Canadian DMCA to be reintroduced -- your action needed NOW!
Michael Geist says that flip-flopping Jim Prentice may announce his Canadian DMCA bill tomorrow morning after all, following what looks like pressure from the US, and a government that doesn't want to appear "weak".Like I said before, this thing won't die until we cut off its head, sew its mouth full of garlic, and bury its head at a crossroads. Link (Thanks, Danny!)If they do, the thousands of Canadians who thought it was smart of him to actually pause and consult the voters on this bill will be furious.
Online Rights Canada, whose letter campaign has already sent 2500 letters to MPs, has launched a site to keep track of all the protests, photos, Facebook groups and political developments as they happen. One page, and an RSS feed is all you need at http://www.copyrightforcanadians.ca/
See also:
Canadian DMCA stalled, won't be introduced (today, at least)!
Canadian DMCA rally in Calgary -- photos, videos, reports
O Canada! The Canadian DMCA version of the national anthem
Canadian DMCA introduced
CANADIANS! Tomorrow is your best chance to fight the Canadian DMCA! Event in Calgary, national phone-in
Canada's DMCA won't get any consumer rights added to it for a decade
Facebook group for fighting Canada's DMCA growing fast
Ranting hand-puppet tackles Canada's DMCA
HOWTO Fight Canada's coming DMCA copyright law
Canada's coming DMCA will be the worst copyright yet
Canadian DMCA: how it might have happened
CBC radio show needs your input for question with Minister responsible for Canadian DMCA
Canadian Industry Minister refuses to defend Canadian DMCA in public
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Wish some clever journalist would follow the money trail on this one.
Or what kind of pressure are we seeing from "the US" here. Will they invade, to find "weapons of mass reproduction"?
Viagra pills, #2?
Svein@2:
There's a lot of cause: the US can provide pressure through NAFTA (is similar legislation on the cards in Mexico, one wonders) and this week's announcement of draconian anti-copyright laws that the US believes it can apply anywhere for the protection of US intellectual property. I wouldn't be surprised if we get a similar law in the UK or across the EU very soon.
How the shuddering fuck can a government listening to it's citizens be 'weak'? Gah! Not that us poor denizens of Mud Island, Englishland would have even had the chance to complain about a law our government passed about anything...
Sad to say it, but it won't stop until Jim Prentice is removed from office.
Fool me once... and all that.
Simon@4: Precisely what form does pressure through NAFTA take? Are there clauses in the NAFTA agreement, or is it more in the form that "if you don't introduce our style of copyright law, we will put a ban on maple syrup imports from Canada"?
As for the US exporting its laws, you just need to join the dots: It can kidnap anyone anywhere if US law has been broken, and it is very keen on exporting US copyright law. How far into the future would a sci-fi novel based on those premises have to be set?
In addition to the form letter generated on the site, I also sent a short and sweet version to my MP and the various ministers involved in this.
I blogged it as well.
Svein@7: technically, what the courts decided was that kidnapping a person on foreign soil does not break any US laws, as US law has no jurisdiction on foreign soil. If the US government were to kidnap someone in the UK, that would still be breaking UK law.
And we all know how well NAFTA works. Just look at the softwood lumber dispute for proof.
What...a...dick.
I know it doesn't sound very policital nor very intelligent, but it's the most descriptive I can come up with at this point.
@loraksus: Don't kid yourself. Removing Jim Prentice from office, or using the threat of removal from office to change is mind on this issue, is winning a battle. But the war is never over.
Jim Prentice is just a sock puppet for American media conglomerates here. He can (and probably will) be shredded, but the hands that are stuck up his butt so far they can work his mouth will remain, and will go looking for other Canadian a\s\s\e\s\ politicians.
This has nothing to do with party or policy, and everything to do with money and influence.
The price of liberty is... and all that.
Latest news is that Industry Canada backed out at the last minute again. Parliament finishes this week, so it's a CDMCA-free holiday season this year!
Well, there is influence and then there is influence. So far, the last two MPs that tried to introduce this type of bill lost their jobs. If Prentice does as well, this type of bill is going to be much harder to put through in the future. After all, there is only so much that can be offered to induce someone to commit career suicide.