EFF Sues NSA, DOJ Over Secret Surveillance Program

While on the topic, the Western Center for Journalism asks if, perhaps, some of this NSA-collected material might have been used to influence Chief Justice Roberts to change his vote at the last minute on Obamacare.

And if you still cling to the foolish and long debunked ‘I have nothing to hide, so I have nothing to worry about’ fallacy, please, consider the following book:  Three Felonies A Day: How the Feds Target the Innocent by Harvey Silverglate.  Here is an excerpt from a review of the book:

‘The average professional in this country wakes up in the morning, goes to work, comes home, eats dinner, and then goes to sleep, unaware that he or she has likely committed several federal crimes that day. Why? The answer lies in the very nature of modern federal criminal laws, which have exploded in number but also become impossibly broad and vague. In Three Felonies a Day, Harvey A. Silverglate reveals how federal criminal laws have become dangerously disconnected from the English common law tradition and how prosecutors can pin arguable federal crimes on any one of us, for even the most seemingly innocuous behavior.’

After all, Kiera Wilmot, a 16-year-old student, faced 2 felony charges of bomb-making and was to be tried as an adult for a school science-experiment that produced a ‘pop’, in which nobody was hurt and no damage happened – only popular outcry forced the authorities to eventually drop the charges.

And, of course, who can forget why ‘the authorities’ kept such a concise log on citizens’ activities in Fahrenheit 451!  If they could not catch the real culprit, an early-morning dog-walker would be a suitable substitute…  (Yes, it is since having read this book in English that I cannot bring myself to use the word ‘fireman’ and instead use ‘fire-fighter’.)

And, if you think that ‘just’ collecting metadata does not tell ‘the regime’ a lot about you, please, consider this interesting, humorously written article which graphically demonstrates how the analysis of metadata would have helped identify and ‘neutralize’ Paul Revere.

P.S.  In the above video, they say that when the EFF asked the US government to clarify how they were interpreting the laws, they were told the answer was ‘classified’.  Consider the implications of that!  How can you possibly follow the laws if you are not permitted to know how the government will enforce them?  Do you still think you have ‘nothing to hide’?!?!?

Learn Liberty: “A Professor’s Argument for Same-Sex Marriage”

As today happens to be my 23rd anniversary, I think this video is well timed:

MSMF: Annual Indian Food Picnic in Ottawa

If you like Indian food and you’ll be in Ottawa next weekend, Saturday, 22nd of June, 2013, Andrew Haydon Park, Ottawa.

This is a fundraiser for the Manjari Sankurathri Memorial Foundation – and the food is always ECXELLENT!!!
This is what’s on this year’s menu:  Indian Vegetarian Food (Served from 11am – 2pm)

Entertainment is from 2pm – 5pm.
MSMF Facts to date:

  • Children educated – 1,930
  • Eye surgeries performed – 178,805

For more information, please check http://www.msmf.ca or contact info@msmf.ca

MSMF Annual Picnic Flyer 2013(1)

 

US Supreme Court Ruling: naturally occuring DNA cannot be patented, but synthesized DNA can

The full ruling can be found here.

While I have not had a chance to study the ruling in detail yet, I have no illusions that my non-legally-trained mind would be able to grasp all of the nuances of the ruling, so, please, do read it for yourself.

In the meantime, this is what the news folks are saying about it:

The Sydney Morning Herald:

‘The US Supreme Court has issued a potentially far-reaching ruling, stating that DNA in the human genome is a “product of nature” that cannot be patented.

The nine-member court’s unanimous finding on Thursday overturns exclusive rights to use genes that have been issued in recent decades by the US Patent and Trademark Office, but does allow companies to patent their developments of synthetic, so-called composite DNA.

“A naturally occurring DNA segment is a product of nature and not patent-eligible merely because it has been isolated,” wrote Justice Clarence Thomas, author of the decision. 

However, he went on to write that composite DNA “is patent-eligible because it is not naturally occurring”.

The decision strikes down patents issued to Myriad Genetics, which had isolated a rare gene associated with very high rates of breast and ovarian cancer in women who carry the mutation. The company had claimed the exclusive right to offer tests for the gene, based on its patent.’

Of course, this patenting of the naturally-occurring cancer genes has been the highest obstacle in cancer research and even cancer treatment, as per many medical professionals.  If you had a naturally occurring breast cancer,  you yourself could not use your own tissue to try to get better, because someone else held a patent on the DNA that had naturally occurred inside of you!
Frankly, that sounds to me like slavery by another name – and I am glad that the US Supreme Court has struck it down! It corrects some (no, not all, but you have to start somewhere) of the incredible patents irresponsibly (and, hopefully ignorantly) granted by the US Patent Office.
More sources…here is what BBC is saying:

‘The opinion said DNA came from nature and was not eligible for patenting.The US biotechnology industry had warned any blanket ban on such patents would jeopardise huge investment in gene research and therapies.

“We hold that a naturally occurring DNA segment is a product of nature and not patent eligible merely because it has been isolated,” Justice Clarence Thomas wrote in Thursday’s opinion.

But his ruling said that synthetic molecules known as complementary DNA can be patented “because it is not naturally occurring”.’

And from The Blaze:

‘For more than 30 years, the  U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has been awarding patents on human genes. But Thursday the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that a patent could not be placed on naturally occurring human genes, because researchers didn’t “create” them.

Those who are praising the decision believe it will benefit both the progress of research and protect the human body  ”from the assertion of private property rights.”’

Considering that over quarter of human DNA had been patented, this is an important ruling indeed!

Toronto’s Moderate Muslims protest against all terrorism

To all of you who’ve been asking where are all the moderate Muslim voices are who condemn all forms of terrorism:  yesterday, the 9th of June, 2013, they were in Toronto!

Dodo has the story.  And the pictures!

It is good to see – and we must give these guys all the support we can. They are brave and we must let them know that we will not permit their voices to be silenced by the militants – that we are prepared to defend them, protect them and give them the platform to speak.

And,  when our elected representatives are looking for voices from the Muslim community for consultation, we should demand that they talk to these Canadians first!!!

H/T:  BCF

Thunderf00t: Feminism versus FACTS (Part 3, RE Damsel in distress II)

When I was about 14 years old, my parents hosted a dinner party.  One group of their guests was a family much like ours:  mother, father and a daughter, an only child.  Except that the other family’s daughter was about 5 years my senior and, while I was in High School, she was already attending University.

During the meal, the matriarch of this guest family, with an indulgently patronizing smile, responded to something my dad had said with:  “How can you say that, with two fine young feminists sitting at the table?”

Well, that got my hackles up!

I immediately responded with (loosely translated to English): “I am no such thing as a feminist!  Please, don’t insult my intelligence by calling me one!”

Which seemed to puzzle my parents’ guests (both of whom [the parents] held doctorates in Physics):  they could not possibly imagine a young woman who isn’t driven by her immature teenage rebellion into the foolishness that is ‘Western feminism’.  Their own daughter was, indeed, a full blown feminist and a Marxist to boot – and, to the best of my knowledge, has remained so till now…

OK, it was one of my Aspie moments, I had embarrassed my parents and all that.  Jaws dropped all around – perhaps due to the passion with which my statement was delivered – and, looking back, my parents had a hard time getting the conversation back into the ‘safe’ zone.

Yet, even at the age of 14, I recognized and despised – to the core of my being – the hypocrisy of modern-day Western feminists who, far from attempting to create a ‘level playing field’ where every individual is treated equally, regardless of where they fall in the demographics game, were all about a power/money grab for a specific snotty elite…a corruption of an ideal if there ever was one!

I, for one, considered myself ‘an equalist’ – someone who despises special privileges for anyone. for any reason.  The rules of life (aka ‘the laws of the land’) had to apply to everyone equally!

After all, that is why we came to Canada:  so my family would no longer be persecuted because of my father’s beliefs (not actions, just beliefs).  Where teachers would not regularly single me out because of my pigmentation, my pale skin and hair and eye colour – ‘just the king of kid the Nazis would have liked – unlike the rest of my classmates, whom they would have gladly have exterminated’:  a statement my grade 3-5 homeroom teacher made, in class, several times week, and which inevitably led to a school-yard beating for me…at least, until I learned how to fight back…

So, I guess I learned the hard way to wish for the rules to apply to everyone equally – even to pale freaks like me!  And, I had expected that immigrating to a country with a heritage of liberal democracy, like Canada, would provide that!

How very Aspie of me…

The Cultural Marxists – led/bullied by the ‘feminists’ – had corrupted the spirit of liberal democracy in Canada long before I got here.

It saddens me to see so many smart people fall for their scam.

Yet, I am glad Thunderf00t is not one of them!

 

Reason TV on Bitcoins

Open Doors Ottawa – 2013

For all those who will find yourself in the Ottawa area this coming weekend, 1st and 2nd of  June, 2013, and you would like to see all kinds of wonderful places which are not usually open to the public, you are in luck!

Open Doors Ottawa is an excellent and fun way to spend a weekend. Whether you want to see how the traffic lights are controlled, or visit various Embassies, from Churches and Mosques to historical buildings to government offices – many have their doors open.

Here is the list of the 2013 events.

Enjoy!

Ron Paul: Nanny State Brings Police State

Walter E. Williams: Economics and Personal Liberty