So I stumbled upon a really interesting group of people with an interesting legal theory… the whole Freeman/Sovereign Citizen/natural-person movement. I’d never heard of them before, although apparently they had made news in Montana a few years ago with a Waco-style standoff.
Prentice finally allowed himself to be interviewed on CBC Radio Search Engine, a pretty tech savvy show, regarding his copyright bill. I heard it and was dumbfounded. MP3 Link. (Local Cache)
I sent a quick e-mail to my MP’s office shortly after bill C-61 was introduced (along the same vein as my letter). Here’s the (canned) response I got from his aide, below the break. At least they’re recognizing that there is “some concern surrounding the bill’s proposals in regard to technological protection measures”, which is more than Prentice is willing to admit.
In a general update, Michael Geist reports on the growing opposition to this copyright bill from students, educators and librarians.
I spent the afternoon doing a quick letter to my MP. It’s below the fold, for your convenience… I urge everyone else to do the same and stop Bill C-61. If you dont want to draft your own, you can use this too from Copyright for Canadians (via BoingBoing)
Michael Geist and Russel McOrmond have more comments at their respective sites.
As per this forum post:
1) click on the following link: CRTC Submissions
2) Select “Part VII/PN” from the list
3) insert the CRTC file number (# 8622-C51-200805153) into the “Subject” Line and
4) insert the following suggested text into the “Description / Comments / Questions” box: “I am writing to express my support for the Application that CAIP has filed with the CRTC regarding Bell Canada’s throttling practices. I believe that these practices contravene Bell
Canada’s duties as a common carrier and that the Commission should direct Bell to immediately cease and desist from throttling the traffic of independent ISPs.”
A quick break from studying to comment (too briefly) on Bell Canada’s latest behaviour.
It seems Bell has decided to degrade the internet connections of not only it’s Sympatico users, but the users of independent ISPs, who lease the ‘last mile’ connection from Bell (and pay handsomely for those lines) as required by the CRTC tariffs. Bell is picking on peer-to-peer traffic specifically, although some report encrypted traffic (like VPN traffic used by many companies for employees to connect to workplace networks) is getting hit in the crossfire.
The Globe and Mail has an article on Robert Latimer, the man who in 1993 exposed his severely disabled daughter to toxic fumes in order to end her suffering. He has spent the last seven years in jail, and was just recently denied day parole. I remember studying this case in my undergrad bioethics course… a real ethical dillema (although clearly not a legal one – active euthanasia is illegal in Canada).
As many people point out, the parole board must have a big fat stick up their nether regions. Their job was to assess the risk of Latimer re-offending. While they have no problems letting gangsters and sex offenders back on the street, they deny this man parole when it is very clear he would be extremely unlikely to commit second-degree murder (or any similar offence) ever again. They seem to have punished Latimer not because he was a threat to re-offend, but because he was an offence to their view of the world. Had he lied to the board and faked remorse, he probably would have been let out — but because he stood by his principles and answered honestly, willing to pay the personal price, he is sent back to jail. (via Dawg’s Blog)
Along with the recent tazer death of Robert Dziekanski (which is not an isolated incident), I am beginning to lose my faith in the Canadian justice system.
Well, other than routinely flexing my rights, and being careful who I vote for, I’m out of ideas. Send them my way if you’ve got them (no, I don’t want to start a commune in the bush somewhere with you, go away!)
In response to the upcoming Copyright Legislation (coverage here, here, and here), I have written the following letter to my MP. Please feel free to use parts of it freely should you wish to write your own (which I highly recommend if you believe in a Fair Copyright Law for Canada). I myself stole parts/inspiration from a few sources. Michael Geist has some other suggestions for what actions you can take.
I am a Family Physician in Southern Ontario with an overindulgent geeky side!
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