Canadians! Sign the petition against Harper's police state bill!

Attention Canadian readers! Your civil liberties are threatened by Bill C-51, the "anti-terrorism" bill introduced by your Dear Leader, super-authoritarian control freak Stephen Harper.

The editors of Canada's self-styled national newspaper, the Globe and Mail -- the same ones who endorsed Mr. Harpoon and his party at the last federal election -- now accuse him of using his new spying law to create a "secret police force" in Canada.

Why call it a "spying law"? Because C-51 will give reckless and unnecessary powers to the Mounties, CSIS and other spy agencies, including the ability to detain people who haven’t committed any crime, with minimal oversight or democratic accountability.

Dear Canadian readers, don't let Harper mislead you as to what C-51 really means. Four former prime ministers -- Joe Clark, John Turner, Jean Chrétien, and Paul Martin -- are among almost two dozen prominent Canadians concerned about this bill!

Your rights and freedoms -- freedom of assembly, freedom of speech, even freedom of thought -- are in danger. Be sure to read "What's happening to Canada?!", posted here yesterday.

Your Dear Leader is telling you that people like Opposition Leader Thomas Mulcair are careless of the security of the country, unpatriotic, and probably in league with the Islamic extremists too! The way he tells it, to be against C-51 is to be against Canada. If there's a climate of fear in the Not-so-great Not-so-white North today, Harper created it!

Yet, a poll published on Thursday claims 82% of respondents support this draconian, totally over-the-top legislation. I don't believe it. I don't want to believe it. Did they ask you? Are you willing to trade your rights and liberties for "enhanced security" against the threats which are the direct result of Harper's pro-Israel, pro-American foreign policy?

There’s little doubt that many Members of Parliament -- including some Conservatives -- are concerned about the outrageous laws and lack of oversight. But before they stand up to Harper, they need to know that people across Canada will speak out too.

Dear Canadian readers, you must ask yourselves: are you the kind of people who give up your freedoms to fear-mongers, or are you the kind of people who will defend your democracy? Right now is the time to reject fear! Sign this online petition to stop the encroachment on your freedom of Harper's increasingly authoritarian and dictatorial state.

Thanks to Agent 34 for making us aware of the petition. Stay free!

CBC's "The House" reviews the Wrights and wrongs of l'affaire Duffy

Note from Ed.: This item is of interest only to Canadian political junkies. This does not include Ted Cruz, who is surely a political junkie and a Canadian (as of this writing) but we didn't mean it that way. If you're not fascinated by Canadian politics -- that's what we meant -- wait until tomorrow and we'll have something else.

This week's edition of CBC Radio's fine political programme, The House, was devoted entirely to the ongoing scandal over repayment by Nigel Wright -- formerly Chief of Staff to Canuck Prime Minister Steve "Stephen" Harper -- of expenses fraudulently claimed by the Honourable [sic] Mike "Mike" Duffy, the once and future senator from Prince Edward Island... or possibly Kanata, which is where Mr. Puffy lives.

The radio programme is well worth listening to in its entirety (about 52 minutes). It focuses on court documents filed by the Mounties in the course of their investigation into the scandal. You'll hear excerpts from a number of damning e-mails, read by actors portraying Mr. Right ["Wright", surely! Ed.] and others, as well as the Puffster's mendacious and self-serving speeches in the Senate.

Radio-Canada Ottawa bureau chief Emmanuelle Latraverse and CBC senior political correspondent Terry Milewski -- Walt likes Milewski a lot -- join host Evan Solomon for the journey and give their analysis of what it all means.

Before you listen, if this is all kind of new to you -- or if your eyes glazed over back in May or June -- you might take a look at Walt's previous posts on the subject:
"VIDEO: Rex hexes Canadian pols"
"Canucks too polite for their own good?"
"Print your own Duffybuck!"
"Emotional and over-refreshed, Senator Puffy denies having his snout too deep in the trough"
"Wright was wrong! Wright is gone! But WHY?!"
"'Bring me the head of Senator Duffy!'"
"Moron* Mike Puffy"
[That's enough Duff stuff. Ed.]