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11
Mar
2018
Something is not just in the Canadian justice system. And I think it has to do with jury selection.
As everyone probably knows by now, an all-white jury acquitted Gerald Stanley of murdering Colten Boushie, a 22-year-old Cree man.
The root of contention, it seems to me, is jury selection.
Theoretically, juries are chosen at random from the total population of Canadian citizens.
Some exclusions apply. But beyond those, lawyers have “peremptory challenges.” Either side can disqualify up to 14 potential jurors -- in this case -- without giving any reasons.
It might be because the person wears a business suit. Or has a beard. Or, perhaps, looks indigenous.
In the U.S., judges can demand reasons for peremptory challenges. In Canada, they can’t.
Although it’s illegal to challenge for gender or racial reasons, the Globe and Mail reported that Stanley’s defence rejected every potential juror who looked indigenous.
Categories: Sharp Edges
Tags: Gerald Stanley, Colten Boushie, jury, peremptory challenge, justice
7
Another icon bit the dust recently.
Back in the 1970s and 1980s, I worked among people who revered Saul Alinski. They took the side of the underdog – any underdog, it seemed. For 40 years, Alinski made a name for himself organizing those underdogs, particularly among the working-class areas of Chicago.
Alinski summed up his ideology in a book called Rules for Radicals.
He started out as the darling of the leftists who wanted to raise the underdogs. In the strange ways that social change evolves, he ended up as the darling of conservatives who wanted to keep the underdogs under. The Tea Party distributed Rules for Radicals to its members. Donald Trump built his entire presidential campaign on personalizing an enemy. Or enemies.
What the left initiates, the right will eventually co-opt.
Categories: Soft Edges
Tags: Seth Godin, Saul Alinski, Tea Party, Donald Trump, Rules for Radicals
4
Once upon a time, people had genies in bottles. I have a disembodied voice in a computer. Her name is Siri. And all I have to do to get her services is to say the magic words, “Hey, Siri!”
Immediately, she responds, “How can I help you?”
But it occurred to me the other day that Siri can only respond by listening for my voice 24 hours a day. That’s very flattering. It’s also a little disquieting. Because Siri is connected to the internet. Which means that the corporate data bank that Siri is connected to can also listen to all my conversations if they choose to.
My eavesdropping friend Siri seems a little dated, compared to Google Echo. It conceals someone called Alexa, who will not only provide information, but also turn on your coffee maker, adjust your thermostat, turn lights on and off, start your car, and play your favourite music.
But like Siri, Alexa is always on.
Tags: Surveillance, cameras, Siri, Alexa