The Daily GRRR! Feb 2, 2015

Welcome, I am your host Trish Holmes and you are listening to The Daily GRRR! February 5, 2015 edition on 100.3fm, CKMS in Waterloo, Ontario. Soundfm.ca on the web.
Opening song: Fatboy Slim with Punk to Funk .

The Daily GRRR! HEADLINES for February 5, 2015

1. Proposed bill C51

I talked a little last week about the new anti-terrorism bill. And this week, forgive me listener, I’m going to look at various aspects of it. I’ve been a bit demoralised, under the weather, driven to drink (neocitran that is), so much of the analysis is going to come from clips I’ve heard around this week.

This is one of the better clips I’ve heard describing the proposed bill C51, otherwise known as the anti-terrorism bill, or as the Globe and Mail labelled it ‘the secret policeman’s bill’. It’s from digital journal.com and it’s 6 minutes.

http://www.digitaljournal.com/news/politics/op-ed-harper-government-give...
6 mins

2. Canada's Communications Security Establishment or CSE LEVITATION program

spy agency surveillance, privacy-undermining legislation, and lax privacy safeguards at government departments have become commonplace. An article in rabble.ca summarises many of the most recent infarcations, in December, just past, the government's surveillance bill C-13 became law; then The Supreme Court ruled that police don't require a warrant to search the cell phones of people they arrest; The private tax information of hundreds of Canadians was leaked to the CBC. And in November it was revealed that the government is building a powerful new system to collect and analyze social media information. Last week Documents from whistleblower Edward Snowden revealed that a Canada's Communications Security Establishment or CSE program called LEVITATION systematically collects and analyzes 10-15 million downloads from popular file hosting websites each and every day, spying on private online activities. And, despite repeated government assurances to the contrary, Canadian Internet addresses were among the targets.

https://openmedia.ca/cseciswatching
1:16 mins

And what that clip doesn’t say is that taxpayers are on the hook for over $4.2 billion to pay for these invasive spying activities

3. One of the few instances of substantial opposition seen so far

the government is treating people who have any objection to the bill as wimps, ninny’s and alarmists. Note the reaction to Saanich MP Elizabeth May’s comments in the House of Commons on Monday Globe editorial: the Prime Minister "wants to turn our domestic spy agency into something that looks disturbingly like a secret police force."

http://www.straight.com/news/818486/elizabeth-may-condemns-bill-c-51-say...
2 mins

4. The Conservative point of view

I’ve read editorials and comments from the people who support Harper and his bill and they are riding the belief that because they are law abiding they have nothing to worry about. Many of them bandy about Winston Churchill famous quotes, they believe the October ‘lone wolf’ attacks were perpetuated by ISIS (there is no evidence of such), they call Saudi Arabians ‘barbarians’ and the accuse the
The Globe and Mail of having no sense of reality or credibility and that it supports terrorism. Most of the comments are ridiculous ranting by paranoid, exclusive, and ignorant people who rely on a false sense of security.

5. Silencing Dissent

Here is Cindy Blackstock detailing her - Silencing dissent in Canada 1/10
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fJ0H0vJTxkk
5 mins

Feature: Christopher Soghoian: Government Surveillance – This is just the beginning

(from the ted talks website)
Privacy researcher Christopher Soghoian sees the landscape of government surveillance shifting beneath our feet, as an industry grows to support monitoring programs. Through private companies, he says, governments are buying technology with the capacity to break into computers, steal documents and monitor activity — without detection. This TED Fellow gives an unsettling look at what's to come.

https://www.ted.com/talks/christopher_soghoian_government_surveillance_t...

This was the The Daily GRRR! for February 5, 2015. We are on weekdays from 9-10am on 100.3fm CKMS in Waterloo region, and soundfm.ca on the web. Check out all our past shows and other Grand River Media Collective work on our webpage grandrivermc.ca

The Daily GRRR! is supported by the Community Radio Fund of Canada and CKMS. Stay tuned in for more Grand River Radical radio .
Thanks for Listening.