CitizenShift
Updates from the basement, courtesy of the CITIZENShift team.
Archive of June, 2009
Written by
tim
June 23, 2009
It was May 21, 2003, when Adil Charkaoui was surrounded by Canadian police and taken into custody under the auspices of a Security certificate. He would join Hassan Almrei, Mohammad Zeki Mahjoub, Mahmoud Jaballah and Mohamed Harkat in being imprisoned on suspicions of having links to terrorists.
Since then, the sort of these five men has been turbulent: imprisonment in ‘Guantanamo North,’ constitutional challenges to see the evidence against them, laws struck down and re-established, house arrest and communication restrictions… The debate over security certificates has spoken to the heart of how Canada balances the right to a fair trial with national security concerns. It’s an issue we continue to explore in-depth in out Measuring Security Measures dossier.
But in February 2009, a federal court judge struck down many of the remaining restrictions on Charkaoui as he waits for the next phase in his court case. For the first time in six years he is allowed to leave Montreal, and throughout June he has been traveling across Canada doing something that only others have been able to do for him before: speaking about the reality of security certificates and their effects on himself and other Canadians.
For those folks in B.C., you can hear for yourself: Charkaoui will be speaking in Victoria on June 25 Vancouver June 26. More details here.
If you missed him, you can also read what he has been saying here and here.
Leave a comment
Category : Where Are They Now?
Tags: Adil Charkaoui, Measuring Security Measdure, security certificates
I come from a big family. Being Filipino, this is not hard to believe. Just two days ago, my aunt and her husband, along with their three kids, left to go back home to the Philippines. They had been vacationing here in Vancouver for a month.
Read the rest of this entry »
Comments(2)
Category : Blogroll
Continuing the topic of bullying in our current youth culture, I wanted to specifically make a note of cyberbullying and the massive role it plays in the everyday lives of today’s young people.
Cyber-bullying, also known as “electronic bullying” or “online social cruelty”, is in essence being cruel to others by sending or posting harmful material using technological means; an individual or group that uses information and communication involving electronic technologies to facilitate deliberate and repeated harassment or threat to an individual or group. (Barbara Trolley, Ph.D. CRC Connie Hanel, M.S.E.d & Linda Shields, M.S.E.d.)
They say that teasing is a normal childhood experience and can sometimes cross the line, but when it turns into bullying or even cyberbullying, it is right online. Its direct and hit home, literally. Cyberbullying has taken the classically known territories of the bully (classroom, school yard, park etc) and has given them expanded access to their victim at home. Cyberbullying is not only in effect via the house computer or personal laptop, but it includes cellphones, PDA, etc. In fact any communicative electronic device can be used as tool to harass, intimidate, belittle or embarrass another young person.
A cyber-bullies technologies include the following:
- E-mail
- Cell phones
- Pager text messages
- Instant messaging
- Defamatory personal web sites
- Defamatory online personal polling web sites
- Chat rooms
Tactics include, exclusion (in chat and game rooms, blocking user from group) harassment (mobile phone), defamation, and group bashing.
There are three issues that make cyberbullying attractive to bullies but also most harmful to victims:
- Anonymity (perpetrators never have to show their face or identify themselves when bullying online)
- 24/7 constant access (There is almost no end cyberbullies can access and/or harrass their victim any day and at any time. There is no rest or refuge from the cyberbullying activity)
- The entrance of private home space. (children leave school and return to the comfort of home but are still subject to the harmful remarks of bullies and perpetrators online, via text messaging. Home is no longer a safe and private space)
In the words of Parry Aftab, Called the “leading expert on cyber-crime in the United States,” by the Boston Herald paper, cyberbullying is “”Cyberbullying” is when a child, preteen or teen is tormented, threatened, harassed, humiliated, embarrassed or otherwise targeted by another child, preteen or teen using the Internet, interactive and digital technologies or mobile phones. It has to have a minor on both sides, or at least have been instigated by a minor against another minor. Once adults become involved, it is plain and simple cyber-harassment or cyberstalking. Adult cyber-harassment or cyberstalking is NEVER called cyberbullying. The methods used are limited only by the child’s imagination and access to technology. And the cyberbully one moment may become the victim the next. The kids often change roles, going from victim to bully and back again.
Children have killed each other and committed suicide after having been involved in a cyberbullying incident. [This has now been called bullycide]
Cyberbullying is usually not a onetime communication, unless it involves a death threat or a credible threat of serious bodily harm. Kids usually know it when they see it, while parents may be more worried about the lewd language used by the kids than the hurtful effect of rude and embarrassing posts.
Cyberbullying may arise to the level of a misdemeanor cyberharassment charge, or if the child is young enough may result in the charge of juvenile delinquency. Most of the time, the cyberbullying does not go that far, although parents often try and pursue criminal charges. It typically can result in a child losing their ISP or IM accounts as a terms of service violation. And in some cases, if hacking or password and identity theft is involved, can be a serious criminal matter under state and federal law. ”
Cyber bullying is a serious issue today because many teens to not consider themselves bullies or doing anything wrong. Often enough, today’s youth are doing the same things kids have been doing for centuries, but through the internet, the world has become a smaller place. Youth today communicate and express themselves most frequently via technology. Youth today show their creativity, interests, passions and emotions through some sort of electrical medium. In years past, people wrote letters, got physical or spread rumors by word of mouth. Today kids attempt to do similar things, but their tools of communication, unlike those of old, are a lot more permanent and a lot more automated and realistic. A bully may get tired after while whereas if the action consist of simply pressing a button, the task is easier than ever. This also causes a disconnect between the actual action and the bully. They feel less liable and do not have to directly witness or deal with the reaction of their bullied victim. It is a practice that is desensitizing youth to many naturally or socially implemented feelings such as empathy, remorse and responsibility. Cyberbullying has taught kids to hide behind a mask and not take responsibility for their actions.
Nevertheless there are many resources available to educate parents and their kids in regards t o proper online practises and behaviour. It is good to discipline children and teach them proper manners like sharing, apologizing when necessary and how to practise common courtesy, but the same type of training is required to a degree when pertaining to online interactions. Teach kids to use emoticons to better clarify what they are saying in a message and teach them to use other forms of communication to back up or clarify their online statements. Finally because statements made online are accessible to the “world wide web” remind your children that online content is not private with or without a password. Once online, one can be made liable for whatever they say.
This is only a window into the subject, I invite you to get informed and involved, interact with your friends, your loved ones and be aware of bullying and cyberbullying tactics in order to be NETSMART!
For more great cyberbullying tips and info please check out the following links…
Comment (1)
Category : Blogroll
Tags: cyber-harassment, cyberbullying, cyberstalking, e-learning, Net alert, parry aftab, podcast
Written by
tim
June 9, 2009
This week, CKUT 90.3FM Radio in Montreal is playing host to the National Community and Campus Radio Conference (NCRC). I’ll be spending part of the week there, with the more than 100 delegates who work to bring alternative, independent voices and music to the airwaves from coast to coast to coast.
The NCRC is the annual conference of the National Campus and Community Radio Association. While the NCRA was founded in 1986, campus and community radio have a much longer history in Canada, starting in 1922 and in 1974/75 respectively (the NCRA site has a great run-down of C/C radio history here).
The vast majority of ears may be turned to corporate and mainstream radio, but C/C radio is still vibrant and growing in Canada: 2008/2009 saw the establishment of the Community Radio Fund of Canada, which proceeded to award $160,000 to 20 stations country-wide to help bolster programming and station development.
That vibrancy is also reflected in the wide range of workshops, caucuses and events taking place this week, from tonight’s Rhythms Without Reservation* (First Nations hip hop & spoken word) to Wednesday’s Radio Stations Accessibility and Ableism to Thursday’s Women in Radio day-long stream. If you’re in Montreal, it isn’t too late to come by and check out the events. You can also catch CITIZENShift on a panel this Friday, Media Literacy Trainings in the Community (more on that soon!).
If you aren’t in Montreal, but want to find out more about community radio in your region, visit the NCRC’s members page. campus/Community stations are always looking for new folks looking to get involved, so look them up and stop by the station!
*7:30pm, Native Friendship Centre, 2001 Boul. St-Laurent. $5 suggested donation. Featuring DJ BuddaBlaze, DJ Madeskimo, Moe Clark, Métis Wallace, Gunnargie O’Sullivan, N3mo & hosted by Irkar Beljars, host of CKUT’s Native Solidarity News.
Leave a comment
Category : events
Tags: community radio, conferences, events, NCRC
This past week I got back from San Francisco with my family. We had gone there to attend a fraternity event for the UP Beta Sigmas. You see, my grandfather, known to his “brods” (fraternity brothers) as Jesse James, co-founded the fraternity in the Philippines in the 1940’s. Although our stay was short, we managed to do quite a bit…this of course, meant waking up every day at around 7am!
Read the rest of this entry »
Leave a comment
Category : Blogroll
Ok so a few weeks ago I wrote a blog post about the name-calling experiences that can take place between kids and how it can affect them. In this I shared one of my own personal experiences from elementary school. So, was that bullying? Is it being called names or ridiculed or criticized for things one cannot control like the color of their skin, cultural origin, or height, weight etc.? In my case, the other child did not touch me or push me…could it still be considered an act of bullying on his end? What exactly is bullying? What forms can it take? Do all bullies consciously intend to be mean and hurtful?
I have been doing some research on the subject in hopes to answer some of these general questions. I have found that there are so many resources available to increase awareness and knowledge about bullying and its effects. There is also an increasing amount of information out there on cyberbulling in particular. With the ever increasing usage of technology and media, cyberbullying has become an increasing issue and topic of interest to many.
First I thought it would be valuable to break down the different types of bullies. Reading this may cause some to realize that they themselves have been a bully in their lifetime. I know when I read and learned about the different categories of bullying, the different types of bullying and the different forms bullying can take; I discovered that I have been bullied quite a bit in my lifetime. I guess your reactions to these acts are part of what can make or break you. I’ve also come to realize some kids in my family have some bully-like tendencies. I’ve wondered…what can I do to make a difference in their lives. How can I help them understand the effects of their words, their actions and take responsibility toward a change of character? Especially now that laws are being developed around this subject.
I will have a few segments on this subject. However for this first look into this issue, I would like to cover some of the general basics.
What is bullying by definition?
A blustering, quarrelsome, overbearing person who habitually badgers and intimidates smaller or weaker people.
What is Cyberbullying by definition?
“Cyberbullying” is when a child, preteen or teen is tormented, threatened, harassed, humiliated, embarrassed or otherwise targeted by another child, preteen or teen using the Internet, interactive and digital technologies or mobile phones. It has to have a minor on both sides, or at least have been instigated by a minor against another minor. Once adults become involved, it is plain and simple cyber-harassment or cyberstalking. Adult cyber-harassment or cyberstalking is NEVER called cyberbullying.
What are the categories of Bullying?
- Physical Bullying
- Verbal Bullying
- Indirect Bullying
- Social Bullying
- Cyberbullying
NOTE: Both In-Person Bullying and Cyberbullying can be either direct or indirect. Direct meaning bullying acts are performed by the bully to the victim themselves and indirect meaning the bullying is mediated through third party individuals but instigated and planned by another. Indirect bullying includes spreading rumors or stories about someone, telling others about something that was told to you in private, and excluding others from groups. In the online world, this is called “Cyberbullying by proxy”. This is when a cyberbully gets someone else to do their dirty work. Most of the time they are unwitting accomplices and don’t know that they are being used by the cyberbully.
What Kind of Bullies are there?
Just like there is a wide range of personality types and characters in our social sphere, there are evidently different types of bullies. This section encompasses the bullying types of the in person & the cyberbully.
Read the rest of this entry »
Comment (1)
Category : Blogroll
Tags: bullying, cyberbullying, mean girls
