Musing on Conrad Black today - given his correct analysis (mostly) in the National Post (front page!) today, I think that part of the cure for what ails us, is to send the rich to jail for a while. . . where they learn things like - everyone behind bars in not guilty of a crime, people deserve to be treated with dignity even in jail. . .
Speaking to a three year old report on the government's plan on what to do with Canadian prisons Black says: "As so often in other fields, this document seeks to import to Canada much of the worst of American practice, and none of the best, unless Canada now idealizes gratuitous official severity." and, he claims, he knows whereof he speaks having spent considerable time in American prisons with the approach (punishment, not rehab, treat them like they are guilty until proven innocent . . .) now being proposed by the Harper government.
Black says in this article in part:
This Roadmap--which was released in 2007, and which the Harper government began officially responding to in its budget in 2008, setting out a five-year plan -- turns the humane traditions of Canada upside down. It implicitly assumes that all who are convicted are guilty and have no remaining claim to decency from the state, and that treating confinees accordingly is in the interest of the legally unexceptionable majority.
The Roadmap does not mention prisoners' rights, beyond basic food, shelter, clothing and medical care, and assumes that they are probably not recoverable for society and that the longer they are imprisoned, the better it is for society. Almost no distinction is made between violent and non-violent offenders.
Conrad black defending prisoners - imagine! He also says that the unborn have rights in a sentence in the middle of the article, and he holds other views I find abhorrent, but this was amusing, nevertheless.
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Also musing about the Maoists in India. I was quite compelled by Arundhuti Roy's article in Outlook that defended the Maoists and their violence, see here, because they are defending those without rights or privilege in India and the movement is growing especially among the "tribal people". Several articles have been published lately that were very sympathetic to the Maoists or Naxalites as they are known in India. Their previous violence though has targeted police, military, paramilitary and corporations. There has been some (but little) collateral damage - killed civilians (and always because they were unluckily traveling on the same bus or train as lots of military or police. Now suddenly a civilian train travelling from Kolkata to Delhi is blown up, or the track was sabotaged, it seems to be still a little unclear - but it was clear that a last month, a bus load of police and security police wanna-be's was attacked and there were "civilian casualties" - although the bulk of deaths were police) and everyone is blaming the Maoists who have apparently only slaughtered (relatively) innocent civilians - what's the dealio?
Another article in Outlook here.
and here, questioning whether it was in fact, the Maoists.
Another story here from Al Jazeera
And lastly in the Guardian - UK supporting the struggle for the landless even if not the Naxalite methods. . .
U of T is shutting down for the G20 including sending students off campus, closing buildings including residences. A concern, see: http://www.socialistproject.ca/bullet/361.php
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