Canada’s 1% Owns 26% Of The Country

With 422,000 millionaires, up 7.7% in 2012, Canada is now the world’s 7th largest producer of ludicrously overpaid and over-entitled plutocrats.  Our “1%” — actually 1.2% — controls 26% of Canada’s private wealth or $1.53 trillion in assets.  This is considerably more than twice our national debt.

Just saying …

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Woman Savagely Beaten By Police After They Spot Her Filming Them Beating A Suspect

Baltimore Police Department (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

For many of us, Baltimore police bring to mind the crew on Homicide: Life On The Street, but that’s not the real picture, sadly. In reality, some Baltimore cops are fascists at heart. At least when it comes to them being filmed. And they’re not shy about dealing with such a situation.

While she was stuck in traffic in northern Baltimore, Makia Smith glanced out her car window and spied four officers beating up and arresting a young man. She pulled out her camera, opened her car door and stood on the doorsill to film the incident. According to Smith, one of the policemen – Officer Nathan Church – spotted her filming them and ran at her yelling:

‘You want to film something bitch? Film this!’

Frightened, Smith sat back down in her car but Officer Church reached in, grabbed her camera and threw it to the ground, stomping on it for good measure. He then pulled Smith out of her car by her hair and began beating her. Officers William Pilkerton, Jr., Nathan Ulmer and Kenneth Campbell came over and joined in. The quartet arrested her with excessive force. Oh, did I mention that Ms. Smith’s two-year-old daughter was in the back seat?

According to a complaint filed against the officers, Police Commissioner Anthony Batts, and the Baltimore Police Department, the officers taunted her about the child. They told Smith that her daughter would be taken away and sent to Social Services. They refused to call Smith’s mother to pick the toddler up. According to the complaint:

“The officers, despite the pleas of plaintiff, refused to call plaintiff’s mother. Instead, the officers tormented plaintiff by telling her that her daughter would be taken from her and sent to Social Services. Seeing plaintiff’s distressful reaction to these tormenting threats, they continued.”

Presumably this went on as Ms. Smith was arrested and taken to jail where she was charged with assaulting Officer Church and resisting arrest. I assume that the child was picked up by Social Services but the complaint isn’t clear on this. I certainly hope that they didn’t leave her in the car as they dragged her mother away to jail. Then, when the case came to trial, Officer Church skipped both proceedings, forcing prosecutors to drop the charges. However, Ms. Smith had to hire a lawyer and pay to get her car out of impound.

Ms. Smith is now suing for $1.5 million in both compensatory and punitive damages. She claims civil rights violations and infliction of emotional distress. I hope whoever hears the case will take into account the toddler who witnessed her mother getting the crap beat out of her for no reason. Baltimore police have an ugly history of brutality, especially against people of color. The incident involving Anthony Anderson, Jr. and the three officers accused of killing him had the city up in arms last year. Community leaders at that time protested, as no action was taken by the BPD against the officers who killed Anderson. One local pastor said that Baltimore had “…far too many people…” finding themselves victimized by police brutality, excessive force and police killings adding that police who committed these acts were never punished.

Police all around the country have been accused of similar action when they see people filming them. They better get used to it, though. The Rodney King tape started a citizen revolt against police brutality, and what happened in New York with the Occupy movement has cemented this new paradigm. Police need to understand that those of their profession who misuse their public trust will not be able to hide anymore. We are watching… and filming.

Original Link:  http://www.addictinginfo.org/2013/05/12/woman-savagely-beaten-by-police-after-they-spot-her-filming-them-beating-a-suspect/#ixzz2T5BmHlEs

Homeless Woman Returns $10,000 Lost Purse

CALGARY — It was a case of being in the right place at the right time, but a homeless Calgary woman who found a purse with more than $10,000 refused to pocket the find.

The woman, who currently stays at the Calgary’s YWCA, surrendered the purse with $10,400 in hundred-dollar bills inside it to police. She wants to remain anonymous.

“It never crossed my mind to keep the money,” she said. “It’s not mine to keep. I didn’t think keeping it at all.”

Read More

RCMP Officer Under Investigation For Assault

A male RCMP officer in Antigonish, N.S. is under investigation after two allegations of domestic violence.   See: CopWatch

Mounties Pepper Spray Deaf Man, Kick Him In The Face While Restrained

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HuffPost (Cold Lake, Alberta)

According to a statement released by RCMP, three officers from the Cold Lake detachment responded to complaints of a noisy party in a parking lot of a community hall early Saturday, Sept. 22. While responding, one of the party organizers asked for police assistance in clearing the crowd. An intoxicated man refused to leave and two officers began the process of putting the man under arrest while the third officer continued crowd control. According to Metro Edmonton, it was the third time police were called to the hall that night.

RCMP have identified the man being arrested as 21-year-old Richard Claybert.

“I can assure Albertans, and those involved, that I have been made aware of the video and have ordered a full review,” RCMP Supt. Randy McGinnis said in the statement. “While I understand my officers were confronted with a volatile and potentially dangerous situation, we will look into the incident to assess if police actions were warranted, appropriate, or excessive.

Claybert told the Edmonton Journal that he had brought his camper attached to a pickup truck to the party, and it was his intention to spend the night there. RCMP told Claybert to go home and that his truck and camper would be towed and impounded. An argument between Claybert and the officers ensued, reports CTV Edmonton.

Claybert, who is hearing impaired, told the Journal that his frustration was climbing and he walked away from the officers.

“And apparently the cop said as I was walking away that I was under arrest. I didn’t hear anything and my friends said they didn’t hear anything either,” he said.

It was then, Claybert told the Journal, that he was pepper sprayed in the face and hit on the back of the leg with a police baton.

RCMP said they did not know Claybert was hearing impaired.

http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2012/09/26/richard-claybert-kicked-in-face-cold-…

Hamilton Police Officer Charged With Assault

Constable Ryan Gagnon has been charged with Assault Causing Bodily injury as the result of an altercation with a 16 year-old in custody.  See CopWatch for details.

Addiction Is Not A Label To Be Applied To Specific Things

“To quote Joseph Conrad in Victory, ‘There are more magic potions than your commonplace magician can imagine.’ Virtually anything can be addictive for the ‘right’ person at the ‘right’ time — one of stress or disorientation, when that experience holds out significant and powerful associations for the person, when the person is not inclined or able to be restrained, when all consequences are damned. Addiction, you see, is not a label to be applied to specific things, but to an involvement a person creates in time and space.” – Stanton Peele

Read More:  The Meaning of Addiction Has Changed