Fwd: [d at DCC] ACTION Alert: Please support two key govt. ethics lawsuits, and good government campaigns (fwd)

Sun Aug 17 20:04:54 UTC 2008

I apologize in advance for anyone who takes this forwarding wrong.  I
fully support it however...

As attached,
- Scott.

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Russell McOrmond <russell-W/cP4liIXzk at public.gmane.org>
Date: Sun, Aug 17, 2008 at 10:16 AM
Subject: [d at DCC] ACTION Alert: Please support two key govt. ethics
lawsuits, and	good government campaigns (fwd)
To: General Copyright Discussions <discuss-WolORMuebV4TBNh8kXeBKqyvx2GgBOVq930Pai70D+E at public.gmane.org>

   Copyright is often said to be one of the most lobbied areas of public
policy, so this should be of interest to this community.

--
 Russell McOrmond, Internet Consultant: <http://www.flora.ca/>
 Please help us tell the Canadian Parliament to protect our property
 rights as owners of Information Technology. Sign the petition!
 http://digital-copyright.ca/petition/ict/     http://KillBillC61.ca

 "The government, lobbied by legacy copyright holders and hardware
  manufacturers, can pry control over my camcorder, computer,
  home theatre, or portable media player from my cold dead hands!"

---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Fri, 15 Aug 2008 11:16:45 -0400
Subject: ACTION Alert: Please support two key govt. ethics lawsuits,
    and        good government campaigns

THANK YOU VERY MUCH TO EVERYONE WHO HAS DONATED IN THE PAST YEAR AT:
http://www.dwatch.ca/camp/support.html

PLEASE PASS THIS MESSAGE ON to everyone you know in Canada, and if
you have any questions about this email, contact Democracy Watch by
email at: <dwatch at web.net>

Dear Friend of Democracy,
       Your help is needed right now to support the campaigns to
close the 90 loopholes in the federal government's accountability
system, and also to support two key government ethics lawsuits to
stop lobbyists from doing favours for politicians they are lobbying,
and to stop politicians and government officials from controlling
investigations of themselves and their friends when they face
accusations of wrongdoing.
       PLEASE DONATE NOW to help Democracy Watch pay the more than
$10,000 in costs of the two key government ethics lawsuits it has
filed against the federal Registrar of Lobbyists, and the federal
Ethics Commissioner, and to support Democracy Watch's good government
campaigns -- See details about the lawsuits and campaigns below
(including a sample letter to send to federal political party
leaders) and please donate now at:
http://www.dwatch.ca/camp/support.html

       Thank you in advance to all of you who donate and/or send a
letter to federal political party leaders in support of Democracy
Watch's lawsuits and good government campaigns (and thank you to
everyone who has donated or sent a letter in the past year).

Sincerely,
Duff Conacher, Coordinator
Democracy Watch
http://www.cleangovernment.ca

****************

LAWSUIT #1 - STOP LOBBYISTS FROM DOING FAVOURS FOR CABINET MINISTERS
THEY ARE LOBBYING
       Democracy Watch is challenging the federal Registrar of
Lobbyists Michael Nelson in court because he ruled that no ethics
rules were broken when a lobbyist organized and held a fundraising
event that raised $70,000 for a Cabinet minister at the same time the
lobbyist was lobbying the minister's department.
       If Democracy Watch wins, lobbyists will finally be stopped
from doing favours for Cabinet ministers they are lobbying.
       In an extraordinary ruling, a Federal Court of Appeal Justice
has ordered Democracy Watch to pay by August 29th $10,000 in costs in
advance of the court hearing or Democracy Watch's appeal will be
dismissed!!
       You can see details about the court case at:
http://www.dwatch.ca/camp/RelsAug1508.html

*******

LAWSUIT #2 - STOP POLITICIANS AND GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS FROM
CONTROLLING INVESTIGATIONS OF THEMSELVES AND THEIR FRIENDS
       Democracy Watch is challenging the federal Ethics
Commissioner Mary Dawson in court because she ruled that Prime
Minister Harper and his Cabinet ministers can control the
investigation into their actions and the actions of former
Conservative Prime Minister Brian Mulroney (even though Mulroney was
an advisor to Harper until last November).
       If Democracy Watch wins, federal politicians and government
officials will finally be stopped from controlling investigations
about their and their friends' actions.
       You can see details about the court case at:
http://www.dwatch.ca/camp/RelsMay2108.html

*******

AND PLEASE SEND A LETTER CALLING ON FEDERAL PARTY LEADERS TO CLEAN UP
THE SYSTEM, FINALLY
       Did you know that, because of loopholes in federal laws (even
after the passage of the so-called "Federal Accountability Act"),
Karlheinz Schreiber and Brian Mulroney could still be corporate
lobbyists in secret today, and Schreiber could still give unlimited
amounts of money in secret to all federal politicians after they left
office, either as a donation or as payment for lobbying?
       Did you know that, because of more than 90 loopholes in the
federal government's accountability system, it is legal:
       - to be dishonest in politics;
       - to make secret unlimited donations to all types of
political candidates;
       - for MPs, riding associations and political parties to have
secret trust funds;
       - to lobby in secret;
       - to do secret polling with the public paying;
       - for MPs to switch parties in-between elections just to
further their career ambitions;
       - for the Prime Minister to appoint more than 2,000 law
enforcement officers without any public review or hearings (including
public inquiry commissioners), and;
       - for federal politicians, their staff and senior government
officials to be involved in policy-making processes in which they
have a direct financial interest, and to become lobbyists soon after
they leave office?

       Did you know that the Accountability Act doesn't even protect
all federal government employees who blow the whistle on government
wrongdoing (and doesn't protect any other whistleblowers at all)?
       With a federal election very likely happening sometime in the
next year, now is a key time to push all federal parties to make
strong pledges to close all the loopholes, and strengthen the
enforcement and penalties, in the federal government's accountability
system.
       Powerful lobbyists are pushing to weaken the accountability
system, and politicians are reluctant to increase their own
accountability, so the federal political party leaders need to hear
from you or they won't do anything to ensure honest, ethical, open,
representative and waste-preventing government.
       PLEASE GO TO the following Democracy Watch webpage and use
the sample letter to send a letter to all federal political party
leaders telling them to clean up the federal government's
accountability system, finally:
http://www.dwatch.ca/camp/actsystem.htm
OR GO TO:
http://www.goodgovernment.ca
AND click on the "Good Government Action Alert" link.

       To see background information on 16 situations in the past 15
years of federal politics that have revealed the 90 loopholes in the
federal government's accountability system, go to:
http://www.dwatch.ca/camp/RelsNov0707.html

*******

PLEASE ALSO DONATE NOW to help stop dishonest, unethical, secretive,
unrepresentative and wasteful politics in Canada at:
http://www.dwatch.ca/camp/support.html
Democracy Watch does not accept money from governments or large
corporations -- without your ongoing support Democracy Watch will
have to shut down its good government campaigns (the only such
campaigns in Canada)

*******

THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU for sending your letters, and for
your ongoing support of Democracy Watch's good government court cases
and campaigns.

Sincerely,
Duff Conacher, Coordinator
Democracy Watch
P.O. Box 821, Stn. B
Ottawa, Canada
K1P 5P9
Tel: (613) 241-5179
Fax: (613) 241-4758
Email: dwatch-xCLmdGRZybU at public.gmane.org
Internet: http://www.cleangovernment.ca

Since 1993, cleaning up and making governments and corporations more
responsible and accountable to you, and making Canada the world's
leading democracy -- please donate now at:
http://www.dwatch.ca/camp/support.html
_______________________________________________
Discuss mailing list
Discuss-WolORMuebV4TBNh8kXeBKqyvx2GgBOVq930Pai70D+E at public.gmane.org
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-- 
 Scott Elcomb
 http://www.psema4.com/
 http://www.google.com/reader/shared/14892828400785741937
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