There is a behind-the-scenes campaign underway to bring laws such as the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) in the United States northward, warns a noted Canadian digital policy expert. …

The expert is Michael Geist, a law professor at the University of Ottawa. He’s my most trusted source on this issue.

The Conservative government under Harper is tempted by corporate lobbyists — but caves quickly as soon the Canadian public becomes aware of dirty tricks.

Geist is not completely against the latest version — Bill 11 … Here’s a succinct summary of the legislation currently under consideration.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

And here’s a list of organizations opposed to the “digital lock”.

The old music industry is dying. Something new will be taking its place. We want the NEXT music industry to be better, not worse to what we’ve had in the past.

(via strombo)

Game Change: Obama and the Clintons, McCain and Palin, and the Race of a Lifetime (2010)

… In 2008, the presidential election became blockbuster entertainment. Everyone was watching as the race for the White House unfolded like something from the realm of fiction. The meteoric rise and historic triumph of Barack Obama. The shocking fall of the House of Clinton—and the improbable resurrection of Hillary as Obama’s partner and America’s face to the world. The mercurial performance of John McCain and the mesmerizing emergence of Sarah Palin. …

It’s the definitive account of what happened.

You learn that you’d NEVER want to run for President of the USA. It’s ugly. It’s dirty.

Of the lead characters, John Edwards (in prison, I hope) and his wife Elizabeth (1949-2010) come off worst. A horror show.

Bill Clinton won’t be going to Heaven. I wouldn’t share a beer with him.

Michelle Obama comes out of the slime pit cleanest.

Actually, my opinion went UP for John McCain and Hilary. I personally campaigned against McCain in 2008, thinking him spawn of the Devil. He’s not as bad as I thought. I particularly liked how he backed Sarah Palin even after it became obvious that she was an insanely bad choice for VP.

Hilary would have been a great President.

If this stuff bores you to tears, you might want to wait on Game Change – the movie:

… an upcoming (March 2012) Jay Roach film based on the book of the same name by journalists John Heilemann and Mark Halperin. The film will primarily track the actions of the Republican Party during the 2008 Presidential Election.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

Staring Sarah, I assume it’s a comedy.

A series of new airfare rules put forth by the Department of Transportation (DOT) will go into effect Jan. 26 and offer travelers better “passenger protections.”

The most visible of the new rules is a law that requires airlines to include mandatory government taxes and fees in all advertised fares. Other rules pertaining to ticket cancellation policies and baggage fees went into effect on Jan. 24. …

IB Traveler

Luggage fees are still not included. And code-share flights not necessarily disclosed. When you buy a flight on Alaska, for example, you might find yourself on Horizon.

What happens in the States often ends up happening worldwide, the aviation industry so international.

The theme is “jobs, jobs, jobs.”

… They’re discussing growth strategies and so far we’re hearing the same notions we hear elsewhere in Davos, the complete trick bag: spend money on infrastructure, be nice to business, regulate less, reform taxes, reform immigration. OK and OK.

“The problems of job creation are more complicated than that. …

Buzz Machine – Efficiency over growth (and jobs)

For example, Apple and Google are two of the wealthiest companies in 2011, but they don’t have many employees. Some jobs have been eliminated by technology. Others are gone overseas because people just as competent as you are willing to do it cheaper.

Obama’s State of the Union again chastised the American rich for not doing enough. That might be good politics, but it’s not going to do anything to create many American jobs nor reduce the “wealth gap“. I appreciate that he’s trying. … It’s better than nothing.

Is there any solution?

I don’t think so after listening to a new BBC audiocast documentary: The Wealth Gap: The View from London.

The future looks grim for most wealthy nations. The “occupy” protesters, most jobless, will continue being frustrated. And the rich will get richer. If you try to tax them, they’ll relocate abroad.

source – BBC – The Wealth Gap – Inequality in Numbers

If you have a job, I’d recommend you keep it. And start putting away emergency resources. (I’ll not be following my own advice, as you might guess.)

… One of the few bright spots is philanthropy – Davos 2012: Bill Gates commits $750m to fight AIDS

1. Iowa … why (since 1972) has the first major electoral event of the nominating process for President of the United States been held here?

Though only about 1% of the nation’s delegates are chosen by the Iowa State Convention, the Iowa caucuses have served as an early indication of which candidates for president might win. It’s by far the most important State. Unfairly.

If you want to be nominated you try to win Iowa. And how do you win Iowa? You buy Iowa …

2. Super PACs (new since 2010):

… which can raise unlimited sums from corporations, unions and other groups, as well as individuals. …

Supposedly independent, both Romney and Gingrich have Super Pacs … run by former employees. They are a joke and a lie.

To mock Super PACs, Colbert legally formed his own — Americans for a Better Tomorrow, Tomorrow (also known as the Colbert Super PAC)

Here’s one of Colbert’s real TV ads. Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

The Parliamentary Democracy of Canada is not perfect. But I like it far better than the system in the USA.

The Iron Lady is a biographical British film about Margaret Thatcher, longest serving Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of the 20th century, portrayed primarily by Meryl Streep, but also, in her formative and early political years, by Alexandra Roach. …

It was met with largely mixed reviews, though critics did give praise to Streep’s performance. Roach is excellent too. And Jim Broadbent is superb as Denis Thatcher. In fact, Olivia Colman is very believable as Carol Thatcher, Maggie’s daughter. It’s hard to fault the acting.

It was obviously a mistake to try to fit Maggie’s entire life into one film. Much better would have been a snapshot — like The King’s Speech. Or … The Queen.

Helen Mirren won Best Actress in 2006. Streep should win this year. She’s already won the Golden Globe.

I didn’t learn anything new about Thatcher. But Streep fans should see The Iron Lady. She’s perhaps the greatest actor all-time, male or female.

I saw it at Canary Wharf, London, adding to the ambiance.

GOP candidates are silent when audience boos a gay soldier at their Orlando FL debate. Rick Santorum doesn’t even acknowledge the soldier’s service. The Commander in Chief calls them out on their failure to honor our men and women in uniform.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

We’ve seen far too little of that Obama since he became President.

The clip is from an October 2011 Human Rights Campaign dinner.

Isn’t Newt Gingrich the lowest of the low? An egomaniac with no morals whatsoever?

The guy who earned $1.6 million consulting for Freddie Mac?

Why did South Carolina Republicans vote for a guy so brashly amoral?

He can’t win the Presidency. And the Republican establishment knows it.

That would be a disaster for the USA. And the world.

related – Democrat Chris Dodd is a scumbag, happy to sell his soul for $1.2 million / year as chief lobbyist for the movie industry. He and Newt will be in the same circle of Hell, so far as I’m concerned.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

(via Mashable)

But if I could vote in the USA, I don’t think I could get past Gitmo — promise #1.

“I DON’T want to be ambiguous about this. We are going to close Guantánamo.” So said Barack Obama in January 2009, giving himself a year to do it.

Economist – How to close Guantánamo

… Despite promises to close Guantánamo and reverse the illegal policies of the Bush administration, President Obama has attempted to legitimize them. He has signed an executive order formalizing indefinite detentions at Guantánamo, resumed illegitimate military commissions, and refused to hold U.S. officials accountable for torture. …

CNN – Gitmo: 10 years of injustice and disgrace

Read Lakhdar Boumediene’s story and tell me YOU wouldn’t have freed him long ago, regardless of the political consequences.

I don’t care if the President didn’t have the power to close Gitmo. If you can’t deliver, don’t promise.

I’m reading Game Change, the story of what happened exactly 4yrs ago in the American election.

(via Kottke)