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Canadian Border to Check iPods for Copyright Infringment

canada.com — The federal government is secretly negotiating an agreement to revamp international copyright laws which could make the information on Canadian iPods, laptop computers or other personal electronic devices illegal and greatly increase the difficulty of travelling with such devices.

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  • magicjohnson, on 05/28/2008, -3/+1058This is ridiculous. Invasion of privacy much?
    • jordansky, on 05/29/2008, -21/+50Canada was the country that let things slide, like gay weddings, now they're jumping on the must control everything bandwagon just to stay in good standings with the U.S.
      • m3th0dm4n, on 05/29/2008, -20/+13Idiot.
      • PabloMac, on 05/29/2008, -1/+53Remember, it's the government's job to protect us and save us from everything bad in this world.
        • Mattrofl, on 05/29/2008, -5/+3ha what times were those
        • humperdeath, on 05/29/2008, -0/+7Just imagine the wait times at the border crossing now!
        • Dachublez, on 05/30/2008, -0/+0But who is to protect us from the government?
      • joshhan, on 05/29/2008, -11/+4Wasn't Canada the country that banned Howard Stern of all things?
        • g30ph, on 05/29/2008, -0/+4He's on Sirius Canada. I don't think he was on the line up from the beginning though.
        • MacSuxWindozSux, on 05/29/2008, -7/+5Marylin Manson. Because he threw a pig into the audience and told them to tear it apart.
        • lostarchitect, on 05/29/2008, -0/+9i seriously doubt that manson thing is true. Here is a snopes article about him doing the same thing with puppies: http://www.snopes.com/music/artists/marilyn2.asp

          it's best not to believe everything you hear.
      • stk198323, on 05/29/2008, -1/+41We are not jumping on the bandwagon, we have a nazist prime minister, but unlike the real deal he's actually just a Bush puppet. A sorry wannabe that think that anything Bush decide is holy word and should be imitated as soon as possible!

        Get Harper out and thing's will get back to normal!
        • Qeveren, on 05/29/2008, -1/+30Hear hear. Anyone who votes conservative in Canada these days needs their ass kicked up between their ears. The Conservative Party of Canada isn't the party you think it is anymore, people. They merged with the 'Canadian Alliance' and took a huge swing off into right-wing fundie territory.
        • andymci, on 05/29/2008, -0/+10Get the Conservatives out of there.
        • kuzotz, on 05/29/2008, -4/+2conservatives are evil!!
      • manifest020, on 05/29/2008, -2/+18FTA "The new document is reported to be drafted by the Office of the United States Trade Representative"

        Ohhhhhh BLAME CANADA, BLAME CANADA!

        I'm American.
      • AROZ, on 05/29/2008, -0/+13It's not just Canada, it's the members of the G8 trying to create these laws, and the European Union. Unfortunately, Canada's government is now a neocon tight-lipped group making it harder to even hear of stuff like this. It's consequently harder for citizens to speak out and protest.
      • ihaveabu, on 05/30/2008, -0/+0well, canada's new prime minister is george w bush's bitch. u guys know about the donation bush's family made to the guy's campaign.

        it's the first time in canadian history that the prime minister isn't liberal. all thanks to bush.

        there aren't many canadians that are happy bout this change, cuz stupid ***** like this happens

        also, notice how the article says it's a leaked document? if it's leaked, then wouldn't the news company be sued for distribution? well, not if it's intentionally leaked. lol
    • usgovterrorists, on 05/29/2008, -1/+39NWO!
    • RandomGorilla, on 05/29/2008, -5/+112How good's that free health care looking now, eh?

      ... Still pretty ***** good.... damn you, Canada.
      • jimmycurN, on 05/29/2008, -1/+12You still have to pay (for public health insurance, and private supplementary insurance), it's just a reasonable amount.
        • Zippo, on 05/29/2008, -1/+18The only real purpose for health insurance in Canada is to pay for prescription drugs, eye and dental, and occasionally some travel insurance.

          Visits to the doc, surgeries, etc are covered by the provincial health care systems.
        • BESTenemy, on 05/29/2008, -11/+8Canadian system is on a slippery slope. Healthcare coverage demands a hefty mandatory monthly payment. The coverage, like Zippo said, does not include dental or eye examinations - those routines that make up a big chunk of medical spending for most people. The system's no more adequate than a Consumer Price Index that doesn't count food and energy costs when measuring inflation.

          Subsidized doctor's visits? Just like with everything subsidized, it puts inscentives on doctors to plow through visitors, not for the HMO money, but for the government checks. Doctors are becoming more eager to work numbers and pursue abundance of visits as oppose to completion of treatments.

          Personally I'm against mandatory insurance and government intervention in the competition process. Too many monopolies and price fixing is going on. Thinking of West Coast - one car insurance monopoly, one telecomunication monopoly, one health insurance monopoly, one transportation monopoly.

          Last time an independant transport company hastried to offer service to unprofitable Northern region it got booted out with outrageous claims that increased competition to the government's transportaiton would increase operating costs. What nonsense! Competition always lowers price.

          An establishment of a private health clinic has also been met with negativity. The attempts to shut it down are still ongoing, although it keeps performing superior service for those willing to pay extra buck to get rid of the waiting list.

          The government acts as a defender of free enterprise, while in actuality doing everything it can to prevent and demonize it in the public view. The government serves no interest but its own.
        • Papajohn56, on 05/29/2008, -7/+4the guy above me is right but is being buried because he's not part of the digg hivemind
        • ubrikkean, on 05/30/2008, -0/+4@Papajohn56

          Actually, I think most people just don't want to read that many words this far into a comment thread.
    • JackOCat, on 05/29/2008, -0/+41Every Time our ***** Right Wing Minority government tries to table Copyright legislation, they get a flood of letters and then back off in fear. So far so good I guess.
      Oh Canada.
      • Zippo, on 05/29/2008, -0/+19They only have a minority... thankfully. It allows us to keep them in check because they're in a constant fear of losing a confidence vote.
        • kiroh, on 05/29/2008, -1/+12"Fear" might be too strong a term. There's a definite lack of electable leaders in the opposition...
        • Raian, on 05/29/2008, -0/+3Kiroh it doesn't matter-- if they lose one vote the Governor General can appoint anyone as Prime Minister, or call an election.
        • PopcornDave, on 05/30/2008, -0/+1@kiroh

          It's not just Canada, it's a world wide epidemic.
    • Sillywombat, on 05/29/2008, -2/+65Nice to see Canada is try to compete with America on the whole "Land of Freedom" thing.
      • jserio, on 05/29/2008, -2/+7There go my plans to emigrate to Canada.
        • getbusyliving, on 05/29/2008, -8/+1immigrate
        • xxpor, on 05/29/2008, -0/+4immigrate means comeing in, emigrate means moving out. So from his perspective, he would emigrate to canada.
    • oxdeltaxo, on 05/29/2008, -12/+9How are they going to know if you even have anything on you? You could just lie.

      Border Guard:"Do you have any audio recording or storage devices in your vehicle? Laptops, cds, ipods?"
      ME: "nope"
      Border Guard:"Ok, go on through."

      If they tried to force their way into my vehicle, just lock the doors and go back to Canada, why would I want to goto the us if they're just going to re-inforce the idea that they're assholes?
      • yuanzhoulu, on 05/29/2008, -0/+17generally speaking once you've landed upon the destination country's territory (i.e. the border post itself) they can apply their own laws to you, including not letting you leave.
      • cdahlkvist, on 05/29/2008, -1/+23Did you read the article? This is Canada that will be enforcing this, not the U.S.

        So, according to your own statement, it is actually Canada being the assholes.

        Furthermore, they have a right to search your vehicle whether you want them to or not. Go ahead and lock your doors and try to race across the border and see what happens.

        Do you think just saying "no, I have nothing" will work? I guess that is why drug mules get caught at airports. When the customs employee asks if they have any drugs they always say "yes, yes I do."
        • AROZ, on 05/29/2008, -2/+4I guess you read the article but missed how this is supposed to be part of an international effort. So why wouldn't the US do the same inspection?
        • oxdeltaxo, on 05/29/2008, -2/+1Ever heard of the drug/bomb sniffing dogs/machines?
        • yunus, on 05/30/2008, -2/+2Worked for me coming from Alaska going through Canada.
          Canadian official: Do you have any firearms in your vehicle?
          Me: No.
          Canadian official: Go on through.
        • j1ggy, on 05/30/2008, -1/+1You didn't read the article either. The ACTA is similar to NAFTA, it applies across all countries that join it. Including the United States where the idea was first drafted.
    • davidkeithjones, on 05/29/2008, -0/+30Its not even worth listening to music anymore.

      I doubt border guards will sit there sifting through your files and holding up traffic just to see if your copy of "Sexual eruption" is legal.
      • thall, on 05/29/2008, -0/+8Major ports of entry have dedicated inspection parking. If they feel you need further inspection they tell you to park your car over there so you don't hold up the line. Another officer does the inspection.
      • psylemon, on 05/29/2008, -1/+4Mine is illegal, btw..
      • saleem, on 05/29/2008, -0/+10how do you tell if a no-DRM mp3 is legal or not since amazon started selling no-DRM music
        • blahtastic, on 05/29/2008, -0/+9Not only that, but I sure as hell don't add any DRM to my mp3's when I rip them from my collection. Nor do I carry the receipt for CD's I bought with me when I go to different countries.
    • yuanzhoulu, on 05/29/2008, -3/+6yeah, i'd think i could store private things on an ipod but apparently not because they're going to listen to it? ***** dude.

      on a lighter note, they used the word 'ipod' not 'music player' so if i have something else it's ok?

      also you can prevent files from playing easily on most of these devices. plug into a pc and rename all .mp3 and .ogg to .crap and then rename it back when you're at your destination. of course if they plug it into a computer to check though ... i guess you'll have to use encryption or something.
      • stk198323, on 05/29/2008, -0/+11Read the freaking article geez!

        They said:

        The federal government is secretly negotiating an agreement to revamp international copyright laws which could make the information on Canadian iPods, laptop computers or other personal electronic devices illegal [...]

        Another mp3 player would fall in the other personal device I think. Beside what a nespaper write and what's the actual wording of the law can and will differ!
      • thedarkwolf, on 05/29/2008, -0/+11Use truecrypt, even if they demand the key to access your files, you can have another encrypted partition and it is impossible to prove that it exists on the hard drive.

        Pain, yes, but worth it to keep the border patrol from looking through my thousands of songs. How can they tell which ones are legal anyway? I have legally purchased MP3 files on there, so how do they no what is pirated and what isn't?
      • asforme, on 05/29/2008, -0/+8The question I have is how the hell will they know if it's illegal. The mp3 of a song I ripped from my own CD looks exactly like the mp3 that somebody else on the internet ripped from their CD. Are all non DRM'd songs illegal now? What about Amazon? Or maybe it's just ripped content that they'll pretend is illegal now.
    • Zippo, on 05/29/2008, -2/+24Invasion of privacy, in MY Canada?
      I don't think so.
      • AROZ, on 05/29/2008, -2/+9Too bad western Canada loves their Conservatives.
        • getbusyliving, on 05/29/2008, -4/+14Too bad the Liberal government were a bunch of corrupt thieving assholes.

          And yes I ***** hate Harper too
        • jamusallen, on 05/29/2008, -0/+4I don't know if party has much to do with it anymore. Remember Mulroney? When's the last time we had a government that weren't a bunch of corrupt thieving assholes?
        • frsrblch, on 05/30/2008, -0/+8I blame Calgary and rural Alberta. But mostly I blame Calgary.
    • trunkster, on 05/29/2008, -2/+11So the only way to get music legally is iTunes? Sorry if I like better quality then 128 kpbs (yes there is drm free at higher bitrates but not all music has that available). ***** North America.
      • cdahlkvist, on 05/29/2008, -0/+16Nope. Even buying it from iTunes won't help. It is up to the border partol to decide if you have a legal right to have it.

        That means if the border patrol wanted to be a dick they could just confiscate your iPod even though you bought everything legally through iTunes.

        Nice, huh?

        How could they possibly prove that the music or movies you have didn't come from a legitimate source? They can't.
        • PopcornDave, on 05/30/2008, -0/+1Just wait until the story appears of Canadian Border guards selling confiscated iPods on eBay.
    • B3N3, on 05/29/2008, -0/+21Hellllloooo, Mr. Orwell.
    • ferkranus, on 05/29/2008, -1/+26"The guards would also be responsible for determining what is infringing content and what is not." -- this will be problematic.

      However, none of this will happen...we're Canada...everyone will oppose it. Now, more than ever, there is a Canadian need to SEPARATE ourselves from the States...not buy into their paternalistic *****.
      • PopcornDave, on 05/30/2008, -0/+2But what happens if you cross the border in Quebec? If you have music in English without a French equivalent will they confiscate your equipment?
        /sarcasm
    • phike, on 05/29/2008, -14/+1THIS WOULD ONLY APPLY TO CANADIAN DEVICES. Not a big deal to me or most of you.
      • Konstantino, on 05/29/2008, -0/+6The article refers to the border guards. If you travel to Canada then your device is still subject to be checked, regardless of the fact that the device is "Canadian" or not.

        On that note, it's nearly impossible to prove that the files on your iPod (or whatever) are illegally in use considering you can purchase this content from iTunes, etc.
    • wildmXranat, on 05/29/2008, -4/+10This is exactly what you get with non-open, locked in devices.

      Linux + encryption = freedom and privacy. All else is Orwellian parody.
      • jamusallen, on 05/29/2008, -4/+2Yes, obviously the key issue involved here is OS superiority.
        • djbon2112, on 05/29/2008, -1/+4The key issue here is open-source. Linux is a perfect example of it. It has nothing to do with OS superiority.
    • mateo60, on 05/29/2008, -0/+5This doesn't seem practical. How can they check to make sure your iPod songs are legitimately purchased? Doesn't seem like it can happen.
    • RiverBelow, on 05/29/2008, -1/+6Dude, it doesn't even matter. There is no way they will ever ***** no. I have over 10,000 songs, maybe 80% pirated and the rest ripped from CD's or off iTunes (and I guess ripping from CDs is technically copyright infringement), they're going to look at it and see the title of the song. There is no source of where the ***** I got the song on the iPod. This will never happened, almost want to bury it but I won't on the odd occasion that us Canadians invent a device that can determine if YOU bought that song.

      Get the ***** out.
      • blahtastic, on 05/29/2008, -0/+3Dude, you hear that knocking? Canadian RIAA is at your door; they're gonna take away your massive Billy Talent collection.
        • RiverBelow, on 05/30/2008, -0/+1It'd be massive if they had more than three albums, my Iron Maiden collection is massive.
      • Rammy912, on 05/30/2008, -0/+1this ***** is so ***** up. once they publicly announce this, the country's gna go crazy. it'll be on cbc and bob mckeown will be doing a fifth estate special on it. it'll also be on the national with peter mansbridge.
    • mistergoomba, on 05/29/2008, -0/+6more like invasion of piracy
    • Schmich, on 05/29/2008, -0/+4I don't get how that works. How are they gonna check if you own the rights to a song?
    • freqk, on 05/29/2008, -0/+9*reads headline*
      wait... what?
      *reads article*
      wait... WHAT?
    • psycoshot, on 05/30/2008, -1/+1People will just setup large file hosting servers for your songs, wipe you iPod, cross the border and re d/l.

      Also, encryptions can be made for mp3 players. Stuff like iPod linux and rockbox could be configured to make it un-navigatable to the average person.

      Damn this sucks.
    • Attol, on 05/30/2008, -1/+1My porn collection greatly outnumbers my mp3's.

      Once again, I'm a step ahead of Canada.
    • LenBaird, on 05/31/2008, -0/+1Welcome to fascism, where the government and corporations (music industry in this case) work together to squeeze and rob the people.
    • uscbp, on 08/06/2008, -0/+0This is how the US checks all electronic devices! This is the best way to find child porn!
  • sjug, on 05/28/2008, -0/+421Insanity now
    • PeaTearGryphon, on 05/29/2008, -0/+58Serenity later?
      • THES0URCE, on 05/29/2008, -0/+23Hoochie Momma!
      • mrgreenjeans9, on 05/29/2008, -3/+2falafel now, feel better later
      • dibby1, on 05/29/2008, -0/+3newman!
      • Me0wmix, on 05/29/2008, -3/+1No, no. Your doing it wrong. Serenity now, Insanity later.
      • happytedium, on 05/30/2008, -0/+1That guy looked exactly like Norman Bates. Also, probably my favourite episode.

        "If you want the leg room, say you want the leg room, don't blame the mechanism! Serenity now, serenity now!"
    • yuanzhoulu, on 05/29/2008, -1/+9most of my music collection is ripped from secondhand, legit CDs that i have. just ripped it to make it easy to listen to. copyrighted music on music players isn't always illegal, so how can they check?
      • stk198323, on 05/29/2008, -1/+15You would have to give a proff you have the corresponding cd to EACH single song you have on your portable device.

        And don't start with: innocent until proven guilty, that's overdated and is now osolete. You will be considered guilty until proven innocent in most civil case.

        And the criminal charges will not apply to anyone outside of mass distribution because our prison are already overfilled and costing too much.
        • blackinthmiddle, on 05/29/2008, -0/+6Which is stupid. I'm in yuanzhoulu's boat. I've got a ton of music ripped legally. In many cases, I ripped the music not just to listen to it on iTunes but also because I started noticing scratches on them and wanted a safe copy of it before it was unreadable. I have a few CDs where the music skips, jumps etc., and I'm more than glad I made those copies.

          What if I buy music from amazon.com (which I've done before) and never had a CD? There are WAY too many variables and we're expecting guards to figure something out that even a seasoned computer user would have a hard time doing. Even if you could eventually figure out whether or not someone has legit copies of music, videos, etc., lines would be backed up to Alaska! I don't see this being implemented. At least not in the way mentioned in the article.
        • RiverBelow, on 05/29/2008, -0/+3Oh yeah, they're gonna check my 10,000+ song iPod, and for every album on there I have to prove? As in drive back to home in Toronto, bring back my PC and show them that I bought it off iTunes, or bring in my 500 CD collection?


          This is a bad ***** joke.
    • itsfullofstars, on 05/29/2008, -1/+10What is even more insane is that these are the idiots WE elected (and KEEP electing) that are doing this to us and we can get rid of them, but we won't. Gay marriage and flag pins are WAY more important than this.

      Reminds me of that story... Everybody, Somebody, Anybody & Nobody.

    • diggerphelps, on 05/29/2008, -0/+2Insanity now, eh.
    • Jo9100, on 05/29/2008, -0/+1ahh tabarnac
    • timtimes, on 05/29/2008, -0/+7They hate us for our MP3's.

      And the three men I admire most, the Father, Son and Holy Ghost...they took the last train to the coast.....the day the music died.

      Enjoy.
    • Rage67, on 05/30/2008, -0/+3what about burnt cd's?
  • LOCK3D, on 05/28/2008, -3/+686So now we have to carry our entire CD collections with us to prove none of our mp3s are illegal downloads? Since this isn't even remotely feasible, next they'll just have to force us all to have an RFID linked to all of our purchases so they can quickly determine we bought every one of those songs. Meanwhile the Mexican/US border will remain wide open.

    They sure have some strange priorities, especially while trying to convince us all we need to give up what little freedom we have left in order to protect us from the evil terrists... who hate us for our freedom. It would be laughable if it wasn't so depressing.
    • BoneheadFarker, on 05/29/2008, -5/+45"Meanwhile the Mexican/US border will remain wide open."

      Not true...remember that wall the US is building? That should block about 30% of the border. So, technically, it's not wide open...just mostly open...
      • rex84, on 05/29/2008, -3/+18Border Fence Funding Hoax of 2006 and 2007
        How Congress And The President Are Working Behind-The-Scenes To Un-Do The Secure Fence Act
        http://www.firesociety.com/article/19402/

        “As Grassfire.org has previously reported, despite grandiose claims, our government has built just 5 miles of the the 854 miles of double-layer border fence mandated by the Secure Fence Act of 2006.”

        “Secure Fence Act Hoax of 2006
        In the fall of 2006 when Congress passed and the President signed into law the Secure Fence Act, most Americans thought they understood what they were getting. The plain text of the law states that "the Secretary of Homeland Security shall provide for [at] least 2 layers of reinforced fencing, the installation of additional physical barriers, roads, lighting, cameras, and sensors" along a specified range of the U.S.-Mexico border. The Act then stipulated the precise regions of the border, covering a total of 854 miles.

        But the very same day that the Senate passed the Secure Fence Act, Senate leaders had already hatched a plan to, in essence, un-do the Act. More precisely stated, Congress passed another law giving the Department of Homeland Security (DHS)discretion over how and where the fence would actually be built. That night, after the Secure Fence Act was passed, Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison rose to the floor of the Senate and expressed her concern that the Act was too restrictive and would impose too much of a burden on Texas' border communities. Hutchison then submitted into the record two letters written earlier that day. The first was a letter she had received from Majority Leader Bill Frist earlier in the day addressing Sen. Hutchison's concerns; the second, Frist's letter to House and Senate leaders issuing specific legislative directives related to Hutchison's concerns. The letter made three stipulations:

        1. Congress "will work with the Department of Homeland Security" (DHS) to consult with state governments, local governments, and Native American tribes "regarding the exact placement of fencing and other physical infrastructure along the southwest border of the United States."
        2. Legislation will give DHS "flexibility to use alternative physical infrastructure" instead of fencing when DHS sees fit.
        3. The legislation will "clarify the definition of operational control of the border" to ensure a "workable standard for the Department."”
      • Spudster, on 05/29/2008, -8/+3If there is one thing that annoys me about Diggers politically, it's their fierce opposition to immigration. Get over your Xenophobia already.
        • Pillage, on 05/29/2008, -1/+9opposition to ILLEGAL immigration.
        • LOCK3D, on 05/29/2008, -1/+6Spudster, very few people here are against legal immigration, although I'm sure there's probably a few racists trolling around. It's illegal immigration that people have proplem with, where those entering are not going through a security check of any kind. Possibly bringing in contaminated food, drugs, diseases, who knows. Considering the govt. pushing the GWOT, doesn't it seem a bit nuts to just let anyone walk in through the southern border? Plus it's a slap in the face to those that spent the time, money and effort to immigrate legally.

          Pull your head out of your overly politically correct ass please.
      • toshibu, on 05/30/2008, -1/+1We all know Mexicans are too dumb to go around.
    • thecosmicpope, on 05/29/2008, -0/+61Not just your CD collection either. Have you ever bought songs from iTunes, or the Zune Marketplace, or other legal MP3 Online Retailers? If so you better print out a copy of the tracks and take that with you!

      It is impossible to find copyrighted materials without knowing what the person owns.
      • amirman, on 05/29/2008, -1/+5so basically we have to carry our papers with us at all times... haha :)
    • MarkOfTheDead, on 05/29/2008, -2/+40I met a french kid in a coffee shop downtown one day about 10 years ago before all this freedom for terrorism ***** came about and we were discussing what his plans for the next few months were. He said he was going back to france to enjoy life and couldn't understand why anyone stayed in the united states if they didn't have a product or service to market and sell. I guess it's easier for someone else to see a predicament when they're outside the fishbowl looking in....
      • TrevorBelmont, on 05/29/2008, -15/+5France bashing is quite fashionable and personally I don't support it. That said, it seems pretty common that a french person will find any culture that is not native to France barbaric and abhorrent. In this situation, it may have been his own cultural biases that were on display, not America's cultural flaws.
        • MarkOfTheDead, on 05/29/2008, -0/+13He seemed like a pretty well rounded and educated kid. I don't know where france bashing comes in, since I wasn't saying anything about france either way. My point (and his as well) is that this is a nation of merchandise, not quality of life.

          Please don't try to put your angry words into my peaceful posts. Thanks.
        • roflbrothel, on 05/29/2008, -2/+2lol
        • stk198323, on 05/29/2008, -2/+3All French people coming to Canada seems to like our country, maybe you should take a look at what's going on in your instead of assuming other country are populated by stupid people!
        • Codwhy, on 05/29/2008, -0/+1dominated by peace.
        • solistus, on 05/29/2008, -3/+2Yes, FRENCH people reject all other cultures. Did the irony of categorically saying people of one culture are culturally intolerant miss you entirely, or was this a failed attempt at internet sarcasm? I really hope there aren't people out there who honestly believe that French culture rejects all non-French culture as "abhorrent."
        • TrevorBelmont, on 05/29/2008, -0/+2@ MarkOfTheDead:
          I didn't mean to imply that you were bashing on the french, only that I didn't intend any offense by my own comment. Please don't put your angry feelings into my peaceful words.
      • matu4251, on 05/29/2008, -0/+17Well, I was born and raised in France. I moved to the USA 5 years ago at the age of 23 and frankly I'm happy just going back to France once a year for a week. That "kid" you met probably didn't know much about the US and didn't even care to. Like in a lot of other countries, French think their country and customs are vastly superior to others. If France was perfect people wouldn't demonstrate/ go on strike all the time.
        • thecatcantalk, on 05/29/2008, -2/+14You're not kidding, comrade ;). I'm a sous chef, and I know that although my trade doesn't pay so well here in the U.S. (I love to cook, so I deal with it), I also know that in France, many of the great and legendary restaurants have died as a direct result of the 30-hour workweek.

          That's sad, but it's also true that the great French chefs were also the great enemies of the workers they employed...the traditional French 'brigade system' of running a kitchen is basically slavery. Which is better, which is worse? I can't judge. American cooks don't get paid properly, almost all our trade unions in this country are gone...but still, when you go to an American-owned hotel or resort, you get the best service, and the most consistently excellent food, that you'll ever receive.

          I hadn't realized what an extraordinarily high standard of customer service we Americans are used to, until I went to Antigua (B.W.I.) and stayed in a British resort. Never again!

          My God, it's true....the English cannot cook, and NOTHING in an English hotel works...by the end of the first week, I'd heard "Sorry for the inconvenience!" twenty times.

          At any rate, thanks for giving us a bit of perspective. Americans who go to university are so brainwashed with anti-white, anti-American, anti-European civilization dogma, that it's as if they never realize that pretty much everything good in life is the fruit of Western culture (e.g., indoor plumbing, sewers, paved roads, good food that doesn't make you sick, dentistry, modern medicine, anaesthetic, wine (!), and so forth). To hear American college professors tell the story, you'd think we westerners never did anything good for humanity. Silly.
        • jimmy17, on 05/29/2008, -0/+3Strange, I've lived in England all my life and I have stayed in many hotels and eaten in many restaurants. Compared to the US (which i have traveled to several times) I know i prefer our food better (and given that the UK has more Michelin starred restaurants than any country in the world I'm not alone apparently). I would also say that Bristol hotels vs American are about the same (my favorite however are the Swiss)

          Whilst I agree with your last paragraph about people calming down with the anti American nonsense please don't assume that all of the UK is the same as a tacky resort in the Antigua. Just as i didn't assume that all American cuisine was the same as some of that awful deli food i had to endure last time i was in a new york.
        • Zong, on 05/29/2008, -1/+2The United States is just as guilty as France for thinking they better than everyone else... Socialism aside they like what they got, which is more than we can say here since we are constantly letting left and ring wing extremists decide what best for everybody while the rest of us are too fat or lazy to care or do anything until we can't afford to fill up our hummer
        • Belariad, on 05/29/2008, -0/+0@ thecatcantalk

          Do you seriously beleive that things like sewers and modern medicine are a product of the great western world? I'm pretty sure the romans had incredibly vast sewer systems before the west was even discovered. and i'm sorry, your comments about dentistry, modern science, anaesthetic, and wine are almost laughable. sure the west has helped to refine them and possibly make them better but we (yes, i'm a westerner) can hardly take credit for their inventions.
        • kuzotz, on 05/29/2008, -0/+1egyptian civilization was the first to have indoor plumbing. Western civilization is a replica of greek, and greek is a replica of egyptian.

          :P
        • utinam, on 05/29/2008, -0/+1@ Belariad

          Except, you know...the whole thing where the Roman Empire is part of the Western World.

          http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Western_world

          You're a westerner. Go ahead, it's okay to take credit in a roundabout way. Though I wouldn't recommend doing something like saying, "I brought indoor plumbing into this world and I can take it back if I want!"
        • tech42er, on 05/30/2008, -0/+1@Belariad
          You do realize Western civilization is western Europe and North America, right? The whole ***** basis for Western civilization is Greece and Rome, so yeah.
        • ordig, on 05/30/2008, -0/+2Demonstrations and strikes show that at least the French working class dosen't take it lying down. Unlike their American counterparts.
        • matu4251, on 05/30/2008, -0/+1to ordig: except that demonstrations are done by unions and that unions only represent about 7% of the working class in France... It's pretty much the lowest rate in europe but those union (cgt, cfdt, fo, ... ) still manage to paralyze the country way more than any other country in europe.
          They no longer have the legitimacy they claim they have. They also don't way any kind of change in their representation system and certainly don't way people to know where their money is coming from (mostly from money that should be used to pay trainings for workers looking for a new job, changing field, ...)
    • gernblansted, on 05/29/2008, -0/+18And it's all being done in back room deals without any representative oversight.
      • fusion2k5, on 05/29/2008, -2/+2Isn't everything now a days? Democracy is dead, welcome to the NEW WORLD ORDER!
    • brettsmaname, on 05/29/2008, -1/+14you do realize this article is primarily about the Canadian Government and Canadian Border Patrol and Canadian Devices, not US... we've already dealt with this kind of stuff for years... haha
      • origamistars, on 05/29/2008, -0/+7Yes, but this bill or law or whatever is it is going to be considered at the G8 summit, of which the US is a member, so it will affect you eventually.
      • mikusjay, on 05/30/2008, -0/+2Yeah, not to mention that the US just said that we have no legal right to not have our electronics looked over as we're leaving the country (through Canada or mexico) which basically gives them all of the rights to do all of what this article says, and more.
    • Raddix, on 05/29/2008, -5/+29Uhh, remember how ripping the tracks on CDs is still illegal? So good news, you don't have to take your CD collection with you. Using that argument is just admitting that you are already breaking the law.

      http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20071211-riaa ...
      • LOCK3D, on 05/29/2008, -0/+24Microsoft and apple both have mp3 ripping built into their software. Going after the consumers who simply want to be able to take their music with them is ridiculous.
        • Cerebral, on 05/29/2008, -0/+6I don't think those services the Zune, iTunes or WMP software (or any other for that matter) rip CDs with copy protection on them because it isn't "ripping" that's illegal it's the "decryption" of the copy protection that is (in the US anyway).
      • roflbrothel, on 05/29/2008, -0/+9The RIAA can have whatever view it wants, that is not law.
        • GregR, on 05/30/2008, -0/+1True, but they pay big $$ to these backroom types to push this through and then it is law.
          The money the music companies scam - oops - levy on our CDs is probably going to pay for the bribes instead of going the the musicians it is supposed to support.
      • stk198323, on 05/29/2008, -2/+6The article is about Canada and you're using american law's as explanation... and your getting digged up... oh well I won't even try to understand.
        • thall, on 05/29/2008, -0/+2Because he's talking about Canadian law. We [currently] have the right to copy audio CDs.
        • stk198323, on 05/29/2008, -0/+1From raddix:

          Uhh, remember how ripping the tracks on CDs is still illegal?


          He wasn't stating that we have the right to do it he was generalizing the fact that american can't!
      • mikusjay, on 05/30/2008, -0/+2Yeah, what the hell do they expect us to put on our ipods, if not our cds? It's like they WANT us to steal stuff. I mean, if you could pay for it, and put it on your ipod and it was still illegal, why not just steal it in the first place? You're going to get in trouble either way, right? Jesus.
    • llewner, on 05/29/2008, -0/+5Well, all they have to do is run a search on your computer for the phrases "demonoid" or "piratebay" and they can be pretty sure that at least a fair portion those 22,000 songs on your external HD arn't legit.
      • oogee, on 05/29/2008, -0/+1they'll also wonder why you randomly ripped your tracks at every known bitrate, which changed from album to album
      • Dachublez, on 05/30/2008, -0/+0This would be a problem if I wasn't so anal about my music collection all the same bitrate, all ID3 tags in order file tree looks pretty Artist/Album/Track.title.mp3. And thats it any extra BS is deleted as soon as I get it and most of my stuff is from a private tracker were they don't allow extra BS in the folders. It actualy only took me a few hours to get my music in order the first time and mere seconds to keep it that way Media monkey rocks
    • rivalius13, on 05/29/2008, -1/+5You'll also need receipts of all the CDs, to prove you actually own them an they aren't a friends.
      • ThreeDee912, on 05/29/2008, -0/+1*I am not a lawyer*

        Technically, I think you would be fine.

        You aren't allowed to copy the content, and borrowing the CD's from a friend wouldn't be infringing any copyrights. The friend would be willingly transferring the ownership of the CD to you, temporarily. Then when you give the CD back, you would lose ownership and he would gain it back again.

        You would be fine. Unless you ripped the CD's onto your computer and then gave them back.
        • BoneheadFarker, on 05/29/2008, -0/+1No...In Canada, it is perfectly legal to borrow someone's CD and copy the songs. What's illegal is to copy the songs and then give that to a friend. As long as the original is all that changes hands, it's considered legal.

          Or at least that's how it use to be. This could change things...
    • vegittoss15, on 05/29/2008, -0/+2I guess I'll be visiting Mexico instead of Canada now
    • gerbil20, on 05/29/2008, -4/+1You are mostly right. Sadly I have to bury your sore ass for "terrists".
      • LOCK3D, on 05/29/2008, -1/+1It's a Bushism.

        My sore ass?? project much, gerbiller?
    • Beowulf2112, on 05/30/2008, -0/+2Actually you would need every invoice and all your credit card information showing the purchase of the digital tracks. The RIAA considers tracks ripped from a CD you bought to you iPod (or other MP3 player) illegal
    • chromerium, on 05/30/2008, -0/+2I can't even prove that I own the clothes I'm wearing. How on earth will this fly?
    • LenBaird, on 05/31/2008, -0/+1Give up your freedom to protect our freedoms from terrorists! Makes perfect sense... er wait a second..
  • DeskFlyer, on 05/28/2008, -0/+237That was probably the most asinine article I've read this week. If anyone reads further down, you'll notice that they are also proposing sanctions on ISPs as well. Insane in the membrane.
    • follower64, on 05/29/2008, -2/+48Insane in the brain!
    • dlite922, on 05/30/2008, -0/+1"...I got five on it"

      It's a song dimwits.

      Do a little google search before correcting what's obviously not a spelling error.

  • spunquik, on 05/28/2008, -4/+172The supreme court isn't going to look very favorably on this.
    • wanderlander, on 05/28/2008, -1/+25Who knows, where they're concerned.
    • TheDarkstarter, on 05/29/2008, -1/+11Are you so sure? We can only hope.
    • Phearce, on 05/29/2008, -2/+2It may not matter. If Canada and the EU were to adopt something like this, the net impact on travel/freedom would be the same.
    • gonats, on 05/29/2008, -7/+2why not, you're subject to search at the border already?
      • bagelmaster, on 05/29/2008, -1/+7This is too much though. I don't personally care if they LOOK at my ipod/mp3 player. But if they find illegally downloaded songs (all of them pretty much :)) and report it the RIAA/MPAA... well then that's, as the old saying goes, opening an entirely new can of worms.
        • blackinthmiddle, on 05/29/2008, -0/+7Agreed. It would *almost* be the equivalent of guards periodically knocking on your door to see if you have marijuana in your house. The only difference is that you don't *have* to travel.
        • GregR, on 05/30/2008, -0/+1The next step will see you walking down the street listening to your digital device and you'll get a tap on the shoulder and told to turn over the device for scrutiny.
          And at the whim of the 'inspector' they can fine you or confiscate the device.
    • jleems86, on 05/29/2008, -0/+9The supreme court has always held that our civil rights don;t matter when it comes being searched when crossing the border, they think they only apply within the US
    • altgeeky1, on 05/29/2008, -3/+12If the Supreme Court turns a blind eye to Big Brother tactics like warrentless phone wiretapping and TORTURE I hardly think they'll interrupt their busy life for kids getting reamed for pirated MP3's.

      Music piracy WILL decrease if there's a number of high-profile abuses of the justice system. That's the RIAA goal.... to utterly bankrupt (or somehow manage jail time) for a number of people. These people WANT corruption and incompetence, in the style of the movie Brazil, because once enough people hand over their rights (or expect disproportionate penalties for this 'crime') then piracy will go down.

      Unfortunately this type of 'victory' for narrow interests means the rest of us are living in a freak sci-fi world where the only legal MP3 players are those embedded under your skin wired directly to your aural nerves, and can only be updated at approved clinics.

      On a related note: I'd been re-wiring the entertainment center and my girlfriend asked, "if that iPod dock FM transmitter can broadcast across the room to the stereo, and if we can receive over the air TV, how come there are no small-range TV rebroadcasters for say the iPod video?". Answer: There ARE rebroadcasting devices, but they're all locked in using DMCA *****, like limiting the number of TV's the signal can go to (ie, they don't use appropriate strength VHF, they use proprietary transmitters and receivers so they can "count" the number of TV sets you use).
      • Qeveren, on 05/29/2008, -0/+6Who's supreme court are you talking about? This article deals with Canadian law and politics.
        • tehbored, on 05/30/2008, -0/+1Don't they have a Supreme Court or equivalent body in Canada?
      • theducks, on 05/29/2008, -0/+3"I hardly think they'll interrupt their busy life for kids getting reamed for pirated MP3's. "

        Yes, and no. The idea behind civil society is that it only works when you have a small percentage of criminals, breaking the laws. When you start classing significant numbers of people as criminals, it all breaks down. What is the point of laws that aren't enforced and which everyone breaks? People lose all respect for it.
        • GregR, on 05/30/2008, -0/+1True. Laws that can't be enforced shouldn't be made.
      • senatorpjt, on 05/30/2008, -0/+1http://www.ramseyelectronics.com/cgi-bin/commerce. ...
    • logandurand, on 05/29/2008, -0/+1Of course they won't, they'll be too busy looking the other way ...
    • mitbac, on 05/29/2008, -0/+0We HOPE so!
    • SIRBERUS, on 05/29/2008, -0/+4This wouldn't fall under the Supreme Court's jurisdiction...

      This is a matter for the WGA (World Canadian Bureau).
    • uscbp, on 08/06/2008, -0/+0i bet it passes
  • chicoer2001, on 05/29/2008, -2/+189I thought governments had more important things to combat; child pornography, drugs, terrorism. Next they'll be wanting to know if your photos are also your own.
    • aidave, on 05/29/2008, -7/+30You can thank the idiot Canadians for voting for the corporate sellout Conservatives.
      • boxlight, on 05/29/2008, -26/+4>> I thought governments had more important things to combat; child pornography, drugs, terrorism.

        > You can thank the idiot Canadians for voting for the corporate sellout Conservatives.

        child porn - supreme court of canada declares possession of child porn a form of "freedom of speech" -- liberals and ndp are very happy, conservatives are outraged (yet you call conservatives idiots)

        drugs - conservatives imposed hard time for drug dealers -- liberals and ndp were outraged (yet you call conservatives idiots)

        terrorism - conservatives are hard on terrorism -- liberals and ndp are outraged (yet you call conservatives idiots)

        liberals impose taxes on media storage, harddrives, ipods and so on -- conservatives are against this (yet you call conservatives idiots)

        • sadisticmind, on 05/29/2008, -7/+2i cant believe child porn is "freedom of speech" thats bull!! i will express my freedom of speech by inserting my boot in a rapist anus!
        • boxlight, on 05/29/2008, -7/+2> i cant believe child porn is "freedom of speech" thats bull!! i will express my freedom of speech by inserting my boot in a rapist anus!

          Welcome to Canada. *Possession" of child porn is fine. According to the Supreme Court of British Columbia, Canada.

          During an election a few years back the conservatives tried to make a campaign issue out of this by suggesting the sitting liberal government (Paul Martin) was soft of child porn, but there was a public outrage against the conservatives for making up lies. The problem is, it was (and is) the truth.
        • aidave, on 05/29/2008, -0/+7I never said Conservatives were idiots. I said people who voted for them are.
        • hempydave, on 05/29/2008, -1/+2as you can see there is little room for truth anymore even on digg
        • boxlight, on 05/30/2008, -0/+1> aidave wrote:
          > I never said Conservatives were idiots. I said people who voted for them are.

          Surely if a person *votes* conservative, that makes them a conservative. I find your back-peddling to be puzzling.
      • chronichyjinx, on 05/29/2008, -6/+31Idiot Canadians? Like America has never harmed anyone... fool
        • Aikidi, on 05/29/2008, -6/+15i forgot, only america bashing is publicly acceptable. silly me.

        • aidave, on 05/29/2008, -1/+16Are you saying there are no idiot Canadians? I didn't state that all Canadians are idiots. Just the ones that vote Conservative.
        • Qeveren, on 05/29/2008, -1/+5Oh, believe me, there're plenty enough idiots up here in Canada. Look at the government we ended up voting in.
      • toonworld, on 05/29/2008, -1/+11oh like you did better with Bush... asshat!
      • skidooer, on 05/29/2008, -1/+8The alternative was the Liberals who blatantly steal from the people. We were screwed either way.
        • getbusyliving, on 05/29/2008, -0/+6This is the truth. All of our major parties completely suck ass.
    • jordansky, on 05/29/2008, -0/+9Not in Canada.
    • randumbusername, on 05/29/2008, -0/+1when haven't government had more time to focus on nitpicking people. there a many dumb laws on the books. some just aren't enforced.
    • AROZ, on 05/29/2008, -0/+4What's next?! Verifying that the underwear you're wearing wasn't stolen?
    • bombastica, on 05/29/2008, -0/+4"child pornography, drugs, terrorism"
      those things are just distractions
    • smokeybr, on 05/30/2008, -0/+2"child pornography, drugs, terrorism"

      have to agree with the cp and terrorism, but drugs are also pretty stupid to try and keep illegal, i mean, COME ON
  • schif, on 05/29/2008, -9/+154this is doubleplusungood.
    • whoreable, on 05/29/2008, -1/+28Winner, we have one.
    • jordansky, on 05/29/2008, -5/+161984? George Orwell?
    • woobyluv, on 05/29/2008, -0/+19It would be laughable if it were not true. Sadly, 1984 is happening to us now little by little.
    • EMidEricS, on 05/29/2008, -5/+0no, it's superultradoublemegaplusungood!

      (sorry :/ )
      • drummerjoe74, on 05/30/2008, -0/+3That completely defies the principles of Newspeak.
  • lucy22, on 05/29/2008, -0/+566Who is really behind ACTA? Follow the money:

    Rep. Howard Berman (D-CA)[4]

    Top four campaign contributions for 2006:
    Time Warner $21,000
    News Corp $15,000
    Sony Corp of America $14,000
    Walt Disney Co $13,550
    Top two Industries:
    TV/Movies/Music $181,050
    Lawyers/Law Firms $114,200
    Other politicians listed also show significant contributions from IP industries.

    http://wikileaks.org/wiki/Proposed_US_ACTA_multi-l ...
    • Waiting2awake, on 05/29/2008, -0/+11Shocked, Shocked I tells ya!

      OK, so next question - who is responsible for allowing/disallowing this on either side of the border? Lets make sure they know that this is not something the voters want.
      • theaceoffire, on 05/29/2008, -1/+7"Daddy, please make them take my iPod until I can prove its mine!"
    • ouzome, on 05/29/2008, -19/+2Dems wanting to control your life as usual!
    • strongsad, on 05/29/2008, -0/+5I would be curious to know if there was anyone receiving campaign contributions who is NOT in favor of the agreement.
    • armourer, on 05/29/2008, -0/+14That *****'s my congressman
    • jeffhansen, on 05/29/2008, -0/+11Government of the corporations, by the corporations, for the corporations...

      Abe Lincoln now back-flipping in his grave
      • XXXXXXXXXXXXXX, on 05/29/2008, -2/+1What? Look up Ex Parte Merryman
      • chromerium, on 05/30/2008, -0/+1He's been doing that since he was interred.
    • Troy64, on 05/29/2008, -0/+6So you vote in non corrupt Democrats to stop a war, and guess what, the war is still going and they are just as corrupt as the Republicans. Two sides of the same coin.
  • wishninja, on 05/29/2008, -7/+19They could already do this in the USA if they had the resources. The laws and supreme court rulings are already in place. They can search all of your items and of course charge you with illegal downloads.
    • Aikidi, on 05/29/2008, -4/+2as long as you're arabic. or muslim.
    • banderwocky, on 05/29/2008, -0/+1The USA is already apart of Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA). They can do this as of...now. Like in airports, they can ghost your hard drive and have a lookie later. See what kinda porn you got, movies, music, work documents, wedding plans, business plans, new technology plans, etc.
      • mxpxgx, on 06/25/2008, -0/+0I live in the mexican Border (Tijuana) and I can tell you they're doing it right now.... I've heard stories where US customs throw away your 'illegal' cds... I don't understand this attitude against Canadians since you've done it for years...
    • pantone286, on 05/29/2008, -0/+1They aren't even organized enough to keep illegal aliens out of this country, what makes you think they could police our ipods?
  • onetimer, on 05/29/2008, -1/+300Wow. I'm the last guy to buy into the standard "omg police state" stories I usually see on digg (mostly because of poor sources, speculation, and sensationalism), but if this ACTA is really in the works, well, that's just ***** up. This is some scary *****.

    Dugg.
    • danarama, on 05/29/2008, -2/+9so now you know....police state
    • DeepFriedFetus, on 05/29/2008, -3/+5Onetimer's account was hacked!
    • metapop, on 05/29/2008, -5/+2perhaps one day you can aspire to become a ron paul supporter as well.
    • Peko, on 05/30/2008, -0/+1Agreed. Outside of the truly annoying and wholly impractical immediate action of having to scan people's personal electronics, outside of the beauty of the **AA getting the cops to enforce a civil action for them; presumably without cost to the **AA, it's a damn slippery slope in terms of what the feds are going to be able to poke their noses in.

      What's yer browser history? Who have you been txting? Any juicy emails to a coworker? Ever googled Mein Kampf or any book by Howard Zinn?
  • aflaks, on 05/29/2008, -23/+6How would they know you have an iPod on you?
    • DeadSkinMask, on 05/29/2008, -0/+22If they can find less than a gram of pot...something tells me they will be able to locate your Nano.
    • chronichyjinx, on 05/29/2008, -1/+8How would they know that you didn't rip the music from purchased CD's?
      • sugarazor, on 05/29/2008, -1/+6Doesn't the RIAA claim that's illegal too?
        • wellyuk, on 05/29/2008, -1/+2Maybe so, but this is Canada not America. Surely the IRAA's claims don't extend across the border.
      • gurudrew, on 05/29/2008, -0/+8That's the thing. With the way they write these new laws, the burden of proof is on you.
      • J0415, on 05/29/2008, -1/+8They flip a coin.
        Heads they win. Tails you lose.
      • senatorpjt, on 05/30/2008, -0/+1It's not a court, it's a border crossing. They don't have to prove the cigars came from Cuba, I have to prove they didn't.
  • ufia, on 05/29/2008, -12/+54Canadian customs agents have been begging for quite some time to be issued guns for their protection. You think they will ***** care about the downloaded mp3s on your iPod?
    • Zenham, on 05/29/2008, -1/+23I dunno. Police here carry guns and they still bother to dole out jaywalking tickets. What do you think?
    • dinostabOMG, on 05/29/2008, -0/+7Don't tell us, tell the man.
    • SSCrow, on 05/29/2008, -1/+9Having passed through customs a dozen times or so, I doubt any of them really give a *****.
      Even if they had the ability to do so, none of them would.
      • mykotron, on 05/29/2008, -0/+4well im glad you're thinknig so positively about this.

        if they *could* they would. theres always the arsehole that doesn't like your face and is just looking for a reason to not let you cross. Maybe they suspect you and can't pin anything on you so they pin the ol' Ipod copyright infringement on you and you can't cross the border for 5 years.
    • g30ph, on 05/29/2008, -1/+16Yes. I think a small percentage of the cops will be complete assholes and confiscate every ipod and laptop they see an mp3 or movie on, and if you have a picture of your own children you will be considered a pedophile. And those are the only cops you will hear about, and we will assume they are representative of the entire police force. ***** PIGS!
    • altgeeky1, on 05/29/2008, -2/+10They don't need guns to protect them against iPodders.

      I know you meant 'other smuggling crimes' but they'll just do what the US does... focus on legislated and high-priority crimes and ignore other abuses.

      That's why 1% of the US population is in jail - and 50% of them are in for non-violent drug offenses. And that's only US citizens (drug smugglers of Mexican origin are not extradited, and if caught they are released. This comment alone will probably get me dug down to -50, which is par for the course because the corporate media barely covers ***** like this anyways).
      • roflbrothel, on 05/29/2008, -0/+5I've never seen a comment like that get dugg down. How is that par for the course though? Digg isn't exactly main stream media...
      • theducks, on 05/29/2008, -0/+2I think it's getting closer to 5% in jail or on parole.
      • NothingSoldier, on 05/30/2008, -0/+1Certainly you have never seen me "Pod"
    • cast55, on 05/29/2008, -0/+1What do you think the guns are for?
    • amirman, on 05/29/2008, -0/+3so we're just supposed to trust that the authorities will do the right thing as we sit back and give them the power to do what they want? that's pretty much the antithesis to what freedom is really all about. All the people in history who sat back and did nothing as dictators took power trusted that those dictators would do the right thing. look at where that got them.
    • JayFive, on 05/29/2008, -0/+1I'm okay with being fined for suspected piracy. If it's under false assumptions or can be disproved, all I'd have to do is contest it.
      Now, hate to sound like a psychopath, but if customs agents are authorized to confiscate or even destroy my devices, they'd better beg harder for those guns.
    • sfacets, on 05/30/2008, -0/+3Imagine what a taser would do to an iPod...
  • reed311, on 05/29/2008, -1/+152Yeah, I hate copyright infringement, but this is probably the stupidest thing I've read in a while. Imagine the lines at the border if they were to go through a persons 5,000 song iPod or scan every media file on a laptop. Secondly, they'd be putting half the country in jail because I guarantee you probably a majority of people have at least one song they don't own, whether it be on a mixed cd or a mp3 player.
    • Waiting2awake, on 05/29/2008, -1/+54Heck it is legal here. We can download all we want, just not upload. That is the illegal part from what I understand. We pay tax on all blank media for it - something the politicians seem to have forgotten now.
      • Aikidi, on 05/29/2008, -2/+5where do you live...i want to go there.
        • jmignea2, on 05/29/2008, -0/+19He's talking about Canada.
        • SuicideMouse, on 05/29/2008, -0/+13lol, ummm, Canada.

          Yeah as far as I'm aware we do pay taxes on blank media for this reason.
      • toonworld, on 05/29/2008, -1/+12and we are allowed to make copies of our purchases for backup purposes too.
      • mitbac, on 05/29/2008, -2/+15so you download whatever you want but give nothing back?! LEECHER
        • SuicideMouse, on 05/30/2008, -0/+1Oh don't worry, most of us Canadians are quite friendly, don't like laws that don't suit our needs and so we upload quite large amounts of data.
    • MacSuxWindozSux, on 05/29/2008, -1/+3I would laugh.
      They would start that up and realize that way too many people are being stopped.

      This would anger people greatly, causing political support to vanish, and because of all the stops people would lose so much money, that the govt. would backpedal anyway.

      Not to mention they aren't going to search every bag or car. So they don't know if you are hiding mp3's.
      • amirman, on 05/29/2008, -0/+1when it comes to judicial law there is no backpedaling.
    • jefu, on 05/29/2008, -0/+5So they don't stop everyone. Just grabbing and fining (or otherwise seriously messing up) a random selection of people - and doing it nicely publicly, will make the point.

      More importantly, they can use this as a tool against people that someone (a single border guard, the police, the DHS, the administration) doesn't like. Nice way to be able to stop and harass dissidents, people who own companies you want to see go under, people who look strange...
      • senatorpjt, on 05/30/2008, -0/+1Exactly. I know I have a 99% chance of getting through customs with a box of Cuban cigars, but I don't do it, because of the 1% chance of getting caught.
    • DangerCollie, on 05/30/2008, -1/+1There's a way around this, I'd like to tell you it's easy but it's not. Use TrueCrypt to set up an encrypted file container on your laptop or USB drive and keep your music and information you want kept private on that. When it's not mounted, no one can even tell what it is or what type of files are in it. That won't help on your iPod.

      This has gotten so retarded.
  • coffee200am, on 05/29/2008, -3/+99Fascism! Police State! Impeach the Prime Minister!
    • orientis, on 05/29/2008, -9/+3Revowlyution! Stand on the tables and... wave bits of paper in the air! Hello, are you the Tsar? Yes I am actually. Well take that! Blam BLam!
    • SuicideMouse, on 05/29/2008, -2/+11Perhaps Police Province would suit this better.
    • bushout, on 05/29/2008, -1/+4Step this way please.
    • orientis, on 05/29/2008, -0/+3I thought a Young Ones reference might be a bit too obscure.
    • johnlandes, on 05/30/2008, -0/+2All we need is the ***** pussy Liberals to grow a goddamned backbone and vote non-confidence. We don't even have to go through this drawnout impeachment ***** that the american gov't has to.
  • DeadSkinMask, on 05/29/2008, -2/+114Somewhere in the World Lars Ulrich is sporting a *****-eating grin.
    • b0gus2008, on 05/29/2008, -1/+43...while actually eating *****.
    • lazyfisherman, on 05/29/2008, -2/+16...while taking a ***** in his gold-plated toilet (with diamond-encrusted handle).
    • altgeeky1, on 05/29/2008, -2/+16Metallica jumped the shark with whatever album came after Justice. They're not even worth the bandwidth to download it.
    • ahhell, on 05/29/2008, -1/+7MONEY GOOOOOOOD!!!
    • mrswirl, on 05/29/2008, -0/+7"This is the home of Lars Ulrich, the drummer for Metallica. Look. There's Lars now, sitting by his pool.

      This month he was hoping to have a gold-plated shark tank bar installed right next to the pool, but thanks to people downloading his music for free, he must now wait a few months before he can afford it."

      http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AOEsanj4qFY
  • bryano, on 05/29/2008, -2/+134err, ***** THE RIAA ?
    • diggSJaustin, on 05/29/2008, -0/+28Wow, that took longer than expected.
      • yuanzhoulu, on 05/29/2008, -0/+4if it was the RIAA doing this they'd be arresting 5-year-olds and suing the families of earthquake victims that happened to have copyrighted music. that's how ***** they are.
    • diggerphelps, on 05/29/2008, -15/+6***** CANADA!
      • Clodhopper, on 05/29/2008, -0/+8Eh, ***** you buddy!

        (wonders if someone got the reference...)
      • dysonsphere, on 05/29/2008, -3/+2I'm not your buddy, guy.
    • thursdayevryday, on 05/29/2008, -0/+12no, ***** the ACTA
    • hektur, on 05/29/2008, -1/+7RI-EH-EH
    • DefaultGen, on 05/29/2008, -0/+1Fair enough.
  • taketheleap, on 05/29/2008, -0/+241If this happens in Canada, people will flip.

    And by "people", I mean me.
    • bam359, on 05/29/2008, -0/+67...and me.
    • IHaveIssues, on 05/29/2008, -1/+61...and me.
    • OffPiste, on 05/29/2008, -44/+9There are people in Canada? Why?
      • enchanterku, on 05/29/2008, -1/+43Hockey
      • Akraz, on 05/29/2008, -14/+34There are people in America? Why?

        ***** idiot.
        • ElBeh, on 05/29/2008, -5/+8I know you may find it odd, Akraz, but Canada is inclusive in America.
        • mokodo, on 05/29/2008, -3/+7canada is located in America? Last time I checked, it was... that makes all of us idiots then
        • b0gus2008, on 05/29/2008, -4/+3HAHAHAHAHahAhahahHAhAHa!!!!!11one!1 Good ones ElBeh and mokodo! I'm mean no one got that when Akraz said America he was referring to North America! At first, most normal non-douches, thought that he meant United States of America, but you guys came in and manipulated the whole situation!

          Fantastic!
      • hazard902, on 05/29/2008, -3/+4Dope.
      • chronichyjinx, on 05/29/2008, -3/+8Cause your not.
        • OffPiste, on 05/29/2008, -7/+1Your/you're. So much for Canada's education system.
      • Drax0n, on 05/29/2008, -0/+24Id rather live in Canada, than a warmongering country that is going houndreds of billions of dollars further in debt every year.

        In Canada our books have been in the black for over 10 years, and we have made our national debt go down each year.

        In canada we also still have the right to habeas corpus.
      • Codwhy, on 05/29/2008, -0/+8Trailer Park Boys
      • skidooer, on 05/29/2008, -1/+4The snow. Who doesn't love snow?
    • Light11, on 05/29/2008, -1/+52and me
    • lololol1, on 05/29/2008, -1/+50...and me.
    • Xanium4332, on 05/29/2008, -1/+56...and me, and I'm not even in Canada!
    • Uranium118, on 05/29/2008, -1/+43...and me.
    • wonkavsn, on 05/29/2008, -1/+43And especially me
    • keviniskool, on 05/29/2008, -1/+40...and me
    • techie2200, on 05/29/2008, -1/+41not to mention, me
    • TremorX, on 05/29/2008, -7/+25Public Outrage: "What's this all aboot, eh buddy?"
    • treed, on 05/29/2008, -2/+52And my axe!
    • Asidic, on 05/29/2008, -0/+34Don't forget about me!
    • techobo, on 05/29/2008, -1/+34me too!
    • sondatch, on 05/29/2008, -7/+18...and me. And by "flip" I mean be passively annoyed and indignantly digg articles about it, while still downloading massive amounts of music knowing that any restrictions the government and their corporate buddies impose are near-useless because the floodgates have opened on free music, and continue truly supporting the artists by sharing their music as much as I can and going to their concerts.
    • purelithium, on 05/29/2008, -1/+30... and me.
    • MillionsLivio, on 05/29/2008, -6/+21...I'm Spartacus!
    • gooberguy, on 05/29/2008, -0/+16on the bandwagon
    • diggSJaustin, on 05/29/2008, -2/+16people will flip... until hockey season starts.
    • xtremesniper, on 05/29/2008, -1/+26... and me.
    • Alfurnguy, on 05/29/2008, -1/+28... and me.
    • jonnypage, on 05/29/2008, -1/+29and me
    • derjames, on 05/29/2008, -1/+27...and me...
    • wellyuk, on 05/29/2008, -1/+27... and me! And so's my wife!
    • ivosilva, on 05/29/2008, -20/+9not me.
    • teh_techie, on 05/29/2008, -1/+20As well as myself!
    • bartofdahammer, on 05/29/2008, -1/+23... and me
    • SuicideMouse, on 05/29/2008, -0/+25Hey guy's wait up! I'm getting in on this too!
    • MuskokasFinest, on 05/29/2008, -1/+22... and me.
    • thetanman, on 05/29/2008, -1/+19Well I was planning on visiting, so count me in.
      Perhaps I'll just put a bunch of moans and goat noises on an old ipod just to see the reaction..
      "What? Those are original works of art."
      • b0gus2008, on 05/29/2008, -1/+5I nominate thetanman for President Internet!
      • SuicideMouse, on 05/30/2008, -0/+2Nah, I'd give him a seat in a nice internet office with a view of youtube's most recent and a e-certificate for proposing humorous pranks.
    • origamistars, on 05/29/2008, -1/+31me too!

      but my boyfriend won't give a ***** and my parents will be glad the government is finally cracking down on terrorist illegal music downloaders or something. I think I was adopted.
      • Spudster, on 05/29/2008, -0/+2He doesn't think copyright is important? Dump his ass now!
    • IChazI, on 05/29/2008, -1/+20... and me.
    • contradictator, on 05/29/2008, -0/+27...and the horse I rode in on!
    • JoEb0x, on 05/29/2008, -0/+22... and me.
      ... and everybody I know.
    • arrrapirate, on 05/29/2008, -0/+25...and me!
    • windandstorm, on 05/29/2008, -0/+23...and me.
    • NickFury, on 05/29/2008, -0/+37...et moi aussi
    • pat0540, on 05/29/2008, -0/+19...and me.
    • Alexcarrier, on 05/29/2008, -0/+31... et moi aussi. Prepare the poutine cannons!
    • Shissy, on 05/29/2008, -0/+19...and I guess me too.
    • RyanBlack, on 05/29/2008, -10/+10Me also.

      GO LEAFS GO
      • Shmock, on 05/29/2008, -0/+8Dugg down because the leafs are crap.
        Just admit it already.
    • danthemanhan, on 05/29/2008, -0/+14......ahh, why not?
    • fydo, on 05/29/2008, -4/+9... and my axe!
    • sven007, on 05/29/2008, -0/+12... and me!
    • kinseyincanada, on 05/29/2008, -2/+6i say we Strike!
    • moletimer, on 05/29/2008, -0/+7I'm not in Canada (I'm a UK-er) but I'm angry nonetheless.

      So '...and me!'
    • SilentShade, on 05/29/2008, -1/+17...and me.

      Uh, wouldn't it be better doing this on an actual petition instead of a Digg thread or would that just be fulitility anyway?
    • ATH500, on 05/29/2008, -1/+7...pis moé si, criss de tabarnak d'estie de calisse de ciboire de taboire d'ostie de loi de joualvaire.
    • mimigins, on 05/29/2008, -1/+11... and me!
    • BigE89, on 05/29/2008, -1/+11Don't forget me, guy!
    • leetdood, on 05/29/2008, -0/+18and me, eh?
    • bintangfolife, on 05/29/2008, -1/+9i don't even live in Canada and i would flip
    • Shmock, on 05/29/2008, -0/+13...and me.
    • detrux, on 05/29/2008, -0/+11im flipping right now
    • Zemenar, on 05/29/2008, -0/+12...and me.
    • IanPR, on 05/29/2008, -0/+11...and me.
    • Nayamina, on 05/29/2008, -0/+9...and me.

      Though I say why wait to flip out? Our government has backed down on retarded ideas like this in the past when enough people show they're pissed off. Flip out now and save yourself the trouble down the road! It'll be harder to fight once it's in place.
    • Spudster, on 05/29/2008, -0/+8..et moi!!
    • Ghurks, on 05/29/2008, -0/+7...and me.
    • gravityboard, on 05/29/2008, -0/+11Why am I still reading people say "and me"???






      ...and me.
    • seanc6610, on 05/29/2008, -8/+4all you guys could've just hit the thumbs up on the original comment, it probably would've gotten the point across. that is pretty much what it's there for.
    • SystemicAnomaly, on 05/29/2008, -1/+8...n'oublié pas moi!
    • bentrinh, on 05/29/2008, -0/+6... and me.
    • kllewy, on 05/29/2008, -0/+7... and me.
    • max420, on 05/29/2008, -0/+7... aaaand me to.
    • tama00, on 05/29/2008, -1/+6dont forget me!
    • johnnyOnline, on 05/30/2008, -0/+6... and me.
    • fireinhole8, on 05/30/2008, -0/+11...and my bow!
    • gadgetlust, on 05/30/2008, -0/+6ditto
    • Vodd9, on 05/30/2008, -1/+9... pis moé
    • rickastleyfan2, on 05/30/2008, -6/+3this reminds me of that time in band camp......
    • homesickalien, on 05/30/2008, -0/+7... and me.
    • tehbored, on 05/30/2008, -0/+7... and me and many of my relatives who live in Canada.
    • Andrew84, on 05/30/2008, -0/+7...and me.
    • Bananas21ca, on 05/30/2008, -0/+7...and me
    • Zurahn, on 05/30/2008, -0/+7I'd say "...and me" but I can't think of anything witty.

      ...and me.
    • DoShurikn, on 05/30/2008, -0/+8I've already flipped just seeing people are actually thinking about it *SCREAM*
    • DoMaGe, on 05/30/2008, -0/+6...and me and my wallet.
    • zeero, on 05/31/2008, -0/+6i got tired of digging up all the and me's. so i decided to post here... that is all.

      and btw im flipping too
    • Nyctobello, on 05/31/2008, -0/+5... and me.
  • starman, on 05/29/2008, -0/+60Why are they wasting resources on checking for copyright infringement when these things can easily be stored in the cloud and downloaded on the other side? Also, you're giving the power to make a decision to a fat guy in a uniform who may have had a bad day and would love to see nothing more than your iPod in the trash because his life is meaningless.
    • PabloMac, on 05/29/2008, -1/+9Ssssh! They don't know about the cloud!
    • DarkStar3333, on 05/29/2008, -0/+1The guards may think of it as added compensation.

      Think of all the "used" ipods they could shovel across eBay in a given month.
      Considering every time I get on a plane I am carrying a Laptop, iPod and Phone imagine the lines if they actually searched through them.
      • kuzotz, on 05/29/2008, -0/+2yea I'm hiding my *****. laptop I am not so worried about because you can mask files. I can even take all 2,500 songs on my ipod and just put it on my pc and mask it. Then once I make it onto the airplane. I put that ***** right back on my ipod. :D
  • jaymzdean, on 05/29/2008, -0/+120"Stop right where you are, drop the MP3's, and put your hands in the air where I can see them."
    • SpeedSteamBoat, on 05/29/2008, -0/+6"Pick up that DRM!"
    • Pillage, on 05/29/2008, -0/+2"Call in the MP3 sniffing dog, this guy is hiding an iPod. "
  • kevdotbadger, on 05/29/2008, -26/+55I got a plan, don't go to Canada.
    • ghank, on 05/29/2008, -4/+65Ya, because it's Canada's fault that greedy American corporations started this whole anti-piracy fiasco. The USA has been putting constant pressure on Canada to "conform" to American law for too long.
      • Aikidi, on 05/29/2008, -13/+1To be fair...canada is cold. And the people there talk funny.

        But mostly, its cold.

        Honestly, its just not high up on my list for travel destinations.
        • yingjai, on 05/29/2008, -1/+14If you want to talk about talking funny, why don't you go down to Texas?
        • SuicideMouse, on 05/29/2008, -0/+10It's not cold now, it hasn't been for a while now, you know since spring is here and all.
          Sure the winters are cold but uh, it's winter. http://tinyurl.com/4gj9f5

          Summers can be damn hot and I've lived in Italy.
        • Clodhopper, on 05/29/2008, -0/+8cold...lol go to ontario in the middle of summer, ***** 40c+ with humidity
        • kuzotz, on 05/29/2008, -0/+2Tuck Fexas!!!


          sorry couldn't resist.

      • Codwhy, on 05/29/2008, -0/+5like good ol marc emery...

        poor guy =/
      • BoMEpsilon, on 05/29/2008, -0/+2And who gave into pressure?
      • noodle469, on 05/30/2008, -0/+2Also now that we have Harper in office he likes sucking up to the US. so that certainly helped absurd ***** like this get traction.
      • familynight, on 05/30/2008, -0/+1did i miss something? did canada lose its status as a sovereign nation? if not, i'm pretty sure that you guys are doing this all on your lonesome. i like canada quite a bit, but don't go blaming the united states for your problems. we are having enough trouble with our own government. american corporations can't influence canadian law until canadian lawmakers start accepting their bribes and bowing to their pressure. you should realize that the other side of this coin is americans taking credit for canadian successes, and i'm fairly sure that wouldn't be appreciated.
    • XanderDee, on 05/29/2008, -0/+5After the boarder it will be interstate or just going outside.
    • roflbrothel, on 05/29/2008, -10/+3DON'T GO TO CANADA?

      ...but Canada has...


      ....


      ...trees?
      • SuicideMouse, on 05/29/2008, -0/+5Weeds.
        • banderwocky, on 05/29/2008, -0/+7...and are the number 1 trader with the US. We also export 80% of our oil to the US for consumption, along with fresh clean water, wheat, meat and uranium. We also supply most of your dope (weed).
      • kuzotz, on 05/29/2008, -0/+1If you goto Toronto the carribean immigrants have this huge celebration. Hot chicks everywhere!!! but you didn't hear it from this okie.
    • MillarDevon, on 05/29/2008, -2/+24I got a plan, don't go to USA.

      Canada has everything, trees, water and more oil than you can shake a stick at. We also happen to have unruly neighbours. Thats right.. neighboUrs!
      • OftEccentricity, on 05/29/2008, -1/+2...shake a stick at?
      • kuzotz, on 05/29/2008, -0/+3the US isn't that bad. Atleast if you hit up the western half of the country. The east coast sucks.

        Other than that maybe you can goto Texas and see insanely high crime rates, and high pollution.

        come to oklahoma, and chase tornados.

        See the 3rd world section of America, and see the first world section of it.
      • Lasaruse, on 05/30/2008, -0/+0damn ***** staright! NAFTA has been nothing but good for the US. Around 85% our oil is going to the US and now they want to build like what, 2 more pipelines? I have an idea- stop using so much ***** oil greedy assholes! *-not all americans are greedy- just some- and they ruin it for the rest of you.
    • myshoeshurt, on 05/30/2008, -0/+2I got a plan, read the ***** article.
  • doshindude, on 05/29/2008, -1/+30TO MEXICO!
    oh wait...
    • Aerandir, on 05/29/2008, -0/+10what's wrong? forgot something?
      TO MEXICO!!!
      • dalittle, on 05/29/2008, -2/+5Laws in Mexico are not any better, they just don't have the resources to enforce them. Of course for Querro's they might make an exception.
        • RadiatedAnt, on 05/29/2008, -1/+3WTF is a Querro? Jesus if your going to attempt to chew some Spanish at least Google it.
        • Carlix, on 05/29/2008, -1/+5I am mexican, and have no ***** idea of what Querro is, he probably is mixing english terms with spanish terms.
        • dalittle, on 05/29/2008, -4/+1Quero - blondie. So sue me, I had an extra "R". It is slang in at least Mexico City and Texas where I have heard it used (and seen a restaurant named it).
        • mrosetti, on 05/29/2008, -0/+6You mean "Guero".
    • Xmoon, on 05/29/2008, -0/+3next time i go to mexico I'm going to take a picture of all the rampant piracy on the street vendors not more than 3 blocks from the bridge.
  • OffPiste,