One of the rare documentaries that examines not only the consequences of surveillance, but the current ability and existing infrastructure. A fascinating film from an unlikely source:

According to Michael Geist, one of the major unanswered questions about Bill C-30 is “who will pay for the costs associated with responding to law enforcement demands for subscriber information (“look ups”) and installation of surveillance equipment (“hook ups”)”?

Turns out, it is you, dear citizen, and your grandma.

Geist recently obtained documents from Public Safety under the Access to Information Act that reveal the hidden costs, that is, financial ones, to taxpayers.

As if costs to society were not enough, or costs that ISPs would have to bear (and ultimately pass onto consumers), the Bill C-30 is revealed to be far more venomous.

According to the documents, RCMP and CSIS have in mind to develop a “public safety tax” that would simply appear on your cell phone or internet bill.

Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police claims that it should not be burdened with the costs of these additional operations, instead burdening the taxpayers with the costs of warantless wiretapping of Canadians.

For more information, visit Michael Geist blog here
or read the documentation for yourself here.

From the creator of Italian Spiderman, one of our favorite web-based video desserts, comes next venture, Danger 5. Following the tradition of baddies (and goodies), (p)special agents against Nazis, Danger 5 is assuredly one of the most entertaining, nostalgia-based shows to come to TV or YouTube.

Watch it. Now.

We are witness to the end of the world as we know it. According to latest coverage from Wired, US government purports it has the legal right to seize any domain, and the list is quite extensive: .com, .net, .cc, .tv, .name, and .org.

The strange declaration comes after US authorities shutdown the Canadian-based online sports gambling site Bodog.com last week, and is an extension of a government initiative called Operation in Our Sites. Thus far, the operation seized 352 domains, and there is no end in sight to its grubby hands.

Read more here.

The government is trying to push through an expensive1 online spying bill that will provide a range of authorities with access to your private online information, at anytime, without a warrant.

You won’t believe this: With one side of their mouth, the government has leaked stories2 falsely suggesting that they are standing down. With the other, Public Safety Minister Vic Toews has unleashed a PR campaign that includes op-eds3, misleading mass emails4, and speeches in Parliament that aggressively defend the bill5. We can’t let this go unchallenged.

We know from experience that MPs get the message when contacted by local constituents, and there’s only a small window of opportunity to stop this scheme. We need your MP to take a public stand against this warrantless online spying plan before it’s too late.

Click here to tell you MP to stand with Canadians against warrantless online spying.

While Fringe is winding down, with Fox announcing this fourth season will also be its last, J. J. Abrams unveiled its supposed TV inheritor: Alcatraz.

On the surface, Alcatraz has numerous similarities to Fringe: instead of Olivia, the cute blond girl protagonist is detective Rebecca Madsen. Instead of the truly interesting and complex science fiction premises and cases involving parallel universes, we have flimsy as paper premise involving “the worst of criminals” from 1960s Alcatraz flooding our time, conveniently though, one at a time. Instead of a potential love interest(s) and complex back story, we are served a more digested, dumbed-down version of Fringe. One that follows the mantra of 99% of television these days, making it entirely unpalatable: Alcatraz is just another show where bad guys are really, truly bad, and the good guys…well, they are cops.

We are not short on cops. Especially on TV.

Fringe is beloved by audiences. It exemplifies the kind of drama meets science fiction (or X-Files?) where the focus is not on the “bad” but rather on stopping something from occurring. Olivia doesn’t just catch the real baddies you see, but sometimes engages with the perspective of the other, lending it a hand, finding a solution.

Unlike Fringe, composed of now beloved, smart, witty, loveable characters, Alcatraz offers little in terms of heart strings.

The prisoners that seem to pop conveniently across time and space, seem to be dumbed down significantly, like rabid dogs that exemplify some kind of paranoid, perhaps ideological as well as pathological view of “criminals” that leaves little room for understanding, conversation, debate, or even progression of story line.

Granted, Alcatraz is a far smarter show than Falling Skies or Terra Nova, but I sure wish Fringe were to last a few more good seasons for one thing is certain – it shall be missed greatly!

Corptocracy is getting complicated these days, as font use is kicking both Harry Potter and Falling Skies franchises. Matius Gerardo Grieck, a font specialist and designer, has filed a lawsuit naming TBS and Titleboy Films. The plaintiff’s lawsuit is based on not necessarily use of font, but rather software licensing and copyright. The companies named in the suit, have apparently breached the licensing agreement indicated on the software.

Doctor Who Q&A November 2011 by doctorwho-tv