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Old February 11th, 2008 #4
Alex Linder
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Join Date: Nov 2003
Posts: 45,756
Blog Entries: 34
Default Re: The Legal Situation in Canada

There is no Freedom of Speech in Canada

Support free speech online - because the government doesn't By Sea

Sea rants about being confronted by the police after a singer couldn't take what was pretty normal internet name calling.

Recently, I published an article about a Los Angeles-based rock star wannabe lead singer not being able to take constructive criticism on her music - notably, the first song of hers I'd ever said anything bad about. The opinion was unwarranted, unacceptable, according to her. She told me she only wants to hear from me if I like a song, otherwise my opinion is worthless. This followed a heated exchange through email where the level of decently regressed to her calling me somebody who belonged in diapers wah wah wah, and I told her to grow the fuck up, because she was acting like a spoiled little brat. I ignored her last two emails because they were getting stupid and were not worth the time to read them, so instead I published a short blurb about my personal feelings on the matter.

I interviewed her and members of her band a month or two ago on my radio show as a preview to their upcoming album release. By the way, I've played their music frequently on my weekly Internet radio music show, spread the word about her band, and distributed a half-dozen promo CDs she mailed to me. I supported her ambitions and was determined to help her when I could. I had her band in my notes to consider for work on various live tours, a movie soundtrack and a long line of concert & festival ideas over the years.

Now, I resent her and my wasted efforts, and hope she vanishes into a cesspool of livid normalcy.

If she wasn't receptive to my comments, she shouldn't have accepted my other ideas for her that she thought would be great to adopt in the past, such as a journal of her thoughts (similar to how I use this website to post what's on my mind - such as her acting in a psychotic manner) or all of her used and unused lyrics, as lyrics are very dear to her.

Who is she?

The reason I'm not mentioning her name is because, as recently advised by the Toronto Police, I'm not allowed to. Sure, I can say whatever I want about her contrived music, her inconsistent vocals or her try hard lyrics, her ambitions for musical success through making money and gaining "fans" rather than maybe enjoying her work as an art. Just no negative posts, jokes or references, not just by me, but other free-willed, opinionated people of our worldwide UM community.

It's not even her real name, anyway. Draw your own conclusions. Protection of her image must be something sleazy involved.

You see, she, or a friend of hers, contacted the police in LA, and it got back up to here in Toronto, when I was visited by two police officers. I was upfront and cooperated with them, sharing my perspective and politics on the matter and really, it comes down to free speech online. Under no pressure to do anything, I sent an apology email and closed the thread, meaning nobody further could post in it.

That wasn't good enough, and I've had increasingly tense phone calls to discuss further action, and further demands, and I've pretty much had enough of this.

After days of being what now feels like harassment, I was requested to remove all negative comments about her that might affect her in her career. I would say her fatally flawed personality and overreaction to FREEDOM OF SPEECH is more of a threat to her so-called career, because this shit isn't going to cut it in the world. Don't talk about fucking the system if you're going to rely on the system to pursue your dirty laundry.

Look at pretty much any internet community and see what the conversations are about, much of it is bashing, much of it is solid discussion, it's balanced. Shit, people have posted DEATH THREATS and my HOME ADDRESS/PHONE NUMBER online with the message for people to come and fuck me up.

I've hidden the article about her, not that I wanted to, but because I wanted to write this new one about what had happened. It's the truth, it is what happened. Do not assume this is a precedent because the next person to try something like this can kiss themselves goodbye. (Was that threatening? Should I be watching how I say things? Fuck knows anymore.) However, this is a free message board and people are free to post what they like about her - or about anybody else, including me - on here. There are comments about her elsewhere, good and bad, that simply will not be removed. Absolutely not. If that is not good enough, then they better charge me with something and lock me away forever, and things are going to change for everybody else because of how I will react to that.

Once and for all we will demonstrate why posting the truth and people's opinions should not be tampered with because some egotistical moron took exception to personal, silly, admittedly immature comments. Should we edit or attempt to forget the truth, like the uproar about Neo-Nazis claiming the holocaust never happened? Or education in places like Singapore, China, North Korea or even the United States, where the truth is manipulated under the guise of keeping up appearances and "national unity"?

Theoretically, somebody stifled into watching what they say publicly could set up a private forum dedicated to hating somebody and how they're going to kill them, and nobody would know. Pushing things underground is where problems begin, and the police should damn well know this by now.

Are we in fucking China, where they employ thousands upon thousands of web monitors, watching what people say and censoring every last piece of content conflicting to the propaganda their leaders has spewed on their population?

The beauty of the internet is that you can post anything you like, and if you don't agree with what somebody else says, you can ignore it, or post in response to it. Calling the police is mindless. What a fucking waste of resources. Toronto's crime continues to rise, we have hostage takings, gun control issues, everybody's on drugs, ... and this is the waste of time and manpower. The US is such a mess! Like Los Angeles doesn't have far worse things to deal with than a flaky rock 'n' roll bimbo's bruised ego. Don't you think we could be putting the constable's mental capacities towards solving real crimes, instead of playing the middle man in a completely ludicrously overblown situation?

Welcome to the internet, where freedoms have exceptions, and petty ones at that.

If you wish to comment on this article, you are free to post what you want. I'm not going to edit or delete your comments barring it being Spam, because that's not what we do here. Just don't call the police over mean words about you on a screen.

As I have the wonderful privilege of being allowed to comment on Starlit's music and what I will say is this: They have a couple of solid songs I think are tremendous. They are doing nothing new or inventive, and some of the vocals are the weaknesses of the songs, just because I wish singers would shut the fuck up a little more and let the music play.

There are touches of ego and psychotic behaviour clearly in their lyrics, death, destruction, blood sucking and the dark underground which includes drugs, sex and a lot of shitty times.

But from what I've heard through their recent song, Heart in a Cage, if that is the spineless direction they're heading in, then they're in for a rough ride, because it is awful, contrived, pointless and irritating.

Anyway, what a waste of time and thought, because of words on a screen. Meanwhile, people are getting shot, stabbed, drugged into doing things they're not aware of, plotting terrorist attacks, stealing, scamming the system, and yet this is where the efforts of the law go towards.

This is not a swipe at the police, whom I have always respected (other than tales of corrupt cops) but rather a swipe at the system, one that maybe people should get a clue about the potential for a better world online, resolving conflicts through words and dialogue, whether they are nice or not, rather than guns, knives, or cross-border police intervention.

And so goes my bullshit experience. That is my opinion, and I will continue to say what I want to say.

http://www.u-magazine.com/magazine/a...?articleid=867