Library Manifesto

Friday, January 8th, 2010 Posted in Civil Liberties, Humanities, Intellectual Property | No Comments »

A friend of mine is a librarian, specifically a law librarian.  She posted a link on Facebook to an article about appreciating librarians.  It spawned a pro-librarian rant from me that I thought I would blog about ( and include ...

The Value of Liberal Arts in a Recession

Tuesday, March 3rd, 2009 Posted in Civil Liberties, Humanities | 3 Comments »

The New York Times recently published an article, "In Tough Times, the Humanities Must Justify Their Worth," by Patricia Cohen.  I was told about this article by McMaster University English and Cultural Studies Professor, Dr. Sarah Brophy. NYT Article at:  http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/25/books/25human.html There ...

Richard Stallman came to Vancouver, and I upset him

Thursday, February 19th, 2009 Posted in Civil Liberties, Information Technology, Intellectual Property | 6 Comments »

Richard Stallman was in Vancouver two weeks ago.  He performed, if I may describe his lectures like that, three times; I caught the first.  I asked Stallman a question after it was over, and thoroughly annoyed him.  I know that ...

EU suggests reason and logic behind ACTA

Tuesday, December 16th, 2008 Posted in Civil Liberties, Information Technology, Intellectual Property | No Comments »

I've just finished reading the ACTA Fact Sheet, updated November 2008.  Here is some preliminary information: ACTA is the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement. The subtitle "Fact Sheet" is footnoted, "This fact sheet purports ...

Michael Lifshitz is asking for your support

Sunday, October 26th, 2008 Posted in Civil Liberties, Notices from Nimda | 3 Comments »

[Note from the Admin:  Michael Lifshitz is a friend of mine from many years ago.  He is a chartered accountant, financial advisor, and holder of an MBA.  He is also a stand-up comic.  Michael has a physical disability and has ...

Victoria venue to infringe civil liberties

Thursday, October 9th, 2008 Posted in Civil Liberties, Legal Explorations, Privacy | 2 Comments »

The Save-On Foods Memorial Centre in Victoria wants to take B.C.'s anti-smoking legislation a bit further.  Not only will they enforce the existing No Smoking laws, they will also prohibit the innocuous carrying of cigarettes by patrons on the premises. Let ...

George Carlin, free speech advocate, gone at 71

Tuesday, June 24th, 2008 Posted in Civil Liberties, Humanities | No Comments »

I was talking to my father-in-law on Sunday morning about which show George Carlin ws likely to bring to his upcoming night at the River Rock.  Would it be the silly and hilarious poke at absurdity that generates his funniest ...

Servamus – Fearing the Image of the Vancouver Police

Monday, June 9th, 2008 Posted in Civil Liberties, Humanities, Legal Explorations | 3 Comments »

Servamus. It is often said that in an armed law enforcement agency - be it military, paramilitary, or police - that exists within a democracy, the highest rank is civilian. That democratic hierarchy of rank is evident in the motto ...

RIAA and MPAA hijack the border (or someone like them)

Wednesday, May 28th, 2008 Posted in Civil Liberties, Information Technology, Intellectual Property | No Comments »

Cyberion, at Tazzu, posted a link to the Vancouver Province story on the threatened border checks (ACTA) on the legitimacy of electronic media. (Cyberion's post) I had some rather strong feelings, and ranted the following: This is one of the nastiest ...