I thought this story was funny in a scary kind of way and is a good indication that there are undoubtedtly many affronts to our liberties occuring that we have no idea about at the moment:

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RCMP spies infiltrated the women's movement in the early 1970s, monitoring marches and rallies to keep an eye on feminists including Rita MacNeil, who would become a much-admired Maritime songstress.

An undercover source reporting on a March 1972 gathering of women's liberation groups in Winnipeg compiled biographical sketches of several delegates, noting MacNeil was in attendance from the Toronto Women's Caucus.

"She's the one who composes and sings women's lib songs," says the RCMP memo, portions of which remain secret.

MacNeil, who lent her musical talents to the feminist cause before turning to music full-time, was among dozens of women from across the country who came under Mountie scrutiny, new research reveals.

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This was before Rita MacNeil guest-starred in my favourite Trailer Park Boys episode as an assistant pot harvester - the drug squad is probably watching her now, lol.

I wish it were unbelievable that less than 40 years ago women were considered some sort of national security threat for agitating for equal pay and rights! This part made me laugh:

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The memo on the Winnipeg conference describes one session as "consisting of about one hundred sweating uncombed women standing around in the middle of the floor with their arms around each other crying sisterhood and dancing."

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quote:

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The memo on the Winnipeg conference describes one session as "consisting of about one hundred sweating uncombed women standing around in the middle of the floor with their arms around each other crying sisterhood and dancing."

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We'd get this:

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Originally posted by Stargazer:
That's rich! Imagine if it was a men's group. This might be the RCMP take on things, instead of this:

We'd get this:

The memo on the Winnipeg Wrestling Conference describes one session as consisting of hundreds of sweaty men in headbands eating Beef Jerky and wrestling around in the middle of the floor in tight Speedos, all the while yelling and throwing things at a television set. When asked to comment, the men had nothing to say except "huh? what's wrong with wrestling? Pass me a beer asshat."

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quote:

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Originally posted by Ghislaine:
I am not allowed in the feminism forum, so I thought I would post this here.

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Oh, and show a lack of reading comprehension.
Michelle's actual comment to you was:

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Ghislaine, you are to stay out of any thread concerning abortion, for good. If you post in any further threads on abortion, you will be removed from the board as a whole.

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**Bolding for emphasis mine.

It is true the spooks are everywhere although they seem to have abandoned barn burnings as a pastime.

[ 06 August 2008: Message edited by: kropotkin1951 ]

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Originally posted by remind:
I am requesting that this thread be moved to the feminist forum, where madmax had corrctly put his thread, as we discussed long ago now, feminst issues get put in the feminist forum for discussion.

Ghislaine had no reason, other than apparent passive aggressive snarkiness, to put it in the national news. She knows she is not banned from the feminist forum, just from abortion threads.

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quote:

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"She's the one who composes and sings women's lib songs," says the RCMP memo, portions of which remain secret.

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[ 05 August 2008: Message edited by: CMOT Dibbler ]

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Originally posted by Scott Piatkowski:
It's sad that many of the comments on this story refer to her weight. Some of the worst comments have been already deleted.

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How different are the people who put more effort into discussing her weight, from those RCMP units that were investigating a womens movement?

Is it all ignorance?

(Actually, in fairness, while women ARE more closely scrutinised for being "overweight" or "too thin" (anorexic...), rightwingers often slag Michael Moore for his weight as well).

But in some ways it is good for the movement to get public exposure of systemic spying on social movements, including an entertainer such as Rita MacNeil with her "down-home", woman-of-the-people image. They aren't just looking for dangerous and violent terrorists by any means; it is a means of political repression against dissent.

They also have to justify their budgets and usefulness.

Working Man

Chorus
It’s a working man l am
And I’ve been down under ground
And I swear to God if l ever see the sun
Or for any length of time
I can hold it in my mind
I never again will go down under ground

At the age of sixteen years
Oh he quarrels with his peers
Who vowed they’d never see another one
In the dark recess of the mines
Where you age before your time
And the coal dust lies heavy on your lungs

Chorus

At the age of sixty-four
Oh he'll greet you at the door
And he'll gently lead you by the arm
Through the dark recess of the mines
Oh he'll take you back in time
And he'll tell you of the hardships that were had

Chorus
(Repeat Chorus)
(Repeat Chorus)

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This is news?? The RCMP has always spied on progressive groups. And if any of you think this is a historical thread you are extremely naive. A good rule of thumb for any progressive person involved in the politics of change is to always presume that you are being watched and if you are effective then you will be infiltrated by agent provocateurs.

It is true the spooks are everywhere although they seem to have abandoned barn burnings as a pastime.

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Absolutely agree with you, Kropotkin1951. They were always apparent at Peace Marches, Take Back The Night gatherings, May Day celebrations, any event which was so apparently subversive. They never attempted to be discrete at the events in which I have participated...black sedans, telephoto lenses, the whole nine yards. I do, however, object to your use of the phrase "rule of thumb" and would appreciate you finding other terms to express the concept.

[ 06 August 2008: Message edited by: WendyL ]

N Beltov, obviously I was responding to krotopkin and wendy. I most heartily agree. Redbaiting targeted the labour movement and the civil rights movement.

Islamophobia (though I'm not sure I like that term, we know what it refers to) and racial profiling target all people of Muslim origin, whether or not they are fundamentalists or even believers, and anyone who looks "Middle Eastern" "North African" or "South Asian" - a hell of a lot of people.

[ 06 August 2008: Message edited by: lagatta ]

SPYING 101: The RCMP's SECRET Activities at Canadian Universities, 1917-1997

[ 06 August 2008: Message edited by: N.Beltov ]

I would point out that there is also the myth of the urban myth.