Election 2009 (Part 2)

In yesterday's blog, I looked at the reasons why the various political parties may be interested in a fall election. After all, we went through a whole summer without being bothered by them and I guess it's inevitable. According to one article, a vote of confidence could happen by the 30th of September, which would mean an election some time in early to mid-November.

That could be exciting although most pundits think the result will be more of the same, so you have to wonder, why? This is not the worry for this blog but to consider some of the thinking which might inspire the various parties not to pull the plug on this 40th Parliament since Confederation.

I'm not posting too many links since a lot of them are on yesterday's blog.

Opposed

The Conservatives: Stephen Harper is probably getting tired of being nice to those people in the House of Commons. He has to entertain the likes of Jack Layton, Michael Ignatieff and Gilles Doucette. I believe he would rather cut their heads off and drink their blood. But because he has a minority government, he has to smile a lot. He desires to have a majority government. This is his dream and could become his obsession. If he is not careful, this could be his downfall. Perhaps instead of dreaming about a majority, he should read up on the life of Lester B. Pearson, he served five years as PM and never had a majority. Yet he was able to have a successful career.

So why wouldn't they want an election? One word: the Economy. The great meltdown of 2008 took place during the election and he managed to avoid having to deal with an election when the bottom falls out. Think a governing party wants to have that on their plate, just look at the campaign of John McCain, the economy killed his chance of election.

While things may be starting to look well, the recovery is still fragile. It could just as easily go south and sideways all at the same time. I suspect the Conservatives would like a couple of quarters of growth before dropping the writ. If you noticed they have been very careful about the recovery, no great crowing from any Minister. They have been very cautious about saying good things about the end of the recession. I think Stephen Harper is a master tactician and he likes being Prime Minister. With the autumn coming he wants to enjoy watching the colours over in the Gatineau's.

The Liberals: if this party has the most to lose in an election, then its leader Michael Ignatieff has the most to lose of everybody. If you recall he was crowned leader of the Liberal Party, I suspect a number of potential leadership hopefuls are angry and are keeping their anger within, if Iggy slips up, trust me it will be a nasty few months. If the Liberals have learned one thing its this; they hate losing and they hate losers. They dumped Dion because he was a loser. They thought they were getting the new Pierre Trudeau instead they may have gotten the English clone of Stephane Dion.

Consider their platform, they want to reform EI and make it standard across all reasons. They want to lower the requirement to 360 hours. So consider what their platform is all about, they want to make it easier for Canadians to get on the dole. Now that's a profound and moving policy, you can almost hear the Liberals on the stump trying to sell that to the average Canadians: "Vote Liberal and get onto EI sooner". Mind you it probably won't help anybody already on EI and doesn't seem to include topping up the percentage you receive or the length of time you can receive it. It will probably cost the average worker and average employer more in EI deductions. Let's face it, this is not scintillating stuff. This isn't the "National Dream" or "Just Society". Got news for you, Gordon Lightfoot isn't writing any songs about 360 hours to the dole, nor is the late and missed Pierre Berton writing a two volume definitive history on the EI reform. May be an epic fail.

Iggy tried to challenge the PM but blinked. He could have pulled the plug but couldn't. He knows the Party is not ready to take on the Conservatives.

The NDP: Jack has trimmed down his goals. The last election he was going for Prime Minister, this time he wants to be a coalition partner and a cabinet seat with his junior party, the Liberals. The problem is, some in his party are attacking Ignatieff as much as Stephen Harper, not a good move when you wish to be nice to each other after the election. That will make things interesting around the cabinet table, you will have two forces trying to stick it to each other at every second. That will make a stable government.

The are bolstered by reports from themselves about their successful convention. They love Obama and hope it will rub off on them, as long as they don't make mention that Barak wants to stay in Afghanistan and the NDP doesn't. An election could give them some problems.

The Bloc Québécois : again, meh. Who honestly cares what they think.

So this is my thoughts. Will there be an election this year? Hard to say.

Elections 2009

As the summer draws to a close and the Zucchini plants begin to wilt, their summer of producing delicious vegetable coming to an end, we now consider what has to be the topic at hand and that is, will there be an election this year. On one hand, we haven't had one in nearly a year and after four this decade alone that makes it one of the longest stretches we enjoyed in this new millenium. But before I say anything further, a word of thanks has to go to the leaders of all the major political parties for not subjecting us to a summer election. With this summer of either too dry or too wet conditions, either too hot or too cool with almost no weekend that had the right weather to be enjoyed, the last thing we needed to see was any of you clowns on our doorsteps. So thank you for not annoying us because if you had, we as a nation would have thrown all of you out and voted Rhino.

However all good things must come to an end and since Canada wants to have as many elections in the space of one year as there will be parts to the last Harry Potter movie, it seems the leaders are all beginning to drop the "E" word. Before you gather the pitchfork and light up the torches and march to Ottawa, perhaps we should consider whether an election will come to pass. To do so, I want to examine for the next few minutes, who would favour an election and why.

In Favour

The Conservatives: their numbers are starting to climb in opinion polls. The latest shows them with an 11 point lead over the Liberals. Plus they are beginning to portray Michael Ignatieff as the new Stéphane Dion. As well, the economy is starting to turn around, it may be a weak recovery but it is a recovery. Plus with it being weak, it could easily go the other way may be best to strike while the iron is hot sort of thing. Stephen Harper had a pretty good summer both on the domestic and international front. He might just get his wish and gain that majority.

The Liberals: they are sick of propping up the Conservatives, they are sick of being seen as indecisive, they are tired of being in the Opposition. The "Natural Governing Party" has had it, they think they can win an election, plus they have Michael Ignatieff who probably doesn't want to be the answer to the trivia question, "what two Liberal leaders failed to become Prime Minister of Canada during the first decade of the 21st Century?" The party's debt is coming down and they are able to raise money, plus another opinion poll shows them tied with the Conservatives. As well, Iggy may be getting bored quickly with life as Leader of Her Majesty's Loyal Opposition, Harvard is starting to look real good. Better win now or its back to the States. He misses the intellectually stimulating discussions, something lacking in the weekly Liberal Caucus meeting, plus he has learned much to his chagrin, Canada doesn't believe in torture.

As an aside, Bob Rae is secretly hoping for an election because he knows the Party will probably lose and then he can do to his former BFF what Iggy did to him by manoevering the party to annoint him leader. I suspect Bob travels with his portable knife sharpener always close at hand.

The NDP: they want an election because they think the results will be a minority and they can force the Liberals into a coalition. Jack Layton wants a cabinet seat. The party had a great convention, at least in their eyes, most of Canada, if anyone really paid attention, remember it as the 'convention the NDP almost dropped the N in their name'. Plus they had a couple of people from the Obama campaign and think they can learn from that team how to win an election. Jack still will add you on Twitter, so he thinks he's got the social networking thing down. As well, the NDP now govern two of Canada's ten provinces. Even though its; Manitoba and Nova Scotia, it's still two. They think by identifying themselves with Barak Obama and the United States some of that success might rub off, as well, they know they must hurry before their kneejerk anti-Americanism surfaces. They can't smile around Americans all the time like that, it hurts their faces.

The Bloc Quebecois: meh, they will win the same number of seats as previous elections. They will have the same opportunity to complain how mistreated Quebec is in Confederation. Wants an election because they can't lose because they don't have to worry about winning.

So that's the reason why all the parties want an election in November, before the snow starts to fly. My next blog will examine who doesn't want an election.

The End of Food- A Review

I picked up the book "The End of Food" by Thomas Pawlick. I point out the author because there's another book of the same name by Paul Roberts.

What can be said about a book in which the author suggests that gardening can be considered an act of subversion (pp184-185). He writes:

For thousands of years, in every unjust society, those who, from Robin Hood on down, have affirmed life over the version of reality promoted by the 'powers that be', have been seen as outlaws. There is no reason why gardeners should be exceptions. Guerrilla gardeners. It has a nice, allitertive ring to it.

He believes that if we want good food we need to grow our own and doing so can be thought of an act of subversion.

The second thing to enjoy about the book is his review of the book Walden by Henry David Thoreau. He suggests:

In today's corporate America, Thoreau would likely have been arrested, stripped of his citizenship and shipped off to a cage in Guantanamo Bay, by defying the corporate 'will to power'.

And if they got hold of his writings of "Civil Disobedience", it would have been waterboarding.

The book begins with Thomas recounting a story of buying a tomato that was so red, so attractive but too hard to eat. He bought the ingredients to make a salad but discovered the tomato was impossible to cut. So he left it out to ripe. He waited one week, two weeks, but nothing happened. He got so frustrated he eventually threw it at his fence. He thought he would get a vaudvillian splat, but instead, it bounced back. It didn't break, he described it as a red tennis ball. He picked it up and threw it again, this time it cracked, still no splat. He examined the inside and some of the seeds had started to germinate. In an interview he did at Gremolata.com it happened in Windsor, which he reminds us is close to the tomato capital of Canada, Leamington. This started his study of the food industry as it exists today.

As for tomatoes, he discovered there are only a handful of companies involved in the production of the fruit. These companies have had as their motive, to produce tomatoes that are good for shipping. In fact the wish list does not include ripeness, taste or nutrition.

His target is the transnationals that control food production and distribution, their motive is not taste but profit. Feeding people is not part of the equation in their quest for profit. In fact, the food industry has brought about food which over the last fifty years, has had a decrease in nutrition. He gives information on how the vitamins content has decreased and not just by a little, but a great deal. Again, food value is not part of the equation.

But, nature abhors a vacuum and the food industry as well, when the level of vitamin C has increased, sodium and some very nasty chemicals have increased. One of his chapters give us what we can find in our food. One might think that he is talking about meat, but he does bring in vegetables into the picture, so if you think you can become a vegan and miss it all, think again. It's all affected and it is all troubling.

The food industry has changed the relationship between the producers and the markets. He spends time considering how the food industry has impacted the production of pork, chicken and beef. In all three, the emphasis is profit and the animals are commodities to be used, and abusd and then eliminated. He considers the case of mad cow and the source of it all is the adding of beef 'stuff' into the feed of cows. So this is what the industry did:

What could be more unnatural than to turn herbivores into carnivores- and worse, into cannibals of their own kind.

The result was Mad Cow and people got sick. The blame for this can be laid no place else then simple human stupidity, the belief we could do better, cut corners and cost and wring out another penny of profit.

It is this desire for profit which motivates everything and it seems, according to Thomas' writing to bring disaster and potential disaster. He considers how for the millenia, farmers practiced the method of either allowing a field to go fallow or rotate crops. For the latter after one harvest, the next food grown would be one that would restore a balance to the field. Also there was the use of natural fertilizer in the form of manure from only a few cows. The practice of the transnationals is to never take a crop out of production, but to grow the same one over and over- and to compensate for the demand on the ground by dumping a huge load of fertilizer and pesticide as part of the planting regimine. The downside is the killing of the soil, by killing the worms and benigh bacteria that restore the soil. It is also expensive to add the petroleum based fertilizer, which puts the regular farmer into debt and makes the family farm easy picking for corporations looking to expand.

Then he discusses the potential disaster that could come from GE foods. Europe has banned GE crops and food and hearing the initials scares a lot of people. While the industry may suggest all they are doing is making food that is resistent to certain fungus and viral strains, or more robust in dealing with frost or cold weather, many look at this as the food equivalent to Three Mile Island. The concern is there is no controls, the pollen of the GE food can enter other crop fields and become part of that genetics. Also issues such as turning weeds into super-weeds or the potential impact on our health as well as other parts of nature is gotten into. Don't expect Thomas to address the stockholders meeting of Mosanto any time soon.

The question when one reads a book such as this is, are we stuck with the status quo? Is the death of the family farm, with the end of the experience of farmers who treat the environment with respect the reality? Certainly an industry where the average wage is $12,000 there is not a whole lot of motivation to remain in the business.

He sees potential. He realizes that it will be a grassroot movement of people becoming concern with what they eat. It is people getting educated and learning the truth. He sees the change happening with the renaissance of the Farmers Market, where people can again enjoy properly grown food. It can be found in movements which are coming to the fore demanding proper packaging and labeling of food. In most of North America, for example GE food is not labelled as such, this could change and change quickly. Again, its the grassroots, Thomas does not have a high opinion of politicians, calling them political whores for example. He sees the act of gardening, either in a plot behind the house or involvement in a community garden as another means of taking food back. It is campaigns to boycott certain food or food produced by certain companies, after all, if the bottom line is all that matters, then anything that affects the bottom line gets their attentions.

He talks about his own experience in gardening and farming, he has done both, at times he waxes a bit too poetic, but then again, he views food as part of the spiritual existence of humanity. In fact food besides being the way we stay alive, is also part of our calling as social beings. It is not to be gulped down but shared with family and friends.

As an addded plus for me, Thomas is a Canadian so he gives a lot of information as well as facts and figures that apply to the Canadian scene specifically.

I want to conclude with one of his last paragraphs:

We dont need to turn cows into cannibals, or lace our meals with tiny, hrrid molecular machines, or destry the soil, in order to creat a higher quarterly return for some greedy set of imbeciles in hand tailored suits and Gucci ties, sitting smugly around the boardroom table in a highrise somewhere. We dont need to despoil the earth and end up eating soylent green. We need to take back control of our own food supply, our own meals, and our own humanity.

A book to read and to think about.

In fine bookstores and in your local public library.

What is in a Name?

What is in a name? Very much if the wit of man could find it out

You have to love the Dog Days of Summer as it pertains to news. Not only is August the warmest month and the month when gardens are in full bloom and displaying their wares, you have generally slow news. Yes there still are wars happening and celebrities are still doing stupid things. Certainly a study of any flyer reveals that stores have begun their push for all things school related. In fact one store is selling pencils for 39 cents.

What makes this season interesting is not the fact the Detroit Tigers are still in first place in the AL Central, way to go boys!

It's some of the nuttiness that seems to be happening on both sides of the border. For example, in the States you have the various town hall meetings that are dealing with people's opinion of Health Care Reforms. For the most part these seem to be civil affairs but then again, every so often the crazies take over and you have this:



Yes, all that has happened in the last forty something years have been manipulated by the Kenyans so that Barak Hussein Obama could become President. To say these Birthers are lunatics is in a way an insult to honest, salt of the earth lunatics everywhere. Of course you have to put them in the same catagory as the flat earth society and those who believe in Death Panels. As for the latter, even everyone's favourite former governor of Alaska, Sarah Palin has given an opinion of this matter:

As more Americans delve into the disturbing details of the nationalized health care plan that the current administration is rushing through Congress, our collective jaw is dropping, and we're saying not just no, but hell no!


The Democrats promise that a government health care system will reduce the cost of health care, but as the economist Thomas Sowell has pointed out, government health care will not reduce the cost; it will simply refuse to pay the cost. And who will suffer the most when they ration care? The sick, the elderly, and the disabled, of course. The America I know and love is not one in which my parents or my baby with Down Syndrome will have to stand in front of Obama's "death panel" so his bureaucrats can decide, based on a subjective judgment of their "level of productivity in society," whether they are worthy of health care. Such a system is downright evil.

Health care by definition involves life and death decisions. Human rights and human dignity must be at the center of any health care discussion.

I could go on with the States, but this is not the theme of the blog. I want to talk about the silliness of Canada. Right now all sorts of attention, comments and news ink is being spilled over the NDP's Annual Convention in Halifax. HFX09, as its being called is the Party's annual meeting in which and I suppose it is possible, the Party will plan its election strategy for the next couple of elections, which should take place in the same time span as the next two Harry Potter movies.

One issue that seems to have captured the popular media is the potential name change for the Party. It seems after 49 years, there are some thinking its time for a change. The suggestion is going from NEW Democrats to Democrats. So that the party would change from NDP to DP.

There is a few reasons for this, besides the fact that 'New' seems odd for a party that's been around since the 1930's, perhaps a name should be changed. After all this would not be the first time, since it started out as the CCF.

I suppose the question, why just Democrats? There are some who suggest it is an attempt to cash in on the popularity of Barak Obama and the Democratic Party of the United States. Canadians love Barak. In fact had we been able to vote, it would have been a total runaway with all 20 electoral votes of Canada going to President Obama. This may be the reason why there is so much popularity for the change. A recent poll discovered this:

45 per cent of Canadians and 59 per cent of federal NDP supporters are in favour of the name change. One in five, or 20 per cent, are opposed, and more than a third, or 37 per cent, are undecided.

62 per cent of Canadians and 75 per cent of federal NDP supporters believe that if the federal party changes its name, the provincial NDPs should also adopt the Democratic Party name.

Another good reason is the fact that so often, the Party is mistaken for the New Democratic Party of Sri Lanka, I mean its bound to happen.

As the columnist Cathal Kelly wrote:

There is the whole apathy-of-the-electorate thing to shake off. Then there's the allure of hitching your wagon to a rock star politician.

"I guess they're hoping for some kind of subtle link," says Roger King, the Toronto-based spokesperson for Washington's Democrats Abroad.

The problem I have with dropping "New" is it does not stake out what the Party believes. Think of the other names, when we hear Liberal, we take it the party follows the policy and programs of liberalism. The Liberals Party of Canada follows that ideology for the most part throughout its history. It is what is accepted when we hear that name.

The Conservative Party has had a number of changes, it was Conservative, then it went Progressive Conservative Party of Canada and now, through the merger between the Reform/Alliance Party and the Progressive Conservatives has come full circle. But through it all, it was seen as the party of conservative ideology.

What does the Democratic Party believe? Democracy? I would assume almost all of the Canadian Political parties believe in Democracy. Even those who hate Stephen Harper and think he's the love child of Adolph Hitler and Attila the Hun must admit he believes in democracy. In other words, the name means nothing. I'm not going into the issue that the initials DP (Dee Pee)is actually a rude swear word in French, because everything is eventually a rude swear word in some language. It's a throw away word, it speaks of nothing different, all it says is the party believes in democracy. What else?

Plus, historically speaking, the NDP has always had an anti-American slant to its ideology, so how identifying itself with the country they don't really like will do. Might make the party a bit paranoid that's for sure.

Some have suggested the name Social Democratic Party, which would put the party in line with most European Social Democratic Parties, which it is closer in ideology. It would allow the party to put itself and accept itself as a party of Socialism International, which also includes parties such as the Labour Party of the UK.After all, in comparison, the Democrats of the US, if put on the political spectrum would be some place between the PC and Liberal party. More of a Central- Central Right party. After all, it still is debates universal health care, which even the Conservatives believe.

So it will happen tomorrow. If you go to the NDP website you can watch the live stream, it should make for compelling watching.

God, Guns and ...WHAT!?!

So I was reading some blogs and news reports when this little bit of information came across my computer: Pastor Urges His Flock to Bring Guns to Church. This minister, Pastor Ken Pagano had, a couple of months ago a special meeting to celebrate the right to bear arms and to own enough firepower to put a small country to shame. He decided that the Church hasn't done enough to celebrate the Second Amendment and to obey the recently found 11th Commandment which reads in part, "Thou Shalt Carry a Glok when thou entereth the Sanctuary of the Lord", or words to that effect.

It promises to be a fun evening. If watching people carry heat in with their Bibles wasn't enough, there's other events:

The bring-your-gun-to-church day, which will include a $1 raffle of a handgun, firearms safety lessons and a picnic, is another sign that the gun culture in the United States is thriving

It's quite possible some people may wonder about attending that service. I mean if you have a small family do you really want to expose them to gunplay during the Children's story, for example. Not to fear, because Pastor Pagano will provide:

The celebration will feature lessons in responsible gun ownership, Mr. Pagano said. Sheriff’s deputies will be at the doors to check that openly carried firearms are unloaded, but they will not check for concealed weapons.

You see, you can bring your gun, just leave your amunition at home. Oh and this is only for the weapons he sees, if you conceal it, bring it and don't worry, no one is going to search you.

Let's put this into it's historic perspective, because its something the good Pastor seems to be lacking. What is so fascinating is the total callousness of the invitation and also where this is taking place. Last year, in the State of Kentucky, one individual decided, being the trendsetter he is, to do this very thing. Jim David Adkisson brought a gun into a church service, one that featured a childrens' concert, only he brought bullets. The result of this was the death of two people and the wounding of seven. The gunman was motivated by a hatred of:

After the shooting police found a letter in Adkisson’s car in which he described his “hatred of the liberal movement, liberals in general, as well as gays.”

Then there was the killing of Dr. George Tiller, who was an usher in his church that Sunday when a rabid anti-abortionist decided that he beliefs in the right to life included the right to kill. Look I disagree with abortion about as much as anything but right to life means everybody deserves the right to live and stay alive.

Of course, if you want the real history of why its wrong to be weapons in a church service, you need to go back to 1170, when Archbishop Thomas Becket wsa murdered by two knights who were working at the behest of King Henry the Second. Seems these two had heard the King complain about the Archbishop:

What sluggards, what cowards have I brought up in my court, who care nothing for their allegiance to their lord. Who will rid me of this meddlesome priest.

Clearly arming a congregant is never a good idea.

To say this is potentially dangerous is an understatement.

To say Pastor Ken Pagano is certifiable is also an understatement.

If all this wasn't enough and let's face it, having a raffle during a church service- so gambling and guns is okay in his church but I bet voting Democrat will get you excommunicated, he decides to justify himself this way:

“When someone from within the church tells me that being a Christian and having firearms are contradictions, that they’re incompatible with the Gospel — baloney,” he said. “As soon as you start saying that it’s not something that Christians do, well, guns are just the foil. The issue now is the Gospel. So in a sense, it does become a crusade. Now the Gospel is at stake.”

My question to him would be is 'how is the Gospel at stake'. The Gospel is the good news of Jesus dying on the Cross for the sins of humanity. The Gospel is the good news that we can have eternal life and enjoy life in all its fulness. How the Pastor now decides the validity, nay the very existence of the Gospel now depends upon the congregation bringing in the weaponry is beyond my understanding.

This is not an anti-gun screed. I don't own a gun, I'm not interested in owning a gun. I accept the fact that there are a lot of people who own guns for the enjoyment of firing one and also for the purpose of hunting. if you idea of a fun Saturday is going to a rifle range and shooting, good on you. If you like to go hunting, there's nothing wrong with enjoying outdoors and killing one of God's creatures. If you shoot a moose you're more then welcome to send me a couple of roasts.

What is also sad is that there is enough right-wing rabid religionists who would agree with the good Pastor.

Polaroid PDC 5355, thanks for the memories

I got for my birthday about 4 or 5 years ago, it was time to get a newer digital camera and it was a Polaroid PDC5355. It was a 5.3 megapixel camera and I truly enjoyed it. I took it everywhere and used it to develop what little skill I do have with a camera. I learned to enjoy taking photographs, walking around and snapping a quick picture was a great experience. As well, with the camera I took take pictures and videos where ever I went:



From Collingwood to Brantford and Ottawa, I was with the camera taking the photographs:


However, after all those photographs, it ceased working. It was a good camera and managed to last through the challenge of taking all those photographs of Isabelle:



With all the photographs taken during the first few days of her life, it did quite a service and made sure those first days, in fact those first minutes in a very admirable way. But, alas, all things must come to an end and like all things electronic, it reached the end of its life and simply stopped.

With Isabelle going to church for the first time, plus wearing a dress, it was important to purchase a new camera. Off to Future Shop and do some comparative shopping. Lots of very nice camera, with some very nice prices. So no camera. Then it was off to Wal-Mart.

There I found the Polaroid i1037, it was reasonably priced, had a nice spec, 10megapixel to start, plus a very nice sized LCD screen and a lot of features, such as image stablization, red eye and different modes of photographs. It's taking a bit of time to figure it all out, but its a nice learning process.

I must admit the name 'Polaroid' was one of the selling points, if it was like my former camera, I have a good one.




You'll see much of my work from that camera.

Later.

Rail Travel, Granddaughter and Zucchini

To say the last couple of weeks have been interesting and hectic would be an understatement. I know there were a number of issues I wanted to blog on, but all had to sort of take a back seat to personal and family matters.

I'm sure there are a number of things which crossed my computer, things such as what has been going on in Ottawa with, well, who knows, at least things are quiet. Of course there is the problems of Iran, the show trials are moving forward.

Being in Ottawa was a good thing. It was good to see what is going on in our nation's capital. It is a lovely city after all, then again it has 30,000,000 people keeping it pleasant.

The reason for the visit, the birth of first granddaughter. Isabelle entered the world on July 29th. She is such a cutie. She came in at 10 lbs, so she's a healthy baby girl:



I may be biased, in fact I had a lengthy discussion as to who has the cutest baby girl with another couple. But really:



One of the issues I faced was returned to Brantford. Early on in the Ottawa visit, there was a strike of Via Rail. Fortunately, it was settled within a couple of days. To bring people, they offered a great sale, a saving of 60% to all who booked by last Friday. Taking full advantage of the situation, I booked my tickets and saved a lot of money. So off on the train I went:

It was great to travel by train. I did it early in the year to London so this was one of the longest trip I had taken for quite a number of years. The trip was pleasant and quite rapid. There were a number of stops, so it was interesting to check out some of the communities. I can tell you that the sale is a great action for Via, the ride from Toronto to Windsor was crowded, even the car to Brantford was full. So perhaps Via should consider keeping it up with volume sales rather then straight price. If they can fill each and every train, then they got to be making a lot of money. It is a pleasant way to travel, the roads were crazy but the rail was great.

On the trip, to continue the Canadian experience, I listened to Gordon Lightfoot's, "Canadian Railway Trilogy"



If you read the Wikipedia entry, you can read
what Pierre Berton said about the song.

Now what about the garden? Seems there was a lot of rain and it is thriving. In fact the Zucchini is doing quite well:


Yes that is a zucchini. It measures 16 inches in length and 16 inches at its widest point. Now that's large.

The funny thing I was concerned about things growing my garden.

I'll get back to blogging this month.

Peace

The Clash of Titans

In the annals of Canadian Political history, there has been many monumentous clashes: you can think of Mackenzie King vs Lord Byng, or Pierre Trudeau vs Rene Levesque. I could continue and talk about M. Brian Mulroney vs John Napier Turner. In recent history we can think Jean Chretien vs Paul Martin Jr, or Stephen Harper and Stephane Dion.

All these shall pale when we consider the latest clash of two potential titans. I'm talking about the clash between the Green Party of Canada and the Pirate Party of Canada.

It started when Gordon McDowell posted this video on Youtube. In it, he asks Elizabeth May, the leader of the Green Party her opinion on the launching of a Pirate Party in Canada



To sum up her opinion, Canada doesn't need a Pirate Party, since issues such as net neutrality, internet privacy and copyright reform are covered best by the Green Party. In fact she states that:

A 12 year copyright on creative material is reasonable. Lifetime of the creator +70 years doesn’t make any sense at all.” -Elizabeth May, Green Party Leader of Canada

First of all, just on the basis of that statement, we give a big cheer to Elizabeth. When the major parties are tripping over themselves to extend the length of copyright to triple digits, it's good to see someone is being realistic.

What is interesting is that in a recent blog posting by the Green Party, there is cheering by the Greens over the election of a member of the Pirate Party and the fact the member will join the EFA/Green Bloc in the European Parliament. As you can see at the end, Elizabeth concludes:

Canadians need only look to Europe to see that Greens are in the forefront of combating restrictive patent and copyright laws

All this is fascinating, and certainly one can understand that a political organization which is working hard to elect its first member to Parliament and has developed it's brand very well in the country. In fact, there are thousands of dedicated members working across the country. It seems that it is only a matter of time that one will get elected and if one gets elected, then two will get elected and so on and so forth.

Then we come to the Pirate Party, it's basically a website, which is a forum page that is becoming very active. It has no means of signing up members, yet it's getting noticed. The site, ZeroPaid made this observation:

Their membership isn’t exactly hitting tens of thousands yet. Their manifesto hasn’t even been completed. They haven’t really been around for more than 6 months in its current incarnation. They have yet to participate in an election at all. You’d think that they wouldn’t really be making any sort of movement on their issues at all, but already, they are making waves in the media and are catching the attention of other political parties. If they are this successful already, imagine what would happen by the time they make it to the point of participating in a national election.

You can read the entire response here.

I suppose the concern with the Greens is that the membership pool for both parties is approximately the same, young, politically and digitally active. The thing which should also concern the Green party is that, the Pirates have some great t shirts



That's not to say the Green Party doesn't have t shirts:


As I said earlier, you can't have a groundbreaking, culturally changing political movement unless you have t shirts.

It certainly is the case, both parties can work together for election success and to keep issues such as I already mentioned before the media and the public. I suppose one difference and this could be due to maturity, the Green Party has a broader platform that is more then simply staying with environmental issues. The Pirate Party is concentrating on issues the affect primary the Internet, such as internet privacy the the issues pertaining to copyright. Now this is not to say they are only on those issues, if you read what Pirates say about copyright on such things as drug patents, they are far reaching and very well thought out. But we all know what the media will concentrate on: 'this is the party that wants to allow kids to download music and movies...'.

Although, the Green Party seems to have some issues regarding censorship.


It will be interesting to see how both parties decide to exist in the political landscape that is Canada. What needs to happen is an awareness in Canada that we can't keep doing politics that is simply a continuation of the 19th century. Our two major political parties are based upon 19th century Canada. It's the politics of antagonism and hostility. This is a new century and we need new view of doing things. It can't happen soon enough.

As an aside, I found out about a website in Australia called Get Up! They have a campaign called "Save the Net". The problem is this:

The Federal Government is planning to force all Australian servers to filter internet traffic and block any material the Government deems ‘inappropriate’. Under the plan, the Government can add any ‘unwanted’ site to a secret blacklist.

While at present, Australia is the first western democracy to consider this, remember, they are simply the first- with the present attitude of most western democracies to ratched up censorship, look to this virus to start spreading.

Chrome's Coming

So much to blog about and then comes the big announcement from Google: they're developing their own operating system. You've read it in PCMag.com, Wired.com, PCWorld.com, countless newspapers and blogs. TechCrunch says it will redefine the operating system, for example. So I'm going to add to the noise.

From what I've read, the opinion is divided about the impact Chrome will have in the OS world. Many seem to believe that it's Google's attempt to dethrone Microsoft from it's place as the predominant OS on the planet. On that basis alone, many are hoping for the success of Chrome and Google. It has to do with the entire "Microsoft is the Evil Empire" mindset that seems to inhabit the thought processes of many in the technology world. Google, with its "Don't do evil" motto is seen as just the opposite and everything Google does is good. After all it gives everything away. While with Microsoft you have to pay and pay a whole lot of money. Have you seen the price of Microsoft Office lately? Shameful they say.

Let's talk about Google for a few minutes, I do use a number of Google applications: I am on Blogger, obviously. I have a gmail account, of course and that's about it. I do have calendar, but I keep my calendar on my Dell Axim which is always with me. Then there is Google Docs, which I never use. I've tried to use the word processor, but I can't say I've seen anything that impresses me, if I'm going to use a web based application, I head over to Zoho for my word processing work, to give one example.

What do we know about the new OS. To quote from the official blog:

Speed, simplicity and security are the key aspects of Google Chrome OS. We're designing the OS to be fast and lightweight, to start up and get you onto the web in a few seconds. The user interface is minimal to stay out of your way, and most of the user experience takes place on the web. And as we did for the Google Chrome browser, we are going back to the basics and completely redesigning the underlying security architecture of the OS so that users don't have to deal with viruses, malware and security updates. It should just work.

Here's what we can know, it is fast, it is sleek, it is based upon open source software, ie Linux and it's going to be great on netbook computers. So in other word, Google is launching a niche OS for a niche product. I've not seen the numbers for netbook sales, but when I go to my local computer store, there seems to be a lot more regular notebook computers available rather then netbooks. Don't get me wrong, I think netbooks are cute, and I sit here with my Dell Studio 17 on my lap. So you can see where my bias is directed towards. For somem reason Google thinks Microsoft is vulnerable in this market, the issue is however, most of the netbook computers sold have Windows XP on them and apparently, Windows 7 can be installed on the average netbook. One can get various types of Linux OS installed on a netbook, but most people they want to stay with the tried and true.

I recall hearing this argument used against Bing; yes it's a pretty good search site and the search engine is also quite good, but most people out of habit will use Google, because it's what they are used too. So, most of us are familiar with Windows and likely want to stay in the Windows environment. Most of the programs and apps we are familiar with work well in Windows and we're not about to learn something new. As you know I'm comfortable working with Ubuntu, I like Ubuntu. I also am comfortable with Windows. I know a lot of people hate Vista with a passion, but I wonder if most of them are the tech types that know what should work and it drives them nuts when things don't. There were issues with Vista, but they are now fixed enough so that the OS is operable.

One article suggests that Chrome, while made for the netbook market right now, could be:

But eventually, the Google OS has the potential to scale up to larger, more powerful PCs, especially if it proves to run faster than Windows, she said.

Here's the catch, for the less powerful netbook cpu and specs it may run blazingly fast and if it is open source, there will be a lot of developers working to keep it that way, but if it goes to the laptop, or the desktop, where all of a sudden there are more demands and more requirements, will it suddenly lose its speed?

Also, this entire 'apps through the browser' or 'the browser is the OS', is something I'm still not sold on. The concept of cloud computing, while a good one is probably not ready for prime time. I know Google has acres of server parks set up throughout the world probably to store all my data and with all that redundancy, I'm sure it will be all safe and sound. However, what if I'm not in a place to access the web? What if the beginning of my stuff is in the clouds and I'm not connected. I know there's Google Gears, which is for times I'm offline, but what if the work is partial complete on the computer and partially complete in the clouds, but I can't sync. I like the convenience of having everything I need on my laptop and accessible when I need it and according to my schedule. I'm not paying the telecos or the cable companies extra money so I can stick a stick into my laptop and have Internet when I want it. I send them enough money every month, and I don't want to send any more.

I'm also not convinced on Google either. As I said I use some of their services but there are a few issues of concern. The first is, Google tends to stay 'stuck' in beta. Are they really developing all the time and haven't reached the final product, or is it an excuse if something goes wrong? I'm reading the book "What Would Google Do?" by Jeff Jarvis. He claims Google is a brand new company with a brand new way of looking at things. May I suggest he's totally wrong. I think Google is nothing more then a new form of mining company- except it mines data instead of minerals. Consider this, when I read my email, Google Gmail has already read it and positioned advertisements similar to the theme of the email. When I do a search the first results are companies that make something like that product. Google already knows enough about me, I really don't think they need to know everything about me. Do they really need to know about what I write, or what I am working on in a spreadsheet? How about my next presentation? Seriously, there is a limit to this mining that goes on. Now I'm not pushing some grand conspiracy here, I don't believe Google is doing anything wrong, they are in the business to sell advertisement. They do that better then anybody. I just don't know if I want to help them any more then I do.

That's all.

Arrrgh Matey! Prepare to be Boarded

Alright, as reported in my last blog about the fact Canada is the new Rogue Nation, I reported that there is a move afoot to develop a Pirate Party in Canada. The website p2p.net is reporting that a Pirate Group, or party is being formed at McGill University.

I have just registered to start a formal club at McGill Called the Pirate Party of Canada Club. It will be a while before it is official, but the wheels are now turning. The plan so far is just to get a bunch of Pirate-Sympathizers together and start scheming about how to build the party. If others start sprouting up similar organizations across the country, we will be off to a good start.

Anyone in Montreal interested in working toward the formation of the Pirate Party of Canada should let me know and we’ll schedule meetings.

Anyone passing through Montreal should let me know and we’ll start meeting each other and sharing ideas.

For anyone thinking about starting similar organizations at other schools, I’ll post the first draft of our club constitution below… it might save you some time. Please feel free to critique. Most of the document is there to satisfy the school’s guidelines. We had a little fun with the preamble but there are many improvements to be made I imagine!

I’m thinking that local clubs like these might serve as a good starting point to get PPofC off the ground. First we’ll try to establish ourselves locally in isolation; then we’ll get the communication lines running and start wikiing together the national movement; then we’ll be ready to write up the formal documents, register with the Chief Electoral Officer of Canada, and really get cracking!

The news site Zero Paid is reporting the new Party is looking for members to join this band of Buccaneers.

Before I go any further, perhaps we need to remind ourselves what it means to be a pirate:



Yes, it means adventures on the High Seas, the clash of cutlass & sword, and Keira Knightley. It means searching for buried treasure, or boarding gold laden galleons. All of which would be reason enough to joining the merry band of sea dogs.

Well, not quite.

The Pirate Party of Canada is a party of ideas and ideals. I know it would be simple and easy to dismiss this group as simply "making the Internet safe for sharing copyrighted material", but that would be both naive and proof you've been reading too much material from the RIAA and its Canadian equivalent. By the way, on the Canadian site, there's a news article entitled: France's solution to online Piracy, which was recently declared unconstitutional.

The Goal of the Party is found in the Manifesto of the Swedish Party, which is probably going to take on the same authority as the Charter of the Global Greens, which presents the principles which all Green Parties acknowledge as the basis of the Party.

Likely the same could be said for the Pirate Party Declaration of Principles 3.2. There is now a 3.3 by the way.

The Principles are in the Introduction:

The Pirate-Party’s values are based on 3 fundamental values: that the personal integrity must be protected, that culture must be set free, and that patents and private monopolies are harmful for society.
We are now, in a society of surveillance in which practically everyone is registered and monitored. It is not consistent with a modern society of law that all citizens are subjected to surveillance and therefore are treated as suspects. Democracy requires strong protection of privacy.
Copyright was created to benefit society by encouraging the creation, development and dissemination of culture. The achievement of these goals requires a balance between society's demands for access and dissemination and the author's requirements for recognition and compensation. We believe, that today's copyright is out of balance. A society where culture and knowledge is free and accessible to all on equal terms benefit the society as a whole. We argue that a widespread and systematic abuse of today's copyright actively discourage these purposes by limiting both the range of culture and access to culture.
Private monopolies is one of societies archenemies. This is because it leads to excessive prices and large hidden costs for the citizens. Patents are officially sanctioned monopoly on ideas. Larger companies are fighting feverishly to break records in number of patents, which they then often use against smaller competitors in order to not be able to compete with the larger company. The monopolist’s goal is not to keep a fair market price and compete on equal terms with the customer’s benefits, price, and quality in mind. On the contrary, the patent laws are used as a lever to raise prices to a level which a free and fair market would never have paid, and to impose restrictions that it never would accept. We want to limit the possibilities of creating unnecessary and harmful monopolies.
Trademarks are primarily a protection for the consumers. We believe that the trademark law in essence works well today, so we propose no changes.

The Pirate Party of Canada echoes those principles:

The Pirate-Party of Canada values are based on three fundamental values:
that the personal integrity must be protected, that culture must be set free and that patents and private monopolies are harmful for society.

So a little more then simply sharing or stealing files as some would accuse them of espousing. When you think about it, these are issues which should concern all of us. We are becoming the surveillance society. Look around how many CCTV cameras are in operation. In the larger cities, it is the new reality. Right now, most of us see them on traffic lights, only operational when some jerk speeds through a red, and there is certainly some justification for them to be there, but what about as you enter your friendly Wal-Mart? If you think its bad here, just visit the UK; it is considered the world's leader on CCTV surveillance. A recent article in the Guardian reports on the incredible number of cameras that are trained on the average citizen. The article, entitled Every Step you Take declares:

Millions of people walk beneath the unblinking gaze of central London's surveillance cameras. Most are oblivious that deep under the pavements along which they are walking, beneath restaurant kitchens and sewage drains, their digital image is gliding across a wall of plasma screens.

So the issue is more then downloading the latest MP3 file of the popular group or singer of the moment, it's some serious material that needs to be discussed. Right now it seems that governments are more interested in curtailing civil liberties then protecting them. Of course that is done in the name of protecting and fighting the war against terrorism. It's the whole "destroy a village to save it" mentality. It is also interesting to note that political parties that want to curtail and make government smaller, are the ones who want to expand the powers of government to find out more about you. So while they cut health care, they expand the authority to learn everything about you. It's as if they are waiting for you to mess up.

If that wasn't enough, consider this fact: the Pirate Party sells cool tee shirts and other paraphernalia, for the well dressed pirate to wear.

To quote Captain Jack Sparrow: "Savvy"

Canada- the New Rogue State

As we celebrate the 142nd Anniversary of Confederation, let us consider a few facts about Canada. For some reason, there has been a few headlines which point to a disturbing trending of this fair Dominion. For some odd reason, this headlines point to one frightening fact, Canada seems to be joining the list of Rogue States. To the list which has included such nations as North Korea, Iran and Eritrea, we include Canada.

Before start to send me some bad comments, let me give you three examples:

1) Early in June, it was revealed that USAirways Flight 1549 was brought down by Canada Geese. If you read the article you will discover that a DNA testing revealed the geese had come from Newfoundland. It only makes sense, rogue birds from the Rogue Province of Newfoundland & Labrador brought down a commercial jet liner. This was an act of terrorism. Sadly it makes sense, if you want to talk about the avian Al-Qaeda, you have to talk about Canada Geese. These birds are obnoxious, noisy, dirty and if you have ever been on a golf course or a city park, they leave their own IED's. These winged Mujahideen would think nothing of taking down an airplane, no matter how many of them had to give their lives to the cause. Probably the last honks would be translated 'Goose is Good'. It would not surprise me if Danny Willians wasn't involved somehow in the act of violence to that innocent plane. By the way, in response, New York City will remove from the city airports, all Canada Geese. I suspect the US will open the Goose equivalent to Gitmo to deal with these potential terrorists.

2) A recent report from the UN labels Canada as the leading exporter of both Ecstasy and Crystal Meth. The organization's drug czar Antonio Maria Costa says:

“We have seen in Canada an increase in manufacturing and seizures in illicit drugs because of pretty tough measures in the United States, which have made some of the manufacturing migrate south towards Mexico and north towards Canada,”

So while the US is cracking down the labs that manufacture the drugs, Canada with its lax drug enforcement and soft headed judges and lawyers is becoming a haven for drug manufacturers. You couple this with the fact that in BC, marijuana has replaced forests as the largest 'cash crop', you understand this is the second step into becoming a rogue state.

3) If this wasn't harsh enough, Canada has been pegged as the leader of illegal file downloads. We are the true cyberpirates. File sharing software is on 77% of computers in Canada. We simply don't understand the necessity for artists to makes a living and so we should not do such things. Music, movies and everything in between is downloaded and shared in Canada. We are the wild west. It's no wonder the music industry is suffering, it's all because of Canada.

If you look at the numbers, you would think we are Sweden. In fact if the Pirate Bay had been set up in Canada, there would have been no law suits, no criminal trials and certainly no jail time for the founders.

To continue the Swedish analogy, a recent article in the Canada Press reveals there is a move to establish a Pirate Party in Canada. It would only make sense. However let me say that the Pirate Party is no just a one trick pony, it also wants to make issues on Internet Privacy and safety. Certainly if you read one of my blogs on the various bills being before the House, you can understand the need for this group.

So you there you have it, a Rogue State in the making.

Happy Canada Day all.

iPod Touch and Dell

A number of blogs and articles have decided to take Apple to task for charging iPod Touch owners $9.99 for upgrade to 3.0. The issue is the fact that the upgrade, which came earlier for the iPhone was free for them, but us poor Touch owners have to pay through the nose, well, perhaps not through the nose, but that it seems to be an issue. Andrew Nusca wrote a blog at ZDNet.com regarding this issue. He entitled it "Are iPod touch users second class citizens? Apple says 'yes'". It does seem rather unfair, because we still pay all sorts of money for the iTunes store, in fact we paid a pretty good price for the privilege of having the iPhone sans phone. Now as I have written I do enjoy the touch I have, I listen to a lot of music and podcasts, plus I surf the web and have some nice photographs to look at. I've got a nice one of Stephanie and Jon as my wallpaper, for example.

The issue is best seen with the numbers, some 6 million copies of 3.0 have been downloaded by owners of the iPhone, but only:

However, just 1 percent of iPod touch users accessing AdMob’s network had upgraded by the same date, according to the company. Seventy-eight percent were running the latest point release of iPhone Software 2.0, released last year.

That's quite a discrepancy when you think about it, as the article states, something like 40% of iphone owners have the new software but a mere handful have done the same with the ipod touch.

I suspect two things may be the problem, one is the price, it's not paying for anything with the touch is the issue, since many of us have purchased apps and games for the touch, so that's not the issue. It is probably the fact that one group pays and the other doesn't. Some have suggested that iphone owners pay for the upgrade through the subscription, while touch owners don't. That may be true, after all the only money Apple makes on the touch happens when you buy it, there is no steady stream of income. One question is will this make the device worthless? If everything is now being geared to 3.0, will that mean an end of apps that will work on the touch? It is possible, if Apple wants to turn off a whole lot of users, a group that may not think of upgrading to the iPhone. It tends to happen.

I haven't downloaded the upgrade, I'm debating it in my mind. I'm not sure, I like what I can do with the touch right now. The upgrades don't interest me, probably because it is not my primary device for connecting to the Internet, for example. Although there are some features which do interest me, such as the landscape keyboard and the bluetooth ability, especially if it means more then just headphones. I have a bluetooth dongle which I use with my laptop and cellphone, so if I can use it the same way, it's something to consider.

It may also be a simple case that Apple is mis-reading their clientele, it does happen and nowadays, when it does, the company usually ends up getting taken to task. More then one company, in its efforts to screw the consumer finds out there is something called "Internet", that quickly gets the word out and the company ends up looking very bad.



So much for Apple, now what about Dell? It appears Dell may be re-entering the personal device market. An article in the Wall Street Journal states that: Dell is Working on a Portable Web Gadget. From the article, the new thing will be slightly larger then the touch and use Android software. It is supposed to be the first in a long line of "Mobile Internet Devices", which fill the gap between the smartphone and the laptop, actually probably the netbook. It's the small device that gives more room and probably storage as well as memory then the smartphone, read iphone but would fit in a pocket and be far easier to carry around. Hopefully the battery life will be better then the touch, which when you go to wifi tends to diminish. This is another reason to be suspicious of the upgrade, what will Bluetooth do to the battery life? I know from my cellphone, there is a faster drain when I've got bluetooth turned on. I also understand, early phones with Android ran into the same battery problems.

A "leaked" photograph of the Dell Android 'phone':



One blogger suggests it resembles the Palm Pre, but I think it more resembles the Dell Axim X50/51 series of PDA's. Likely it will not be a smartphone, or an Android phone, at least not in North America, apparently there is talk of a Dellphone coming to China in the near future.

Perhaps not being a phone is the winning combination. If you have read any of my past writings, you know I am a fan of the Dell Axim, in fact I still use my X3i daily. It contains my spreadsheets, contacts, calendar, games and music files. I also use it to connect to the Internet when I can't be bothered with the desktop or even the laptop. I replaced the standard battery with a larger one, so it has more of a charge. I'm not sure why Dell stopped making the Axim although I think it had to do with the rise of smartphones, people didn't want to carry around a whole lot of electronic devices. The Axim received good reviews when they first came out, due to the fact they put a whole lot of features and sold them at a reasonable price. They were very popular as well, in fact owners tended to be very loyal. I should know, I am one of those loyal owners.

It seems with the rise of the netbooks, people want something larger then a smartphone and if it holds true, not being a phone may not be a huge issue. So we shall have to wait. If Dell can do it, they will return to the smaller device market- I have got to find another word for 'device', and it is something which will interest a lot of people.

Stay tuned for further developments

What Truly Matters


Last week, it seems was the time for celebrities to die. You know the list, Ed McMahon, Farrah Fawcett, Michael Jackson, Billy Mays. All of them have passed on and much of the time of the last weekend was spent looking at the lives. While we do remember the lives of those lost and the impact each has had on popular culture, let's not forget what really counts. It is what is happening in Iran.

People are still protesting in Iran, it may not be in the streets, but they are still demanding a fair and just election. People are still being arrested and murdered by the State thugs that are under the control of the ruling body.

Recent, a group of Iranian bloggers issued a statement regarding the election. Here it is:

Statement by a group of Iranian bloggers about the Presidential elections and the subsequent events

1) We, a group of Iranian bloggers, strongly condemn the violent and repressive confrontation of Iranian government against Iranian people’s legitimate and peaceful demonstrations and ask government officials to comply with Article 27 of the Islamic Republic of Iran’s Constitution which emphasizes “Public gatherings and marches may be freely held, provided arms are not carried and that they are not detrimental to the fundamental principles of Islam.”

2) We consider the violations in the presidential elections, and their sad consequences a big blow to the democratic principles of the Islamic Republic regime, and observing the mounting evidence of fraud presented by the candidates and others, we believe that election fraud is obvious and we ask for a new election.

3) Actions such as deporting foreign reporters, arresting local journalists, censorship of the news and misrepresenting the facts, cutting off the SMS network and filtering of the internet cannot silence the voices of Iranian people as no darkness and suffocation can go on forever. We invite the Iranian government to honest and friendly interaction with its people and we hope to witness the narrowing of the huge gap between people and the government.

A part of the large community of Iranian bloggers

Consider this from the BBC:

One hardline cleric has called for people who take their protests to the streets to be charged with waging war on God, an offence that in Iran carries the death penalty.

With the constitution, a great deal of power rests with the clerics. So for a hardliner to make this statement, it probably echoes the feelings of a number of people who make up the government. If you think this person may be speaking for himself or an unimportant part of the Iranian society, here is another fact to consider:

Saeed Mortazavi, a prominent Iranian jurist and prosecutor of the Islamic Revolutionary Court, has been tapped to lead the investigation of jailed reformist leaders and party officials amidst widespread demonstrations in response the disputed June 12th presidential election.

Mortazavi, who has been implicated by Human Rights Watch for torture, illegal detention and coercion for confessions, gained infamy for his role in the death of a Canadian-Iranian photographer who was tortured, beaten and raped while detained in 2003. In 2000, Mortazavi led a crackdown against the Islamic Republic’s domestic opposition, ordering the closure of over 100 newspapers. Four years later he detained more than twenty bloggers and journalists, holding them in unknown locations. “The leading role of Saeed Mortazavi in the crackdown in Tehran should set off alarm bells for anyone familiar with his record,” said Sarah Leah Whitson, the Middle East and North Africa director of Human Rights Watch.

In 2005, the BBC published an article entitled: "The Price Paid for Blogging Iran". In the article Clark Boyd states:

Web logs have become a popular forum for dissent. And the Iranian government has responded by arresting dozens of bloggers.

If that was 2005, imagine what is going on right now. With such things as cameraphones and Twitter, the message is getting out to the world. It is through YouTube we saw the video of protests turning violent as the State apparatus decided to silent those who questioned the outcome of the election. We saw the death of Neda Agha Soltan, the message is getting out.

Blogging is so simple in the west, but in Iran, the potential for danger is real. For further information you can read the article Ctr+Alt+Delete:Iran's Response to the Internet from the site, Iran Human Rights Documentation Center

It is up to us in the West to keep the pressure on, to let the protesters know they are not forgotten.

Show Solidarity with the Iranian People.

Brantford- Music City Canada

The good news about Harmony Square, besides being a natural place for people to gather is that the Bell Stage has become the place for musicians to gather for all sorts of concerts.

From its inception, those responsible have made sure, or so it seems, that music would be at the forefront of all events. I've been there a couple of times already and it has impressed how music is being used to bring people together.

As it is with us as people, music eventually comes to the forefront. After all, music is such a part of our lives that it simply makes sense. It seems so far there is a lot of music happening.

Take for example today, I was downtown because of a photocrawl sponsored by the Brantford Arts Block. Of course I arrived late and I wasn't sure where everyone was going to meet. However when I got there, a whole lot of people had assembled:



From what I gathered, the local music school was having a year end or a season ending performance with a number of the students. The various students and their bands were to perform various Beatles songs. They weren't just doing note by note covers, but bringing into the song their own interpretations. The first group decided to take the Beatles songs and add a punk sensibility to them. I talked briefly with the father of the lead singer and suggested it was the Ramones meet the Beatles.



It was good and did bring the crowd to give them a good hand of applause. It is an interesting concept, to bring classic rock to the crowd, especially since the parents of the students cut their teeth, for the most part with the Beatles.

It was one of those things that just happen, you go to Harmony Square and watch the music take place.

Investigative Powers for the 21st Century Act

It appears the present government in Canada is very interested in what you do with your computer. I mean, really, really interested in what your computer is doing. The reason I say that is two bills that are currently before the House of Commons. The first is Bill C-46, also known as the Investigative
Powers for the 21st Century Act and Bill C-47, also known as Technical Assistance for Law Enforcement in the 21st Century
Act. Funny how both those titles are refered to as the 'short' titles to the bills.

I will admit I haven't read the second one, but if I can give the explanation for it as found on the Public Safety website, it is a bill:

it will address the challenges posed by modern technologies that did not exist when the legal framework for interception was designed nearly 40 years ago. Police forces and CSIS will continue to require warrants for interception. This legislation will simply ensure that when warrants are issued, a technical solution is available so that police forces and CSIS can actually intercept communications.

In other words, it instructs ISP's to have available the means to intercept and hand over to who ever shows up with a warrent, the material requested by the warrent. As the bill itself states:

The purpose of this Act is to ensure that telecommunications service providers have the capability to enable national security and law enforcement agencies to exercise their authority to intercept communications and to require telecommunications service providers to provide subscriber and other information, without unreasonably impairing the privacy of individuals, the provision of telecommunications services to Canadians or the competitiveness of the Canadian telecommunications industry.

I would imagine that also included in this demand is that ISP's better have the ability and server farms out there to store all that data because you just never know when somebody will show up with a warrent.

Let me say, that's nothing. The bill I've been reading and really questioning is the first one, Bill C-46, this act empowers the law enforcement agencies the right to take whatever they want from you without necessarily having a warrent. I'll talk about that in a few paragraphs.

Bill C-46 considers a lot of behavior that is to be illegal in Canada, all having to do with telecommunications and the transmittion of voice and date. In particular the latter. It is an attempt to modernize the work of fighting crime and giving the law enforcement agencies the powers to search modern telecommunications material and also declare what behavior is illegal.

Let's mention just a few: phone phreaking

Everyone who, without lawful excuse,makes, possesses, sells, offers for sale, imports, obtains for use, distributes or makes available a device that is designed or adapted primarily to use a telecommunication facility or obtain a telecommunication service without payment of a lawful charge, under circumstances that give rise to a reasonable inference that the device has been used or is or was intended to be used for that purpose, is(a) guilty of an indictable offence and liable to imprisonment for a term of not more than two years; or
(b) guilty of an offence punishable on

So if the police ever stop you, better get rid of the Cap'n Crunch bos'n whistle, otherwise you are screwed.

Computer Virus is illegal:

(1.1) Everyone commits mischief who wilfully
(a) destroys or alters computer data;(b) renders computer data meaningless, useless
or ineffective;(c) obstructs, interrupts or interferes with the
lawful use of computer data; or(d) obstructs, interrupts or interferes with a
person in the lawful use of computer data or denies access to computer data to a personwho is entitled to access to it.

So better get rid of your copy of the Virus Creation Laboratory software otherwise you could be in trouble as well. Not that it's all that effect anyways.

AS well, phishing, uploading trojans, stealing sensitive data off computers or turning computers into spam generating zombies is also now illegal in Canada.

So what's the problem with all that, these are all annoyances that should be dealt with by the strength of the law. As well, it does put strong sentences on people who use computers for child pornography or enticing children and producing and disseminating hate material. All would agree these are crimes which should be dealt with and if these scumbags end up with a few more years in jail then previously, a good thing.

There are a few problems, the first is Form 5.001

FORM 5.001
(Subsection 487.012(1))
PRESERVATION DEMAND
Canada,
Province of ..........
(territorial division)
To (name of person), of .........., (office or occupation):
Because I have reasonable grounds to suspect that the computer data specified below is in your possession or control and that that computer data will assist in the investigation of an offence that has been or will be committed under (specify the provision of the Criminal Code or other Act of Parliament),
(or)
will assist in the investigation of an offence that has been committed under (specify the provision of the law of the foreign state) that is being conducted by a person or authority, (name of person or authority), with responsibility in (specify the name of the foreign state) for the investigation of such offences, you are required to preserve (specify the computer data) that is in your possession or control when you receive this demand until (insert date) unless, before that date, this demand is revoked or a document that contains that data is obtained under a warrant or an order.
This demand is subject to the following
conditions:
If you contravene this demand without lawful excuse, you may be subject to a fine.
You are required to destroy the computer data that would not be retained in the ordinary course of business, and any document that is prepared for the purpose of preserving the computer data,in accordance with section 487.0194 of the Criminal Code. If you contravene that provision without lawful excuse, you may be subject to a fine, to imprisonment or to both.
..................................................
(Signature of peace officer or public officer)

In other words, if the nice Police Officer shows up to your house with this piece of paper, it's 'hand it over'. Notice, this is not a search warrent, it's permission to seize your property. Now the bill specifies that this is good for only 21 days after which they return the property. Now, if you think that when you get your computer back, it might be a good idea to wipe clean the hard drive, reformat it, and then re-install the operating system, the bill has another form, 5.002 which gives law enforcement agencies the right to preserve what you have on that hard drive:

Before making the order, the justice or judge must be satisfied by information on oath in Form 5.002
(a) that there are reasonable grounds to suspect that an offence has been or will be committed under this or any other Act of Parliament or has been committed under a law of a foreign state, that the computer data is in the person’s possession or control and that it will assist in the investigation of the offence; and
(b) that a peace officer or public officer intends to apply or has applied for a warrant or an order in connection with the investigation to obtain a document that contains the computer data.

What's the issue? If there are bad guys, then the government should have as much in the way of power to go after them, after all, we live in a scary world. Let's again consider it, the law says that if you are annoying, you are guilty:

Everyone commits an offence who, with intent to alarm or annoy a person, makes an indecent communication to that person or to any other person by a means of telecommunication

I can be arrested if I'm annoying. Think about it, most of us spend a great deal of time annoying somebody. Just because I tweet something that someone finds annoying, does that mean I should expect to see a police officer with form 5.001?

What I find very disturbing, and Drew Wilson brings this up in his blog Zero Paid, that this act gives foreign governments the right to go after Canadian citizens. The section of the Bill that deals with this is 487.012:

in the case of an offence committed under a law of a foreign state, an investigation is being conducted by a person or authority with responsibility in that state for the investigation of such offences; and
(c) the computer data is in the person’s possession or control and will assist in the
investigation of the offence.

This is troubling, if I should break the law of another nation, and if the foreign government finds out where I live, I can expect to see Form 5.001. Now there are a lot of reasons, to go after me, some very good. However, what if I'm a dissident living in Canada and I publish articles critical of that foreign government, or I send information to those who are involved in resistance groups. What if I print something or criticize a government and state that little girls should receive the same education as little boys. In some nations that is considered wrong. What protection do I have? According to that section, almost none. Now let's say the hard drive that contains my critical articles also has the names and email addresses of other dissidents- what happens to that information, is it handed over to that unfriendly government? Let's say the country I am critical about is involved in sensitive trade negotiations with my government, what happens if I'm on the bargaining table?

Drew tends, in his blog, to consider DRM issues, but it could be a lot worse.

I suppose the question is, would a government throw any of its citizens, or people here, under the bus? That's the question.

Perhaps it is time to consider True Crypt, but then again, the Bill gives the law enforcement officials the right to get the password out of you. A solution, John C. Dvorak suggested encrypt the drive twice and between the encryption just have some regular documents and stuff, to satisfy them.