OVER THE EDGE October 10-24, 2007 The opinions expressed in Over the Edge are those of the writers alone and do not necessarily reflect those of the editorial staff or newspaper society. Feedback can be e- mailed to over-the-edge@unbc.ca. in the Digital Front | Jeremy Johnson - - Staff Writer aeneeian Heritage Ministry's Conflict of Interest Alecaltons When it comes to copyright issues, as far as Canada is con- cerned, it is important to keep tabs on the lawmakers. During the cabinet shuffle, Bev Oda was replaced by Josee Verner as the minister of Canadian Heritage. Bey Oda may have had some’comments on the issue, but remained relatively quiet on the issues since the so-called fundraiser where she allegedly accepted donations for political influence. Verner, of course, is a new person who is supposed to be on top of things in terms of copyright legislation. While it was only during Bev Oda’s time as the Heritage Minister that the anti-theatre piracy bill was passed, the sheer speed between foreign lobbying and enactment (5 months) is likely a result of some people behind the ministry. According to some reports on sites like Variety, a person by the name of Patricia Neri was largely responsible for the the- atte piracy bill. She is the director general of copyright pol- icy. The allegations are that she was romantically involved with a person by the name of Doug Frith, the president of the Can- adian Motion Picture Distributors Association. Before these allegations even started, the CMPDA already openly acknow- ledged that they merely act as an advocacy group for the MPAA (Motion Picture Association of America) through their press releases. So it’s not only good speculation, it’s an actual fact that they are just an arm for foreign studios (aka foreign interests). So according to the Hill Times, director of coprislit policy Neri was shuffled out. When questions were raised about these allegations, the official response came from the communica- tions Vice President of the MPAA, Seth Oster, responded by saying that they have looked thoroughly at the situation and believe that no misappropriate behaviour took place. I’m sure this pretty much speaks for itself. So having the reputation hit again right before the throne speech, it only seemed appropriate for the Conservative party do some PR work that would interest people like me. They did what any politician does well and lots of whenever they pick up the odor of election, they make promises. They essentially magically promised to crack down on identity theft — an issue While I’m told that the likelihood of the government to sur- vive the Throne Speech confidence motion (as it is apparently resting on the Liberal party of Canada right now) it only seems likely that we’ll see more promises in the near future right up to the throne speech. If the government survives, I’m will- ing to bet that that these issues will simply vanish off into the background like the government accountability act did, ironic- ally enough. Will the government survive and do an about face on issues related to the digital world in a foreword thinking manner? If the Toronto Star story about the allegations of the Con- servative party spending 1 million dollars too many on their election campaign, possibly causing 17 MPs, including both Prince George MPs to lose their vote in parliament is anything to go on, I’m not personally holding my breath. For the record though, I’m still annoyed over the Liberals copyright and surveillance bills, so as far as I’m aware of, they aren’t exactly a shining beacon of light either. In the mean time, I do have a term that seems appropriate for that many believe is out of date in terms of legislation. the proposed legislation: “Vaporware”. Now, when “ultra-conservative hardliner” Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is mentioned in polite conversation people tend to freak out a little. Bring him over the ocean to North America and people downright panic: After all, isn’t this the guy who wants to wipe Israel (bless their blighted snow-white souls) off the map with the nuclear bombs the US desperately insists he is making? Isn’t he that holocaust denier who gets his giggles from sending sophisticated improvised explosive device components across his border into Iraq’s otherwise tranquil suburbs? Yeah, that’s the guy we’re referring to. And he’s been here. Here in North America; at the United Nations Headquarters in New York City. Ahmadinejad even wanted to lay a wreath at Ground Zero. That’s like Hitler hanging out in a Hawaiian shirt and khakis making faces at the guards in front of Buckingham Palace. The nerve of that asshole... Okay, enough with the thinly veiled sarcasm. Mahmoud might not be a stand-up guy, for he sometimes sets himself up by saying things that Western politicians and journalists can take relish in easily distorting. Certainly his human rights record is abysmal and his denial of the existence of homosexuals in Iran would be funny if it weren’t so sadly myopic. That’s the worst lack of gay-dar I’ve ever heard of. However, using the pretext of his shameful treatment at the hands of us “ultra-civilized Westerners” at last month’s UN meeting, Ill be taking this opportunity to look beyond the kneejerk abhorrence of Ahmadinejad to showcase how sane he sounds compared to that other simplistic fundamentalist political leader, Psst... That’s you Dubya, Heh heh heh heh. (His snicker, not mine). Ahmadinejad Does New Yawk My interest in giving Ahmadinejad his due comes from his request to lay a wreath at the base of Ground Zero. Request Denied. Why? Well, erm, uh..: There’s construction, and uh, well, there’s no pedestrian traffic allowed down there. Yeah. No pedestrians allowed. Why didn’t they just come out and say that they didn’t want to allow him the chance to look human to the American public who are day after day being prepped for a war with Iranians. Got Spin? Some might say that his ‘stunt’ amounts to nothing more than a sick form of grandstanding. Well that’d be true if Iran had anything to do with 9/11. However, Ahmadinejad offered this affirmation of dis- gust at the attacks of 9/11 in a letter addressed to President Bush in 2006: “September Elev- en was a horrendous incident. The killing of innocents is deplorable and appalling in any part of the world. Our government immedi- ately declared its disgust with the perpetrators and offered its condolences to the bereaved and expressed its sympathies.” Sounds like the US government has a little more of an agenda than Ahmadinejad. He goes on in the letter to call on the Bush administration to come clean about their not seeing the forest for the trees: “Reportedly your government employs ex- tensive security, protection and intelligence systems -- and even hunts its opponents abroad. September eleven was not a simple operation. Could it be planned and executed without coordination with intelligence and security services -- or their extensive infiltra- tion? Of course this is just an educated guess. Why have the various aspects of the attacks been kept secret? Why are we not told who botched their responsibilities? And, why aren’t those responsible and the guilty parties identified and put on trial? All governments have a duty to provide security and peace of mind for their citizens. For some years now, the people of your country and neighbours of world trouble spots do not have peace of mind. After 9/11, instead of healing and tend- ing to the emotional wounds of the survivors and the American people -- who had been im- mensely traumatized by the attacks -- some Western media only intensified the climate of fear and insecurity -- some constantly talked about the possibility of new terror attacks and kept the people in fear. Is that service to the American people? Is it possible to calculate the damages incurred from fear and panic? American citizens lived in constant fear of fresh attacks that could come at any mo- ment and in any place. They felt insecure in the street, in their place of work and at home. Who would be happy with this situation? Why was the media, instead of conveying a feeling of security and providing peace of mind, giv- ing rise to a feeling of insecurity?... In media charters, correct dissemination of information and honest reporting of a story are established tenets. I express my deep regret about the disregard shown by certain Western media for these principles. The main pretext for an attack on Iraq was the existence of WMDs. This was repeated incessantly -- for the public to finally believe -- and the ground set for an attack on Iraq.” Ahmadinejad elaborated his thoughts on 9/11 last month in New York, saying: “If the root causes of 9/11 are examined properly — why it happened, what caused it, what were the conditions that led to it, who truly was involved [that would help us to] understand how to fix the problem in Afghanistan and Iraq combined.” Six years on and we need a despised foreign leader to tell us that 9/11 wasn’t about radical Islamic fundamentalists hating our way of life, but rather a bitterly enraged response to the imperialistic actions of the US all over the Middle East. Then they used it as an excuse to tighten their grip. Smart move, friend. Now, you might be think- ing I sound like a radical commie-anarchist lefty apologist. Well, that might be because you’re afraid to admit that our buddies south of the 49th parallel have brought this on them- selves by bestriding the world like a bully, all the while making up the rules in their favour and reporting the news as they see fit. This is about intelligently reading between the lines. First rule of journalism, coming from a journalist: know and write for your audi- ence. To sell the news, people want to hear what doesn’t make them feel like a bag of assholes. The American people don’t want to hear anything that makes them feel like less than good God-fearing patriots. The sad part for us here in Canada is that we get most of our media. and overseas information through American channels. We see it from their point of view. No wonder we were sympathetic. If we don’t give our heads a shake, the recoil and retribution the US has set itself up for will undoubtedly rain upon our incredulous heads as well. We would do well to take a step back from this precipice, before we too are sucked into the vortex of tit-for-tat fear and loathing that comes out of pissing in other people’s backyards.