Ottawa 2011-12-09 newsletter

=December 9th, 2011 Newsletter=

Dear Ottawa Pirates,

It’s been a pretty exciting two weeks since I last wrote to you, and I have some wonderful news to share a little later on in this e-mail. I hope to see or hear from many of you over the course of the next few weeks as we begin to prepare for a very exciting time within the PPCA. Included in this e-mail:


 * 1) 	December 13th Meeting
 * 2) 	December 27th Meeting
 * 3) 	PPCA Constitution Vote Reminder
 * 4) 	OC Transpo: GPS Systems & Surveillance Camera Installation
 * 5) 	Syrian Surveillance Success
 * 6) 	Switzerland to Earth: File-sharing No Big Deal
 * 7) 	Donate

Once again, if you no longer wish to receive e-mails, or if you have received them in error, please contact me via shawngray@pirateparty.ca

December 13th Meeting
We have a local PPCA meeting occurring at 7:00pm at the Tim Hortons on the corner of Metcalfe & Slater this upcoming Tuesday (Dec 13th). I will have my PPCA folder propped up on the table to mark our whereabouts, and will have extra PPCA Bumper Stickers on hand. The meeting will be over by 9:00pm the latest. If there’s a topic you would like to discuss, just send me an e-mail (shawngray@pirateparty.ca) and I can be sure to put it on the agenda. I do recommend looking over the minutes from previous meetings in advance (http://wiki.pirateparty.ca/index.php/Ottawa_Meetings).

December 27th Meeting
Our final meeting of 2011 will occur on December 27th starting at 7:00pm. The location is the same as usual, the Tim Hortons on the corner of Metcalfe & Slater. Meetings will continue in 2012 as per the usual bi-weekly schedule.

PPCA Constitution Vote Reminder
It’s finally come in! You can start voting in regards to the PPCA’s new constitution right away. The polls will be open through December 18th, but it’s better to vote early than chance forgetting! Voting can be completed at https://vote.pirateparty.ca. Your Member ID# and PIN were included in the vote notification letter, so have it handy when you pop over.

As I’ve mentioned before, it will be a lot easier to modify aspects of this constitution after it has been approved than to deny its implementation and force a rework now. I highly recommend voting for the adoption of the new constitution, which can be viewed at https://crm.pirateparty.ca/bylaws.

OC Transpo: Bus GPS Systems & Surveillance Camera Installation
OC Transpo has been touting its newly installed GPS and real-time SMS tracking system. Theoretically, under the new SMS tracking system, you can send a text message to 560560 with your bus stop, number and direction (where applicable), and use it to attain an up to the minute prediction of when the bus will actually arrive at your stop by using the new GPS system installed on all OC Transpo busses. The catch is, only 28 busses out of the entire fleet have been outfitted with GPS tracking, despite the installation on all busses being due before the end of 2011. The municipal government is releasing the tracking data publicly, allowing people to use the open-source data to craft their own applications for use on mobile phones, which is an excellent step.

Similarly, the rash of incidents between members of the public and OC Transpo drivers is pushing OC Transpo to install surveillance cameras on its busses. Currently there are no surveillance cameras on busses across the city, though there are five false cameras installed. Surveillance in the workplace isn’t new, but the placement of these cameras may not include the bus drivers themselves. Given that a lot of the major incidents involve bus drivers accosting the public, driving while on the cell phone, or abandoning their station, this possibility seems very backward. And who wants to bet the cameras will be installed before the GPS system is completed, while simultaneously draining funds from OC Transpo’s budget that were earmarked to correct some of the “optimization” errors implemented this past September.

This is our chance to act proactively in our local area. We need to contact Mayor Jim Watson (http://tinyurl.com/9qhpt6), our city councilors (http://tinyurl.com/yg9krm5) and OC Transpo (http://tinyurl.com/bopmmtb) and voice our concern about the draining the ailing budget of OC Transpo to install a surveillance system designed to monitor paying riders as opposed to the employees who have been causing riders to be concerned.

Syrian Surveillance Success
Two weeks ago I brought your attention to the massive surveillance program that was being built in Syria by the Western corporations Area, NetApp, Qosmos and Utimaco. The roll out of the digital tracking and surveillance system would have been used by Syrian “security forces” to track down peaceful protestors and activists for execution. Thanks in part by actions taken over 10,000 people, including several from this list, the surveillance system will not be implemented. Area was the first of these four corporations to step back from the program, providing Syrians with some small measure of protection against unwarranted surveillance.

AccessNow, the online group that spearheaded this campaign is now calling on people to help push forward the need to develop “smart, strong and enforceable laws that permanently stop the sale and service of surveillance technology to repressive regimes.” Those interested in getting involved with this endeavor are asked to view the campaign’s website: https://www.accessnow.org/stop-the-sale

Switzerland to Earth: File-sharing No Big Deal
Earlier this week, the Swiss government released a report that determined that the act of file-sharing, for personal use, does not detrimentally affect copyright holders. The study reports that the funds that may have been spent on CDs and DVDs is instead spent on “concerts, movies and merchandising,” which are often far more profitable areas for copyright holders than the original material itself. Consumers continued to spend the same portion of their income on entertainment as they always have. For more details on the Swiss report, view the article on Ars Technica (http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/news/2011/12/swiss-government-file-sharing-no-big-deal-some-downloading-still-ok.ars).

The Pirate Party of Canada is very excited about this development as it marks another step in legitimizing non-commercial file-sharing. By demonstrating that there is no real physical loss to copyright holders, the Swiss governmental report demonstrates exactly what we have been saying all along. With the continuing threat of Bill C-11, “An Act to Amend the Copyright”, which aims to further block non-commercial file-sharing, strip away our users rights, and give DRM software the ability to restrict the method by which we can view the digital products we buy, we believe the time has come to take action!

Pirates are advised to contact their local MPs to voice their concern and specifically reference the Swiss report. This can be done over the phone, via e-mail, or through standard snail mail (with no postage required). You can find your MP here: http://tinyurl.com/3dg9g3. You should also contact PM Harper and Opposition party leaders with your concerns. Tell your friends about the bill and ask that they do the same. Lastly, send in a few letters to the editor and feel free to use Results Canada to help you pass them to numerous news sources (http://results-resultats.ca/Tools/LetterToEditor_eng.asp )

Donate
The Pirate Party of Canada is funded entirely by donations from our members and concerned individuals. Without funding from the membership, it isn’t possible to run advertising campaigns to bring attention to issues relating to our core values of personal privacy, government and corporate transparency, cultural freedoms and human rights. All donations are tax deductible, so any donations are substantially paid back at the end of fiscal year, only a few short months away! To donate today, please visit the donation page on the PPCA website ( https://crm.pirateparty.ca/contribute.php )

Sincerely,

Shawn Gray OCT PPCA Director-at-Large http://www.pirateparty.ca 1-877-850-7722 ext. *120

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