statism watch

If he wanted to avoid the appearance of a conflict of interest, perhaps he should have declared his affiliation with pro-copyright groups, a pretty standard journalistic practice known as full disclosure. Judges in Sweden may want to take a look at implementing some similar basic standards of accountability.

Flashback: Pirate Bay lawyer calls for retrial after judge confirms ties to copyright groups | Jail terms for Pirate Bay founders, appeal in works

David Kravets, Wired.com
June 8, 2009

The four Pirate Bay co-founders were convicted of copyright infringement by an unbiased judge, the Stockholm District Court told an appeals court Monday.

The district court made the statement to the Svea Court of Appeal in Sweden. It was in response to accusations by the defendants that they should get a retrial because the judge, Tomas Norstrom, was a member of pro-copyright groups.

“The memberships are simply a means to gain increased knowledge of copyright legislation issues and are not therefore grounds to establish bias, the Stockholm court told the court of appeals,” according to Swedish media. “On the contrary, the court argued, it is imperative that judges remain abreast of the issues.”

Days after the April convictions, attorneys for the four charged that Norstrom was hostile to the defense because of his affiliations with the Swedish Copyright Association and the Swedish Association for the Protection of Industrial Property.

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Flashback: RCMP spokesman told to hold off correcting false details of Dziekanski incident, inquiry hears | RCMP supervising officer contradicts earlier testimony in Dziekanski inquiry | RCMP to face no charges in case of TASERed Polish immigrant: Report | Mountie involved in fatal crash was supervisor at time of airport Taser death | Perjury: Is it different for cops? | Mounties censor Taser report

James Keller, Canadian Press
June 8, 2009

VANCOUVER – The four RCMP officers involved in stunning Robert Dziekanski with a Taser at Vancouver’s airport are asking a B.C. court to bar a public inquiry into his death from making findings of misconduct against them.

The inquiry’s commissioner has warned the four officers that he will consider some of the allegations levelled against them during the inquiry, specifically that they acted improperly and then tried to cover up their actions.

The notice doesn’t necessarily mean Thomas Braidwood will make such findings, but he is required to give notice if he wants the option left open and he’s done that.

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Marchionne wants this so it’s unlikely he’s going to walk away – he already lost Opel to Magna.

Flashback: Fiat aims to be global powerhouse by acquiring Chrysler, Opel

Associated Press
Jun 08, 2009

WASHINGTON–U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg on Monday delayed Chrysler’s sale of most of its assets to a group led by Italy’s Fiat, but didn’t say how long the deal will remain on hold.

Ginsburg said in an order that the sale is “stayed pending further order,” indicating that the delay may only be temporary.

Chrysler LLC has said the sale must close by June 15, or Fiat Group SpA has the option to walk away, leaving the Auburn Hills, Mich., automaker with little option but to liquidate.

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And there’s a bridge in Deseronto he’d like to sell you. Allow StatismWatch to suggest a little historical context. The charts below are of the various rallies during the Great Depression (Dow) and the most recent year on the DOW and TSX. The time scale at the bottom of the 1930s chart covers a period of four years, and the turnaround didn’t start in earnest until after three years. With the amount of new cash that is being thrown at the banks and the global money supply at present, the staggering debt held by Canadian households, China and Russia’s moves out of US currency and the continuing collapse in employment, the similarity between the period from October 2008 until present and October 1929 until May 1930 (~60% recovery) gives one pause.

Related: China explores buying $50bn in IMF bonds | Chinese economists deem huge holding of US bonds “risky” as Geithner visits | Soaring loonie adds to anxiety over economy | Economist Warns Fed Will Bring About Zimbabwe Style Hyperinflation | Federal deficit to top $50B | Canadian households $1.3-trillion in debt | Economic stabilization may rely on carbon economy, economist says | Digital Money Forum Pushes For Electronic Currency

The Canadian Press
June 8, 2009

OTTAWA – There are signs that Canada’s economy has stabilized, Finance Minister Jim Flaherty said today as a major international think-tank cited Canada among countries in the leading-edge of recovery.

The minister’s remarks came as the Organization for Economic Co-Operation and Development named Canada among four industrialized countries showing signs of having reached a bottom in the economic downturn.

The OECD cautioned it was still too early to say definitively whether the signs of improvement were “temporary or a more durable turning point,” but said positive indicators were present in a majority of its 30 member countries.

“The OECD composite leading indicators for April 2009 point to a reduced pace of deterioration in most of the OECD economies with stronger signals of a possible trough in Canada, France, Italy and the United Kingdom,” the organization said.

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Related: BC Court Tells Ottawa to Amend Status Rules for Natives

Justine Hunter, The Globe and Mail
June 8, 2009

A proposed law that is being drafted to recognize aboriginal title in B.C. may “fatally undermine” those rights, a group of lawyers specializing in native law argues.

The 22-page legal opinion, signed by 14 lawyers, is feeding into an intense debate within the province’s native communities over the creation of the tentatively named Recognition and Reconciliation Act.

The law is still in the drafting stage, but a framework document generated so much alarm from industry that the province shied away from introducing the legislation this spring.

Consultations within native communities started earlier this month and will carry on through the summer, but proponents’ hopes that a bill would be ready this fall appear to be fading.

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The legal issue here is: do the Mohawks of Akwesasne have a right of self-determination on their land or not? What is the historical context? How many agreements with them relevant to this case have been broken or ignored? Can they create bylaws like this? Then there’s the moral issue. Are there thugs amongst the CBSA that sneer at the natives and subject them to additional searches as has been suggested? Do they feel threatened? How would you like it if you got pepper sprayed for daring to defy the godlike authority of the TSA border guard by asking him to say please when he’s rude? How would you like it if that was a bullet instead? The Mohawks have a legitimate grievance and this journal supports them provisionally. Perhaps if they’re stonewalled they should consider outright secession in a move similar to that taken by the Lakota Sioux under Russell Means.

Update (2009/06/09): Commenter ‘attentive’ on the source CBC site has gone some way towards answering these questions… see reposted comment below, third down.

Flashback: Akwesasne natives protest armed border guards, border crossing closed in retaliation | New border rules create ‘invisible Berlin Wall’: mayor | RCMP and US Coast Guard to integrate as Canada signs border pact with Homeland Security | New US border technology directed at insidious threat: Canadians | US Homeland Security forced to retract statement accusing Canada of importing 9/11 terrorists | Predator drones patrolling border irk Manitoba MLA | Homeland Security Assuming Broad Powers, Turning Swaths of U.S. into “Constitution-Free Zone” | Surveillance on the Great Lakes: U.S. tightens security along border | Drivers licences with chips spark heated debate | Border ‘two-headed monster,’ industry minister says | Canada, U.S. agree to use each other’s troops in civil emergencies | U.S. Northern Command, Canada Command establish new bilateral Civil Assistance Plan

CBC News
June 8, 2009

About 40 Mohawk protesters blocked a bridge in eastern Ontario Sunday evening in support of a nearby First Nations community engaged in a standoff with the federal government over the arming of border guards.

Protesters blocked either side of the Skyway bridge, which spans the Bay of Quinte near Belleville, Ont., and links the Tyendinaga Mohawk Territory and Prince Edward County.

Shawn Brant, a well-known activist in Tyendinaga, helped organize the blockade. Brant and other Mohawks plan to stay on the bridge until the federal government makes a commitment to hold what they describe as meaningful talks with Mohawks in Akwesasne. The Akwesasne territory is located near Cornwall, Ont., east of Kingston.

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Flashback: Canadian copyright lobbyists leaned on “independent” researchers to change report on file-sharing | Think tank plagiarizes, pulls report on Canadian piracy | France passes ‘three strikes’ Internet surveillance law | Pirate Bay lawyer calls for retrial after judge confirms ties to copyright groups | ISOHunt points out Google, Yahoo torrent engines too | Obama Administration Claims Copyright Treaty Involves State Secrets | Do We Need a New Internet? | Latest Round of Closed-Door ACTA Copyright Negotiations Wrap Up

Michael Geist, Toronto Star
June 8, 2009

This month marks the tenth anniversary of the debut of Napster, the peer-to-peer file-sharing service that had a transformative effect on the music and Internet services industries. While many commentators have marked the anniversary by reassessing Napster’s impact and speculating on what lies ahead, now is also a suitable time to put to rest two myths about file sharing in Canada.

The two myths that dominate debate are: all file sharing is legal in Canada and, perhaps as a consequence of this, that Canada leads the world in illegal file-sharing activity. Neither claim is true.

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