Friday, October 15, 2010

G8/20 Fallout: Pandora's box

The more we learn about the tribulations (he has not yet had a trial) of Alex Hundert, the more we see what the implications of that event hold for us. I believe it was Dave who said something to the effect that the G8/20 permitted the police (and their public servant enablers) to take the gloves off and ignore just about every legal precedent and statute governing their behaviour. Without bonafide controls on their impulses, the law enforcement apparatus went nuts.

I wonder then, watching the treatment of Mr. Hundert, the removal by a JP of his right to publicly state is political views, the coercive catch-22 of his bail conditions...  if this is evidence that the events around G8/20 might have had the effect of showing the enforcement end of the legal system just how far it could go without repercussion.

What next?

3 comments:

Niles said...

I think we've already seen what's next.

Full kettle teaparty mode on. They're talking up billions of dollars of prisons for unreported crime while they're refusing harm reduction practises. They're drumming up 'radicalism' for minorities and letting McVety sell his snake oil while shutting down dissenting speakers.

Bernier (no, I don't believe he's mr. rogue, ala palin) opened up the two of the classics from down south. Getting rid of federal healthcare and leaving the provinces to swim on their own, *and* hauling out the "Fathers of Confederation" riff, which, to my knowledge, has not gotten play in this country, but echoes dangerously of the "Founders of the Constitution" literal interpretationist crap coming out of the rightwing in the US.

Add to that, the upped meme of the UN being a crappy corrupt leftover that means nothing to Canada anyway. Which, as I remember, had no real traction until it was used as *the* excuse to ignore the UN when it wouldn't give backing to the US's military paving operation into Iraq.

That's what's next. The Cons are standing by their 'principles' and aping the American rightwing for all they're worth, freely piggybacking on the furore of the US election echoes coming through the airwaves.

The tv at work is locked on BNN. The people that populate that channel eat this up. This week they're (as Canadians) boohooing the moratorium on mortgage foreclosures in the US because it destroys the abilities of the banks to recover, oh and sorry about the 'miniscule' number of people illegally abused, but that's an acceptable percentage, y'know?

Harper's playing to them.

Alison said...

The Guelph Mercury, today :
"His lawyer, John Norris, noted Hundert couldn’t confirm details of [Toronto media Co-op's account]himself because of the bail conditions.

Brendan Crawley, spokesperson for Ontario’s Ministry of the Attorney General, offered no comment, saying that the matter is before the courts."

So Hundert can't even confirm or deny media reports about him.
And this continual "before the courts" bucket dodge is getting a bit tiresome, no?

Alison said...

"the events around G8/20 might have had the effect of showing the enforcement end of the legal system just how far it could go without repercussion."

Constitutional/criminal lawyer Clayton Ruby discusses exactly that in the second vid here.