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8:20 p.m. - 2003-10-02 I spent most of today writing and finishing off some paperwork - none for a wage though. Government forms. In the midst of that I got a call from our cable company at about 4 pm. "We are just confirming your appointment to repair your damaged connection." Me - "Excuse me? What are you talking about, I haven't requested any repair work." "Haven't you had your television on today?" "No, it doesn't get switched on before the news hour (well ok sometimes I watch Kung Fu)". "Well the company paving your lane tore out all the lines and your cable will be out of order until about 7 pm" The call did explain the six men all standing in my backyard, having a conference for about half an hour around the same time as the call. I wasn't certain what to think. Ruptured gas line? Water main break? It also explains why my phone was wonky this morning. Loss of that service for any length of time would have upset me a great deal more. No TV? No big deal. I don't really care about whether I miss a program or not. I was impressed with the cable company though. I didn't have to ask or beg for help and the cable was back on by 6:20 pm, so I got the weather forecast which is my main concern most days. Last up, a little more on internet surveillance and new legislation affecting an individual's privacy when communicating that way. One of the greatest difficulties with the internet is that it dissolves political/national boundaries. More than one country is trying to enforce their laws and moral codes on all internet communication regardless of source. surveillance. I understand the difficulty in balancing individual rights against the sovereignty of a nation. For example, I think child pornographers should be thrown in jail for as long a term as the courts can manage. I have no difficulty with security agencies such as the RCMP or our city police using whatever surveillance or tracking mechanisms they have access to for that purpose. But can they charge someone if they are outside the country? Not without some kind of reciprocal treaty such as the ones we have for extradition now in place with a number of nations. However, if our country demands that right, then the question becomes can other nations ask for charges or extradition of our citizens for activities that are not against our laws? Globalization demands an entirely new approach to finding workable solutions. One article I came across subpoena discusses collection of evidence from witnesses including reporters, even when their information has been garnered from a secondary source. For example, in one case a Canadian court ordered a blackout on trial proceedings. Canadian media complied, but the intent of ensuring a fair trail - or at least one where a very dangerous criminal not be let off on a technicality - was defeated when some American outlets aired the information anyway. In those cases can the court order signals or published information blocked from access to our country? Some of the requests or demands made as stated in the article are really troubling. The second story I found interesting was one about US librarians acting as intervenors in the P2P battle in the courts. Their rationale was interesting. Will the right of an individual to choose or create some new technology be over-ridden by corporate monopolies already in place? P2Pcountersuit Hard to say, but worth giving some thought to at the very least. � � |