Follow Slashdot stories on Twitter

 


Forgot your password?
Close
typodupeerror
×

Submission + - Canadians fighting to share details of "Canada's Steubenville." (thestar.com)

Submitted by o_ferguson
o_ferguson writes: Last year, Canada was rocked by allegations surrounding the suicide of Rehtaeh Parsons, a teenager from Cole Harbour, Nova Scotia, who killed herself after being raped and having images if the assault circulated on social media by her classmates. While she reported the crime, and the photos were widely available, she receiving no help or justice, eventually committing suicide. Once this tragic case became known, Canadians demanded action, and police eventually re-opened their instigation, charging one participant with manufacturing child pornography for his role in photographing the assault. He eventually pled guilty, and received a very lenient sentence (one year supervision, no criminal record.)

However, one bizarre offshoot this prosecutorial tactic is that it effectively made it illegal to publish Rehtaeh's name in Canada, as child pornography laws there explicitly protect the names of victims whose assailants have been prosecuted. Her name, which had become a rallying call for Canadian activists against online bullying and sexual exploitation, was effectively removed from the general lexicon overnight.

Needless to say, the reaction from regular people has been swift, with many tanking to twitter in an open defiance of the ban and others moving to US-based sites where they can freely publish not just Rehtaeh's name, but the until-now highly protected names of her attackers. As in the Steubenville case, the actions of Anonymous have played a central role.

Comment Re:Science fiction comes to life, again (Score 2) 176

by o_ferguson (#48356543) Attached to: The Disgruntled Guys Who Babysit Our Aging Nuclear Missiles
With Minuteman you may be correct (I have no idea - never looked into them.) However with the original Titan silos there was only one capsule and one key. (photo of it right here: https://www.facebook.com/photo... ) I've got a whole album with 156 photos from the silo tour up here if you want to view it: https://www.facebook.com/Nicke... (must be logged into Facebook to see the photos - sorry about that - can't be arsed to put them up elsewhere)

Comment Re:Domestic Violence (Score 1) 61

Been there - sorta. The only time I ever hit my wife was when she had me in a choke hold and I was on the verge of blacking out. One quick shot with a closed fist to just below her left eye was enough to make he break the hold so I could run from the room. You actions were not unreasonable, but yes you are a wife beater (as am I - deal with it) and no, you should not have shot or otherwise escalated it. This isn't the type of thing you can't come back from, either - mine was the low point in our relationship, and things have been getting better ever since - we both just needed that one crazy moment to let off some steam...

Comment OPP are idiots. (Score 1) 231

by o_ferguson (#48353281) Attached to: Canadian Police Recommend Ending Anonymity On the Internet
When I was in highschool I spent a summer as a student trainee for the OPP. They knew pretty much nothing about computers and the internet - my main task that summer was helping the Staff Sargent install pirate software on his home computer and his computer in the detachment. This was before it was really feasible to DL pirate software online (whole detachment was on a dial up connection - we were about 2 hours north of Toronto) so he would drive to Toronto's China Town and buy CD-Roms full of pirate apps then bring them back and get me to install them for him. Ever since, I've given no fucks about pirating as much of whatever I want. I figure, if it's good enough for the OPP, it's good enough for me.

Comment Yeah, they are a Joke (Score 1) 1

by o_ferguson (#48353261) Attached to: Canadian Police Recommend Ending Anonymity on the Internet
When I was in highschool I spent a summer as a student trainee for the OPP. They knew pretty much nothing about computers and the internet - my main task that summer was helping the Staff Sargent install pirate software on his home computer and his computer in the detachment. This was before it was really feasible to DL pirate software online (whole detachment was on a dial up connection - we were about 2 hours north of Toronto) so he would drive to Toronto's China Town and buy CD-Roms full of pirate apps then bring them back and get me to install them for him. Ever since, I've given no fucks about pirating as much of whatever I want. I figure, if it's good enough for the OPP, it's good enough for me.

Slashdot Top Deals

"When the going gets tough, the tough get empirical." -- Jon Carroll

Close