SGNews Contributor

SGNews goes wherever the news is found. SGNews Credible. Progressive. Connected.

Justice for Rehtaeh

Apr 112013

Demand an independent inquiry into the police decision not to lay charges in her rape.

by Sherri B, Halifax

I am horrified at what happened to Rehtaeh. She was a beautiful, caring person. She was a amazing artist. She loved animals.While I haven't seen her in a few years, I'm friends with her family and I can't believe how our community and the authorities failed to protect her.

Seventeen months ago, she was raped. The rape was photographed and the photos were shared around her Nova Scotia community. Rehtaeh was destroyed by this. Any 15 year old would be. She was called a slut. She was bullied. She faced depression. And this week she took her own life.

After Rehtaeh's rape, the RCMP investigated for a year but said there was not enough evidence to lay charges.

After Rehtaeh’s rape, the RCMP investigated for a year but said there was not enough evidence to lay charges. How is this possible? Everyone knows what happened. Do we not have laws that cover abuse like photo-sharing and cyberbullying?

How is this possible? Everyone knows what happened. Everyone knows about the photos. Everyone knows she was 15 when those photos were taken. Everyone saw her being bullied and shamed at school. How can police say they didn't have the evidence they needed to pursue charges? Do we not have laws that cover this kind of abuse, from photo-sharing to cyberbullying?

Nova Scotia’s Justice Minister Ross Landry must call an independent inquiry into this situation. The Minister must find out if the police ran this investigation properly and determine if there is important evidence that was not taken into account when they decided to close this case.

The Minister said he would not order a review of the of the RCMP investigation. Hours later, following the huge outpouring of concern from the community, he has said he is now open to considering what options are available. The Minister must call for an independent inquiry and we must all sign this petition to make sure he knows how important this is.

Click here to go to Change.org and sign the letter below, as more than 85,000 readers have already done.

To:
NS Justice Minister Ross Landry

We're demanding and independent inquiry in the police investigation.

Sincerely,
[Your name]

Cuts to college get failing grade

Apr 112013

Public Values

Adult education up for tender.

from the Newfoundland and Labrador Association of Public and Private Employees

Cuts at the College of the North Atlantic (CNA) could have far-reaching implications, according to the Newfoundland and Labrador Association of Public and Private Employees (NAPE).

Socialize costs, privatize profits

Apr 112013

Public Values

The game is rigged.

from CounterPunch

The privatization scam, writes David Rosen in Counter Punch, is abundant proof to corporations that a sucker is born every day. Vacuuming up taxpayers' money, an unholy alliance of government and business interests ensure a staggering profit line with no consideration for social, environmental or health consequences.

Source

Are big jets as safe as we think?

Apr 112013

Public Values

Deregulation and cuts beg the question.

from Postmedia News

Sarah Schmidt of Postmedia News, in the second of a series, looks at the current state of Transport Canada's aviation safety systems. Despite an admirable accident record, critics argue the current situation is like asking a speeding driver to write himself a ticket. Some are calling for a commission of inquiry into air safety.

Source

Tickle the little penguin

Apr 102013

Humour

What's that rubbing against my ankles?

from the Internet

Rescued penguin squeals with delight at attention.

Shouting down climate-change deniers

Apr 092013

News blog

Senator Bernie Sanders and Bill Maher refute right-wingers' talking points.

from the Bill Maher Show

Wall Street Journal columnist Steve Moore and HuffPost editor Abby Huntsman trot out GOP party lines. Bam!

Top 2013 Superbowl commercials

Apr 082013

Humour

Millennials analyse appeal of pricey ads.

by rhettandlink

Youtube has some of the whole commercials featured in these snippets

RBC replaces Canadian staff with foreign workers

Apr 072013

News blog

Axed employee blows whistle; federal government investigating.

By Kathy Tomlinson, CBC News

Dozens of employees at Canada’s largest bank are losing their jobs to temporary foreign workers, who are in Canada to take over the work of their department.

“They are being brought in from India, and I am wondering how they got work visas,” said Dave Moreau, one of the employees affected by the move. “The new people are in our offices and we are training them to do our jobs. That adds insult to injury.”

Moreau, who works in IT systems support, said he is one of 50 employees who facilitate various transactions for RBC Investor Services in Toronto, which serves the bank’s biggest and wealthiest institutional clients.

As a result of Go Public’s inquiries, the office of the minister of Human Resources and Skills Development Canada — the federal office that approved iGATE’s plans to bring in foreign workers — issued a statement late Saturday.

"We have recently learned of allegations that RBC could be replacing Canadian workers by contracting with iGate, which is filling some of the roles with temporary foreign workers. If true, this situation is unacceptable.

"The purpose of the Temporary Foreign Worker Program is to fill acute labour needs when Canadians are not available for the work required. It was never intended as a means to bring in temporary foreign workers in order to replace already-employed Canadian workers.

"I have instructed my department to work with Citizenship and Immigration Canada to determine the next steps."

In February, RBC told Moreau and his colleagues 45 of their jobs with the regulatory and financial applications team would be terminated at the end of April…

Full story

Marijuana has won the war on drugs

Apr 062013

News blog

For some who want to cut the budget, the drug war looks like a good place to start.

by Walter Hickey

At least when it comes to marijuana, the war on drugs is over.

Two states have passed marijuana legalization laws that fly in the face of national drug policy.

Polling on the issue shows a rejection of prohibition. The opinions of law enforcement commanders has begun to shift.

For some who want to cut the budget, the drug war is looking like a good place to start.

Now, for the first time, when a marijuana lobbyist calls a member of Congress, they get asked for money, not hung up on, Allen St Pierre, the executive director of NORML told Business Insider. And, as St Pierre was proud to point out, the man in the White House personally invented a new way to smoke marijuana in high school….

Full story

It’s bigger than Adria Richards

Apr 052013

News blog

Techie fired for tweeting that guys behind her in conference were making sexist jokes.

by Jamilah King

By now you’ve probably heard at least one version of the story about Adria Richards, the black technology evangelist who was fired from her job at SendGrid last week for tweeting a picture of two white guys who were sitting behind her making sexually charged jokes at a major tech conference.

Richards’s tweets from PyCon, which bills itself as the largest annual gathering of Python programmers and users, immediately drew the ire of trolls and their attacks intensified after the “big dongles” jokesters were canned….

Full story

Older Entries Newer Entries