Slashdot Mirror

This story appeared in the Canadian newspaper The Globe and Mail yesterday.

This story appeared in the Canadian newspaper The Globe and Mail yesterday.

I'm not sure how evolutionary theory can be considered a religion by taking into account any of the three definitions of theology according to dictionary.com. Evolutionary theory may supply the "how", but we define our own "why". The only answers evolution supplies are in describing the natural way that we see all the biological diversity we do. It doesn't define reality; it describes it.

I'm not quite sure what the hell your last paragraph means. You may think you'll get all your religious answers, but it certainly isn't "as far as I'm concerned"; that's all you. And I'll stick to what I believe I've been taught from reading Kurzweil and de Grey, we'll probably be here for much longer than you would like to believe. At least in those beliefs, I can be proven wrong, although I doubt it. That's the nice thing about those Biblical theories: they can never be shown to be "wrong" because we can always just say we weren't "meant" to know when we don't find the answers we're looking for. And just what happens when those answers end up being "this isn't true"?

What happens when it's shown that life can be started from scratch without supernatural intervention? Will the response be "well, it wasn't started from scratch, they used previously existing DNA or microbe shells!"? Or will it be "See?? Humans created life, so life needs a creator!"? At your most basic fundamental level of what we would consider a living organism, you are just chemistry and subject to the laws of chemistry.

1) One of the biggest reasons Telus bought Clearnet was the spectrum Clearnet owned. Just like in the US, the Canadian government had auctioned off spectrum rights, and Clearnet had a nice piece of spectrum. The value to Telus of Clearnet = spectrum rights + subscribers + reduced competition. At least the spectrum was the reason discussed internally at Telus at the time.

2) An article in the Globe and Mail about the cost of wireless: land lines are subsidized. Again, regulation has had the impact of increasing consumer prices; not to say that regulation is right and wrong, but more that regulation has wide-reaching and profound impacts in today's communications marketplace. And sadly, most regulators have no idea what they are monkeying with--I find it plenty believable that the CRTC is just not smart enough to figure out that regulating the price of land lines also impacts the price of cell service.

A new development on the state of the NTP v. RIM case is mentioned in this article. Another of NTP's patents has headed south, thanks to the Patent Office, so they may have started looking for some new artillery. The patent law, which many have declaimed against on /., or spoken with great certainty on, is actually in great flux right now. There is a case pending in the U.S. Supreme Court, EBay v. MercExchange, having to do with small companies who don't currently manufacture anything shutting down big companies by using court injunctions. It hasn't been decided yet. Congress was considering the issue, passed the ball to the Supreme Court, but is still contemplating other important changes to the patent system. There was some discussion about submarine patents. Symbol Tech v. Lemelson Foundation was the case that laid those to rest, though as one /.er pointed out, a change in the rules about patent terms has just about eliminated the possibility that new ones will arise in the future In the meantime, Microsoft has given and gotten some in the patent litigation wars. The Supreme Court refused to take up their loss against Eolas Technologies for basic browser patents. Eolas was a small firm holding patents developed by the University of California. The case has gone back to district court for further proceedings. This kind of case, like the Visto case, hinges on whether the courts and/or the Patent Office will uphold or invalidate the patents at issue. This co$t$ $ome time and effort to re$olve, a$ everyone know$.

In other (actual) news, LIMBO itself is in Limbo as the Vatican decides if it ever existed.

How about http://www.theglobeandmail.com/? Notice how reader comments are posted right below the story, with a few extra "teaser" links to comments in a box on the right, e.g. http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM .20051130.welectlead1130/BNStory/specialDecision20 06/

You can even be the first to comment on "Ingram: Apple in the living room?" http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM .20051129.wxmathfront1129/BNStory/Front/

Commenting does require registration, and seems to be subject to the Terms and Conditions, especially the "FORUMS AND CONTENT SUBMISSIONS" part: see http://www.theglobeandmail.com/services/site/reg/h elpwindow_terms.html

How about http://www.theglobeandmail.com/? Notice how reader comments are posted right below the story, with a few extra "teaser" links to comments in a box on the right, e.g. http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM .20051130.welectlead1130/BNStory/specialDecision20 06/

You can even be the first to comment on "Ingram: Apple in the living room?" http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM .20051129.wxmathfront1129/BNStory/Front/

Commenting does require registration, and seems to be subject to the Terms and Conditions, especially the "FORUMS AND CONTENT SUBMISSIONS" part: see http://www.theglobeandmail.com/services/site/reg/h elpwindow_terms.html

How about http://www.theglobeandmail.com/? Notice how reader comments are posted right below the story, with a few extra "teaser" links to comments in a box on the right, e.g. http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM .20051130.welectlead1130/BNStory/specialDecision20 06/

You can even be the first to comment on "Ingram: Apple in the living room?" http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM .20051129.wxmathfront1129/BNStory/Front/

Commenting does require registration, and seems to be subject to the Terms and Conditions, especially the "FORUMS AND CONTENT SUBMISSIONS" part: see http://www.theglobeandmail.com/services/site/reg/h elpwindow_terms.html

How about http://www.theglobeandmail.com/? Notice how reader comments are posted right below the story, with a few extra "teaser" links to comments in a box on the right, e.g. http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM .20051130.welectlead1130/BNStory/specialDecision20 06/

You can even be the first to comment on "Ingram: Apple in the living room?" http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM .20051129.wxmathfront1129/BNStory/Front/

Commenting does require registration, and seems to be subject to the Terms and Conditions, especially the "FORUMS AND CONTENT SUBMISSIONS" part: see http://www.theglobeandmail.com/services/site/reg/h elpwindow_terms.html

The Globe and Mail already does this.

Globe and Mail article on MRI's I've been trying to find statistics about MRI machines per captia without luck but on a radio show where I heard of this story, they mentioned that Japan has ~34 per million, Korea has ~7 and Canada has about 4 per million. Some 3rd world countries have more MRI machines per captia than we do.

RIM is a proud company, and rightly so. It has issues with the way NTP's patents were awarded, and some of those criticisms likely have merit. But it has to find some way to get the patent-infringement monkey off its back, and a settlement is the fastest way to do that.

Of course, this was before he was aware of the USDOJ action, so he may feel otherwise today.

I believe that security has already been compromised. According to this article http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/ArticleNews /TPStory/LAC/20051111/IBSONY/TPBusiness/Internatio nal, a britsh security company has found the first trojan(s) to exploit this.

With articles popping up in the New York Times, The Washington Post or the Globe and Mail Sony should have just about lost any trust with the public.

If I'd be their (stunningly inefficient and stupid) spokesflack I'd be searching now for a pack of razor blades or a plastic bag.

What a bunch of losers...

Surf to http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM .20051110.gtsonynov10/BNStory/Technology

It's a moderately interesting read.

I think they need to think carefully about the ratio between free and paid content. Not knowing what publication this is, it's hard to be specific, but I believe that only the truly authoritative sites can get away with putting most of their content behind a subscription wall. Let's face it, with so much stuff available for free today on the Internet from reputable sources, you have to provide something unique, some extra value-add that makes it worthwhile to subscribe to your content.

The local newspaper in our area, The Record, went to a pure-subscriber model a couple of years ago. You can't get anything for free on their website except for some very basic stuff (weather, community events) and classified ads. Contrast that to The Globe and Mail, which offers much of its daily content for free. Guess which one I look to for online information?

What's worrisome for the subscription-only plays is that it's a serious barrier to entry to attracting a younger readership. Young people don't seem to read offline newspapers much any more. Placing your content behind a firewall means that can't read you online. Which will probably bite you in the long term.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/ArticleNews /TPStory/LAC/20051012/WIRETAP12/TPNational/Canada

http://www.canadafreepress.com/2005/wajsman101805. htm

The new wiretap law seems to be a step in the wrong direction up here.

Not any more; it's China (see bottom of page). The Globe and Mail reported "China beats out Canada as top exporter to U.S." on September 15th, quoting July trade figures.

Bush probably still thinks Japan or Mexico are number one, though.

Actually, according to the Globe and Mail , their article stated that Quebec will PROBABLY follow suit, but no official statement or decision has been formally made. Ontario is the first province to officially announce this change.

Certainly that can't be in a form of inhaling. However why is that this picture is on the news? http://images.theglobeandmail.com/archives/RTGAM/i mages/20051014/wxcanna1014/1014joints.jpg

Sounds like someone just got too excited to hear the news, lite up that pipe and start posting news with whatever picture taken from pot party he/she attended.

That just proves pot smoking kills more brain cells than promotes them. I rather eat fish than inject myself with 100 times more potent form of THC into my body on daily basis, thank you very much.

Airbus has history of twisted landing gear
From Friday's Globe and Mail
Friday, September 23, 2005

Accounts of the dramatic landing of an Airbus jet in Los Angeles with its nose gear stuck and the wheels turned 90 degrees sideways focused almost exclusively on the fact that frightened passengers were able to watch their own plight on in-flight television newscasts. Virtually overlooked was that this kind of incident had happened on Airbus 320s at least four times before. http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM .20050923.wxplane23/BNStory/International/

Airbus is a fraud.

Airbus demanded Thailand buy 6 A380 jets for Tsunami Aid.

Tsunami-hit Thais told: Buy six planes or face EU tariffs
FRASER NELSON
POLITICAL EDITOR

TSUNAMI-struck Thailand has been told by the European Commission that it must buy six A380 Airbus aircraft if it wants to escape the tariffs against its fishing industry.

While millions of Europeans are sending aid to Thailand to help its recovery, trade authorities in Brussels are demanding that Thai Airlines, its national carrier, pays £1.3 billion to buy its double-decker aircraft. http://business.scotsman.com/topics.cfm?tid=1288&i d=66782005

Scarebus also told India if it did not buy 42 aircraft, it would veto India in the UN security council.

Relations with France have taken a nose-dive after Air India opted for fifty Boeings to augment its fleet discarding competition Airbus, and the country may back out of supporting India's bid for a permanent UN Security Council seat with veto powers.

Yesterday, French ambassador Dominique Girard was slammed by foreign secretary Shyam Saran for saying to the press that "We are surprised and disappointed. Airbus definitely has an advantage over Boeing...It is clear that some factors other than commercial have played a role.

Previously, Air India was going for a mix of Boeing and Airbus aircraft, but it became all Boeing after the UPA came to power and Praful Patel of the NCP became civil aviation minister, and Air India now plans to buy eight Boeing 777-200LRs, fifteen Boeing 777-300ER, and twenty-seven Boeing 787s, for nearly $7 billion.

Diplomats said that France found no play with the UPA, and efforts at raising bilateral relations to strategic level were blocked by foreign minister Natwar Singh, who peculiarly explained that India was cultivating ties with the European Union as a whole, which the French found "meaningless".

What galled them, according to diplomats, was a feeling that India did not adequately reciprocate France's declared friendship by being among the first P-5 states to support India's bid for a permanent seat in the UN Security Council with veto power.

"Despite French insistence that the US was an unreliable ally, said a diplomat, "India preferred the US somewhat blindly, and if the Americans are unreliable with us, they are going to be very unreliable with you. Those Boeings are not going to come in time for Air India to take commercial advantage, and it would be foolhardy to choose the F-16 over the Mirage.

But the denial of the Air India deal has come as a breaking point for France, which diplomats say is reviewing support to India's candidature as a permanent UN Security Council member, and it will likely now insist on a consensus for any expansion of the Council and its permanent members, and will lean in support of the Chinese position on this and other issues.

France won't back India in UNSC expansion | India-Defence

THE RESULT? Passengers forced into unsafe aircraft:a

A

Airbus has history of twisted landing gear
From Friday's Globe and Mail
Friday, September 23, 2005

Accounts of the dramatic landing of an Airbus jet in Los Angeles with its nose gear stuck and the wheels turned 90 degrees sideways focused almost exclusively on the fact that frightened passengers were able to watch their own plight on in-flight television newscasts. Virtually overlooked was that this kind of incident had happened on Airbus 320s at least four times before. http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM .20050923.wxplane23/BNStory/International/

Airbus is a fraud.

Airbus demanded Thailand buy 6 A380 jets for Tsunami Aid.

Tsunami-hit Thais told: Buy six planes or face EU tariffs
FRASER NELSON
POLITICAL EDITOR

TSUNAMI-struck Thailand has been told by the European Commission that it must buy six A380 Airbus aircraft if it wants to escape the tariffs against its fishing industry.

While millions of Europeans are sending aid to Thailand to help its recovery, trade authorities in Brussels are demanding that Thai Airlines, its national carrier, pays £1.3 billion to buy its double-decker aircraft. http://business.scotsman.com/topics.cfm?tid=1288&i d=66782005

Scarebus also told India if it did not buy 42 aircraft, it would veto India in the UN security council.

Relations with France have taken a nose-dive after Air India opted for fifty Boeings to augment its fleet discarding competition Airbus, and the country may back out of supporting India's bid for a permanent UN Security Council seat with veto powers.

Yesterday, French ambassador Dominique Girard was slammed by foreign secretary Shyam Saran for saying to the press that "We are surprised and disappointed. Airbus definitely has an advantage over Boeing...It is clear that some factors other than commercial have played a role.

Previously, Air India was going for a mix of Boeing and Airbus aircraft, but it became all Boeing after the UPA came to power and Praful Patel of the NCP became civil aviation minister, and Air India now plans to buy eight Boeing 777-200LRs, fifteen Boeing 777-300ER, and twenty-seven Boeing 787s, for nearly $7 billion.

Diplomats said that France found no play with the UPA, and efforts at raising bilateral relations to strategic level were blocked by foreign minister Natwar Singh, who peculiarly explained that India was cultivating ties with the European Union as a whole, which the French found "meaningless".

What galled them, according to diplomats, was a feeling that India did not adequately reciprocate France's declared friendship by being among the first P-5 states to support India's bid for a permanent seat in the UN Security Council with veto power.

"Despite French insistence that the US was an unreliable ally, said a diplomat, "India preferred the US somewhat blindly, and if the Americans are unreliable with us, they are going to be very unreliable with you. Those Boeings are not going to come in time for Air India to take commercial advantage, and it would be foolhardy to choose the F-16 over the Mirage.

But the denial of the Air India deal has come as a breaking point for France, which diplomats say is reviewing support to India's candidature as a permanent UN Security Council member, and it will likely now insist on a consensus for any expansion of the Council and its permanent members, and will lean in support of the Chinese position on this and other issues.

France won't back India in UNSC expansion | India-Defence

THE RESULT? Passengers forced into unsafe aircraft:a

A

Airbus has history of twisted landing gear
From Friday's Globe and Mail
Friday, September 23, 2005

Accounts of the dramatic landing of an Airbus jet in Los Angeles with its nose gear stuck and the wheels turned 90 degrees sideways focused almost exclusively on the fact that frightened passengers were able to watch their own plight on in-flight television newscasts. Virtually overlooked was that this kind of incident had happened on Airbus 320s at least four times before. http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM .20050923.wxplane23/BNStory/International/

Airbus is a fraud.

Airbus demanded Thailand buy 6 A380 jets for Tsunami Aid.

Tsunami-hit Thais told: Buy six planes or face EU tariffs
FRASER NELSON
POLITICAL EDITOR

TSUNAMI-struck Thailand has been told by the European Commission that it must buy six A380 Airbus aircraft if it wants to escape the tariffs against its fishing industry.

While millions of Europeans are sending aid to Thailand to help its recovery, trade authorities in Brussels are demanding that Thai Airlines, its national carrier, pays £1.3 billion to buy its double-decker aircraft. http://business.scotsman.com/topics.cfm?tid=1288&i d=66782005

Scarebus also told India if it did not buy 42 aircraft, it would veto India in the UN security council.

Relations with France have taken a nose-dive after Air India opted for fifty Boeings to augment its fleet discarding competition Airbus, and the country may back out of supporting India's bid for a permanent UN Security Council seat with veto powers.

Yesterday, French ambassador Dominique Girard was slammed by foreign secretary Shyam Saran for saying to the press that "We are surprised and disappointed. Airbus definitely has an advantage over Boeing...It is clear that some factors other than commercial have played a role.

Previously, Air India was going for a mix of Boeing and Airbus aircraft, but it became all Boeing after the UPA came to power and Praful Patel of the NCP became civil aviation minister, and Air India now plans to buy eight Boeing 777-200LRs, fifteen Boeing 777-300ER, and twenty-seven Boeing 787s, for nearly $7 billion.

Diplomats said that France found no play with the UPA, and efforts at raising bilateral relations to strategic level were blocked by foreign minister Natwar Singh, who peculiarly explained that India was cultivating ties with the European Union as a whole, which the French found "meaningless".

What galled them, according to diplomats, was a feeling that India did not adequately reciprocate France's declared friendship by being among the first P-5 states to support India's bid for a permanent seat in the UN Security Council with veto power.

"Despite French insistence that the US was an unreliable ally, said a diplomat, "India preferred the US somewhat blindly, and if the Americans are unreliable with us, they are going to be very unreliable with you. Those Boeings are not going to come in time for Air India to take commercial advantage, and it would be foolhardy to choose the F-16 over the Mirage.

But the denial of the Air India deal has come as a breaking point for France, which diplomats say is reviewing support to India's candidature as a permanent UN Security Council member, and it will likely now insist on a consensus for any expansion of the Council and its permanent members, and will lean in support of the Chinese position on this and other issues.

France won't back India in UNSC expansion | India-Defence

THE RESULT? Passengers forced into unsafe aircraft:a

A

Airbus has history of twisted landing gear
From Friday's Globe and Mail
Friday, September 23, 2005

Accounts of the dramatic landing of an Airbus jet in Los Angeles with its nose gear stuck and the wheels turned 90 degrees sideways focused almost exclusively on the fact that frightened passengers were able to watch their own plight on in-flight television newscasts. Virtually overlooked was that this kind of incident had happened on Airbus 320s at least four times before. http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM .20050923.wxplane23/BNStory/International/

Airbus is a fraud.

Airbus demanded Thailand buy 6 A380 jets for Tsunami Aid.

Tsunami-hit Thais told: Buy six planes or face EU tariffs
FRASER NELSON
POLITICAL EDITOR

TSUNAMI-struck Thailand has been told by the European Commission that it must buy six A380 Airbus aircraft if it wants to escape the tariffs against its fishing industry.

While millions of Europeans are sending aid to Thailand to help its recovery, trade authorities in Brussels are demanding that Thai Airlines, its national carrier, pays £1.3 billion to buy its double-decker aircraft. http://business.scotsman.com/topics.cfm?tid=1288&i d=66782005

Scarebus also told India if it did not buy 42 aircraft, it would veto India in the UN security council.

Relations with France have taken a nose-dive after Air India opted for fifty Boeings to augment its fleet discarding competition Airbus, and the country may back out of supporting India's bid for a permanent UN Security Council seat with veto powers.

Yesterday, French ambassador Dominique Girard was slammed by foreign secretary Shyam Saran for saying to the press that "We are surprised and disappointed. Airbus definitely has an advantage over Boeing...It is clear that some factors other than commercial have played a role.

Previously, Air India was going for a mix of Boeing and Airbus aircraft, but it became all Boeing after the UPA came to power and Praful Patel of the NCP became civil aviation minister, and Air India now plans to buy eight Boeing 777-200LRs, fifteen Boeing 777-300ER, and twenty-seven Boeing 787s, for nearly $7 billion.

Diplomats said that France found no play with the UPA, and efforts at raising bilateral relations to strategic level were blocked by foreign minister Natwar Singh, who peculiarly explained that India was cultivating ties with the European Union as a whole, which the French found "meaningless".

What galled them, according to diplomats, was a feeling that India did not adequately reciprocate France's declared friendship by being among the first P-5 states to support India's bid for a permanent seat in the UN Security Council with veto power.

"Despite French insistence that the US was an unreliable ally, said a diplomat, "India preferred the US somewhat blindly, and if the Americans are unreliable with us, they are going to be very unreliable with you. Those Boeings are not going to come in time for Air India to take commercial advantage, and it would be foolhardy to choose the F-16 over the Mirage.

But the denial of the Air India deal has come as a breaking point for France, which diplomats say is reviewing support to India's candidature as a permanent UN Security Council member, and it will likely now insist on a consensus for any expansion of the Council and its permanent members, and will lean in support of the Chinese position on this and other issues.

France won't back India in UNSC expansion | India-Defence

THE RESULT? Passengers forced into unsafe aircraft:a

Airbus has history of twisted landing gear
From Friday's Globe and Mail
Friday, September 23, 2005

Accounts of the dramatic landing of an Airbus jet in Los Angeles with its nose gear stuck and the wheels turned 90 degrees sideways focused almost exclusively on the fact that frightened passengers were able to watch their own plight on in-flight television newscasts. Virtually overlooked was that this kind of incident had happened on Airbus 320s at least four times before. http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM .20050923.wxplane23/BNStory/International/

Airbus is a fraud.

Airbus demanded Thailand buy 6 A380 jets for Tsunami Aid.

Tsunami-hit Thais told: Buy six planes or face EU tariffs
FRASER NELSON
POLITICAL EDITOR

TSUNAMI-struck Thailand has been told by the European Commission that it must buy six A380 Airbus aircraft if it wants to escape the tariffs against its fishing industry.

While millions of Europeans are sending aid to Thailand to help its recovery, trade authorities in Brussels are demanding that Thai Airlines, its national carrier, pays £1.3 billion to buy its double-decker aircraft. http://business.scotsman.com/topics.cfm?tid=1288&i d=66782005

Scarebus also told India if it did not buy 42 aircraft, it would veto India in the UN security council.

Relations with France have taken a nose-dive after Air India opted for fifty Boeings to augment its fleet discarding competition Airbus, and the country may back out of supporting India's bid for a permanent UN Security Council seat with veto powers.

Yesterday, French ambassador Dominique Girard was slammed by foreign secretary Shyam Saran for saying to the press that "We are surprised and disappointed. Airbus definitely has an advantage over Boeing...It is clear that some factors other than commercial have played a role.

Previously, Air India was going for a mix of Boeing and Airbus aircraft, but it became all Boeing after the UPA came to power and Praful Patel of the NCP became civil aviation minister, and Air India now plans to buy eight Boeing 777-200LRs, fifteen Boeing 777-300ER, and twenty-seven Boeing 787s, for nearly $7 billion.

Diplomats said that France found no play with the UPA, and efforts at raising bilateral relations to strategic level were blocked by foreign minister Natwar Singh, who peculiarly explained that India was cultivating ties with the European Union as a whole, which the French found "meaningless".

What galled them, according to diplomats, was a feeling that India did not adequately reciprocate France's declared friendship by being among the first P-5 states to support India's bid for a permanent seat in the UN Security Council with veto power.

"Despite French insistence that the US was an unreliable ally, said a diplomat, "India preferred the US somewhat blindly, and if the Americans are unreliable with us, they are going to be very unreliable with you. Those Boeings are not going to come in time for Air India to take commercial advantage, and it would be foolhardy to choose the F-16 over the Mirage.

But the denial of the Air India deal has come as a breaking point for France, which diplomats say is reviewing support to India's candidature as a permanent UN Security Council member, and it will likely now insist on a consensus for any expansion of the Council and its permanent members, and will lean in support of the Chinese position on this and other issues.

France won't back India in UNSC expansion | India-Defence

THE RESULT? Passengers forced into unsafe aircraft:a

A

Since "Canadians between 12 and 24 years of age are responsible for 78 per cent of illegal music downloading" (source) and "95% of those who have eating disorders are between the ages of 12 and 25" (source), P2P sharing leads to anorexia. QED.

no its not, there are plenty of ex-police in the states that are against the war on drugs. i am against the drug war too. why isnt Milton Friedman in jail? it just happens to be illegal to distribute marijuana seeds, conspire to distribute marijuana and conspire to engage in money laundering here.

The evidence is everywhere if you'd bothered to look:

http://www.amperspective.com/html/aclu_report_12-2 004.html

The ACLU said that these men were among hundreds of Muslims who were arbitrarily and indiscriminately arrested even though they had not engaged in criminal activity of any sort. The men languished in jail - sometimes in solitary confinement - for weeks and sometimes months, even after it became clear that they were innocent of any charges related to terrorism.

An earlier ACLU report, America's Disappeared, discussed the roundups and detentions. For many, the nightmare began with their arrest. FBI and immigration officials dragged some people out of their houses in the middle of the night in front of frightened wives and children.

Others were picked up for being in the wrong place -- like Ahmed Abualeinen, who was arrested by agents who had come looking for his roommate but took him instead. Still others were arrested after routine traffic stops.

For many, it would be days before they could contact their families with their whereabouts and weeks before they could access legal help. The government refused to release the names of people it had detained. Behind bars, many suffered from harassment and even physical abuse

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM .20050918.warar0918/BNStory/National/

Ottawa -- The new U.S. ambassador to Canada is making no apologies for Maher Arar's deportation to Syria, arguing that it's better to be safe than sorry in the fight against international terrorism.

David Wilkins is also warning that other Canadians with dual citizenship could face a similar fate if they fall under suspicion.

"The United States is committed in its war against terror," Mr. Wilkins said.

"We're committed to making sure that our borders are secure and our country is safe. Will there be other deportations in the future? I'd be surprised if there's not."

Mr. Arar, a Canadian citizen of Syrian birth, was arrested in New York in September 2002, accused by U.S. authorities of having ties to al-Qaeda and deported to Syria.

He denies any terrorist activity and says he was tortured into false confessions in Damascus -- only to be released without charge after a year in jail and returned to Canada.

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2003/04/06/60minute s/main548023.shtml

Guilty Until Proven

(CBS) Recently, the Justice Department's inspector general released a report criticizing the unduly harsh way our government treated many of the 1,200 Muslim and Middle Eastern men who were rounded up and questioned by U.S. authorities in the months following Sept. 11.

As 60 Minutes first reported earlier this year, and the Justice Department report confirms, many of those men who were held in solitary confinement in maximum security prisons for months on end - without their families being notified, without real access to legal aid, and without being charged with a crime.

The "consent form" says that this surgery is so novel and its risks so unknown that doctors don't think informed consent is even possible.

The team is so sure of its hunch that it has patented the genes with plans to develop tests to identify those who carry these potentially brain-boosting traits -- which appear to be more prevalent in some populations than others.

Perhaps they'll try to extradite him like this guy: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM .20050730.wxdope0730/BNStory/National/ This too involves a foreign national breaking US laws with/using the internet. Here there is no 'physical' object crossing the borders however.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM .20050823.wgoogletalk0823/BNStory/Business/


" "It means other people and developers will be able to add value to our network by being able to add this to computer games, productivity applications and anywhere else they want," said Georges Harik, director of product management at Google. The new Google program features a basic user interface with few graphics, much like the main Google search site. It does not spawn pop-up windows or display ads like America Online's Instant Messenger. "We'll have an uncluttered interface that allows you to search over your contacts pretty easily," Mr. Harik said. "It just stays out of your way unless you want to connect to someone." Google Talk, which is being released in a beta test version, works only on PCs running Windows 2000 and Windows XP. Eventually, the company plans to release a version for Apple's Mac OS X. Google Talk also requires users to have an account with the company's free Gmail e-mail system. Gmail previously was available only to those invited by a current account holder, but now Google is opening up registration to anyone in the United States. And unlike Internet phone services such as Vonage and Skype, Google's voice service does not support calls to the regular telephone system. Mr. Harik also made clear that Google has no intention of trying to become a popular bridge to the other major instant-messaging providers. "We're not going to do anything like force other networks to interoperate with us," he said. "We're not going to arbitrarily break into their protocols." "

The Globe and Mail has a pretty good story on the privacy implications of this. To quote from the article: "The company will scan machines for a variety of information, including product keys or software authorization codes, operating-system version and details on the flow of data between the operating system and other hardware, such as printers."

China's government says its economy is only growing at 5%. In reality it's growing at 10%.

They say they won't finish the olympic stadium until 2008. It's finished now.

They say 3 gorges won't become operational until 2010. It's operational now.

In fact, Canada is currently undecided on the matter.

Personally, as a Canadian, I hope that whatever decision is reached will be based on the actual merits of the proposal (as opposed to blindly following the lead of our neighbour to the south).

We already got a telecommunications tax in Canada

It's the CRTC. You pay it on the phone, internet, tv, cell, pager.. Not sure about satellite radio (xm radio), but I wouldn't be surprised.

The applicable taxes are GST and HST/QST/PST (depending on which province you live in).

The CRTC has said they will regulate the pricing of VoIP to allow for more competition (so the current incumbents can't shut out competitors). That's pretty much it. background story that explains it - just before the law was passed

As you can see from this press release by one of the telco incumbents just after it passed, this is THE ONLY ASPECT of the Internet that the CRTC regulates.

With today's CRTC decision, Canada becomes the only major industrialized country to regulate retail rates for Internet telephony. That is inconsistent with the CRTC's past decisions not to regulate Internet and wireless services, which today are highly competitive components of the telecommunications sector.

Regarding the G8's goal to reduce world poverty:

"[Paul Martin] harshly questioned the motives of some other world leaders who have been making headline-grabbing pledges they might not meet."

"Instead of dealing with the problems the way that people ought to deal with the problems, what in fact they're doing is they're giving in to short-term political pressure, (to) get their pictures in the paper, make an announcement, go home to favourable headlines and then forget about it," he said. "Well, I'm not going to do that."

I originally heard that quote on CBC Newsworld and it seemed like quite a bold statement. Will he follow-through? This Canadian Prime Minister owns Canada Steamship Lines.

Anyone else notice this article .
I might not be a conspiracy nut but I am stocking up on tin foil just in case. Now that this is going on too...

Here's a link to The Globe and Mail

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM .20050622.w2sail0622/BNStory/specialScienceandHeal th/

This was a front page story in today's Globe and Mail: New vaccines target Ebola, Marburg. Still at least five years away from testing... but if I had Ebola I think I'd be ready to sign up for early clinical trials!

Interesting how the vaccine may end up saving African apes as well...

According to this:http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/ RTGAM.20050605.wapchips0605/BNPrint/Technology/ it's a done deal. It's amazing to watch the progression of the Apple/Intel stories go from total speculation, all the way to "it's a done deal!!" (see link above). You would *think* that major newspapers would wait until there was something a bit more solid than "according to published reports" (The story is posted on the front page!!!) But....considering the downhill slide of news reporting lately, I suppose we shouldn't be surprised.

The Globe and Mail did a story* last week about this. All over the earth, there are deposits of methane trapped in ice, amounting to an
estimated 565e12 ft^3.

If something similar existed on mars, it could be slowly releasing methane.

*The link seems to work for me about 1/2 the time, and half the time I'm sent to a 'Premium Content, Login Required Page'. Sorry.

.... Because there's a story out today that says that 50% of Canadians who have an HD TV don't have a set-top box to actually get HD. 16% of those don't even realize they need one.

Bizarre....

I read them all. Doesn't mean I have to agree with their fear mongering that's not based in reality. For instance just today
New evidence: farming is huge source of greenhouse gases
Snowpack Surveys Bode Well for L.A. Water Supply LADWP Reports Highest Snow Levels in a Decade
Adaptation the key to surviving climate change, scientists say
AFRICA: Climate change becoming a matter of life and death
Oh look, directly to your early point "It was made crystal clear at the UN climate change conference in Argentina last November that the international community won't support global systems to regulate greenhouse gases. The US, China and developing countries decided Kyoto would not extend beyond 2012. Overtures by the European Union to extend it were rejected. Most greens pretend this did not occur. They also ignore the fact that most governments are not persuaded by claims that global warming presents a cataclysmic threat.
" Liberal plan will cost Canadians billions of dollars annually, Tories say /A>


How many do you read?

Did you agree when they said the cause of the Dec 26th Tsunami was Global Warming? Or when they said that Hurricanes were on the rise due to global warming. Most people didn't because Global Warming doesn't cause Earthquakes (Certianly not warming of 1 degree Farenheit on average global mean) and Hurricanes are on the decrease, as our weather records show.

BTW You called me wrong before when I stated how much warming we had in the 20th century, but you still haven't backed that up. You would think if I was so wrong you could easily show how stupid I was, yet you just go on and use insults as a debating tactic. But that's okay, obviously your opinions on this are just fantasy perpetuated byt the Media scare tactics, I don't expect you to deal with reality in the discusion.

If money was funnelled (what am I saying "If" - we KNOW it happened) to the liberal party, then that gave them a bigger warchest to fight their campaign. This means the final results were skewed - the election was bought in part with stolen money.

We're not talking "just" a million or two here ...

Then there's the whole question of the rumours of a snap election that started this weekend because of the current testimony: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM .20050404.welection04/BNStory/National/?page=rss&i d=welection04

The explosive testimony given out of the public eye last week at the Gomery commission began appearing on websites yesterday, capping a weekend of frenzied rumours about snap elections and covert political meetings in Ottawa.

Conservative deputy leader Peter MacKay even suggested yesterday that the testimony, which is under a publication ban, could lead to criminal charges against senior Liberals. /blockquote> Chretien's still in the thick of this, and the Liberal party wishes it would go away.

At this point, Martin looks like the stooge left holding the bag (sort of like current holders of SCOXE who bought at $20).

What I find most interesting about the Globe and Mail article is this:

Transcripts are circulating among some staffers and the details are being talked about on cellphones and through e-mail.

So how is it that it's somehow OK and legal for actual transcripts of these hearings to be circulating among political "staffers", but ordinary Canadians are not allowed to read any specifics about them at all under penalty of the law?

Under the metaconstitutional Oakes test, any infringement of individual Charter liberties, such as a publication ban, must have a "rational connection" to the intended benefit and must be the most minimally restrictive measure that can bring about the benefit. The argument here is that if a ban doesn't work in practice--say, because American webloggers are all printing the mind-blowing stuff Canadian ones cannot--it can't meet Oakes. With due respect to the ban, which I consider myself to have observed herein, it would actively help free the hands of Canadian webloggers and reporters if our foreign cousins were to be aggressive about "publishing" the substance of the Brault testimony outside the reach of Canadian law.

Besides, if you read http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/ArticleNews /freeheadlines/LAC/20050330/GOMERYBAN30/national/N ational, you'll see that even the Hell's Angels can get a trial, despite their rep.

Media lawyer Mark Bantey said three jury panels that were sworn in at the trials of members of the Hells Angels showed it was possible to select jurors despite a defendant's bad reputation.

Mr. Bantey said he was disappointed with Judge Gomery's ruling because "what they are saying is that they don't trust jurors, and that's troubling."

According to various reports on Google news, This one inparticular, they overloaded the plane with 15% more fuel then was necessary to fly around the world. I'm assuming they had that much left over.

Economists said the U.S. economy now stands alone among large industrialized economies in that it is enjoying robust growth, spurred by low interest rates and personal income tax cuts. The U.S. economy grew by 3.8 per cent in the fourth quarter of 2004 on an annualized basis.

Many other large economies, such as Japan's and Germany's, have seen their growth rates step back in recent months, and Canada has now joined that group, in large part because of a surging Canadian dollar.