Cool, thanks for the promote.

@kymbos, it's not really an outrage, hell it's not really important in any way. That said this windmill needed some tilting. You have to choose to make a stand sometimes, even if there's very little at stake.

Below is a copy of the email I sent to Vic Toews, the sponsor of this terrible legislation. I again suggest that all thoughtful Canadians contact their Member of Parliament to voice their concerns.

MP's email addresses and other contact information can be found here: http://www.parl.gc.ca/MembersOfParliament/MainMPsCompleteList.aspx?TimePeriod=Current&Language=E

Dear Mr. Toews;

Thanks for taking the time to send an automated response to the automated email I had previously sent to you. In contrast to our previous correspondenced, this email represents my considered position and thoughts as a citizen of Canada, and not those of a robo-responder, nor of a political staff.

In response to the "Myths and Facts" listed below your correspondence, I respectfully submit that I don't buy a word of it. There's a common expression used to describe information which is not representative of the truth, which I'm sure that, coming as you do from an agricultural area like Provencher, you are quite familiar with. It's commonly used to fertilize pasture-land.

Bill C-30 is a poorly written, overly broad and dangerous piece of legislation. One thing which has been demonstrated over and over again is that when delegated powers that intrude on privacy, those in authority inevitably will abuse them. I have no doubt that the power resulting from C-30 will likewise be abused, and that it will, contrary to your statements, be used for non-criminal purposes. This legislation is fatally flawed and should be abandoned forthwith.

I'd also like to point out that though I vehemently oppose this legislation, I am certainly not "...with the child pornographers". I find your characterization of myself and other thoughtful Canadians to be offensive in the extreme. You remain unrepentant for this despicable comment, instead denying making it though one finds it readilly available in video and in Hansard. I would hope that at some time you might offer an apology to myself and those Canadians who might not agree with you. I suggest to you that it is un-Canadian to use such extremist rhetoric.


Paul Blank
Vancouver, Canada


From: vic.toews.c1@parl.gc.ca
To: xxxx
Date: Tue, 13 Mar 2012 10:47:02 -0400
Subject: RE: Stop Online Spying

Thank you for contacting my office regarding Bill C-30, the Protecting Children from Internet Predators Act.

Canada's laws currently do not adequately protect Canadians from online exploitation and we think there is widespread agreement that this is a problem.

We want to update our laws while striking the right balance between combating crime and protecting privacy.

Let me be very clear: the police will not be able to read emails or view web activity unless they obtain a warrant issued by a judge and we have constructed safeguards to protect the privacy of Canadians, including audits by privacy commissioners.

What's needed most is an open discussion about how to better protect Canadians from online crime. We will therefore send this legislation directly to Parliamentary Committee for a full examination of the best ways to protect Canadians while respecting their privacy.

For your information, I have included some myths and facts below regarding Bill C-30 in its current state.

Sincerely,



Vic Toews

Member of Parliament for Provencher

Myth: Lawful Access legislation infringes on the privacy of Canadians.
Fact: Our Government puts a high priority on protecting the privacy of law-abiding Canadians. Current practices of accessing the actual content of communications with a legal authorization will not change.

Myth: Having access to basic subscriber information means that authorities can monitor personal communications and activities.
Fact: This has nothing to do with monitoring emails or web browsing. Basic subscriber information would be limited to a customer’s name, address, telephone number, email address, Internet Protocol (IP) address, and the name of the telecommunications service provider. It absolutely does not include the content of emails, phones calls or online activities.

Myth: This legislation does not benefit average Canadians and only gives authorities more power.
Fact: As a result of technological innovations, criminals and terrorists have found ways to hide their illegal activities. This legislation will keep Canadians safer by putting police on the same footing as those who seek to harm us.



Myth: Basic subscriber information is way beyond “phone book information”.
Fact: The basic subscriber information described in the proposed legislation is the modern day equivalent of information that is in the phone book. Individuals frequently freely share this information online and in many cases it is searchable and quite public.

Myth: Police and telecommunications service providers will now be required to maintain databases with information collected on Canadians.
Fact: This proposed legislation will not require either police or telecommunications service providers to create databases with information collected on Canadians.

Myth: “Warrantless access” to customer information will give police and government unregulated access to our personal information.
Fact: Federal legislation already allows telecommunications service providers to voluntarily release basic subscriber information to authorities without a warrant. This Bill acts as a counterbalance by adding a number of checks and balances which do not exist today, and clearly lists which basic subscriber identifiers authorities can access.

@lucky760, Well, I resptfully submit that your view is mistaken. The contest was set up in such a way that the community here would decide on what video was the winner of this contest. By taking that away from the community you've effectively dis-enfranchised those who voted for the video in the first place. This violates the established principle of Estoppel, meaning you've changed the rules half-way through the game. This might be acceptable when playing "Calvin Ball", is hardly fair otherwise.

edit- There is nothing "incidental" about Louis' need for coffee in the context of this video. It might be seen as incidental if one had seen the entire episode, which is not what we see here. What we see here is simply a man seeking a cup of joe, going to a coffee shop, and buying said cup.

I've started a Poll to challenge the unjustified disqualification of this video from the Coffee Contest.

@JiggaJonson, @Quboid, @Kofi, @TheSluiceGate- you care to weigh in?

And not to pit Mom against Dad or anything but this fellow seemed to be okay with the video.>> ^dag:

Fantastic.

No way, this video is completely focussed on coffee. Who disqualified you? I would like to volunteer my services as champion and defender of your honour.
In reply to this comment by Lilithia:
Thanks, but unfortunately the video has been disqualified from the contest, because coffee isn't its main focus. But at least it got me my first #1. :

In reply to this comment by therealblankman:
Don't forget you need to have the following link posted in your Louis CK coffee shop video in order to win the contest and prize. Just copy and paste the below link into the description.

http://videosift.com/talk/The-Coffee-Video-Giveaway?

This should be in the contest, don't forget to add this link to the description!

http://videosift.com/talk/The-Coffee-Video-Giveaway?

Don't forget you need to have the following link posted in your Louis CK coffee shop video in order to win the contest and prize. Just copy and paste the below link into the description.

http://videosift.com/talk/The-Coffee-Video-Giveaway?

The Staple Singers formed what became known as the "Soundtrack of the Civil Rights Movement", marching alongside Dr. Marting Luther King, which plants this track securely in the *equality channel. I recently heard Mavis Staples on the CBC radio show "Tapestry". She spent time reminiscing about those days certainly, but her music is still fresh and relevant- her most recent album came out last year, and was produced by Jeff Tweedy of Wilco fame. Check out the interview here.

http://www.cbc.ca/tapestry/episode/2012/02/12/mavis-staples-1/

I was deeply moved by Mavis' spirit- the love that she has for the world, the joy she experiences and projects wherever she finds herself, the tolerance that she exhibits for others, the true and honest forgiveness that she offers those who supported segretation. There is a glow that seems to surround her and her music that is very affecting. Her belief in God and Jesus forms the core of her being and I must say that I personally would be more tolerant of the sins of the Christian faith, both past and present, if there were more like her in the world, rather than those who use their Christian faith as a platform and excuse to project their hate and judgement.

*happy

In reply to this comment by cricket:
*dead

Fixed it, thanks.

>> ^VoodooV:

Personally, this makes me hate gated communities more than anything. Forget racism. Gated communities are just breeding grounds for that type of mentality that says anyone who doesn't look or act or makes as much money as us is suspicious or bad.
When you live in a community like that...you ARE in the bubble, you're out of touch, you're not a participant in the daily trials and struggles of the rest of the world.
To me this really isn't about racism, sure there is an undercurrent of racism, but IMO it's mostly about the evils that happen when someone is given power without the maturity to use it wisely.
I googled the incident and one thing TYT appears to have left out is that reports do seem to indicate that the two guys had a fight before the shooting so it wasn't like the neighborhood watch guy just casually strolled up and shot him for no reason.
Still though. Neighborhood watch guy was armed, kid wasn't and I highly doubt there was any threat serious enough to warrant self defense with fatal results.
One thing I was surprised to learn from the other article was that the neighborhood watch guy was only 28. I have to admit, I assumed it was some crusty, bitter old man.


My parents live in a gated community. They don't understand why I find the whole concept repulsive. It's all about fear of the "other", race, class, age, religion or whatever. We do live in Canada so one can be reasonably sure of not being shot by the neighbours, even if the mentality is the same.

This incident still fits the definition of classic racism- it's hard to imagine the kid being dead if he were white.

Most realistic depiction yet of why we drink the dark soul restoring elixir. For that reason alone this must win whatever the contest thing is about. *quality

Despicable.

That's pretty cool alright. Not $339 Million worth of cool, but still pretty cool.

(US$339 Million each/ $62 Billion total)

>> ^Trancecoach:

i look forward to torrenting this.


Just came across this trailer, .torrent downloading now. Did you ever see this?