Thunderf00t: a ‘moderate’ Muslim speaks out

March 8, 2012 — xanthippa

Perhaps you have been following the free speech debate which has been happening on YouTube – or, at least, oe of them:  the one involving Thunderf00t.

Thunderf00t is a scientist who became famous on YouTube because of a series of videos he made ‘Why do people laugh at creationists’.  It took some of the more outrageous statements made/published on YouTube by Christian young-Earth creationists, contrasted their statements with reality and closed with the catch-phrase:  ‘Why do people laugh at creationists?  Only the creationists don’t know!’  (I am working from memory, so my wording may not be 100% on, but the gest is there.)

Soon, some of these young-Earth creationists took notice and began to react.  Different ones reacted differently.  Some invited him to debate them – even live.  And he did – and thesedebates are published on YouTube.

Others, however, sought to shut him up – to get his videos flagged and banned.  When they could not censor his content as ‘inappropriate’, some sought to use the copyright laws to censor him – claiming infringement where none existed.

Thunderf00t continued his videos, highlighting religious non-science nonsense as well as religious bigotry and intolerance.

Because he criticized not just Christian intolerance bur religious bigotry from all the directions he saw and experienced it, he soon came under attack from the Islamist corner.  This time, there was no invitation to debade the worth of ideas:  instead, he was doc-dropped, he and his family were publicly threatened with violence and the Univesrity where he works was bullied in an attempt to have him fired.  Oh, and his videos were flagged and accused of copyright infringment in an attempt to censor him.

So, now that you have a sketch of the background:  here is his latest video documenting his fight for free speech on the internet:

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OpenMedia: Warrantless online spying is back on!

March 8, 2012 — xanthippa

From an email from OpenMedia:

Instead of listening to you and the other 117,000 Canadians who demanded an end to the Online Spying bill, the government is going on the PR offensive with a one-two punch.

You won’t believe this: With one side of their mouth, they’ve leaked stories1 falsely suggesting that they are standing down. With the other, Public Safety Minister Vic Toews has shot back with op-eds2, misleading mass emails3, and speeches in Parliament that aggressively defend the bill4.

There’s only a small window of opportunity for MPs to put a stop to warrantless online spying.

Will you call on your MP to use our new tool to stand with Canadians today?

Over 117,000 Canadians from across the political spectrum have signed the Stop Online Spying petition, and many of you took to Twitter to raise your voices. Because of your efforts, the opposition parties and several Conservative MPs5 have come out against the costly online spying plan.

Yet Vic Toews has still not apologized for misleading Canadians; he’s even continued to use our children as political cover for this poorly thought-out legislation.

Let’s push back. Now is the time to tell your MP to stand with us against warrantless online spying—every action makes all of our voices louder.

We know from experience that MPs get the message when contacted by local constituents. It makes sense: they’re acutely aware that elections are won riding by riding. This means that together, as a wide-reaching grassroots community, we have power.

This can only work if we raise our voices together. Please take a second to tell your MP to stand with us as a Pro-Privacy politician.

Our efforts together have so far forced the government to delay their online spying plan. Let’s take the next step.

For the Internet,

Shea and Lindsey, on behalf of your OpenMedia.ca team

P.S. Thanks to all of you who contributed when we asked for help in scaling up our campaign. The tools and actions we’re offering now are only possible because of your generous support. We’ll send all of you contributors a special report back soon to show what you made possible. If you haven’t chipped in yet, you can still do so here.

 

Footnotes

[1] See our press release, Government to Stall the Online Spying Bill
[2] Find one of Toews’ more recent op-eds, which he submitted to Postmedia News, here.
[3] See Mythbusting the mythbusting: Our response to Vic Toews’ email to Canadians
[4] Watch Vic Toews’ February 28th speech in the House of Commons here, and our video mash-up debunking his points here.
[5] Source: National Post. Conservative MPs who have expressed concerns with the online spying bill include New Brunswick MP John Williamson, Calgary MP Rob Anders, and Ontario MP David Tilson.

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This is exactly why governments must not have the power to censor the internet

March 2, 2012 — xanthippa

Because when they do not censor those who are uncomfortable to them, they just might censor you ‘by accident’!

Being labelled a pedophile is a serious thing.  For a site to be shut down for hours – and all visitors who go there to be informed that the site had been shut down because it s involved in child pornography – that is the kind of accusation that could kill some smaller sites!

Yet, that is exactly what happened to 8,000 sites in Denmark.

According to TorrentFreak:

‘In Denmark yesterday the Internet didn’t exactly collapse, but for thousands of businesses it was hardly service as usual.

For several hours, customers of ISP Siminn (although it could have easily been the whole country) were denied access to thousands of websites including Google and Facebook. When attempting to view any of the blocked pages visitors were given a worrying message relating to the most emotive blocking reason of all – the protection of children.

“The National High Tech Crime Center of the Danish National Police [NITEC], who assist in investigations into crime on the internet, has informed Siminn Denmark A/S, that the internet page which your browser has tried to get in contact with may contain material which could be regarded as child pornography,” the message began.

“Upon the request of The National High Tech Crime Center of the Danish National Police, Siminn Denmark A/S has blocked the access to the internet page.”

NITEC is responsible for maintaining a list of sites which they want to be made unavailable to Danish citizens. Each day the country’s Internet service providers retrieve the list and then apply DNS blockades across their infrastructure. Yesterday, however, someone made a huge mistake.’

Yes.

A bureaucrat ‘made a mistake’.

And publicly accused innocent people of criminal participation in pedophilia.

Do you really think there will be any serious repercussions for anyone for having smeared people’s reputation and interfered with their ability do do business?  If you do, then I have this here bridge you might be interested in purchasing…

Sure, the Googles and FaceBooks will shake it off and do just fine – but what about the rest?

Obviously, governments and their apparatchiks cannot be trusted with this level of power over real human lives!

Whether from malice or incompetence, we have sufficient evidence to convince even the most ardent ‘law&order’ enthusiasts that it is inappropriate to permit governments to have any oversight or regulatory authority over the internet.

Now if we can only explain it to our governments…

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YouTube identifies birdsong as copyrighted music

February 27, 2012 — xanthippa

Really?

This is just getting silly!

From the Center for the Study of Innovative Freedom:

I disputed their claim with YouTube’s system — and Rumblefish refuted my dispute, and asserted that: ‘All content owners have reviewed your video and confirmed their claims to some or all of its content: Entity: rumblefish; Content Type: Musical Composition.’ So I asked some questions, and it appears that the birds singing in the background of my video are Rumblefish’s exclusive intellectual property.”

Posted in corruption, freedoms. Tags: , , , . 1 Comment »

OpenMedia: A Huge Public Outcry

February 16, 2012 — xanthippa

An urgent message from OpenMedia:

This is big. Powerful lobbyists, working with their allies in government, have put forward what amounts to an unavoidable choke point for your Internet use: two bills aimed at Internet users, and a government decision about the future of Internet access.

If we don’t stop this set-up, you’ll have to deal with bigger bills, widespread warrantless surveillance, and restricted choice.

By signing an OpenMedia.ca petition, you helped push back against new Internet restrictions and Big Telecom price-gouging. But these new challenges require more resources than ever to fight. Will you donate today so we can defend your rights? Your donation will empower the fight for an open and affordable Internet.

These three imminent threats will create an Internet choke point for Canadians, and they’re unfolding right now:

    1. Online Spying: The government has tabled their invasive spying plan (Bill C-30) to mandate that every Internet provider must hand “authorities” access to the private information of any Canadian, at any time, without a warrant1. Despite appearances the contrary, they are still pushing this through parliament.

 

    1. The Internet Lockdown: Through Bill C-11, Big Media lobbyists are seeking the power2 to compel telecom providers (who will now have surveillance capabilities) to cut Internet access for no good reason, remove or hide vast swaths of the Internet, and lock users out of their own services.

 

  1. The Cell Phone Squeeze: Big Telecom giants are lobbying the government to turn over control of mobile communications—which experts say are the future of Internet access—to just three giant companies3. This will lead to rising prices, even worse customer service, and more easily controlled surveillance.

Please contribute a few dollars now to help us stop this triple-threat of price-gouging, control, and warrantless surveillance.

With your help, we can put together an airtight, multifaceted plan that will turn government heads. Here’s what we’ll do with your support:

  • Launch a damning viral video that will turn up the heat on government.
  • Run pro-Internet ads targeting conservative politicians in swing ridings.
  • Unleash local, on-the-ground pressure, especially in major ridings.

This approach works. Two MPs have broken ranks4 already; now, we just need to nudge a few more over the fence. But we can’t do it without you.

Please stand with us by chipping in now. Anything helps.

With hope,

Steve and Lindsey, on behalf of your OpenMedia.ca Team

P.S. We created a media sensation this week and your petition signature helped start it all! Your team here at OpenMedia.ca has been run off our feet with media requests! Please chip in so we can keep up the pressure. We’ll report back on our progress to everyone that contributes.

 

Footnotes

[1] The Information and Privacy Commissioner of Ontario has written that the online spying bills could “undercut the future of freedom, innovation and privacy”

[2] Big Media is pushing for C-11 to include the power for courts to issue injunctions ordering ISPs to block access to websites. Many proposed amendments also include rules that mean accused (i.e. not necessarily convicted) “repeat infringers” could have their Internet connections terminated. The “enabler provision” may also be expanded in such a way that could be used to target legitimate websites that host user generated content. Those websites—including YouTube—could be penalized for hosting content that Big Media controls.

[3] Montreal Gazette: Spectrum auction called a threat to new entrants

[4] Conservative supporters, including some conservative MPs, have denounced the online spying bills.

Support OpenMedia.ca
OpenMedia.ca is a non-profit organization that relies on donations from people like you to operate. Our small but dedicated team ensures even the smallest contributions go a long way to make your voice heard. Please donate today.
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JotForm’s domain suspended for user-generated content

February 16, 2012 — xanthippa

JotForm is a web company that lets people easily generate forms for whatever they need.  Now, their domain has been siezed and their site has been blocked in a SOPA-style action.  From the JotForm blog:

‘UPDATE: Many people on the comments assumed the content was posted by us. This can happen to any site that allows public to post content. SOPA may not have passed, but what happened shows that it is already being practiced. All they have to do is to ask Godaddy to take a site down. We have 2 millions user generated forms. It is not possible for us to manually review all forms. This can happen to any web site that allows user generated content.’

(Emphasis added by me.)

So, here we have yet another confirmation that despite of SOPA itself having been scrapped, the practices it was normalizing already exist and are being followed by state agents.

This is outrageous on so many levels…and yet, it is even worse on the other side of the pond…

We must shine the light under all these proverbial rocks, or we’ll be overrun by the creepy-crawlies!

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If the USA declared a ‘War on Drugs’, do ‘international rules of war’ apply?

February 13, 2012 — xanthippa

One of my favourite thinking games is taking words and looking at all the different layers of meanings in them – along with why certain of their meanings form the dominant interpretation at any given time.

Hours of fun – and anyone can play!

For example, I absolutely love the word ‘authority’:  it means quite literally, that we – as a culture – accept that ‘power’ flows exclusively from Thor.  Au Thor-ity.  Coming from Thor.  (This is particularly amusing when coupled with the term ‘divine’ – as in, ‘divine authority’.  If someone claims their god has ‘divine authority’, whether they are aware of it or not, they are literally saying that their god derives all of its power from Thor…which is fascinating when monotheists who deny the very existence of Thor do it.  Yes, it does not take a lot to amuse me…)

One thing I find very annoying are the ‘grand declarations’ of ‘war on …’ – especially ones that do not really have proper meaning.  For example, ‘The War on Terror’ is a nonsense-statement.

‘Terror’ is a feeling – a state of mind.  To wage a war on it would mean trying to make people feel better, perhaps by medicating them into a state of non-fear.  It certainly does not mean waging a physical war, with soldiers and guns.

Declaring war on terrorist organizations would make more sense…

Now, how about ‘The War on Drugs’?

Again, the jingoism of the slogan is non-sensical, at best.  ‘Drugs’ are not something that is capable of fighting back, it is just stuff.  Inanimate objects.   It makes even less sense to claim to wage a war against inanimate objects than it does to wage a war against a state of mind.  It does, however. bring up the image of one ’tilting at windmills’…

Except, of course, that the term ‘War on Drugs’ does not mean a war on drugs as such:  it means a war on the organizations that handle certain drugs currently prohibited by the government.

Ok – so we have deciphered what the ‘Drugs’ in the statement means:  organizations which are involved in the production and distribution of substances classified as ‘illegal’ by the US government. (Yes, I am intentionally not addressing why these laws are ‘illegal’!)  So, what does the word ‘War’ mean?

This is, by far, the more interesting part of the phrase.

What, indeed, is meant by the word ‘War’?!?!?!?

Typically, ‘wars’ are fought by armies – not police forces.  Yet, the ‘War on Drugs’ is being fought by non-military police officers.  That is curious, to say the least.  (Some would claim it is illegal – but that is a differen discussion.)

It would, of course, explain why the various police forces across the USA are becoming increasingly militarized: sometimes, it seems that cops are more military-like than the military itself!  This would, indeed, be a more-or-less necessary outcome if the police were, indeed, waging ‘a war’… at least, according to my understanding of the ‘conventional’ meaning of the word ‘war’.

So, let us look at whom the ‘war’ is being waged against:  the ‘drug gangs’.  Are these, in any way, shape, or form ‘an army’?

A good case could be made that ‘drug gangs’ are, indeed, ‘armies’.  If my memory serves me right (I have lost all of my bookmarks again, so I am not including links – please, check up on me!), according to international laws, ‘an army’ is defined as an organization must have:

  1. a well defined chain-of-command
  2. defined markings/insignia worn by its members to make them recognizable and differentiate them from civilians

Drug gangs most definitely satisfy this definition.  Their chain-of-command is very well defined.  And, all gang-members do wear specific ‘colours’, or symbols, which identify them clearly and unambiguously as members of that particular gang.  Many gangs go a step further than most conventional armies – they not only wear their gang insignia, they have them tattooed into their very skin, so no disguise is possible!

In other words, the ‘drug gangs’ are more of an ‘army’ (under international law) than ‘terrorist organizations’, which do not wear identifying insignia and pride themselves in hiding among the civilian population.  Honestly, the ‘War on Drugs’ adheres more closely to the definition of ‘war’ under international laws than ‘War on Terror’ does – yet the ‘War on Terror’ has been used, successfully, to justify (internationally) at least two extra-territorial wars that the US got involved in.

So, why is this an issue I bother thinking about?

Well, it does have some very interesting LEGAL implications….

If this is, indeed, a ‘War’ – then the ‘international rules of war’ automatically kick in!!!

It means that each and every person arrested in the USA under the ‘drug laws’ MUST be treated as a prisoner of war – and is not subject to any criminal laws!!!

Yes, please, do think about it!

Frankly, I find it difficult to believe that no enterprising lawyer has not thought of this yet…

The US government cannot have their cake and eat it, too. (OK – ‘the cake is a lie’….but that does not take away from my point!)

The US government has openly declared ‘A War’ on all organizations even peripherally involved in the drug trade.  These drug organizations straddle national borders.  This means that the international ‘rules of war’ most definitely kicked in once US made their declaration of war!!!

Under international ‘rules of war’, if you capture ‘a soldier’ from the opposing side, even if that person had indeed brutally killed many, many people, they cannot be tried as ‘murderers’!  Rather, they must be given all the privileges attached to Prisoners Of War!

To re-phrase: because the US government has openly declared ‘War on Drugs’, is it now violating the Geneva Convention every single time it applies criminal law to anyone arrested on any drug-related charges?

Please, think about it!!!

Posted in corruption, freedoms, politics, society. Tags: , , , , , . 2 Comments »

Gary McHale on SunTV

February 6, 2012 — xanthippa

 

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OpenMedia.ca: Which Telecom Giant thinks you should pay more?

February 6, 2012 — xanthippa

From OpenMedia.ca:

The Big Three are ripping us off and using the money to manipulate Canadians and the government.

As we’ve been saying, the Big Three cell phone companies have a plan to price-gouge Canadians by shutting out small competitors1. Now they’re unleashing a misinformation campaign to muzzle your voice.

For example,

    1. Rogers recently bought and paid for a trumped-up study2 that wrongly implies Canadians (you) can afford to pay more for telecom services.

 

  1. Rogers just took to the courts to argue that Canada’s false advertising rules violate the telecom giant’s freedom of expression! This after being caught red-handed and fined $10,000,000 dollars for misleading cell phone advertising.3

Will you let them get away with it?

With these two acts of extreme arrogance, Rogers has demonstrated that they will go to ridiculous lengths to tighten their stranglehold on communications and raise prices.

Some say mobile is the future of the Internet and communications. We have to stop the Big Three from creating a command and control communications market with tight contracts, content controls, price-gouging overage fees, and disrespectful customer service.

The government could make a decision on this at any moment. Sign the Stop The Squeeze petition now.

With hope and determination,

Steve, on behalf of your OpenMedia.ca Team

P.S. Unlike Big Telecom, we listen to Canadians. Some of you have expressed that we should provide more details in our messages. We heard you—here’s some more detailed background information:

    1. Cell phone companies require low-frequency wireless spectrum to deliver the latest mobile devices to customers. There is a new block of 700 MHZ spectrum that will be available for use through an auction later this year and the government is about to decide who will have access to the spectrum.The Big Three providers are sitting on more than enough spectrum to do deliver their services to Canadians (including those in rural areas). They want the government to take a do nothing approach and allow the Big hree to control essential spectrum and shut out independent competitors. You can also check out CTV News coverage of this issue here.
    2. Lemay Yates recently released a report, bought and paid for by Rogers, that suggests Canadians have better Internet speed, availability and pricing than our global counterparts. But this research directly contradicts many other independent reports (from the OECD, Harvard, the New America Foundation, Akamai, and more) that show Canada falling woefully behind on key metrics like price and speed.

 

  1. According to the Vancouver Sun: “Rogers Communications Inc. is asking an Ontario court to strike down part of a federal law requiring a company to have ‘adequate and proper’ tests of a product’s performance before advertising claims about the product — on the grounds that it violates its freedom of expression.”

Now that you know the details, it’s time to act.

Support OpenMedia.ca
OpenMedia.ca is a non-profit organization that relies on donations from people like you to operate. Our small but dedicated team ensures even the smallest contributions go a long way to make your voice heard. Please donate today.
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All charges against ‘the Caledonia 8’ have been dropped – again

February 5, 2012 — xanthippa

Patterns.

Behavioural patterns.

Patterns of abuse.

When will some authority – any authority – acknowledge a pattern of abuse and put an end to it?

Let me paint a picture for you of a very nasty pattern of abuse of authority which has targeted a specific citizens and his associates:

Imagine being arrested for ‘trespassing’ for walking down a public street.  While you are being arrested, you actually have proof with you that this is a county street – and therefore 100% it is public street, with no restrictions, so no act of trespassing is taking place.

In addition, since it is a county road and therefore not within the jurisdiction of the Ontario Provincial Police, even if someone were to trespass on it, these OPP officers would have no jurisdiction to arrest them for it.

But, the OPP are there in large numbers, heavily armed, and they arrest the small group of unarmed citizens anyway.

These citizens (including an army vet suffering from cancer) are handcuffed and driven off in OPP vehicles, processed and charged with trespassing.

They are forced to hire legal representation and appear in court.

Once they get to court – the group of citizens find all the charges against them have been withdrawn!

Why?

Because, as the prosecutor explains, there is no reasonable expectation that they would be found guilty…beause, well, they were on a public road where they had every right to be, and even had they been trespassing, the police officers who arrested them had no jurisdiction to do so…

Victory?

Perhaps – in this one battle.

But, what if this happens over and over and over?

If the charges are withdrawn, these citizens have no opportunity to clear their name – and recover legal costs, much less damages!

And what does it say about our law enforcement agencies, that they are willing to perpetuate this abusive pattern of ‘catch-and-release’?!?!?

This is exactly what has been happening to Gary McHale.

Now, more and more citizens are standing with him, being arrested with him – and being released when the bogus charges against them are dropped!

Please, ask yourself:  should we, the people of Canada, tolerate this treatment of our citizens?

Just how badly is our system broken that such a lengthy pattern of this type of abusive of power can be established?

And exactly what can we, as citizens, do to stop this corruption?

How can we hold out authorities accountable?

Because we must – for all our sakes!

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