Ottawa Citizen: Conservative Party Activist Renounces Secret Copyright Deal

“As a former worker and member of a Riding Board of Directors for the Conservative Party, I feel have to apologize to all Canadians.

“The new secret copyright deal clearly shows that this government does not care about personal privacy or about Canadians’ right to debate and input their own laws. Instead they have cheerily given in to the unjustified demands of Hollywood and huge music companies.

“I will now be donating my time, money and effort to whichever political party speaks loudest against this proposed bill.

“Brian Newman, Ottawa”

A draft treaty proposes draconian measures to protect copyright

…
“As they often do, they are carrying out their planning in secret, in the knowledge that if more people knew of their activities they would not be allowed to get away with it.

“The US (surprise, surprise) has circulated a draft “Discussion Paper on a Possible Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement” (ACTA) for the next G8 meeting, in Tokyo in July. The full text of the document has been published on Wikileaks (wikileaks.org).

“If a treaty based on its provisions were adopted, it would enable any border guard, in any treaty country, to check any electronic device for any content that they suspect infringes copyright laws….

“It proposes a governing body for copyright protection that would operate outside organisations such as the World Trade Organisation (WTO) and the UN. In short, it proposes a global police force, answerable to no one, with intrusive powers …

“The first newspaper to break the story was Canada’s The Ottawa Citizen, which in a story by Vito Pilieci on May 24 picked up on the Wikileaks posting….”

More coverage of ACTA and intellectual property issues at this site: IP Justice

“An international civil liberties organization promoting balanced intellectual property laws and free expression”

Financial Post: Rate cut to buck trend (http://www.nationalpost.com/opinion/columnists/story.html?id=c905dc81-121c-49ef-aa0b-a5199de0412b)

“So a week after U. S. and European central banks made it crystal clear they are on the inflation warpath, the Bank of Canada is poised to buck the trend and cut interest rates.”

Here is a Ron Paul-inspired reaction to an article which gave similar advice for the Bank of England in May: telegraph.co.uk: Bank of England must cut interest rates by 0.5pc and keep cutting

Mr Bootle, how predictable. Its thought processes like yours which have got us into this mess in the first place.

The term “inflation” has many definitions but the most widely accepted is the increase in both FIAT money and credit. (This of course will lead to higher prices which is the measure most people think of as inflation.) By the “lowering of interest rates” you are advocating the printing of even more pound notes than Mr Brown has already printed in order to debase our currency. That is the true meaning of “lowering interest rates”. However, no-one talks of the currency debasement because its not really a vote winner.

The analogy between credit and heroin is almost perfect. You are advocating giving the consumer another (credit) fix just so you and your like don’t have to go through “cold turkey”. That is, and never will be, a long term solution…

“Posted by NorrieC on May 12, 2008 1:04 PM”

June 10th, 2008