CBC News:Security certificates constitutional: court

Troublesome news regarding national security certificates from the Federal Court of Appeal. From a sidebar:

Citizenship and Immigration Canada can remove a person considered to be a security threat by issuing a Security Certificate signed by the solicitor general and the minister of citizenship and immigration, and endorsed by a judge of the Federal Court.
When a security certificate is issued:

• all other immigration proceedings are suspended until the Federal Court makes a final decision about the certificate;


• foreign nationals who are the subject of a Security Certificate are automatically detained. Permanent residents may be detained on a case-by-case basis.

If the Federal Court decides that the certificate is unreasonable, it is quashed. If the court decides that it is reasonable, the certificate becomes an order for removal of the person. The court's decision can't be appealed.

I don't have a major problem with non-citizens being treated differently than citizens. However, I think there need to be strict limits to the amount of time this detention can go on and this sort of thing should never be possible for a citizen (of any stripe). The National Security should not trump the consitution. Someone deemed a risk before becoming a citizen should be deported as soon as possible, we do not have the arbitrary right to keep people in limbo. There is also the question of not seeing the evidence against them. Tricky that one, since if the evidence is correct they will be expelled and out of our control and can reveal potetntially damaging information.

Molson, Coors set merger vote for Jan. 19

The full name is Adolph Coors Co. How appropriate. If you are a Molson shareholder or customer, you should not support this merger.

Tenet calls for Internet security

The Washington Times is a wingnut rag, but they got there first so everyone links to this UPI story about ex-CIA chief Tenet's calls for Internet security at an information-technology security conference in Washington.

Sound bite of interest: "Access to networks like the World Wide Web might need to be limited to those who can show they take security seriously" (Like the Department of Homeland Security which standardized on MS software, reknowned for its security)

As an aside, "the national press, were excluded from yesterday's event, at Mr. Tenet's request, organizers said."

Oh, and there are plenty of .mil addresses on spambot lists.

Freedom to Tinker: Gator's Egregious EULA

Why you should never install Kazaa.

More on the Social Security thing

Apparently it's called bait-and-switch

US Social Security Privatization

OK, so here we learn that in the early 80's Alan Greenspanmade SS payroll taxes higher than the payout to build up a trust fund. Payroll taxes hit low and middle income earners more than hgih income earners. The payback would come some time in 2010-2020 when they woudl reverse things and the trust fund would start to drain. Now the trust fund is just a bunch of t-bills so you the money actually comes from the government general fund, whcih is mostly funded by income tax which is proportionally more expensive for hgih income earners than a payroll tax. Now that the working poor and middle class have built up a nice pile, the scum, er, Republicans are complaining about how one branch of governement claiming t-bills is just messing with money and it isn't really there and it's silly and the fund isn't big enough anyway and the reall solution is to give their broker friends lots more commissions and fees by requiring private investment and just reclaiming all the t-bills. So, tax them on a promise, renege on the promise, oh, and then lie about how it's necessary and the new plan will totally work this time.

Seriously, if you don't make millions of dollars, why would you want to live there? To own a gun? You can't protect yourself from corporations and tax lawyers with a gun my friend. Don't forget that you now live in a nation ruled by beleivers in state torture, and, better yet, using information gathered under torture to prosecute the prisoner.

Eschaton

Ah, now that's what I call good ol' family values.

WorkingForChange - Is this American?

I wonder why the Moral Majority doesn't speak up on the issue of defacing holy texts. We're all children of Abraham right? Brothers of the book? There are many houses in my father's mansion?

Gross National Happiness

National well-being does not scale with national wealth.

Did technology help beat the house?

ISo there were these people who attached a laser velocitimeter to a cellphone, used it to measure the speed of a roulette wheel ball and the roulette wheel, photographed the position of the ball at the time, phoned the data home, crunched a best estimate for a range of likely landing spots and won more than 2 million in 2 days. They were arrested on the second day, but later released and now they have their money too, because they weren't interfering with the wheel or the ball. No doubt casinos will all install cell-phone blockers soon. Which will work until someone comes in with an organic processor and does everything on-site.

Those pesky northerners

An amusing montage of Ann Coulter and Tucker Carlson talking trash about Canada.

Wired News: EBay Negative on Negativland IPod

So it seems to me that eBay has implemented it's own notice & takedown procedure, but without the part that allows for the poster to challenge. I know that this is merely a manifestation of the Golden Rule, but people's pacificity is frightening. If you can't see that your rights are being trampled on here, what will it take? As Martin Niemöller is often quoted: "First they came for the Communists, but I was not a Communist - so I said nothing. Then they came for the Social Democrats, but I was not a Social Democrat - so I did nothing. Then came the trade unionists, but I was not a trade unionist. And then they came for the Jews, but I was not a Jew - so I did little. Then when they came for me, there was no one left who could stand up for me." Insert your favourite right for Communist/Social Democrat/Jew/Trade Unionist and "didn't care" for "wasn't a". Wake up people, please.

Wired News: Study: Musicians Dig the Net

Apparently "About 43 percent agree that 'file-sharing services aren't really bad for artists, since they help to promote and distribute an artist's work to a broad audience.'"

Not only that, but the apparent threat of downloading allows Canadian media companies to suck money from the public's wallet like the ticks and leeches that they are.

The Ten Least Successful Holiday Specials of All Time

Thanks Kir. Link may not be permanent. Remind me next Friday (not this Friday damn you) to check it.

[IP] Piercing the P2P Myths, Part Two

Michael Geist posted his latest column to the Interesting People mailing list. The archives allow you to avoid the annoying Toronto Star website thta his stuff normally appears on.

The important point is that the estimated yearly loss to all Canadian artists from downloading is $540 000 Canadian. Yup. And amount that the CPCC Private Recording Levy will generate in 2004? About $30 MILLION. Yup. 60 times the loss.

Hey, media companies? Fuck off you filthy thieving bastards.