How about you go fag up another thread?
This is nothing compared to what I’ve experienced from US customs agents. Customs folks seem to be trained to be total assholes as much as possible, either that or they specifically hire assholes.
One time a group of friends and I were detained 3 hours at the border becuase we were going to a World in Flames tournament, and the customs guy thought that made us some sort of terrorists in training. Lame. I won’t even speak of the retarded shenanigans that went on in late 2001 and 2002.
Not that this isn’t stupid legislation, but maybe they should consider actually obtaining freedom of expression in Canada before before shoehorning an intellectual property argument into a fight to maintain it. I guess that fighting for US-style protections on speech doesn’t raise the nationalist hackles that way that blaming the US does. “Ironic” is right, just not the way they intended.
… and here, just a week ago, I was telling my friend there was nothing Dion could do to get my vote.
I guess that’s true. Harper had to do it.
For whatever it’s worth I actually intended that to be complimentary to Canadian Customs. I’ve crossed the border maybe a dozen times, and I’ve only had that one experience that was bad. I have no trouble believe the US agents are worse.
It’s been a long time, oil company cannon fodder.
Canadian customs people have been uniformly friendly and efficient to my wife and I on our many trips to Canada over the years, including one right after 9/11. Unlike US customs, who have been total assholes at least 25% of the time.
Well, we might as well turn this in to a thread about the canadian DMCA just put before the house.
http://www.michaelgeist.ca/content/view/3025/125/
I’ll have more to say soon, but the takeaway is that the DMCA provisions are worse than the U.S. and the consumer exceptions riddled with limitations as the government promotes a strategy of locking down content and launching lawsuits against Internet users.
Fuck.
Correct me if I’m wrong but don’t we already pay a surcharge on recordable media in Canada which is intended to compensate industry for losses due to people making illegal copies of copyrighted material? Will we continue to pay that surcharge under this new proposed legislation or will that be done away with?
Well, they should probably do away with it, but yeah right.
Time for some good old-fashioned civil disobedience…
I’m going to record the following video and upload it to Youtube:
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A sequence of me walking into Megatunes on 17th Ave SW and purchasing a DRM-crippled CD.
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A close up shot of the Megatunes receipt, showing I paid in full for the CD in question.
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A sequence of me trying to rip the CD to my computer using iTunes, which will fail because of the DRM.
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A sequence of me employing circumvention software (EAC + LAME or whatever) to break the DRM, rip the CD to MP3 format, then upload it to my iPod. As I’m bypassing the DRM, a text overlay on the screen will flash, “COPYRIGHT CRIME IN PROGRESS”.
I’d like to film this either tonight or tomorrow because I’m leaving town for ten days on Saturday. If anyone reading this is from Calgary (I know there’s a few of us on Qt3; Fugitive, Albert Woo, etc.) and would like to assist, please reply here or send me a PM. You can either be credited in the video or remain anonymous, whichever you prefer.
I think the proposed penalties for circumventing DRM would be considered separate from those for violating existing copyright laws. So they’d probably leave the surcharge in place…? More importantly, one file might incur penalties for two separate crimes…?
The border thing is crazy and seems totally impracticable, for obvious reasons. Some CDs are stolen from stores, so confiscate all CDs until the possessor can prove they’re the true owner. Some cars are stolen, some cash is stolen. Some kids are kidnapped! Round 'em all up.
It feels like this comes from some elderly lawmaker who thinks all CD ripping is illegitimate.
Quoted for motherfucking truth.
Next election I’m dragging everyone I know to vote against them (who were too apathetic to vote in the last one).
Normally I vote NDP (Who, when it comes to tech stuff, are on the motherfucking ball) but next time around, I’m going Liberal simply because I need Harper and his clown crew out.
If Harper goes out, what conservative asshole will Canadians elect in his place? Maybe he can switch places with Sarkozy.
Hey Charles, how do you feel about your industry’s trade group supporting the bill on your behalf?
Some copyright holders voiced their support for the new bill. The Entertainment Software Association of Canada, the video game industry’s lobby group, praised the legislation for trying to protect Canada’s industries and artists from theft.
“It’s simple: Every time someone acquires an illegal copy of a video game, money, in turn, is not going to those Canadians who work so hard to develop and publish games. That’s money that cannot be reinvested in creativity, job growth and industry development,” Joan Ramsay, president of the group’s board of directors, said in a statement. “Copyright reform is essential to strengthen our competitiveness as an industry.”
Emphasis added.
I didn’t realize there was an ESA for Canada. I guess they are just as irrelevant as the one from the US.
I guess I feel that they aren’t really doing much, and are best ignored.
PC gaming is Domed.
Cue chorus of Blame Canada.
Exactly my point. There’s not a piece of legislation or social movement that couldn’t be crippled by your support.
Truly, my powers of persuasion are awesome!