He's making a list and checking it twice... Harper Claus is coming

[cybercoma]

Apparently the CPC has been targeting groups of people in the country with propaganda. Gay and lesbians recently received emails about what the CPC has done for gay and lesbian rights in Iran, putting spin on the looming military action. However, many of these people have never had contact with the CPC before and are wondering how they even know they're gay? Gays and lesbians are wondering why the CPC is even collecting this information. This isn't the first time this has happened. Jews were also reasonably shocked when the CPC began contacting them during their holidays when they had no previous connections to the CPC. Some alarmed Jews wondered why the Conservatives were keeping lists of Jews, which is a little troublesome given history.

http://www.ottawacitizen.com/life/Recipients+Kenney+missive+rights+wondering+government+knows/7290682/story.html?fb_action_ids=10152132816430075&fb_action_types=og.recommends&fb_source=aggregation&fb_aggregation_id=288381481237582

[Mr.Canada]

Every party does data mining, even the beloved NDP, this isn't new. Please stop the fear mongering.

[scribblet]

Agreed, it's a non issue. Many org. sell their member lists and data. Or they sign on line petitions

Edited September 24, 2012 by scribblet

[cybercoma]

Member List data about sexual orientation? Or being Jewish? Come on.

[Topaz]

Well having a list may or may not be the issue but WHY were they sending these groups reports? I think the answer is that the Tories are fearful of the new leader of the NDP. After all, he does have more political experience than Harper and I've heard reported on TV, plus people who know some of the Tory MP's have made the same remark, that why Harper is bringing up the carbon tax, but it can't going to work, we know the games that the Tories play.

[cybercoma]

It doesn't matter. They'll just continue to say the NDP are taxing carbon over and over again and the misinformed cheerleaders that watch outlets like SUN News will take it as gospel without even considering that the NDP Is proposing the exact same environmental measures that the CPC ran on in 2008 and again in 2010. The CPC doesn't care about persuading undecideds and other voters. Their only concern is to keep the wool pulled as firmly over the eyes of their base as possible.

Edited September 25, 2012 by cybercoma

[Bryan]

Member List data about sexual orientation? Or being Jewish? Come on.

How do YOU think they know these things, cameras in people's homes?

[cybercoma]

Why are they keeping a list of Jews and homosexuals in Canada? That's what I want to know. Moreoever, why are they targeting them with propaganda?

Here's the response from some members of the gay community to the CPC contacting them:

Dear Jason Kenney,

We are not your friends, we are your critics.

We are writing to you in response to the mass email we received from your office on September 21st 2012. None of us have ever signed up to receive emails from your office and we wonder how our names ended up on your propaganda spam list. The more important issue, however, is the content of the email.

In this email you congratulated yourself and your government on working to make Canada "a safe haven for Iran's persecuted gay community." This is not the first time you have engaged in such blatant self-congratulatory behaviour. We were similarly disturbed earlier this year when your office generated a petition to

'Thank you, Jason Kenney,' for cutting off refugee claimants from access to health care.

Your most recent campaign is a poor attempt at "pinkwashing" the Conserative government's obvious desire to encourage war with Iran (as evidenced by the recent closing of the Canadian embassy in Iran and the expulsion of Iranian diplomats from Canada.)

By inflating and exaggerating claims about your government's concern for LGBT rights, it seems that your office is attempting to instrumentally highlight the homophobia faced by LGBT people in Iran in order to generate, ahead of any declaration of war, a negative shift in public opinion surrounding Iran. This is a crudely transparent move to target mostly radical activists, queer-identified people, and people of colour who have opposed your government's policies in the past. What this campaign signifies is a temporary and instrumental invitation to LGBT people and refugees to join in the nationalist sentiments of a government that is in need of a wide support base for its hawkish foreign policies.

We are not fooled. We oppose your government's imperialist foreign policy and war-mongering propaganda against Iran. We remain critics of your racist, imperialist and homophobic immigration policies. We remember the hundreds of asylum seekers, refugees and other migrants who were denied refugee status in Canada based on the homophobic judgements and assumptions of the Immigration and Refugee Board (IRB). These were and are our friends, lovers, family members and community members. We have in the past and will continue in the future to fight for the rights of LGBT refugees and migrants.

We are especially critical of the recently passed Bill C-31, the Protecting Canada's Immigration System Act, introduced on February 16 of this year. This bill introduces a list of "Designated Countries of Origin," so called "safe countries," countries considered "nominally democratic".

As queer people, we know that homophobic violence exists and kills, including in so-called democratic countries like Canada. We also know that the denial of an appeal process for refugee claimants from these countries will have a particularly harmful impact on LGBT refugee claimants who often are dependent on the appeal process for any chance of receiving refugee status, due to the homophobic assumptions and attitudes of many IRB judges. Indeed, we remember that it was you who appointed openly homophobic Doug Cryer to the IRB.

We will continue to stand in solidarity with LGBT people around the world, including those in Iran and those fleeing persecution from various states, even so-called "safe countries." We will also continue to stand in solidarity with ALL Iranian people by opposing your government's rush to invade and declare war on Iran.

Sincerely,

Your faithful critics

Raneem Azzam

Elena Basile

Johannah Black

Kavita Bissoondial

Aruna Boodram

Gunjan Chopra

Elena Chou

Caleb Cohen

Baolinh Dang

Daniel Faranda

Sarah Ghabrail

Zoya Honarmand

Fraser MacPherson

Andre Nault

Dana Olwan

Shaista Patel

Lauren Pragg

Deepa Rajkumar

Rajeevan Rasenthiran

Melanie Richter-Monpetit

Emily Rosser

Alan Sears

Shannon Snow

Nishant Upadhyay

Caren Weisbart

Sujith Xavier

Gunjan Chopra

Michael Connors Jackman

Baolinh Dang

Ayden Scheim

Rocio Velasquez

Zoe Dodd

Shushan Araya

Arti mehta

Kareem Elawar

Samantha Whittle

Scott Clarke

Nadia Hasan

Madeleine Gorman

Adriana Chang

Trish Salah

Nausheen Quayyum

Weronika Rogula

Omme-Salma Rahemtullah

Sharlene Bamboat

Tobin LeBlanc Haley

Mike Ferguson

Fathima Cadre

Aniska Ali

Edited September 25, 2012 by cybercoma

[eyeball]

How do YOU think they know these things, cameras in people's homes?

Between neighbourhood watch groups, Chamber's of Commerce, unions and other bastions of sycophancy...they probably get a general sense about who and who isn't with them, especially in small towns. Extrapolating from that sort of data and profiling would probably fill big swaths of society from there on.

[waldo]

Why are they keeping a list of Jews and homosexuals in Canada? That's what I want to know. Moreover, why are they targeting them with propaganda?

Here's the response from some members of the gay community to the CPC contacting them:

great letter - thanks for quoting it... Harper Conservatives 'pinkwashing' - indeed!

[eyeball]

Member List data about sexual orientation?

From Jason Kenney? That's hilarious. Does he even have a sexual orientation?

[jacee]

Between neighbourhood watch groups, Chamber's of Commerce, unions and other bastions of sycophancy...they probably get a general sense about who and who isn't with them, especially in small towns. Extrapolating from that sort of data and profiling would probably fill big swaths of society from there on.

Not sure where they got the Jewish list, but the gay list was from an online petition those people signed that went to Jason Kenney.

Creepy creeps.

Looks like violation of privacy law - using personal information for a purpose other than the reason for which it was provided/collected - ie, using personal information without consent.

(See Section 41(1) )

Sue the creeps.

Also, it's arguably political use, not government purposes, but using taxpayer resources.

If these lists do get used by the CPC - the political party - that's definitly illegal: The info was provided to government, not to the CPC.

That's like your doctor giving a list of his patients with diabetes - and their personal contact info - to his favorite charity - the diabetes foundation - for fundraising. Not cool, and not legal.

Really bad optics and probably illegal.

If it was intended to gain political support, I don't think it's working.

Or was it intended to frighten, intimidate?

I hope they sue.

And I'd like to see the court subpoena the CPC database to see if this government information is being used for political purposes.

Edited September 25, 2012 by jacee

[madmax]

Apparently the CPC has been targeting groups of people in the country with propaganda. Gay and lesbians recently received emails about what the CPC has done for gay and lesbian rights in Iran,

I guess this propoganda wouldn't fly well with the transgendered,,,,,

Before the Islamic Revolution in 1979, the issue of transsexuality in Iran had never been officially addressed by the government. Beginning in the mid-1980s, however, transsexual individuals were officially recognized by the government and allowed to undergo sex reassignment surgery. As of 2008, Iran carries out more sex change operations than any other nation in the world except for Thailand. The government provides up to half the cost for those needing financial assistance, and a sex change is recognised on the birth certificate.[1]

[madmax]

Every party does data mining, even the beloved NDP, this isn't new. Please stop the fear mongering.

I agree that every party does create a database. What is interesting is te scope and effectiveness of the CPC CIMS database.

The other parties have nothing in the scope of detail or depth.

But then again, I am sure this database was never used in reverse to target non CPC voters.

[GostHacked]

How do they know you are gay? Ever fill out a census?

[Mr.Canada]

[quote name='madmax' date='25 September 2012 - 06:23 AM' timestamp='1348572208' post='833359'

The other parties have nothing in the scope of detail or depth.

Can you qualify this statement please?

Edited September 25, 2012 by Mr.Canada

[cybercoma]

How do they know you are gay? Ever fill out a census?

I happen to work with Statistics Canada on some things and I know for a fact that security of information is paramount. The problem here is that information collected by the government does not belong to the Conservative Party of Canada. They are not allowed to use it. So if people sent a petition to the government about an LGBT issue and the Conservative Party stole that information to import into their database on Canadian citizens, they have broken the law and committed an incredibly unethical act. Moreover, it's a little unsettling that The Party is gathering information, sometimes confidential, from the government on every single citizen, whether they support The Party or not.

....Oh but GUN REGISTRY BAD! Amiright?

[PIK]

How fucking stupid are people? I am so sick of the constant whining, and the ass holes that will back people that would kill them in a heart beat just to spite harper. These people are very sick and they need to spend a month in the great gay loving counrty of iran.

[bleeding heart]

How fucking stupid are people? I am so sick of the constant whining, and the ass holes that will back people that would kill them in a heart beat just to spite harper. These people are very sick and they need to spend a month in the great gay loving counrty of iran.

Yes, people should definitely stop criticizing Harper. It's bad for democracy.

[PIK]

Yes, people should definitely stop criticizing Harper. It's bad for democracy.

No they should not, but people are going waaaaaaaaaaaay over board with it. It is not protesting anyways, it is pure hate.

[madmax]

No they should not, but people are going waaaaaaaaaaaay over board with it. It is not protesting anyways, it is pure hate.

If one solicits and opinion from the Gay Community ... shouldn't one be ready to accept the response from that community.

The Conservatives initiated a poorly thought out propoganda piece and whats happened is called blowback.

I am very concerned by the method of sourcing and targeting a selected group. Its something we are used to have happening in the very countries we so rightly criticise.

[PIK]

If one solicits and opinion from the Gay Community ... shouldn't one be ready to accept the response from that community.

The Conservatives initiated a poorly thought out propoganda piece and whats happened is called blowback.

I am very concerned by the method of sourcing and targeting a selected group. Its something we are used to have happening in the very countries we so rightly criticise.

But when the reponse is backing a country or group that would kill you in a heart beat over your own country or govermnet, then it is over the top. Quit making it sound so intrusive, you act like they snuck into your house and went thru your stuff to find out about you. Our info is out there for anyone to see, all my info in is tennesee now because of the gun lic's.

[bleeding heart]

But when the reponse is backing a country or group that would kill you in a heart beat over your own country or govermnet, then it is over the top.

They're not "backing a country"; they're expressing concern for and solidarity with the potential civilian victims of a possible war that they believe to be unneccessary.

[GostHacked]

I happen to work with Statistics Canada on some things and I know for a fact that security of information is paramount. The problem here is that information collected by the government does not belong to the Conservative Party of Canada. They are not allowed to use it. So if people sent a petition to the government about an LGBT issue and the Conservative Party stole that information to import into their database on Canadian citizens, they have broken the law and committed an incredibly unethical act. Moreover, it's a little unsettling that The Party is gathering information, sometimes confidential, from the government on every single citizen, whether they support The Party or not.

....Oh but GUN REGISTRY BAD! Amiright?

You'd be surprised and appalled at what kind of information the government has on people.

[madmax]

Quit making it sound so intrusive, you act like they snuck into your house and went thru your stuff to find out about you.

It sounds intrusive because it is intrusive. Infact that is what the hoopla is all about and nothing else.

The Iranian angle is simply a smokescreen.

Edited September 26, 2012 by madmax