Take a look at this entire page from the Chicago Tribune, starting with the banner.
BP actually has been working hard at its image, and some consider it the greenest of the big oil companies; however the actual article suggests there's a lot of greenwashing going on.
Big surprise.
--
Posted By Mark Francis to Section 15 at 7/30/2007 09:26:00 PM
Monday, July 30, 2007
Friday, July 27, 2007
[Section 15] Moore gets subpoenaed
UPI reports that Michael Moore has received a subpoena over the trip to Cuba in his movie Sicko.
It is illegal for Americans to travel to Cuba.
Perhaps Moore has found his next movie?
--
Posted By Mark Francis to Section 15 at 7/27/2007 09:52:00 AM
It is illegal for Americans to travel to Cuba.
Perhaps Moore has found his next movie?
--
Posted By Mark Francis to Section 15 at 7/27/2007 09:52:00 AM
Wednesday, July 25, 2007
[Section 15] Once again, we're bumped from The National
Sorry. We got another call saying that the piece on libel chill has been bumped.
This, of course, happens all the time, and no one is to blame.
I'll let you all know when it supposed to show.
--
Posted By Mark Francis to Section 15 at 7/25/2007 07:57:00 PM
This, of course, happens all the time, and no one is to blame.
I'll let you all know when it supposed to show.
--
Posted By Mark Francis to Section 15 at 7/25/2007 07:57:00 PM
[Section 15] ALERT: National piece on libel chill is on tonight!
I've just learned that CBC's The National is running the libel chill piece featuring myself and Kate Holloway TONIGHT between 10 and 11 p.m. EST.
We are supposed to be in the third segment of the show.
I hope it is definite this time.
For more information, see this post, and then, please, go to LibelChill.ca and donate!
--
Posted By Mark Francis to Section 15 at 7/25/2007 05:22:00 PM
We are supposed to be in the third segment of the show.
I hope it is definite this time.
For more information, see this post, and then, please, go to LibelChill.ca and donate!
--
Posted By Mark Francis to Section 15 at 7/25/2007 05:22:00 PM
Tuesday, July 24, 2007
[Section 15] The Libel Chill piece on The National is now not on tonight
Television being what it is, The National piece on libel chill in Canada has been delayed. It was to be on tonight, but has been moved to another air date, currently unknown.
In the meantime, please head on over to LibelChill.ca and donate for the cause!
--
Posted By Mark Francis to Section 15 at 7/24/2007 02:36:00 PM
In the meantime, please head on over to LibelChill.ca and donate for the cause!
--
Posted By Mark Francis to Section 15 at 7/24/2007 02:36:00 PM
Sunday, July 22, 2007
[Section 15] CBC The National - Threat to the 'Net and Political Free Speech ...
This Tuesday night, please watch the CBC news story on the threats to blogs, wikis, and your right to know.
This news story on The National covers political Internet freedoms of speech that you surely hold dear, but are currently in peril.
A handful of current Canadian lawsuits currently pose an enormous threat to the Internet and politics in Canada, namely:
Political correspondent Leslie Mackinnon interviews Professor of Internet Law Micheal Geist, seasoned blogger Mark Francis, and former Green Party-turned Liberal Party activist Kate Holloway about lawsuits currently opened against them from Wayne Crookes of BC.
Crookes is also currently suing Wikipedia, Google, Yahoo, Myspace, and P2PNet and many more.
Please watch this show to understand the issues better. Please invite all you know on Facebook to this event. Please go to cbc.ca/national and/or to libelchill.ca afterwards to comment and to share your thoughts and read the thoughts of others.
Please take this issue seriously, and finally,
After you see the story, go to libelchill.ca and donate to the Defense Fund (a legal trust fund for the defendants) to make sure that the champions of online truth can keep fighting for your right to know, share and create online.
--
Posted By Mark Francis to Section 15 at 7/22/2007 05:06:00 PM
This news story on The National covers political Internet freedoms of speech that you surely hold dear, but are currently in peril.
A handful of current Canadian lawsuits currently pose an enormous threat to the Internet and politics in Canada, namely:
- the enormous social and global potential of collaborative computing, social networking, and open source dialogue;
- open and frank political speech in Canada, currently being "chilled" as truth disappears;
- silencing, real and potential, of Internet whistleblowers, satirists, political humourists, anonymous sources and political dissidents;
- the potential liability to anyone writing or hosting a blog or a wiki, for fear of legal and financial liability
Political correspondent Leslie Mackinnon interviews Professor of Internet Law Micheal Geist, seasoned blogger Mark Francis, and former Green Party-turned Liberal Party activist Kate Holloway about lawsuits currently opened against them from Wayne Crookes of BC.
Crookes is also currently suing Wikipedia, Google, Yahoo, Myspace, and P2PNet and many more.
Please watch this show to understand the issues better. Please invite all you know on Facebook to this event. Please go to cbc.ca/national and/or to libelchill.ca afterwards to comment and to share your thoughts and read the thoughts of others.
Please take this issue seriously, and finally,
After you see the story, go to libelchill.ca and donate to the Defense Fund (a legal trust fund for the defendants) to make sure that the champions of online truth can keep fighting for your right to know, share and create online.
--
Posted By Mark Francis to Section 15 at 7/22/2007 05:06:00 PM
Sunday, July 15, 2007
[Section 15] It is political expression or vandalism?
I suspect the answer is 'both', but I can't help but to encourage this line of thinking. See
http://illegalsigns.ca/?p=2420 for what I mean.
--
Posted By Mark Francis to Section 15 at 7/15/2007 12:50:00 PM
http://illegalsigns.ca/?p=2420 for what I mean.
--
Posted By Mark Francis to Section 15 at 7/15/2007 12:50:00 PM
Tuesday, July 10, 2007
[Section 15] My interview for The National
As you may know, I am being sued by Wayne Crookes for libel. He is also suing Google, Yahoo, Wikipedia, Pbwiki.com, Openpolitics, P2Pnet, various Green Party of Canada activists, Michael Geist and several anonymous persons. I wrote on the matter here.
Several of us have banded together and are actively fundraising all over North America. A necessary part of that has included media relation endeavors.
Well, we got a hit.
Leslie Mackinnon is a veteran reporter for The National, covering the federal political scene. She got in touch with us as she's doing a story on libel chill and the Internet. We agreed to be interviewed so we could discuss the delicate position we find ourselves in.
Where we sit is delicate because we all want to discuss the important issues these lawsuits raise; however to discuss them is to raise the possibility of other libel claims being filed.
I know that most people think that libel is something drastic and obvious. In Canada, however, libel is so backwards that it can be found in the most innocent-appearing material because the standard for arguing libel is so low. Basically, if you make any negative comment about anyone, the accusation can be made that you have libeled. Now, that doesn't mean you're guilty -- libel claims certainly can be defended against -- but the more claims there are, the more money you'll need, and you never can be too sure of the outcome of a trial. And repeating libels can take on the odor of maliciousness, which, in Canada, completely destroys any possible defense save parliamentary privilege, which I, of course, do not have.
Not long ago, libel chill was not something a common person experienced because common people were not publishing. Now we are and so are exposed to the pitfalls of hundreds of years of antiquated law designed to protect aristocratic authority. Mackinnon wanted to know how this lawsuit is affecting our lives.
(This was not something I was expecting to find inside a political Party which has in its constitution the principles of participatory democracy and social justice, but I digress...)
I found the interview difficult. Despite having media relations training, and despite having lots to say, I feel that I rambled. I think I had far too much to say. I missed many opportunities to place some succinct words before the camera. After the interview was over we talked for 20 minutes more, and even debated on a few points.
If the case makes it to trial (and I intend it to take it that far), I hope she'll give it coverage. Journalists are tracking the story, that much is sure.
I'm not sure when the piece will air, or if I'll even be in it. When I now, I'll drop a note here.
===
Where have I been? Well, aside from being busy with work and kids, I've been working hard on this lawsuit. A trust fund has been established and in a few weeks we expect a site up and running to take donations from the public and to advocate for libel law reform. I hope my fellow bloggers will be generous. I'm fighting for your freedoms as well, after all.
--
Posted By Mark Francis to Section 15 at 7/10/2007 08:50:00 PM
Several of us have banded together and are actively fundraising all over North America. A necessary part of that has included media relation endeavors.
Well, we got a hit.
Leslie Mackinnon is a veteran reporter for The National, covering the federal political scene. She got in touch with us as she's doing a story on libel chill and the Internet. We agreed to be interviewed so we could discuss the delicate position we find ourselves in.
Where we sit is delicate because we all want to discuss the important issues these lawsuits raise; however to discuss them is to raise the possibility of other libel claims being filed.
I know that most people think that libel is something drastic and obvious. In Canada, however, libel is so backwards that it can be found in the most innocent-appearing material because the standard for arguing libel is so low. Basically, if you make any negative comment about anyone, the accusation can be made that you have libeled. Now, that doesn't mean you're guilty -- libel claims certainly can be defended against -- but the more claims there are, the more money you'll need, and you never can be too sure of the outcome of a trial. And repeating libels can take on the odor of maliciousness, which, in Canada, completely destroys any possible defense save parliamentary privilege, which I, of course, do not have.
Not long ago, libel chill was not something a common person experienced because common people were not publishing. Now we are and so are exposed to the pitfalls of hundreds of years of antiquated law designed to protect aristocratic authority. Mackinnon wanted to know how this lawsuit is affecting our lives.
(This was not something I was expecting to find inside a political Party which has in its constitution the principles of participatory democracy and social justice, but I digress...)
I found the interview difficult. Despite having media relations training, and despite having lots to say, I feel that I rambled. I think I had far too much to say. I missed many opportunities to place some succinct words before the camera. After the interview was over we talked for 20 minutes more, and even debated on a few points.
If the case makes it to trial (and I intend it to take it that far), I hope she'll give it coverage. Journalists are tracking the story, that much is sure.
I'm not sure when the piece will air, or if I'll even be in it. When I now, I'll drop a note here.
===
Where have I been? Well, aside from being busy with work and kids, I've been working hard on this lawsuit. A trust fund has been established and in a few weeks we expect a site up and running to take donations from the public and to advocate for libel law reform. I hope my fellow bloggers will be generous. I'm fighting for your freedoms as well, after all.
--
Posted By Mark Francis to Section 15 at 7/10/2007 08:50:00 PM
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