Computing and Politics

Sun Mar 28 15:46:43 UTC 2004

And, to top this off, I notice in the Globe yesterday that John Manley is
reported as encouraging us to have closer relations to the United States,
participate in the Star Wars II initiative, and soft-pedal our disagreements
with them.

Feh!

Peter

On Sun, Mar 28, 2004 at 06:13:47AM -0500, Paul King wrote:
> This has got to be the greatest example of American government hypocrisy in 
> action that I have yet seen. The Rep. Goodlatte quote below has to be responded 
> to with an attitude of "welcome to the club!" They have been shoving cultural 
> change down the throats of other countries including Canada ever since there 
> was free trade.
> 
> But it does reveal to us that "free" never meant free for us foreign to the US. 
> It meant "free" for the US to do what it wants to other countries. Sovereignty 
> has always trumped trade if you are an American. However, this is the first 
> time I have read about a representative sticking his neck out and finally 
> admitting it. I can only see us taking advantage of the quote if I heard George 
> Bush echoing the same sentiment.
> 
> But if you read the article, the reason the WTO ruled against the US on 
> gambling is because the US exports its online gambling service to other 
> countries. So clearly the US can't have one rule for itself and another rule 
> for other coutries.
> 
> I can't see the US backing away from the WTO over this small issue. They have 
> profiteered too much from so-called "free trade". I see it as an empty threat. 
> There is simply too much at stake for them to walk away.
> 
> But one can readily see free trade now for what it is: a bill of rights for 
> American companies to do what they want to other countries without them being 
> themselves obligated to the well-being of any country they do business with. 
> 
> Also, Walter, I am not clear on how Linux can be outlawed by free trade or any 
> other legislation. Please explain.
> 
> Paul King
> 
> >   It's not often that I get to make almost identical posts to a
> > computing mailing list and a political mailing list the same day and
> > *AND* still be on topic in both lists.  So here goes...
> > 
> >   For background, read...
> > 
> > http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/business/166397_gambing26.html 
> > 
> >   Executive summary... The WTO (World Trade Organization) has ruled that
> > U.S. policy prohibiting online gambling violates its obligations under
> > international trade law.
> > 
> >   A couple of interesting quotes...
> > 
> > > But the Bush administration vowed to appeal the decision, and several
> > > members of Congress said they would rather have an international trade
> > > war or withdraw from future rounds of the World Trade Organization
> > > than have American social policy dictated from abroad.
> > 
> >   And one that we really should take note of...
> > 
> > > "It's appalling," said Rep. Bob Goodlatte, R-Va. "It cannot be
> > > allowed to stand that another nation can impose its values on the
> > > U.S. and make it a trade issue."
> > 
> >   The US is using trade as a weapon to push its policies down other
> > countries' throats.  I hope that Representative Goodlatte gets his way,
> > because he would set a precedent favouring Canada's independence.  For
> > the linux mailing list, the immediate concern is US insistence on
> > "software patents", and extending copyright on music and video to twice
> > its current length, and eventually enactment of Fritz-Hollings-like
> > legislation around the planet, which would effectively outlaw linux.
> > For the political mailing list, the above is but a small subset of what
> > the US will be demanding, whilst trying to "make it a trade issue".
> > 
> >   This is a golden opportunity for Canada to protect its interests.  We
> > should negotiate a quid-pro-quo with the US recognizing that their
> > national sovereignty trumps "trade issues" in return for affirming
> > similar rights for Canada.
> > 
> > Custom part for TLUG
> > ====================
> > 
> >   Open Source in general, and linux in particular, are no longer just
> > a toy played with by a few geeks.  They are replacements for expensive
> > proprietary software.  And they are hurting the bottom line of some
> > American businesses by competing with them.  Just like the British
> > horse-and-buggy industry bought the "red flag law" in 1865, American
> > software businesses will use their political power to attempt to buy
> > legislation either outlawing, or at least greatly hindering open source.
> > 
> >   We can't have much effect on what happens in the US.  However, even
> > the the most isolationist American knows that if the rest of the world
> > goes Open Source, the US will become a technological backwater.  The
> > next "logical" step is to extend anti-Open-Source legislation to the
> > rest of the planet.  That's where we come in.  I urge all TLUG'ers to
> > get involved with whichever political party you support, and work to
> > insure that a couple of decades from now, you won't be wistfully longing
> > for "the good ole days" when you could legally run linux or whatever OS
> > you wanted to.
> > 
> > -- 
> > Walter Dnes <waltdnes-SLHPyeZ9y/tg9hUCZPvPmw at public.gmane.org>
> > Email users are divided into two classes;
> > 1) Those who have effective spam-blocking
> > 2) Those who wish they did
> > --
> =========================================================
> Paul King              http://www3.sympatico.ca/pking123/
> 
> 
> --
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-- 
Peter D. Hiscocks                         	   
Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering    
Ryerson University,                    
350 Victoria Street,
Toronto, Ontario, M5B 2K3, Canada

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