Saskboy posted about a Montreal elementary school student who was sent home for eating his lunch with utensils.

Apparently, the boy routinely ate his lunch using forks and spoons until his teacher scolded it for him, and said he was "eating like a pig," called him names such as "dusgusting" and "clown." Crazy! How does this person still have a job? What's worse is that the school's principal is backing her up:

'Every time your son eats like a pig, he'll be disciplined,' said the principal to the boy's mother. The boy is of Filipino decent, and the Phillipines are reacting in outrage, quite understandably. The actions of this school has sparked protest outside of the Canadian embassy in Manila. With good measure. I have half a mind to start writing letters demanding these educators be fired.

Here's a piece of Canadian political corruption with a twist. Senior AADAC employee, Lloyd Carr got busted for thieving $634,250 from company coffers via fraudulent contracts since 2004.

The best part of the whole thing that this addictions commission employee allegedly spent at least $150,000 of his loot on his gambling problem. Not to mention $91,000 as a downpayment on a house and $60,000 for a new car. On top of the irony already at work, this wunderkind of a criminal got the job by hiding a criminal record and lying about his credentials and education background.

Criminal and civil suits are no doubt pending. I doubt too much will really happen, though we'll have to wait and find out.

The UN is projecting the world population will grow from 6.7 billion people now to 9.2 billion by 2050. We'll grow by nearly a third in 43 years. While I'm all for urbanization and big cities, it won't affect those of us at home too greatly. 46 (mostly developed) countries are expected to lose population in that time too, and most growth will come in currently undeveloped countries. The best news contained in this article: the UN has lowered it's projected AIDS-related death counts. Good news for everybody.

In other news, Stefan is pissed at Air Canada and has drawn up an open letter to their CEO. Read it!

Ok, that may be a little drastic and premature, however, it could be (and hopefully is) a sign of things to come.

As of midnight tonight, the New York Times is ending its Times Select program. While some people think it might be a little late, I really don't care when it happened, I'm just glad it has. Times Select goes back to 2005, and had upwards of a couple hundred thousand subscribers. However, this program effectively shut out almost the entire internet from reading the Times' wonderful news copy. By shutting it down and opening it up, they are allowing us regular folk the opportunity to access their content free of charge.

This is huge for a number of reasons, not the least of which is precedent. A lot of websites (especially news media) charge for content, and it is annoying to no end. I'm sure you've clicked a link to some news article only to find out you had to pay to read it. Screw that. Hopefully the New York Times getting rid of this business model in favor of something else signals the rest of the industry to do something similar. Now, don't get me wrong, I'm not against paying for value on the internet, however, if a company can find a way to support their content/program in ways other than a subscription, it's always a good thing.

So, way to go New York Times, let's hope there are many more to follow.

While videos being removed from YouTube happens who knows how many times a day, I doubt it's every day that the copyright owner tries to go after the uploader. But, that's what VW is trying to do.

Volkswagen has filed a subpoena in an effort to have YouTube release the identity of the uploader of a Nazified fake advertisement for the VW Golf. However, YouTube isn't caving yet, hoping to protect the future of their user base's privacy.

While I applaud Google and YouTube for not just handing over their user's identity at the first sight of a legal document, I really have no sympathy for anyone who glorifies or lightens the image of Naziism. So, on one hand, I hope that VW fails in their quest, but on the other hand I hope they succeed.

For me at least, it's win-win.

Late last month NBC announced that they were no longer going to sell their shows on iTunes, because Apple wouldn't let them charge $4.99 per episode. NBC decided to go with Amazon Unbox, which pretty much no one uses.

Today, however, comes news that CBS and FOX plan to give away at least three season premieres (combined) on iTunes. A pretty effective grab at publicity. FOX will give away Prison Break and K-Ville, while CBS will give away Big Bang Theory.

Leaving iTunes in the first place was a huge mistake for NBC. Previously, NBC shows had accounted for upwards of 1/3 of iTunes services, which means that a lot of people only watched their shows via iTunes. A lot of these people will now be getting them from torrents.

With the Canadian dollar reaching parity with the US dollar, some people (myself included) are getting pretty upset while shopping.

One extreme example is the difference in the price of cars between the two countries. Tony over at The Clever Shark is conducting an experiment to find out why the difference is so extreme (as much as 38% in one case). I applaud his efforts.

The car business isn't the only example of this though, as it can be seen in just about every consumer market in the country. Something needs to be done.

On Wednesday night, Premier Lorne Calvert announced that Saskatchewanians will be heading to the polls on November 7, 2007. I guess he's had enough of being Premier.

I just don't see any possible way for the NDP to remain in power in this province. They've been in power for 27 of the last 36 years, and wholly the last 16. I'm pretty much sick of them, and I'm sure most of the province is as well.

I won't say who I'm voting for, but it's not going to be NDP, and it won't be the Liberals, even though they do have a shiny new website.

Microsoft paid a very large amount for a very small piece of Facebook yesterday... $240 million for 1.6% to be exact, and with that comes a valuation of $15 billion, making it the 5th largest internet company in the US. Apparently Google was in the bidding but missed out. That's gotta chap them a little, as now Microsoft is pretty much guaranteed to own the ad space on Facebook for the foreseeable future.

This pissed me off enough that I wrote a letter to Brad Trost, my MP. You should too.

The Canadian government is about to bring down Canada's version of the US Digital Millennium Copyright Act, and it promises to be the worst copyright law in the developed world. It will contain an "anti-circumvention" clause that prohibits breaking the locks off your music and movies in order to move them to new devices or watch them after the company that made them goes out of business -- and it will follow the US's disastrous lead with the DMCA in that there will be no exceptions to the ban on circumvention, not even for parody, fair dealing, time shifting, or other legal uses.

Bullshit. More here and here.

(via small dead animals)

The Patriots just walked all over the Steelers to go 13 - 0. But, do they have what it takes to go 16 - 0 and be the first undefeated team since the 72 Dolphins?In 2005, the Colts started off 13 - 0, but finished 14 - 2. Same with the '98 Broncos. In 1972, the Dolphins went 14 - 0 and were the first team in the modern NFL (and the latest) to go undefeated. The '34 Bears went 13 - 0 to be undefeated, but this was prior to the modern-day formation of the NFL. So, can they do it?

Well, it doesn't look terrible. The next two games are at home, against two of the worst teams in the NFL. Next week they play host to the 0 - 13 Miami Dolphins, which should, by all means, be a walk. The following week they welcome the 3 - 10 Jets, who really shouldn't pose much of a threat to their record. The only real threat comes in the final week of the season, when the boys from Foxborough head south to East Rutherford, New Jersey to play the Giants, who are currently 9 - 4.

I don't really see the Giants giving much of a headache to Tom Brady and crew, who have just been ridiculous all season. I just don't know if the Pats themselves will be able to handle the pressure. Who knows? It's exciting. I hate the Patriots (go Vikings), but I would love to see them go undefeated.

We had a pretty good shot at repeating as World Champions at this year's IIHF World Hockey Championships, held jointly in Quebec City and Halifax. I guess it just wasn't meant to be.

In the gold medal game in Quebec City, the Ruskies tuned is to a final of 5 - 4. In another depressing note, the last team to win the World Championships on home ice was the Soviet Union back in 1986. Also depressing, is that this was the first time we as a nation have hosted the Championships, ever. For a tournament that's been pretty much dominated by us in one way or another since 1920, I found that to be quite ridiculous.

Well, it looks like Barrack Obama has wrapped up the Democratic nomination for the 2008 US Presidential Election. Good stuff. I've been hoping that he would have gained the necessary number of delegates a lot earlier in the process, but now he can move on to the more important part of crushing what little hopes McCain has of gaining the White House.

The remainder of the 2008 US political year should be pretty interesting, and I for one, can't wait for January 20, 2009.

UPDATE 3:50 PM: CNN is saying that Obama only needs 12 delegates to clinch. Expect that he will hit the required 2118 shortly. Wonder when Clinton will concede?

UPDATE 4:45 PM: Still needs 11 delegates to clinch. All CNN can really talk about is what Hillary is going to do now? Consensus seems to be that she might go after the VP spot. AP says she's open to it. However, her camp is denying that she's going to concede tonight. We'll see.

UPDATE 4:50 PM: Down to 10 delegates.

UPDATE 5:32 PM: Getting closer, only 7 delegates to go.

FINAL UPDATE: Yup, he's done it. Good stuff.

Well, it's about damned time. Apple is finally going to be selling the iPhone in Canada. July 11, 2008. No official word on pricing here yet though, but I'm sure it will be close to the US pricing ($199 for 8gb, $299 for 16gb with a two year contract). Cool.

Looks like one of the predictions I heard in March were correct.

I've written a few letters to my MP and Minister of Industry over the last couple of months in response to my feelings about their so-called "Made-in-Canada" changes to the law regarding digital rights and freedoms. Perhaps that's why they sent me this bullshit white-washing of what's coming up in the email a couple of minutes ago:

The Government of Canada has introduced Bill C-61, An Act to Amend the Copyright Act. The proposed legislation is a made-in-Canada approach that balances the needs of Canadian consumers and copyright owners, promoting culture, innovation and competition in the digital age.

What does Bill C-61 mean to Canadians?

Specifically, it includes measures that would:

• expressly allow you to record TV shows for later viewing; copy legally purchased music onto other devices, such as MP3 players or cell phones; make back-up copies of legally purchased books, newspapers, videocassettes and photographs onto devices you own; and limit the "statutory damages" a court could award for all private use copyright infringements;
• implement new rights and protections for copyright holders, tailored to the Internet, to encourage participation in the online economy, as well as stronger legal remedies to address Internet piracy;
• clarify the roles and responsibilities of Internet Service Providers related to the copyright content flowing over their network facilities; and
• provide photographers with the same rights as other creators.

What Bill C-61 does not do:

• it would not empower border agents to seize your iPod or laptop at border crossings, contrary to recent public speculation

What this Bill is not:

• it is not a mirror image of U.S. copyright laws. Our Bill is made-in-Canada with different exceptions for educators, consumers and others and brings us into line with more than 60 countries including Japan, France, Germany and Australia

Bill C-61 was introduced in the Commons on June 12, 2008 by Industry Minister Jim Prentice and Heritage Minister Josée Verner.

For more information, please visit the Copyright Reform Process website at www.ic.gc.ca/epic/site/crp-prda.nsf/en/home

Thank you for sharing your views on this important matter.

The Honourable Jim Prentice, P.C., Q.C., M.P.
Minister of Industry

The Honourable Josée Verner, P.C., M.P.
Minister of Canadian Heritage, Status of Women
and Official Languages and Minister for
La Francophonie

I can't believe that they are actually going to hand control of the internet in Canada over to the entertainment industry in the US. Ridiculous.

I know it's only been a few days, but I've already had enough of the entire Dr. Morgentaler being awarded the Order of Canada story. I also have to plead some ignorance here, as I'd never heard of the Doctor prior to his being accorded such accolade. That being said, this man has divided this country for long enough.

I've heard some pretty outrageous pro-life statements about Morgentaler being a criminal for performing abortions, to which I say, bullshit. This one, from ThePolitic.com claims that even though the Supreme Court of Canada found that he was not a criminal, they are all full of it as well. Oh wow, get over yourselves.

And now, we have people returning their Order of Canada awards in protest. Really, people? Are we really being this ignorant of other people's points-of-view? I thought we lived in a fairly advanced society where open discussion was a good thing. I'm getting fairly sick of the hard-nosed religious sect in this country throwing a shitstorm every time something they don't happen to love happens.

The Order of Canada is given to Canadians who do things that help the country, extraordinary things. Dr. Morgentaler pretty much singlehandedly (from what I've read anyway) turned Canada into one of the first countries in the world to truly give women the right to do as they pleased with their bodies. If you ask me, that's something to be proud of, regardless of what side of the pro-life/pro-choice fence you find yourself perched upon.

Four hundred years ago today, Samuel de Champlain settled what would be the first permanent European settlement in North America. Today, Quebec City is the vibrant, beautiful capital of our nation's french speaking province, and just happens to be turning 400 years old.

Stephen Harper today coined Quebec City "Canada's most beautiful city [and] its most enchanting city," which is debatable. I found a poll that asks whether or not that's true, and personally I think I'd go with Vancouver. Anyways, happy birthday to Quebec City!

(photo by Djof)