City workers of all types including transit workers are on strike until they get a deal from the city that matches the deal for city workers in Saskatoon. I don't see a problem with this, and the province should put some oil money into municipalities so mil rates stay down, and taxes do too.
Some funny links for the
http://hardware.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=158928&cid=13311296
And someone claiming to be Drew Curtis, the drunkard webmaster from fark.com http://slashdot.org/~Drew%20Curtis
Hehhe, I posted to the Telus thread about Creationism that Bush is pushing in schools now, OOOPS!
Anyway I saw "Hitch" [9/10] a funny Will Smith movie, and last night I watched Murray Treed [4/10] a TV movie about a business man trapped in a tree by teen muggers. It was pretty good, up until the way they ended it, I thought.
And I saw a South American movie, "Central Station" [6/10] which was about a boy looking for his father, with the help of a literate woman without any family too. I also watched Unbreakable again [9/10] which is a great movie, by M Night Shamylan[?].
I went south for the weekend, spending some time in Regina, eating at Montana's on Friday night with some of my friends' friends from school, and listening to Ottawa beat the Riders by 5 points. Then we all went to east Regina and watched the movie "Cursed" [6/10] which was more of a comedy than a horror or thriller movie.
On Saturday I saw "Royal Tanenbaums" [5/10] which is a movie pretty much lacking any plot, although it has an innovative and interesting way of telling what little story there was, and there were funny moments, giving it enough of a reason to watch it once. I also watched "Unleashed" [7/10] which is a Jet Lee movie, where the plot is pretty weak, but the acting and special stunts make it worth seeing again even.
On Sunday night I watched "Showgirls" [3/10] which has almost no plot, and is a B movie in every way. It has some moments which are funny, even if they didn't intend them to be, so I gave it a 3.
I was going to catch a bus home on Sunday, but because of Civic Holiday, they didn't run one, so I spent an extra day in Regina, and caught the bus through Lafleche today. There was a lot of lightning south of Moose Jaw, and all the way in the east for my drive home. Someone had had a stroke on the bus the previous trip, and I tried some of the "original flavour" pork rinds snacks that the bus driver was trying to get someone to take. They weren't very good, I wasn't surprised no one wanted them. So far I've not had a stroke, I don't think they caused it. There was also a 9 year old with a cell phone, a passenger with a name like a Canadian satellite [but not quite], an old man that didn't wear his seatbelt, and a talkative 12 year old that made me laugh because of his matter of fact "know it all" sort of conversation style with the bus driver.
I also picked up a gun, and a magic 8-ball at a garage sale, and played some frizbee. The gun was a plastic one, although it looks like a real 9mm so it will be good in a film clip if I make one later.
Now Google.ca is threatened by the Bill C-60.
My lazy MP is too busy crusading against homosexuals to reply to my letter
So I'll have to email him for a 3rd time, and if he doesn't reply it will just be good fodder to defeat him in the coming 2006 election.
DMCA for Canada is not acceptable
Written Friday March 25 2005
Please write your MP on this matter. Use my letter below if you don't want to write your own.
Send your letter for free (no postage necessary when parliament is in session; But in Summer send it to their constituency office I'd reason), to your MP at the following address:
[your MP's name] M.P.
House of Commons
Ottawa ON K1A 0A6
Find their email address, but write by paper mail too.
[fix URL gap] http://www.parl.gc.ca/information/about/people/house/PostalCode.asp?lang=E
Dear Mr. Breitkreuz
To summarize the issues in this letter:
1. Internet Service Providers should not be required to keep extensive logs of private and legal online communications.
2. The government must not stop Canadian citizens from making personal-use copies of their legally purchased software, music, and movie media.
3. Internet Search engines such as Google.ca, and Libraries must not be subject to penalties for providing direction to copyrighted materials.
Background:
http://pch.gc.ca/progs/ac-ca/progs/pda-cpb/reform/statement_e.cfm
Here is the reasoning:
The purpose of the Copyright Act is to support creativity and innovation in the arts and culture. To design a new Act on the failed and draconian Digital Millennium Copyright Act of the United States of America, would be a disaster for Canadian culture, and innovation. Also our court system could become clogged with law abiding citizens who make personal use copies of their music, software, and movie collections for no personal financial gain. An implementation of the proposed changes to the Copyright Act would unleash another "Gun Registry boondoggle" onto the Canadian people - creating criminals out of law abiding citizens at the expense of Canadian taxpayers.
Internet Service Providers like Sasktel should not be made to keep extensive client usage logs for possible future prosecution by various copyright-based industries. I don't want to pay for that system to be put into effect, and I don't think most people do. The phone companies are not forced by the government to record the content of phone conversations, only police can do that with a proper warrant. ISP logs are going to be equivalent to phone-taps, and that's a violation of my privacy. It's doing the job of the police, and is for the sole benefit of an industry basing its profits on an outdated business model that is no longer realistic for the Canadian government to protect.
The current version of Bill C-60 suggests it could be illegal for anyone to provide copyrighted information through "information-location tools," which includes search engines like Google.ca. This anti-business, and anti-information clause, is very un-Canadian.
It is completely unfair to be paying a levy to artists organizations for purchasing blank CD media to make home-use private copies of legal CD music, and now to also be unable to legally copy the music I've paid for off of Digital Rights Managed CDs. If copying CD music is going to be illegal, why is the government collecting money from the product for an illegal activity? I'm satisfied that the current levy is helping to compensate artists from illegitimate copying, and no new law is required to prevent me and other people from making sensible backups of our legal music, software, and movie collections.
Your representation in the House of Commons on this matter is greatly appreciated by me, and other supporters of personal liberty and innovation in the arts. I look forward to hearing from you.
Sincerely,
my name
I went to Montana today, and got my first look at the fully completed US Homeland Insecurty complex just south of the border. They have new looking, empty houses that the guards don't live in because they are too expensive for the area, and so only the supervisor lives in the mini-village, with the others commuting to work from near-by towns.
I tried to cash a $3.09 postal money order without ID, and they insisted upon ID. And then coming back to Canada there was a person without a stamp on a form for his horse, so I had to wait about an hour to be served, and about 10 vehicles were piling up behind me. There was only one customs official working, and this week there are several thousand people potentially camping within just 40km of the border.
New eBay auctions.
One I hope to raise money for the fight against smoking, and another I'm selling a garmet certification tag. Some older standbys are available too.
Today in Toronto during the Gay Pride parade, Harper was preaching against allowing homosexual marriage into law. The Canadian courts have already determined it lawful and to be a violation of rights to deny it.
A story posted today on
So I'm emailing him again, and if he doesn't reply it will just be good fodder to defeat him in the coming 2006 election.
DMCA for Canada is not acceptable
Written Friday March 25 2005
Please write your MP on this matter. Use my letter below if you don't want to write your own.
Send your letter for free (no postage necessary when parliament is in session; summer is approaching), to your MP at the following address:
[your MP's name] M.P.
House of Commons
Ottawa ON K1A 0A6
Find their email address, but write by paper mail too.
[fix URL gap] http://www.parl.gc.ca/information/about/people/house/PostalCode.asp?lang=E
Dear Mr. Breitkreuz
To summarize the issues in this letter:
1. Internet Service Providers should not be required to keep extensive logs of private and legal online communications.
2. The government must not stop Canadian citizens from making personal-use copies of their legally purchased software, music, and movie media.
Background:
http://pch.gc.ca/progs/ac-ca/progs/pda-cpb/reform/statement_e.cfm
Here is the reasoning:
The purpose of the Copyright Act is to support creativity and innovation in the arts and culture. To design a new Act on the failed and draconian Digital Millenium Copyright Act of the United States of America, would be a disaster for Canadian culture, and innovation. Also our court system could become clogged with law abiding citizens who make personal use copies of their music, software, and movie collections for no personal financial gain. An implementation of the proposed changes to the Copyright Act would unleash another "Gun Registry boondoggle" onto the Canadian people - creating criminals out of law abiding citizens at the expense of Canadian taxpayers.
Internet Service Providers like Sasktel should not be made to keep extensive client usage logs for possible future prosecution by various copyright-based industries. I don't want to pay for that system to be put into effect, and I don't think most people do. The phone companies are not forced by the government to record the content of phone conversations, only police can do that with a proper warrant. ISP logs are going to be equivalent to phone-taps, and that's a violation of my privacy. It's doing the job of the police, and is for the sole benefit of an industry basing its profits on an outdated business model that is no longer realistic for the Canadian government to protect.
It is completely unfair to be paying a levy to artists organizations for purchasing blank CD media to make home-use private copies of legal CD music, and now to also be unable to legally copy the music I've paid for off of Digital Rights Managed CDs. If copying CD music is going to be illegal, why is the government collecting money from the product for an illegal activity? I'm satisfied that the current levy is helping to compensate artists from illegitimate copying, and no new law is required to prevent me and other people from making sensible backups of our legal music, software, and movie collections.
Your representation in the House of Commons on this matter is greatly appreciated by me, and other supporters of personal liberty and innovation in the arts. I look forward to hearing from you.
Sincerely,
my name
In my first accepted slashdot.org story, I almost got the first post, but thought better of it.
I remember seeing the graphic of the protons striking NASA's camera in space, after someone posted the spaceweather.com site on the eBay forum I often post on. It was possibly about the time I took a picture of northern lights, so I'll see if there is one in my photo album, and post it.
It's been raining nearly every day the past eight days, and I'm getting a bit tired of it. Still it's better than a drought, and there's no danger of flooding here yet, but the people in AB and MB weren't so lucky.
PEMS
This is my latest contribution to the world of eBay, and scientific advancement in the realm of penis enlarging tools.
Also, it seems my MP is a tool, and has ignored my letter written more than a month ago to him, although perhaps he is just behind on his work what with his party trying and failing to bring down the government.
The Canadian Radio-televsion Telecommunications Commission has ruled in favour of new Voice over Internet Protocol companies in a battle against well established local telephone providers. "Local telephone markets are among the few remaining telecommunications markets in Canada that are regulated by the CRTC. The CRTC opened these markets to competition in 1997." This ruling restricts large phone companies like Bell, Telus, and Sasktel from offering VoIP services at less than cost in order to crush small companies trying to offer local VoIP phone service.
CBC News has more on the story.
The Conservative MP is probably in election mode, and won't write me back for my letter concerning Copyright Act changes in Canada that puts citizens at risk for invasion of our privacy, and lets the government double dip on taxes, both charging consumers for buying CDs, and then charging them with copyright crimes or lawsuits for using those CDs.
Last week I wrote my MP and the Prime Minister asking them to vote against changes to Canada's copyright law. The new law will cripple schools, libraries, and invade the privacy of law-abiding Canadians.
Please if you're Canadian and have 2 minutes to copy my letter in this Journal, contact your MP for free too, and let them know you don't support Canada's DMCAct.
Please write your MP on this matter. Use my letter below if you don't want to write your own.
Send your letter for free (no postage necessary), to your MP at the following address:
[your MP's name] M.P.
House of Commons
Ottawa ON K1A 0A6
Find their email address, but write by paper mail too. http://www.parl.gc.ca/information/about/people/house/PostalCode.asp?lang=E
Dear Mr. Breitkreuz
To summarize the issues in this letter:
1. Internet Service Providers should not be required to keep extensive logs of private and legal online communications.
2. The government must not stop Canadian citizens from making personal-use copies of their legally purchased software, music, and movie media.
Background:
http://pch.gc.ca/progs/ac-ca/progs/pda-cpb/reform/ statement_e.cfm
Here is the reasoning:
The purpose of the Copyright Act is to support creativity and innovation in the arts and culture. To design a new Act on the failed and draconian Digital Millenium Copyright Act of the United States of America, would be a disaster for Canadian culture, and innovation. Also our court system could become clogged with law abiding citizens who make personal use copies of their music, software, and movie collections for no personal financial gain. An implementation of the proposed changes to the Copyright Act would unleash another "Gun Registry boondoggle" onto the Canadian people - creating criminals out of law abiding citizens at the expense of Canadian taxpayers.
Internet Service Providers like Sasktel should not be made to keep extensive client usage logs for possible future prosecution by various copyright-based industries. I don't want to pay for that system to be put into effect, and I don't think most people do. The phone companies are not forced by the government to record the content of phone conversations, only police can do that with a proper warrant. ISP logs are going to be equivalent to phone-taps, and that's a violation of my privacy. It's doing the job of the police, and is for the sole benefit of an industry basing its profits on an outdated business model that is no longer realistic for the Canadian government to protect.
It is completely unfair to be paying a levy to artists organizations for purchasing blank CD media to make home-use private copies of legal CD music, and now to also be unable to legally copy the music I've paid for off of Digital Rights Managed CDs. If copying CD music is going to be illegal, why is the government collecting money from the product for an illegal activity? I'm satisfied that the current levy is helping to compensate artists from illegitimate copying, and no new law is required to prevent me and other people from making sensible backups of our legal music, software, and movie collections.
Your representation in the House of Commons on this matter is greatly appreciated by me, and other supporters of personal liberty and innovation in the arts. I look forward to hearing from you.
Sincerely,
my name
It is clear that the individual who persecutes a man, his brother, because he is not of the same opinion, is a monster. - Voltaire
