leaders be asked the 2 questions during the election debates next Wednesday, October 1st and Thursday, October 2nd:

QUESTION 1: Will you promise to introduce and support the passage of an honesty-in-politics law that allows voters to file complaints with an independent watchdog agency like the Ethics Commissioner about broken promises and false statements by federal politicians, political staff, appointees, and government employees, and gives the watchdog agency the power to penalize anyone who breaks a promise or makes a false statement with high fines (with the only valid excuse for breaking a promise being if a situation truly changes in a completely unpredictable way, or if a minority government is elected and opposition parties make changes to promised
proposals).
 
QUESTION 2: You and your party are making promises about decisions and actions you will take after the election, and statements about the principles and policies you support. 

Given that
there is not yet an honesty-in-politics-law, will you pledge that you will resign or penalize yourself in a similarly significant way after the election if you break any of your promises or violate any of your principles and policies (with the only valid excuse for breaking a promise or changing your policies being if a situation truly changes in a completely unpredictable way, or if a minority government is elected and opposition parties make changes to your proposals)?
******
2. GO TO DEMOCRACY WATCH'S FEDERAL ELECTION 2008 campaign webpage at:
AND
(A) Click on the link on the left to download and print out
the "I'm Voting for Good Government" sign/sticker and stick it up on
your front door;
 
(B) Click on the link on the right to see and send the
"Letter to Party Leaders re: Honesty in Politics pledges";
 
(C) Click on the link on the right to see and send the "Good
Government Action Alert" to federal party leaders, and;
 
(D) Click on the link on the right to see and send the
"Corporate Responsibility Action Alert" to federal party leaders.
******
3. BEFORE VOTING, LOOK AT THE 2 REPORT CARDS Democracy Watch will be issuing when all the federal political parties' platforms have been released 
(NOTE: You will receive another Action Alert about the Report Cards when they are issued). The 2 Report Cards will be:
(A) Report Card on the Parties' Good Government Platforms, and;
(B) Report Card on the Parties' Corporate Responsibility Platforms

******

PLEASE PASS THIS MESSAGE ON to everyone you know in Canada, and if you have any questions about this email, contact Democracy Watch by email at:

http://www.cleangovernment.ca/
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when two vowels go awalking....
.......the first one does the talking


International Literacy Day

September 8

Parents grab a book and read to your children.


Children grab a book and read to an elder.



'I' before 'E' except after 'C'

FEED YOUR BRAIN....
READ A BOOK!!!!

The Word on the Street


The Word on the Street Halifax is FREE to the public


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World's poorest will be subject of study

IRVINE, Calif., Sept. 18 (UPI) --

One of the world's richest couples, Bill and Melinda Gates, have donated $1.7 million to the University of California for a study of the world's poorest people.

The Institute for Money, Technology and Financial Inclusion will send researchers to sub-Sahara Africa, India, China, Russia and southeast Asia to figure out how some of the world's poorest people manage their money, The Orange County (Calif.) Register reported Thursday.
Starting in regions where technology isn't part of the equation, the study will examine "whether people store their money in roof rafters and whether they use what they earn to do things like buy cattle," said Bill Maurer, an anthropologist with the University of California, Irvine.
"Later on, we'll be looking to see if people can use new technology to save and transfer wealth in ways that are safe," he told the Register.

RESPONSE: We hope we are not the only ones offended by such a project. Can you imagine? Is this what the rich folk do? Think about how the poor handle their money? Do they not understand the poor do not have money? Most cannot afford rafters let alone cattle..and transferring wealth..what wealth?

How about donating that money to the communities they wish to study and put in services to reduce the pains of poverty?

How about setting up schools for these communities to teach them basic skills for surviving other than starvation?

How about giving each project subject a share of that 1.7 million and ask them what they plan to buy?

Shame shame double shame Gates family!
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wuzzupdate: an email was sent back immediately from us to this community effort to see if they were affiliated with HCAP and no response was given to us to date. We will keep this event published as it still is a community response to HRM police brutality however since we do not know if HCAP is associated we will not be attending as we do not support one self-absorbed brute force over another. 
 
JUST IN........STOP HRM POLICE CRIMES....SHOW YOUR DISGUST FOR DANGEROUS POLICING!

AUGUST 21 NOON at the HRM Police Station: Gottigen Street....lets tell Skank Beazley and Petey Smelley their days of lawlessness and outlawing are done!
(third party submission)
In light of the deplorable police actions and resulting arrests stemming from the peaceful protests against the Chebucto Road widening on July 4th and 7th, concerned citizens of HRM have organized a peaceful demonstration against POLICE BRUTALITY AND MISCONDUCT on Thursday, August 21st at 12 noon, outside the Halifax Regional police station on Gottingen Street. Like those appalled by recent events in Digby, a public inquiry will be called for along with demands for police accountability.

If you oppose and/or have been victim of police officers arresting people without cause, using excessive and brutal force during such arrests, uttering verbal threats and insults, threatening use of physical injury, contradictory statements, violation of any police act regulation, etc., show your disdain by being present.

Those who have filled out formal complaints against what they witnessed/experienced at the Chebucto protests will join together as they hand these complaints in to the police department as a collective group.

Bring signs/posters and everyone you know. Power and strength in numbers. If we do nothing, nothing will change.
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ADJOURNED:
HRM Halifax city council Patrick Murphy rape trial August 18 2008 9:30 am
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STOP THE BILL!


STOP THE BULL!


URGENT.....please read link as you may think this will NOT affect you or you clients!

Bill C-51 will make $$$$ for pharmaceutical companies/govt monopolies and stop you from getting Natural Supplements etc...tell Federal Government that YOU are in charge of your own wellness not them!

Enclosed link has options on how you can tell your government STOP THE BILL
STOP C-51

Ask why your Federal Government is moving this Bill so fast through House? Contact your medical practitioners so they can inform their other clients about how government wants to tell them what they can consume and from whom they can buy.

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VOLUNTEER WEEK IS HERE!


Set up as a national initiative for appreciation Volunteer Week is being held April 27-May 3 this year. Please do not hesitate to show your volunteers appreciation any other time of the year!




Volunteers Are Community

The origins of Volunteering depends on who you ask: is it the potential offering of life in war to fight for one’s country so many centuries ago, or the class expectation of the European Bourgeoisie ( middle classes) who could afford to be charitable with their time and money. Latin Voluntaris or ‘free will’ or ‘I will’ connotes a maturity of one’s humanity: the offering of one’s will to assist another is the most generous of acts and it is here where we find the more modern definition of volunteering as a charitable act.

Regardless of the version you prefer Volunteering has evolved into a powerful human resource engine that crosses gender, ethnic, geographic and class boundaries. Today with the stringent mood of the global economy more than ever ‘others’ are relying on the unwaged labour of many to perform the inner workings of organizations who, without this ‘underground’ force, could not function.

People are relying more on organizations for services that governmental agencies do not include in their service delivery or no longer offer, casualties of budget chopping blocks, leaving the most vulnerable to do without the very services they need the most. Volunteers, regardless of their task, play a very humane role in this reality as they assist those who are in need of services be it the ‘one time only situation’ or an ongoing relationship with a particular organization or individual.
Be it a donation in kind to a shelter for the Homeless or a slotted hourly visit to read to an elder in a nursing home, volunteers interact in an intimate way with the lives they ‘touch’ and affect. There are formal and informal volunteers, all giving according to their ability and in keeping with the need of the organization they are contracted with, each contributing in a way that allows the quality of life of others to improve in some meaningful way.

One cannot have a definition of community without also including the role of volunteers for it this often under-appreciated group of dedicated people that act as the cohesive adhesive for communities (families/individuals) within larger communities (organizations, geographical locations). 

There is a humanist position that holds that in order for us as a civilization to evolve into healthy synergistic communities we must first learn to become selfless and empathic. We have come full circle with the unspoken words ‘I will’…do for my community. Volunteering is just that vehicle that satisfies those very simple aspirations. Volunteering is the act of generosity that allows one to have equal worth for their time and contribution regardless of their socio-economic background.
U and I are found in Community

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BOYCOTT JIM SILVER and COMMUNITY ACTION on HOMELESSNESS (CAH)
-Public Housing Panel is a classist white-wash shame!

Now for those of you who have not read this entire blog Community Action on Homelessness is that very corrupt WHITEWASHED and CLASSIST organization that on several occasions retaliated against me in unethical and unconstitutional ways to try to silence me from educating the public and research projects about the TRUTH of crimes, corruption, abuse and degradation in public housing in HRM.

Government employees and self professed community advocates organized to either constantly degrade me privately/publicly or made sure that a critical public housing event by RESPONSE: A THOUSAND VOICES was not sent out on a list serve I belonged to since 2001-they said they were not in the office (due to sickness) to receive the request yet other emails were sent around for their pal Maureen MacDonald NDP and were time stamped for those 3 days of the request, a week before the event. They pulled this very tyrannical tactic after benefiting from years of my free labour on many housing projects/actions since 2001, this after organizing a 2- day workshop in Truro for CANS, another organization Paul Ohara needs to control community voice at.

CAH sold community voice down river so that they did not lose their bigger office promised to them by Housing/Community Services.

When one of our one Tyler Morton put on the Uniacke Square Event Jim Silver was asked to speak on the matter of public housing paid for by CAH-the very same organization that abused me for talking about the crimes committed by property managers and police with threats of eviction if you report it. The same organization whereby 5 white middle-class academics/govt employees violated my constitutional rights on a regular basis to silence me from talking about the crimes their 'pals' were committing in public housing.

So we have Professor Jim Silver from Winnipeg, Manitoba being flown all the way here to talk about our public housing dynamics that he knows nothing about yet in his own backyard of Alberta we have Native reservations, akin to public housing systems, that are imploding with violence, poverty, drug addictions, mental illnesses, racism and classism and what has done?

Is this another Curtis Sliwa who cannot fix his own backyard so comes to a perceived easier situation to shine the light on issues already well known and ignored?

WE ask that you boycott this very 'white-washed' shame as Paul Ohara and Darcy Harvey and the CAH steering committee paid for Silver to come talk about a vulnerable community already pimped by middle class professional white folk like them.

Lost count of the times I have reminded those so called community advocates that Uniacke Square is not the total sum of public housing in HRM : we have Jellybean Square, Greystone, Mulgrave Park and the PUBS...yet Jim and CAH know they will get more media attention if they talk about the Square...Middle Class Whites pimping the pain ...again.....it would be too much work and thought for these fakesjakes to organize their event in another public housing community and shamefully assumed to exploit the captive audience of the Square to lessen their workload. while getting media exposure. Of course their token good boy Wayne thinks the way to solve homelessness in HRM is just to put everyone in public housing......yeah I know... scary right?

Shame shame white-wash shame.....

Now we do not know at this time who is on the panel but can guess looking at past academy award performances by these fakejakes and fraudmaudes who cowardly align themselves with scum who gang-rape the rights of the poor namely Housing/Community Service employees and Police.

Boycott this event and tell Jim Silver to go back home and fix his own issues. Tell CAH to stop white-washing and exploiting the Square and ask CAH why they will not tell the truth about Housing in HRM or are their lips surgically attached to government's ass?

Ask them about why they, like HCAP, still ignore the other 4 public housing systems who have a right to be heard and supported?

Asked them why the multi-dynamic issues of public housing are on FWPT (fake white people time)?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

URGENT ATTENTION 
ENVIRONMENTAL  and ANIMAL SLAUGHTERS
https://community.hsus.org/campaign/canada_cormorants08/inuxsgw2q76ni57j

Environmental Slaughter: send emails of PROTEST in by April 23 2008 to stop the slaughter of these Cormorant birds who were almost extinct.

STOP CANADIAN SHAME: STOP SEAL MURDERS NOW!


BOYCOTT Canadian Fishery Products!

Is the Seal Hunt Cruel? GRAPHIC WARNING
 
Yes. In 2001, a report by an independent team of veterinarians who studied the hunt concluded that governmental regulations regarding humane killing were neither being respected nor enforced, and that the seal hunt failed to comply with Canada's basic animal welfare standards. Shockingly, the veterinarians found that in 42 percent of the cases they studied, the seals had likely been skinned alive while conscious. 

Parliamentarians, journalists, and scientists who observe Canada's commercial seal hunt each year continue to report unacceptable levels of cruelty, including sealers dragging conscious seals across the ice floes with boat hooks, shooting seals and leaving them to suffer in agony, stockpiling dead and dying animals, and even skinning seals alive.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

VICTIM ISSUE AWARENESS NEEDS TO BE EVERYDAY!



April 13-19 marks the National Victims Awareness Week ( see link for more details). 

For those of use who work in community we know that this awareness often deliberately ignores, devalues, or dismisses the crimes committed on vulnerable persons by public servants and elected officials. 

We know it tends to ignore the crimes and corruption committed by commissions, police, case workers, slum landlords, public housing managers,medical staff/ institutions, prisons and poor on poor crime occurrences. 

Please make Victim Crimes Awareness an agenda for everyday not just some obligatory slotted week that pays lips service to victims who are revictimized by the very government servants/ services/programs claiming to be their allies and advocates.

Until Victim Issues are taken out of the hands of the Department of Justice (federally, provincially) there will be no real healing. There can be no healing without peace and no peace without real justice and there is no justice found in this unjust department.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

HIP HIP HOORAY CHANGE IS ON THE WAY!

April 1, 2008: using cell phones in cars...... ILLEGAL

April 1, 2008: smoking in cars with any one under age of 19..... ILLEGAL

May 1, 2008: minimum wage to $8.10 with increases to $9.65 by 2010.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


HUGE Congratulations to STREETFEAT..


...celebrating its 10th anniversary getting community voice/voices of the poor to the larger communities....
.
Help support this socio-political magazine by subscribing directly (see link) or buying a copy from one of the many street vendors through HRM. Cost for each is $1.50 or a year subscription is $20.00 or any other donation that exceeds $ 20.00. You can also go to the site and donate through Paypal. 


...and remember a simple 'no thanks' to these vendors when they ask if you would like to buy copy ...they have been abused enough as poor folks in this province...they dont need your  pontificating, ignorance, classism and/or apathy.

Po' folk are human beings too!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

CONGRATS TO THE YWCA FOR THEIR GRAND OPENING !!!!!!!


On February 15 2008 the new YWCA-the only one east of Montreal- opened its new doors to serve the public. The new place, built over the location of the original site, is a cornucopia of colours and energy, can be found at 1233 Barrington Street. For information about their services check out their website



Hats off to this YWCA who despite many socio-econo-political barriers manages to still provide services to all women.
 
Drop by for a tour or visit their community room for a coffee or tea... there is a day care on site  as well as vulnerable females of all ages...so please be mindful.

 
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
NSCVI- NOVA SCOTIA CANADIAN VOLUNTEER INITIATIVE for their support over the last few months.

WE were invited to submit a proposal to have funds be awarded for those things we would otherwise not be able to get done such as our own pamphlets. Because of the work we do we know there is much contention only because there are many unethical and weak people in Nova Scotia government who seek refuge with other sociopaths, finding safety in numbers. We are often the target of police harassment and gossip by hypocritical self proclaimed community advocates however the work is still there to be done and the TRUTH does not change over time no matter how hard the work to keep it from being in the open, being public.

Because we are about unveiling corrupt government we obviously do not wish to apply for their 'dirty' money nor will we use the NS JOINT STOCKS to register as the are as corrupt and lazy as anyone else; a fake place of false integrity. So we are really left to the generosity of private donations and other programs that will, without prejudice recognize that we are about community, safe and healthy community and we recognize in order to heal any vulnerable community we must first cut out the gangrene and cancerous portions.

Until then all else is an insult to anyone that is about community.

So we did apply with NSCVI -CANADIAN HERITAGE (govt funding but through a great program) and we were awarded the full community amount and we are so thankful for having been given the opportunity to really get from the street level to other forums of communication and visibility.

A special thank you to the CVI volunteer committee for appreciating the way community does volunteerism and for recognizing that each sincere community voice advocate IS a volunteer in their own right.

Thank you CVI and CANADIAN HERITAGE for recognizing that volunteers ARE the unwaged machinery of Canada.
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Help donate to various causes who work endlessly on human issues around the world:
it is only a click away!
 

Click on any site and and sponsors will donate to that organization. It is free for you to do and a group in need will benefit. Thank you in advance for your generosity. Select all or just a couple either way you will help someone today , come back everyday to click on each great cause.

 
 




~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Please check-out this website with care...
MISSING PERSONS



Non-Profit Agencies:
This list includes U.S. and Canadian agencies that are members of the Association of Missing & Exploited Children’s Organizations (AMECO).

For the United States members, the list is organized by state. For the Canadian members, the list is organized by province.
____________________________________________________
Certainly not an exhaustive list of Relevant Readings....
as an aside....
The Google/Adsense that you find to the right side of the blog screen are not personally endorsed by this organization. They are selected through spider words to match any topic on this blog.

We at RESPONSE: A THOUSAND VOICES do not take any visible allegiance with any fundraising campaigns or ads that are government or religiously induced or published.

June 23 2006 update: after a few very respectful emails with
GOOGLE ADSENSE they have assure me that the ads on this blog will be as topic orientated as possible.

They have not developed a filter yet where we can choose the exact types of ads. They have approved this site for their ad space as it is in keeping with their terms of service and references to date.


Living in any state of vulnerability the only thing one has left is their 'voice' -their word spoken word be it in art, literature, storytelling etc. WE also believe that those before us have also captured our experiences. Expression is a language in any form and the political right to 'speak' freely and without fear of punishment are not ignored.

Really proud to say every one of the words have been submitted to the URBAN DICTIONARY and may be eligible to be published into the printed edition. Feel free to create your own and submit it!


P
OW- prisoner of welfare, a person at war with government over civil/human/welfare rights

RT- RESPONSE TEAM (member)
COMMUNITY VOICE (CV)- any voice that speaks on the truth about community issues that is effected /affected by the social and political issues created and maintained by irresponisble government
FRAGGING- the deliberate assassination or suffocation or retaliation against any person who speaks out on their rights or about government employee abuses, made to look like a policy malfunction or a characterlogical flaw of that person resulting in injury or death to the target or person being fragged..
NPO- non profit organization which is NOT the same as a community based organization, tends to be government funded while claiming to be issue/community orientated
CBO-community based organization that truly seeks to be for community by community and as self sufficient without government funding as much as possible, tends to be unwaged and 'activist' driven group
SOCIAL PIMP- any person who receives a pay cheque while living off the avails of the vulnerable, gives nothing back in return and tends to inflict harm on the already injured, tends to be government employee or elected persons but not exclusively
WELFARE FRAUD- the bonuses government employees gives to themselves for hiding all the evidence to their systemic corruption
FRAUDMAUDE OR FAKEJAKES - a person or organization claiming to be working in an ally or advocacy role but have all allegiances to government, cannot be loyal to two masters so cannot be a collecting funds from government sources while claiming to be working in best interests of community especially those who are in the deplorable conditions due to same said government. Usually goes by the name of Judas or Brutus.
OFFISEWER- police officer working with an ethical code lower than the gutters
SMOOTHIE- this is when you know that the goverment or like pulled a fast one and went under the radar to deflect attention as they know they violated at least one law.
NIMBY/NIMBYISM- 'NOT IN MY BACKYARD' mentality...the moral brooms of any given society that wishes to sweep away what they consider to be the 'garbage' they think is devaluing their property or profits.
OCCAMS' RAZOR- if you feel violated by government then you probably are.
-one should not increase, beyond what is necessary, the number of entities required to explain anything
The principle states that one should not make more assumptions than the minimum needed. What that means is the truth is often just sitting in front of you, that complicated stories and versions do not need to be made to figure out what is going on. Basically if it smells like a duck......you know the rest....
VIOLENCE-vi·o·lence Audio pronunciation of "violence" ( P ) Pronunciation Key (v-lns)n.1. Physical force exerted for the purpose of violating, damaging, or abusing: crimes of violence.2. The act or an instance of violent action or behavior.3. Intensity or severity, as in natural phenomena; untamed force: the violence of a tornado.4. Abusive or unjust exercise of power.5. Abuse or injury to meaning, content, or intent: do violence to a text.6. Vehemence of feeling or expression; fervor.http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/violence;)
SOCIAL APATHITIS- the contagious disease or illness that is epidemic throughout government , several non profit organizations, 'neutral' agencies and the general public that manifests itself in a few ways.
Symptoms include: ignorance and deliberate bashing of the vulnerable groups of people and /or the lack of community responsibility or conscience or desire to improve conditions in a meaningful manner for an egalitarian or equal society. Specific and more dangerous strain of this contamination and toxicity is carried among those claiming to be community advocates but prostitute or pimp community voice when convenient-usually goes undetected until damages are already incurred. This sociopathic illness does not discriminate on who is chosen for its carriers: it crosses all races, cultures, econo-classes, ethnicties, ages, genders and orientations, spiritual or sexual.
GREAT NEWS: IT IS CURABLE.!!!!!!..... through prison terms and civil law suits for government ( elected or employed), replaced by an ethical government and those that are to hold them accountable,and a humanitarian mentality for individuals and community.
If rash continues then consult your physician.Or your religious/spiritual advisor.
WHITE WASHING- that thing government/ civil servants and fake advocacy do that reflects the 'whiteness' of politics and all of its oppressive and exploitative practices. One does not need to be Causasian to be a whitewasher...metaphorically those who paint over messes with a distracting white wash so there is an appearance of cleanliness, resolution and organzanization. The mess still remains under this thin coat of deception.

HIH- hypocities in hiding, we all know them, they are the fake advocates that smile in the face of community voice while dining with the enemy. They are the ones who uriante on your leg and tell you it is a busted water pipe in your abode and you believe it because you live in deplorable conditions. Be careful of the beguiling tongue of the HIH.
POLITRICKS- tricks done by politicians and/or their pals to fool the public into believing that they are ethical, accountable and transparent. They are the ones pimping the people and projects for patronage.
LCD- lowest common denominator, the unevolved, the lowest rung on the phylogenetic scale for evolution of species. Usually found in public servants and elected government officials who lack basic moral and ethic codes. They are usually quite undisciplined and have unacceptable modes of behaviour and conduct. They tend to be found in herds or posses necessary for supporting their nefarious activities. They can be found by the trail of victims and suffering they leave behind.
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As a new group we tried to find one, just one quote, that captured our philosophies, our thoughts, our feelings, our directions...we could not find one as we liked so many. As a new group forming our own rules we decided that we did not have to just select one so we have selected the following. If you have found a quote or have one you created that you think fits in with this theme then please submit to our email address at responsevoices@live.com

This link was alot of fun.....http://www.quotationspage.com/mqotd.html
Community Quotes we have selected are to the right side of the blog for your reading.

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What is the cost of losing language on the people and their future generations? Enclosed is an E-BOOK generously offered by the authors for educational purposes. Their book can be purchased with them however for those who cannot afford it the E-BOOK can be read from the accompanying link here.
Indigenous Childrens Education as Linguistic Genocide and 
a Crime Against Humanity?
A Global View

Rob Dunbar is from Toronto but now lives in Scotland where he teaches at Aberdeen University in both the School of Law and Celtic Department, but is also involved internationally and in Scotland with issues concerning minority language rights 

A fluent Gaelic speaker , his interest in minority languages, specifically Gaelic, began after visits to Cape Breton in the early 1990s, where he still regularly visits and has many friends.
Below is message from his co-author and link to their new book.


Dear friends, I just wanted to tell you that Rob Dunbar's and my book "Indigenous Children’s Education as Linguistic Genocide and a Crime Against Humanity? A Global View" is out, and can also be read (free of charge!) as an e-book. 


If you think it is appropriate, please spread the word - I am sure there are many people who might need it but would not have the money in any case to buy it...

http://www.e-pages.dk/grusweb/55/


Dr Tove Skutnabb-Kangas
www.tove-skutnabb-kangas.org
 
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The Reporter of Mulberry Bend

Photographs and Lantern-Slide Lectures

How the Other Half Lives

Later Reform Efforts

Analysis of Riis Photographs
Jacob Riis, a police reporter whose work appeared in several New York newspapers, documented the living and working conditions of the poor. Through articles, books, photography, and lantern-slide lectures, Riis served as a mediator between working-class, middle-class, and upper-class citizens.


Improving City Conditions

Riis argued for better housing, adequate lighting and sanitation, and the construction of city parks and playgrounds. He portrayed middle-class and upper-class citizens as benefactors and encouraged them to take an active role in defining and shaping their communities. Riis believed that charitable citizens would help the poor when they saw for themselves how "the other half" lived.
According to historian Robert Bremner:
"The reformers' problem was to rouse the public from its lethargy, make consciences uneasy, and stir genial good will into enthusiasm for social betterment. Their first step was to lay bare the responsibility of the community for needless suffering." [11]

Nurture, Not Nature

Critics of charities argued that poverty was the result of individual or moral weakness; therefore, the poor could not be helped through charitable donations. Gilded Age reformers like Riis believed that poverty was the result of environmental conditions; thus, reform efforts could help the poor.
Speaking at an 1895 lecture at the Labors of the Tenement House Chapter of the King's Daughters, Riis stated:
"The reason charity has been discredited is because it has worked with the broken fragments, the drunken and the shiftless, helping as it could, mourning that such things must be, but never asking the reason why or knowing anything of the honest, thrifty poor who live lives of heroism such as we cannot live." [12]
Jacob Riis, c. 1912
Jacob Riis, c. 1912
Riis believed that moral citizens, regardless of their economic status, should be given a chance to improve their lives. Like Riis himself, given that chance, many could rise out of poverty and into the ranks of the middle class.
Riis chose to work with middle-class and upper-class philanthropists to bring about reform. He believed that private wealth could help transform the slums into better places to live. "I am a believer in organized, systematic charity upon the evidence of my senses," Riis wrote in his autobiography. [13]

http://xroads.virginia.edu/~ma01/davis/photography/riis/riis.html

Jacob Riis, a police reporter whose work appeared in several New York newspapers, documented the living and working conditions of the poor. Through articles, books, photography, and lantern-slide lectures, Riis served as a mediator between working-class, middle-class, and upper-class citizens.

Improving City Conditions

Riis argued for better housing, adequate lighting and sanitation, and the construction of city parks and playgrounds. He portrayed middle-class and upper-class citizens as benefactors and encouraged them to take an active role in defining and shaping their communities. Riis believed that charitable citizens would help the poor when they saw for themselves how "the other half" lived.
According to historian Robert Bremner:
"The reformers' problem was to rouse the public from its lethargy, make consciences uneasy, and stir genial good will into enthusiasm for social betterment. Their first step was to lay bare the responsibility of the community for needless suffering." [11]

Nurture, Not Nature

Critics of charities argued that poverty was the result of individual or moral weakness; therefore, the poor could not be helped through charitable donations. Gilded Age reformers like Riis believed that poverty was the result of environmental conditions; thus, reform efforts could help the poor.

Speaking at an 1895 lecture at the Labors of the Tenement House Chapter of the King's Daughters, Riis stated:
"The reason charity has been discredited is because it has worked with the broken fragments, the drunken and the shiftless, helping as it could, mourning that such things must be, but never asking the reason why or knowing anything of the honest, thrifty poor who live lives of heroism such as we cannot live." [12]

Jacob Riis, c. 1912
Jacob Riis, c. 1912
Riis believed that moral citizens, regardless of their economic status, should be given a chance to improve their lives. Like Riis himself, given that chance, many could rise out of poverty and into the ranks of the middle class.
Riis chose to work with middle-class and upper-class philanthropists to bring about reform. He believed that private wealth could help transform the slums into better places to live. "I am a believer in organized, systematic charity upon the evidence of my senses," Riis wrote in his autobiography. [13]
How the Other Half Lives

The Reporter of Mulberry Bend


Photographs and Lantern-Slide Lectures


How the Other Half Lives


Later Reform Efforts


Analysis of Riis Photographs
In the introduction to How the Other Half Lives, Jacob Riis wrote:
"Long ago it was said that 'one half of the world does not know how the other half lives.' That was true then. It did not know because it did not care. The half that was on top cared little for the struggles, and less for the fate, of those who were underneath, so long as it was able to hold them there and keep its own seat." [18]
Riis wrote How the Other Half Lives to call attention to the living conditions of more than half of New York City's residents. He described the cheap construction of the tenements, the high rents, and the absentee landlords. He lamented the city's ineffectual laws and urged private enterprise to provide funding to remodel existing tenements or build new tenements. [19]
Why the Book Was Popular
How the Other Half Lives was a publishing success, selling eleven editions in five years. [20] The book was popular for the following reasons:
  • A few years before its publication, Charles Loring Brace's The Dangerous Classes in New York and Twenty Years' Work Among Them and James D. McCabe's Lights and Shadows of the Great City had placed the plight of the poor and the dangers of the urban environment in the minds of the middle and upper classes.

  • The factual data Riis gathered from Dr. Roger S. Tracy, Registrar of Vital Statistics, combined with Riis's reputation as an investigative journalist, lent authority to the book's claims.

  • Unlike other authors who wrote about urbanization issues, Riis proposed solutions to New York City's tenement problems.
  • The book included engravings of many of Riis's photographs, which enabled readers to better understand the problems that plagued the city.
Photography and Social Reform
Gilded Age Reform

Progressive Era Reform
During the Gilded Age and the Progressive Era, photography was increasingly used as a method of documentation. The photographer's audience became the mass readership of newspapers, magazines, and books. Line drawings made from photographs, and later, halftone photography, enabled people to see as well as read about the world around them.
The media became a buffer between the wealthy and the working class, framing events so that middle-class and upper-class audiences could maintain their distance and choose their level of involvement in the issues at hand.
The invention of the gelatin dry-plate process, the introduction of roll film and the hand-held camera, and new artificial light technologies inspired many photographers in the 1880s.
The Photo-Secessionists, a group headed by Alfred Stieglitz, promoted photography as fine art. The Photo-Secessionists favored soft lighting and muted scenes, similar to impressionist art.

Photographers of the documentary style—a genre not so-named until the early twentieth century—attempted to capture the realities of life in nineteenth-century America. Solomon Butcher documented the lifestyles of Midwest pioneer families. Adam Clark Vroman, Ben Wittick, and Frank Rinehart created a photographic record of Native American cultures. Arnold Genthe recorded the sights of San Francisco's Chinatown. Joseph and Percy Byron photographed New York's wealthy citizens.

Hine Photographing Children
Lewis Hine Photographing Children, c. 1910
Social reformers such as Jacob Riis and Lewis Hine used the medium of photography to bring evidence of their claims to these viewers. Their style of photography may best be called "social reform," for each photographer used the medium to effect social change.


Photos of early poverty in North America that ignites social reform


Cots
Lodging House,
Pell Street

~~~~~~~~~~~ 

World's poorest will be subject of study

IRVINE, Calif., Sept. 18 (UPI) --

One of the world's richest couples, Bill and Melinda Gates, have donated $1.7 million to the University of California for a study of the world's poorest people.
The Institute for Money, Technology and Financial Inclusion will send researchers to sub-Sahara Africa, India, China, Russia and southeast Asia to figure out how some of the world's poorest people manage their money, The Orange County (Calif.) Register reported Thursday.
Starting in regions where technology isn't part of the equation, the study will examine "whether people store their money in roof rafters and whether they use what they earn to do things like buy cattle," said Bill Maurer, an anthropologist with the University of California, Irvine.
"Later on, we'll be looking to see if people can use new technology to save and transfer wealth in ways that are safe," he told the Register.
RESPONSE: We hope we are not the only ones offended by such a project. Can you imagine? Is this what the rich folk do? Think about how the poor handle their money? Do they not understand the poor do not have money? Most cannot afford rafters let alone cattle..and wealth..what wealth?

How about donating that money to the communities they wish to study and put in services to reduce the pains of poverty?

How about setting up schools for these communities to teach them basic skills for surviving other than starvation?

How about giving each project subject a share of that 1.7 million and ask them what they plan to buy?

Shame shame double shame Gates family!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Canada's Shame; 
National regulator would be better than a cacophony of agencies

By Alex Roslin Thursday, February 21, 2008
....con't in link
'I can see it now. Bret Easton Ellis writes an even more horrifying sequel called Canadian Psycho, in which the lead character bludgeons his victims with a hockey stick in his Toronto Harbourfront condo while eating a Tim Horton's doughnut and listening to Luba. Quick, get my agent.
What's behind this Canadian white-collar crime spree? Do our regulators lack resources to go after these bozos? Not really. When adjusted for GDP and population, Canadian regulators have higher-than-average budgets compared with international norms.
Which system would work better? One that has a) a single national securities regulator, or b) 13 separate regulators for each province and territory. Give yourself a star if you chose A.
No wonder federal Finance Minister Jim Flaherty calls our market regulatory system an "embarrassment." His solution is reviving a decades-only dream of creating a single national securities regulator, like the u.s. SEC.
Not a bad plan, but, as Livesey points out, the success of any new body is entirely dependent on a level of political will that is presently lacking across the board. Why? A big reason is the revolving door for personnel between the regulatory agencies and the firms they oversee.'

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


Untreated social ills make for higher medical costs

ANDRE PICARD, Globe and Mail, June 22, 2006
Many of us revel in thinking of Canada as a great place to live, a generous, caring country with a well-woven social safety net that protects the sick and poor from harm.
But that feel-good image is largely a myth, according to Monique Bégin, the respected former minister of health and welfare.
While we have a generous medical care system, Canada's welfare system is parsimonious at best, she told delegates to the recent annual meeting of the Canadian Public Health Association.
More striking still is her proposed solution. "Rebalancing of the health budget is what is needed," Dr. Bégin said.
In other words, let's spend less money on health care and more on keeping the population healthy.
How do you do that? By tackling what renowned social scientist Sir Michael Marmot calls the "causes of the causes of poor health" -- the social determinants of health.
Dr. Bégin, unlike so many of today's politicians, is bold enough to say that, in Canada, we spend too much money on dealing with the proximate causes of disease -- $142-billion in health spending in 2005 -- and far too little on tackling the root causes of illness in much of the population -- a lack of adequate income, poor housing, inequality, hopelessness.
Welfare is in her vocabulary and it's not a dirty word, as it is in most mainstream political circles.
A recent report from the United Nations Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights underscored just how frayed Canada's social safety net has become. It became a central talking point at the CPHA conference where delegates heard, among other things:

Ø Minimum wage (which varies by province) is inadequate, to the point where one-third of full-time workers can't make ends meet.

Ø Only about one-third of people who are unemployed are actually eligible for employment insurance.

Ø Almost 40 per cent of all jobs are part-time or seasonal.

Ø There are 1.2 million poor children in Canada, and nearly 320,000 of them rely on food banks for their daily bread.

Ø Welfare rates (which vary by province) provide income that is about half the poverty rate.

Ø Our social programs have perverse disincentives, such as those that require people to quit their jobs and go on welfare to get catastrophic drug coverage.

Ø There is shocking poverty among native peoples; not surprisingly, their health is abysmal.

Ø Child care is inadequate almost everywhere but Quebec.

Ø There is an army of unpaid caregivers that has virtually no official help.

Ø Social housing is virtually non-existent.

In Canada, only 17.8 per cent of public expenditures are on social programs other than health; in Sweden, by contrast, that figure is 36.8 per cent. According to the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, 21 European countries spend more on social programs than Canada, including Poland and the Slovak Republic. Not coincidentally, all those countries spend less than Canada on health.
The lesson we should be taking from European countries is that one of the most effective health interventions is income redistribution.
Money is the best drug we have. And, paradoxically, providing people with a decent income is probably cheaper than treating the illnesses of poverty, which tend to be expensive conditions such as diabetes, heart disease and cancer.
Notably absent from the lists of Canada's welfare shortcomings are seniors. The poverty rate in the over-65 age group is 5 per cent in Canada, compared with 20 per cent in the United States.
Our elderly are among the best off in the Western World because we made a determined effort to improve their lot with programs such as the Guaranteed Income Supplement and progressive tax measures.
This demonstrates that where there is political will, we can tackle social inequalities.
But look at what we do with children. Ottawa provides poor parents with the Canada Child Benefit and the National Child Benefit Supplement.

But most provinces negate that measure by clawing back -- reducing provincial welfare payments by an offsetting amount, or through taxation.
Poverty in children has a life-long reach. Poor children will grow up to be unhealthy adults.

Dr. Bégin, who is currently serving on the World Health Organization Commission on the Social Determinants of Health, said the message that social justice is good for our collective health and that the speed at which we perform hip replacements is not the most pressing health problem in this country is a tough sell.
Baby boomers are distinguishing themselves as the most selfish generation to have ever walked the face of the Earth. We love our health care (which is more accurately described as sickness care) and, increasingly, we hate welfare.
Yet it is a false dichotomy and a false economy. We can pay now with decent social programs or pay later with increased health costs.
apicard@globeandmail.com

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Attack on public housing tenants
New York to impose fees on poor to cover budget deficit
By C.W. Rogers and Jonathan Keane20 March 2006
Use this version to print 
The New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) has announced plans to begin collecting fees from the city’s 400,000 public housing residents for the operation of appliances and to start charging them for basic maintenance and repairs.
The authority’s new fees will include $5.75 a month to run a washing machine, $5.00 a month for a dishwasher and $10.00 a month for the operation of a separate freezer. Tenants will also be charged for basic repairs such as fixing clogged toilets.
These fees represent a cruel blow to the poorest sections of the city’s population, who are already frequently forced to choose between buying groceries, paying rent, visiting a doctor or having prescriptions filled.
While New York’s borough of Manhattan boasts what is perhaps the greatest concentration of millionaires and billionaires on the planet, for the bulk of the city’s population, living standards are falling, with a growing number sinking into poverty.
According to the Community Service Society of New York (CSSNY), 1.8 million New Yorkers were “officially poor” by federal standards last year, with an additional 1.6 million hovering on the brink of the poverty line. One out of three of the city’s children live in conditions of poverty. One quarter of New York City residents are currently paying over half of their income for housing.
“Those at the bottom are not only failing to benefit from prosperity, they are worse off,” the report said, noting that at least two-thirds of poor households have at least one full-time worker. Among these working poor, 70 percent reported three or more “serious hardships” over the previous year.
“Nearly half told us they had not been able to get medical care or fill a needed prescription. Forty-five percent fell behind in rent threatening their housing stability; almost 40 percent had their lights or phone turned off, and as many had to rely on a food pantry just to have enough to eat. These are families with a full-time worker.”
Aida, a teacher’s aide who has lived for 30 years in Jacob Riis Houses, a group of 19 red-brick towers located on Manhattan’s Lower East Side, said that neither she nor other residents could afford the new fees. “I guess I’m going to have to give up eating—something has to give here. so I guess it will have to be that,” she told the WSWS.
The Jacob Riis Houses are named for the famous photographer and chronicler of New York City’s slum life at the end of the nineteenth century, author of How the Other Half Lives. It was built in 1949 on the site of one of the worst slums he wrote about, and represented part of the concessions made to the working class in the aftermath of the Second World War.
Today, under conditions of unprecedented social inequality in America, gains won in the past are being taken away, and conditions of life for millions in New York City are sliding back towards those described by Riis more than a century ago.
The additional fees to be collected from residents are expected to generate $1.5 million in revenue for the city, a nominal amount in the context of New York City’s $50 billion budget. It is trivial even when compared to the annual Christmas bonuses handed out to Wall Street investment bankers and traders, which totaled $21.5 billion last year, with the average award for a senior banker equaling more than the total amount to be raised through the punitive new policy being introduced by the housing authority.
Yet, for many of the city’s poorest, the fees represent just one more pressure pushing tens of thousands into personal catastrophe.
“Working class people cannot get ahead here under this system,” said Aida. “If it’s not the rent that they’re raising or fees, then it’s transit or the cost of food or fuel. You can never get ahead. It’s not about the working people in this country, it’s about the rich.”
Aida’s rent goes up every time she receives a pay raise, no matter how small. “Every day I go off to work and do my job and yet it becomes harder and harder,” she said. “At the beginning of every year, you get a stack of forms to fill out asking all kinds of questions, including how much you are currently making.” She says that residents then have to take the forms to their employers for confirmation. “Our bosses fill them out, and we have to hand them in with copies of our W-2s. If my boss decides to give me a 50 cent raise, I would pay that much more in rent. In the end, they send us a letter saying how much the new rent is.”
Cuts in funding for public housing
The Bush administration has gutted federal funding for public housing nationwide, cutting over $3 billion from the budget of the department of Housing and Urban Development in 2006 alone, leaving major cities like New York with massive shortfalls. The New York Housing Authority is by far the largest public housing agency in the country, operating nearly 2,700 buildings throughout the city with 181,000 apartments. According to the New York Times, “half of its operating income comes from its federal subsidy; most of the rest comes from rent from its tenants, whose average household income is less than $19,000 a year.” To cover its annual budget gaps, since 2001 the authority has spent $357 million out of its reserves, which it now claims have run dry. The total gap for 2006 is $182 million.
On February 28, New York City’s billionaire Republican mayor Michael Bloomberg made a speech to the National Low Income Housing Coalition. Avoiding even a mention of Bush’s name, he delivered a hollow criticism of Congress for approving the administration’s further proposed cuts in federal housing assistance. Bloomberg described the federal role in housing as “without a doubt, a matter of social justice.”
But the Bloomberg administration has itself presided over a bonanza in multibillion-dollar giveaways to Wall Street firms and major corporations in the form of income and property tax breaks and other subsidies over the past five years.
Bloomberg’s recent gifts to the city’s corporate elite include $24 million in subsidies to the Hearst Corporation and $47.5 million to Pfizer Pharmaceuticals.
Like Democratic and Republican city administrations across the country, Bloomberg’s office has sought to make up for the enormous loss in revenues through an assault on social services, education, health care and wages.
The WSWS spoke to Violeta Hernandez about the new fees. Having lived for 32 years at Jacob Riis, she currently cares for her three small grandchildren. “This is impossible for the poor,” she said. “Everybody is talking about this. We are all very poor people here. This is an abuse.”
Violeta described conditions in her apartment, where she sleeps in one room with her grandchildren “surrounded by black mold that is growing all over the place from leaks.” She and her three grandchildren have all developed asthma and a doctor advised that they move someplace else—“but I don’t have the money to go anywhere,” she explained.
“They are spending billions for war in Iraq and they say that they don’t have any money for the poor. Well, I say stop the war then. I hate it. I think it’s terrible, seeing so many people dying over there for nothing.”
James Wilson, a forklift driver and resident at the Jacob Riis Houses added, “Everything has gone up here in New York except wages. Our living wages have not come close to keeping up. They go after the transit workers and others workers in the city—I remember the names that they [Bloomberg and the media] were calling them during the strike. I have a union job and would not work for under $13.00 an hour, but then you have people coming in and telling your boss that they’ll work for $6.00 an hour to do your job. That’s how bad things have gotten.”
As rents have risen at unprecedented rates, New York City has lost more than half a million low-cost apartments over the past decade.
The shortage of affordable housing in New York has led to an explosion of homelessness. The Coalition for the Homeless reports that there are over 32,000 people in the city’s shelters on any given night, up 44 percent from a decade ago. The number of families in shelters has doubled as well as the number of children, estimated at 13,616 each night, up 55 percent.
According to the NYCHA, the current demand for apartments far exceeds the supply, with more than a quarter million families waiting for affordable housing throughout the city. Over 145,000 families are on the waiting list for public housing and 124,000 families are on the list for the Section 8 voucher program (which provides subsidies to participating individual landlords).
The imposition of the new fees represents an ominous threat. The direction of government policy is the elimination of public and subsidized housing altogether, a trend that is driven in New York by the spiraling real estate market centered on luxury housing for the rich.
Yvonne, another Jacob Riis resident, described the new fees as unfair, explaining that it will only make it that much harder to get by. “They’re always saying that they have no money,” she said, “but we see what’s going on here—they have the money, they just don’t want to spend it on the poor.”

I will be speaking more on public housing in Nova Scotia at a later date
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

International Red Cross charges systematic abuse
Bush’s “Torture Inc.” at Guantanamo
By Kate Randall2 December 2004
A confidential report by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) charges that the American military has intentionally engaged in methods “tantamount to torture” against prisoners at the US detention camp in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
The report is the result of a nearly month-long visit of the ICRC last June to Camp Delta at Guantanamo. It alleges that US interrogators not only used psychological and physical coercion, but also enlisted the participation of medical personnel in what the report called “a flagrant violation of medical ethics.”
A memo quoting from the report and detailing its findings has been leaked to the New York Times and was reported in the newspaper’s Tuesday edition. It was previously distributed to lawyers at the White House, Pentagon and State Department and to the commander of the prison camp at Guantanamo.
The Bush administration quickly dismissed the Red Cross allegations. Asked about the charges, a Pentagon spokesman provided the usual pat response to charges of US abuse of prisoners: “The United States operates a safe, humane and professional detention operation at Guantanamo that is providing valuable information in the war on terrorism.” The Pentagon assured that Guantanamo personnel “go through extensive professional and sensitivity training to ensure they understand the procedures for protecting the rights and dignity of detainees.”
US government and military officials, however, have made no attempt to refute any of the Red Cross’s specific allegations. In both its detail and scope, the report stands as the most damning indictment to date of the institutionalized and government-sanctioned use of torture by US interrogators against detainees branded “enemy combatants” in the so-called “war on terror.”
According to information obtained by the Times, doctors and other medical personnel worked directly with military officials at Guantanamo, conveying data about prisoners’ “mental health and vulnerabilities.” This information was usually communicated through a group called the Behavioral Science Consultation Team, or B.S.C.T., known informally as “Biscuit,” which is comprised of psychologists and other psychology professionals.
The Biscuit team met regularly with the medical staff at Guantanamo to discuss the medical conditions of prisoners, the report said. Such “apparent integration of access to medical care with the system of coercion,” the report stated, meant that detainees may learn from their interrogators that they have intimate knowledge of their medical histories. As a result, prisoners no longer trust doctors and others to whom their treatment is entrusted. Instead, these medical professionals become part of the torture and interrogation machine. Their chief function is not the medical care of prisoners, but assisting interrogators in extracting information.
Leonard S. Rubenstein, executive director of Physicians for Human Rights, commented on this practice to the Times: “The use of medical personnel to facilitate abusive interrogations places them in an untenable position and violates international ethical standards.” He added, “We need to know more about these practices, including whether health professionals engaged in calibrating levels of pain inflicted on detainees.”
This enlistment of doctors in the service of the torture of prisoners is hauntingly reminiscent of the work of Dr. Josef Mengele, the Nazis’ “Angel of Death” at Auschwitz. Nor is there any reason to assume that the methods cited by the ICRC are restricted to Guantanamo, and are not employed by the US at its prison camps worldwide.
The International Committee of the Red Cross has been conducting visits to Guantanamo since January 2002. More than a year ago, the ICRC stated publicly that the indefinite detention of prisoners, who had no idea when or if they would be released, would lead to mental health problems. The organization’s June visit confirmed this, and also uncovered a system designed to break the will of the approximately 550 prisoners at the camp.
According to the report, the methods used had become “more refined and repressive” than those witnessed by the ICRC on previous visits. Interrogators reportedly seek to make detainees dependent upon them through “humiliating acts, solitary confinement, temperature extremes, use of forced positions.” Prisoners were exposed to loud and incessant noise and music and were subjected to “some beatings.”
The report added: “The construction of such a system, whose stated purpose is the production of intelligence, cannot be considered other than an intentional system of cruel, unusual and degrading treatment and a form of torture.”
The Times article cites other sources corroborating these charges. Last month, the newspaper interviewed military guards, intelligence agents and others who worked at Camp Delta in Guantanamo and who described “a range of procedures that they said were highly abusive occurring over a long period.”
“One regular procedure,” the Times writes, “was making uncooperative prisoners strip to their underwear, having them sit in a chair while shackled hand and foot to a bolt in the floor, and forcing them to endure strobe lights and loud rock and rap music played through two close loudspeakers, while the air-conditioning was turned up to maximum levels.”
Torture sanctioned at the highest levels
The Bush administration defends methods that are clearly prohibited under both international law and US statues which bar abusive or degrading treatment of prisoners. It does so, on the one hand, by concocting legalistic definitions of torture that amount to the sanction of torture, and, on the other, by asserting that the president has sweeping powers to authorize the abuse of prisoners under his powers as commander-in-chief in war-time.
An August 2002 Justice Department memo laid down the ground rules for what constitutes torture, according to the twisted logic of Bush administration officials. The memo was written at the request of Alberto Gonzales, then counsel to the president and now Bush’s nominee to replace John Ashcroft as attorney general.
According to this memo, if an interrogator “knows that severe pain will result from his actions,” but if causing such harm “is not his objective, he lacks the requisite specific intent even though the defendant did not act in good faith.” The perpetrator is guilty of torture only “if he acts with the express purpose of inflicting severe pain or suffering on a person within his control.”
In other words, torture is not torture if the specific intent of the interrogator is not to inflict pain, but rather some other objective, such as extracting information. Of course, no torturer would acknowledge having such intent, even as he carried out the most sadistic and violent crimes. Every torture regime in history, moreover, from the Spanish Inquisition to the Nazis, has justified the brutalization of its opponents as a necessary tool in the “war” against heresy, communism, terrorism, etc.
A statement by General Richard B. Myers, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, reflects the real attitude of the Bush administration and the military top brass. To them, those incarcerated and brutalized at the hands of the US military are sub-human and their torturers should not be bound by international law.
Commenting Tuesday on the ICRC report, Myers said, “We certainly don’t think it’s torture.” He continued, “Let’s not forget the kind of people we have down there [in Guantanamo]. These are the people that don’t know any moral values.”

~~~
New York Times

November 30, 2004
Red Cross Finds Detainee Abuse in Guantánamo
By NEIL A. LEWIS
Correction Appended
WASHINGTON, Nov. 29 - The International Committee of the Red Cross has charged in confidential reports to the United States government that the American military has intentionally used psychological and sometimes physical coercion "tantamount to torture" on prisoners at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba.
The finding that the handling of prisoners detained and interrogated at Guantánamo amounted to torture came after a visit by a Red Cross inspection team that spent most of last June in Guantánamo.
The team of humanitarian workers, which included experienced medical personnel, also asserted that some doctors and other medical workers at Guantánamo were participating in planning for interrogations, in what the report called "a flagrant violation of medical ethics."
Doctors and medical personnel conveyed information about prisoners' mental health and vulnerabilities to interrogators, the report said, sometimes directly, but usually through a group called the Behavioral Science Consultation Team, or B.S.C.T. The team, known informally as Biscuit, is composed of psychologists and psychological workers who advise the interrogators, the report said.
The United States government, which received the report in July, sharply rejected its charges, administration and military officials said.
The report was distributed to lawyers at the White House, Pentagon and State Department and to the commander of the detention facility at Guantánamo, Gen. Jay W. Hood. The New York Times recently obtained a memorandum, based on the report, that quotes from it in detail and lists its major findings.
It was the first time that the Red Cross, which has been conducting visits to Guantánamo since January 2002, asserted in such strong terms that the treatment of detainees, both physical and psychological, amounted to torture. The report said that another confidential report in January 2003, which has never been disclosed, raised questions of whether "psychological torture" was taking place.
The Red Cross said publicly 13 months ago that the system of keeping detainees indefinitely without allowing them to know their fates was unacceptable and would lead to mental health problems.
The report of the June visit said investigators had found a system devised to break the will of the prisoners at Guantánamo, who now number about 550, and make them wholly dependent on their interrogators through "humiliating acts, solitary confinement, temperature extremes, use of forced positions." Investigators said that the methods used were increasingly "more refined and repressive" than learned about on previous visits.
"The construction of such a system, whose stated purpose is the production of intelligence, cannot be considered other than an intentional system of cruel, unusual and degrading treatment and a form of torture," the report said. It said that in addition to the exposure to loud and persistent noise and music and to prolonged cold, detainees were subjected to "some beatings." The report did not say how many of the detainees were subjected to such treatment.
Asked about the accusations in the report, a Pentagon spokesman provided a statement saying, "The United States operates a safe, humane and professional detention operation at Guantánamo that is providing valuable information in the war on terrorism."
It continued that personnel assigned to Guantánamo "go through extensive professional and sensitivity training to ensure they understand the procedures for protecting the rights and dignity of detainees."
The conclusions by the inspection team, especially the findings involving alleged complicity in mistreatment by medical professionals, have provoked a stormy debate within the Red Cross committee. Some officials have argued that it should make its concerns public or at least aggressively confront the Bush administration.
The International Committee of the Red Cross, which is based in Geneva and is separate from the American Red Cross, was founded in 1863 as an independent, neutral organization intended to provide humanitarian protection and assistance for victims of war.
Its officials are able to visit prisoners at Guantánamo under the kind of arrangement the committee has made with governments for decades. In exchange for exclusive access to the prison camp and meetings with detainees, the committee has agreed to keep its findings confidential. The findings are shared only with the government that is detaining people.
Beatricé Mégevand-Roggo, a senior Red Cross official, said in an interview that she could not say anything about information relayed to the United States government because "we do not comment in any way on the substance of the reports we submit to the authorities."
Ms. Mégevand-Roggo, the committee's delegate-general for Europe and the Americas, acknowledged that the issue of confidentiality was a chronic and vexing one for the organization. "Many people do not understand why we have these bilateral agreements about confidentiality," she said. "People are led to believe that we are a fig leaf or worse, that we are complicit with the detaining authorities."
She added, "It's a daily dilemma for us to put in the balance the positive effects our visits have for detainees against the confidentiality."
Antonella Notari, a veteran Red Cross official and spokeswoman, said that the organization frequently complained to the Pentagon and other arms of the American government when government officials cite the Red Cross visits to suggest that there is no abuse at Guantánamo. Most statements from the Pentagon in response to queries about mistreatment at Guantánamo do, in fact, include mention of the visits.
In a recent interview with reporters, General Hood, the commander of the detention and interrogation facility at Guantánamo, also cited the committee's visits in response to questions about treatment of detainees. "We take everything the Red Cross gives us and study it very carefully to look for ways to do our job better," he said in his Guantánamo headquarters, adding that he agrees "with some things and not others."
"I'm satisfied that the detainees here have not been abused, they've not been mistreated, they've not been tortured in any way," he said.
Scott Horton, a New York lawyer, who is familiar with some of the Red Cross's views, said the issue of medical ethics at Guantánamo had produced "a tremendous controversy in the committee." He said that some Red Cross officials believed it was important to maintain confidentiality while others believed the United States government was misrepresenting the inspections and using them to counter criticisms.
Mr. Horton, who heads the human rights committee of the Bar Association of the City of New York, said the Red Cross committee was considering whether to bring more senior officials to Washington and whether to make public its criticisms.
The report from the June visit said the Red Cross team found a far greater incidence of mental illness produced by stress than did American medical authorities, much of it caused by prolonged solitary confinement. It said the medical files of detainees were "literally open" to interrogators.
The report said the Biscuit team met regularly with the medical staff to discuss the medical situations of detainees. At other times, interrogators sometimes went directly to members of the medical staff to learn about detainees' conditions, it said.
The report said that such "apparent integration of access to medical care within the system of coercion" meant that inmates were not cooperating with doctors. Inmates learn from their interrogators that they have knowledge of their medical histories and the result is that the prisoners no longer trust the doctors.
Asked for a response, the Pentagon issued a statement saying, "The allegation that detainee medical files were used to harm detainees is false." The statement said that the detainees were "enemy combatants who were fighting against U.S. and coalition forces."
"It's important to understand that when enemy combatants were first detained on the battlefield, they did not have any medical records in their possession," the statement continued. "The detainees had a wide range of pre-existing health issues including battlefield injuries."
The Pentagon also said the medical care given detainees was first-rate. Although the Red Cross criticized the lack of confidentiality, it agreed in the report that the medical care was of high quality.
Leonard S. Rubenstein, the executive director of Physicians for Human Rights, was asked to comment on the account of the Red Cross report, and said, "The use of medical personnel to facilitate abusive interrogations places them in an untenable position and violates international ethical standards."
Mr. Rubenstein added, "We need to know more about these practices, including whether health professionals engaged in calibrating levels of pain inflicted on detainees."
The issue of whether torture at Guantánamo was condoned or encouraged has been a problem before for the Bush administration.
In February 2002, President Bush ordered that the prisoners at Guantánamo be treated "humanely and, to the extent appropriate with military necessity, in a manner consistent with" the Geneva Conventions. That statement masked a roiling legal discussion within the administration as government lawyers wrote a series of memorandums, many of which seemed to justify harsh and coercive treatment.
A month after Mr. Bush's public statement, a team of administration lawyers accepted a view first advocated by the Justice Department that the president had wide powers in authorizing coercive treatment of detainees. The legal team in a memorandum concluded that Mr. Bush was not bound by either the international Convention Against Torture or a federal antitorture statute because he had the authority to protect the nation from terrorism.
That document provides tightly constructed definitions of torture. For example, if an interrogator "knows that severe pain will result from his actions, if causing such harm is not his objective, he lacks the requisite specific intent even though the defendant did not act in good faith," it said. "Instead, a defendant is guilty of torture only if he acts with the express purpose of inflicting severe pain or suffering on a person within his control."
When some administration memorandums about coercive treatment or torture were disclosed, the White House said they were only advisory.
Last month, military guards, intelligence agents and others described in interviews with The Times a range of procedures that they said were highly abusive occurring over a long period, as well as rewards for prisoners who cooperated with interrogators. The people who worked at Camp Delta, the main prison facility, said that one regular procedure was making uncooperative prisoners strip to their underwear, having them sit in a chair while shackled hand and foot to a bolt in the floor, and forcing them to endure strobe lights and loud rock and rap music played through two close loudspeakers, while the air-conditioning was turned up to maximum levels.
Some accounts of techniques at Guantánamo have been easy to dismiss because they seemed so implausible. The most striking of the accusations, which have come mainly from a group of detainees released to their native Britain, has been that the military used prostitutes who made coarse comments and come-ons to taunt some prisoners who are Muslims.
But the Red Cross report hints strongly at an explanation of some of those accusations by stating that there were frequent complaints by prisoners in 2003 that some of the female interrogators baited their subjects with sexual overtures.
Gen. Geoffrey Miller, who commanded the detention and intelligence operation at Guantánamo until April, when he took over prison operations in Iraq, said in an interview early this year about general interrogation procedures that the female interrogators had proved to be among the most effective. General Miller's observation matches common wisdom among experienced intelligence officers that women may be effective as interrogators when seen by their subjects as mothers or sisters. Sexual taunting does not, however, comport with what is often referred to as the "mother-sister syndrome."
But the Red Cross report said that complaints about the practice of sexual taunting stopped in the last year. Guantánamo officials have acknowledged that they have improved their techniques and that some earlier methods they tried proved to be ineffective, raising the possibility that the sexual taunting was an experiment that was abandoned.
Correction: December 1, 2004, Wednesday:
A front-page article yesterday citing a confidential report in which the International Committee of the Red Cross accused the American military of using psychological and sometimes physical coercion on prisoners at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, misstated the rank of Jay W. Hood, commander of the detention facility there. He is a brigadier general, not a general.
Copyright 2004 The New York Times Company Home Privacy Policy Search Corrections

There are so many links I could provide, google red cross/guantanamo Bay and you will see them.
This issue is very personal for me during my stint 2001-2004 in public housing randomly throughout long hours a day I would have to listen to the hateful and mysogynistic rap from the tenants above me. My supposed advocate Dalhousie Legal Aid ( Donna Franey and students) and Jeanne Fay and Maureen MacDonald received numerous voice mails of me crying for help on the psychological stress of my having to constantly call Housing or police or to confront the people directly as the others would not get involved. This would result in more racial violence sent to my home.
Out of thirty plus time I called police to have the tenants charged only 2 noise tickets were ever issued. I cried the day the Red Cross came out with their findings as that supported what I had been telling the aforementioned since 2001.I had been saying that the music I was being exposed to all day at loud levels was traumatizing me but no one did anything even after this being entered as testimony at the Residential Tenancy Hearing with an ignoramous and corrupt Alan Bickle who just so happened to be pals with Carvery.

I really do not know how Jeanne, Maureen, Donna or any of their Legal students sleep at night knowing they received crying begging calls on the phone on this very isse: 'please get them to stop'

Thank you to Red Cross for validating my experience at Mulgrave Park under the racist watch of Irvine Carvery whose only comment was ' you know how white people are about out music'...- my only comment to such a ignorant racist remark is - ' if I blasted my bagpipe music you would be at my door in a minute telling me to turn it down!!!'

The constant ignoring of my pleas for help on just even this issue is shameful and I hold all guilty of crimes against humanity....I have the Red Cross to substantiate me on that one!!!! The holes in my ceiling from banging the broom handle or the holes my son and I punched into walls to stop the music were only plastered over by the staff of Housing. 'She will get tired of it and move 'said Carvery ( my source is too fearful to be named).
Ironically, it would not be until my birthday, the day I picked to take my life, that the sociopaths upstairs were moved out.They should have been evicted in the first few months of the immeasurable violence to my family and property but Pat Lawrence, district manager for Housing, and Carvery, her property manager, hide all the dirt in the open. Like all other kinds of abuse it was not until someone from 'outside' this incestuous dirty circle that Pat Lawrence filed at Residential Tenancy against upstairs Shannon Sparks.They excluded the live -in boyfriend as not to also reveal Housing frauds their own employer by not reporting live -in partners. You see, what makes this matter worse is the fact that Housing does allow adults to live in house without paying rent. This is a policy violation.Until you piss them off they hold that over your head. This illegal boyfriend was the primary one blasting his music for 3 long years causing unbelievable harm to my home and my already very traumatized self.
He was not even supposed to be living there and Housing hid that fact.

I did try to have a restraining order placed on these two but a lazy corrupt scared white adjudicator Gus MacIntyre NO RELATION, excused it saying it was a residential matter and not a violence matter. Really? Calling me all kinds of racially names and threatening to cut me up every other day after I tell them to turn down their music was not violence????? You see the ethical officers told me that they could not charge anyone with hate crimes against me unit I had this restraining order. I took the $35.00 out of my very strained disability cheques and filed to have Gus dismiss the case despite the photos of property damage and the signed affadavits and 2 witnesses on the racial violence.
I have a serious allergic reaction to weak stupid people in positions of power and tell them so. It usually results in dismissals and that is okay as they at least know who they are before I leave the room!

Gus stated that since it was the boyfriend that blasted the music I had no claim against Sparks,I guess he did not know that if he wanted to play it that way she was still responsible for her guests.
So here you have in one court that the live-in boyfriend Robert Emerson is the perp in this racial violence yet Housing still plays that he is not still living there. Another interesting racial issue came up when I was questioning Sparks under oath. She told Gus that white and black women fight. I said really? I asked her to name all the things I have ever called her, anything and everything. She said she could not remember. I told the court I was shocked at this as I never forgot one thing she or her boyfriend or her friends said to me about me. To assume that we were fighting due to race is the ignorance that is pervasive among those who are confused about racial issues. I was fighting with them because they in their obnoxious, rude, ignorant, sociopathic selves, for my basic right to quiet enjoyment and peaceful living as outline in the NS Residential Tenancy Act and the Housing policy manual. I had to call the police because Carvery would only help if you were visibly and local black and he took visible allegiance against me often sharing items from my personal file with my community perpetrators for them to make my business public. I called police for domestic violence from upstairs and they did nothing, not even reported it to Childrens Aid Society of Halifax. I will speak more on this in future postings with family names redacted.
Not bringing services into the home for child protection is a serious violation to the 'Children and Family Services Act' (1990). So when we have several police offisewers and workers not doing their job in protecting those who cannot protect themselves, how can they expect others to be held accountable for failing to report?
In the Appeals part of the file against Housing the lawyer for Carvery/Housing asked me under oath....did 'I think it was Carvery's responsibility to be involved in the violence in Mulgrave Park and in particular domestic violence.' I was stunned at the ongoing ignorance throughout this matter and with a strained politeness I told the court ' it is the business of everyone in any community to deal with the violence in communities and in particular, homes with violence'. I concluded by pointing out the painful obvious that there 'was a manual policy for zero toleration and that Carvery violated that daily despite being the property manager paid to manage the property and those who lived on it.'

We will be posting as much as we can on who had what information and when so you can form your own educated opinion on what is the truth.

In closing...it had been the Red Cross investigation that initiated an introspective comparison of POW treatment and my experience in Mulgrave Park. It fits well, too well.
POW prisoner of welfare...never a shortage of pschological terrorism and trauma.
The word 'war' has always been in ' welfare' but did not see that until I was fighting for my life in a Nova Scotia Housing system sanctioned by Pat Lawrence, Frank Beazley ( chief of police), Harold Dillon, Mayor Peter Kelly, David Morse, Maureen MacDonald , Jeanne fay, Donna franey, Dalhousie Legal Aid, Jerry Blumenthal, Alexa MacDonald, Police Superintendant Stephen Sykes and numerous minions doing their uncivilized bidding.
I will eventually post what I submitted as evidence to the Ministers, Nova Scotia Police Commission, Human Rights Comission, Ombudsman Office, Dalhousie Legal Aid, several media and each chose not do investigations into the immeasurable organized crime of Nova Scotia government and its unioned 'civil' servants. Those who chose to boycott the distribution of that flyer and event chose to support these disgraceful acts against humanity.
The USA pumps out billions of dollars of rap and paraphenelia gaining all kinds of profits in taxes from many communities while knowing it has been used as a weapon for trauma and other psychological damage with the intent to harm and oppress identified enemies of the nation. Need we say more?
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http://www.cbc.ca/news
HARPER PROMISES 'NEW ERA OF ACCOUNTABILITY'
WebPosted Wed Feb 1 16:40:33 2006---
Incoming prime minister Stephen Harper says his government's first act upon assuming power will be to table a federal accountability billand promises that it will be in line with recommendations of the Gomery report.Speaking in Ottawa on Wednesday just hours after Justice John Gomery released his second and last report into the federal sponsorship scandal,Harper praised the work. He also promised that his government would do its best to implement the recommendations. FROM FEB. 2, 2006: Shift powers to restore trust in government: Gomery IN DEPTH: The Gomery Report, Phase Two Harper said the Conservatives' proposed federal accountability act, which they first unveiled in early November, already includes changes similar to those proposed by Gomery.
INDEPTH: The Gomery Report, Phase One Other parts of the accountability act also go further than there commendations made by the Gomery commission, Harper said."There are others which we may be able to adopt perhaps before the bill is brought before Parliament," he told a news conference in Ottawa."Other recommendations need further study."The act's three main planks include:Eliminating all remaining corporate and union donations to federal political parties, and restricting individual donations to $1,000 per person.

Banning all ministers and their political aides from becoming government lobbyists for at least five years from the date they leave their political positions. Giving the auditor general the power to"follow the money to the end recipients" as she or he undertakes a review of the $30 billion handed out each year in the form of federal grants,contributions and contracts.No immediate changes to civil service, Harper says However, Harper said his government would not move immediately to make major changes to the public service that were recommended in Gomery's second report.Harper said they had "merit" but said his government would have enough to do elsewhere in the first few months of its transition into power."I don't need the complication of making major structural changes[immediately]," Harper said.
He said his government would consult very closely with the public service before making changes that would affect them.Harper also promised to work hard to find what he called the "missing money" in the sponsorship scandal."Justice Gomery did an admirable job, but I don't think we're going to drop the matter when 40 to 50 million are still missing."Prime Minister Paul Martin released a statement on Wednesday thanking Justice Gomery for his months of work."His insights and recommendations will be of benefit to all Canadians in the ongoing debate as to how best to ensure government activities are conducted openly, transparently and effectively," said Martin.Allan Cutler, the man who blew the whistle on the whole affair, said hewas impressed with Gomery's final report.
"I am rather pleased with it: it seems to me that he has addressed accountability very well," added the former Public Works employee.But others said they really couldn't see how Gomery's recommendations will make a difference 
."I fail to see how any change of law, or how any additional norms or rules and regulations could make sure that political actors that deliberately choose not to follow the law, will from now on," said Christian Rouillard, an expert in governance and public management at the University of Ottawa.
Copyright (C) 2006 CBC. All rights reserved.

THANK YOU Christian Rouillard.....for understanding what I have been trying to say all along CHANGING POLICY is NOT the solution, removing the actors is the ONLY solution. Although you are commenting on a different issue your words resonate an absolute TRUTH here in Nova Scotia. The bureaucratic sociopaths here will not follow any law but their own lawlessness. New policies will mean nothing to them. It will not be until we start holding these actors criminally and constitutionally accountable will we start seeing the laws enforced as they were meant to be.
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Provided is a transcript of the morning session ONLY with the Standing Committee for Community Services at the NOVA SCOTIA HOUSE OF ASSEMBLY held Thursday, January 12, 2006. There were several worthy issues presented by various non profit organizations, community based organizations and individuals who have been affected by the lack of humane policies and practices in Nova Scotia in relation to the numerous and specific needs of marginalized groups.
My presentation is marked Ms.McIntyre and my topic is the systemic abuse committed by unioned government case workers in Community Services who abuse their power by causing further injury and trauma to their case work individuals who are already injured and/or traumatized.

As you read, one of the Tory members Mark Parent, took great exception to my use of the word 'violations'. I much preferred to use the correct phrase ' criminal acts' but thought 'violations' would be in keeping with the language of the presentations that day. Also please note that Parent was only in attendance for half of one day not the full day media gave Tory credit for. This was a full two day session and it was appalling to have such under- representation from the very political party responsible for immeasurable suffering in Nova Scotia.

To assume Tory are solely responsible is the deflective trick of the Liberal and most particularly the NDP in this province.Their whiny refrain is that they have never harmed anyone or caused any damages to those who are vulnerable as they were never in power.One does not need to be in power to bring about socio-political and judicial change and to use this pathetic refrain to support their ongoing collusion of governmental abuse is nothing but the usual tired rhetoric NDP is famous for. We will go into much more detail when we discuss the information of who knew what and about whom and where and for how long as it pertains to those who knowingly ignore pleas for help while advancing their own political careers.
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2.
Janet Mosher, professor at York University, with the assistance of several other academic and community resources, published these academic research findings on the realities of the inherent exploitative and oppressive personality of the welfare system in Canada. Although most of the data has been collected in Ontario, the basic premises of the cyclical, punitive and suffocating aspects of this very inhumane system can be validated by numerous cases, too many cases, across Canada.
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This foundation was set up by the family in honour of Anna's experiences as a traumatized young girl who has a disturbing account into womanhood of being severely misused by yet another exploitative and unmonitored system called medicine and health. Although this is not a Canadian story the lack of humane services for persons with trauma are serious lacking here. I am also a victim of a very ignorant and dangerous Capital Health hospital in this province who used me for clinical drug testing without my consent or knowledge.The immediate damage was measurable yet only fabricated notes are found in my medical charts to hide the totality of damage done by doctors who have relations with pharmaceutical companies for profit.


This matter is being referred to Canadian Adverse Reactions Atlantic Division as it is against the CanadianFDA practices for drug companies to fail to report all side effects. It will be interesting as the doctors already lied in the charts about the side effects in the first place allowing the company to be allevaited from any responsibility? I think not! Albeit pharmaceutical companies, at least in theory, work on the ethical premise that doctors are not going to administer or prescribe a drug in an unethical manner, they are still responsible for the damage their drugs create especially if they have failed to report them, especially if they have a profit relationship with that doctor and /or hospital.
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Website navigating around the Canadian parliament.Looking for government documents? Check here.
Website navigating around the Nova Scotia Department of Community Services.
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Think your voice does not count!
Please feel free to scroll the various causes that do need your voice.
Perhaps you need to start a petition of your own?

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Second transcript of Standing Committee on Friday January 13 2006 and again, coincidentally, I am Ms. McIntyre.  
This transcript is the only proof I need, although a written document does exist, to show that the Standing Committee did, in a meaningful way, discuss my concerns of the lazy and retaliatory abusive appeals process for those who are on any type of social assistance funding. This would be the very same discussion that was deliberately excluded from a recent social policy paper ( request for actual PDF copy was made and will be posted as soon as I have it for your perusal on this very critical omission pp17-19)* however that link does not have the paper anymore.
Is it a coincidence that this would occur after I pointed out this very corrupt act of lying to the policy makers and public? Their deliberate omission of my presentation of abusive and under-qualified public servants is a tyrannical attempt to control information read by the unassuming public.
By excluding the only piece that is about the actual abusive and incompetent nature of government employees is not a coincidence as is the fact that Ian Johnson of the Nova Scotia Government Employees Union (NSGEU) who also helped design the social paper that excluded same said presentation into official transcript. 
Quiet and passive Ian Johnson stood at a recent conference for community voice and poverty issues and had the audacity to state publicly that the 'case workers are not the problem, it is the policies'. Since I was the conference co-ordinator I had to remain neutral and to this day I do not know how I did not 're-educate' that man of his very convenient delusions, that a white middle class man can stand up time and again defending these sociopathic case workers defying any intellectual processing. Most importantly it represents the ignorance and apathy that is allowed to breed among those who are unioned and work for the government.

By stating that it is not the case workers that are the problem inherently states that community voice:
(1) complains for no reasons,
(2) are delusional,
(3) if they were just busier they would not have time to gripe,
(4) if they were educated they would know how the system works,
(5) if they could read they would see it is the lack of supportive and adequate policy,
(6) if they were not so stupid they would know to blame the system and not the workers,
(7) I guess because they are poor they are liars....

How Ian can listen to grievance after grievance of the worse kind of oppressive service delivery and still have the nerve to state that it is not the case worker is to spit in the face of the poor and to call each and every one of us a bold face liar or maybe we are just are prone to fantastic story telling as we have so much time on our hands? All I could do was ask another co-ordinator: 'does Ian have life insurance, is Ian confused'?

I should not be shocked however. Johnson was outed in January for being confused at the Standing Committee by closet Tory now retiring, Jerry Pye (NDP). He was asked how he thought his issues of retiring government union workers had anything to do with the matters for the Standing Committee (paraphrasing). My hat off to Pye for calling Johnson out for once again not understanding the importance of the Impoverished and Vulnerable having their own safe forum to speak on their issues. How Johnson thought to ask for assistance or consideration for those that, for the most part, abuse the poor is about as detached as one can be from reality. But alas, Johnson had shown me his colours as that of his peers when I was briefly engaged with the Nova Scotia Citizens Health Network. I will get to those fraudmaudes and fakejakes soon enough. It is shocking the way people discriminate! .
*as per request
when I have the final copy of the communications between Marilyn More, the Standing Committee chair and David Morse, the alleged Minister of Community Services I will post it so you can see what was omitted on the outlined pages. This control of information and altering of documents is unforgivable.

I had great difficulty posting the link for the : 'Policy Alternatives'-Maintaining Investments in Nova Scotians (2006) that deliberately excludes the part (pp17-19) on case worker abuse on clients and the hidden weapon in the appeals process, among others. I will continue to try to post the link however, if you contact Ian Johnson of NSGEU, one of the authors he should have no issue providing you with a hard copy or email copy. Please keep in mind that Ian is also the one who publicly declares that the 'issues are not the case workers, it is the policies.' Is this omission an a very suspicious or coincidental oversight even though Ian works for the government union or a deliberate attempt to hide the truth as I claim?

Please also be mindful that my section on case worker abuse via the appeal process was accepted into transcript and document to be presented to the minister and to exclude this section from the aforementioned social paper (co-authored by unioned rep Ian Johnson) is to covertly alter/amended the truth of a pre-existing government documents.

Please try mailing as well:
Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives410-75 Albert Street, Ottawa, ON K1P 5E7tel: 613-563-1341 fax: 613-233-1458

editted to add June 29 2006:
The seven recommendations sent to the Department of Community Services from the Standing Committee on Community Services as a result of the January 12-13, 2006 Forum on Poverty are as follows:

1. Review of ESIA Act: An independent review of the Employment Support and Income Assistance Act shall be conducted, including the appeal process and the personal allowance rates;

2. Post Secondary Attendance: The Department of Community Services shall allow persons on income assistance to attend post secondary education programs of more than two years, without affecting their assistance;

3. Housing Allowance: The housing allowance should be at a rate of 85% of the rental market;

4. Written Notice: No changes to a client's social assistance shall be made before a mandatory 30-day written notice has been served and an appeal decision has been rendered. The Department of Community Services shall adhere to this mandatory 30-day written notice concerning any/all changes to assistance and a right to an advocate during an appeal process. Appeal Board decisions that have an effect on policy should be distributed to all caseworkers in a manner that does not affect a client's right to privacy;

5. Telephone Service: A change to the Employment Support and Income Assistance Act to include a basic telephone service;

6. Wage Reduction: Wage reduction should apply only to earnings above $3000 per year base. An annual review should then take place on this program; and

7. Emergency Fund: The Department of Community Services needs to
reinstate the former emergency fund program that allowed case workers to
access funds in case of emergencies or for transitional funding (for things
such as moving or family emergencies). There needs to be a non
repayable discretionary fund for both clients in transition or non-clients that
have emergency needs.

The Committee asked the Department of Community Services to implement these recommendations within the 2006-2007 budget year.

The recommendation numbered 4 is the polite version of my presentation. No one was confused as to the mailing out process itself as a potential retaliation issue or the fact that decisions to cut people's funding are implemented BEFORE an actual hearing to decide guilt or innocence.

This is the one missing from the Policy Alternatives paper.
Please also refer to the listings for transcripts for the Legislative House Standing Committee for not only my presentation but the great supportive reaction from various members NDP and Liberal (not to exclude support in audience), in their total understanding of this area of abuse and injury on vulnerable Nova Scotians by case workers. The Tory reaction, Mark Parent to be absent,was to be expected......
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Great read and a new read for some! Ethic and Scienitific Integrity Day!!!
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World socialist web site.
RESPONSE
is a non-partisan group however such websites as WSWS provide a great news perspective with a socio-political analysis. It is important to address the multi-manifestations of poverty in our immediate environments or communities but to ignore the inter/intra connections on the macro or global scale is to dismiss the pervasiveness of the genocide or fragging of the Impoverished world wide.
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Public Health Agency of Canada. Inequality and Chronic Disease in Atlantic Canada: The Tide of Change.
We will be using this educational tool in our community discussions. Although there are still too many generalities and exclusion on how poverty DOES affect health of individuals and inevitably communities it is by far the most comprehensive and intellegent reading and can be utilized by many agencies.
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National Anti-Poverty Organization website about increasing the minimum wage from a poverty wage. A suggested strategy for escaping poverty.
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11.
New Internationalists:

The New Internationalist workers' co-operative (NI) exists to report on the issues of world poverty and inequality; to focus attention on the unjust relationship between the powerful and powerless worldwide; to debate and campaign for the radical changes necessary to meet the basic needs of all; and to bring to life the people, the ideas and the action in the fight for global justice.
* NI opposes all forms of oppression. It campaigns for social and environmental justice worldwide, acting as a vehicle for unheard voices.
* NI adheres to the core co-operative values of self-help, responsibility, democracy, equality, equity and solidarity.
* NI exists to inform, educate and communicate its message and ideals in an accessible style through the New Internationalist magazine, books, internet and other media.
* NI provides a forum for fresh ideas and radical perspectives. We regularly form alliances with likeminded groups and individuals.
* NI is a financially independent company. It does not distribute profits to its members. If profits are earned they are retained and used to further the aims as set out in this statement.
* NI maintains a democratic, co-operative and non-hierarchical structure and operates an equal opportunity policy. Equality of worth, equality of opportunity and equality of voice are central tenets of co-operative membership and we aim to maintain a safe, healthy and non-discriminatory work environment.
* NI is independent of any political or religious grouping.
* NI operates ethically with all employees, outside contacts and in the environment.
* NI is committed to high quality in all areas of work.
Deeply honoured that they gave us permission to post their link on our site!
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Canada's Federal Cabinet.
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INCOMPETENT MISINFORMED JOURNALISM
is DANGEROUS to PUBLIC SAFETY

One of the scariest things in HRM is our very confused, incompetent and lilywhite media/journalists that rather kiss the ass of the race card than expose the real racism in Nova Scotia among black towards non-blacks and blacks from Africa. One such journalist is Steve Kimber.. The following was our response to his very lilywhite assessment of what he thought was going on while he kissed the ass of known sociopaths. Check out The Coast edition for the background.

letter:
Stephen Kimber regarding you article Inside the Square. March 2 2007
Excuse yourself, your white is showing.
Are you faux real?
Clearly YOU did not do your homework. I will not take the time to educate you on all the facts but just on few pointers:
- that Irvine Carvery, Donna Nelligan, Jenise Smith, Rebecca Parker are responsible for the unconstitutional and illegal firing of a young university educated black male for fabricated reasons in retaliation for his visible allegiance with a community based organization dedicated to ‘outing’ the aforementioned unethical persons who are raping the community. Marcus James found out about this illegal firing and did go on record as not supporting it.
-that the aforementioned in particular Irvine Carvery and his boss Pat Lawrence did knowingly violate the constitutional rights of community advocate in public during the Uniacke Square Conference last September by telling guests that there were 3 restraining orders against her. This was a lie. They all acted in unison as they told this person she had to leave. She told them to call the police and they refused. Had they been legit victims they would have known that all they had to do was call 911, if the restraining orders were valid and they were not which is why no police were called.
- that Jenise Smith’s son is a well known thug in the community (eta: recently charged again and court-ordered to North Preston)
- that Frank Beazley does not have a sincere bone in his body and it is amazing to this author that people like you are still confused about why HRM is a violent mess, that supposed intelligent and resourceful persons like you still are confused as to why his son took his own life so violently. That he could not control drugs in his own home let alone metropolis. That those who know Beazley or are one of his many victims know he should be in prison for the rest of his life in a cell next to Stephen Sykes for outrageous and immeasurable criminal and constitutional violations.
- that Maureen MacDonald has acted unconstitutionally by enabling the criminal actions of Beazley and the police in the communities and has knowingly protected the illegal acts of Irvine Carvery to the detriment of a family that was his target for 3 years for daily racial abuse and criminal/constitutional violations. That she was begged in April 2002 to help a disabled woman and her family from being racially abused daily organized and encouraged by Carvery and his posse of thugs.
-that elder black folks fear Carvery as they know he is never held accountable for his atrocities and they wont trust the police even before Carvery’s son became an officer.
- that Dean Simmons officer of the year was given that as a bribe to cover up the corruption on his part in 2006. This author did file a Form 5 NSPC as Simmons did approach a member of this organization to engage in a criminal act with him to fraud the NS tax payers. He offered to get this black woman in poverty brand new computers and he could get her friends computers too but only a couple. These would be paid by city vouches. This woman was told by Dean to keep it on down low. An investigation was not conducted by NSPC as black woman recanted her story. Do you know how stupid someone would have to be to believe that this award is not a bribe for Dean to keep his mouth shut! This is a disgrace to any ethical officer who have engaged ethically in a community for years.
Simmons would have been given ordered from upstairs (Beazley) to try and corrupt this organization. That 5 RESPONSE TEAM members have been abused by either Carvery or police, threats of evictions or guns drawn in their faces- all to intimidate this organization. One continues to be harassed and the other fired from his job by Carvery and posse.
-that Irvine Carvery should be in prison for the murder of an elderly woman on October 31 2003 and the attempted murder of another women who attempted to take her life in housing May 25 2004 to end the police abuse and Carvery racial abuse for 3 years where he fabricated legal documents and had others do the same accusing this woman of assaulting 22 children in the neighbourhood, while he shared personal info from her file with her tormenters, while they smashed her windows 8 times with impunity, robbed her home with impunity, destroyed her property at will with impunity all with his blessing while allowing them to fraud welfare- his own version of reparations. He often referred to this woman ’as crazy white bitch and that she will move on when she gets tired of all the abuse’. She would be dead if she had not been resuscitated.
No white person would get away with what Carvery does to non black folks in housing.
- that IC has had numerous slum landlord complaints filed against him with Housing and Residential Tenancy Board-he has already been told by an appeals judge that he is not a credible person. He is seriously guilty of slum landlording both at Mulgrave Park and Uniacke Square for failing to respond to numerous issues including drugs and violence and household maintenance.
- that he is presently engaged in contentious discussions as he failed for 8 months to fumigate a serious bedbug infestation in 3 Housing buildings where most victims are disabled or elderly. It has been very stressful for hundreds of people for them to move around to avoid bugs because Carvery is not being a property manager.
-that a Human Rights application was filed against Carvery but was hidden by Vikki Samuels ( corrupt senior officer), his friend to hide what Carvery is doing to whites in housing while promoting racial disharmony while getting paid to do nothing- he is a social pimp. ( May Ann Francis was fully aware of all corruption her office did in hiding Carvery's organized racism and violence against my family for whistle-blowing on his crimes and that of thugs he used to do his budding-all protected by Beazley since Carvery's son is a HRM officer- Francis hid this so they could pimp the fake Kirk Johnson case to the public)
Anyone paying attention all know Carvery was given this job to shut him up about Africville but how many must suffer to keep him form raping the 52 deck of race cards he carries in his back pocket for weak white folk like you.
Your article just spat in the faces of all his victims who have no one to speak for them.
Beazley lied about the benefits of the community office on many regards and I have seen many a drug deal go down right in front of the office and often while they are leaning on police vans. The community office is just a farce to make Vic Towes (federal) think HRM is doing something about the 2005 Violent Stat. That office takes attention away form the real thugs: Michael Baker, Frank Beazley, Irvine Carvery, Stephen Sykes, NSPolice Commission and Peter Kelly.
- that the USTA was robbed right in front of the police office and it has remained unsolved though rumour has it Jenise’s son did it.
The other information in your article is benign but over done on your part which to those of us paying attention you did to oversell your point ergo losing your point. Also did you forget about Greystone, Bayers PUBS, Jellybean and Mulgrave Park?
It is people like you that overexpose Uniacke Square, try to expand your world just a little, the other public housing systems do need equal attention on the deplorable conditions maintained by lazy property managers working in a sociopathic department. But of course you went with Uniacke so you can add Carvery to your buddy list.
Can you hear him laughing at you? I can!
By presenting these perpetrators as community spokespersons is to traumatize those who have been victimized by them. Your need to be ‘the white guy doing the story’ is a disgrace to the community and the pain within. By you doing this story the way you did emboldens the very sociopathic behaviour of Beazley and Carvery in particular. Sadly I already know you do not know the damage you have done with your article. I do realize you did what all lazy white folk do and that was to approach the USTA thinking they represent the concerns and issues of the community.
To approach them is akin to approaching Kelly and his posse ( corrupt city council ) for their views on the public opinions of hosting the 2014 Common Wealth Games. It is people like you that create more work for people/organizations working in these vulnerable communities for not only do they continue to deal with the regular unveiling of the criminality committed by NS government employees, they now must work to undo the damage you did with your very ignorant article.
You did no one any favours except for those that are already raping the community.
If you are going to be reckless with your reporting please do it on your own time. Those who are not afraid to speak out in the community, people who know better, are laughing at how gullible you really are.
How does it feel to be conned by bonafide sociopaths Stephen?
Gayle McIntyre
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Feb 17 2008
Here is our reply to Kimber one his own website who chose not to respond to our letter, copy sent to his editor. Lets see how long it stays on his site. Kimber is acting dangerously as he kisses the ass of known racist and sociopath Irvine Carvery who abuses his position as public servant property manager first at Mulgrave Park then Uniacke Square, he continues to allow blacks that are on his A list to fraud welfare and housing and sees this as his own version of reparations for Africville. Some of his own committee members at the Africville Genelogy Society have accused Carvery of embezzlement and yet he is still there holding his own people hostage for his own personal gain.
gayle
SK, I used to admire your inquiry into issues a lot of us already discuss until I sent you a letter on the TRUTH about racist Irvine Carvery/public housing/Uniacke Square and how he holds white folks racially hostage and abuses his landlord position to allow blacks to break the law and fraud welfare in Housing and using this as reparations.... You did not feel the need to respond when I asked you how it felt to be fooled by sociopaths Carvery and Beazley? The last thing HRM issues need is any more faux white journalists thinking they know what they are talking about. YOU were invited to check out the truth via many venues (HRC, Residential Hearings, Housing complaints field by both white and black against Carvery) and you chose not to be educated.....as long as their are white folk like you kissing his ass he will continue to get away with harming vulnerable people.
Posted: February 17, 2008, 1:48 pm

HIP HIP HOORAY
that the The Daily News has went out of business. Kimber seems to be very confused about why a paper he wrote for has had to be bought over by an outside provincial company due to lack of sales. Yes the fact that folks find it easier to get their news from the web would be but one reason. Kimber clearly ignores the very issue he is guilty of: the paper, like him, lacks credibility and was too weak and immature to grasp issues that need to be told properly and truthfully. The public did not call this paper The Daily Spew for nothing.

A moment of silence please for the rightful and earned demise of a paper that wasn't.
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Are you in the Gap of Economic Disparity in Canada?

Canada’s growing gap at new 30-year high

TORONTO – Canadian families are putting in more work time, yet most -- 80% of them -- are getting a smaller share of Canada’s growing economy, says a study by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives (CCPA). Read more...

What is the Growing Gap?

  • Economy prosperous, but Canada’s income gap keeps growing: Canada’s economy has doubled in size since 1981. It is now the 9th richest nation in the world. Unemployment is at a 30-year low, more Canadian families raising children are working, and they’re working more. The gap between the rich and the rest of us should be shrinking, but it isn’t. More…
  • What does the growing gap look like? In 2004, the richest 10% of families raising children earned 82 times more than the poorest 10% -- almost triple the ratio of 1976, when they earned 31 times more. In after-tax terms the gap is at a 30-year high. More…
  • Economic growth is supposed to benefit everyone, right? We’ve been told we need to work harder, make Canada more competitive, grow the economy and ‘a rising tide will lift all boats’. But it hasn’t. The lion’s share of gains from economic growth is going to the richest 10% of families raising children. It’s not going to the majority, the 80% of families earning under $100,000. More…
  • Who’s getting their share? The bottom half of families raising children earned 27% of total earnings in Canada in 1976-79. By 2001-04, that share dropped to 20.5% -- even though those families put in more time in the workplace. Up to 80% of families lost ground or stayed put compared to the previous generation, in both earnings and after-tax terms. More…
  • Working harder to get ahead? All but the richest 10% of families are working more weeks and hours in the paid workforce (200 hours more on average since 1996) yet only the richest 10% saw a significant increase in their earnings, which rose by 30%. More…
  • Government makes a difference, but not as much as it used to: While the rich still got richer in after-tax terms, Canada’s tax and transfer system made an important difference. If they had to rely solely on market earnings, 40% of Canadian families would have experienced significant losses in incomes compared to a generation ago – even though they are working more. Canada’s tax and transfer system stopped the freefall of incomes for almost half of the population raising children. More…
  • What’s rich? Canadian families raising children were among the elite in 2004 if they earned $131,000 or higher. Families earning more than $166,000 made more than 95% of families raising children in Canada. (Before tax and transfers). More…
  • What’s poor? The poorest 10% of Canadian families raising children earned less than $9,400 in 2004.Five per cent of families earned less than $1,050 that year. (Before tax and transfers). More…
  • What’s ‘middle’?The middle 40% of Canadian families raising children earned $36,000-$85,000 in 2005. The middle 60% earned between $23,500-$102,000 – a span that renders ‘middle class’ almost meaningless, since the spread between upper and lower middle class is so great. (Before tax and transfers). More…
  • What’s average? The average Canadian family income is over $71,000, and it has been rising much faster than the median since 1997. The median is the mark at which half the families earn more, and half earn less. In 2004, median family earnings were $60,000 in Canada. (Before tax and transfers). More…
  • Canadians can go from rags to riches if they work hard enough—right? The reality is that most Canadians will stay in their original earning category all their lives. More…
  • Why is the gap getting worse? Every year more well-paying jobs are being replaced by work that is less secure, and/or work that pays less and fails to offer benefit packages. More…
  • What about the rest of us? Many Canadians have the sense they’re working harder but not getting ahead. It’s not fiction; it’s reality. The growing gap affects everyone, including the middle class. More…
  • What’s happening to families in the middle? Canadian households used to save about 20 per cent of their after-tax income. Today, the savings rate averages zero, and our personal debt is at an all-time high. More…
  • Do you feel like you’re one or two missed paycheques away from hard times? You’re not alone—almost half of Canadians feel they are always just one or two missed paycheques away from being poor. More…
Minimum wage and the working poor: Despite strong economic growth in the past decade, the minimum wage in Canadian provinces has fallen behind the cost of living. As a result, minimum wage earners define the term 'working poor'. More..
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LGBT Rights
Sole Journey....grassroots organization for non-violent action against inequality for human rights

www.solejourneythemovie.com

SoleJourney tells an inspiring and true story of courageous families  confronting the anti-LGBT rhetoric and political policy-making of the fundamentalist mega-organization Focus on the Family.

Welcome to SoleJourney The Movie

SoleJourney documents the stories of brave families and individuals from across the United States who have joined the Soulforce movement to confront the dangerous anti-LGBT rhetoric and politics of Dr. James Dobson and Focus on the Family, headquartered in Colorado Springs, Colorado.


         "Soul-force"

Gandhi's principle of relentless nonviolent resistance...

                   Soulforce

The movement to end religious and political discrimination against lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people...

                           SoleJourney

The movie that follows ordinary families taking extraordinary measures to stand for justice in spite of the odds...

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Recommended reading, Becoming a Helper, Marianne and Gerald Corey,1993. Although it is geared to discuss this very valuable role with possible professional practitioners it is still a great read for those who work in the field in a volunteer capacity or if you are in need of such an ally or advocate you can learn what you should know, recognize the questions you may need to ask in finding the right 'fit' for you.
Not all case workers or non profit organizations are allies and advocates although they may claim to be.
Not all allies and advocates need to be in an employed position either, your neighbour may be your best ally in helping you with some issues or it could be your doctor, or a another community voice.


Beware of the poisoned steak..it may appear to be good for you but in fact will have a long term effect on your health. What that means is sometimes it is best to go without than to settle for someone who is not really working on your behalf.


Allies and advocates can do real community and humane work.
Choose you allies carefully. They speak on your behalf.