Canada's Prison Indsustrial Complex

The Harpocrites Bushite plan for crime in Canada is two fold. One is to sacrifice child care for more prison spaces...Tory plan will create jail spaces at expense of day-care spaces ... The other is to create a privatized prison industry in Canada like that which has grown in the United States. Creating more jail spaces than school spaces.

Private prison operators waiting to cash in on Harper policies Unfortunately Canada has found out again thanks to the Harris government that this is another Harpocrite plan doomed to failure, just like their day care plan, Ontario jail privatization project fails

Harpers call to continue criminlization of marijuana and other drugs is a further example of his Republican North politics. It was the War on Drugs that opened up and exapanded the American privatized prison industrial complex that now dominates in that country.Tory policies would create prison boom: experts

And Harpers get tough on guns populist campaign coincides with his get tough on drugs and crime leading to increased spending in one of the most regressive forms of social programs, prisons.

The U.S. War on Drugs: Political Economics of a New Slavery

Compiled by Drug Policy Alliance. August 2001.

---

The U.S. "war on drugs" is big business -- a multi-billion dollar public/private venture that radically inflates the value of illegal drugs and is used to criminalize the poorest people of color, trapping them in a vicious cycle of addiction, unemployment and incarceration:

• $27 billion for interdiction and law enforcement, $1.3 billion for Plan Colombia in 2000.
  
• $9.4 billion in 2000 to imprison close to 500,000 people convicted of non-violent drug offenses, 75% of whom are Black.
  
• $80 to $100 billion in lost earnings.
  
• Untold billions in homeless shelters, healthcare, chemical dependency and psychiatric treatment, etc.

• 
  

It behooves us on the left to take up the call made by Angela Davis and others who call for an end to Prisons and the Prison Industrial Complex. Something Anarchists such as Kropotkin and Berkman have advocated at the turn of last century.

Resources on Prison Privatization

The Raggedness of Prison Privatization:
Australia, Britain, Canada, New Zealand and the United States Compared

PRIVATE ADULT PRISONS:
WHAT DO WE REALLY KNOW AND WHY DON’T WE KNOW MORE?*

New Internationalist: Crime pays: well, it does if you run the prison

Grassroots CCA Prison Report 2003

The modern private prison business first emerged and established itself publicly in 1984 when
the Corrections Corporation of America (CCA) was awarded a contract to take over a facility in
Hamilton County, Tennessee. This marked the first time that any government in the country had
contracted out the complete operation of a jail to a private operator.1 The following year, CCA
gained further public attention when it offered to take over the entire state prison system of
Tennessee for $200 million. The bid was ultimately defeated due to strong opposition from
public employees and the skepticism of the state legislature.2 Despite that initial defeat, CCA
since then has successfully expanded, as have other for-profit prison companies. As of
December 2000, there were 153 private correctional facilities (prisons, jails and detention
centers) operating in the United States3 with a capacity of over

Private Prisons: Profits of Crime

Private prisons are a symptom, a response by private capital to the "opportunities" created by society's temper tantrum approach
to the problem of criminality.

The big business of prisons

By Eve Goldberg and Linda Evans

More than 1.8 million people are currently behind bars in the US -- the highest per capita incarceration rate in the history of the world. In 1995 alone, 150 new US prisons were built and filled.

Privately managed prisons go before the review board

With 1.5 million people behind bars, the United States imprisons a larger share of its population than any other nation. Indeed, the rate of incarceration in the United States has grown much faster than the population in the past decade, leading to serious overcrowding in local, state and federal al prisons. Federal facilities are operating at 160 percent of capacity, while state facilities are at 117 percent, despite a desired capacity rate of percent that allows for periodic maintenance and repairs, special housing for protective custody, disciplinary cases and emergency needs.

The cost of confining inmates in the United States almost doubled in the past five years, reaching $50 billion lion annually, or $33,334 per inmate, per year. Estimates show that one 700-bed bed jail and one 1,600-bed prison need to be opened every week just to meet the rising demand. The projected annual construction cost of this is $5.98 billion.

But, with the political climate favoring decreasing taxes and reducing the size of government, it is unlikely that cities and counties will be able to build and manage many more prisons.

At the same time, the war on drugs and the get tough, policies, like the "three strikes" laws, will yield even greater numbers of inmates

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Who Speaks For Canadian Women

Well not Real Women no matter how much they insist on it. They speak for right wing fundamentalist protestant women, a minority if ever there was one, except in the rank and file of Harpers Reform/Alliance/Conservatives. Their agenda, pretty clear;

Real Women’s letter to MP’s has called upon the Harper government to defund the powerful radical feminist lobby that allows only one interpretation of women’s rights and equality to be represented.

Lorraine McNamara, Real Women’s National President, writes, “The feminist ideology does not now, and never has had the support of the vast majority of Canadian women.”

McNamara writes, “Feminist groups have few, if any, members, and are, in effect, mostly phantom organizations sustained only by the funding they receive from the Status of Women. Since these organizations represent no one but the women who run them, they should not receive financial support from the Canadian taxpayer.”

Also see:

History of the WRF

Catholic Hajib

Whose Family Values?

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Must Be Nice

Senior tobacco exec won't go to jail in massive fraud caseA former tobacco company executive will not serve any jail time after pleading guilty to conspiring to smuggle cigarettes, and defrauding the Canadian government of more than $1 billion in taxes, CBC News has learned.

Gee doesn't he qualify for the Tories new get tough on crime laws. What no minimum mandatory sentence. Nah, he's rich.

And RJR/BAT profits are rising on the basis of their criminal activities. Pennsylvania Attorney General Corbett files suit to recover additional tobacco funds



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Who Pays The Most

Budget redux lets look at who actually pays the most for the Government of Canada. Courtesy of the Government of Canada. And with big tax cuts to corporations in the Conservative budget business will again pay less than you and me.

With the Conservatives increase in sin taxes and income taxes to offset the GST cut and corporate tax cuts, you and me will still be paying more than those who make the profit off our labour, big business.

Which is why I say cut income taxes for all workers earning $100,000 or less, increase personal income taxes on the rich ruling class families and close their offshore loopholes, and tax capitalist businesses on their before net earnings.

Where the Money Comes From

The federal government’s budgetary revenues came from a variety of taxes and other sources.

• Personal income tax is the biggest revenue source. In 2004–05, it provided $89.8 billion in federal funding. That’s more than 45 per cent of all federal revenues.

• Revenues from the goods and services tax provided $29.8 billion, or 15 per cent of total federal funds.

• Corporate income tax raised about $30 billion, just over 15 per cent of federal finances.

• A number of other taxes—such as non-resident taxes, customs import duties, energy taxes and excise taxes on alcohol and tobacco—made up $16.7 billion, or nearly 81⁄2 per cent of revenues.

• As well, employment insurance premiums, which are treated as part of general revenues, contributed $17.3 billion to federal finances, or 8.7 per cent of the total.

• And other revenues—such as earnings by Crown corporations and the sale of goods and services—provided the remaining $14.9 billion, or 71⁄2 per cent of total revenues. This included a one-time $2.6-billion net gain from the sale of the federal government’s remaining shares in Petro-Canada.

Oh note the stupidity of the Liberals selling off our shares in Petro-Canada, short term gain for long term loss.CBC News: Petro-Canada earnings rise in Q1

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Free Marketers Call for French Revolution

The French student worker revolt of last month has inspired some interesting support from unusual places. In this case the right wing Free Market News Network. David Lindorff writes a column entitiled AMERICANS SHOULD TAKE A LESSON FROM "SISSY" FRENCH YOUTH where he says that Americans could take a lesson in the need to struggle against wage slavery.

France remains one country where lifestyle and culture are valued. French people still insist on taking time to enjoy life, on having vacations when they are most enjoyable (summer), on receiving a fair wage, and on having some security in one’s job and health. Here in the U.S., we Americans are working longer and harder every year even as our standard of living falls, no one is secure in her job, health benefits are being gutted and our hope of retirement security is being undermined by political charlatans and an administration that is bankrupting the country with outlandishly expensive imperial wars.

The youth of France are standing up and fighting against the effort by a conservative government to Americanize their economy. Good for them!

When will we Americans wake up, take to the streets, and demand that our economy be humanized?

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Stupid Economist

Ok this guy misses the whole point of the Fordist arguement of capitalist economics.

Gas Prices Should be Even Higher, Canadian Researcher Claims

“Governments need to make adopting alternative technologies worth it to both the consumer and the producer. One way is by raising, not reducing, fuel taxes.”

The internal combustion/global warming dilemma has been a long time in the making.

For some reason (Tsigaris can’t quite figure why), internal combustion cars were deemed “fittest” back at the turn of the last century in an industrial-Darwinism scenario that continues to influence society and the choices it makes.

What he calls an “historical accident” put society on the internal-combustion super-highway. In the early 1900s, internal combustion, steam and electric technologies used to power automobiles were competing just about equal in the North American market. In fact, electric and steam vehicles were ahead of internal combustion technology at one point in time.

“Imagine what our world would be like if electric cars had won,” dreams Tsigaris. “Imagine what one hundred years of fine-tuning and innovation on electric cars would have produced by now.”

Gee and what would that look like well business already is looking at a new Fordism, hybird and electric car manufacturing. But Fordism none the less

A New Fordism

December 02, 2005

Progressive businesses that downplay whiz-bang marketing ideas and offer real solutions to social ills could start a more meaningful dialogue with consumers. See how it's all shaking out by clicking HERE

Fordist manufacturing, car production, is what grew the capitalist economy of the twentieth century, starting in the U.S. then spreading to Canada, Europe and Japan after WWII. It is now growing the Asian tigers, Korea, Phillipines, etc. and of course China and India.

As for alternatives, well public transit was always the alternative until as the great historical documentary Who Framed Roger Rabbit shows, GM and other car companies bought up the privatized bus companies and wiped them out.

Ford versus GE. GE and other electrical companies were not yet as strong as monopolies to be able to control the market and introduce electric cars. Nor did they have the manufacturing base for car production. Nor the interest. Instead they provided the electric cars for private transit, which was wiped out by the motorization of transit, and expansion of the suburbs and shopping centre culture.

On one hand, complex innovations like supermarkets were made possible by the existence of the automobile, on the other hand their growth (by replacing the nearby corner grocery) made the automobile more of a necessity. The relationship was tightly intertwined. In spite of a growing, more urban population, the number of grocery stores topped out in the late 1930's and declined by 40 percent through the postwar years as the larger supermarket became dominant. Sales per store increased dramatically.

The growth of the suburbs was another environmental change that made the auto more of a necessity. Suburbs first developed after the Civil War when electric street cars expanded the boundaries of many cities. Along the street car line sub-developments or suburbs popped up. Many times the street car owner and land developer were one in the same. Of course, the auto made urban decentralization even easier for the developer and more convenient for the consumer. The increased distance to almost anything and the lack of public transportation which characterized the post-World War II suburb made the automobile much more than a luxury.The Growth of Automotive Transportation

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NDP Anti-Scab Legislation

Once again the NDP will try in this sitting of the Parliament to bring in Anti-Scab legislation. Maybe this time the 'left of centre' Liberals will support it. Unlike last year. Now that they are the opposition and not the government they have no excuse not to.

Mon 1 May 2006 NDP MPs launch anti-scab bill on May Day

NDP MP Pat Martin is introducing legislation today that would ban the use of replacement workers during labour disputes and work stoppages under federal jurisdiction.

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Conference Board on the Budget

Gosh they sound like the NDP.

The non-partisan Conference Board of Canada weighed in with a lengthy budget analysis yesterday it concluded that increased government spending on education, infrastructure and skills development "would have provided 'more bang for the buck.' "


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Harpers Faith Based Child Care

Thanks to those social conservatives on the right, the cat is out of the bag. Another Bushite program the Harpocrite has stolen and is planning to implement is faith based social services delivery.

In this case apparently that's the Conservative Government plan for Child Care delivery in Canada No wonder they are so vague about it. Faith based social service delivery through the backdoor. So says CanadianChristitianity.com

They have spoken about creating 125,000 new child care spaces, referring obliquely, at least, to doing so through tax credits and assistance to parent co-operatives. And HRDC minister Diane Finley keeps hinting that the Tories are looking for proposals that would reduce the need for a universal, state-run system.

And one key to their success could well be in motivating parent groups and parent-church co-operatives to come up with child care strategies that will work in the densely-populated sectors of the large cities.

Churches and religious agencies have been real catalysts for social change in the large cities, in recent years. Their effectiveness has often related to the ability of their leaders to understand both their neighborhoods and the families that make them up.

In formulating their child care policies, leaders at all levels need to have the right kinds of listening devices honed in on family and faith groups.

Not that the Bushite 'Faith Based Social Services' was one of the Convservatives Five Points during the election. Kept that one pretty close to their chest. But now the cat is outta the bag. Better a daycare in a church basement than a non profit secular daycare (cause that's shudder, horror, a government/state run one).

And in Canada there is no historic separation of Church and State. And let's not forget that.

In Canada, church and faith based social service delivery has been so successful. Just ask the kids from the Mount Cashel Orphanage in Newfoundland or the those who attended the Canadian State/Church Residential schools. Just two examples of the success of faith based service delivery. And it has been just as successful in the U.S.



More stories on Harper's imitation of Bush

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Pathetic

Pathetic is the word for the Flame Out in Calgary.

Not Choke, that actually would mean they had showed up to play. But they hadn't.

By the second period I had switched to a far less predictable and more exciting competition and tuned in a re-run of Alien vs. Predator

And the Flames Fans well only the Wing Fans were less vocal. Pathetic team matched by pathetic fans.

Only more pathetic was their defeat at the hands of team that was once a Walt Disney fantasy.






Ducks oust the Flames in Game 7

CALGARY, Alberta - The much-ballyhooed Battle of Alberta will have to wait. The Mighty Ducks, not the Calgary Flames, are moving on in the playoffs.

With the Edmonton Oilers waiting in the wings for a potential second-round date opposite their provincial rivals, and the Alberta media whetting the appetite of the local populace with virtually non-stop preview reports, the Flames fell victim to a virtual mirror image Wednesday night at the Pengrowth Saddledome.

Teemu Selanne's team-high third goal of the series gave the Ducks the lead 5:12 into the second period, and they played Calgary-style, shut-down defense the rest of the way en route to a 3-0 victory in the final game of their opening-round battle.

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