Related: Guardian journalist beaten, arrested at peaceful G20 protest on Esplanade | Invitation-only NGO access seperates media from activists at G20 summit | CP Reporter: How I was detained by G8 security | Toronto activists launch G20 alternative media centre | Iceland Unanimously Approves ‘Wikileaks Bill’ To Establish Free Speech Press Haven | Pentagon hunts WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange in bid to gag website | Michigan Considers Law to License Journalists for ‘Moral Character’ | Obama Czar Wants Mandatory Government Propaganda On Political Websites | Media can’t shield sources all the time, court rules | Press For Truth Arrested While Reporting On The G20 Summit | Secret Document Calls Wikileaks ‘Threat’ to U.S. Army | North Korean worker executed for passing on news | The Toronto 18 Publication Ban: Silence affects the core of justice | Obama Information Czar Outlined Plan For Government To Infiltrate ‘Conspiracy Groups’ | Obama Information Czar Calls For Banning Free Speech | Canadian Supreme Court expands freedoms for media | Border guards are now Olympic thought police – Amy Goodman detained | Cuban blogger claims she was roughed up by state agents | Globe appeal to protect adscam sources before court | Obama: We Need To Bailout Newspapers To Stop New Media Taking Over | Canadian media watched closely in Afghanistan | It’s a great day for freedom of speech: ‘Hate Speech’ laws found to violate Charter Rights | Associated Press Tries To DRM The News | Murdoch CEO Labels Bloggers “Political Extremists” | Should linking be illegal? | Top court to hear ‘Adscam’ media gag order challenge | Top court reserves decision in reporter confidentiality case | Don’t let media shield ‘criminals’, hearing told | Supreme Court to rule on ‘tidal-wave’ of press freedom cases | Fredericton police arrest well-known N.B. blogger on legislature grounds | Barclays bank gags Guardian newspaper over tax avoidance leaks | Chinese Learn Limits of Online Freedom as the Filter Tightens | UK Terror Law To Make Photographing Police Illegal | Publication ban law too broad, top Ontario court rules | Public access vs. government secrecy the issue in Supreme Court of Canada case | UK MPs seek to censor the media | Italian Judge: Blogs are Illegal | RCMP lays no charges in Maher Arar ‘terrorist’ leaks, declares case closed | Human rights body to consider Internet speech regulation | Blogger arrests hit record high | For more, see the G20 Coverage page feature

Shannon Kari, The National Post
June 27, 2010

Police officers tackled and detain National Post photographer Brett Gundlock while he was photographing protesters demonstrating against the G8/G20 summits

National Post photographers Brett Gundlock and Colin O’Connor were among the hundreds of people arrested at the G20 Summit. They were taken into custody at about 6 p.m. on Saturday while attempting to photograph clashes between police and demonstrators. Both men were charged with obstruct peace officer and unlawful assembly. Neither photographer was accused of any violent act. Instead, they were “amongst violent people,” and allegedly failed to comply with a police order to disperse, a Crown attorney alleged in court on Sunday. The two men spent about 24 hours in custody before the Crown consented to their release on bail. The photographers spoke about their experience in custody to National Post reporter Shannon Kari.

O’Connor: We were handcuffed. They emptied my wallet. I still don’t know what happened to some of our camera equipment. About six of us were put in a paddy wagon for at least 90 minutes. There was a lot of waiting. Then we were transferred to a large paddy wagon, more like a bus, with compartments and room for at least 40 people.

Gundlock: I have one of my cameras. One was dropped on the ground. Everyone in jail says they are innocent. But there were a lot of people who said they were picked up randomly. One guy, a computer engineer, said he was smoking a cigarette, taking a look at the security fence, when he was arrested by police. “How cool are you now,” the police told the man after they took him into custody.

O’Connor: We weren’t just handcuffed. They also put cuffs on our legs, around the ankles. Once we got to Eastern Avenue (the site of the temporary detention centre) we were put into makeshift cages. They were about six metres by four metres in size. For a while, they kept moving us from cage to cage, as we were being processed and the charges were explained to everyone. We were strip searched. It is all kind of blurry. Once we got to speak on the phone to a lawyer, we had some idea of what was happening and knew that we might get out on bail the next day. We did not get any water for 12 hours.

Gundlock: We could not wear our shoes in the cell. It was so cold. It felt like it was five degrees and we were in our t-shirts. There were no blankets. There was just a narrow steel bench and a port-a-potty with an open door. Some people huddled inside the port-a-potty to keep warm. All we had were a couple cheese sandwiches. It was a slice of cheese inside a bun. People were yelling all night, asking for some water.

O’Connor: The lights were always on, it was impossible to sleep. There seemed to be a constant influx of protesters being bought in. We were brought to the courthouse in the morning. We had to wait in the cells downstairs for a few more hours. I haven’t slept at all.

Source | See also under Media: Guardian journalist beaten, arrested at peaceful G20 protest on Esplanade | Invitation-only NGO access seperates media from activists at G20 summit | ACTA Leak: EU pushes for criminalizing non-commercial usages | CP Reporter: How I was detained by G8 security | Obama Can Shut Down Internet For 4 Months Under New Emergency Powers | Sacco and Vanzetti in Ottawa: How Media and Police are Politicizing the RBC Arson Case | $11-million paid, a CanWest deal is made | Australian Government to Force Use of State Firewall Package, Block ‘Unauthorized’ Programs | Heritage Minister tars those opposing copyright bill C32 as ‘radical extremists’ | Experts Draft Document Critical Of ACTA: Signatures Wanted | Toronto activists launch G20 alternative media centre | US Senator: China Can Shut Down The Internet, Why Can’t We? | Supreme Court upholds restrictions on government documents | Russian police seize 100,000 anti-Vladimir Putin books | Iceland Unanimously Approves ‘Wikileaks Bill’ To Establish Free Speech Press Haven | WikiLeaks to release video of deadly US airstrike in Garani | Pro-copyright bill group busted as recording industry astroturf campaign | Internet ‘kill switch’ proposed for US President | U.S. seeks international organization in battle against cyber terror | Homeland Security’s Cyber Bill Would Codify Executive Emergency Powers | Gaza flotilla attack: activist releases new footage | Pentagon hunts WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange in bid to gag website | ‘Fox News North’? Quebecor planning 24-hour network | Rural Internet providers angered by federal support of bigger rivals | Tories worked hard to paint bloody Afghan war as peace mission: MEP documents | Maybe it’s time to muzzle the trolls: Globe tech writer advocates online moderation | G20 media centre with fake lake to cost $1.9M | Harper’s Privy Council message control system is unprecedented, critics say | US Federal Trade Commission considers taxing online speech | Prime Minister’s Office tells Tory MPs not to answer Citizen reporter’s questions on expenses | Canada’s new information czar vows to take on delays in access system | Tories unveil tougher copyright bill, requires ISPs to keep user info | Copyright Act changes to be revealed today | Pirate Bay Appeal Judges Cleared of Bias | International Copyright Draft Release Was Apparently A One Time Deal: Now We’re Back To Secrecy | Canwest sells newspapers to creditor group for $1.1B | Industry Minister Clement invites input on Canadian digital economy | Google attorney slams ACTA copyright treaty | Media can’t shield sources all the time, court rules | US regulators seek new network neutrality laws | Canadian Journalists Barred From Gitmo | Press For Truth Arrested While Reporting On The G20 Summit | Red Alert: New Canadian DMCA Bill Within Six Weeks | Fox News Caught Aggregating Others Copyrighted Photographs… Something Murdoch Insists Is Illegal | Shaw buying up CanWest TV assets from Goldman-Sachs | China wants internet firms to inform on clients | Official ACTA Draft Released, Only Very Slightly Less Awful Than Expected | U.S. Troops Apologize For Wikileaks Massacre Video | The Economist On Why Copyright Needs To Return To Its Roots | Big Content’s dystopian wish-list for the US gov’t: spyware, censorship, physical searches and SWAT teams | Danger Room What’s Next in National Security Prospective U.S. Cyber Commander Talks Terms of Digital Warfare | Thousands condemn secrecy of New Zealand round of internet copyright talks | Access to information risks being ‘obliterated’: report | Leading UK ISP Says It Will Defy Government’s Net Censorship Bill | Nikkei Restricts Links to Its New Web Site | WikiLeaks releases video of alleged U.S. helicopter attack on Reuters reporters | Internet linking rights case to go before Supreme Court | CETA worse than ACTA – EU Trade Negotiators Demand Canada Completely Overhaul Its Intellectual Property Laws | ACTA Draft: No Internet for Copyright Scofflaws | New policy shrouds number of Canada’s Afghan campaign injuries in secrecy | Entire Text of ACTA Treaty Leaks to Online Rights Website | Google reroutes uncensored search to Hong Kong, raises stakes in row with China | Revealed: ACTA to cover seven categories of intellectual property | New ACTA Leaks Complete Picture of Oppressive Global Copyright Treaty | Copyright conviction raises privacy concerns | MP Charlie Angus Introducing Private Copying Levy Bill, Flexible Fair Dealing Motion | Georgia suffering backlash over media-staged Russian attack | Secret Document Calls Wikileaks ‘Threat’ to U.S. Army | Government Internet Censorship Begins In Stealth In New Zealand | UK Government Ad: Use Cash And Enjoy Privacy? You’re A Terrorist | EU Parliament votes down ACTA global copyright resolution by overwhelming margin | Goldman appeals CanWest, Shaw deal | Cyber-bullying cases put heat on Google, Facebook | North Korean worker executed for passing on news | Cyberwar Hype Intended to Destroy the Open Internet | UK: Open Wi-Fi ‘outlawed’ by Digital Economy Bill | Cryptome.org Leaks Microsoft Online Surveillance Guide, MS Demands Takedown Under Copyright Law | Italy Convicts Google Execs over Youtube Video of Downs Syndrome Boy | China launches interview requirement, licensing for personal websites | Cabinet ministers’ offices regularly interfere in access to information requests, says Tory staffer | ACTA Internet Chapter Leaks: Renegotiates WIPO, Sets 3 Strikes as Model | Google Books Fosters Intellectual, Legal Crossroads | Google Bans Sale of DVD Critical Of Obama Administration | US media omission: Iran calls for global nuclear disarmament | EU Already Has A ‘Public/Private’ IP Observatory To Watch For Copyright Infringement Online | Shaw Cable moves for acquisition of controlling share in Canwest Global | Google shuts down music blogs without warning | Activists Shut Down Australian Government Websites in Internet Filter Protest | ACTA Is Called An ‘Executive Agreement’ To Implement Restrictive Copyright With Less Hassle Than A Treaty | HST ad campaign debuts in Ontario | Google, NSA may team up to probe cyberattacks | Men at Work plagiarized Kookaburra tune, Australian court rules | Hollywood loses landmark copyright case in Australia | Police want backdoor to Web users’ private data | Time Magazine Pushes Draconian Internet Licensing Plan | UN agency calls for global cyberwarfare treaty, ‘driver’s license’ for Web user | CBC’s new licencing plan: Pay to Print, Email, and Blog, and outsource enforcement to American Copyright Digital Rights Bounty Hunters | ACTA One Step Closer To Being Done; Concerns About Transparency Ignored | Pentagon calls for ‘Office of Strategic Deception’ | Internet companies voice alarm over Italian copyright law | UK MPs frozen out of super-secret ACTA copyright talks | The Toronto 18 Publication Ban: Silence affects the core of justice | China Google Hack Exploited Security Gaps Introduced By State Surveillance Provisions | Obama Information Czar Calls For Banning Free Speech | China tells web companies to obey controls | Google Considers Leaving China If China Will Not Allow Uncensored Search | Reading Between The Still Secret Lines Of The ACTA Negotiations | Privacy no longer a social norm, says Facebook founder | Tipping point at CanWest | See more in The Memory Hole – Media

Related: Invitation-only NGO access seperates media from activists at G20 summit | CP Reporter: How I was detained by G8 security | Toronto activists launch G20 alternative media centre | Iceland Unanimously Approves ‘Wikileaks Bill’ To Establish Free Speech Press Haven | Pentagon hunts WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange in bid to gag website | Michigan Considers Law to License Journalists for ‘Moral Character’ | Obama Czar Wants Mandatory Government Propaganda On Political Websites | Media can’t shield sources all the time, court rules | Press For Truth Arrested While Reporting On The G20 Summit | Secret Document Calls Wikileaks ‘Threat’ to U.S. Army | North Korean worker executed for passing on news | The Toronto 18 Publication Ban: Silence affects the core of justice | Obama Information Czar Outlined Plan For Government To Infiltrate ‘Conspiracy Groups’ | Obama Information Czar Calls For Banning Free Speech | Canadian Supreme Court expands freedoms for media | Border guards are now Olympic thought police – Amy Goodman detained | Cuban blogger claims she was roughed up by state agents | Globe appeal to protect adscam sources before court | Obama: We Need To Bailout Newspapers To Stop New Media Taking Over | Canadian media watched closely in Afghanistan | It’s a great day for freedom of speech: ‘Hate Speech’ laws found to violate Charter Rights | Associated Press Tries To DRM The News | Murdoch CEO Labels Bloggers “Political Extremists” | Should linking be illegal? | Top court to hear ‘Adscam’ media gag order challenge | Top court reserves decision in reporter confidentiality case | Don’t let media shield ‘criminals’, hearing told | Supreme Court to rule on ‘tidal-wave’ of press freedom cases | Fredericton police arrest well-known N.B. blogger on legislature grounds | Barclays bank gags Guardian newspaper over tax avoidance leaks | Chinese Learn Limits of Online Freedom as the Filter Tightens | UK Terror Law To Make Photographing Police Illegal | Publication ban law too broad, top Ontario court rules | Public access vs. government secrecy the issue in Supreme Court of Canada case | UK MPs seek to censor the media | Italian Judge: Blogs are Illegal | RCMP lays no charges in Maher Arar ‘terrorist’ leaks, declares case closed | Human rights body to consider Internet speech regulation | Blogger arrests hit record high | For more, see the G20 Coverage page feature

Kim Elliot, Rabble.ca
June 27, 2010

8 p.m. EST Sunday. Update: Jesse Rosenfeld has been released from custody, says family, and is doing well.

Rosenfeld shows his media credentials to police right before he is arrested and beaten. Photo: Activestills

A journalist on assignment for The Guardian newspaper was arrested and beaten by police officers at the site of a peaceful demonstration on The Esplanade near the G20 security fence in downtown Toronto at approximately 11:00 p.m. on June 26, 2010. Having been punched in the stomach and elbowed in the back by officers, it is believed that Jesse Rosenfeld, a 26-year-old writer from Toronto, was then taken to the temporary detention facility on Eastern Avenue in Toronto.

Rosenfeld had already filed a story for The Guardian, the United Kingdom–based newspaper founded in 1821, but was not able to receive media accreditation as the RCMP had dragged its heels through the accreditation process. However, Rosenfeld clearly identified himself to police as a journalist.

Steve Paikin, the Gemini-nominated TVOntario personality who was also covering the protest via Twitter witnessed the incident. The following are Paikin’s tweets journaling the arrest and beating:

“they repeated they would arrest me if i didn’t leave. as i was escorted away from the demonstration, i saw two officers hold a journalist.”
https://twitter.com/spaikin/status/17137794505

“the journalist identified himself as working for ‘the guardian.’ he talked too much and pissed the police off. two officers held him….”
https://twitter.com/spaikin/status/17137826780

“a third punched him in the stomach. totally unnecessary. the man collapsed. then the third officer drove his elbow into the man’s back.”
https://twitter.com/spaikin/status/17137863106

“the officer who escorted me away from the demo said, ‘yeah, that shouldn’t have happened.’ he is correct. there was no cause for it.”
https://twitter.com/spaikin/status/17137918390

“the demonstration on the esplanade was peaceful. it was like an old sit in. no one was aggressive. and yet riot squad officers moved in.”
https://twitter.com/spaikin/status/17138017712

Rosenfeld’s family is livid that police would violate the rights of anyone but especially a journalist on assignment, and are supporting Jesse in this matter. Rosenfeld’s father, Mark, is available for comment, as is Jesse’s girlfriend and fellow journalist Carmelle Wolfson. Rosenfeld will be available for comment following his release.

Contact information:
Mark Rosenfeld, father
Carmelle Wolfson,
Adam Chaleff-Freudenthaler, friend

Rosenfeld spoke at a rabble-sponsored event this week. You can watch the video here.

Source | Alternate Coverage 1 2 | See also under Media: Invitation-only NGO access seperates media from activists at G20 summit | ACTA Leak: EU pushes for criminalizing non-commercial usages | CP Reporter: How I was detained by G8 security | Obama Can Shut Down Internet For 4 Months Under New Emergency Powers | Sacco and Vanzetti in Ottawa: How Media and Police are Politicizing the RBC Arson Case | $11-million paid, a CanWest deal is made | Australian Government to Force Use of State Firewall Package, Block ‘Unauthorized’ Programs | Heritage Minister tars those opposing copyright bill C32 as ‘radical extremists’ | Experts Draft Document Critical Of ACTA: Signatures Wanted | Toronto activists launch G20 alternative media centre | US Senator: China Can Shut Down The Internet, Why Can’t We? | Supreme Court upholds restrictions on government documents | Russian police seize 100,000 anti-Vladimir Putin books | Iceland Unanimously Approves ‘Wikileaks Bill’ To Establish Free Speech Press Haven | WikiLeaks to release video of deadly US airstrike in Garani | Pro-copyright bill group busted as recording industry astroturf campaign | Internet ‘kill switch’ proposed for US President | U.S. seeks international organization in battle against cyber terror | Homeland Security’s Cyber Bill Would Codify Executive Emergency Powers | Gaza flotilla attack: activist releases new footage | Pentagon hunts WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange in bid to gag website | ‘Fox News North’? Quebecor planning 24-hour network | Rural Internet providers angered by federal support of bigger rivals | Tories worked hard to paint bloody Afghan war as peace mission: MEP documents | Maybe it’s time to muzzle the trolls: Globe tech writer advocates online moderation | G20 media centre with fake lake to cost $1.9M | Harper’s Privy Council message control system is unprecedented, critics say | US Federal Trade Commission considers taxing online speech | Prime Minister’s Office tells Tory MPs not to answer Citizen reporter’s questions on expenses | Canada’s new information czar vows to take on delays in access system | Tories unveil tougher copyright bill, requires ISPs to keep user info | Copyright Act changes to be revealed today | Pirate Bay Appeal Judges Cleared of Bias | International Copyright Draft Release Was Apparently A One Time Deal: Now We’re Back To Secrecy | Canwest sells newspapers to creditor group for $1.1B | Industry Minister Clement invites input on Canadian digital economy | Google attorney slams ACTA copyright treaty | Media can’t shield sources all the time, court rules | US regulators seek new network neutrality laws | Canadian Journalists Barred From Gitmo | Press For Truth Arrested While Reporting On The G20 Summit | Red Alert: New Canadian DMCA Bill Within Six Weeks | Fox News Caught Aggregating Others Copyrighted Photographs… Something Murdoch Insists Is Illegal | Shaw buying up CanWest TV assets from Goldman-Sachs | China wants internet firms to inform on clients | Official ACTA Draft Released, Only Very Slightly Less Awful Than Expected | U.S. Troops Apologize For Wikileaks Massacre Video | The Economist On Why Copyright Needs To Return To Its Roots | Big Content’s dystopian wish-list for the US gov’t: spyware, censorship, physical searches and SWAT teams | Danger Room What’s Next in National Security Prospective U.S. Cyber Commander Talks Terms of Digital Warfare | Thousands condemn secrecy of New Zealand round of internet copyright talks | Access to information risks being ‘obliterated’: report | Leading UK ISP Says It Will Defy Government’s Net Censorship Bill | Nikkei Restricts Links to Its New Web Site | WikiLeaks releases video of alleged U.S. helicopter attack on Reuters reporters | Internet linking rights case to go before Supreme Court | CETA worse than ACTA – EU Trade Negotiators Demand Canada Completely Overhaul Its Intellectual Property Laws | ACTA Draft: No Internet for Copyright Scofflaws | New policy shrouds number of Canada’s Afghan campaign injuries in secrecy | Entire Text of ACTA Treaty Leaks to Online Rights Website | Google reroutes uncensored search to Hong Kong, raises stakes in row with China | Revealed: ACTA to cover seven categories of intellectual property | New ACTA Leaks Complete Picture of Oppressive Global Copyright Treaty | Copyright conviction raises privacy concerns | MP Charlie Angus Introducing Private Copying Levy Bill, Flexible Fair Dealing Motion | Georgia suffering backlash over media-staged Russian attack | Secret Document Calls Wikileaks ‘Threat’ to U.S. Army | Government Internet Censorship Begins In Stealth In New Zealand | UK Government Ad: Use Cash And Enjoy Privacy? You’re A Terrorist | EU Parliament votes down ACTA global copyright resolution by overwhelming margin | Goldman appeals CanWest, Shaw deal | Cyber-bullying cases put heat on Google, Facebook | North Korean worker executed for passing on news | Cyberwar Hype Intended to Destroy the Open Internet | UK: Open Wi-Fi ‘outlawed’ by Digital Economy Bill | Cryptome.org Leaks Microsoft Online Surveillance Guide, MS Demands Takedown Under Copyright Law | Italy Convicts Google Execs over Youtube Video of Downs Syndrome Boy | China launches interview requirement, licensing for personal websites | Cabinet ministers’ offices regularly interfere in access to information requests, says Tory staffer | ACTA Internet Chapter Leaks: Renegotiates WIPO, Sets 3 Strikes as Model | Google Books Fosters Intellectual, Legal Crossroads | Google Bans Sale of DVD Critical Of Obama Administration | US media omission: Iran calls for global nuclear disarmament | EU Already Has A ‘Public/Private’ IP Observatory To Watch For Copyright Infringement Online | Shaw Cable moves for acquisition of controlling share in Canwest Global | Google shuts down music blogs without warning | Activists Shut Down Australian Government Websites in Internet Filter Protest | ACTA Is Called An ‘Executive Agreement’ To Implement Restrictive Copyright With Less Hassle Than A Treaty | HST ad campaign debuts in Ontario | Google, NSA may team up to probe cyberattacks | Men at Work plagiarized Kookaburra tune, Australian court rules | Hollywood loses landmark copyright case in Australia | Police want backdoor to Web users’ private data | Time Magazine Pushes Draconian Internet Licensing Plan | UN agency calls for global cyberwarfare treaty, ‘driver’s license’ for Web user | CBC’s new licencing plan: Pay to Print, Email, and Blog, and outsource enforcement to American Copyright Digital Rights Bounty Hunters | ACTA One Step Closer To Being Done; Concerns About Transparency Ignored | Pentagon calls for ‘Office of Strategic Deception’ | Internet companies voice alarm over Italian copyright law | UK MPs frozen out of super-secret ACTA copyright talks | The Toronto 18 Publication Ban: Silence affects the core of justice | China Google Hack Exploited Security Gaps Introduced By State Surveillance Provisions | Obama Information Czar Calls For Banning Free Speech | China tells web companies to obey controls | Google Considers Leaving China If China Will Not Allow Uncensored Search | Reading Between The Still Secret Lines Of The ACTA Negotiations | Privacy no longer a social norm, says Facebook founder | Tipping point at CanWest | See more in The Memory Hole – Media

Olivia Ward, The Toronto Star
June 26, 2010

Ottawa’s plan aimed at quelling critics, NGOs suggest

Toronto has become used to G20 barriers, but prominent charities say that Ottawa has blocked them from reaching the international media with messages that criticize global governments.

“This is different from other summits that have opened up more and more,” says John Ruthrauff of Washington-based InterAction, a coalition of 150 relief and development groups, which cancelled its delegation out of frustration with lack of media access. “It’s taken a step backward.”

At most summits, Ruthrauff says, NGOs can mix and mingle easily with mainstream media, airing their critiques of the meeting’s progress. But in Toronto, they have been split into two camps, with the mainstream international media headquarters across the street from the non-traditional media and NGOs.

Both groups are exiled to the Exhibition grounds, far away from the action of the heavily guarded G20 summit downtown. But NGOs and alternative media can only enter the international media building in the Direct Energy Centre by invitation.

“We don’t know why Canada is doing this,” says Ruthrauff, who planned to bring a three-person delegation to brief journalists on health and poverty issues. “It limits NGOs, and makes the media’s reporting on summit issues less effective.”

Ottawa contends that the alternative media centre was set up because it recognized the importance of new media and civil society groups, and that every effort has been made to provide top-notch WiFi, work stations and interview rooms—as well as three free meals a day, free local calls and a play-by-play telecast of world cup soccer.

But advocacy groups cannot hold news conferences at the international media site, although briefing rooms have been set up in the cavernous building that houses more than 2,000 journalists and the now famous fake lake alongside rustic images of cottage country.

At the alternative media centre, officials say, NGOs are able to do briefings—if they can entice mainstream media across the road, and back again through security checks. Once there, the alternative briefing room is small, and sessions may be limited to 20 minutes. Officials say that could change if there is little demand.

“If we can’t brief there, we would have to rent space upstairs,” said Kelly. But she added, the bigger problem is attracting the attention of the media in the main centre, where national delegations—including those from Ottawa—turn up and give their own briefings, with official points of view.

“The line we’re given is that there are small NGOs who would never have got any access without an alternative media centre,” says Michael Switow of Global Call to Action Against Poverty, representing a wide range of advocacy groups. “But the truth is they’re making it more difficult.”

And he added, “Canada is a democracy. We should be able to do our work, and the media should get the information it needs for the work it has to do.” [Ed. Note: LOL]

Source | See also under Media: ACTA Leak: EU pushes for criminalizing non-commercial usages | CP Reporter: How I was detained by G8 security | Obama Can Shut Down Internet For 4 Months Under New Emergency Powers | Sacco and Vanzetti in Ottawa: How Media and Police are Politicizing the RBC Arson Case | $11-million paid, a CanWest deal is made | Australian Government to Force Use of State Firewall Package, Block ‘Unauthorized’ Programs | Heritage Minister tars those opposing copyright bill C32 as ‘radical extremists’ | Experts Draft Document Critical Of ACTA: Signatures Wanted | Toronto activists launch G20 alternative media centre | US Senator: China Can Shut Down The Internet, Why Can’t We? | Supreme Court upholds restrictions on government documents | Russian police seize 100,000 anti-Vladimir Putin books | Iceland Unanimously Approves ‘Wikileaks Bill’ To Establish Free Speech Press Haven | WikiLeaks to release video of deadly US airstrike in Garani | Pro-copyright bill group busted as recording industry astroturf campaign | Internet ‘kill switch’ proposed for US President | U.S. seeks international organization in battle against cyber terror | Homeland Security’s Cyber Bill Would Codify Executive Emergency Powers | Gaza flotilla attack: activist releases new footage | Pentagon hunts WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange in bid to gag website | ‘Fox News North’? Quebecor planning 24-hour network | Rural Internet providers angered by federal support of bigger rivals | Tories worked hard to paint bloody Afghan war as peace mission: MEP documents | Maybe it’s time to muzzle the trolls: Globe tech writer advocates online moderation | G20 media centre with fake lake to cost $1.9M | Harper’s Privy Council message control system is unprecedented, critics say | US Federal Trade Commission considers taxing online speech | Prime Minister’s Office tells Tory MPs not to answer Citizen reporter’s questions on expenses | Canada’s new information czar vows to take on delays in access system | Tories unveil tougher copyright bill, requires ISPs to keep user info | Copyright Act changes to be revealed today | Pirate Bay Appeal Judges Cleared of Bias | International Copyright Draft Release Was Apparently A One Time Deal: Now We’re Back To Secrecy | Canwest sells newspapers to creditor group for $1.1B | Industry Minister Clement invites input on Canadian digital economy | Google attorney slams ACTA copyright treaty | Media can’t shield sources all the time, court rules | US regulators seek new network neutrality laws | Canadian Journalists Barred From Gitmo | Press For Truth Arrested While Reporting On The G20 Summit | Red Alert: New Canadian DMCA Bill Within Six Weeks | Fox News Caught Aggregating Others Copyrighted Photographs… Something Murdoch Insists Is Illegal | Shaw buying up CanWest TV assets from Goldman-Sachs | China wants internet firms to inform on clients | Official ACTA Draft Released, Only Very Slightly Less Awful Than Expected | U.S. Troops Apologize For Wikileaks Massacre Video | The Economist On Why Copyright Needs To Return To Its Roots | Big Content’s dystopian wish-list for the US gov’t: spyware, censorship, physical searches and SWAT teams | Danger Room What’s Next in National Security Prospective U.S. Cyber Commander Talks Terms of Digital Warfare | Thousands condemn secrecy of New Zealand round of internet copyright talks | Access to information risks being ‘obliterated’: report | Leading UK ISP Says It Will Defy Government’s Net Censorship Bill | Nikkei Restricts Links to Its New Web Site | WikiLeaks releases video of alleged U.S. helicopter attack on Reuters reporters | Internet linking rights case to go before Supreme Court | CETA worse than ACTA – EU Trade Negotiators Demand Canada Completely Overhaul Its Intellectual Property Laws | ACTA Draft: No Internet for Copyright Scofflaws | New policy shrouds number of Canada’s Afghan campaign injuries in secrecy | Entire Text of ACTA Treaty Leaks to Online Rights Website | Google reroutes uncensored search to Hong Kong, raises stakes in row with China | Revealed: ACTA to cover seven categories of intellectual property | New ACTA Leaks Complete Picture of Oppressive Global Copyright Treaty | Copyright conviction raises privacy concerns | MP Charlie Angus Introducing Private Copying Levy Bill, Flexible Fair Dealing Motion | Georgia suffering backlash over media-staged Russian attack | Secret Document Calls Wikileaks ‘Threat’ to U.S. Army | Government Internet Censorship Begins In Stealth In New Zealand | UK Government Ad: Use Cash And Enjoy Privacy? You’re A Terrorist | EU Parliament votes down ACTA global copyright resolution by overwhelming margin | Goldman appeals CanWest, Shaw deal | Cyber-bullying cases put heat on Google, Facebook | North Korean worker executed for passing on news | Cyberwar Hype Intended to Destroy the Open Internet | UK: Open Wi-Fi ‘outlawed’ by Digital Economy Bill | Cryptome.org Leaks Microsoft Online Surveillance Guide, MS Demands Takedown Under Copyright Law | Italy Convicts Google Execs over Youtube Video of Downs Syndrome Boy | China launches interview requirement, licensing for personal websites | Cabinet ministers’ offices regularly interfere in access to information requests, says Tory staffer | ACTA Internet Chapter Leaks: Renegotiates WIPO, Sets 3 Strikes as Model | Google Books Fosters Intellectual, Legal Crossroads | Google Bans Sale of DVD Critical Of Obama Administration | US media omission: Iran calls for global nuclear disarmament | EU Already Has A ‘Public/Private’ IP Observatory To Watch For Copyright Infringement Online | Shaw Cable moves for acquisition of controlling share in Canwest Global | Google shuts down music blogs without warning | Activists Shut Down Australian Government Websites in Internet Filter Protest | ACTA Is Called An ‘Executive Agreement’ To Implement Restrictive Copyright With Less Hassle Than A Treaty | HST ad campaign debuts in Ontario | Google, NSA may team up to probe cyberattacks | Men at Work plagiarized Kookaburra tune, Australian court rules | Hollywood loses landmark copyright case in Australia | Police want backdoor to Web users’ private data | Time Magazine Pushes Draconian Internet Licensing Plan | UN agency calls for global cyberwarfare treaty, ‘driver’s license’ for Web user | CBC’s new licencing plan: Pay to Print, Email, and Blog, and outsource enforcement to American Copyright Digital Rights Bounty Hunters | ACTA One Step Closer To Being Done; Concerns About Transparency Ignored | Pentagon calls for ‘Office of Strategic Deception’ | Internet companies voice alarm over Italian copyright law | UK MPs frozen out of super-secret ACTA copyright talks | The Toronto 18 Publication Ban: Silence affects the core of justice | China Google Hack Exploited Security Gaps Introduced By State Surveillance Provisions | Obama Information Czar Calls For Banning Free Speech | China tells web companies to obey controls | Google Considers Leaving China If China Will Not Allow Uncensored Search | Reading Between The Still Secret Lines Of The ACTA Negotiations | Privacy no longer a social norm, says Facebook founder | Tipping point at CanWest | See more in The Memory Hole – Media

La Quadrature du Net
June 25, 2010

A document leaked from the Presidency of the EU reveals that Member States are pushing for new criminal sanctions into the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA), a few days ahead of the next negotiation round. The proposal stated in this document reveals how illegitimate and dangerous the whole ACTA process is, while exposing the scary position of the EU calling for more repression of non-for-profit usages… and their incitation.

The ninth round of negotiations1 of ACTA will begin in a few days in Luzern, Switzerland. A new leaked text, dated April 7th, proves that Member States, through the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, are negotiating the toughest parts of ACTA. The fact that the Presidency is negotiating along with the Commission 2 by itself shows that ACTA goes way beyond the scope of a regular trade agreement. Criminal sanctions (jail sentences!) being negotiated and not debated by elected representatives in democratic arenas, is more than shocking. Such a blatant denial of democracy justifies by itself a rejection of the whole ACTA process, whatever the agreed text might be.

But the content of the position pushed by the Member States of the EU is even more disturbing. The Presidency document states that “The Position of the Member States of the European Union is still under examination” with regard to article 2.14.1 that covers copyright or related rights infringements. As visible in the released ACTA text, some proposals for 2.14.1 explicitly plan to apply criminal sanctions to “infringements that have no direct or indirect motivation of financial gain”, and others give a definition of financial gain that include obtaining anything without paying3. The EU is clearly pushing for new criminal sanctions on counterfeiting and copyright infrigement that will also target non-commercial usages. If criminal sanctions for non-for-profit transfers of data is included in the final version of article 2.14.1, criminal sanctions for “inciting, aiding and abetting” will automatically apply4. Consequences for freedom of expression and innovation on the Internet could be devastating.

“The ACTA agreement, by its opacity and undemocratic nature, allows criminal sanctions to be simply negotiated. The leaked document shows that the EU Member States are willing to impose prison sanctions for non-commercial usages of copyrighted works on the Internet as well as for ‘inciting and aiding’, a notion so broad that it could cover any Internet service or speech questioning copyright policies. EU citizens should interrogate their governments about their support to policies that obviously attack freedom of speech, privacy and innovation. Around the next round of negotiations and beyond, ACTA should be restlessly combatted and opposed worldwide.” concludes Jérémie Zimmermann, spokesperson for citizen advocacy group La Quadrature du Net.

Source | See also under Internet: Cybersecurity: Booz Allen Hamilton Cashing Out After Scaring Gov’t Into Lucrative Contracts | Obama Can Shut Down Internet For 4 Months Under New Emergency Powers | Australian Government to Force Use of State Firewall Package, Block ‘Unauthorized’ Programs | Heritage Minister tars those opposing copyright bill C32 as ‘radical extremists’ | Experts Draft Document Critical Of ACTA: Signatures Wanted | Google facing multiple international probes over Street View GPS wardriving campaign | US Senator: China Can Shut Down The Internet, Why Can’t We? | Iceland Unanimously Approves ‘Wikileaks Bill’ To Establish Free Speech Press Haven | Pro-copyright bill group busted as recording industry astroturf campaign | Internet ‘kill switch’ proposed for US President | U.S. seeks international organization in battle against cyber terror | Homeland Security’s Cyber Bill Would Codify Executive Emergency Powers | Pentagon hunts WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange in bid to gag website | Rural Internet providers angered by federal support of bigger rivals | Maybe it’s time to muzzle the trolls: Globe tech writer advocates online moderation | US Federal Trade Commission considers taxing online speech | Lieberman Bill Gives Feds ‘Emergency’ Powers to Secure Civilian Nets | Tories unveil tougher copyright bill, requires ISPs to keep user info | Copyright Act changes to be revealed today | India Gearing Up To Fight ACTA; Seeking Other, Like-Minded, Countries | Cyber Command: We Don’t Wanna Defend the Internet (We Just Might Have To) | Pentagon: Let us monitor your network or else | US appoints first cyber warfare general | Harper government secretly monitoring online chats about politics | Obama Czar Wants Mandatory Government Propaganda On Political Websites | Power Corp. open to charging for online content | NSA head confirmed as chief of US cyber command | Pirate Bay Appeal Judges Cleared of Bias | International Copyright Draft Release Was Apparently A One Time Deal: Now We’re Back To Secrecy | Industry Minister Clement invites input on Canadian digital economy | Google attorney slams ACTA copyright treaty | US regulators seek new network neutrality laws | CRTC approves usage-based internet billing | Red Alert: New Canadian DMCA Bill Within Six Weeks | Fox News Caught Aggregating Others Copyrighted Photographs… Something Murdoch Insists Is Illegal | Cybersecurity event seeks to spur international talks | Australian PM shelves web filter legislation until after election | China wants internet firms to inform on clients | Official ACTA Draft Released, Only Very Slightly Less Awful Than Expected | Big Content’s dystopian wish-list for the US gov’t: spyware, censorship, physical searches and SWAT teams | Danger Room What’s Next in National Security Prospective U.S. Cyber Commander Talks Terms of Digital Warfare | Thousands condemn secrecy of New Zealand round of internet copyright talks | Leading UK ISP Says It Will Defy Government’s Net Censorship Bill | Nikkei Restricts Links to Its New Web Site | Canadian researchers reveal another botnet in China, call for state cybersecurity | Internet linking rights case to go before Supreme Court | Isohunt Ordered to Remove Infringing Content | CETA worse than ACTA – EU Trade Negotiators Demand Canada Completely Overhaul Its Intellectual Property Laws | UK: Met Police launch net café spy operation | ACTA Draft: No Internet for Copyright Scofflaws | UK Budget 2010: Darling puts emphasis on broadband for all | Entire Text of ACTA Treaty Leaks to Online Rights Website | Google reroutes uncensored search to Hong Kong, raises stakes in row with China | Revealed: ACTA to cover seven categories of intellectual property | New ACTA Leaks Complete Picture of Oppressive Global Copyright Treaty | Net produces new generation of human rights activists in China | U.S. cybersecurity bill introduced in Senate | Copyright conviction raises privacy concerns | U.S. feds snooping on Facebook | MP Charlie Angus Introducing Private Copying Levy Bill, Flexible Fair Dealing Motion | Secret Document Calls Wikileaks ‘Threat’ to U.S. Army | Pot, Palin and prorogation: Stephen Harper gets grilled on YouTube | Government Internet Censorship Begins In Stealth In New Zealand | PM turns to YouTube – and takes questions | EU Parliament votes down ACTA global copyright resolution by overwhelming margin | Cyber-bullying cases put heat on Google, Facebook | Cyberattacks push CSIS to reach out to business | United States weighs massive expansion of Internet monitoring | Cyberwar Hype Intended to Destroy the Open Internet | UK: Open Wi-Fi ‘outlawed’ by Digital Economy Bill | Cryptome.org Leaks Microsoft Online Surveillance Guide, MS Demands Takedown Under Copyright Law | Italy Convicts Google Execs over Youtube Video of Downs Syndrome Boy | China launches interview requirement, licensing for personal websites | More Details Emerging About School Laptop Spying, And It Doesn’t Look Good | School Spycams Case Explodes As Feds Initiate Probe | ACTA Internet Chapter Leaks: Renegotiates WIPO, Sets 3 Strikes as Model | Pennsylvania schools spying on students using laptop Webcams, claims lawsuit | Google Books Fosters Intellectual, Legal Crossroads | Google Bans Sale of DVD Critical Of Obama Administration | EU Already Has A ‘Public/Private’ IP Observatory To Watch For Copyright Infringement Online | Google shuts down music blogs without warning | Activists Shut Down Australian Government Websites in Internet Filter Protest | ACTA Is Called An ‘Executive Agreement’ To Implement Restrictive Copyright With Less Hassle Than A Treaty | Swedish Justice Minister reluctant to store internet user’s data | Google, NSA may team up to probe cyberattacks | Hollywood loses landmark copyright case in Australia | Police want backdoor to Web users’ private data | Time Magazine Pushes Draconian Internet Licensing Plan | UN agency calls for global cyberwarfare treaty, ‘driver’s license’ for Web users | CBC’s new licencing plan: Pay to Print, Email, and Blog, and outsource enforcement to American Copyright Digital Rights Bounty Hunters | ACTA One Step Closer To Being Done; Concerns About Transparency Ignored | Internet companies voice alarm over Italian copyright law | UK MPs frozen out of super-secret ACTA copyright talks | China Google Hack Exploited Security Gaps Introduced By State Surveillance Provisions | Privacy watchdog wants public input on social networking sites | Obama Information Czar Calls For Banning Free Speech | Obama Information Czar Outlined Plan For Government To Infiltrate ‘Conspiracy Groups’ | China tells web companies to obey controls | Google Considers Leaving China If China Will Not Allow Uncensored Search | Reading Between The Still Secret Lines Of The ACTA Negotiations | Privacy no longer a social norm, says Facebook founder | For more, visit The Memory Hole – Internet

Related: Toronto activists launch G20 alternative media centre | Iceland Unanimously Approves ‘Wikileaks Bill’ To Establish Free Speech Press Haven | Pentagon hunts WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange in bid to gag website | Michigan Considers Law to License Journalists for ‘Moral Character’ | Obama Czar Wants Mandatory Government Propaganda On Political Websites | Media can’t shield sources all the time, court rules | Press For Truth Arrested While Reporting On The G20 Summit | Secret Document Calls Wikileaks ‘Threat’ to U.S. Army | North Korean worker executed for passing on news | The Toronto 18 Publication Ban: Silence affects the core of justice | Obama Information Czar Outlined Plan For Government To Infiltrate ‘Conspiracy Groups’ | Obama Information Czar Calls For Banning Free Speech | Canadian Supreme Court expands freedoms for media | Border guards are now Olympic thought police – Amy Goodman detained | Cuban blogger claims she was roughed up by state agents | Globe appeal to protect adscam sources before court | Obama: We Need To Bailout Newspapers To Stop New Media Taking Over | Canadian media watched closely in Afghanistan | It’s a great day for freedom of speech: ‘Hate Speech’ laws found to violate Charter Rights | Associated Press Tries To DRM The News | Murdoch CEO Labels Bloggers “Political Extremists” | Should linking be illegal? | Top court to hear ‘Adscam’ media gag order challenge | Top court reserves decision in reporter confidentiality case | Don’t let media shield ‘criminals’, hearing told | Supreme Court to rule on ‘tidal-wave’ of press freedom cases | Fredericton police arrest well-known N.B. blogger on legislature grounds | Barclays bank gags Guardian newspaper over tax avoidance leaks | Chinese Learn Limits of Online Freedom as the Filter Tightens | UK Terror Law To Make Photographing Police Illegal | Publication ban law too broad, top Ontario court rules | Public access vs. government secrecy the issue in Supreme Court of Canada case | UK MPs seek to censor the media | Italian Judge: Blogs are Illegal | RCMP lays no charges in Maher Arar ‘terrorist’ leaks, declares case closed | Human rights body to consider Internet speech regulation | Blogger arrests hit record high | For more, see the G20 Coverage page feature

Terry Pedwell, The Canadian Press
June 25, 2010

There’s security, and then there’s G8 security – complete with hundreds of police officers seemingly bored out of their minds.

“Excuse me, sir, can you open the trunk of your car?” one young officer asked as he motioned for me to pull over Thursday evening.

Alarm bells went off in my head as I was about to enter the “interdiction zone,” dreaded by the poor residents living near the site of Canada’s G8 summit. Living inside the zone has meant a five minute drive home from downtown Huntsville could easily take half an hour or more.

As a journalist assigned to cover the G8 in Huntsville, I had been here twice before on this sunny day, showing my identification and a letter issued to me that would allow me into the zone. Both times, no problems.

This time, however, the officer took exception to my Parliament Hill badge, which I wear every day while covering politics in Ottawa and which clearly identifies me as a reporter.

After weaving my way through the s-shaped zig-zag checkpoint area, I pulled over to an area reserved only for those who might soon be ejected.

Before I opened the trunk of my car, there were two officers scanning my vehicle from the outside.

Once the lid was opened, and the contents of the trunk revealed, uniformed police seemed to come out of every corner.

Two more police officers. Then four more. Three taking notes. Then another.

Two more still began to rifle their way through the entire car, looking curiously at my half-eaten bagel and the bottle of wine I bought as a thank you gesture to my friend and Huntsville resident for letting me stay at his place for a couple of nights.

While one stood guard over me, presumably for my own safety, officers from the Ontario Provincial Police crime unit descended on the vehicle.

Then, the G8 security task force sent in their people. More uniforms took notes.

“Of course, we are very curious about why you are carrying body armour and a gas mask in your car,” said a female officer who asked not to be identified in the media. In fact, no one could be identified. For security reasons, of course.

“You understand.”

All standard equipment issued by my employer for covering demonstrations that could get out of hand, I assured them.

Seems my assurances weren’t good enough.

“What is your supervisor’s name?” one officer asked.

“We’ll need to speak with him,” said another.

They called Scott White, editor-in-chief of The Canadian Press, to confirm that our reporters are issued safety equipment like gas masks and vests. But that apparently wasn’t enough to get me through.

Soon, a helicopter was hovering overhead.

Then came the bomb-sniffing dogs.

I was still being detained, nearly two hours after being pulled over. And I was growing only slightly aggravated by the lengths to which they were going to interrogate a reporter.

I saw a story. So I asked that I be allowed to videotape my interrogators.

“You can’t do that,” said one moustached officer.

“We have protocols, and you wouldn’t want to put us in danger, now would you?”

Soon I was moved behind a large metal mesh fence, again “for your own security.”

More time passed, and as the sun was going down, the air was becoming chilly.

Finally, I was approached by an officer and given a way out.

“Here’s the deal,” the female officer said.

“You can videotape the bomb-sniffing dog, and we will have to keep you here while we take it up the chain of command,” she explained.

“Or you can leave the video recorder off and we can let you go in a few minutes.”

Now I was getting angry. Was I being blackmailed?

I called Mr. White again to ask him if I should keep trying to video the search or, as the officer said, take the deal.

“Never mind, just get out of there,” was the boss’s reply.

Maybe it was that phone call that did it. Maybe they had second thoughts about press freedom in Canada. Whatever it was, the tune had suddenly changed, and I was allowed to videotape – but only the bomb-sniffing dog.

And I could leave, and head to my friend’s place for the night – no strings attached.

As I was getting into the car to drive away, a couple of officers chuckled, the others finally stopped taking notes.

And the female officer thanked me for my patience.

“Thanks,” she said.

“It was a good lesson for us. Now we know that reporters sometimes carry protective equipment,” she went on.

“Good to know for the next time.”

Then another car was pulled over as I was given back my identification.

“Hey, this guy says he’s a reporter from the Ukraine,” I heard the officer say.

I got in the car, turned it on, and drove away as fast as I was legally allowed.

Terry Pedwell is a veteran reporter who has worked for The Canadian Press for more than 20 years. He is based in Ottawa and has reported from Afghanistan and covered many high-profile events around the world.

Source | See also under Media: Obama Can Shut Down Internet For 4 Months Under New Emergency Powers | Sacco and Vanzetti in Ottawa: How Media and Police are Politicizing the RBC Arson Case | $11-million paid, a CanWest deal is made | Australian Government to Force Use of State Firewall Package, Block ‘Unauthorized’ Programs | Heritage Minister tars those opposing copyright bill C32 as ‘radical extremists’ | Experts Draft Document Critical Of ACTA: Signatures Wanted | Toronto activists launch G20 alternative media centre | US Senator: China Can Shut Down The Internet, Why Can’t We? | Supreme Court upholds restrictions on government documents | Russian police seize 100,000 anti-Vladimir Putin books | Iceland Unanimously Approves ‘Wikileaks Bill’ To Establish Free Speech Press Haven | WikiLeaks to release video of deadly US airstrike in Garani | Pro-copyright bill group busted as recording industry astroturf campaign | Internet ‘kill switch’ proposed for US President | U.S. seeks international organization in battle against cyber terror | Homeland Security’s Cyber Bill Would Codify Executive Emergency Powers | Gaza flotilla attack: activist releases new footage | Pentagon hunts WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange in bid to gag website | ‘Fox News North’? Quebecor planning 24-hour network | Rural Internet providers angered by federal support of bigger rivals | Tories worked hard to paint bloody Afghan war as peace mission: MEP documents | Maybe it’s time to muzzle the trolls: Globe tech writer advocates online moderation | G20 media centre with fake lake to cost $1.9M | Harper’s Privy Council message control system is unprecedented, critics say | US Federal Trade Commission considers taxing online speech | Prime Minister’s Office tells Tory MPs not to answer Citizen reporter’s questions on expenses | Canada’s new information czar vows to take on delays in access system | Tories unveil tougher copyright bill, requires ISPs to keep user info | Copyright Act changes to be revealed today | Pirate Bay Appeal Judges Cleared of Bias | International Copyright Draft Release Was Apparently A One Time Deal: Now We’re Back To Secrecy | Canwest sells newspapers to creditor group for $1.1B | Industry Minister Clement invites input on Canadian digital economy | Google attorney slams ACTA copyright treaty | Media can’t shield sources all the time, court rules | US regulators seek new network neutrality laws | Canadian Journalists Barred From Gitmo | Press For Truth Arrested While Reporting On The G20 Summit | Red Alert: New Canadian DMCA Bill Within Six Weeks | Fox News Caught Aggregating Others Copyrighted Photographs… Something Murdoch Insists Is Illegal | Shaw buying up CanWest TV assets from Goldman-Sachs | China wants internet firms to inform on clients | Official ACTA Draft Released, Only Very Slightly Less Awful Than Expected | U.S. Troops Apologize For Wikileaks Massacre Video | The Economist On Why Copyright Needs To Return To Its Roots | Big Content’s dystopian wish-list for the US gov’t: spyware, censorship, physical searches and SWAT teams | Danger Room What’s Next in National Security Prospective U.S. Cyber Commander Talks Terms of Digital Warfare | Thousands condemn secrecy of New Zealand round of internet copyright talks | Access to information risks being ‘obliterated’: report | Leading UK ISP Says It Will Defy Government’s Net Censorship Bill | Nikkei Restricts Links to Its New Web Site | WikiLeaks releases video of alleged U.S. helicopter attack on Reuters reporters | Internet linking rights case to go before Supreme Court | CETA worse than ACTA – EU Trade Negotiators Demand Canada Completely Overhaul Its Intellectual Property Laws | ACTA Draft: No Internet for Copyright Scofflaws | New policy shrouds number of Canada’s Afghan campaign injuries in secrecy | Entire Text of ACTA Treaty Leaks to Online Rights Website | Google reroutes uncensored search to Hong Kong, raises stakes in row with China | Revealed: ACTA to cover seven categories of intellectual property | New ACTA Leaks Complete Picture of Oppressive Global Copyright Treaty | Copyright conviction raises privacy concerns | MP Charlie Angus Introducing Private Copying Levy Bill, Flexible Fair Dealing Motion | Georgia suffering backlash over media-staged Russian attack | Secret Document Calls Wikileaks ‘Threat’ to U.S. Army | Government Internet Censorship Begins In Stealth In New Zealand | UK Government Ad: Use Cash And Enjoy Privacy? You’re A Terrorist | EU Parliament votes down ACTA global copyright resolution by overwhelming margin | Goldman appeals CanWest, Shaw deal | Cyber-bullying cases put heat on Google, Facebook | North Korean worker executed for passing on news | Cyberwar Hype Intended to Destroy the Open Internet | UK: Open Wi-Fi ‘outlawed’ by Digital Economy Bill | Cryptome.org Leaks Microsoft Online Surveillance Guide, MS Demands Takedown Under Copyright Law | Italy Convicts Google Execs over Youtube Video of Downs Syndrome Boy | China launches interview requirement, licensing for personal websites | Cabinet ministers’ offices regularly interfere in access to information requests, says Tory staffer | ACTA Internet Chapter Leaks: Renegotiates WIPO, Sets 3 Strikes as Model | Google Books Fosters Intellectual, Legal Crossroads | Google Bans Sale of DVD Critical Of Obama Administration | US media omission: Iran calls for global nuclear disarmament | EU Already Has A ‘Public/Private’ IP Observatory To Watch For Copyright Infringement Online | Shaw Cable moves for acquisition of controlling share in Canwest Global | Google shuts down music blogs without warning | Activists Shut Down Australian Government Websites in Internet Filter Protest | ACTA Is Called An ‘Executive Agreement’ To Implement Restrictive Copyright With Less Hassle Than A Treaty | HST ad campaign debuts in Ontario | Google, NSA may team up to probe cyberattacks | Men at Work plagiarized Kookaburra tune, Australian court rules | Hollywood loses landmark copyright case in Australia | Police want backdoor to Web users’ private data | Time Magazine Pushes Draconian Internet Licensing Plan | UN agency calls for global cyberwarfare treaty, ‘driver’s license’ for Web user | CBC’s new licencing plan: Pay to Print, Email, and Blog, and outsource enforcement to American Copyright Digital Rights Bounty Hunters | ACTA One Step Closer To Being Done; Concerns About Transparency Ignored | Pentagon calls for ‘Office of Strategic Deception’ | Internet companies voice alarm over Italian copyright law | UK MPs frozen out of super-secret ACTA copyright talks | The Toronto 18 Publication Ban: Silence affects the core of justice | China Google Hack Exploited Security Gaps Introduced By State Surveillance Provisions | Obama Information Czar Calls For Banning Free Speech | China tells web companies to obey controls | Google Considers Leaving China If China Will Not Allow Uncensored Search | Reading Between The Still Secret Lines Of The ACTA Negotiations | Privacy no longer a social norm, says Facebook founder | Tipping point at CanWest | See more in The Memory Hole – Media

Paul Joseph Watson, PrisonPlanet.com
June 25, 2010

‘Kill switch’ bill approved, moves to Senate floor

President Obama will be handed the power to shut down the Internet for at least four months without Congressional oversight if the Senate votes for the infamous Internet ‘kill switch’ bill, which was approved by a key Senate committee yesterday and now moves to the floor.

The Protecting Cyberspace as a National Asset Act, which is being pushed hard by Senator Joe Lieberman, would hand absolute power to the federal government to close down networks, and block incoming Internet traffic from certain countries under a declared national emergency.

Despite the Center for Democracy and Technology and 23 other privacy and technology organizations sending letters to Lieberman and other backers of the bill expressing concerns that the legislation could be used to stifle free speech, the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee passed in the bill in advance of a vote on the Senate floor.

In response to widespread criticism of the bill, language was added that would force the government to seek congressional approval to extend emergency measures beyond 120 days. Still, this would hand Obama the authority to shut down the Internet on a whim without Congressional oversight or approval for a period of no less than four months.

The Senators pushing the bill rejected the claim that the bill was a ‘kill switch’ for the Internet, not by denying that Obama would be given the authority to shut down the Internet as part of this legislation, but by arguing that he already had the power to do so.

They argued “That the President already had authority under the Communications Act to “cause the closing of any facility or station for wire communication” when there is a “state or threat of war”, reports the Sydney Morning Herald.

Fears that the legislation is aimed at bringing the Internet under the regulatory power of the U.S. government in an offensive against free speech were heightened further on Sunday, when Lieberman revealed that the plan was to mimic China’s policies of policing the web with censorship and coercion.

“Right now China, the government, can disconnect parts of its Internet in case of war and we need to have that here too,” Lieberman told CNN’s Candy Crowley.

While media and public attention is overwhelmingly focused on the BP oil spill, the establishment is quietly preparing the framework that will allow Obama, or indeed any President who follows him, to bring down a technological iron curtain that will give the government a foot in the door on seizing complete control over the Internet.

As we have illustrated, fears surrounding cybersecurity have been hyped to mask the real agenda behind the bill, which is to strangle the runaway growth of alternative and independent media outlets which are exposing government atrocities, cover-ups and cronyism like never before.

Indeed, China uses similar rhetoric about the need to maintain “security” and combating cyber warfare by regulating the web, when in reality their entire program is focused around silencing anyone who criticizes the state.

The real agenda behind government control of the Internet has always been to strangle and suffocate independent media outlets who are now competing with and even displacing establishment press organs, with websites like the Drudge Report now attracting more traffic than many large newspapers combined. As part of this war against independent media, the FTC recently proposing a “Drudge Tax” that would force independent media organizations to pay fees that would be used to fund mainstream newspapers.

Source | See also under Internet: Australian Government to Force Use of State Firewall Package, Block ‘Unauthorized’ Programs | Heritage Minister tars those opposing copyright bill C32 as ‘radical extremists’ | Experts Draft Document Critical Of ACTA: Signatures Wanted | Google facing multiple international probes over Street View GPS wardriving campaign | US Senator: China Can Shut Down The Internet, Why Can’t We? | Iceland Unanimously Approves ‘Wikileaks Bill’ To Establish Free Speech Press Haven | Pro-copyright bill group busted as recording industry astroturf campaign | Internet ‘kill switch’ proposed for US President | U.S. seeks international organization in battle against cyber terror | Homeland Security’s Cyber Bill Would Codify Executive Emergency Powers | Pentagon hunts WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange in bid to gag website | Rural Internet providers angered by federal support of bigger rivals | Maybe it’s time to muzzle the trolls: Globe tech writer advocates online moderation | US Federal Trade Commission considers taxing online speech | Lieberman Bill Gives Feds ‘Emergency’ Powers to Secure Civilian Nets | Tories unveil tougher copyright bill, requires ISPs to keep user info | Copyright Act changes to be revealed today | India Gearing Up To Fight ACTA; Seeking Other, Like-Minded, Countries | Cyber Command: We Don’t Wanna Defend the Internet (We Just Might Have To) | Pentagon: Let us monitor your network or else | US appoints first cyber warfare general | Harper government secretly monitoring online chats about politics | Obama Czar Wants Mandatory Government Propaganda On Political Websites | Power Corp. open to charging for online content | NSA head confirmed as chief of US cyber command | Pirate Bay Appeal Judges Cleared of Bias | International Copyright Draft Release Was Apparently A One Time Deal: Now We’re Back To Secrecy | Industry Minister Clement invites input on Canadian digital economy | Google attorney slams ACTA copyright treaty | US regulators seek new network neutrality laws | CRTC approves usage-based internet billing | Red Alert: New Canadian DMCA Bill Within Six Weeks | Fox News Caught Aggregating Others Copyrighted Photographs… Something Murdoch Insists Is Illegal | Cybersecurity event seeks to spur international talks | Australian PM shelves web filter legislation until after election | China wants internet firms to inform on clients | Official ACTA Draft Released, Only Very Slightly Less Awful Than Expected | Big Content’s dystopian wish-list for the US gov’t: spyware, censorship, physical searches and SWAT teams | Danger Room What’s Next in National Security Prospective U.S. Cyber Commander Talks Terms of Digital Warfare | Thousands condemn secrecy of New Zealand round of internet copyright talks | Leading UK ISP Says It Will Defy Government’s Net Censorship Bill | Nikkei Restricts Links to Its New Web Site | Canadian researchers reveal another botnet in China, call for state cybersecurity | Internet linking rights case to go before Supreme Court | Isohunt Ordered to Remove Infringing Content | CETA worse than ACTA – EU Trade Negotiators Demand Canada Completely Overhaul Its Intellectual Property Laws | UK: Met Police launch net café spy operation | ACTA Draft: No Internet for Copyright Scofflaws | UK Budget 2010: Darling puts emphasis on broadband for all | Entire Text of ACTA Treaty Leaks to Online Rights Website | Google reroutes uncensored search to Hong Kong, raises stakes in row with China | Revealed: ACTA to cover seven categories of intellectual property | New ACTA Leaks Complete Picture of Oppressive Global Copyright Treaty | Net produces new generation of human rights activists in China | U.S. cybersecurity bill introduced in Senate | Copyright conviction raises privacy concerns | U.S. feds snooping on Facebook | MP Charlie Angus Introducing Private Copying Levy Bill, Flexible Fair Dealing Motion | Secret Document Calls Wikileaks ‘Threat’ to U.S. Army | Pot, Palin and prorogation: Stephen Harper gets grilled on YouTube | Government Internet Censorship Begins In Stealth In New Zealand | PM turns to YouTube – and takes questions | EU Parliament votes down ACTA global copyright resolution by overwhelming margin | Cyber-bullying cases put heat on Google, Facebook | Cyberattacks push CSIS to reach out to business | United States weighs massive expansion of Internet monitoring | Cyberwar Hype Intended to Destroy the Open Internet | UK: Open Wi-Fi ‘outlawed’ by Digital Economy Bill | Cryptome.org Leaks Microsoft Online Surveillance Guide, MS Demands Takedown Under Copyright Law | Italy Convicts Google Execs over Youtube Video of Downs Syndrome Boy | China launches interview requirement, licensing for personal websites | More Details Emerging About School Laptop Spying, And It Doesn’t Look Good | School Spycams Case Explodes As Feds Initiate Probe | ACTA Internet Chapter Leaks: Renegotiates WIPO, Sets 3 Strikes as Model | Pennsylvania schools spying on students using laptop Webcams, claims lawsuit | Google Books Fosters Intellectual, Legal Crossroads | Google Bans Sale of DVD Critical Of Obama Administration | EU Already Has A ‘Public/Private’ IP Observatory To Watch For Copyright Infringement Online | Google shuts down music blogs without warning | Activists Shut Down Australian Government Websites in Internet Filter Protest | ACTA Is Called An ‘Executive Agreement’ To Implement Restrictive Copyright With Less Hassle Than A Treaty | Swedish Justice Minister reluctant to store internet user’s data | Google, NSA may team up to probe cyberattacks | Hollywood loses landmark copyright case in Australia | Police want backdoor to Web users’ private data | Time Magazine Pushes Draconian Internet Licensing Plan | UN agency calls for global cyberwarfare treaty, ‘driver’s license’ for Web users | CBC’s new licencing plan: Pay to Print, Email, and Blog, and outsource enforcement to American Copyright Digital Rights Bounty Hunters | ACTA One Step Closer To Being Done; Concerns About Transparency Ignored | Internet companies voice alarm over Italian copyright law | UK MPs frozen out of super-secret ACTA copyright talks | China Google Hack Exploited Security Gaps Introduced By State Surveillance Provisions | Privacy watchdog wants public input on social networking sites | Obama Information Czar Calls For Banning Free Speech | Obama Information Czar Outlined Plan For Government To Infiltrate ‘Conspiracy Groups’ | China tells web companies to obey controls | Google Considers Leaving China If China Will Not Allow Uncensored Search | Reading Between The Still Secret Lines Of The ACTA Negotiations | Privacy no longer a social norm, says Facebook founder | For more, visit The Memory Hole – Internet

Related: Police push ahead with firebombing investigation | Three held in bank firebombing may face terrorism charges | Ottawa RBC firebomb case: I’m not linked to the attack, ex-government worker who rented SUV says | Bank firebomb suspects hung out briefly at Ottawa cafe | Toronto banks review G20 security after Ottawa RBC fire | RBC firebombed as protest, group claims

Jesse Freeston, Toronto Media Coop
June 23, 2010

In August 23rd, 1927, Ferdinando Sacco and Bartolomeo Vanzetti were executed in Massachusetts. The two were convicted of a double-murder committed during an armed robbery. The trial and media coverage focused on the political ideology of the two men, treating as secondary the material evidence related to the crime itself. The two men were members of the Galleanist Anarchist movement, and the trial was a watershed moment in the campaign to delegitimize the global anarchist movement as a whole.

The politicization of the trial extended to Judge Webster Thayer, who allegedly referred to the defendants as “anarchist bastards.” This is one example of the many ways that the pair’s political activities and beliefs were invoked in a way that prohibited a fair trial from proceeding. Some of the most renowned thinkers of the day spoke out against the prejudice surrounding the trial, such as Upton Sinclair and Walter Lippmann. Fifty years later, a Massachusetts government commission confirmed the trial had been unfair and Governor Michael Dukakis declared a “Sacco and Vanzetti Memorial Day.”

Sacco and Vanzetti come to Ottawa

On Saturday, Ottawa police announced the charging of three well-known Ottawa activists in connection with the May 18th arson of a branch of the Royal Bank of Canada. What follows is not a comment on the event in question, nor the guilt or innocence of the accused, but a condemnation of the treatment of the accused by the media and Ottawa police.

Much like Sacco and Vanzetti before them, these three are already receiving prejudicial media coverage. An inordinate amount of time and column inches are being dedicated to the activism that the three were known for. The CBC, for example, reported on Claude Haridge’s participation in a Palestinian rights march, and his attendance at the so-called ‘Activism Course’ hosted by former University of Ottawa professor Denis Rancourt. Rancourt has accused the CBC of insinuating this is evidence against the three.

The RBC arson was clearly a political act, as evidenced by the video that was released with it. Therefore, the politics of any suspect are a relevant discussion. But that discussion should not replace discussion about the material evidence, much less be presented as evidence in and of itself. Nor should it come at the cost of media oversight of the police investigation.

Ottawa Police fan the flames

The Ottawa Police have added to the show-trial appearance of the case. The original statement from the Ottawa Police, during a Saturday morning press conference, was that .50 caliber “sniper-style” ammunition was recovered during a raid of Haridge’s home. The police sent out a release later in the day to say that the ammunition was actually 7.62mm. Both kinds of bullets are legal, but 7.62mm ammo is not used in sniper rifles.

It’s difficult to believe that trained firearm users, like police detectives, could confuse the drastically different looking bullets (see picture – A .50 cal cartridge is the furthest to the left, while the 7.62mm cartridge is the third from the right. ). Less believable still that such an error could make it into an important press conference. Const. Katherine Larouche, spokesperson for the Ottawa Police, told me that the bullets were found in a case marked “.50 cal,” which led to the erroneous press release. When asked if that meant the police didn’t open the case before reporting their findings to the media, she declined to comment.

Many media outlets did correct the error, many didn’t. Regardless, the damage has been done. Haridge will be thought of as a potential sniper and few will read the corrections.

During the press conference, the police also made a point of calling the bullets “military-grade”. The ammunition expert I spoke to was surprised by the use of this term. Under international law, military ammunition must be ‘jacketed’ to stop bullets from exploding inside the victim. Thus they are less dangerous than other forms of ammo, such as hunting ammo that is designed to kill an animal as fast as possible. It is unclear why the police would use such a misleading term, but the media ate it up nonetheless.

Adding to the police’s influence on the public’s perception of the accused–keep in mind that it’s the Ottawa public that will eventually form the sitting jury–are statements by Ottawa Police Chief Vern White. White has publicly called for the RCMP to file terrorism charges against the three, referring to the accused as “domestic terrorists.” Lawrence Greenspon, lawyer for one of the accused, believes the police chief is acting irresponsibly, given that civilian life was not the target of the attack. Direct or indirect targetting of civilians is a necessary factor in most definitions of terrorism. However, Canada’s controversial post-9/11 anti-terrorism law is much more ambiguous on this point.

“The charges are essentially damage-to-property-related charges,” Greenspon told the Ottawa Citizen. “There’s no talk of terrorism by anybody except our chief of police.”

Greenspon also scolded federal Public Safety Minister Vic Toews. Toews held a news conference on Saturday in which he said:

“The dedication and tireless work of police has once again succeeded in making our communities safer.”

Greenspon accused Toews of violating the accused’s right to the presumption of innocence.

Police and media endangering G-20 protesters

The treatment of the case by media and authorities has not only jeopardized the right to due process, but also the safety of protesters descending on Toronto this week for the G20. In their Saturday evening report on the ammunition discovery, CTV News–Canada’s most watched national newscast–reported that “police say (the ammunition discovery) could indicate the kind of violence to expect at next week’s summits.”

The Globe and Mail–Canada’s most-read daily newspaper–ran an article by Colin Freeze which reported that, “the seizure (of ammunition) is stoking police fears about what they could be up against when protesters amass during the G8/G20 summits next week.”

Some are viewing these statements as pre-justification for repression by the Toronto Police. This becomes very worrisome when viewed alongside the force’s recent history of brutality, including accusations of murder in the death of Junior Manon on May 5th.

Let’s put this into context: thousands of justifiably angry marchers, artists, journalists, parents, children, and others with grievances surrounding the G-8/G-20 summits are being targeted because legal ammunition was found on one man who should be presumed innocent until proven guilty.

This narrative was seeded by Ottawa Police Chief White. “I ask Ottawa residents to remain vigilant, before and during the G8-G-20, and continue to report any suspicious activity to police,” reads the lone quote attributed to White in the force’s first press release on the arrests. At the police’s Saturday press conference, representatives of the Toronto Police were present. A five-hour drive from their jurisdiction, no reason was given for their participation, but the effect was to reinforce the connection between the Ottawa arrests and the activists in the streets of Toronto. A connection that appears in every single report on the arrests that I have encountered.

The irresponsibility of the media lies not in reporting these police statements, but in doing so without a hint of analysis on either the logic or the consequences these statements can have.

Anyone remember Montebello?

While the media and police give credence to an irrational fear of protesters, they ignore the very real security concerns of those in the street. Worries that are founded in recent history.

In 2007, the Sûreté du Québec (Quebec’s provincial police force) were discovered mobilizing rock-wielding agents provocateurs at the Security and Prosperity Partnership meeting in Montebello (see video here, and police admission here. That same day, thousands of peaceful protesters were tear-gassed, shot with rubber bullets, and beaten by hundreds of police officers. No government inquiry was ever opened to determine the source of the order to send rock-carrying officers into the crowd. No member of government or police was ever disciplined. Numerous social justice and civil liberties groups screamed about the precedent the lack of accountability would set for future convergences.

Enter the G-8/G-20, the first conference of international heads of state in Canada since Montebello. Sid Ryan, president of the Ontario Federation of Labour, suggested provocateurs might be used again to incite violence. Violence that might be interpreted by the media as justification for the conference’s controversial $1 billion security budget. The head of the Toronto Police Association, Mike McCormack, responded by calling for Ryan’s resignation, adding that “(Ryan) should be writing fiction because obviously he isn’t dealing with reality.”

The Harper administration has ignored requests for a pledge that provocateurs won’t be used this week like they were in 2007.

For those opposing the G-20, silence at a moment like this is a return to the age of Sacco and Vanzetti. Will we have to wait another 50 years for an admission of misconduct?

Source | See also under Propaganda: Marcus Gee: Why the G20 protesters won’t condemn violence | Maurice Strong: I don’t want to rule the world but global cooperation needed on climate, population, and consumption | Now scientists read your mind better than you can | Iran bars two UN inspectors in escalating nuclear row | US issues G20 travel alert for Toronto | Pro-copyright bill group busted as recording industry astroturf campaign | Spanish bailout readied as EU chief warns ‘democracy could disappear’ in debt ridden states | Surprise! That Story About Afghanistan’s $1 Trillion In Commodities Came Out Just Ahead Of Major Mining Auction | US Knowledge of Aghan Mineral Bonanza Confirmed in 2002, 2007 | NGOs meet with G20 sherpas, press for ‘green economy’ and inclusive IMF | Israeli cabinet approves internal inquiry into Gaza flotilla raid | ‘Fox News North’? Quebecor planning 24-hour network | Ont. police track suspicious fertilizer purchase | Tories worked hard to paint bloody Afghan war as peace mission: MEP documents | America would send troops to G8/G20 if required | Freedom flotilla assault timeline unclear, Israel holding confiscated video evidence | Harper’s Privy Council message control system is unprecedented, critics say | H1N1 still a pandemic: WHO chief | Al Qaeda Number 3 Killed… Again | Iran has ‘fuel for 2 nukes’: UN report | Washington Post: CIA Psyops Unit Created Fake Bin Laden Video, Discussed ‘Gay Saddam’ Campaign | Harper government secretly monitoring online chats about politics | Obama Czar Wants Mandatory Government Propaganda On Political Websites | Taliban behind Times Square plot, says US AG Holder | Police groups join forces in support of long gun registry | Goldman Sachs concedes case for restraining the big banks | Pakistan Taliban chief Hakimullah Mehsud is alive, says spy agency | BC Govt, Anti-HST Campaigners Dispute Legality of Pro-HST Leaflet | Climategate whitewash: Climate-change partisans find mere sins of omission | Toronto mayor David Miller uses subway PA to push for funding | Goldman fights accusations of greed | UK climate change ads pulled as ‘misleading’ | Georgia suffering backlash over media-staged Russian attack | UK Government Ad: Use Cash And Enjoy Privacy? You’re A Terrorist | Cyberwar Hype Intended to Destroy the Open Internet | Global warming panel to get independent review | Iran could be making nuclear warhead, says new director of IAEA | Obama hails stimulus plan, warns of layoffs | US media omission: Iran calls for global nuclear disarmament | MI5 chief denies cover-up claims over detainees | Clashes reported as Iranians march on 31st anniversary of revolution | Vaccinations may have spared Ont. new round of H1N1 | HST ad campaign debuts in Ontario | UN sanctions urged over Iran’s uranium plans | ‘Governator’ Arnold Schwarzenegger to carry Olympic torch | CIA Tells Congress al-Qaeda to Attack in Three to Six Months | Western powers voice scepticism over Iran uranium offer | Washington DC transit system holds anti-terror drill | Blair defends decision to join U.S. in Iraq | ‘Bin Laden’ slams U.S over global warming, dollar, in another unconfirmed tape | Pentagon calls for ‘Office of Strategic Deception’ | Manufactured ‘Science’: Another IPCC Scientist Reveals How UN Scientists talked about ‘trying to make IPCC report so dramatic that US would just have to sign Kyoto Protocol’ | U.S. can’t confirm latest ‘bin Laden’ tape authentic | UK terror threat raised to ’severe’ | Indian airports on alert after report of hijacking plot | The IPCC glacier meltdown: More global warming fraud exposed | Remain vigilant while travelling, Baird tells Canadians | Harper says Parliament brings ‘games’ and ‘instability’ | Killer of CIA agents in Afghanistan called for revenge for Baitullah Mehsud | Group slams Chertoff on conflict of interest in scanner promotion | For more see The Memory Hole – Propaganda

Susan Krashinsky, The Globe and Mail
June 23, 2010

The judge ordered the feuding parties to negotiate, and after 16 hours of talks, the sale of the TV stations was reached

It took more than 16 hours of negotiations and $11-million to remove the final roadblock to the purchase of the CanWest TV empire by Shaw Communications Inc. (SJR.B-T19.44-0.20-1.02%) – and to mark the end of the Asper family’s involvement in the broadcasting company Izzy Asper founded with a single TV station in 1974.

An Ontario court approved the sale to Shaw on Wednesday, after the company resolved a dispute with a shareholder group led by the Aspers, who objected to the deal. On Tuesday, Madam Justice Sarah Pepall called the situation “ridiculous” and ordered lawyers to resolve it out of court.

Talks ran through the day on Tuesday until 2 a.m. Wednesday, and resumed in the morning, ending in the settlement.

In February, Shaw won court approval to invest in a restructured CanWest, but encountered resistance from Goldman Sachs Group Inc., which still controlled a group of the company’s lucrative specialty channels. In May, Shaw announced it would pay $700-million for those channels, raising the price of its deal to $2-billion in total, and raising its stake in CanWest to 100 per cent.

The Asper-led group complained that the newer deal wiped out a 2.3-per-cent equity interest given to them in February. The $11-million settlement is equal to that earlier amount. The Asper family will receive 48 per cent of the money.

In addition, $440-million (U.S.) will be paid to CanWest’s bondholders and $38-million (Canadian) will be set aside for all other unsecured creditors.

“We stand here today united in saying that it’s fair and reasonable, and there really isn’t any alternative,” CanWest lawyer Lyndon Barnes said on Wednesday. “This is what we’ve been striving for.”

Judge Pepall congratulated the lawyers on achieving a resolution.

“Unlike the sister restructuring of the [newspaper division], this CCAA [Companies' Creditors Arrangement Act] proceeding has experienced problems,” she said.

The court approval granted on Wednesday is a major step toward CanWest’s broadcast division emerging from creditor protection.

Creditors will meet on July 19 to vote on the deal. If it is approved, CanWest will appear in court again on July 28. The company will also need approval from the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission and from the Competition Bureau. Its target date to emerge from restructuring is Sept. 30.

“This is an important milestone in the lengthy and difficult CCAA process that CanWest has endured over the last several months,” Shaw president Peter Bissonnette said in a statement. “… We look forward to completing all necessary steps and closing the transaction as soon as possible.”

Source | See also under Media: Australian Government to Force Use of State Firewall Package, Block ‘Unauthorized’ Programs | Heritage Minister tars those opposing copyright bill C32 as ‘radical extremists’ | Experts Draft Document Critical Of ACTA: Signatures Wanted | Toronto activists launch G20 alternative media centre | US Senator: China Can Shut Down The Internet, Why Can’t We? | Supreme Court upholds restrictions on government documents | Russian police seize 100,000 anti-Vladimir Putin books | Iceland Unanimously Approves ‘Wikileaks Bill’ To Establish Free Speech Press Haven | WikiLeaks to release video of deadly US airstrike in Garani | Pro-copyright bill group busted as recording industry astroturf campaign | Internet ‘kill switch’ proposed for US President | U.S. seeks international organization in battle against cyber terror | Homeland Security’s Cyber Bill Would Codify Executive Emergency Powers | Gaza flotilla attack: activist releases new footage | Pentagon hunts WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange in bid to gag website | ‘Fox News North’? Quebecor planning 24-hour network | Rural Internet providers angered by federal support of bigger rivals | Tories worked hard to paint bloody Afghan war as peace mission: MEP documents | Maybe it’s time to muzzle the trolls: Globe tech writer advocates online moderation | G20 media centre with fake lake to cost $1.9M | Harper’s Privy Council message control system is unprecedented, critics say | US Federal Trade Commission considers taxing online speech | Prime Minister’s Office tells Tory MPs not to answer Citizen reporter’s questions on expenses | Canada’s new information czar vows to take on delays in access system | Tories unveil tougher copyright bill, requires ISPs to keep user info | Copyright Act changes to be revealed today | Pirate Bay Appeal Judges Cleared of Bias | International Copyright Draft Release Was Apparently A One Time Deal: Now We’re Back To Secrecy | Canwest sells newspapers to creditor group for $1.1B | Industry Minister Clement invites input on Canadian digital economy | Google attorney slams ACTA copyright treaty | Media can’t shield sources all the time, court rules | US regulators seek new network neutrality laws | Canadian Journalists Barred From Gitmo | Press For Truth Arrested While Reporting On The G20 Summit | Red Alert: New Canadian DMCA Bill Within Six Weeks | Fox News Caught Aggregating Others Copyrighted Photographs… Something Murdoch Insists Is Illegal | Shaw buying up CanWest TV assets from Goldman-Sachs | China wants internet firms to inform on clients | Official ACTA Draft Released, Only Very Slightly Less Awful Than Expected | U.S. Troops Apologize For Wikileaks Massacre Video | The Economist On Why Copyright Needs To Return To Its Roots | Big Content’s dystopian wish-list for the US gov’t: spyware, censorship, physical searches and SWAT teams | Danger Room What’s Next in National Security Prospective U.S. Cyber Commander Talks Terms of Digital Warfare | Thousands condemn secrecy of New Zealand round of internet copyright talks | Access to information risks being ‘obliterated’: report | Leading UK ISP Says It Will Defy Government’s Net Censorship Bill | Nikkei Restricts Links to Its New Web Site | WikiLeaks releases video of alleged U.S. helicopter attack on Reuters reporters | Internet linking rights case to go before Supreme Court | CETA worse than ACTA – EU Trade Negotiators Demand Canada Completely Overhaul Its Intellectual Property Laws | ACTA Draft: No Internet for Copyright Scofflaws | New policy shrouds number of Canada’s Afghan campaign injuries in secrecy | Entire Text of ACTA Treaty Leaks to Online Rights Website | Google reroutes uncensored search to Hong Kong, raises stakes in row with China | Revealed: ACTA to cover seven categories of intellectual property | New ACTA Leaks Complete Picture of Oppressive Global Copyright Treaty | Copyright conviction raises privacy concerns | MP Charlie Angus Introducing Private Copying Levy Bill, Flexible Fair Dealing Motion | Georgia suffering backlash over media-staged Russian attack | Secret Document Calls Wikileaks ‘Threat’ to U.S. Army | Government Internet Censorship Begins In Stealth In New Zealand | UK Government Ad: Use Cash And Enjoy Privacy? You’re A Terrorist | EU Parliament votes down ACTA global copyright resolution by overwhelming margin | Goldman appeals CanWest, Shaw deal | Cyber-bullying cases put heat on Google, Facebook | North Korean worker executed for passing on news | Cyberwar Hype Intended to Destroy the Open Internet | UK: Open Wi-Fi ‘outlawed’ by Digital Economy Bill | Cryptome.org Leaks Microsoft Online Surveillance Guide, MS Demands Takedown Under Copyright Law | Italy Convicts Google Execs over Youtube Video of Downs Syndrome Boy | China launches interview requirement, licensing for personal websites | Cabinet ministers’ offices regularly interfere in access to information requests, says Tory staffer | ACTA Internet Chapter Leaks: Renegotiates WIPO, Sets 3 Strikes as Model | Google Books Fosters Intellectual, Legal Crossroads | Google Bans Sale of DVD Critical Of Obama Administration | US media omission: Iran calls for global nuclear disarmament | EU Already Has A ‘Public/Private’ IP Observatory To Watch For Copyright Infringement Online | Shaw Cable moves for acquisition of controlling share in Canwest Global | Google shuts down music blogs without warning | Activists Shut Down Australian Government Websites in Internet Filter Protest | ACTA Is Called An ‘Executive Agreement’ To Implement Restrictive Copyright With Less Hassle Than A Treaty | HST ad campaign debuts in Ontario | Google, NSA may team up to probe cyberattacks | Men at Work plagiarized Kookaburra tune, Australian court rules | Hollywood loses landmark copyright case in Australia | Police want backdoor to Web users’ private data | Time Magazine Pushes Draconian Internet Licensing Plan | UN agency calls for global cyberwarfare treaty, ‘driver’s license’ for Web user | CBC’s new licencing plan: Pay to Print, Email, and Blog, and outsource enforcement to American Copyright Digital Rights Bounty Hunters | ACTA One Step Closer To Being Done; Concerns About Transparency Ignored | Pentagon calls for ‘Office of Strategic Deception’ | Internet companies voice alarm over Italian copyright law | UK MPs frozen out of super-secret ACTA copyright talks | The Toronto 18 Publication Ban: Silence affects the core of justice | China Google Hack Exploited Security Gaps Introduced By State Surveillance Provisions | Obama Information Czar Calls For Banning Free Speech | China tells web companies to obey controls | Google Considers Leaving China If China Will Not Allow Uncensored Search | Reading Between The Still Secret Lines Of The ACTA Negotiations | Privacy no longer a social norm, says Facebook founder | Tipping point at CanWest | See more in The Memory Hole – Media

“Constant fearmongering about cyber attacks is the cover for a global assault on Internet freedom by authorities. The web is being overtaken by independent media outlets which are now beginning to eclipse establishment news organs. This has enabled activists and the politically oppressed to expose government atrocities and cover-ups at lightning pace, something the system is keen to curtail.”

Related: Australian PM shelves web filter legislation until after election | Government Internet Censorship Begins In Stealth In New Zealand | Activists Shut Down Australian Government Websites in Internet Filter Protest | UN agency calls for global cyberwarfare treaty, ‘driver’s license’ for Web users | China tells web companies to obey controls | Google Considers Leaving China If China Will Not Allow Uncensored Search | China Imposes New Internet Controls | Death Of The Internet: Censorship Bills In UK, Australia, U.S. Aim To Block “Undesirable” Websites | Australia introduces web filters | Obama Wants Computer Privacy Ruling Overturned | UK Internet surveillance plan to go ahead | Security boss calls for end to net anonymity | Case for Internet spying not closed | Planned Internet, wireless surveillance laws worry watchdogs | UK ISPs condemn Internet surveillance plans | UK to found new ‘cyber-security’ units attached to national eavesdropping centre | ISPs must help police snoop on internet under new bill | UK plans to integrate ‘cybersecurity’ centre with US, Canada | China begins internet ‘blackout’ ahead of Tiananmen anniversary | Cybersecurity Is Framework For Total Government Regulation & Control Of Our Lives | Obama Set to Create A Cybersecurity Czar With Broad Mandate | EU wants ‘Internet G12′ to govern cyberspace | UK Home Secretary has secret plan to surveil, ‘Master the Internet’ | Munk Centre researchers discover botnet, call for international cyberspace ‘legal regime’ | In Australia, censored hyperlinks could cost you | NSA Dominance of Cybersecurity Would Lead to ‘Grave Peril’, Ex-Cyber Chief Tells Congress | Do We Need a New Internet? | Australian web censorship plan to begin trial despite house opposition | Chinese Learn Limits of Online Freedom as the Filter Tightens | Defense Contractors See $$$ in Cyber Security | Protests in Australia over proposal to block Web sites | China restarts online crackdown | Australia to Implement Mandatory Internet Censorship | RCMP to helm a Canadian “cyber-security strategy” | Sweden approves wiretapping law | Law Professor tells tech conference: plans to shut down Internet already on deck

Andrew Ramadge, News.com.au
June 22, 2010

Australians would be forced to install anti-virus and firewall software on their computers before being allowed to connect to the internet under a new plan to fight cyber crime.

And if their computer did get infected, internet service providers like Telstra and Optus could cut off their connection until the problem was resolved.

Those are two of the recommendations to come from a year-long inquiry into cyber crime by the House of Representatives Standing Committee on Communications.

Results of the inquiry, titled Hackers, Fraudsters and Botnets: Tackling the Problem of Cyber Crime, were released last night in a 260-page report.

In her foreword, committee chair Belinda Neal said cyber crime had turned into a “sophisticated underground economy”.

“In the past decade, cyber crime has grown from the nuisance of the cyber smart hacker into an organised transnational crime committed for vast profit and often with devastating consequences for its victims,” Ms Neal said.

During its inquiry the committee heard a growing number of Australians were being targeted by cyber criminals and that increasing internet speeds were likely to make the situation worse.

It also heard the problem was costing Australian businesses as much as $649 million a year.

The committee looked at several different examples of cyber crime, including hacking, phishing, malware and botnets.

Among its final 34 recommendations were:

— The creation of an around-the-clock cyber crime helpline.

— Changes to the law to make unauthorised installation of software illegal.

— Companies who release IT products with security vulnerabilities should be open to claims for compensation by consumers.

Another of its recommendations was to create a new “e-security code of practice” that would define the responsibilities of internet service providers and their customers.

The code of practice would see companies like Telstra give their customers security advice when they signed up and inform them if their computer ever appeared to be compromised.

For their part, customers would have to install anti-virus and firewall software before their connection was activated and endeavour to keep the software up-to-date.

If a customer’s computer was infected by malware, the service provider could introduce gradual restrictions and eventually cut off their internet connection entirely until the machine was “remediated”.

Source | See also under Internet: Heritage Minister tars those opposing copyright bill C32 as ‘radical extremists’ | Experts Draft Document Critical Of ACTA: Signatures Wanted | Google facing multiple international probes over Street View GPS wardriving campaign | US Senator: China Can Shut Down The Internet, Why Can’t We? | Iceland Unanimously Approves ‘Wikileaks Bill’ To Establish Free Speech Press Haven | Pro-copyright bill group busted as recording industry astroturf campaign | Internet ‘kill switch’ proposed for US President | U.S. seeks international organization in battle against cyber terror | Homeland Security’s Cyber Bill Would Codify Executive Emergency Powers | Pentagon hunts WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange in bid to gag website | Rural Internet providers angered by federal support of bigger rivals | Maybe it’s time to muzzle the trolls: Globe tech writer advocates online moderation | US Federal Trade Commission considers taxing online speech | Lieberman Bill Gives Feds ‘Emergency’ Powers to Secure Civilian Nets | Tories unveil tougher copyright bill, requires ISPs to keep user info | Copyright Act changes to be revealed today | India Gearing Up To Fight ACTA; Seeking Other, Like-Minded, Countries | Cyber Command: We Don’t Wanna Defend the Internet (We Just Might Have To) | Pentagon: Let us monitor your network or else | US appoints first cyber warfare general | Harper government secretly monitoring online chats about politics | Obama Czar Wants Mandatory Government Propaganda On Political Websites | Power Corp. open to charging for online content | NSA head confirmed as chief of US cyber command | Pirate Bay Appeal Judges Cleared of Bias | International Copyright Draft Release Was Apparently A One Time Deal: Now We’re Back To Secrecy | Industry Minister Clement invites input on Canadian digital economy | Google attorney slams ACTA copyright treaty | US regulators seek new network neutrality laws | CRTC approves usage-based internet billing | Red Alert: New Canadian DMCA Bill Within Six Weeks | Fox News Caught Aggregating Others Copyrighted Photographs… Something Murdoch Insists Is Illegal | Cybersecurity event seeks to spur international talks | Australian PM shelves web filter legislation until after election | China wants internet firms to inform on clients | Official ACTA Draft Released, Only Very Slightly Less Awful Than Expected | Big Content’s dystopian wish-list for the US gov’t: spyware, censorship, physical searches and SWAT teams | Danger Room What’s Next in National Security Prospective U.S. Cyber Commander Talks Terms of Digital Warfare | Thousands condemn secrecy of New Zealand round of internet copyright talks | Leading UK ISP Says It Will Defy Government’s Net Censorship Bill | Nikkei Restricts Links to Its New Web Site | Canadian researchers reveal another botnet in China, call for state cybersecurity | Internet linking rights case to go before Supreme Court | Isohunt Ordered to Remove Infringing Content | CETA worse than ACTA – EU Trade Negotiators Demand Canada Completely Overhaul Its Intellectual Property Laws | UK: Met Police launch net café spy operation | ACTA Draft: No Internet for Copyright Scofflaws | UK Budget 2010: Darling puts emphasis on broadband for all | Entire Text of ACTA Treaty Leaks to Online Rights Website | Google reroutes uncensored search to Hong Kong, raises stakes in row with China | Revealed: ACTA to cover seven categories of intellectual property | New ACTA Leaks Complete Picture of Oppressive Global Copyright Treaty | Net produces new generation of human rights activists in China | U.S. cybersecurity bill introduced in Senate | Copyright conviction raises privacy concerns | U.S. feds snooping on Facebook | MP Charlie Angus Introducing Private Copying Levy Bill, Flexible Fair Dealing Motion | Secret Document Calls Wikileaks ‘Threat’ to U.S. Army | Pot, Palin and prorogation: Stephen Harper gets grilled on YouTube | Government Internet Censorship Begins In Stealth In New Zealand | PM turns to YouTube – and takes questions | EU Parliament votes down ACTA global copyright resolution by overwhelming margin | Cyber-bullying cases put heat on Google, Facebook | Cyberattacks push CSIS to reach out to business | United States weighs massive expansion of Internet monitoring | Cyberwar Hype Intended to Destroy the Open Internet | UK: Open Wi-Fi ‘outlawed’ by Digital Economy Bill | Cryptome.org Leaks Microsoft Online Surveillance Guide, MS Demands Takedown Under Copyright Law | Italy Convicts Google Execs over Youtube Video of Downs Syndrome Boy | China launches interview requirement, licensing for personal websites | More Details Emerging About School Laptop Spying, And It Doesn’t Look Good | School Spycams Case Explodes As Feds Initiate Probe | ACTA Internet Chapter Leaks: Renegotiates WIPO, Sets 3 Strikes as Model | Pennsylvania schools spying on students using laptop Webcams, claims lawsuit | Google Books Fosters Intellectual, Legal Crossroads | Google Bans Sale of DVD Critical Of Obama Administration | EU Already Has A ‘Public/Private’ IP Observatory To Watch For Copyright Infringement Online | Google shuts down music blogs without warning | Activists Shut Down Australian Government Websites in Internet Filter Protest | ACTA Is Called An ‘Executive Agreement’ To Implement Restrictive Copyright With Less Hassle Than A Treaty | Swedish Justice Minister reluctant to store internet user’s data | Google, NSA may team up to probe cyberattacks | Hollywood loses landmark copyright case in Australia | Police want backdoor to Web users’ private data | Time Magazine Pushes Draconian Internet Licensing Plan | UN agency calls for global cyberwarfare treaty, ‘driver’s license’ for Web users | CBC’s new licencing plan: Pay to Print, Email, and Blog, and outsource enforcement to American Copyright Digital Rights Bounty Hunters | ACTA One Step Closer To Being Done; Concerns About Transparency Ignored | Internet companies voice alarm over Italian copyright law | UK MPs frozen out of super-secret ACTA copyright talks | China Google Hack Exploited Security Gaps Introduced By State Surveillance Provisions | Privacy watchdog wants public input on social networking sites | Obama Information Czar Calls For Banning Free Speech | Obama Information Czar Outlined Plan For Government To Infiltrate ‘Conspiracy Groups’ | China tells web companies to obey controls | Google Considers Leaving China If China Will Not Allow Uncensored Search | Reading Between The Still Secret Lines Of The ACTA Negotiations | Privacy no longer a social norm, says Facebook founder | For more, visit The Memory Hole – Internet

Related: Experts Draft Document Critical Of ACTA: Signatures Wanted | Pro-copyright bill group busted as recording industry astroturf campaign | Tories unveil tougher copyright bill, requires ISPs to keep user info | Copyright Act changes to be revealed today | India Gearing Up To Fight ACTA; Seeking Other, Like-Minded, Countries | Google attorney slams ACTA copyright treaty | Red Alert: New Canadian DMCA Bill Within Six Weeks | Official ACTA Draft Released, Only Very Slightly Less Awful Than Expected | The Economist On Why Copyright Needs To Return To Its Roots | Big Content’s dystopian wish-list for the US gov’t: spyware, censorship, physical searches and SWAT teams | Thousands condemn secrecy of New Zealand round of internet copyright talks | ACTA Draft: No Internet for Copyright Scofflaws | Entire Text of ACTA Treaty Leaks to Online Rights Website | Revealed: ACTA to cover seven categories of intellectual property | New ACTA Leaks Complete Picture of Oppressive Global Copyright Treaty | EU Parliament votes down ACTA global copyright resolution by overwhelming margin | ACTA Internet Chapter Leaks: Renegotiates WIPO, Sets 3 Strikes as Model | ACTA Is Called An ‘Executive Agreement’ To Implement Restrictive Copyright With Less Hassle Than A Treaty | ACTA One Step Closer To Being Done; Concerns About Transparency Ignored | UK MPs frozen out of super-secret ACTA copyright talks | Reading Between The Still Secret Lines Of The ACTA Negotiations | Beyond ACTA: Proposed EU – Canada Trade Agreement Intellectual Property Chapter Leaks | New Leaks of Secret ACTA Copyright Law Reveal Oppressive ‘Global DMCA’ | MPAA Says Critics of Secret Copyright Treaty Hate Hollywood | ACTA Threatens Made-in-Canada Copyright Policy | More ACTA Details Leak: It’s An Entertainment Industry Wishlist | Six Days Left: Canadian Net Users Caught As Copyright Consultation Nears Conclusion | MP Charlie Angus on copyright: industry lobby pulling for ‘dead business model’ | Ottawa denies altering public’s ECopyright Consultation submissions | Security guards stop MPs, students from distributing fair use flyers at Toronto copyright townhall | Can The Public Be Heard On Copyright Issues? | Copyright Consultation Launches: Time For Canadians To Speak Out | Third stab at copyright law ‘reform’ to kick off with consultations | Time to slay Canadian file-sharing myths | Canadian copyright lobbyists leaned on “independent” researchers to change report on file-sharing | Think tank plagiarizes, pulls report on Canadian piracy | Obama Administration Claims Copyright Treaty Involves State Secrets | Latest Round of Closed-Door ACTA Copyright Negotiations Wrap Up | Digital rights groups sue for access to secret ACTA treaty | Critics waging a cyber offensive to fight copyright changes | Canadian Industry Minister lies about Canadian DMCA on national radio, then hangs up | The Canadian DMCA: Check the Fine Print | Government ready to drop copyright bomb | Transparency needed on ACTA | Revamped copyright law targets electronic devices | New Attempt to Align Canada’s Copyright Act with USA Coming Soon | Canadian DMCA To Be Introduced Tomorrow Morning?

Michael Geist, MichaelGeist.ca
June 22, 2010

There was considerable attention yesterday on a media report stating that Canadian Heritage Minister James Moore warned against “radical extremists” opposing C-32. A video of part of his remarks has now been posted online [full video here]. The comments, which come after the prepared speech, feature a no-holds-barred attack against those arguing for fair copyright. According to Moore, some proposed amendments to C-32 are not genuine but rather part of an attempt to oppose copyright and copyright reform, to drum up fear, and to mislead. Moore encourages confrontation, urging the audience to confront on Facebook, Twitter, talk shows and in the media until “they are defeated.”

I’m under no illusion here. Yesterday, I asked in a post who Moore’s “radical extremists” are. The video suggests that he thinks it is me and the thousands of other Canadians who have argued for fair copyright (a reporter at the event reached the same conclusion and CRIA lawyer Barry Sookman is happy to do the same). His comments met with applause from the audience and will be taken as a mandate to continue the astroturfing activities on Balanced Copyright for Canada.

To hear the Minister of Canadian Heritage both discredit the views of so many people and to encourage confrontation as the optimal plan of action is incredibly discouraging. To use his own words, it is an attempt to mislead, misdirect, and undermine what has been more than a year-long effort for Canadians to speak out on copyright. For those that are interested, my actual take on C-32 is here and some proposed amendments here. The comments are not dissimilar from many consumer, education, library, business, and creator groups. I see few people who are “absolutists” out there – most want a fair approach but may disagree on precisely where to strike the balance on issues such as digital locks or fair dealing.

Perhaps most troubling is the fact that this is part of a growing trend. Yesterday’s comments targeted fair copyright, but we are not alone. When consumer groups criticize the bill, Moore claims they don’t represent consumers and cites support from the Chamber of Commerce instead. When political opposition parties speak of the need for reform to digital locks provisions, he says they have not put forward amendments. When creator groups such as ACTRA criticize his approach, he blocks them on Twitter. When business and education groups express concern about digital locks, he selectively cites their supportive comments instead. Moore is clearly ready to fight and has urged the few supporters of DMCA-style provisions to do the same.

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You’re A Terrorist | EU Parliament votes down ACTA global copyright resolution by overwhelming margin | Goldman appeals CanWest, Shaw deal | Cyber-bullying cases put heat on Google, Facebook | North Korean worker executed for passing on news | Cyberwar Hype Intended to Destroy the Open Internet | UK: Open Wi-Fi ‘outlawed’ by Digital Economy Bill | Cryptome.org Leaks Microsoft Online Surveillance Guide, MS Demands Takedown Under Copyright Law | Italy Convicts Google Execs over Youtube Video of Downs Syndrome Boy | China launches interview requirement, licensing for personal websites | Cabinet ministers’ offices regularly interfere in access to information requests, says Tory staffer | ACTA Internet Chapter Leaks: Renegotiates WIPO, Sets 3 Strikes as Model | Google Books Fosters Intellectual, Legal Crossroads | Google Bans Sale of DVD Critical Of Obama Administration | US media omission: Iran calls for global nuclear disarmament | EU Already Has A ‘Public/Private’ IP Observatory To Watch For Copyright Infringement Online | Shaw Cable moves for acquisition of controlling share in Canwest Global | Google shuts down music blogs without warning | Activists Shut Down Australian Government Websites in Internet Filter Protest | ACTA Is Called An ‘Executive Agreement’ To Implement Restrictive Copyright With Less Hassle Than A Treaty | HST ad campaign debuts in Ontario | Google, NSA may team up to probe cyberattacks | Men at Work plagiarized Kookaburra tune, Australian court rules | Hollywood loses landmark copyright case in Australia | Police want backdoor to Web users’ private data | Time Magazine Pushes Draconian Internet Licensing Plan | UN agency calls for global cyberwarfare treaty, ‘driver’s license’ for Web user | CBC’s new licencing plan: Pay to Print, Email, and Blog, and outsource enforcement to American Copyright Digital Rights Bounty Hunters | ACTA One Step Closer To Being Done; Concerns About Transparency Ignored | Pentagon calls for ‘Office of Strategic Deception’ | Internet companies voice alarm over Italian copyright law | UK MPs frozen out of super-secret ACTA copyright talks | The Toronto 18 Publication Ban: Silence affects the core of justice | China Google Hack Exploited Security Gaps Introduced By State Surveillance Provisions | Obama Information Czar Calls For Banning Free Speech | China tells web companies to obey controls | Google Considers Leaving China If China Will Not Allow Uncensored Search | Reading Between The Still Secret Lines Of The ACTA Negotiations | Privacy no longer a social norm, says Facebook founder | Tipping point at CanWest | See more in The Memory Hole – Media