Go Home, Drug War, You're Drunk!

Read the story: NYPD Spent 1 Million Hours Making 440,000 Marijuana Possession Arrests Over Last Decade

"We cannot afford to continue arresting tens of thousands of youth every year for low-level marijuana possession,” Alfredo Carrasquillo, a civil rights organizer with the activist group VOCAL-NY, said in a release. “We can't afford it in terms of the negative effect it has on the future prospects of our youth and we can't afford in terms of police hours."

It's bad enough that the United States alone has already squandered over a TRILLION dollars fighting The War on Drugs; now we get a glimpse of all of the time that is wasted on it as well.

Just think of all of the other things that could have been properly addressed with this kind of precious time and tax-payer money!

• Schools
• Health Care
• Elder Care
  
• Veteran Support
• Early Childhood Education
• Mental Illness Support
• Substance Abuse Rehabilitation
• The Environment & Green Jobs
• Homelessness and Affordable Housing
  
• Infrastructure
  
• Fraud

Law Enforcement Officers could be solving exponentially more homicides, assaults and cases of child abuse and paedophilia.  Instead of building and staffing more jails we could be funding laboratories and skilled workers that process crime scene evidence and expedite the processing of sexual assault forensic exam kits. (Something that is obviously lost on the likes of Ol' Sheriff Joe!*)

We must evaluate where our priorities lie as citizens of our communities and as members of the Human Race.  Ask yourself where *you* want your hard earned taxes to go.  Where do *you* want police to focus their attention?  "Herbal" offenses?  Or on actual crimes that really do hurt us all?

Visit the updated website for the NORML Women's Alliance of Canada and get involved!

Along with the NORML Women's Alliance of Canada, there are many, many organizations working to reform and change our drug policy laws.  Check them out today!

Moms for Marijuana

NORML Women's Alliance

NORML

NORML Canada

Law Enforcement Against Prohibition Canada

Law Enforcement Against Prohibition

Sensible BC

Drug Policy Alliance

Students for Sensible Drug Policy

Marijuana Policy Project
Dads For Marijuana International

Unconventional Foundation for Autism

SAFERChoice

Marijuana Majority

*Sheriff Joe! ~ Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio's office spent so much time and money seeking out non-violent people that he prompted an internal investigation which discovered at least 32 reported child molestations in which the sheriff's office failed to follow through, even though suspects were known in all but six cases.  El Mirage, a community near Phoenix, alleged there were many cases in which sheriff's investigators wrote no follow-up reports, collected no additional forensic evidence and made no effort after the initial crime report was taken.  Arpaio's office eventually reopened more than 400 of its sex-crime cases countywide after finding they were inadequately investigated or not examined at all. Read about this tragedy here at THINKPROGRESS: Arizona Sheriff Joe Arpaio Failed To Investigate Over 400 Sex Crimes, Including Molestations Of Undocumented Children

Additional Info

Count the Costs - 50 Years of the War on Drugs

Unless present policy is redirected, we will perpetuate the same problems, tolerate the same social costs, and find ourselves as we do now, no further along the road to a more rational legal and social approach than we were in 1914. - "Drug Use in America: Problem in Perspective", issued 40 years ago today. (March 22 1973 - March 22, 2013) From "Shafer Commission Report on Marijuana and Drugs, Issued 40 Years Ago Today, Was Ahead of its Time"
by Eric E. Sterling.  Please read this, it is an amazing article! 

"Ironically, these policy failures are often cited by law enforcement as a justification for continuing current policies. Just as the costs of enforcing marijuana laws are cited as a cost of drug abuse rather than public policy, these social problems are misrepresented to the public as evidence that marijuana use requires criminal sanctions rather than regulation. Policy failures brought about by this lack of effective controls is not a valid justification of current policies. The statistical data cited in this report on the supply, availability, use, price, and value of marijuana demonstrate that the amount of lost taxes and other fiscal costs of current policy are increasing and proliferating over time."
From Lost Taxes and Other Costs of Marijuana Laws by Jon Gettman - Read the full report of the tremendous annual cost of marijuana prohibition in the October 2007 issue of the Bulletin of Cannabis Reform

14 Reasons Why Marijuana is Good for the Economy (HuffPo Slideshow, scroll down the page)

Making Money Off of Crime: It's Criminal!

"Shabby Justice"

First, read/watch: Conrad Black: Privatizing Prisons 'A Catastrophic Idea' (VIDEO, PHOTOS) on the Huffington Post.

I replied to "otherguy58" on HuffPo (click to enlarge)

“He can contribute because he *has* been all of those things. Who better to learn from than somebody who has actually served jail time? It would be stupid to not listen to him, I have before and wrote about it: http://nblo.gs/4lIby

If our goal is to "correct" people then we must continually strive to improve our correctional system. We don't call it "Punishment Service of Canada" because the priority is to rehabilitate people while they serve their sentence and before they reintegrate into society. The majority of jailed offenders are not kept in jail forever, don't you believe that we owe it to ourselves to stop recidivism?  I, as a Mother, want people who are released from prison to have been given the tools to never re-offend thus making the country I live in a much safer place for my children.  Don't you?

The worse thing we could EVER do is make our incarceration system private and for profit - this is a public service that our hard earned taxes go to because we like having professionals in Fire and Police Departments, ambulances, jails, hospitals and mental health facilities, public schools etc. These public servants are properly trained to help us live our safest and healthiest lives. The Correctional Service of Canada is a necessary public service with the priority of public safety and therefore should forever be exempt from making profit for privately owned businesses and corporations. Making Money Off of Crime: It's Criminal!”

*****

I know taxes suck but where I don't mind mine going is toward healthcare, public safety, (cops, fireman, court and jail workers, probation officers, mental health workers* etc) education (child and youth programming throughout all communities) public transit and infrastructure (roads, highways bridges) and social services for families and people in need as lower poverty rates translate into less crime.

All of the above aid me, you, and our families every day.  Public servants help to keep us healthy and safe and if something does happen to us they are there.  Their goal is a job well done, not boosting their funds.  All of us benefit when these different service agencies are given support and are at the top of their game.  As professionals in their respective fields they contribute to effective work, policies and positive outcomes. 

Private corporations could care less about the people they contain and spit out, after all, they love it when people come back for another stint.  Their main objective is to make money, every new and returning prisoner raises their stock on Wall St. and taxpayers end up footing the bill.  Canadians deserve to have our safety be a top priority and leaving this task to private companies is just asking for tragedy and economic failure. The Americans have been down this treacherous road, let's be smart and not follow.

*****

Excerpt from: Private prison companies look to Canada as industry faces lawsuits in US

US states are beginning to rely less on privately run prisons, but Canada may be a land of opportunity for the two biggest firms

"US private prison firms are targeting Canada for fresh opportunities as pressure builds at home on the troubled multi-billion dollar industry from human rights groups and legal actions, and as more states look to scale back their reliance on them.

Two of the biggest operators in an industry once regarded as recession-proof, Geo Group and Management and Training Corporation (MTC), have been lobbying various government departments in the Canadian capital, Ottawa.

With a massive prison overhaul plan already underway – as well as the passage in March of Bill C-10, a suite of crime legislation that most observers agree will see more Canadians face prison time and keep those already locked up behind bars for longer – it seems the American industry's interest in its neighbour to the north could not come at a better time.

The private industry's lobbying of Canadian lawmakers has some Canadian prison watchers worried. "There is something unethical with having corporations seeking profits from locking people up," wrote a group of former high-ranking Canadian justice officials to the Kingston Whig-Standard newspaper in March."  ~ Read the whole article here.

From "The Union: The Business Behind Getting High"

90% Full Prisons Guaranteed!

Private Prisons-Commerce in Souls

For-Profit Prisons Promise Investors Growth

Making Investors Rich!

More links:

Lobbyists Behind Omnibus Crime Bill Aimed at Privatizing Prisons ~ 404 System Error Democracy Not Found

Right and proper  With a record of being tough on crime, the political right can afford to start being clever about it

 In Prison Reform, Money Trumps Civil Rights By MICHELLE ALEXANDER

*There is a higher rate of mental illness in the poor than in the rich (source Brill 40)
~ Death in Remand: Stacked Deck
"Forty-nine per cent of all prisoners admitted to a B.C. jail between 1997 and 2004 had a diagnosed mental illness. Fully half of those were also addicted to alcohol or drugs. In total, 56 per cent of provincial prisoners in B.C. during that time, both on remand and sentenced, were either mentally ill, addicted to something, or both. There's obviously a spectrum there. "Mental illness" covers a broad swath. But even still, it's hard to overlook the connection.
Remand rates are going up at least in part because of the judicial response to breaches of bail and probation condition. At the same time, the justice system is dealing more and more often with the sort of people most likely to breach.
It has to be asked: Are we setting them up to fail?"
~ Tory crime bill will make matters worse for mentally ill: expert

ENOUGH! Forget Oil - Plant In the Soil!

"ENOUGH!"

Added to the screenshot of Huffington Post's Front Page

June 19th. 2012

(click on photo to enlarge)



Third pipeline leak in Alberta in three weeks

I am sharing this asking Canadians to PLEASE check out
Franke James' most awesome Visual Essay "What is Harper

afraid of?" posted on Dogwood Initiative.  Above is

the animated version, go read the original and all of the

other awesomeness on Franke's website
My Green Conscience, Canada is lucky to have her!  Although,

the Harper Government doesn't think so!


Banned on the Hill (and in Europe!)

Harper government targeted artist for her green

conscience, internal documents reveal

Anti-Gateway comic gathering steam

Activist Artist vs. Pipeline



Meanwhile...

Hemp is our answer to depend less on Big Oil, save our trees 

and forests, use less water and reduce use of
pesticides. 

Hemp has been decriminalized in Canada since 1997, there 

is no excuse to not utilize this plant
for the benefit of our 

ecosystems and environmental health. I know we've come a 

long way since '97 but there's
still much work to do!

I hope you signed Franke James' letter to your Member of

Parliament at the bottom of her Visual Essay
regarding Bill C-38. 

Also, don't be afraid to ask
your MP: "What about Industrial
Hemp?" 

More on my blog about Hemp, click here.

UPDATE: Ecocide in Arkansas!



Huffington Post

Arkansas Oil Spill:
Exxon Shuts Pegasus
Pipeline After
Rupture

NEW YORK, March 30 (Reuters) - Exxon Mobil was working to

clean up
thousands of barrels of oil in Mayflower, Arkansas,

after a pipeline
carrying heavy Canadian crude ruptured, a

major spill likely to stoke
debate over transporting Canada's

oil to the United States.



Exxon
shut the Pegasus pipeline, which can carry more than

90,000 barrels
per day (bpd) of crude oil from Pakota, Illinois,

to Nederland, Texas,
after the leak was discovered on Friday

afternoon, the company said in a
statement.



Exxon, hit with a $1.7 million fine
by regulators this week over

a 2011 spill in the Yellowstone River,
said a few thousand

barrels of oil had been observed.



A
company spokesman confirmed the line was carrying

Canadian Wabasca
Heavy crude. That grade is a heavy

bitumen crude diluted with lighter
liquids to allow it to

flow through pipelines, according to the
Canadian Energy

Pipeline Association (CEPA), which referred

to Wabasca
as "oil sands" in a report.



The spill occurred as
the U.S. State Department is considering

the fate of the 800,000 bpd
Keystone XL pipeline, which would

carry crude from Canada's oil sands
to the Gulf Coast. Environ-

mentalists, concerned about the impact of
developing the

oil sands, have sought to block its approval.



Supporters say Keystone will help bring down the cost of fuel in

the United States.



The
Arkansas spill was the second incident this week where

Canadian crude
has spilled in the United States. On Wednesday,

a train carrying
Canadian crude derailed in Minnesota, spilling

15,000 gallons of oil.



Exxon
expanded the Pegasus pipeline in 2009 to carry more

Canadian crude
from the Midwest to the Gulf Coast refining hub

and installed what it
called new "leak detection technology". 

Read the rest of the article here.



And via The Raw Story:



"The ExxonMobil Pegasus tar sands pipeline spilled around
185,000 gallons of tar sands, undisclosed toxic chemicals and
contaminated water in Mayflower, Arkansas yesterday.


Like many tar sands pipelines, Pegasus was actually an older
pipeline
which had its flow reversed. This is also the case for
the Seaway
pipeline in Texas and proposed tar sands pipelines
East through Canada
to New England.

Forcing the evacuation of 20 homes and shutting
down sections
of the interstate highway; hazardous materials team from
the
Office of Emergency Management has contained the spill and is

currently attempting a cleanup.



1000s of gallons of crude oil
erupted from the breach around

3:00 p.m. on Friday, spilling through a
housing subdivision and

in to the town’s storm drainage system, fouling
drainage ditches

and shutting down Highway 365 and Interstate 40.



Residents were evacuated to avoid health hazards from crude

oil fumes
and to keep stray sparks from igniting the standing oil.

Emergency
workers contained the spill by hastily constructing

earthen dams. Read the rest at The Raw Story.

Can you imagine if this was your backyard?  Your HOME?

~Mayflower Arkansas photos from www.facebook.com

UPDATE! 2/4/2013: LOOK---> The Arkansas Oil Spill
Photos the Keystone Cabal Doesn't Want You to See

Canadians: Don't Be Tricked by the "Safe Streets and Communities Act" - It's Omnibusted!

"I would love to have all you soft of crime guys come post after some one close to you was violated for ever. Why do you want criminals out early.

You look at the cost to society of keeping them in jail. No one mentions the cost to society of letting them out. " - "Gambitdude2" on CBC Message Boards re: Harper's Omnibus Crime Bill

The above is just an example of some comments talking about "us Lefties letting criminals run rampant through our streets". Here's my response:

You're missing the whole point, Mandatory Minimum drug laws and much of the legislation laid out in the Tory Omnibus Bill are for *after* a criminal offense has already taken place. After. While Benjamin Franklins' famous quote "An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure" was actually fire-fighting advice, it also stands true as a way to fight crime. My bleeding heart doesn't need to "Hug a Thug" - it wants to divert people from becoming involved in the criminal justice system in the first place. That's not being "Soft on Crime", that's addressing the subject of crime realistically and proactively.

As we know, crime in Canada is at a historic 30 year low. If the Conservatives pour billions of hard earned taxpayer dollars during these tough economic times towards building new prisons and the astronomical budgets needed to operate these facilities (along with additional ballooning legal costs to persecute more Canadians entering the justice system, not to mention how much Provinces are going to have to pony up) it diverts funds away from true necessities like hospitals and health care, education, job creation, childcare, mental health supports, the environment, infrastructure, transit and other essential services that benefit all Canadians. The more educated, healthy, employed, industrious, productive and happy we are, the less likely our citizens will engage in criminal activity. This is being SMART on crime.

Anybody who believes every human will be "perfectly behaved" is fooling themselves. Of course Canadians are concerned about crime and we want to be safe where we live, work, go to school, play and socialize. Alas the reality is that no place on Earth ever has been or ever will be Crime Free because we are Human. We are a species driven by emotion - you'll be hard pressed to find someone who actually looks up the sentence of a criminal code violation before breaking a law. (You know it's true.)

History has shown throughout our whole existence people have committed crimes fueled by what they feel or by way of mental anguish or defect. No decree, police force or punitive law will stop this reality of Human Nature. Of course hurting others is not acceptable and those who victimize others physically and/or financially should face punishment, but it's reckless to drive crime policy based on fear and an absence of judicial discretion, Canadians deserve better than that! Our very own Canadian Justice Department has concluded that Mandatory Minimums don't work, cost taxpayers dearly and fail at keeping people safer.

Obviously violent, dangerous offenders should be sought out by police and incarcerated - that is the most important utilization of law enforcement and our correctional system. You'll get no argument from me about keeping paedophiles and murderers like Paul Bernardo behind bars and off our streets, but we also must have the common sense to leave ideology, deceiving (Tough on Crime!) mantras and knee jerk reactions out of our legal system as all crime is not "equal".

We are smart enough (I hope!) to recognize that a couple of college kids growing 6 cannabis plants should not be lumped in with a bill that targets child molesters, (Seriously, read this about C-10: Child rapist to get less time than pot grower, Incarcerated weed offenders to skyrocket) Section 7 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms legislates that sentences should be proportionate to an offense. The state of California has gone broke because of correctional spending, proving that locking up non-violent drug users and pizza thieves as long as gun-wielding carjackers is superfluous and does nothing to improve community safety. Why would we want to emulate such a disaster?!

I'm not the only one calling the Tories out on this, if this mish-mashed, rhetoric-laden, incoherent patchwork of an Omnibus(ted) Bill passes through Parliament let's say goodbye to our great country and prepare to suffer the harsh societal consequences of American-style "justice". Git 'er done!

And p.s. to "Gambitdude2" - I HAVE been a victim of crime.

UPDATE October 26th. 2011: Even Texas says to the Conservatives You're Doing It Wrong.

"Republican governors and state legislators in such states of Texas, South Carolina, and Ohio are repealing mandatory minimum sentences, increasing opportunities for effective community supervision, and funding drug treatment because they know it will improve public safety and reduce taxpayer costs," said Tracy Velázquez, executive director of the Washington-based Justice Policy Institute.
"If passed, C-10 will take Canadian justice policies 180 degrees in the wrong direction, and Canadian citizens will bear the costs."

From the October 18th, 2011 edition of The National.
CBC's Terry Milewski discovers the Canadian government's crime policies - including the building of more prisons - are getting poor marks in Texas.
Please read the accompanying article for this story: Texas conservatives reject Harper's crime plan 'Been there; done that; didn't work,' say Texas crime-fighters

Here's more amazing articles recently published discussing the colossal failure that is Bill C-10:

Judge deems Harper's crime bill 'strain' on system: http://www.vancouversun.com/Judge+deems+Harper+crime+bill+strain+system/5468859/story.html
"As Justice Bauman said, Parliament and the legislatures have a constitutional obligation to ensure that the judiciary, which is a separate and independent pillar of our government, is able to bring people to justice in a timely fashion and that citizens have access to justice.
Both the criminal and civil legal systems are cornerstones of a civil society and they are both in jeopardy."

The mandatory minimum mess: http://www.ottawacitizen.com/news/mandatory+minimum+mess/5559692/story.html
"And remember the phrase "real property that belongs to a third party"? That's what a rented apartment is. Imagine a university student living in a rented apartment with her boyfriend, suggests University of Toronto criminologist Tony Doob. She grows a single marijuana plant. She rolls a joint for her and her boyfriend. And just like that she's a "trafficker" subject to a mandatory minimum sentence of nine months in jail.
Are these outcomes simple, clear, and predictable? Hardly. They're shocking as hell. But mandatory minimums have a nasty tendency to do that.
Remember the infamous case of the pizza thief sent to prison for life in California? The law didn't say "pizza thieves shall get a life sentence." The law said anyone convicted of a third felony would get a life sentence. Pizza theft is normally a misdemeanor. But that poor sap had committed previous felonies and a different law said that petty theft committed by anyone convicted of felonies must be prosecuted as a felony. So misdemeanor pizza theft became his third felony and he was sent to prison for life - an outcome almost everyone thought was insane."

Bill C-10 will create the prisoners to fill Conservative prisons: http://rabble.ca/news/2011/10/bill-c-10-will-create-prisoners-fill-conservative-prisons
"Bill C-10 is a massive piece of legislation of roughly 100 pages that rolls nine laws from organized and drug crime, to pardons, to child sex offenders, to migrants entering Canada and young offenders into a single omnibus law. The panel is focusing on how the bill's policy on mandatory minimum sentencing for selling, or even giving away a small amount of drugs, will criminalize a generation and attack some of the most vulnerable people in our society."

Harper's omnibus crime bill won't reduce victimization rates: http://www.behindthenumbers.ca/2011/10/24/omnibus-crime-bill-won't-reduce-victimization-rates/
"Lorraine Berzins worked in federal penitentiaries for 14 years and was the victim of a hostage-taking. As spokesperson for the Church Council on Justice and Corrections, she says the Harper tough-on-crime agenda “goes so much against all the evidence about what keeps communities safe, and it does so much harm, and they are going to spend so much money, that it’s really surprising that there isn’t more opposition.”
Steve Sullivan of Ottawa Victim Services (and erstwhile Federal Ombudsman for Victims of Crime) says “victims understand, better than most, that nearly all offenders will eventually be released from prison. . . . The best protection victims, their families, and the community will have is if the offender can learn to modify negative behavior before he or she is released.” In other words, rehabilitation programs are key.
In spite of eloquent pleas by victims’ advocates, the Harper government forges ahead with a retrograde, antediluvian and discredited approach to criminal justice. Its only “solution” for any and all crimes is a long prison sentence."
Safe Streets and Community Act Will End Real Justice: http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/js-vijaya/tough-on-crime_b_1021169.html
"Some of my fellow criminal lawyers have cynically pointed out that ultimately we lawyers alone will benefit from the draconian mandatory sentences that are attached to the new legislation. We will now be able to look clients in the eyes and say, "Well, why should you plead? There is no upside to 'making a deal.' Let us put the government up to task and let them prove their case beyond a reasonable doubt. It is not as if the judge will have any discretion in sentencing even if you were allegedly carrying on in the spirit of Mother Teresa!"

Quebec National Assembly calls for withdrawal of Bill C10: http://www.montrealgazette.com/news/Quebec+National+Assembly+calls+withdrawal+Bill/5580621/story.html
"The motion, presented by the Parti Québécois, but winning the support of the Charest government and all parties and independents present, says Bill C-10 goes against the values of Quebecers."

From the Church Council on Justice and Corrections: CCJC Bulletin – Omnibus Bill: http://ccjc.ca/2011/10/20/ccjc-bulletin-omnibus-bill/
"The CCJC urges everyone to actively and vocally express their concerns about Bill C10. Let us not by our silence condone the suffering of others."
and Will the Omnibus Bill Bankrupt Canada?: http://ccjc.ca/2011/09/19/will-the-omnibus-bill-bankrupt-canada/
"The government’s Parliamentary Budget office projected the increase costs related to just one of bills would be more than five billion dollars – more than doubling current expenditures for the corrections system alone. Furthermore, he revealed that the provinces and territories would have to contribute the largest proportion of the increase."
More from the Globe & Mail: Coalition of churches condemns Ottawa’s justice plan: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/coalition-of-churches-condemns-ottawas-justice-plan/article1884171/

And lastly, Leadnow has created an email campaign for Canadians:

"The good news is that more and more Canadians are speaking out and public opinion is close to a decisive shift. We need to strengthen each other’s voices to show the Conservative government that they must choose a better path, or pay a serious political cost for a cruel Crime Bill that will make Canada a meaner and more dangerous place."

"Our Conservative government is trying to rush through a cruel Crime Bill with mandatory sentences that will fill new prisons. Even conservative Texans think the Crime Bill is too harsh, costly and ineffective. Send a message to Justice Minister Rob Nicholson to stop the Crime Bill from making Canada meaner and more dangerous."

Read the rest here and send your letter easily, so far over 15 000 Canadians have!

And just out today: Canada's homicide rate declines to 44-year low

I will continue to add story links as they are published. Funny that we're not seeing many articles in support of the bill. Where are they, Conservatives?

*crickets*


*The Church Council on Justice and Corrections (ccjc.ca)is a national faith-based coalition of eleven founding churches incorporated in 1972. We promote community responsibility for justice with an emphasis on addressing the needs of victims and offenders, mutual respect, healing, individual accountability, and crime prevention. It is primarily by education and community development initiatives that we foster healthier communities and crime prevention through social responsibility. CCJC has demonstrated in publications, pilot projects and numerous other initiatives how to strengthen community through its understanding that real justice requires the pursuit of wholeness for all. We work with both multi-faith and non-religious partners and have achieved international recognition for our contributions to creative thinking about criminal justice.

This post was updated/edited October 26th 2011.

Hey Americans: Want a Job? Just Go To Jail!

One of the great things about social media is connecting with intelligent people who you'd otherwise never get the chance to "meet". Facebook and Twitter have brought thousands of new friendly voices into my realm over the past few years and they are what I lovingly refer to as my "Mad Posters" - meaning, they/we love to share news and videos and education regarding not just the Drug War, but injustice in whatever form it happens to take throughout the world.

"Posting Links" is one of the best tools that social activism has, on any given day I am gifted with personalized judicial and ecological news from Canada, the States and beyond. With the click of a mouse a daily itinerary is before me and I appreciate those who take the time to "Pass It to the Left".

While much of what we share is from news outlets and other mainstream media, what I cherish the most are contributions from everyday people passionate about making a difference. On Saturday a "Note" was posted on Facebook and it was so informative that I asked the writer, Lydie Meunier, if she would let me post it here to share with all of you and she graciously accepted.

Lydia brilliantly opens our eyes to scheming corporations and the U.S. Prison Industrial Complex coveting much sought after jobs and profiting greatly from free and cheap inmate labour. It's also a shocking glimpse of what will happen here in Canada if the Conservatives are re-elected and allowed to proceed with their fear driven crime agenda and American style prison plans.




GUEST POST
U.S. Unemployment Exacerbated by the Outsourcing of Jobs to Prisons
By Lydie Meunier

SLAVERY IS BACK IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

Call your Congress Members and Ask them to Put a Stop to this Infamy!!!

I know that many people don't want to look into prison labor and the impact it has on unemployment figures because this is a disturbing issue. And yet, Jobs are outsourced to prisons, and slavery is being reinstated because corporations are counting on, and taking advantage of folks' apathy and disdains for prisoners... Meanwhile jobs for law abiding citizens are taken away from them to be given to cheap prison labor.

Today, prisoners are being exploited by corporations, paid more or less 40 cts/hour, more often less than more, sometimes paid nothing at all (see current situation in Georgia prisons not covered by the media), in lieu of the minimum $7.25/hour that corporations would have to pay to law abiding citizens. The difference, quite clearly, contributes to major corporate profits, while law abiding citizens are still unemployed and continue to lose their jobs.

On the FREE National market (vs. the WALLED industrial complex market), only 9% of our GDP comes from manufacturing. You can not sustain a middle class lifestyle with a service economy. To turn that 9 % into a much higher number, we need to introduce a new Bill in Congress to stop the outsourcing of manufacturing jobs to prisons (outsourcing to prisons is now called "insourcing").

When you consider the major corporations that employ prison labor (furniture factories, Microsoft, Boing, IBM, Starbuck, Victoria secret, BP, Sodexo, medical supplies, road signs, military supplies, etc.) you quickly realize that moving jobs back to law abiding citizens would surely help diminish unemployment figures!!!

The way these prison partnerships typically work is that a manufacturer wanting to increase profits moves their equipment, technology, materials and unfinished goods to a factory setting within a prison industry facility. Once up and running, the same products come off the assembly lines and are shipped as before. The difference is this, private sector employees of the company have been terminated or laid off. A handful of employees are usually kept on long enough to train inmates and prison supervisors in the manufacturing used to make the products. Once that is accomplished, they are also eliminated and their positions taken over by a prison industry supervisor.

This insourcing of labor creates quite a number of unemployed citizens. Burdens are placed on state and community social help programs, unemployment compensation, etc. So while the corporation saves lots of money in labor costs - no more unemployment insurance premiums, less expenses in lease of facilities (usually leased by the prison operators at $1.00 per year), and no more employee benefits such as medical insurance, vacations or paid time off - the communities they vacated are left to fund the unemployed left in their wake. In addition the local government loses taxes that were paid by the corporation, previous landlords of the facilities once leased to the corporations are left with vacant property and local shops and other businesses suffer a drop in sales due to the newly unemployed workers left behind.

Efforts to involve Union officials, management and labor leaders in rectifying this issue have been unsuccessful for some reason. Politicians and Union leaders are too busy arguing about outsourcing of our jobs overseas and seem to not have any interest in eliminating or addressing insourcing. The next time you or your neighbor loses your/their job; before looking toward China or India to see if you can see your job making its way there, look the other way and see if perhaps some criminal that stole your car has just as easily stolen your job and income as well.

Source: INSOURCING- A new concept about private sector job losses, by Bob Sloan, November 10, 2010

The prison industrial complex shows the fastest growth in profits, with politicians and judges and lawyers, and the top 2% investing in its stocks, which constitutes the most corrupt conflict of interests: for each incarceration, the private prison industry is not only paid big bulks by our tax money, it also disposes of the people as private property subcontracted to corporations. Meanwhile, we keep paying for the prison industrial complex to sustain itself with our tax money, oblivious to the fact that we are also paying with the loss of our jobs!!!!

Wake up folks!!! This is not only a national disgrace, it is a national scandal!!!

The United States has the highest incarceration rate!!!! Do you want to know why? Follow the money!!!

Here is a report for you to read to understand the mess this country is in regarding employment politics by regressing into slavery The prison industry in the United States: big business and a new form of slavery

Civilian Inmate Labor Camps designed to manufacture army supplies Jobs that used to be performed by law abiding citizens

Insourcing - Transfer of Private Industry Jobs to Prison Industry-Made in USA

PRIVATIZED PRISONS - PRISON LABOR IS SLAVERY

Here are more links related to more recent news in Georgia where prisoners have been forced to work without pay for their labor, a violation of the 13th Amendment, which prohibits slavery and involuntary servitude:

The Largest Prison Strike In American History Goes Ignored By US Media

Prisoner Strike Enters New Phase, Needs Our Support

Prison labor on the rise in US

Corporatocracy can best be described as: "A type of government in which huge corporations, through bribes, gifts, and the funding of ad campaigns that oppose candidates they don't like, become the driving force behind the executive, judicial and legislative branches". It explains why prison labor is ignored by politicians and main stream media!!!!!

Federal PIECP and Program Violations: Discussions on the use of prison labor in the U.S. and corporations that eliminate private sector jobs with inmate labor

While we are busy believing that prisoners need to pay their debt back to society, corporations are cheating society by "hiring" prison labor

Prisoner Advocate Elaine Brown on Georgia Prison Strike

Mass Incarceration in America

Private Prison Industry Helped Draft Arizona Immigration Law

Prison Economics Help Drive Ariz. Immigration Law

Private Prison Lobby Behind Arizona's Immigration Law

Rachel Maddow: Exposing Private Prison Industry Role in Shaping Arizona's Anti-Immigration Law - August 14, 2010 - Corporate Con Game

PRIVATE PRISONS AND THE ARIZONA ANTI-IMMIGRATION LAW - Dec 13, 2010

VALLEY OF THE DRY BONES: HUMAN BODIES FOR PRIVATE CELLS (2002)

Prison Labor: A Dynamic Sector - Covert Action Quarterly #54 - Fall 1995

Prison Labor - Policy Report 2002

BP Hires Prison Labor to Clean Up Spill While Coastal Residents Struggle - 2010

Prison labor cheats society - 2001

As Prison Labor Grows, So Does the Debate - Published on Sunday, March 19, 2000 in the New York Times

Prison Industry Funnels Donations To State Lawmakers Introducing SB1070-Like Bills Around The Country

The Prison Industrial Complex: Does It Create A New Form Of Slavery? How Much Labor Is Done In The Prison System?

"One might think an enterprise able to pay unskilled workers just 21 cents an hour would be able to manufacture goods it could sell at rock-bottom prices. Unfortunately, that is not so when the enterprise is Ohio's Penal Industries system." Penal Industries Costs Out of Line - February 3, 2011 - The Intelligencer

"ACLU 2010 report presents the results of a yearlong investigation into modern-day "debtors' prisons," and shows that poor defendants are being jailed at increasingly alarming rates for failing to pay legal debts they can never hope to afford." American Civil Liberties Unions - 2010 - See 2011 update

Last year, officials in McIntosh County, Okla., south of Tulsa, issued about 1,500 debt-related arrest warrants, up from about 800 a year before the crisis, according to a court clerk. More than 950 borrowers got similar warrants in Salt Lake City courts last year. Maricopa County, Ariz., officials issued 260 debt-related warrants in 2010 Welcome to Debtors' Prison, 2011 Edition

Other people's suffering makes such a lucrative opportunity for investment Private Prisons Have Future Growth All Locked Up - Oct 20, 2009

Prison Valley - A web documentary exploring the Prison Industry

"Fascism should more properly be called corporatism because it is the merger of state and corporate power." - Benito Mussolini.

The United States continues to have the largest incarcerated population and the highest per capita incarceration rate in the world.
- Human Rights Watch, World Report, 2008

This Truth Ad Brought To You By...

Me! Okay, while I don't have a big advertising budget to create and air, not an "Attack Ad", (Those are just so.... UNCanadian, to me) but a Truth Ad, I thought I'd utilize the Power of The Internets to share a spot on video with my fellow Canadians highlighting the Conservative push to replicate the failed American War on Drugs*.

The following was originally created by the Drug Policy Alliance in the United States. Marc Emery paid for a Canadian version for the last Federal election as Stephen Harper and the Conservatives have been pushing their Stupid On Crime Agenda for many years now.

"INCARCEREX" - Do not mix with The Charter or Common Sense.





Chances are (If we're lucky!) there's an election coming this Spring** and Canadians have to decide just where our priorities lie. Ask yourself: "What do Canadians need more? Money for Education, Health, Child and Elder Care, Infrastructure, (Which will also create jobs, we all use roads and bridges, lets make them safe & smooth!) the Environment, etc? Or do you want to copy failed U.S. Drug War policy, and shovel BILLIONS AND BILLIONS of your hard earned tax dollars towards building and operating prisons, especially at a time when crime is at a 30 year low and we're SIXTY BILLION dollars in debt? (See the Canadian Debt Clock to your right--->)


~Pic from: Wall Photos by Jodie Joanna Emery

And FYI, for all the bleating the Conservatives put forth about being the only party who care about victims of crime, let us be reminded that in 2010 the Tories slashed Grants for the Victims of Crime Initiative by 43% & the Contributions to the Victims Of Crime Initiative by 34%. Please also read the Globe and Mail article: Canada warned not to follow U.S. tough-on-crime ‘mistakes’, although, I'm sure the Conservatives will stupidly continue to ignore the advice from our neighbours to the south. #FAIL

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"What purpose does it serve the Conservatives to quash judicial discretion? To disregard evidence and research that clearly demonstrates that Mandatory Minimum Sentencing is ineffective, expensive and a fallacious approach regarding drug policy and criminal legislation? I ask my fellow Canadians, "Are YOU comfortable with the knowledge that your government blatantly ignores the findings of our very own Justice Department?" ~ Con Job! Tories Ignore Justice Department Reports

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*the Conservatives are refusing to allow Canadian taxpayers to be privy to the estimated costs of Bill S-10 along with other crime bills citing "Cabinet Confidence", and the Opposition just may call the Tories out with a vote of non confidence.

**War on Drugs ~ AP: Billions Spent Had Meager Effect In 40-Year War On Drugs

An Associated Press analysis of America's 40-year war on drugs concludes that the country's costly effort has met virtually none of its goals. In 1970, when President Richard Nixon signed the Comprehensive Drug Abuse Prevention and Control Act, he declared drug abuse "public enemy No. 1 in the United States" and promised to wage an "all-out offensive." His first drug-fighting budget was $100 million. Now it's $15.1 billion, 31 times Nixon's amount even when adjusted for inflation.

The AP tracked where that money went and found that the United States repeatedly increased budgets for programs that did little to stop the flow of drugs. In 40 years, taxpayers spent: $20 billion to fight the drug gangs in their home countries, including $6 billion in Colombia; $33 billion in marketing "Just Say No"-style messages to America's youth and other prevention programs; $49 billion for law enforcement along America's borders to cut off the flow of illegal drugs; $121 billion to arrest more than 37 million nonviolent drug offenders, and $450 billion to lock those people up in federal prisons alone.

Hey Canada! It's Important to Save Our Farms!

While this post doesn't discuss prohibition specifically, I feel it is a very important topic for Canadians to be aware of so I've decided to include it here on my blog as it speaks to the benefits of rehabilitation programs as opposed to the Conservative punish happy ideology.

"The decision to shut down this successful rehabilitation program symbolizes our government's lack of understanding of what actually makes the public safe, and their failure to recognize the value of a restorative approach to justice and a sustainable, local approach to the future of farming and food." ~ Save Our Prison Farms National Campaign

Photo from NUPGE article Major campaign launched to save prison farms - "Dating back to the 1880s, the program includes two operations in the Kingston, Ont. area, and others near Dorchester, N.B., Stony Mountain, Man., Prince Albert, Sask. and Innisfail, Alta."


~SAVE OUR FARMS! - The ‘Save Our Farms’ campaign was launched by the men and women who oversee, instruct and work with inmates in federal prison farm programs, members of the Union of Solicitor General Employees (USGE-PSAC). They welcome the support of national, regional and local organizations that have an interest in a safe, secure and sustainable food supply. Also read "THE FUTURE OF PRISON FARMS II" and III which also includes great audio interviews. Please be sure to take notice of all the awesome links in the sidebar as well.

According to one retired Corrections employee, it would seem that the farm program has a proven track record for its rehabilitative impact. Of the 50-plus inmates that were released during his employment at Frontenac Institution, not one reoffended. Perhaps there is something to be said for a program that promotes accountability through work that heals and helps one along the path to become a better human being.

The Conservatives don't blink an eye at spending at least 1.1 BILLION dollars of taxpayer money on the G8/G20 Summits - but $4.1 million for a program that helps inmates develop valuable life skills that they can use upon release into the community while at the same time providing food for correctional centers gets wiped out - "When they start buying that food (after the program ends) it will cost them at least 50 per cent more on top of what they’re spending." (Tony Abreau, relief instructor for Corcan). And a dairy farmer asked if they planned to import that produce from the US. No officials could answer that question.

"The Conservative government said that it will sell off the prize dairy herd at Frontenac Institution this June, effectively putting an end to the 50-year-old facility. The Frontenac farm supplies milk and eggs to federal prisons in Ontario and Quebec. " - Sludge issue could be costly for prison farm closure, memo indicates

Keep prison farms open, Liberals urge By Rick McGee
SooToday.com
Tuesday, May 11, 2010

NEWS RELEASE

OTTAWA – Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff is warning against the Harper government’s decision to cut Canada’s federal prison farms, and is calling for an immediate independent review of the program before prison farms are permanently closed.

“Prison farms benefit everyone involved in them: farmers, corrections workers, and inmates,” Mr. Ignatieff said. “Because Liberals recognize the necessity of rehabilitation programming for preventing repeat offenses, we are demanding an immediate review, in the hopes of preventing the Conservatives from closing these farms.”

Last year, the Harper government announced their plan to phase out six prison farms that currently employ 300 federal prisoners. Last month, the House of Commons Public Safety Committee asked the government to release the strategic review of prison farms from the Department of Correctional Services.

Liberals are calling on the government to wait for the independent review to be completed before moving forward with the closure of any prison farms. The Conservative decision to close prison farms would likely be irreversible, as land and equipment will be sold for other uses.

“The Harper government only cares about locking more people up and throwing away the key in their planned super prisons,” said Liberal Public Safety Critic Mark Holland. “They’ve ignored the fact that inmates working on prison farms develop critical life and employability skills that reduce their risk of re-offending after release – helping to prevent crime and protect our communities.”

There are six prison farms in Canada -- two within the city limits of Kingston, and one each in New Brunswick, Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta. The prison farm program is considered an extremely effective rehabilitation and training program that contributes to public safety and that also provides food for federal and provincial inmates.

Mr. Ignatieff is calling for the Harper government to wait for an open and transparent independent review of the prison farm programs operated by the Correctional Service of Canada that will consider:

• The value of farm employment and training of inmates;

• The impact of the closure on rehabilitation programs;

• The influence that employment in the farm environment has on recidivism;

• The impact that farm closures have had on local agriculture economies; and

• The increase in the cost of operating prisons which are no longer able to purchase food products from prison farms.

“Local farmers appreciate the benefits of these productive prison farms for stimulating the local economy,” said Liberal Agriculture Critic Wayne Easter. “Unlike the Conservatives, our party recognizes the importance of these farms to helping offenders get back on the right track, and for supporting the communities where prisons are located.” - Fin

Sadly, Liberal MP Mark Holland was even denied in the House of Commons today when he requested an emergency debate to discuss the tragedy of the closure of the Prison Farms Program.

While I can report on the views of politicians regarding the closures, here's a great citizen "Letter to the Editor" from the Kingston Whig Standard worth a reprint:

Prison farms promote accountability

Recently, I attended a public meeting in Kingston that addressed the current issue of prison farm closures.

Of particular interest was the impending closures of farms at Pittsburgh and Frontenac institutions.

This forum was an opportunity to hear MPs Wayne Easter, Liberal agriculture critic, and Mark Holland, Liberal critic for public safety, reflect on their recent tour of four of Canada's prison farm facilities.

Both were impressed with these operations; especially the two in Kingston. When they had an opportunity to speak with some inmates who worked on these farms, they noted their strong work ethic and sense of pride.

They also noted the broad skill set they were acquiring through such work.

According to one retired Corrections employee, it would seem that the farm program has a proven track record for its rehabilitative impact. Of the 50-plus inmates that were released during his employment at Frontenac Institution, not one reoffended. Perhaps there is something to be said for a program that promotes accountability through work that heals and helps one along the path to become a better human being.

Working the land, being responsible for the livelihood of animals, and broadening one's skill set, is a meaningful way to reach this end. The rehabilitation of inmates is crucial, as most will at some point be released into society. What kind of neighbour would you like?

The government has claimed that $4 million is lost annually by keeping these facilities open. What evidence is there of this? Perhaps we could speculate how much more might be lost if they were to tender food -- currently produced by the prisons -- to other providers (perhaps not even Canadian). Not only do these farms feed all of the inmates from these prisons and others, but they also donate a few hundred dozen eggs annually to the food bank. Uniquely, Pittsburgh Institution boasts an abbatoir as well; whose services are relied on by approximately 150 businesses in the Kingston area.

If a super prison -- which would house inmates from all levels of incarceration -- were to be built in place of these prison farms, the rehabilitative benefit of inmates would be significantly reduced. This style of institution has been tried in the U.S. and was unsuccessful. They now recognize the wrong-headedness of this direction. Why then would we want to follow in failed footsteps?

Finally, how can we, in clear conscience, sacrifice land, classed as prime agricultural, when fertile ground is being eaten up by development on a daily basis? Can we really afford to keep relying on other countries to feed us? This seems unconscienable, given the issue of food security and the ongoing oil crisis. Does this really make financial sense? Are we that removed from our roots? ~ By Sue Peters Inverary

From the Save Our Prison Farms National Campaign (*PLEASE* visit the site):

This new Save Our Prison Farms website has been set up by the national campaign team to respond to growing public concern over the immanent shut down of Canada's six prison farms. We believe that our government will reverse its misguided policy decision as it continues to discover that the vast majority of Canadians of all political stripes support this productive, cost effective, rehabilitative farm-based program.

Opportunities for you and/or your organization to get involved are listed on the You Can Take Action page.

This campaign is a lightening rod for addressing the Conservative Party's generally short-sighted policies on farming, food and justice. The decision to shut down this successful rehabilitation program symbolizes our government's lack of understanding of what actually makes the public safe, and their failure to recognize the value of a restorative approach to justice and a sustainable, local approach to the future of farming and food.

Save Our Prison Farms Information and Action Meeting

Thursday, May 27th, 7:30pm - Perth, Ontario

Perth Lions Hall, Perth Fair Grounds

Speaker include: Mark Holland, Liberal Public Safety Critic; Mike Schreiner, Leader of the Green Party of Ontario; Dianne Dowling, National Farmers Union, Local 316 President; John Williamson, Frontenac Federation of Agriculture, Past-president.

May 17, 2010 - Telegraph-Journal, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia, story: New Brunswick's only prison farm still fully operational

May 12, 2010 - CKWS Television, Kingston, Ontario, video news report: Spin offs from prison farms - food bank, farm supply businesses

May 11, 2010 - CKWS Television, Kingston, Ontario, video news report: On recent campaign events in Athens and Napanee, Ontario

May 11, 2010 - Liberal Party of Canada, Press Release: Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff denounces the planned prison farm closures and calls for a public inquiry

May 6, 2010 - Kingston Whig Standard, Kingston, Ontario, story: Ex-inmate makes personal plea to keep farms

May 5, 2010 - The Globe and Mail, story: Critics claim closing prison farms would create $1-million milk bill

Please contact Members of Parliament and let them know you support the continuation of the Prison Farm Program in Canada. Thanks, MaryJane

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Vote For Hemp, My American Friends

National Farmers Union Adopts New Policy on Industrial Hemp
Majority of Leading Farming Organizations Now Support Hemp Farming in the U.S.

"Grown commercially in Canada since 1998, hemp has become one of the most profitable crops for farmers north of the U.S. border. While American farmers often net less than $50 per acre for soy and corn, Canadian hemp farmers just across the border net an average of $250 per acre." Hat Tip to Hemp & Company for the link. You can also Fan them on Facebook.

May 17-23, 2010 is Hemp History Week!

A joint project of Vote Hemp and the Hemp Industries Association, Hemp History Week is looking for patriotic Americans to anchor and organize events in their hometown as part of a national grassroots, media and public education campaign.

More posts about Hemp on my blog here and I've also come across this wonderful site that you just can't pass up: Hemp: What The World Needs Now .

Update: Read about the awesome discovery: 100-Year-Old Government Hemp Farm Diaries To Be Revealed
... "So in addition to the already-known intertwining of the noble hemp plant and U.S. history, now it is revealed that the very location of the Pentagon itself was once covered with verdant fields of cannabis."

Stuff Stoners Like Reports on Stuff Tax Payers Should Love

Stuff Stoners Like reports breaking news out of Oakland ~ home of "Oaksterdam".

BREAKING NEWS- Voting Ends in Oakland on Increasing Marijuana Tax

Update: They did it!!!

Embrace the Truth - Save the World: In Honour of Jack Herer

The Americans came and stole our Hemp, so we went and burnt their White House down.
Along with watching these videos, please also take the time to read this wonderful article: "Is the oldest plant known to man future-proof too?" and share it with everyone you know. This information should be common knowledge. Our existence as a species depends on the masses finding out the truth about Hemp, creating a massive global effort demanding that world governments step out of the past to nourish our countries and our planet. Embrace the truth, share the truth - save the world. We simply cannot fail future generations to come.

"We'd never have to cut down another tree."
~ Jack Herer, the Emperor of Hemp

Update: Thursday April 15th, 2010 -
With overwhelming sadness I write that the world has lost a great man today, a man of truth and integrity. Salem-News reports The Hemperor, Jack Herer has Died: "The sad news has been confirmed. Jack Herer, author of The Emperor Wears No Clothes and renowned around the world for hemp activism, has died at 11:17 a.m. today, in Eugene, Oregon." Throughout the day more websites also passed on the sad news.
Dear Jack, Thank You for everything you have given us and for gracing us with your knowledge and spirit. You will always be a Hero in my eyes, a true inspiration, the very definition of a Freedom Fighter and Man of Justice. You have left an incredible everlasting Legacy and what you started we shall carry on, you will live on, a light and inspiration to the Earth and All Humanity. Rest in Peace Jack, you will be greatly missed!
What You Can Do
Get out your pen and paper Ladies and Gents, while sharing things on the internet about Cannabis/Hemp Prohibition is awesome, what our Members of Parliament and Congress really pay attention to are handwritten letters from VOTERS. For every 1 letter they receive, they consider that the opinion of 100 people!
420 is next week, Earth Day is April 22nd. and the Global Marijuana March is on Saturday May 1st - gather as many people as you can to attend the events in your area to let our politicians know that we are not giving up - let us all reaffirm, we shall honour Jack by continuing his valiant fight for true freedom with even more conviction than ever before. In his name we will bring an end to the insanity of Hemp and Cannabis Prohibition! All Hail The Hemperor!