#week 46 2023 | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

remembertheplunge · 1 year

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My name is Lew Wentz.

I am a 68 year old gay criminal defense lawyer. I have been keeping journals for 46 years. I am writing a book based on the journals.

I came out as a gay man in 1984. I was married to a woman then. I left the marriage after telling her I was gay.

My younger sister, Zoe, who I was very close to, died rather suddenly of pancreatic cancer earlier this year. She gave me permission to blog the last two weeks of her life. Those blogs run from May 1 to May 14, 2023.

I journaled my journey through the turbulent 1980's and 1990's. During that time, I was pretty vocal about being gay. I volunteered to help people with aids through their illness and death. And, I believe because of this, I was fired from my job as a deputy Public Defender in Modesto California. I also documented the 12 year relationship I had with my partner, Jim, who died in 2009.

I wrote pretty much daily about these events and many others. I never intended for the entries to be made public. But, I now think they should be, as they weave what I believe to be our common story of what it's been like to be out, human and gay in the past four decades.

And, as I journaled, I developed ideas and ways to journal and wrote about them in the journals. I discuss the impact journaling has had on me. And, the amazing revelation reviewing journal entries for the blog and book of just how incredible our lives have been. Memory fades. The journal details do not.

My hope is that , after reading the blogs, and maybe some day the book, you too will become addicted to journaling. Your life on paper will amaze you down the line.

My blog turned one year old on February 5, 2024.

#journaling #gay man #criminal defense attorney #gay history #journaling techniques #Remember the Plunge Blog turned 0ne Year old February 5 #writing #radical gay elder #aids #volunteer support for people with aids through illness and death in the 80's and 90's.#gym and diet enthusiast #being fired from a job I believe because I was out #gay and vocal #Being disinherited for the same reason.#death of a sister #working through grief and mourning

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susie-dreemurr · 6 months

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Translating the “Property of Captain Cellbit” books, aka young Cellbit’s diaries, for English speakers. This was from, I think, 28/10/2023.

Translations of all the books are under the read more.

— Day 34 of exploring!!!

After a week carefully examining the dangerous territory denominated as the “Mystery Lands,” me, Captain Cellbit and my sister, Sargent Bagi, found the perfect place

For our base of operations!

A vegetal species of oak with a similar size to our inicial base (house). We believe that together we can make a headquarters for all the secrets that can be found on this “Land.”

Sargent Bagi says she wants to have a swing in one of the branches of the house. A fantastic idea! If we reach enough strength and high on the swing, we’ll get to see the whole terrain around us!

— Day 45 of exploring!!!

On future days, important achievements will be accomplished, where we will win against all our enemies, but before that, me and Bagi need to practice our defenses.

For this reason today we will start the “Special Training For Explorers!” With mama’s help I was able to build two wooden swords. Mommy didn’t let them be sharp, even through a lot of pleading, but I think this is enough for now!

We’ll practice a lot against each other until we’re ready!

— Day 46 of exploring!!!

Today I want to leave this entry here as a reminder on what to do in case something like this repeats.

On our training yesterday, an accident occurred, and Sargent Bagi was hit

With too much strength by my sword, so at the moment she’s mad at me. To be fair in this situation, she could have dodged better from my attacks, but I admit I may have been a tad too harsh on her. She refuses to look at me

And hasn’t been speaking with me since yesterday.

So today I’ll try to make her forgive me, because exploring The Mystery Lands isn’t the same without her. I tried, it wasn’t fun. I’ll do the biggest surprise for her.

I was able to get together all Bagi’s favorite flowers, all my candy, and I’ll give it all in a big present to apologize. I hope it works, I don’t wanna live with her ignoring me forever.

— Day 167 of exploring!!!

Today, great progress was made in the conquest of the Mystery Lands. Not only was our base completed, but it seems we’re finding out more and more of what surrounds us.

Strange creatures and secrets that seem to slip through our fingers, all around us. It’s like trying to look behind the curtain of a spectacle. I know there’s something bigger behind the show, I just need to look for it better.

I’ll make sure the investigation has a better place to be organized, now that we’re sure another big hole from our base’s floor won’t fall.

— Day 490 of exploring!!!

After observing the workers of the area a lot, I managed to figure out their patterns. They get out of a “tent” each morning, but there are way too many of them to live on a terrain so small.

Tomorrow I’ll investigate this to the best of my abilities.

Unfortunately Sargent Bagi won’t be able to come with me. Yesterday on our training she broke one of the vases mommy made, so she’s grounded until next week.

But this can’t wait. I’ll report everything I find there. She doesn’t know about my plan, I want it to be a surprise for when I come back and are able to show all that I could do without her knowing. It’ll be a great surprise that will cheer her up a lot.

— To Bagi

Bagi, I’m sorry. I can’t come back. I can’t bring you with me or try to warn you. I have to go.

If everything goes well, you’ll be able to find this and know everything. But don’t trust the workers. Don’t trust the cops, don’t trust anyone.

I saw everything inside, they were doing all this beneath our very feet… it’s horrible, Bagi. You don’t deserve this, I don’t want you to have to live with these guys. So meet me on the other side of this ocean Bagi. I’ll be going now, I don’t care if I have to swim until

luck, I’ll swim a few kilometers and stop at some other island and then swim again.

But I won’t come back. Never will I come back to this terrain.

#Cellbit #oibagi #qsmpblr #qsmp #gêmeos do mistério #qsmp translations #mine

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cyberstudious · 8 months

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friday, august 25th, 2023 | 46/100 days of productivity

it's been a while since I've made a post, but here are some pictures from the past week! my certification exam is tomorrow morning & I'm feeling good about it, but I still need to do some final studying. tbh I'm more nervous about getting to the testing center and remembering to bring the right IDs than the actual exam itself haha. I'm looking forward to finishing this one and having a break for a few weeks before starting the next certification!

#studyblr #studyspo #bujo #study inspiration #study motivation #100dop #op #and by break I mean time to do hobbies and study other nerdy things haha

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notetaeker · 6 months

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Sept 14-15, 2023 ✧ Productively Challenged 45-46/50

My days pass in a blur of work. I haven’t watered my plants in a week and instead moved them outside my window so at least the clouds can water them. All of them except for the ones in water have been sent out. My mom's plants outside have taken over the view from my window and it's one of my favorite things about spring, summer and fall. It is a sight for sore eyes after spending all my time grading and lesson planning and playing games to relieve stress D:

#notes #I think I finally have the mental capacity to post again #tho I am a month behind #gloomychallenge

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girlactionfigure · 7 months

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Here are 50 Palestinian Lies Since Last Saturday, 7 October 2023:

1- Hamas killed nobody.

2- Hamas only killed IDF soldiers.

3- The soldiers Hamas targeted were not in uniform.

4- Okay, Hamas killed civilians, but they’re part of the occupation.

5- Hamas didn’t kill children.

6- Hamas didn’t burn children.

7- The fire was an accident.

8- Hamas didn’t kidnap children.

9- Hamas takes care of child hostages.

10- Hamas didn’t rape women.

11- Other people raped the women.

12- The Hamas fighters who raped will be punished.

13- Hamas didn’t bomb people hiding in bomb shelters.

14- Only one bomb shelter was bombed.

15 - Hamas didn’t shoot people as they fled.

16- The people who were shot while fleeing were guilty of occupation.

17- Hamas is not a terrorist group.

18- Hamas is a resistance group.

19- Jews began the conflict in 1948, Hamas is still resisting that today.

20- Hamas doesn’t idolize Hitler.

21- Only some Hamas members love Hitler.

22- Hamas is different from ISIS.

23- Only some Palestinians joined ISIS in 2014.

24- Hamas doesn’t want a global Caliphate, (when Hamas’ Charter says they strive for a global caliphate).

25- Hamas respects Human rights, but… “Jews are not Humans”

26- Palestinians don’t idolize Saddam Hussein, despite him having roads, roundabouts named after him in Gaza and West Bank - and his photos raised in Palestinian protests.

27- Hamas does not steal.

28- Hamas only takes what it needs to protect Palestinian interests.

29- Hamas doesn’t kill Palestinians.

30- Only some Hamas rockets accidentally land in Gaza and kill Palestinians.

31- Hamas never uses human shields.

32- Only in some cases Hamas may use human shields.

33- We don’t want to drown Jews in the sea. We want a peaceful solution.

34- There will be no peace until all the land is ours and the Jews return to Europe.

35- All the Arab states have betrayed us.

36- All the Arab states are supporting us.

37- Iran doesn’t fund Hamas.

38- Iran only supplies Hamas with weapons, not money.

39- Iran only pays our soldiers’ salaries.

40- Hamas is not the Muslim Brotherhood.

41- Hamas was only founded by the Muslim Brotherhood.

42- Palestinians didn’t support Osama Bin Laden.

43- Only some Palestinians (thousands) celebrated on 9/11.

44- Nobody gave Palestinians a chance to govern themselves.

45- Yes we elected Hamas in Gaza, but Hamas doesn’t represent us.

46- Sometimes Hamas represents us, and sometimes it doesn’t. It depends.

47- Palestinians are indigenous to the Holy Land.

48- Yasser Arafat was Egyptian, but he was also indigenous to Palestine.

49- Palestinians who stab Jews get paid because their families need to eat.

50- It’s all the Jewish people’s fault.

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If you’ve seen another lie being amplified over the last week, feel free to add it to the list below.

Imam of Peace

#Israel #Hamas Lies #Imam of Peace

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mostlysignssomeportents · 5 months

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Red-teaming the SCOTUS code of conduct

Tomorrow (November 18) at 1PM, I'll be in Concord, NH at Gibson's Books, presenting my new novel The Lost Cause, a preapocalyptic tale of hope in the climate emergency.

On Monday (November 20), I'm at the Simsbury, CT Public Library at 7PM

Last April, Propublica's Joshua Kaplan, Justin Elliott and Alex Mierjeski dropped a bombshell: Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas had been showered in high-ticket "gifts" by billionaire ideologue Harlan Crow, who subsequently benefited from Thomas's rulings in the court:

https://www.propublica.org/article/clarence-thomas-scotus-undisclosed-luxury-travel-gifts-crow

This was just the beginning: in the coming days and weeks, more and more of Thomas's corruption came to light, everything from the fact that his mother's home had been bought by Crow, to the fact that Thomas's adoptive son went to a fancy private school on Crow's dime:

https://www.propublica.org/article/clarence-thomas-harlan-crow-private-school-tuition-scotus

The news was explosive and not merely because of the corruption it revealed in the country's highest court. The credibility of the court itself was at its lowest ebb in living memory, thanks to the two judges who occupied stolen seats – Kavanaugh and Coney Barrett. One of those judges – Kavanaugh – is a credibly accused rapist. Thomas is also a credibly accused sexual abuser:

https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2021/10/01/30-years-after-her-testimony-anita-hill-still-wants-something-from-joe-biden-514884

Then, this illegitimate court went on to deliver a string of upsets to long-settled law, culminating in the Dobbs decision, which triggered state laws that force small children to bear their rapists' babies:

https://www.nytimes.com/2022/06/09/health/abortion-bans-rape-incest.html

That was the context for the Thomas bribery scandal, which was swiftly joined by another bribery scandal, involving Samuel Alito's improper acceptance of valuable gifts from Paul Singer, another billionaire who brought business before the court:

https://www.propublica.org/article/samuel-alito-luxury-fishing-trip-paul-singer-scotus-supreme-court

This string of scandals and outrages naturally prompted public curiosity about the Supreme Court's ethical standards, and that triggered fresh waves of incredulous outrage when we all found out that the Supreme Court doesn't have any:

https://www.poynter.org/fact-checking/2023/why-doesnt-the-supreme-court-have-a-formal-code-of-ethics/

When Congress made tentative noises about providing minor checks and balances on the court, the justices erupted in outrage, telling Congress to go fuck itself:

https://int.nyt.com/data/documenttools/supreme-court-ethics-durbin/cf67ef8450ea024d/full.pdf

Chief Justice Roberts went on whatever the opposite of a charm-offensive is called (an "offense offensive?"), a media tour whose key message to the American people was "STFU, you're hurting our feelings":

https://news.bloomberglaw.com/us-law-week/roberts-defends-high-court-against-attacks-on-its-legitimacy

To the shock of no one except billionaires and Supreme Court justices inhabiting the splendid isolation from societal norms that is the privilege of life tenure, America didn't like this. The Supreme Court's credibility plummeted. A large supermajority of Americans – 79%! – now support age limits for Supreme Court justices:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/10/18/the-people-no/#tell-ya-what-i-want-what-i-really-really-want

Support for packing the Supreme Court is at an historic high and gaining ground, now sitting neck-and-neck with opposition at 46% in favor/51% opposed. Among under-30s, there's a healthy majority (58%) in favor of appointing more SCOTUS justices.

As Roberts' wounded bleats reveal, SCOTUS is very sensitive to its plummeting legitimacy. After all, the court doesn't have an army, nor does it have a police force. Supreme Court rulings only matter to the extent that the American people accept them as legitimate and obey them. Transformational presidents like Lincoln and FDR have waged successful wars against the Supreme Court, sidelining its authority and turning it into an unimportant rump institution for years afterward:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/05/26/mint-the-coin-etc-etc/#blitz-em

Now the Supremes are working their way through the (mythological but convenient) five stages of grief. Having passed through Denial and Anger, they've arrived at Bargaining, with the publication of the court's first "code" "of" "conduct":

https://www.supremecourt.gov/about/Code-of-Conduct-for-Justices_November_13_2023.pdf

It's…not good. As Max Moran writes for The American Prospect and The Revolving Door Project, the proposed code amounts to "security theater," a set of trivially bypassed strictures that would not have prevented any of the scandals to date and will permit far worse in the years to come:

https://prospect.org/justice/2023-11-17-supreme-court-objectivity-theater/

The security framing is a very useful tool for evaluating the Supremes' proposal. The purpose of a code of conduct isn't merely to prevent people from accidentally misstepping – it's to prevent malicious parties from corrupting the judicial process. To evaluate the code, we should red team it: imagine what harms a corrupt judge or a corrupting billionaire would be able to effect while staying within the bounds the code sets.

Seen in that light, the code is wildly defective and absolutely not fit for purpose. Its most glaring defect is found in the nature of its edicts – they are almost all optional. The word "should" appears 53 times in the document, while "must" appears just six times:

https://ballsandstrikes.org/ethics-accountability/supreme-court-code-of-conduct-hilariously-fake/

Of those six "musts," two are not pertinent to ethical questions (they pertain to the requirement for a justice to get prior approval before getting paid for teaching gigs).

When the code of conduct was rolled out, the court and its apologists pointed out that it was modeled on the ethical guidelines that bind lower courts. In the wake of the Thomas revelations, these guidelines were a useful benchmark to measure Thomas's conduct against. The fact that other federal judges would have been severely sanctioned or even fired if they had engaged in the same conduct as Thomas was a powerful argument that Thomas had overstepped the bounds of ethical conduct.

But as Bloomberg Law discovered when they compared the lower courts' codes to the Supremes' draft, the Supremes have gone through those lower court codes and systematically cut nearly every mention of "enforce" from their own draft. They also cut the requirement to "take appropriate action" if a violation is reported.

If you are a bad judge or a bad donor, all of this is good news. Nearly everything that it condemns is merely optional, which means that if a judge can be convinced to ignore a rule, they won't have violated the code. What's more, even widespread rulebreaking doesn't trigger an investigation. That's a very weak security measure indeed.

But it gets worse. The Supremes' code also omit key definitions found in the codes that bind the lower courts. The most important definition to be cut is for "political organization," which the lower courts define expansively as both parties and "entit[ies] whose principal purpose is to advocate for or against political candidates or parties." That definition captures "nonprofits, think tanks, lobbying firms, trade associations, grassroots groups" – the whole panoply of organizations whom federal judges must maintain an arm's length distance from in order to preserve their objectivity. Federal judges may not lead, speak at or donate to these organizations.

By omitting this definition, the Supremes open the door to involvement with precisely the kinds of PACs, thinktanks and other influence organizations funded by the billionaires who have benefited so handsomely from the judges' rulings.

What's more, the Supremes carve out an explicit exemption for speaking to "nonprofits, think tanks, lobbying firms, trade associations, grassroots groups," and to serving as a director, trustee or officer of "a nonprofit organization devoted to the law, the legal system, or the administration of justice and may assist such an organization in the management and investment of funds."

As Moran points out, this exemption would cover – among other institutions – the far-right Federalist Society, which satisfies all those criteria. That means a Supreme Court justice could sit on the board and raise funds for the FedSoc without raising any issues with this code – not even one of those squishy "shoulds." Nothing in this code would stop Clarence Thomas or Thomas Alito from accepting lavish gifts, private jet rides, or luxury tour buses from billionaires with business before the court:

https://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/justice-thomas-267000-loan-rv-forgiven-senate-democrats-104303972

As Moran writes, these definitional vacuums are a well-understood class of weaknesses in ethics codes. Congress gets a lot of mileage out of this ruse – for example, by narrowly defining "lobbying" to exclude things that most people understand that term to mean, Congress engage in improperly close relations with lobbyists while still maintaining that they hardly ever talk to a lobbyist at all:

https://www.politico.eu/article/jeff-hauser-opinion-watergate-european-union-qatargate/

The same ruse goes for campaign contributions – if you want to accept a lot of campaign contributions that would fall afoul of ethics rules, just narrow the definition of "campaign contribution" until all the money you're receiving no longer qualifies.

Moran closes by calling on Congress to formulate a real, meaningful code of conduct for the Supremes, one that orders Supreme Court judges not to accept corrupting gifts and to maintain the arm's length neutrality that the rest of the federal judiciary is required to keep. Rather than this new code of conduct constituting proof that SCOTUS can be its own oversight, its gross deficiencies should put to rest any question about whether the Supremes can be trusted to regulate themselves.

If you'd like an essay-formatted version of this post to read or share, here's a link to it on pluralistic.net, my surveillance-free, ad-free, tracker-free blog:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/11/17/red-team-black-robes/#security-theater

Image: Senate Democrats (modified) https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:United_States_Supreme_Court_Building,_July_21,_2020.jpg

CC BY 2.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/deed.en

#pluralistic #security theater #scotus #supreme court #clarence thomas #red teaming #loopholes #cheap tricks #diff

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odinsblog · 1 month

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JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — Two former Mississippi deputies wept in court Wednesday as a federal judge sentenced them to years in prison and condemned their cruelty for breaking into a home with four other white officers and torturing two Black men.

U.S. District Judge Tom Lee sentenced Christian Dedmon, 29, to 40 years in prison and Daniel Opdyke, 28, to 17.5 years.

Lee said Dedmon carried out the most “shocking, brutal and cruel attacks imaginable” against the two Black men, Michael Corey Jenkins and Eddie Terrell Parker, and against a white man during a traffic stop weeks earlier.

Dedmon did not look at Jenkins and Parker as he apologized Wednesday, saying he’d never forgive himself for the pain he caused.

Jenkins, who has trouble speaking after being shot in the mouth during the January 2023 attack, said in a statement read by his lawyer that Dedmon’s actions were the most depraved of any of those who attacked him.

“Deputy Dedmon is the worst example of a police officer in the United States,” Jenkins’ lawyer read. “Deputy Dedmon was the most aggressive, sickest and the most wicked.”

On Tuesday, Lee sentenced 31-year-old Hunter Elward, who shot Jenkins, to nearly 20 years in prison and Jeffrey Middleton, 46, to 17.5 years. The judge called their actions “egregious and despicable.” They, like Opdyke and Dedmon, worked as Rankin County sheriff’s deputies during the attack. (source)

#politics #defund the police #michael corey jenkins #eddie terrell parker #goon squad #blacklivesmatter #police #mississippi #racism #rankin county

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zef-zef · 5 months

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A wonderful chilled piece by Christina Vantzou, on one of my fav labels.

Christina Vantzou - Observations, edits, a cure for restlessness (Longform Editions, 2023)

#2020s #Christina Vantzou #Electronic #Ambient #experimental #deep listening #field recording #minimalism #atmospheric #women in electronic music #Longform Editions #2023 #week 46 2023 #Bandcamp

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ladysansalannister · 8 months

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We have always been meant to burn together.

HOTD APPRECIATION WEEK 2023

day 7: free choice - the valyrian wedding

inspiration: https://twitter.com/ichortale/status/1695567387297210548?s=46&t=ngwmVmbAoc8yuK35MXR-Dg

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hetalia-club · 8 months

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Local Hottie Beauty Pageant 2023

(I will do a new round every week. The winner will challenge the next and there can only be one left standing in the end. Remember to vote every week.)

Vote even if they're not your main #1 because this is a knock out. Also keep in mind this is not a favorite character competition this is the local hottie beauty pageant. But wait...One cannot just simply take a crown without a final fight from the King...

Now are you saying Long Live The King or are you Holding Out For A Hero? That is the true question you all need to ask yourselves...

Round 24: Fight **FINALS!* For The Crown!

Prepare for the coup of the century. If this isn't how you thought this poll was going to end then you haven't been paying attention.

Previous Rounds 1. England .vs. France- Winner: England- 46 2. England .vs. Germany- Winner: Germany- 69 3. Germany .vs. Romano- Winner: Romano- 26 4. Romano .vs. Denmark- Winner: Romano- 154 5. Romano .vs. China- Winner: Romano- 239 6. Romano .vs. Lithuania- Winner: Romano- 70 7. Romano .vs. Austria- Winner: Romano- 189 8. Romano .vs. Norway- Winner: Romano- 88 9. Romano .vs. Italy- Winner: Romano- 242 10. Romano .vs. America- Winner: Romano- 30 11: Romano .vs. Iceland- Winner: Romano- 228 12. Romano .vs. Ireland- Winner: Romano- 120 13. Romano .vs. Estonia- Winner: Romano- 244 14. Romano .vs. Japan-Winner: Romano- 96 15. Romano .vs. Finland-Winner: Romano- 86 16. Romano .vs. Netherlands- Winner: Romano- 132 17. Romano .vs. Russia- Winner: Russia- ?? 18. Russia .vs. Sweden- Winner: Sweden- 194 19. Sweden .vs. Greece- Winner: Sweden- 51 20. Sweden .vs. Portugal- Winner: Sweden- 36 21. Sweden .vs. Canada- Winner: Canada- 12 22. Canada .vs. Prussia- Winner- Prussia- 63 23. Prussia .vs. Spain- Winner- Prussia- 16 24. Prussia .vs. Turkey- Winner- Prussia

#Hetalia #hws Prussia #Hws romano #aph romano #aph prussia #lovino vargas #gilbert beilschmidt #original #poll #local hottie beauty pageant

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i-am-worm · 5 months

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Inktober 52 2023 - Week 46 - 'Believe' DOUBLE BONUS

Last Christmas @scifer got me a discworld t-shirt, and it came in this awesome envelope with fake stamps from the discworld on it. I knew I had to do a drawing on the envelope at some point, and here it is! Have the god Om being his grumpy self.

#inktober #inktober52 #inktober 52 #beleive #believe #tortoise #discworld #terry pratchett #gnu terry pratchett #great god om

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fatehbaz · 2 months

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There are thousands of people homeless in Edmonton. About only one week ahead of the winter holidays in December 2023, the City of Edmonton pursued plans to sweep over 130 homeless encampments as part of a what has been described as a "shocking" eviction plan. But at the same time, in January 2024, the city was clearing camps amidst sustained deadly severe weather, during a polar vortex event with temperatures of -50 F/-46 C. Meanwhile, a court case presented by homeless advocates with Coalition for Justice and Human Rights was trying to slow brutal sweeps and evictions. But when a judge shut down the case in the middle of January 2024, it took the City of Edmonton just one single day to turn around and set up an "operations centre" to expand sweeps again, as the daytime high temperatures for the preceding week and over the next few days were sometimes as low as -25 F/-31 C. In less than two weeks after the lawsuit was scrapped, by the beginning of February 2024, the city had already cleared 49 encampments. (The city ostensibly has access to institutional and financial power as the Alberta provincial capital and a center of the province's massive fossil fuel industry, yet the city spends its effort on evictions.)

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[Quote.] Two weeks since a lawsuit challenging Edmonton's practice of dismantling homeless encampments was scrapped by a judge, nearly 50 encampments around the city have been torn down. A new emergency operations centre - set up by city administration one day after the suit was dismissed - is helping co-ordinate sweeps as evictions continue at an accelerated pace. The Emergency Operations Centre has overseen the removal of 49 encampments, the city said in a statement. About 211 structures were removed during the sweeps [...]. The encampment operations centre was established on Jan. 17, as Edmonton police promised to hasten tearing down encampments [...]. The day before, a judge ruled Coalition for Justice and Human Rights, a group that challenged the city's encampment policies, did not have legal standing in the case, putting an end to the high-profile legal challenge and, in turn, lifting restrictions on how the evictions could proceed. "The bottom line is they're doing this because that lawsuit longer exists," [A.N.], a lawyer for the group, said. "They feel emboldened.[...] And that means, from our perspective, they're continuing to breach the fundamental rights of the most vulnerable and marginalized within our city." [End quote.]

Text by: Wallis Snowdon. "49 homeless encampments dismantled in Edmonton since lawsuit scrapped". CBC News. 1 February 2024. [Bold emphasis added by me.]

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Screenshot of headline from 15 December 2023.

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Headline from 12 January 2024 (updated 15 January 2024).

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[Quote.] It feels like housing is at a tipping point in the city of Edmonton. There have been four main events highlighting the situation: [1] A case that was brought against the City of Edmonton by the Coalition for Justice and Human Rights about encampment sweeps; [2] Encampment sweeps perpetrated by the Edmonton police days before a forecasted deadly cold snap; [3] A decision by Edmonton City Council to declare a housing and homelessness emergency; [4] The Alberta government’s announcement that encampments will continue to be cleared out, while also arguing there’s sufficient shelter room. That contention has been refuted by advocates, shelter workers and the province’s official housing critic. [...]

The state of housing both in Canada and globally is worsening, but the housing crisis is not new. [...] Under Canada’s National Housing Strategy Act passed in 2019, the federal government affirmed the human right to housing. [...] This isn’t happening, apparently, when it comes to encampments, which are both a site of human rights violations and of human rights claims. The Coalition for Justice and Human Rights was denied legal standing by the judge in its case against Edmonton because he ruled it wasn’t the right group to represent the interests of people experiencing homelessness. While that means this particular case will not proceed, it garnered significant media attention and does not refute the claims by the coalition, only its standing. The coalition argued human rights were violated during encampment sweeps. It sought to maintain permanent restrictions on encampment evictions, and had been supported by many advocates in Edmonton, including those who submitted affidavits. [...]

[U]nhoused people [...] are disproportionately Indigenous [...]. When authorities make reference to “public safety” concerns about encampment, unhoused people are positioned as dangerous.

The destruction of those encampments simply drives people who are unhoused further to the margins. Sweeps do not end people’s experiences of homelessness; they move them out of public view. [...] Homelessness in Edmonton has resulted in increased amputations due to exposure to extreme cold, while encampment sweeps lead to the overburdening of a shelter system that is already inadequate and the denial of rest for people who are unhoused. [End quote.]

Text by: Katie MacDonald. "Encampment sweeps in Edmonton are yet another example of settler colonialism". The Conversation. 8 February 2024. [Bold emphasis and some paragraph breaks/contractions added by me. Image shows screenshot of article's headline.]

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