
"Secret U.S. government cables show a
stunning willingness by senior Canadian officials to appease American demands (more
here) for a U.S.-style copyright law here. The documents describe Canadian officials as encouraging American lobbying efforts. They also cite cabinet minister Maxime Bernier raising the possibility of showing U.S. officials a draft bill before tabling it in Parliament. The cables, from the U.S. Embassy in Ottawa, even have a policy director for then industry minister Tony Clement suggesting it might help U.S. demands for a tough copyright law if Canada were placed among the worst offenders on an international piracy watch list. Days later, the U.S. placed Canada alongside China and Russia on the list." Unbelievable. Suddenly I understand why the SFPD had
no qualms about acting as henchmen for Apple goons to violate someone's constitutional rights. If a government is messed up, it only makes sense this is reflected in the corporate policies of its prime corporations.
Member since:
2005-07-06
Right. There's bad, and there's worse. If the US govt is bad, we can at least be grateful that it isn't worse. And we also have the opportunity to change it. Whining because it isn't perfect hardly seems reasonable.
(This is not an excuse to shrug & do nothing, but it is a reminder to keep things in perspective.)
Oddly, the quotes excerpted from the leak seem to imply that Canada was swaying the US, not the reverse -- contradicting the headline. Maybe if I read the linked article, it'll be different.