:: Wog Blog ::

:: WHAT AM I THINKING ABOUT? ::

:: Thursday 7 April 2005 ::

More on Captain Ed - Contempt for Canadian Law

Yeah, I meant to write it like that.

Either he has contempt for Canadian law or he is a moron who does not appreciate as he tappy taps his blog, that he is on the innernut and it is going global - including into Canada.

Lord, please, someone In Canada sue the pants off him. Cos then the whole question of internet jurisdiction, which is already settled in some cases, can be settled in a manner understandable to Americans. Cos unless it happens in the States it just does not seem to exist for American bloggers when it comes to law.

Found some much more reasonably written stuff about all this today on the blog. Tim Worstall in the UK has noted the same dull but correct legal position I have noted (it is so gratifying not to be alone on this while the Yanks squeal about freedom of speech as if that means they can disclose whatever they like wherever they like in flagrant breach of legal orders) but is much more gracious than me.

Whatever.

I do not think stupid Capt Ed was gracious about something more important - the right of a Canadian court to release an order and have it respected in Canada where the order applies.

Right now Capt Ed is going the free speech martyr line saying he believes the people of Canada have a right to know stuff and blah blah blah. Fuck off, Yank. Not your job to decide when a Canadian judge's order is good to go or puffery for you to ignore. He is acting like Canada is some sort of third world hellhole that needs a Yank to ride to the rescue. Jackass.

Colby Cosh is a gobsmackingly talented Canadian. He wants more freedom of speech in Canada. He is okay with Capt Ed's contempt for Canadian law because in the end it might achieve something Colby wants - no risk of a contempt of court prosecution for disclosing sensitive political material. Or something like that.

The lovely Damian Penny is also Canadian and he has no problems watching his law get shit on by a stupid Yank blogger who never even thought for a second about the fact his blog was actually published in Canada.

Both guys have views that appall me - as an Australian I would thank Capt Ed to go fuck himself if he tried shitting on Oz law. But hey, Candians can think what they like. It's their law. And both Colby and Damian respected their law - operated within its smarting confines (to them). Their views I can respect cos they have some respect.

Why am I so mad about this?

Cos Capt Ed, an imbecile who does not even know that his own blog is published in Canada much less everywhere else it is read, is trying to set himself up as afree speech martyr when this case nothing to do with free speech.

It has to do with understanding (or ignorance in Ed's case) of the internet as a publishing tool.

It has to do with the ignorance of a blogger who knew not to disclose material in Canada but did so anyway cos he has no care at all for how the world works and how the innernut works.

Am I worried Capt Ed could sue me over there in the States where I am here in Oz?

Nope. All he can get me for is defamation and I'll defend it. I am simply calling him out for what he is - a careless Yankee blogger who only cares about his law and no one elses.

If he tried to sue me using US laws he'd be revealing himself to be exactly what I think he is. A a self-centred American jackass.

I like to think if it was Oz, we'd go after the Daft Captain.

UPDATE: I should note that I came to Tim Worstall's blog via Iain Murray's Edge of England's Sword where I found Iain noting the Spycatcher case in Oz. I believe that has been gazumped by Gutnick's case, which I blogged on yesterday because that case actually deals with publishing internationally. Capt Ed's defence, such as might be raised, will be technology based and it won't or should not in my view, hold up. Publishing happens at the eyeballs - that ain't rocket science.

Honestly, I think this Capt Ed thing is the stupidest blog moment since Tim Lamert copied Tim Blair's blog completely - for no other reason than that he could do it with technology and he wanted to usurp Blair's comments section. Copyright? lambert did not seem to understand that he had breached Tim's copyright. For Lambert it was all about his stupid tech coding and nothiong to do with law. For Ed it's all about US law and no idea that Canada is not actually in the US.
:: WB 1:51 am [link+] ::