Presumed guilty, each and every one of us

More changes proposed to appeal to that base law and order morality pack.  They have been incredibly useful tools (yep, that was intentional) for Harper's plans to silence dissenters.

The most effective way to reduce crime is to prevent it in the first place, and in order to do that, we need to stop people from choosing a life of crime to begin with.  Not all crime will be eliminated, but a hell of a lot of it will.  Instead, the ass-backwards Harper government works on the presumption that we are all potential criminals.  Look at what happened at the G20, and look at the CONs messed up push to spend billions or more prisons despite crime rates dropping.

And now, Nicholson wants to make us safe by coming down hard on prostitutes and gamblers.  I won't include drug dealers in this right now, but as I am very sure stricter laws on users are coming, I'll cover it then.

Stricter laws aren't going to make certain crime oriented types suddenly switch careers.  Addressing social issues that do little to encourage good social behaviour will.

Notice how Harper & co. attack those issues that offend the atavistic, religious sensibilities of the moral nuts.  Sex and gambling.  Does anyone seriously think those are the most important aspects of organized crime that should be addressed?  What about infiltrating government?  Coercing construction contracts?  Threatening unions?

Ah, but those don't hit that self-righteous, holier-than-though, fear of their own vices group.  Sex and gambling do.

Nor do I believe the news delivered by Nicholson has only to do with locking up organized crime bosses.  Look at what the cops will be able to do with their new powers:

(P)olice will be able to more easily obtain wiretaps and orders such as peace bonds, block bail or parole eligibility, seize assets and seek stiffer sentences. The criminal code defines as “organized” crime gangs those cases involving three or more people acting together in a criminal venture.

Three or more people acting together...the hooker, her pimp, and the guy who rents out the room...three fellas gambling...and anyone else who happens to be in the vicinity, because you know, they could be involved...like at the G20.

The CONs don't like any dissent, any opposition, any transparency because they can't fool the public as easily, so they change our systems to shut us down, then make up some bull-shit justification for it afterward.  Like unreported crimes.

So now they have not only the plans to make more room to lock people up, they are moving on changes that will enable them to spy on citizens without having to justify their actions, and reasons to scoop up a whole lot of folks at once.  Then, take their sweet-ass time sifting through the detainees at their leisure, charging some, releasing others, but reinforcing that message that we are all suspect, we have no real rights, and we had better not cross the elected government.

A few measures put through by a government can be coincidental, but when the ridiculous is used to justify such sweeping changes that threaten our rights and freedoms, we had better take notice.