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Canadian Govt Caught Editing Wikipedia Entry about Copyright

arstechnica.com — "Everyone makes mistakes" appears to be the rather banal lesson from Canada this week, as Industry Canada got caught with its hand in the Wikipedia copyright cookie jar and the Canadian anti-throttling forces screwed up the difference between kilobits and kilobytes in official regulatory filings. Oops.

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  • whereisian, on 06/05/2008, -5/+84I wonder how Harper will deflect this one? I'm betting he'll just claim it never happened, was a frame by the Liberals, or that the data has been 'doctored'. Prentice will never be allowed to comment on it, and the media will never be allowed to ask about it.

    I hope Charlie Angus goes to town in the house. I wish the Liberals would say something.
    • oxdeltaxo, on 06/06/2008, -11/+5They liberals won't do anything because of the corruption scandal. They are too afraid to be seen as "supporting piracy."
    • Swanston, on 06/06/2008, -1/+7You didn't even read the article did you?
    • erhanaltay, on 06/06/2008, -12/+3What does this have to do with Harper. And secondly, is there a rule stating public officials cannot edit wikipedia? I thought it was open to everyone...

      I don't follow Canadian politics closely but I'm a fan of Harper = 0
      • Godlike, on 06/06/2008, -4/+3I think he has a really good point, there are two sides to 'editable by everyone'.
      • ElectroBot, on 06/06/2008, -1/+9Harper thinks (for good reason) that what he says goes. He campaigned about an open government, but on quite a few decisions/actions so far he has shown that he'll do anything but.
      • jmignea2, on 06/06/2008, -1/+6The reason you're a fan of Harper is precisely because you don't follow Canadian politics closely.
        • njiska, on 06/06/2008, -3/+2That's a short sighted and totally inept statement. I follow Canadian politics closely and i'm a fan of Harper. I'm also a solid Red Tory and i don't support the new copyright proposal.

          You can't blame Harper for this, it's the Minister of Industry and his subordinates who are at fault. And they weren't editing an article on copyright they were editing the article on the Minister.of Industry. They added bias which is wrong, but they didn't break the law or anything of the sorts.

          This minor controversy aside, the bill will not pass unless it's fair. The Tories are a minority and no party will let this pass. They know how unpopular it is with the people.
        • Speed, on 06/06/2008, -0/+1nkiska, The Minister of Industry answers to Harper, and since we can't pick Cabinet Ministers, we have to get after the PM to get after his ministers.

          And the Liberals will let anything pass, whether it's a confidence motion or not.
        • njiska, on 06/06/2008, -1/+1Yes, the minister of labour does answer to Harper, but there's a difference between dealing with an issue, particularly a minor issue, and placing blame on the PM. He is not responsible for any editing only the ministry is. Hold him responsibile for any investigation, if such a thing were een warranted, but not for the act itself.
      • Speed, on 06/06/2008, -0/+2The issue isn't about adding information, the issue is about editing Wikipedia, but rather injecting a strong bias (and flat out falsehoods).

        Also, the reason this involves Harper is that he picks the Ministers, and he is the only part of the executive that even remotely answers to the public, so we have to get after him to get after the Ministers.
        • qwertydvorak, on 06/06/2008, -1/+1it's funny how the idea behind wikipedia is that *anyone* (except people whom digg deem unqualified) can edit wikipedia. isn't that the purpose ?
        • Speed, on 06/07/2008, -0/+1But Wikipedia still tries to be neutral, and that's the issue. Prentice, or one of his goons, was slanting it to be pro-Prentice.

          Also, it's generally accepted that unless you're editing factual data (such as your age, religion, city of birth, etc.), you don't edit your own Wikipedia entry. This is the reason why, it's impossible to remain impartial when it's about you.
  • mark076h, on 06/06/2008, -47/+4***** CANADA!
  • JerzyBricklayr, on 06/06/2008, -1/+15say it isn't so Canada!
  • dangerdooms, on 06/06/2008, -9/+38I'm ashamed to be Canadian right now...
    • MalusMalo, on 06/06/2008, -18/+0I would be too :/
    • faizal5k, on 06/06/2008, -4/+27it's OK, our US government has done worse
    • Yazilliclick, on 06/06/2008, -3/+5because somebody edited a wikipedia page about themselves or their boss? OMG!!!!
      • rhartman, on 06/06/2008, -1/+6Hah, really. A little perspective dangerdooms - it's a webpage and some flunky working for the Harper government did it. It hardly reflects on Canada as a nation. :P
      • 42Vindictive, on 06/06/2008, -0/+5Because the Canadian DMCA and the under-18s that are going to be primarily affected by it can't do *****.
    • amishterrarium, on 06/07/2008, -0/+1Don't be, don't be. There is really much worse a government could be doing; just ask a US American.
  • cast55, on 06/06/2008, -4/+74As a Canadian citizen, I am ashamed of my government. It saddens me that we seem to have caught the crazy.
    • naz2292, on 06/06/2008, -3/+12Dont worry, you get used to it after a while...
    • FXPooky, on 06/06/2008, -3/+37Let's just not vote Conservative anymore.
      • corvairkid, on 06/06/2008, -1/+3Or we could just saw the country in half at the Manitoba - Ontario border and everything to the west will become the Independent Republic of Whoop Ass.

        Nunavut and the Yukon can come too.
        • Speed, on 06/06/2008, -0/+4As an Albertan whose Premier gave himself a 30% raise, I can say that the west would become the Independent Republic of Dog ***** before anything else.
    • DeathRay2K, on 06/06/2008, -2/+18That's what happens when we have Conservatives in power... That's now two Canadian copyright scandals within the past month; I really hope something changes.
    • MuskokasFinest, on 06/06/2008, -5/+3Truthfully, anybody within that organization could've changed the article, it may have even been someone with no association to Prentice (though that seems unlikely). A lowly intern, not wanting her boss to be plastered could have changed it, and probably did not know that it could be traced back to Industry Canada.
      These things happen all the time, people have breaks and decide to edit something that makes their organization look bad, it's not like it's pushed down from somebody high in government. While I understand that somebody should be blamed for this, I disagree with the fact that the government forming some sort of conspiracy against it's people though wikipedia. It's just some (one) person trying to make their job look better.
  • WomensUnderwear, on 06/06/2008, -4/+35What a wiki'd thing to do
  • redslash, on 06/06/2008, -10/+1Someone at a company Jim Prentice runs went and posted some biased stuff on the Jim Prentice WP page. So what? People edit/censor/vandalize their own Wikipedia entries all the time. It's against Wikipedia policy, technically, but it still goes on a lot. Jimbo Wales, a co-founder of Wikipedia, is infamous for constantly editing his own article, removing some of his seedy pre-WP history, personal information, and criticisms.
    • mCanada, on 06/06/2008, -0/+8The IP came from the CANADIAN GOVERNMENT. Stop making excuses.
    • Xondar, on 06/06/2008, -0/+6The "company" is called "Industry Canada" and is a GOVERNMENT MINISTRY.
    • Murdats, on 06/06/2008, -0/+5it does go on all the time, and every time someone try's to change history or facts to suit them at the detriment of others, they should be named and shamed.
  • modad, on 06/06/2008, -9/+4If you don't stand with your fellow Canadians then you are a rat!
  • jamesLankford, on 06/06/2008, -4/+9I don't think the person that posted this even read the article
    • cameldung, on 06/06/2008, -2/+2Its obvious that some of the commentators haven't read it either.
  • logload, on 06/06/2008, -11/+6Oh, Canada *sigh* :P
  • TheIguana, on 06/06/2008, -4/+39So to summarize, the Conservatives are secretive fact changing pricks, the Liberals are adscam stealing douches, the NDP are hopelessly causeless socialists and the Bloc just wants to get the hell out. Wow we really have so many great political options in Canada....
    • FXPooky, on 06/06/2008, -1/+10Let's create our own party!
      • Xondar, on 06/06/2008, -1/+12With hookers and blackjack!
        • rdoger6424, on 06/06/2008, -1/+8Actually, forget the party
        • Cam_86, on 06/06/2008, -0/+7... and the blackjack.

          I miss futurama :( Only 19 days till the next movie!
      • Speed, on 06/06/2008, -0/+3Bring back the Rhino Party! The possible election slogans like "Next Election, get Horny" alone would be worth it.

        They did better than the Green Party...
    • Alexcarrier, on 06/06/2008, -2/+3The Bloc actually cares for more than getting the hell out you know... I don't really support separatism but I still vote for them since my MP has been awesome for the past 10 years.
    • MacSuxWindozSux, on 06/06/2008, -0/+9Still better than having 2 parties that take turns doing what ever they want every 4 years.
    • cameycam, on 06/06/2008, -0/+1Vote Green
  • FXPooky, on 06/06/2008, -4/+10Well now that I have a right to vote, I can now vote against these guys! We never had any copyright problems with the Liberals, at least.
    • Keet, on 06/06/2008, -0/+8I agree...

      I doubt there will be another Liberal scandal anytime soon either.
      • shodanx, on 06/06/2008, -6/+1the liberals are probably scum
        but that ad scam thingy sounds like something engineered by the media or some sinister third party
        I mean, who cares if someone padded bill ridiculously, that happens everyday at every gov level
        plus the amount stolen was equivalent to pocket change lost in the sofa, ridiculous

        I rather have them than the fags hating, god loving, war & fear mongering, self-righteous corrupt depraved conservators
      • shodanx, on 06/06/2008, -7/+1the liberals are probably scum
        but that ad scam thingy sounds like something engineered by the media or some sinister third party
        I mean, who cares if someone padded bill ridiculously, that happens everyday at every gov level
        plus the amount stolen was equivalent to pocket change lost in the sofa, ridiculous

        I rather have them than the fags hating, god loving, war & fear mongering, self-righteous corrupt depraved conservators
      • Yazilliclick, on 06/06/2008, -0/+1lol *****. It's not the governments coming up with this ***** and trying to pass it, it's the industry pushing them to do so. Party isn't really going to matter unless enough people make it very painfully clear to them that the population is against it.
    • FXPooky, on 06/06/2008, -0/+6Heh, I don't.

      Still, free speech is more important to me than spending money on ads.
    • Xondar, on 06/06/2008, -4/+4The bill that Prentice tried to introduce in January was essentially the same bill the Liberal government tried to introduce just before the last election.

      We can pretty much expect the same from both parties.
    • Rikkochet, on 06/06/2008, -4/+2We had bigger problems with the Liberals, guys. If you recall the scaremongering that went on when a Conservative victory seemed possible, a copyright bill is a pretty limp evil reality compared to what was prophesied.

      Ok Canada, you lazy, apathetic *****. Does this bill bother you? Get out and protest! Enough bitching and going to work anyways! The French go out and make every public servant soil themselves when they're mad, and they get their way, don't they?
      Democracy is more than just smug comments on a blog or joining a Facebook cause.
  • B08ama, on 06/06/2008, -7/+1++Prentice.publicity;
  • DigitusAnonymus, on 06/06/2008, -11/+8INTERNETS TRANSFORM AND ROLL OUT !!
  • bassman12593, on 06/06/2008, -6/+1when will major organizations learn?

    *sigh*
  • DonSlice, on 06/06/2008, -14/+7Hear me now: Anyone can edit a Wikipedia entry. ANYONE! Stop getting butt-hurt over a government editing a page. Okay, they screwed up. Make that the title instead of "Govt caught editing entry."
    • DonSlice, on 06/06/2008, -4/+2Just out of curiosity, why am I getting dugg down for this?
      • clarient, on 06/06/2008, -0/+7Because they edited it to remove information they deemed to be unflattering and also added some made-up ***** about how everybody actually loves the guy and he's so incredibly awesome.

        Did you even read the article?
    • Murdats, on 06/06/2008, -2/+7Hear me now: Anyone can kill a person. ANYONE! Stop getting butt-hurt over someone killing your family.

      just because you can doesn't mean you should, and just because you can doesn't mean you shouldn't be punished.
      • LordBoreal51, on 06/06/2008, -3/+1That might be some of the worst logic ever. No, not everyone can kill someone LEGALLY. The only way that analogy would work if Wikipedia didn't allow anybody to edit it and the Canadian government hacked their way in to change a page.
    • tmbrwolf19, on 06/06/2008, -1/+8Your getting dugg down because Canadians expect accountability from their government. By smoothing over the truth on a controversial topic, the Conservative Government is doing the exact thing that they said they were against when they got elected. They campaigned on transparency and accountability, but editing their image they are giving nether to the Canadian people.
  • DigitusAnonymus, on 06/06/2008, -13/+7Canada America's Hat :)
  • eraofk00l, on 06/06/2008, -9/+1yea... sucks for canada ehh
  • paulvq, on 06/06/2008, -10/+2Blame Canada!
  • ali3n, on 06/06/2008, -2/+22Prentice is a traitor. selling out canada like bush and hillary sold out america to corporations for personal benefit? how can you sleep at night.

    • familynight, on 06/06/2008, -3/+1whoa, whoa, whoa. hillary sucks, but she hasn't done nearly the damage that bush has. all the damage of a bush-esque level she could do will blissfully remain hypothetical, at least for now. cue dramatic music.
  • rahamm, on 06/06/2008, -0/+32Let's use the CBC article instead.

    http://www.cbc.ca/technology/story/2008/06/04/tech ...
  • sonofashoe, on 06/06/2008, -12/+2canada is like taiwan; another country's bitch (no offense intended, taiwan).
  • Cam_86, on 06/06/2008, -0/+21I hope more people digg this, and fellow Canadians make a big deal about this(not that it isn't a big deal). If our collected outrage actually gets the governments attention, there's hope for other screwed over countries(Australia and America), as their minor political parties will use our example to prove common citizens do indeed give a ***** about their own rights... Honestly, i cant believe its gotten to the point of someone having to say that.

    Maybe if enough people are aware of all the facts and its showed how this will impact their day-to-day lives, we'll finally be rid of those Conservative tools.
    • garionw, on 06/06/2008, -1/+1Hey, Australia isn't screwed over.

      Just deprived
    • BedPost, on 06/06/2008, -2/+3Wait, you mean, in Canada, the government actually listens to its people?

      I wonder what that's like...

      /american
      • Speed, on 06/06/2008, -0/+5Keep in mind the listening is more along the lines of "Oh really? Interesting... ***** you" than actual listening.
      • effedup, on 06/06/2008, -0/+2Yeah, they USED TO listen to us, but now they follow the "oh yeah? ***** you" approach set out for them by the US govt.
  • MacintoshSauce, on 06/06/2008, -16/+0I am from Canada (now living in USA) so I can say this with all honesty: ***** CANADA.
    • drhamr, on 06/06/2008, -0/+6No, I think you're LYING!
      • MacintoshSauce, on 06/06/2008, -3/+0No, I am from Winterpeg. Thank God I left Canada - land of no opportunities.
        • MrNexus, on 06/06/2008, -0/+1You spelled Winnipeg wrong you trolling douchbag.
    • rhartman, on 06/06/2008, -0/+5Good riddance.
      • MacintoshSauce, on 06/06/2008, -3/+0***** you, ***** you very much.
  • Spudster, on 06/06/2008, -0/+8http://www.facebook.com/groups.php?ref=sb#/group.p ...
    Facebook group ^^^

    Free speech is being violated by Human Right's Commissions. Essentially they have determined that if you offend someone else, you are liable to being prosecuted by these commissions. At the moment, a prominent Canadian magazine is defending themselves in front of the commission for offending muslim readers. I'm posting the Facebook group above so that I can get more Canadians to lobby their MP's about this issue. For a background on the issue, read here: http://www.cbc.ca/canada/british-columbia/story/20 ...
  • Scottc320, on 06/06/2008, -4/+1eh?
  • digggthat, on 06/06/2008, -4/+1dang...
  • breezytrees, on 06/06/2008, -5/+2I don't get this... :-( can someone please enlighten me?

    Basically, the only thing I got out of this "controversy" (from http://www.cbc.ca/technology/story/2008/06/04/tech ... ) was that politicians were praising themselves on their own wiki pages...

    Am I missing something? I'm having trouble understanding the technomumbo jumbo. What's the difference between kbs and kbps and why is that difference an important segment of this story?
    • noerrorsfound, on 06/06/2008, -0/+2KB = Kilobyte = 1,024 bytes
      Kb = Kilobit = 1,024 bits

      The difference is in the capitalization.
  • phoenixp3k, on 06/06/2008, -0/+5240Kbps is sitll 30KB/s. I consider it a very agressive cap.
    • ThreeDee912, on 06/06/2008, -0/+1Actually, my local TelCo seems to have a monopoly in the town I live in or something. No other companies service this area!

      The "fastest" speed available is via 768kbps DSL, which costs ~$55 a month. The 256kbps (~$30/month) one is the "basic speed" broadband, and 512kbps (~$40) is the "gamers package". Whatever that's supposed to mean.
  • RyanBlack, on 06/06/2008, -3/+1What a bunch of ***** scumbags.

    Looks like I'll be voting for Stephan Dion...as much as I hate the french *sigh*
    • MacSuxWindozSux, on 06/06/2008, -0/+3What the hell did the French ever do?
    • Speed, on 06/06/2008, -0/+1I would say that's a good idea if he, oh I dunno, stood up to the Conservatives and ***** voted against something.

      The only two parties in the Legislature that have any balls are the NDP and BQ.
  • HumanRecall, on 06/06/2008, -1/+6Just another future when Canadians are bought out and bought into United States ***** value system

    ..digg me down but it's true!!!!!!!!!!!!!

    I wonder who is fitting the bill and who is actually behind this !! Nobody in Canada is that diligent for something like this !!
  • kevptim, on 06/06/2008, -0/+3I wrote my MP about the issue and got this reply. I have not had the time to really read the page yet, the the official comment link seems interesting.

    "On behalf of Michael Chong, I would like to thank you for your recent correspondence. Michael has taken note of your views and has asked me to thank you for taking the time to share your concerns with him.
    As you may be aware, the CRTC is inviting public commentary about “traffic shaping” – I have attached the link to their site for your information. http://www.crtc.gc.ca/archive/ENG/Notices/2008/pb2 ..."
    • Speed, on 06/06/2008, -0/+2My MP didn't even reply. Neither did Harper, Prentice, Industry Canada, Dion, Layton or the NDP Party.

      The Liberal Party replied basically saying that until the Conservatives introduced the bill they had no stance.
  • Diddy321, on 06/06/2008, -0/+6They've been trying to sneak this thing in for so long now, and each time the general public rallies against them. Are they hoping everyone will be out of town one week and just not notice? IMO this Conservative administration hasn't been all that bad, but if they pass this thing I'll seriously get my entire family voting Dion.
  • banderwocky, on 06/06/2008, -0/+2Awesome! Good job Jim Prentice! Douche.
  • pretendeavor21, on 06/06/2008, -2/+0Maybe we should just give Canada some internet money. That would make them content.
  • anewname, on 06/06/2008, -0/+4Harper won the election on a platform of open government, accountability and full disclosure.

    Liberals (the party and the belief system) sometimes do bad things too, but at least they feel bad about it afterwards...

    "Conservatives" like these assholes always lie. Always.

    It still bugs me that they're basically in power because people wanted to teach the Liberals a lesson or some such nonsense.
    • overkillingness, on 06/06/2008, -0/+1I believe the Liberals are the better of the two, but i don't think we would see much difference with any party really...

      Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely... Every gives in to it eventually, it's all a matter how "good" you are from the get-go that will determine how long it will take

      Remember Lord of the Rings?
  • lucy22, on 06/06/2008, -0/+1This website has more info about this, and things the public can do.
    http://www.michaelgeist.ca/index.php
  • lucasb, on 06/06/2008, -3/+0they should do IP address tracking to find out who exactly edited the article.
    1 IP address 1 person. isn't that how they find pirates?

    /sarcasm
  • Zippo, on 06/06/2008, -0/+3This is unacceptable for Canada...
  • pampusik, on 06/06/2008, -1/+1I thought Wikipedia was something anybody could edit...?
    • bluntphallus, on 06/06/2008, -1/+2...so long as you stick to facts and avoid polluting articles with ***** to promote your own agenda. Try reading the article - I know it's a hassle, but it saves you from embarrassing yourself.
    • ThreeDee912, on 06/06/2008, -0/+1Most articles on Wikipedia are open for everyone to edit, without having an account. The admins try not to lock pages, but there's always idiots out there who like to spam the page with things like "LOL PENIS!!!!!!!!" on popular/controversial pages, so they are semi-protected so only people who have had an account for at least 4 days and made 10 edits (that have not been marked as 'bad' by others) can edit them.
  • MrNexus, on 06/06/2008, -0/+2The conservative government is just getting ridiculous. An election can't come soon enough. We should send Harper to America where he could get a job kissing Bush's ass all day.
  • bincoder, on 06/06/2008, -0/+1Dear Canadian government,
    Please refrain from attempting to overtake and rewrite US law.
    Your job is to run your own country not ours. If you wish to take over, do it the old fashioned way, thermonuclear war. Otherwise, butt out.
    Thank you.
    • ThreeDee912, on 06/06/2008, -0/+1Actually, Wikipedia tries to be decentralized and neutral, and the mods/editors/contributors frown on articles that are country-biased.
  •  

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