mike the mountain

This is the post in which I, Michael Lawton, will attempt to piss off as many people as possible, further ensuring any future political aspirations will be inevitably and irreparably coloured by the insane ramblings of his 29 year old ignorant, egotistical, pathetic need for self-important outbursts.

These people actually exist!

OK, maybe I’m exaggerating a little bit, but the point I’d like to make is how difficult it seems to be these days for anyone to hold and voice an opinion on something without worrying about coming across as a fool. Magnifying this is just how foolish those that DO proudly and loudly express themselves tend to appear. The rational tend to speak more softly, acknowledge that there may be other valid opinions, admit when information is not perfect or complete, then try to honestly explain why they came to the conclusion they reached. The foolish wave placards, shout slogans, and typically have little to no understanding of any information that does not conform to the opinion they, in most cases, were directed to have by another party with their own agenda.

Example: I do not think that the United States nor it’s partner countries should cease their military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan at the current time. *note: I am Canadian, and while we are actively involved in Afghanistan, we are only peripherally supporting the forces in Iraq.

Talk about a fun one to come out in favour of! It’s a little easier to have this discussion in Canada, since there isn’t as massive a social/political schism around the issue as there is in the US. On the other hand, being one step removed tends to make it easier for those who chose to do so to stereotype: Stay in Iraq = Bush supporter = crazed ignorant racist uneducated gun-toting ultra-neo-conservative super-fundamentalist-Evangelical-Christian redneck, right? Think there’s any chance I’m basing my opinion solely on what I consider the likely ramifications of withdrawing an arguably stabilizing force from a volatile and demonstrably UNstable region?

Does this mean that I agree 100% with the decisions that led to the West’s present involvement in these conflicts?

Does this have anything to do with my opinions on gay marriage, immigration, capital gains tax, oil tariffs, environmental policy, copyright reform, domestic surveillance, racial profiling, gun control, or tie colour?

Example: I think that the current US administration is an embarrassment to all the things they claim to stand for; an embarrassment to conservatives, an embarrassment to Christians, and an embarrassment to Americans. *note: remember, I’m Canadian, which means that I do have a filtered view of the political landscape in our neighbouring country. I do hope that I have a balanced enough perspective to take what I see in a proper context.

This is most likely the wrong place to invite debate over such an issue. While the breadth of the internet offers the potentially greatest diversity of opinion and input, the sad fact is that the most obnoxious contributors simply exhaust the enthusiasm of those interested in honest discourse (see John Gabriel’s Greater Internet Fuckwad Theory, or pretty much any comment thread or popular forum that touches on the slightest political or cultural activity).

I love a good honest passionate debate between people able to separate their emotions from their discourse. The mark of a truly skilled debater is one who can choose any side of a discussion and offer meaningful, intelligent insight, regardless of his or her personal feelings on the matter.

“Stay at home in your mind. Don’t recite other people’s opinions. I hate quotations. Tell me what you know.” ~Ralph Waldo Emerson

“And it’s my opinion, and that’s only my opinion, you are a lunatic. Just because there are a few hundred other people sharing your lunacy with you does not make you any saner.” ~Oleg Kiselev

“Opinions are like assholes. Everyone’s got one, and they all stink.” ~unknown

If you could blow up the world with the flick of a switch
Would you do it?
If you could make everybody poor just so you could be rich
Would you do it?
If you could watch everybody work while you just lay on your back
Would you do it?
If you could take all the love without giving any back
Would you do it?
And so we cannot know ourselves or what we’d really do…

With all your power
With all your power
With all your power
What would you do?

If you could make your own money and then give it to everybody
Would you do it?
If you knew all the answers and could give it to the masses
Would you do it?
No no no no no no are you crazy?
It’s a very dangerous thing to do exactly what you want
Because you cannot know yourself or what you’d really do

With all your power
With all your power
With all your power

The Yeah Yeah Yeah Song by The Flaming Lips

If you care at all about Canadian musicians, writers, TV or film workers, or any other artist… you need to know what is happening.

If you care about your own rights with regards to music you listen to, movies you watch, literature you read, software you use… you need to find out about the new legislation being proposed by the federal government.

If you care about who is influencing our politicians, and who’s interests our laws are being written to protect… you need to think very hard about what this new proposal says.

If you don’t (or even if you do) understand terms and acronyms like DRM, DMCA, EULA, WIPO, P2P, Open Source, Creative Commons, and Fair Use… how confident are you that your politicians understand how they affect you as an individual (as opposed to what they are told about them by those that can afford lobbyists)?

(For a great explanation of what some of these concepts are and what this proposed legislation might mean to us, check out this slideshow by Wellington Grey about what has happened in the US.)

Laws that are written under the influence of foreign parties with commercial interests, and without public input, forced through without proper debate, education, or review, that directly affect nearly every citizen, and are modeled after a foreign act that has been a near total failure on every level… can not be tolerated.

People and organizations that benefit from this type of political piracy depend on a lazy and uninformed public. I beg you, educate yourself, then at least you’ll know why you’re so pissed off!

For all my sermonizing, I found myself woefully unaware of the biggest public action on Canada’s proposed new copyright legislation nightmare, happening right outside my door! I was only a couple hours away too, hiking around a serene (if chilly) Lake Louise with Dreamgirl. Damn. I really would have liked to have been there.

Below is a report from those that were there, and I really hope they had the effect they were looking for!

This stuff scares me. Laws are being written by politicians with no clue under the “advice” of corporations with no concern beyond short-term profit maximization/loss minimization, at the expense of long-term industry sustainability, artistic creativity, and most importantly the protection of the public interest.

I honestly believe that if someone was able to effectively communicate to the average consumer (Canadian, American, anywhere!) what was being done to our rights, the sort of common sense, “of course I can do that” stuff that we all take for granted… I dunno. I’m pissed about it, anyone I talk to is either a) also pissed, or b) totally unaware of what’s going on.

Does Joe Public care that he can’t see some of the most amazing movies from around the world, because DVD manufacturers and movie studios have put regional locks on their players in order to manipulate prices on a market-wide scale?

Or that billion-dollar corporations, built from the ground by “re-imagining” classic stories, are trying to make sure that they continue to make money off of the work of artists that have been dead for decades, while also ensuring that no one can ever use their stories to draw inspiration for a new generation?

I am by no means a “burn-the-rich” anarchist. I’m writing this in my office, wearing a suit and tie, all corporate. I believe in business and profit and people getting paid for what they do. However, I do believe that the government is supposed to be there for the service and protection of it’s citizens, to offer a balance against those forces that may reach a tipping point at which they become a detriment to the public good.

I haven’t really thought of doing a podcast of my own, too many other little projects on the side right now. But it’s always good to keep up to date on the current copyright playground, if for no other reason than to feel smarter than 95% of our media and politicians!

Won’t be long before we look back at the idea of storing files and applications on our own individual computers the way we look at having to get up off the couch to change the channel. Ubiquitous, ultra-high-speed, wireless connectivity combined with cheap, convenient dumb terminals of every shape and size, running everything off of web-based services and online data storage.

Could be sweet, if someone finally manages to light a fire under our buttheaded telco monopolies and get them to actually offer decent service instead of the global embaressment that is our current lot! Is it too much to ask for a pricing structure that is at least as fair as those in 3rd world dictatorships!?

Bah, I’d be happy if just ONE of our major carriers offered an unlimited data plan…

This is sheer genius… the best explanation of how copyright laws work that I’ve ever seen. And the way this guy did it. Wow. You have to see this.

Not just accepting bribes, but actively soliciting donations from the very industry she is supposed to be regulating for the benefit of the public. It’s so blatantly corrupt, you’d think it came straight from a movie script out of one of Ms. Oda’s “campaign partners”.

We’re watching…