Multiple sources (Save Out Net, Howard Knopf) have indicated that CIPPIC is interested in hearing from individuals who have been subject to 'throttling' of their high speed internet connection. If you are currently subscribed, or once were a subscriber of either Bell or Rogers' high speed services and would like to express your concerns, please contact Robert Hester at CIPPIC.

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Listen to interview of David McGuinty on Bill C-555 by the folks at MobileSyrup.

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An article by Kevin Parkinson on GlobalResearch.ca talks about a few issues with our incumbent monopolist phone and broadcast undertaking companies (wired and wireless). I am glad that these issues are increasingly being covered by people on all sides of the political spectrum(s), recognizing the importance of this infrastructure to our future economy as well as society as a whole.

OTTAWA-Located two hours north of Montreal, the Algonquin community of Barriere Lake came to Ottawa to protest government interference in their reserve.
Demanding a meeting with MP Lawrence Cannon and a government-overseeing of governance reselection on their reserve, the community aims to correct a March coup d'etat carried out on their reserve.

The community's Customary Chief, Benjamin Nottoway, speaks with RabbleTV about the recent events on the reserve, the governance difficulties, and the struggle to protect the land.

Terry Matchewan, an Algonquin man who was part of the delegation to Ottawa was attacked alongside four other Algonquin men by Gatineau police and speaks of their targetting and wounds.

Langley MP Mark Warawa is quoted in an article by Andrew Bucholtz in the Langley Times as saying that, “We’ve tried to reach a balance, and we’ve done that over the last year and a half by meeting with all the stakeholders”.

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Peter Hallward sets forth the crucial facts of the 2004 coup d'état in Haiti which ushered in a two-year reign of terror. From the myth of "Aristide the dictator" to the ongoing military occupation of the country by foreign troops, Hallward debunks the mainstream media version of the facts which exonerated imperial powers and obscured the causes of the crisis. Read on...

While my analysis has focused on the failure of the IDC/BSA studies to differentiate infringement from competition, an article by Mike Masnick in TechDirt takes on some of the other major flaws.

A Canadian News Wire article discusses how "when it comes to owning and using mobile phones, Canada lags behind many nations, including several in the developing world,suggests a global study on telecommunications".

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An article by Michael Geist (Toronto Star, his website) talks about a few of the ways in which a copyright bill can be "green" or non-green.

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Cory Doctorow's latest article for The Guardian documents why many of the technological fixes being attempted to reduce copyright infringement won't work, and have harmful unintended consequences.

Not mentioned is the elephant in the room of "Digital Rights Management" which locks down people's devices in an attempt to stop copyright infringement, and as an "unintended" consequence makes it harder/impossible for independent creators to create and distribute their works without the "permission" of a competing intermediary.

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An article by Jordan Golson for The Industry Standard talks about the release of the BSA 2007 State Piracy Study, which claimed that one in five pieces of software in use in the United States was unlicensed.

Before anyone worries too much, read Lies, Damned lies, and IIPA/BSA/etc statistics. They use these same bogus statistics in their promotion of Bill C-61 and other backward-facing legislative reforms.

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Greetings from the 15th Indigenous Environmental Network gathering to Protect Mother Earth in Newe Segobia (Western Shoshone territory)!

LISTEN ONLINE LIVE HERE: http://www.earthcycles.net/
Info & program here: http://www.ienearth.org/

The first panel of the day - about mining & the extractive industries - is about to get started, with amazing speakers from all over, INCLUDING KI!!! There are 2 smaller workshops on mining today & a field trip tomorrow to Barrick Gold's Cortez gold mine, which is threatening to expand into Horse Canyon, one of the most important Western Shoshone sacred sited.

On that note, the photo is of the Havasupai (Grand Canyon area) delegation at the Longest Walk 2's arrival in DC, The Manifesto for Change, the Resolutions, and the 1978 Longest Walk Manifesto are all now posted as PDF files on the main Longest Walk site: www.longestwalk.org

I'll get more writing up on all these events & issues at some later date...

saludos,
Sandra

OTTAWA- The Barriere Lake Algonquins are once again back in Ottawa for a three day protest. Camping out on Victoria Island, the community, alongside Montreal and Ottawa activists, has organized a panel discussion, a series of protests, marches, and events including a panel discussion, film screening, and poetry show.

Last time the Algonquins came to Ottawa, they peacefully occupied MP Lawrence Cannon's office, demanding the end of a March coup d'etat the government enacted on their reserve.

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Press Release

Friday, July 16, 2008

Algonquins to demonstrate in front of Department of Indian Affairs and march through downtown Ottawa: demand Government of Canada end illegal interference in community governance and oversee new leadership selection

Ottawa, ON / – Algonquins from the Barriere Lake First Nation will end three days of demonstrations in Ottawa by picketing in front of the Department of Indian Affairs in Gatineau at 11:00am and marching through the downtown core at 1:30pm, demanding that the Government oversee a leadership re-selection in accordance with Barriere Lake's customs, and honour its signed agreements with the community.

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The latest I have read is that by-elections for Guelph, Westmount--Ville-Marie, and Saint Lambert will be called on July 20 with a vote set for Monday, September 8. Those of us that consider fair copyright to be an important election issue are already excited by the candidacy of Tom King, a celebrated Canadian author, broadcaster, and University of Guelph professor (Read his "About me" for details -- you will very likely already know of him)

Mr King has indicated he will make copyright fairness an issue during the by-election, and has already announced an event in Toronto on July 24, 2008 to meet with regional artists, activists and academics who are opposed to the Conservatives’ Bill C-61.

The following is my Q&A with him.

Read the rest of this entry on IT World Canada's BLOG »

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The July 15 release of seven hours of footage of a CSIS agent interrogating Omar Khadr is the first footage released of an interrogation at Guantanamo, and the first time that footage of a CSIS interrogation has been made public.

Toronto-born Khadr has been imprisoned in Guantanamo Bay since 2002. He was 15 years old when he was accused of throwing a grenade that killed SFC Chris Speer in Afghanistan.

Romeo Dallaire is quoted in today's Guardian saying: "[Canada has] worked for years to assist other nations in eradicating the use of children in conflict. But our own country doesn't even want to recognise that our own citizen (is a child soldier). No matter what his politics are, it's totally irrelevant."

Chiming in on behalf of the small but powerful extreme right, hyper militarized Canuck class, the National Post editorial board had this to say today, in an editorial titled Keep Khadr Where he is: "...the question becomes, do we trust an American military tribunal to dispense justice? Frankly, we do."

This situation is so terrible, and so wrong in so many ways.

Click here for information on writing your MP & the PM demanding that Khadr be transferred from US to Canadian custody.

Here is the letter I got from my MP Anthony Rota in my hometown riding of Nippising-Timiskaming, in response to a message I sent him about Bill C-61.

Kyle,

Thank you for your correspondence regarding Bill C-61. I appreciate having the benefit of your comments.

In your email, you voice opposition to changes and criminalization of various actions that the bill will bring forth.

My Liberal colleagues and I understand your concerns and we believe that the bill must strike the right balance between consumers and creators.

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John C. Dvorak offered a similar rant as part of the TWIT show, so it is great to see he did it in text for PC magazine.

The journalism community in general—and tech journalists in particular—discourage free enterprise and real competition. They are the worst kind of bandwagon-hoppers and hero-worshippers. No wonder the public does not think highly of the profession.
...
The irony is that giving too much attention to Microsoft allowed the company to take over the place; there was nobody left to actually advertise, and all the computer magazines shrank in size. Everyone then blamed the Internet.

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Press release: TOM KING TO MEET COPYRIGHT ACTIVISTS IN TORONTO

GUELPH – NDP candidate for Guelph and author Tom King will be in Toronto on July 24, 2008 to meet with regional artists, activists and academics who are opposed to the Conservatives’ Bill C-61. The event, which is being held at the Edward Day Art Gallery, will look at strategies for opposing the U.S.-style copyright legislation.

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