Slashdot Mirror

That forum link seems to be genuine as the guys appears to be obsessed with pi. I guess that if you believe you are genius, you are or at least there's an app for that.

... one issue based bullshit is not going to stop this. We had SOPA and CISPA and they are preparing CISPA round 3.

The internet is something 'everyone can agree on' but unfortunately most people trying to 'protect the internet' are too historically and politically illiterate to really do so. None of you who are hardcore capitalists are "protectors" of the internet, in fact why SOPA and TPP are trying to lock it down is BECAUSE they fear the masses rising up against corporate (capitalist) powers. That's why we got governments and corporations going gangusters on surveillance worldwide.

If you doubt this check the spyfiles

https://wikileaks.org/the-spyf...

Corporate power is global, and resistance to it cannot be restricted by national boundaries. Corporations have no regard for nation-states. They assert their power to exploit the land and the people everywhere. They play worker off of worker and nation off of nation. They control the political elites in Ottawa as they do in London, Paris and Washington.

Consider the G20 Protests in Toronto

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...

This is just more part and parcel of state suppression of dissent against corporate interests. They're worried that the more people are going to wake up and corporate centers like the US and canada may be among those who also awaken. See this vid with Zbigniew Brzezinski, former United States National Security Advisor.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?...

Look at the following graphs:

http://www2.ucsc.edu/whorulesa...
http://www2.ucsc.edu/whorulesa...
http://www2.ucsc.edu/whorulesa...

And then...

WIKILEAKS: U.S. Fought To Lower Minimum Wage In Haiti So Hanes And Levis Would Stay Cheap
http://www.businessinsider.com...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?...

Free markets?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?...

http://www.amazon.com/Empire-I...

"We now live in two Americas. One—now the minority—functions in a print-based, literate world that can cope with complexity and can separate illusion from truth. The other—the majority—is retreating from a reality-based world into one of false certainty and magic. To this majority—which crosses social class lines, though the poor are overwhelmingly affected—presidential debate and political rhetoric is pitched at a sixth-grade reading level. In this “other America,” serious film and theater, as well as newspapers and books, are being pushed to the margins of society.

In the tradition of Christopher Lasch’s The Culture of Narcissism and Neil Postman’s Amusing Ourselves to Death, Pulitzer Prize-winner Chris Hedges navigates this culture—attending WWF contests, the Adult Video News Awards in Las Vegas, and Ivy League graduation ceremonies—to expose an age of terrifying decline and heightened self-delusion."

World Record

>> And if an emergency happens, there’s no infrastructure in place—no consistent U.S. Coast Guard presence...

Interesting. Related article covers Canada's and Russia's claims in the same area - the "Lomonozov Ridge"
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...

A labour shortage you say? The hotest labour trend right now in Canada is Temporary Foreign Workers.

Take a look at some headlines from the past couple hours:
Pizza place faces federal grilling over temporary foreign workers
McDonald's foreign worker practices halted in face of investigation
PBO: Temporary Foreign Worker Program May Be Taking 1/4 Of New Jobs

Once difference is that the energy is spread out over kilometers rather then all at one point near the surface.

This Quirks and Quarks story on the The Chelyabinsk Meteor talks about this and how the data suggests impacts are more common then we thought.

You guys will never understand the RCMP. They're probably one of the last competent police forces on the planet, and the vast majority of Canadians respects them.

You gotta be kidding.

There was the incident of 4 armed RCMP officers who tasered some poor unarmed schlub FIVE times and killed him:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/R...

And they lied about it and tried to cover it up by refusing to release the video.

Then there was the RCMP officer who kicked Buddy Tavares in the face. Tavares was complying with the police, he was unarmed, and had his hands on the pavement. Oh, and it was recorded on video.

http://thescottross.blogspot.c...
http://www.theglobeandmail.com...

There was the time the RCMP pepper-sprayed hapless protesters who were legally & peacefully protesting so that Suharto, the dictator of Indonesia wouldn't have to see them:

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...

And many many more.

The big story up here in Canada last year was the IRS going after dual-citizens who'd not filed their incomes with the US ... because apparently they had to even though they didn't owe any taxes down there.

The IRS does lots of interesting things from one year to the next.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...

The problem is that the most popular NTIS stuff is already on the net, but the remaining 30% (the long tail) is not.

The federally funded research was about these large (miles in radius) circles found in Nevada. There was conjecture that they were from a nuclear test. It turns out that they were from a toxic cloud test that was done using a solid rocket engine treated with beryllium. See http://pacaeropress.websitetoo..., http://aair.smugmug.com/Aviati... and http://blackrockdesert.org/wik...

The NTIS had the paper in question, which I was able to get and confirm that the semi-circles were created as part of the test. There was no mention of the test in the local papers or anywhere else I could find. If the NTIS did not have the paper, then my only hope would have been to ask Aerojet, the company contracted to do the research. The odds of them having a paper from 1967 is pretty low.

I realize that this question is not a critical, life threatening question, but determining *why* the circles where there and dispelling rumors about nuke tests is useful. The pursuit of the truth is lofty goal. Those who do not know history are bound to repeat it. In the case of this study, it turns out that there was an inversion layer that prevented a bunch of the particulate matter from reaching the ground in the test site. Maybe this is a well know mechanism now, but if I were researching atmospheric pollution, then I would want to review a study like this. If this study is not accessible, then it is like it never happened.

If the NTIS is disbanded, then we are basically tossing a bunch of tax-payer funded projects in to the shredder.

Interestingly, Canada is going through a somewhat similar issue where libraries containing research materials are being closed. Here an article from 2012: http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...

I'm no fan of big government, but if the NTIS is to be closed, then the entire contents of the NTIS library must be made freely available.

Is this the most honest response? The Canadian banks as a group say "our procedures mean we were never at risk".
http://www.cbc.ca/news/busines...
Who do you trust more to be truthfull?

Is there any incentive for the banks to be honest about this?

get the magnitude wrong.

7.7
8.2
8.0

http://www.google.org/publical...

http://www.cbc.ca/news/world/c...

http://www.latimes.com/world/w...

Obviously it never got to the point of a large number of blankets. If you scroll down the page to the conclusion I linked to you'll see

Trent's entry for May 24, 1763, includes the following statement: ... we gave them two Blankets and an Handkerchief out of the Small Pox Hospital. I hope it will have the desired effect.

Along with reports that by the following spring smallpox was raging amongst them.
As for the Church, as recently as the '50's if not more recently (Church ran residential schools only ended in the '90's) the Government of Canada along with the Church were doing medical experiments and dietary experiments on the native population in the residential schools. Generally, to judge by their actions the Church has not considered the natives to be human. The government is being very reluctant to be transparent about the issue. Of course our government is like yours, voted in on promises of transparency and probably the most opaque government ever. only difference is they're Conservative.
http://www.cbc.ca/news/politic... is one link, Google has lots more.

If you are a careful driver and plan ahead to avoid quick braking, and also accelerate at a very modest rate your benefits would be small with this kind of system. It helps compensate for aggressive driving but it seems like it won't benefit drivers that already are trying to get good gas mileage.

I live in a modest coastal city where the traffic is relatively sedate. My main problem avoiding unnecessary use of the break pedal is that so many traffic lights appear suddenly as you crest a hill or exit a sweeping turn giving you no immediate indication of phase, and then BAM! just before the point of no return it goes yellow.

I pretty much make all my velocity decisions in phase space: how close in position/velocity to I wish to be with the traffic around me at which points in the terrain? I've read that gasoline engines are at the top of their conversion efficiency mound when producing about 2/3rds of maximum rated power, so I'm not shy about briefly laying it on to make a quick adjustment in phase space, but always with the goal of making the least possible use of my brake pedal later on.

Also, we've pretty much capped our top speed at 90 km/l since we're driving a small truck. We had a lovely Toyota Truck from way back that traded some paint at xmas. The smallest replacement truck we could find at a fair price is the ubiquitous Ford Ranger, which is a complete joke as representing a "small" truck.

The chicken tax: Why it's hard to find a small pickup truck

Fifty years ago, the United States slapped a 25 per cent tariff on imported brandy, dextrin, potato starch and small pickups. This was in retaliation to tariffs on imported American chicken imposed by countries like France and Germany.

To this day, the 25 per cent tariff on small pickups remains.

Sad news, ideologues. The entire electable spectrum has left the chicken tax alone, from Nixon to Bush to Clinton to Carter.

Countdown traffic lights may cause accidents, study says

Guess what? The carbon emissions also have a definite consequence. If not climate, then conflict. What's really going on here is escaping the horror of first order terms; it's an actuarial NIMBY effect. One death is a statistic. A billion deaths are somebody else's problem, if the coefficient can be construed as the least bit vague.

The real problem with countdown lights is that they require driver judgement. What you really want are a kind of runway light which indicates whether, from where you are—maintaining your current speed—you're going to make it through or not. The number the driver needs is dependent on individual conditions.

One way to do this would be to pot amber indicators in the pavement calibrated to the speed limit (it really should be called the "speed notice" or the "speed weed"—expect to be noticed/plucked if you drive faster than this). If you're driving at the speed limit, and the nearest such indicator in your forward path is illuminated amber, then you will arrive at the intersection in the amber condition.

If you gun it from 150 meters out from some low initial speed, you'll probably notice that you're losing the race with the amber rabbit in time to rethink your testosterone surge. If not, count on losing the long war of technological measures designed to strip you of your driving privilege. Driving stupidity/dead pedestrians breeds cameras. What part of this simple equation can't these people figure out?

This helps to explain the mysterious Flynn effect, where IQ is purportedly rising in the general population, but it's hard to see in real life. Nobody takes an IQ test sitting behind a steering wheel after rushing out of

Well, at least the Canadian pennies should stop being such a problem. They stopped making them a couple years ago. http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...

There was at least one casualty on the Ukraine side.

Canadian telcos have also been busy buying university research.

Canada has only 3 large telco companies, and they all work together. they do wonderful free market things like raise their prices simultanously last week..

Jeffery Church from University of Alberta seems to have taken a pro-incumbent stance in his research. he has been presenting this research at conferences indicating canada's incumbents are playing fair. read the paper here. he's also been busily writing pro-incumbent columns for the National Post.

Dwayne Winseck from Carleton University has been calling bullshit on this bought research, and you can hear his criticism of the paper and the comm industry on his CanadaLand podcast interview.

This can't come soon enough.

There are nutcases everywhere ... so what ...

Here in Canada we have them too. For example, this is a Canadian member of parliament who said military action may be needed against Russia.

But when you know Anders' views, you will not be surprised. He is a Conservative MP, who voted against granting Mandela honorary citizenship, calling him a communist and terrorist.

Here are the rest of his extreme views.

So, one news anchor spewing nonsense is not surprising.

What matters is not letting these type of pro-escalation voices drown out a more level headed reasonable approach ...

There are nutcases everywhere ... so what ...

Here in Canada we have them too. For example, this is a Canadian member of parliament who said military action may be needed against Russia.

But when you know Anders' views, you will not be surprised. He is a Conservative MP, who voted against granting Mandela honorary citizenship, calling him a communist and terrorist.

Here are the rest of his extreme views.

So, one news anchor spewing nonsense is not surprising.

What matters is not letting these type of pro-escalation voices drown out a more level headed reasonable approach ...

There are nutcases everywhere ... so what ...

Here in Canada we have them too. For example, this is a Canadian member of parliament who said military action may be needed against Russia.

But when you know Anders' views, you will not be surprised. He is a Conservative MP, who voted against granting Mandela honorary citizenship, calling him a communist and terrorist.

Here are the rest of his extreme views.

So, one news anchor spewing nonsense is not surprising.

What matters is not letting these type of pro-escalation voices drown out a more level headed reasonable approach ...

Measles is spreading in the Bible Belt of Canada, the Fraser Valley ...

I use the liberal definition. It's scary and black.

Well, the conservatives in Canada have just banned a green one, so it looks like we'll need to broaden it a little bit.

Apple could care less about 'making the world a better place'. If a few deaths and suffering of people helped pad the bottom line, they would go for it without hesitation. So would Apple buyers. People who buy Apple products just want their I-things, no matter what suffering is behind it, sort of like the way some women obsess over diamonds. African blood on it? No problem, as long as it sparkles. I have shown and explained Apple exploitation to Apple buyers directly, the answer was, 'so what if they exploit Chinese, there are just so many of them!'. Forget about the front line workers at Apple shops who get paid a pitance, or the ultra-poor who gather coltan in Africa for all our devices--give those shiny devices. Now Apple is already sitting on a lot of money, giving all their workers, their fair share will not even scratch theor money pile. Now spme will say, 'Apple contracts their manufacturing to other companies, they have no idea what is going on'. Do you really think a company like Apple will hand over their proprorietary means of production blindly? Just give away their secrets and say, 'we trust you'. Now, some idiots say that Apple exploitation was discredited because some playwright in the US spoke about and then retracted stories of Apple exploitation. They say, Apple does not exploit because that play has been discredited'. I am not talking about the play, I would like to go here, for starters: http://www.aljazeera.com/progr... and this as well http://www.aljazeera.com/progr... and this http://www.cbc.ca/news/technol... And let us not forget that Intel bases a lot of their factories on occupied Palestine, land mandated as belonging to Palestinians by the UN. Intel, who provide CPU's to Apple. Now you will say, 'oh come on, it is totally fine that exploitation occur because all companies do it anyway'. I am saying, these companies make oodles of money, if the buyers get concerned they can ask the manufacturer, 'we helped you become rich, please give a tiny amount to those you hurt and change enough not to hurt others again--it wil not really affect your vast sums of wealth'.

Canada is experiencing similar issues.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...

http://www.cbc.ca/asithappens/...

Arctic ice rebounded somewhat from the all-time record low of 2012.

However It was still the 6th lowest level on record.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...

The problem is the lack of context in whatever warped source you are reading.

....only read their content for some nasty purpose like denying entry as a tourist for a twitter post they didn't like (US authorities already did that).

The "nasty purpose" is to prevent people from being killed, including Europeans - both in Europe and the US. If you think that similar things don't happen in Europe, you are misinformed.

This happened at Stuttgart: German held at airport after bomb-in-briefs joke

As to the incident you mention:

Caution on Twitter urged as tourists barred from US

... holidaymakers need to learn to be ultra-cautious when it comes to talking about forthcoming trips, particularly after 9/11.

"Posting statements in a public forum which could be construed as threatening - in this case saying they are going to "destroy" somewhere - will not be viewed sympathetically by US authorities," it told the BBC.

"In the past we have seen holidaymakers stopped at airport security for 'joking' that they have a bomb in their bag, thoroughly questioned and ending up missing their flights, demonstrating that airport security staff do not have a sense of humour when it comes to potential risk."

Not really terribly different than what happened in Germany.

You should also understand that the US, Canada, EU, Australia, New Zealand, and various other countries all trade intelligence information to varying degrees to try to keep their citizenry safe. The US has helped foil plots in various European countries on many occasions.

NSA helped foil terror plot in Belgium, documents, officials say

The US has good reason to look towards Europe since there have been many terrorists there plotting against the US. One of the 9/11 attack teams came out of Germany. And European laws in the past have often render various countries almost toothless in dealing with extremism.

The EU is a coalition of nations that makes for convenient travel and trade, but national sovereignty remains. If you are French, Poland is pretty much as foreign as the US is.

Every website will be US heavy.
Slashdot is not just a tech website but a US based tech website so of course it will be US centric. You want less US centric go to Slashdot.jp.
Really complaining that Slashdot is US centric is as dumb as complaning that http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada is too Canadian centric.

Maybe its banned in the USA. You are the only suggestion to mention cbc, which one would think would be popular and is completely free. Or americans don't want to watch pro canada propaganda during a patriotic time.

can some american confirm if you can watch cbc stream? its about .5mbps
http://olympics.cbc.ca/videos/...

Except they are saying its live right now but its not as I watched it at 8am. Which is false advertising.

You remind me of http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...

CBC News Posted: Oct 19, 2004 6:06 PM ET Last Updated: Oct 20, 2004 6:41 AM ET

A justice of the peace has ruled that a "no left turn" sign in Toronto is unenforceable because it is not written in both English and French.

The ruling Monday by justice of the peace Alice Napier could result in thousands of traffic tickets being dismissed.

Lawyer Jennifer Myers argued that a traffic sign in downtown Toronto violated the Highway Traffic Act and the French Language Services Act because it was not in both official languages.

Napier agreed at a night court hearing Monday, and threw out a ticket issued to Myers for making an illegal left turn. Myers does not speak French.

Daniel Brown, a law student who represented her in court, said Myers' victory could prove expensive for the city of Toronto.

I've personally tried testing it out sometime around 2009 or 2010 -- violating illegal no-turn signs on purpose, which are still plentiful in Toronto.

I could not succeed -- the was so much traffic during the hours where the left turns are prohibited, that stopping at a small intersection, to violate the sign, is simply impossible, since everyone will (rightfully) start honking at you in no time!

I was going to mod that funny, but then thought we need the backstory.

I felt like our initial visit was almost like getting cased by a grifter; like they wanted to see how much I was willing to shell out. They started me out with a sample of a deworming med then asked for a stool sample from the pup which of course showed some parasite that had to be treated with another med. So, I've had her 2 weeks and besides vaccinations she's already been exposed to 2 medications. And, each visit has been a setup for another visit in the weeks to come. I just feel like i'm getting sucked into a merry-go-round of perpetual medication and unnecessary care. But, I'm not a professional so I don't have much ability to make judgements.

Don't be surprised if your vet is taking you for a ride.

First off - if they say you need medications, ask for a prescription. Then go to your local pharmacy to get it filled - the drugs are exactly the same. You'd think they'd be cheaper as animal ones get marked "Not for human consumption", but no. Your pharmacy has the same medications at often reduced prices compared to the vet.

And there are tons of meds and treatments that are completely unnecessary. CBC Marketplace did an investigation and found many areas where one could save some money.

In fact, don't be surprised at all if your vet refuses to write an Rx for you - selling meds is one of their big money makers.

you really can't compare driving on snow to driving on a sheet of ice

I'll admit, I didn't RTFA since I had heard news reports about this on my local radio station. And those combined with this summary only mentioned snow. So, I wasn't talking about driving on ice. But now, let me talk about that.

Folks far north rarely get the kind of ice that occasionally causes snarls in the southeastern US

Just this month we had freezing rain. And I would not say that we "rarely" get it.

But nobody can drive in these ice conditions in a typical 2wd car that has no winter tires

My car, in fact, matches your 2wd and no winter tires description (it's not required by law in Ontario to have them). The winter experience I was talking about would have us AVOID driving in these ice conditions, but, it still is possible, if you give yourself enough time to stop. The key is to never use your brakes (only coast) and turn your wheel as little as possible. This requires a lot of patience, which is why I would rather avoid driving until the salt trucks have gone by.

But as I was saying, we would bounce back from these conditions quicker, since we have loads of salt trucks to deal with it. So, I feel for Atlanta, I really do.

Small Alberta town gets massive 1,000 Mbps broadband boost.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/technology/small-alberta-town-gets-massive-1-000-mbps-broadband-boost-1.1382428/

Furthermore, fashionable sperm donors sometimes become the genetic fathers of many, many children. Sometimes the children start dating without knowing that they're genetic half-siblings.

That's normal in iceland:
http://www.cbc.ca/news/busines...

lot of financial issues in Canada and it isn't anything new
[Citation Needed]

http://www.cbc.ca/news2/intera...
Canadians had no financial issues until Harper took power. We were on track to pay off the national debt.

Libraries are hardly used to begin
[Citation Needed]

cost a significant amount to create and maintain
[Citation Needed]

They are expensive, and a huge tax burden
[Citation Needed]

Everything in those libraries are turned into ebooks
[Citation definitely Needed]

Except that the cost savings here ... are negate by the millions spent on advertising for programs that don't even exist yet.

It isn't "less expensive way to do the same job" anyway, it's less expensive for inferior services.

I worked for Natural Resources Canada's library system in 2011. My friend worked at Transportation Canada.

They closed Transportation Canada's library system. It no longer exists. Who knows what happened to the information there, if it even exists any more. My friend told me they housed some of the world's foremost research on transportation science, and were called upon by international colleagues to provide them with information.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...

They did a similar thing to the library at the Ministry of Fisheries and Oceans

http://www.cbc.ca/news/politic...

Environment Canada

http://o.canada.com/news/last-...

This government has a war on science and knowledge and actively prohibits scientists from speaking to the media without government approval.

http://scienceblogs.com/confes...

The Conservative government does not care about facts. They have policies they want to implement, and they will do WHATEVER it takes to ensure those policies are enacted. Even if it means destroying our scientific heritage.

I worked for Natural Resources Canada's library system in 2011. My friend worked at Transportation Canada.

They closed Transportation Canada's library system. It no longer exists. Who knows what happened to the information there, if it even exists any more. My friend told me they housed some of the world's foremost research on transportation science, and were called upon by international colleagues to provide them with information.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...

They did a similar thing to the library at the Ministry of Fisheries and Oceans

http://www.cbc.ca/news/politic...

Environment Canada

http://o.canada.com/news/last-...

This government has a war on science and knowledge and actively prohibits scientists from speaking to the media without government approval.

http://scienceblogs.com/confes...

The Conservative government does not care about facts. They have policies they want to implement, and they will do WHATEVER it takes to ensure those policies are enacted. Even if it means destroying our scientific heritage.

" If Darwin's theory had come from a computer model and it turned out his computer model didn't match real world observations, nobody would believe it."

That is your opinion, but I prefer facts.

"UN climate change projections made in 1990 'coming true'
Climate change projections made over two decades ago have stood the test of time, according to a report published Monday in the journal Nature."
http://www.cbc.ca/newsblogs/yourcommunity/2012/12/un-climate-change-projections-made-in-1990-coming-true.html (article links to the paper in Nature)

The people who have actually compared the model projections to observed climate changes over the past two decades have found the models to be accurate.

Excluding carry-on pipe bombs and armed air marshalls I'm guessing a fist fight or stabbing is the best we can hope for.

Just FYI, There are cars that have HUDs built into the windshields. BMW or Cadillac I think.

Not that I disagree with your assessment, " the lowest common denominator isnt going to skip all of the good things being offered and go right down to trivial distractions that are causing problems", but that happens anyway. People are going to *find* a way to distract themselves with or without this tech. I really feel this type of technology deserves a chance to be useful before we collectively decide to kick it to the curb. We really should be looking for ways that it could be used to improve safety rather than just assuming it's the devils work and people should be locked up or shot or punched in the face for just wearing it.

It's obvious from reading comments here on /. and on CBC form that people have an irrational fear of this technology and all kinds of FUD is being spread about it just to stop it from even being tested let along getting to mainstream. I would have expected /. to be a little less sensitive and fearful of the technology, but it's clearly not the case.

But this paper is in a respected, peer-reviewed journal.

Article: Bogus science paper reveals peer review's flaws

And it isn't being used to sell organic, cage-free, non-GMO pomegranates :)

Maybe not, but I'd bet dollars to pesos that it is being used to sell the 'researchers' continued employment.

Fascists? Really?

Really. Instead of caring about things like human rights and serving the people of Canada, now the government only serves [some] businesses. A good example is diplomacy where we've historically pushed for more human rights. Well no more. http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/tories-new-foreign-affairs-vision-shifts-focus-to-economic-diplomacy/article15624653/
This government is also doing the usual fascist things such as pushing nationalism, law and order where the idea is to expand the police state and considering anyone not agreeing with their policies re pipelines to be foreign radicals http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/radicals-working-against-oilsands-ottawa-says-1.1148310 and anti-truth, http://scienceblogs.com/confessions/2013/10/06/the-canadian-war-on-science-updates-to-the-chronology-of-the-conservative-governments-anti-science-actions/

The claim that the Canadian government is "just" digitizing them appears to be false. Instead they are burning and throwing them in the dumpster: Ref 1. Ref 2 Also, these documents are about the natural environment or climate science which the Conservatives (big C) have attacked, in part by muzzling scientists. These documents are going to a murky bottom at the bottom of a lake so to speak. Maybe somebody should be properly digitizing them though, in which case I would agree with your "Meh." statement.

Common carriers CAN'T fuck with the packages

Really? They seem to have no issue letting the NSA do it. http://www.cbc.ca/news/world/nsa-intercepts-computer-deliveries-says-report-1.2478611

They're bitching about voting with their feet, but that doesn't make it a credible threat. Business is always bitching about something.

The problem Silicon Valley has is there's nowhere to go, and even if they leave they still have to obey US Laws or lose the US Market. And by "US Market" I don't just mean customers in the US. I mean suppliers in the US, US banks, etc. Canadian banks were just ordered to a) violate Canadian privacy laws by collecting data on precisely which of their customers is a US citizen and disclose that info to the US IRS, or b) lose 30% of every transaction in the US to aforementioned IRS. Very few people believe they'll follow Canadian law.

I fail to see how that puts the banks in a difficult situation. Canadian banks have no obligation to comply with US law; they do, however, have an obligation to comply with Canadian law.

You are correct.

However, there is the OR ELSE clause of FATCA: http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/canadian-banks-to-be-compelled-to-share-clients-info-with-u-s-1.2437975

If a Canadian bank (or any other foreign bank, investment dealer, etc) doesn't comply with FATCA, then the US government will apply a withholding tax of 30 per cent levied on every transaction a non-compliant bank has coming from, or even passing through, the U.S.

That is a death penalty, since most foreign banks have some operations in New York or Chicago - they trade there, they sell securities there, they have customers who buy US stocks, etc.

Most major financial institutions (at present) aren't able to not do business in the US, so they could lose 30% of every transaction passing through the US.

Will this lead to increased financial transactions in London, Hong Kong, et al and the decline of Wall Street? Maybe.

The burden of compliance here rests entirely on those US citizens storing money in Canada.

False. There is an obligation on US citizens, but there is ALSO a new requirement on the foreign banks under FATCA.

The Canadian banks simply need to join the EEA in telling the US to go fuck itself as regards the wholesale presumption of US hegemony over global AML regulations.

Actually, the EEA hasn't said that at all. Many foreign banks are choosing to not do business with US citizens since that is an easier solution.

Canada also assisted the NSA in spying including spying on attendees at the G20 summit in Toronto in 2010.

As this is common knowledge, I'm skeptical that any entity would trust Canada more than the U.S. with its confidential data. I certainly wouldn't.

Our banks will release all personal information to US law enforcement, even though this directly contravenes our Constitution.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/canadian-banks-to-be-compelled-to-share-clients-info-with-u-s-1.2437975