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and it pisses every single pharma company off that Canada has shorter terms for patent protection than the US

but Harper is working to fix it
http://www.canadians.org/media/canada-caves-us-drug-demands-trans-pacific-partnership-harper-must-make-tpp-text-public-now

Not surprisingly, the biggest Canadian producer is the province of Alberta, which accounts for two-thirds of Canada’s production. Saskatchewan is next at roughly 18 per cent, and Newfoundland produces 13 per cent with its off-shore resources. Manitoba, Ontario, British Columbia and the Northwest Territories round out Canadian output with a combined share representing 2.8 per cent of production. However, around 66 per cent of Canada’s oil production is not destined for Canadians. It goes almost exclusively to the United States in the form of exports.

http://www.canadians.org/energy/issues/energy_strategy/Canadian_oil.html

"The crisis of pollution and depletion of water resources is viewed by Monsanto as a business opportunity."

"Monsanto's genetic engineering trials in India are dangerous and anti-democratic"

"Why Iraqi Farmers Might Prefer Death to Paul Bremer's Order 81"

"Corporate biopiracy and the terminator seed"

"Percy Schmeiser, a Canadian farmer and seed saver of many years, was sued by the Monsanto Corporation (producer of the poisonous "Round Up") for growing GMO (Genetically Modified Organisms) seeds patented by Monsanto. The seeds had blown into the ditch by his field. He is fighting this huge corp. which has the potential to control all the food in the world if not stopped."
http://www.suesupriano.com/audio/schmeiser.mp3
http://www.percyschmeiser.com/

"Terminator ban undermined at UN meeting in Spain"

This is about "full-spectrum domination" as far as I'm concerned; imagine if you could simply turn off a region's food supply.

I can't think of a more appropriate example to illustrate the differences between our two countries.

What he doesn't say is something that I found in following the link canadians.org to the information page on this issue, there you can find a link to the Judgement from May 21, it found that:

Tests of their 1998 canola crop revealed that 95-98 per cent was Roundup Ready Canola

What he doesn't say is something that I found in following the link canadians.org to the information page on this issue, there you can find a link to the Judgement from May 21, it found that:

Tests of their 1998 canola crop revealed that 95-98 per cent was Roundup Ready Canola

The DMCA is the embodiment of a WTO treaty. This is the same WTO that people are protesting in the streets of Seattle, Quebec and Genoa.

You see, we techno-IP geeks (which we kind-of are) realize The Corporations are using the WIPO/WTO to shaft us -- Australia is just the most recent nation to fall victim -- these OTHERS are aware of their own areas. Artists talk about National Culture (arts, public broadcasting, museams, film production), people like Jose Bove talks about regional farming, farmers, land, food supply/quality, Maude Barlow and The Council Of Canadians speak about national soverignty, GM Biotech, etc etc etc.

What is happening is that Corporations are subverting social structures. In every facet of our culture, in every way, profit-driven organizations -- with incredible power, will and ability -- are un-democratically ruling.

In Feudal Europe, land-owners ruled. Peasants were lucky to have a 'job' where they were essentially powerless slaves, removed from decion making in their collective lives. Democratic Revolutions -- who's roots were in Ancient philosophies -- solved some of their problems, enabling the masses to exercise their will. Basically, one person, one vote. This was a 'better idea'. Then, in the late 18th century, some people began to see Democracy wasnt enough. Democratic control of the economy was necessary to remove the hammer and influence of wealth on society. Communist revolutions started around the world. Common people wanted to not only rule their civil lives but their economic lives via democracy. Many of the Communist Revolutions failed for various reasons... some survive today.

What(i belive) we are seeing right now, is the effective collapse of the Democratic Reovolutions. In the not-so-distant future, our very-own elected governments (already subverted) are going to create law that Over-Rule the rights of the Government to control The Corporations. These organizations will then assert feudal control over their segments of the economy -- nothing can challenge them (except maybe other corporations, but that is another discussion). Disjointed world-governance and the lack of a Powerful United Nations is to their advantage (it allows nations to be pitted against on another (Not joining the race to the bottom == starve more quickly))

Australia's new DMCA-alike laws are the embodiment of a WTO treaty, and not a surprise. Slowly but surely, all law will be removed that isnt 100% pro-corporation and pro-profit. There will be no other law*.

*you and the perpetual abortion debate/pageant does qualify as effective political discourse... dont be fooled by shiney things.

You're right, I equated freedom from interference with a kind of protection. In fact, that is what Chapter 11 of NAFTA is all about -- expansive new rights for investors [corps, really] wildly beyond the rights of individuals, neighbourhoods, municipalities, regions, civil powers, and even nation states. A lot of people are freaked out by this trend of non-interference.

On the one hand, they regulate (er, interfere), on the other they protect from interference (er, award radical new freedoms). Splitting hairs, I guess.

> I can verify the validity of the material
> presented here because I saw people obtain
> this information on Friday.

> ...where people were trashing two CBC vans. Across
> form the CBC van's was an unmarked cruiser and
> van discuised as a commercial vehicle. We didn't
> know this until some members of the crowd
> smashed the windows and began pulling out...

I'm a Canadian taxpayer, and I'm deeply wary of the half baked stuff the WTO and FTAA and all the other globalization efforts. I was shocked at how close we dodged the bullet with the Multilateral Agreement on Investments (read the apropriate chapter of Maude Barlow's "The fight of my life" for an eye opener), and I fully support the views of the Council of Canadians.

HOWEVER, I'm all for identifying the vandals and criminals who destroyed those three vehicles. I'd like to see them personally pay for the damage. It's acts like these that keep many of the common people from delving further into the subject and discovering what there is to oppose, because they can write it all off as the acts of some hippies and vandals.

Don't get me wrong, I'm clearly aware of the capabilities of law enforcement to go horribly awry, and I wish the authorities in this case had been much more specific in their warrant. It disappoints me to have to support the fight against turning over such a broad sweep of information. They should ask for specifically what they need, as opposed to grabbing everything. It reminds me of the situations where the police confiscate $5000 of your personal computer equipment and don't return it for 12-18 months, until they're "finished" determining that you didn't do anything wrong. Except since this is "just information", they feel like they can ask for the moon.

So, what's my wish? I wish the DA would get a clue and re-do the request such that it doesn't result in slurping up information on what tens of thousands of law abiding people were doing, but rather just focuses in on identifying the witnesses who can identify the criminals they are (supposedly) looking for.

> I can verify the validity of the material
> presented here because I saw people obtain
> this information on Friday.

> ...where people were trashing two CBC vans. Across
> form the CBC van's was an unmarked cruiser and
> van discuised as a commercial vehicle. We didn't
> know this until some members of the crowd
> smashed the windows and began pulling out...

I'm a Canadian taxpayer, and I'm deeply wary of the half baked stuff the WTO and FTAA and all the other globalization efforts. I was shocked at how close we dodged the bullet with the Multilateral Agreement on Investments (read the apropriate chapter of Maude Barlow's "The fight of my life" for an eye opener), and I fully support the views of the Council of Canadians.

HOWEVER, I'm all for identifying the vandals and criminals who destroyed those three vehicles. I'd like to see them personally pay for the damage. It's acts like these that keep many of the common people from delving further into the subject and discovering what there is to oppose, because they can write it all off as the acts of some hippies and vandals.

Don't get me wrong, I'm clearly aware of the capabilities of law enforcement to go horribly awry, and I wish the authorities in this case had been much more specific in their warrant. It disappoints me to have to support the fight against turning over such a broad sweep of information. They should ask for specifically what they need, as opposed to grabbing everything. It reminds me of the situations where the police confiscate $5000 of your personal computer equipment and don't return it for 12-18 months, until they're "finished" determining that you didn't do anything wrong. Except since this is "just information", they feel like they can ask for the moon.

So, what's my wish? I wish the DA would get a clue and re-do the request such that it doesn't result in slurping up information on what tens of thousands of law abiding people were doing, but rather just focuses in on identifying the witnesses who can identify the criminals they are (supposedly) looking for.