The strike of post-secondary students in Quebec has taken a dramatic turn with the provincial government pushing through a special law to suspend the school year at strike-bound institutions and outlawing protest activity deemed disruptive of institutions not participating in the strike.

Details of Bill 78 were unveiled late Thursday and debated in a special, overnight session of Quebec’s National Assembly. They include a ban on demonstrations within 50 meters of a post-secondary institution and severe financial penalties on students or teachers and their organizations if they picket or otherwise protest in a manner declared “illegal.” Demonstrations of ten or more people must submit their intended route of march to police eight hours in advance.

… this person must have a license that can be taken away. And it should be…

Psychiatrist who championed ‘gay cure’ admits he was wrong

Dr Robert Spitzer apologises for ‘fatally flawed’ study, published in 2001, which claimed gay people could be ‘cured’ if properly motivated

One of the most influential figures in modern psychiatry has apologised to America’s gays for a scientific study which supported attempts to “cure” people of their homosexuality.

The survey, published in 2001, looked at “reparative therapy” and was hailed by religious and social conservatives in America as proof that gay people could successfully become straight if they were motivated to do so.

YESSSS!!!

Facebook users file class action lawsuit over online tracking

Facebook’s first day of trading following its $100bn flotation has been gate-crashed by a $15bn class action against the social network.

Users of the service have filed an “amended consolidated class action complaint” in federal court in San Jose, California, relating to allegations that Facebook has been “improperly tracking the internet use of its members even after they logged out of their accounts”.

The class action is being brought by law firms Stewarts Law US and Bartimus, Frickleton, Robertson & Gorny.

One System for All: Universal Access to Health Care

The French system’s slogan is, “Everyone contributes according to his resources and receives according to his needs.” And this is not just rhetoric. Ever since the 1940s, France has made budgetary decisions to turn this dream into reality. But in France, as in many other countries, the logic of the market is now slicing away at universal access. As has been proven elsewhere, and as some in French civil society are now realizing, a strong health care system can only survive if the population fights to protect it.

My interest in health emerged as a way to take action in the fight for social justice. During my medical studies, I did internships in Africa and India and worked in a refugee camp along the Thai-Burmese border. At the same time, I became more aware of the anti-globalization movement. It appeared to me that it was addressing the structural causes of ill health: inequality at both the global and local levels. Today, while I’m working on the fight against AIDS in Mali, I’m also one of those defending the idea that access to public health in France is a right.

…check out more Harpercon hypocrisy…

Budget bill: the omnibus stops here

At more than 400 pages, and containing more than 700 clauses, it’s providing plenty of fodder for opposition parties

On March 16, 1994, the Liberal government of the day tabled Bill C-17, an act to amend certain statutes to implement certain provisions of the budget. Nine days later, a new Reform party MP, elected just five months before, rose on a point of order to complain. The bill, he said, was “of an omnibus nature,” containing measures that dealt with disparate issues: public sector compensation, transportation subsidies, the CBC, employment insurance and payroll taxes. “In the interest of democracy I ask: how can members represent their constituents on these various areas when they are forced to vote in a block on such legislation and on such concerns?” the young Stephen Harper wondered aloud. “We can agree with some of the measures but oppose others. How do we express our views and the views of our constituents when the matters are so diverse?”

Though the rookie MP’s words were not enough to derail that year’s budget bill, his words live on, cited more than 18 years later to taunt a Prime Minister whose government is now accused of abusing Parliament with a budget implementation act that dwarfs the bill that so troubled the rookie MP. But Bill C-38 doesn’t merely invite inconvenient comparisons. It sets the stage for a great—and potentially defining—battle between the new majority government and the newly realigned official Opposition.

Etobicoke Centre Election Result Overturned By Judge

Enough suspect votes were cast due to clerical errors to warrant overturning last year’s federal election result in a Toronto riding, an Ontario judge said in an unprecedented ruling Friday.

The rare decision by Ontario Superior Court Justice Thomas Lederer upends the narrow 26-vote win by Conservative Ted Opitz over former Liberal MP Borys Wrzesnewskyj, and means a byelection will have to be called if the ruling stands.

Lederer made it clear the voting irregularities — essentially clerical errors — were not the product of fraud or other intentional wrongdoing.

DiManno: Why won’t Chief Bill Blair say sorry for police actions during G20?

Say sorry, chief. Please.

It’s a word that has not passed Bill Blair’s lips in all the forelock-tugging and buck-stops-here declarations cascading from a slew of formal post-mortems on the G20 debacle.

Sorry that civil liberties were profoundly breached by his officers, at least 28 now facing disciplinary hearings.

Sorry that wrongful orders were given by his key senior commanders, four of whom have been identified at the very top of the policing pyramid.

Sorry that the tenor of disastrous confrontation was established by his then-deputy-chief: Take back the city.

Judge overturns election result in Etobicoke Centre

Toronto Liberal Borys Wrzesnewskyj won his legal bid to have election results in Etobicoke Centre thrown out, opening the way for a possible by-election in the federal riding.

Wrzesnewskyj lost by 26 votes to Conservative Ted Opitz in last May’s federal election, but a judge ruled Friday the result is null and void due to voting irregularities.

“This is an incredible victory for Canadian democracy,” Wrzesnewskyj said.

He said it is a vindication of the “most important of our freedoms and diplomatic principles — one person, one vote.

‘Covert’ U.S. Drone Operation in Yemen Mapped Out on Twitter

These “covert” operations are seemingly becoming more difficult to keep “covert” … Reports Chris Woods and Jack Serle of The Bureau of Investigative Journalism:

Though the hour was late, Yemen’s social media was still very much awake.

A US drone’s missiles had just slammed into a convoy of vehicles in a remote part of Yemen, killing three alleged militants.

The attack—like all other US drone strikes outside warzones—was supposed to be clandestine. Yet within minutes Sanaa-based lawyer Haykal Bafana was reporting the strike in almost-realtime. Just after 1 a.m. on May 17 he posted the following on Twitter:

The Quebec government has announced plans to suspend the current academic session for striking students in an attempt to restore order in a province plagued by unrest.

Sticking with his planned tuition hikes, Premier Jean Charest says he will table emergency legislation aimed at ending three months of disorder that has occasionally made international headlines.

The fact that his announcement Wednesday was instantly followed by protests and warnings of potential violence underscored the challenge ahead.

Federal judge blocks indefinite detention provision of NDAA

A federal judge has temporarily blocked enforcement of a controversial provision in last year’s National Defense Authorization Act regarding the detention of terrorism suspects.

Last year, debate raged over the multi-billion dollar defense funding bill. Civil liberties advocates and others warned that provisions in the NDAA of 2012 could allow the military to detain terrorism suspects on U.S. soil without charge or trial, even if they were U.S. citizens.

U.S. District Judge Katherine Forrest in Manhattan, an Obama appointee, ruled on Wednesday that Section 1021 of the law likely violated due process rights guaranteed by the Fifth Amendment and free press rights guaranteed by the First Amendment.

G20 report identifies officer responsible for orders that breached civil liberties

The question has lingered for two years: Who gave the orders for mass arrests and the kettling of people at Queen and Spadina — a move that a report now says was unlawful?

Police Chief Bill Blair has avoided singling out individual officers, but Wednesday’s report by the Office of the Independent Police Review Director has made clear that one man — who said he was following directives from his superiors — was responsible for several specific orders now found to have breached civil liberties and contributed to the largest mass arrest in Canadian history: Supt. Mark Fenton.

Fenton was the night shift incident commander at the Major Incident Command Centre (MICC), the central point of command and control for Toronto Police Services. Both he and day shift incident commander, Supt. Hugh Ferguson, were entrusted with the role by Blair.

The whole world will be watching Chicago anti-NATO protests

The protesters remind us all that the government of the United States is not representative of the people of the United States. It’s encouraging to see so many people willing to take action and stand up against this unjust and disastrous war.

Recently U.S. President Obama travelled to Kabul to meet Afghanistan’s so-called President Hamid Karzai. Both leaders used this meeting to pretend that they are ending this war when they are really trying to continue it even longer.

Slouching towards the drachma

PITY Karolos Papoulias. The 82-year-old president of Greece has spent over a week trying to persuade the country’s fractious political leaders to form a government after a general election on May 6th failed to produce a clear winner. Mr Papoulias, a soft-spoken former foreign minister, handed out mandates to various party leaders, none of whom could deliver, and made a three-day effort of his own, before finally giving up yesterday.

Success would have given Greece breathing space, if only for a few months, to pursue urgent reforms—such as recapitalising its insolvent banks and getting on with privatisation—to help restore its credibility with European partners and financial markets. Instead, another election now looms, on June 17th. Until then the country will be run by a caretaker government under Panagiotis Pikrammenos, Greece’s most senior judge. Lucas Papademos, the ex-European central banker who has run a coalition government for the last six months, overseeing a €206 billion sovereign-debt restructuring and Greece’s second bail-out, was not asked to stay on.

Hard times for the Artful Dodger:
Is John Baird running out of tricks?

Is John Baird, the government’s dean of damage control, the team’s most artful dodger, running out of tricks?

Is the Eddy Haskell (“Leave it to Beaver” fame) of Canadian politics losing his way?

“That’s a lovely dress you’re wearing, Mrs. Cleaver,” Eddie used to say. Just like J.B., he was an ingratiator non-pareil.

But for the Conservatives’ clown prince, it’s been a tough season. Last week it was revealed that Baird had overruled his department officials and given a $1-million grant for a project run by one of his close buddies, Rabbi Chaim Mendelsohn. It was the type of thing the Tories used to go berserk over when they were up against the Chretien Liberals.

AMERICA SHIFTS GEAR FOR WAR ON IRAN

The covert war on Syria is an integral part of the US-led covert war on Iran

America’s war plans for full spectrum dominance in the oil-rich Middle East and Central Asian region shifted up a gear this week with three significant and inter-related developments.

Forget about viewing events in countries as separate incidents. Syria, Iran and the Gulf monarchies are closely bound up in US-led war plans in the Middle East that are aimed at projecting American political, economic and military power across this vital region and beyond. Events today are but a continuum with US wars of conquest in Iraq, Afghanistan, Lebanon and Libya as part of an unfolding agenda for hegemony.

When Polluted Water Is Safe to Drink: Inside the Dimock Fracking Fight

The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has spent the past four months testing water wells used by families in the rural community of Dimock, Pennsylvania, where residents and environmental activists have accused a gas drilling company of contaminating water supplies while drilling for natural gas in the area. As the debate over the gas drilling technique known as fracking rages across the country, the Dimock debacle has made national headlines; pitted neighbor against neighbor; and attracted the attention of activists, industry groups and even a movie star. The EPA study is nearly complete and both sides of the fracking debate are eager for answers, but for many onlookers, the truth about the drinking water in Dimock has remained as murky as the water that its outspoken residents pull from their wells.

The global conspiracy to make Canada’s energy debate sound ridiculous

Surely the only reasonable reaction to allegations that some Canadian environmental groups receive cash and instructions from beyond our borders is “Gee, I sure hope so. Otherwise they’d be doing it wrong.”

If you’ve looked at a photo of the Earth lately, you’ll notice what I did in 1970: somebody forgot to draw in national borders. Clouds and currents don’t have passports; nor should anybody expect a movement dedicated, as environmentalists see it, to protecting the whole planet to colour within national lines. I’m not sure how to make this clearer, since it should be pretty obvious, but it’s why Jacques Cousteau had a boat instead of a Paris Métro pass.

… rare earths are a security issue…

Rare-Earth Mining Rises Again in United States

The fight over the minerals that run the electronic world entered a new phase in March when the United States, the European Union and Japan collectively filed a case against China, accusing the rare-earth powerhouse of violating world trade rules to manipulate mineral prices.

At the heart of the argument are 17 little-known elements with whimsical names like europium and praseodymium, that are found in everything from mobile phones and computers to smart bombs and large wind turbines. Traces of the metals can be found around the world, but rarely in high enough concentrations for mining to be convenient or profitable.

China now controls 95 percent of total rare-earth supply. A figurative sneeze on its export policy is all that’s needed to shake global markets, and in 2010 China began restricting rare-earth exports. International prices spiked, reaching near-dizzying levels last summer before crashing in the fall. In the wake of the World Trade Organization case, they’ve perked up again.

… charities need to be watched…

Slave Lake Fire Anniversary: Red Cross Spends More Money Operating In Community Than In Direct Aid

People across the country and around the world donated $5.5 million to the Canadian Red Cross to help the people of Slave Lake after a wildfire devastated the Alberta town one year ago.

But so far, more money has been spent on operating the charity in the community than in direct aid to its people.

And half of the donations are still sitting in the bank.

… the people are growing restless …

Spain’s Indignados mark anniversary with anti-austerity mobilizations

The call from the 15-M folks for Granada was for people to gather at 9pm in the Plaza del Carmen, which is a small square across from Granada City Hall.

Arriving early, we saw the massive police presence that was being prepared: half a dozen paddy wagons and at least a couple of dozen cops were in the Plaza itself while we saw others coming and going from the building housing city hall. They were not just municipal police but the Guardia Civil, who have a far more fierce reputation on the streets of Spain. We also could not help but be aware of the police helicopter that was circling overhead all evening.

Granada is – despite the heavy tourist industry centred around the Alhambra – a small town in southern Spain. The protest here wasn’t expected to be large so the overwhelming police presence was disturbing, to say the least.

… to be perfected in the future I’m sure …

How stone age man invented the art of raving

They were the stone-age equivalent of Glastonbury festival. People gathered in their hundreds to drink, eat and party every summer at revelries lasting several days and nights. Young men met women from nearby communities and married them. Herds of cattle were slaughtered to provide food.

These neolithic carousals even had special sites. They were held on causewayed enclosures, large hilltop earthworks built by our forebears after they brought farming to Britain from the continent 6,000 years ago.

This picture of ancient British bacchanalia has been created by researchers led by Professor Alasdair Whittle of Cardiff University and Dr Alex Bayliss of English Heritage. Using a revolutionary technique for dating ancient remains, they have built up a detailed chronology of the first farmers’ arrival in Britain and have shown that agriculture spread with dramatic rapidity. In its wake, profound social changes gripped the country, culminating in the construction of causewayed enclosures where chieftains or priests held revelries to help establish their power bases.

… hmmm … I need a bigger TV …

Nearly 5 million children died of preventable diseases worldwide in 2010

Preventable diseases like pneumonia, diarrhoea and malaria claimed the lives of nearly five million children younger than five in 2010, a paper in The Lancet medical journal said Friday.

A total 7.6 million children died in the first five years of their life that year, the authors said, and warned the world was not on track to meet the Millennium Development Goal of reducing child mortality by two-thirds by 2015.

Two in every five deaths ocurred within the first 28 days of life.