"Documents expose the influence of US lobbies on the EU WorkGroup on Open Source, 2009," Wikileaks, May

Summary

This ZIP archive contains three files related to the influence of US copyright industry lobbies on EU WorkGroup on Open Source.

Open Source is software that is free to use and modify. Large copyright holders such as the US-based MicroSoft Corporation exert pressure to prevent government adoption of free software.

The three files complete the previous WikiLeaks release about the influence of US lobbies such as MicroSoft on the EU Open Source Software WorkGroup (see: How to Hijack an EU Open Source Strategy Paper and European Commission OSS Strategy Draft, Mar 2009).

The files present draft versions of the group's report, so it can be seen how the lobbies pressure change inside the very reports which are supposed to be a base for the European Commission legislation propositions.

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Michael Geist, "The Friday Forum--Open Access 1," May 8, 2009.

Classes and exams have now concluded at the University of Ottawa and students won't be back on campus until September. Rather than taking a full hiatus on lectures, I thought it would be interesting to pull together a weekly virtual conference series using the incredible array of video lectures that have been posted online in recent years. The Friday Forum will be a weekly blog posting on a topic within the broad umbrella of law, technology, and policy. If you were to watch all the videos in their in its entirety, each virtual conference would take about a half-day. I'll also post additional readings and materials for those that want to dig more deeply into the issues. On most issues, there is a wealth of choice, so I'm bound to miss some great lectures that are on point.

This first Friday Forum virtual conference is the first of three on open access. This collection of lectures focuses on the open access movement and latest developments. Next week, I'll touch on some specific issues such as government data, access to law, development issues, and science commons. The final virtual conference will highlight the recent move toward university open access mandates.

For a history of open access in Canada, see Dean Giustini's wiki.

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"Canonical Announces Availability of Ubuntu 9.04 Desktop Edition," April 20, 2009.

[As this announcement says, Open Office 3.0 ships with Ubuntu 9.04. That is a new version of the Office suite, too. I have been using Open Office for nearly a year now and like it better than Word, Excel, etc. Coming Soon to the desktop closest to me: Goodbye Microsoft®. -jlt]

Faster boot speed, enhanced application suite and more visual appeal -- give users more reasons than ever to choose Ubuntu

LONDON, April 20, 2009 – Canonical, the commercial sponsor of Ubuntu, announced today that Ubuntu 9.04 Desktop Edition is free to download from Thursday 23 April. Also announced were the simultaneous releases of Ubuntu 9.04 Server Edition and Ubuntu 9.04 Netbook Remix (UNR)

Ubuntu 9.04 Desktop Edition delivers a range of feature enhancements to improve the user experience. Shorter boot speeds, some as short as 25 seconds, ensure faster access to a full computing environment on most desktop, laptop and netbook models. Enhanced suspend-and-resume features also give users more time between charges along with immediate access after hibernation. Intelligent switching between Wi-Fi and 3G environments has been broadened to support more wireless devices and 3G cards, resulting in a smoother experience for most users.

For the first time, users can download the complete Ubuntu Netbook Remix to a USB flash drive directly from Ubuntu.com.

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See also releases about the Server Edition and the Netbook Remix, which brings us a step closer to the long-awaited $100 laptop.Recommend this Post

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Marilyn James and Taress Alexis, Is government setting Indians up for a fight?," Sinixt Radio, March 17, 2008.

Podcast Review

I found this edition of Sinixt Radio difficult to summarize. Marilyn James, the appointed spokesperson of the Sinixt people, reads several articles:

• Coast Salish leaders commit to environmental action, Indian Country Today, March 10, 2008.
  
  
• Tribe remembers nation's largest massacre, ICT March 10 2008.
  
  
• Boise Inc. to suspend purchasing from Grassy Narrows, ICT, March 10, 2008.
  
  
• Bald eagles once again protected in Arizona, ICT, March 14, 2008.
  
  
• Northgate totem finds a new home in Suquamish, ICT, March 3, 2008.
  
  
• Gail Toensing, Michigan tribes casino efforts draw fire, ICT, March 14, 2008.
  
  
• Ford JS, Myers RA (2008) A Global Assessment of Salmon Aquaculture Impacts on Wild Salmonids . PLoS Biol 6(2): e33 doi:10.1371/journal.pbio.0060033.
  
  

The articles are interesting in their own right, but for me the most meaningful part of the Sinixt broadcasts come when Marilyn and Taress are provoked to discuss their own views about the issues.

The idea that stuck in my mind this time came from the article about the Coast Salish gathering at the Tulalip Tribes Feb 27 - 29. Descendants of settlers have still not understood their own need to integrate into the larger history of the indigenous peoples of the Western Hemisphere. But climate change solutions may well require tribal knowledge. As North Americans come to understand their need for a history, we will likely come to show more respect for our aboriginal hosts. But that could be a long way off.

''Non-tribal environmental data only goes back to the 1930s,'' said Terry Williams of the Tulalip Tribes. ''Ours goes back thousands of years. Without our traditional knowledge, nobody truly has the ability to compare the status of fish and wildlife habitat today with its condition before the white man came.''

Williams said such traditional knowledge is just one example of the values tribes bring to natural resource management. The representatives at the gathering concurred that tribes must receive more equitable management funding to deal with climate change conditions. ''These are tribal resources being destroyed,'' Williams said. ''We have got to have the ability to build the capacity and staffing necessary to help clean up the mess, even though the tribes didn't create it.''

About the Shoshone tribal development program, Marilyn asks, What kind of weapons are they producing? and what is the environmental hazard or damage to the people in making them?

the article on Grassy Narrows documents what lobbying efforts by the people can accomplish. Boise Inc. has notified logging company AbitibiBowater that it will cease purchasing wood fiber logged from Grassy Narrows' traditional territory in the Whiskey Jack Forest without the indigenous community's consent.

Marilyn and Taress both had ideas about the Gail Toensing article on the casino in Michigan. Marilyn thinks the government is setting Indians up for a fight.

I found the one about salmon most interesting, first because of the findings. Marilyn reminds us that the salmon are having a hard time and that the oldest species of salmon spawn in the spring.

The Ford and Myers study used existing data on salmon populations to compare survival of salmon and trout that swim past salmon farms early in their life cycle with the survival of nearby populations that are not exposed to salmon farms. They found "a significant decline in survival of populations that are exposed to salmon farms."

The article was of additional interest to me because the

Public Library of Science Biology

is a peer-reviewed publication that makes high quality scientific information available on an Open Access basis.

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