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Canada May Lose Copyright Fair-Use Rights
DotNM writes with an article from the CBC reporting that the Canadian government is considering removing fair-use rights from Canada's copyright law. From the article: "Exacerbating the situation is intense pressure from the United States, where Canada is considered a rogue when it comes to copyright and intellectual property. It still hasn't ratified a 1997 World Intellectual Property Organization copyright treaty... Two of the most controversial issues are [DRM] and the closely related technological protection measures."
Samuel Adams is a pretty good US beer.
Just because Budweiser sucks, doesn't mean you should hate on all US beer. Hell, people in the US don't even drink that stuff.
I can only imagine what Fosters is doing to Australia's reputation for beer. People in Australia don't even drink that stuff.
How we know is more important than what we know.
Unfortunately, people in the US DO drink that stuff. But don't worry, most country's have similarly bad, mass-produced crap. Just thank god you're not Mexico, and don't drink Tacote (Mexican equivelent of Budwiser... really terrible stuff). Remember, Canadians have Molson Ice (sorry, there is SOME good Molson, but some of it is just as bad as Bud).
I do agree that not ALL US beer is bad, but most of it is. Sam Adams is tollerable, I don't know if I'd exactly call it "great beer". Although, many smaller, more regional brews are quite good. Here in Alaska we have the "Alaskan" brewing company (I know, really creative name), but aside from the really uncreative name, some of their stuff is DAMN good. Alaskan Amber has become a stapple, and is now exported all along the pacific coast. They also make a really good "Guinness-like" Oatmeal stout that's worth a try. The fact is, few country's are big enough to warrant such incredibly hugely mass-produced beers as Bud and Miller, even things like Heineken are a drop-in-the-hat comparitively... which is why they're so much better. After a brewing company gets too big, it just gets bad. The same happens with really small micro-brews too... as many individuals have no idea how to make good beer (myself included... but I don't brew).
Multiplayer Gaming (defined): Sitting around, discussing single-player games with my friends, at the bar.
I hate to have to break the news to you, but Canadian beer has fallen behind. I've been going to Canada (primarily Toronto and Stratford) for vacation since I was a kid. In the old days, I preferred Labatts and Molson to any mass-produced American beers. The thing is, that's not saying much. The American craft brewing/microbrew industry, however, now produces better beer than the mass-produced beer in either country. It's also made larger strides than the Canadian craft brewing industry. Bud, Miller et al still suck, and there are a number of excellent Canadian craft brewers (particularly Unibroue, although it remains to be seen if Sleeman will screw up Unibroue like it did Upper Canada). But the pickings are sparse. I'm not sure what the situation is like in Vancouver or Edmonton, but in Toronto the selection available at the Beer Store or the LCBO is fairly pathetic compared to the selection at several liquor stores and a couple of grocery store chains where I live (near Madison, WI). I'm not all that impressed with the craft brewing/small breweries I've seen in Ontario. I like Creemore, but I'm not so fond of Amsterdam or Steam Whistle. To be fair, I've never been to British Columbia. Considering the strength of the beer culture in Oregon and Washington, I wouldn't be surprised if craft brewing in British Columbia were in better shape than it is in Toronto. I would love to hear some counter-examples to look for next time I'm in Toronto.
I'm not all that impressed with the craft brewing/small breweries I've seen in Ontario.... To be fair, I've never been to British Columbia.
I'm originally from Canada, now living in the States. I'd put the microbrew/craft brewing industries of the two countries about equal. The fact that you've never been to BC means you've missed some good microbreweries (Granville Island, in particular). Alberta's Big Rock Brewery also makes some good stuff. As for Ontario, I haven't been there in a long while, but Sleeman does seem to be about the only decent thing they export out west (I'd have to go there to find the smaller breweries). As for mass-produced Canadian beer, try Rickard's Red. It used to be great, and is now merely "surprisingly drinkable", as the bottle says (what a horrible slogan, but it is OK for mass-produced beer).
In the US, I'd pick Fat Tire as my favorite. I also really enjoyed a pint of Yosemite Falls Double IPA I had in Yosemite Valley, but I haven't been able to find it anywhere else (it's brewed in Pasedena, CA, I think).
percent in relation to what figure?
65% of all products are pirated?
for every 100 sales 65 of those are fakes
100 real copies are bought a further 65 are fake?
Wow. You're an idiot.
Sweeping generalizations about our entire country? I bet if I said the same about the US I'd get smacked down by the mods. Why do you think we voted out the Liberals? Our democracy actually works, unlike some other countries I could mention.
It's better to vote for what you want and not get it than to vote for what you don't want and get it.
- E. Debs
When I asked one of the former Ontario reps why Molson changed formulas, he confided the original Rickard's Red was carmel-coloured Export. When the brand took off the brewery was in danger of being caught re-branding and was forced to alter the recipe. To be a little more off-topic, BC has a slew of great beer but Quebec tops the heap. Even their national brands, such as Export, use a different, market-specific formula. Plus it's (still?) available in quarts.