I’ve groused here many — perhaps, too many — times about the inability of the Canadian music industry to get it together so that we can listen to music over the internet like our neighbours to the south. Imagine my surprise when I stumbled on BlueBeat, a website streaming music here, when Pandora et al. are forbidden to do that. Now imagine my super-surprise when I discovered that BlueBeat is streaming free and marketing MP3s of the Beatles’ music at 25¢ a song. Apple Inc. is unable to strike a deal with EMI for the distribution of the Fab . . . [more]

Today should be the day that the new Nova Scotia Mental Health Court hears its first case. (See the story in the Chronicle Herald .) In effect a criminal court under the Provincial Courts Act, the MHC is staffed by people who are able to understand and assist those who come before it because a mental illness has played a significant role in their criminal behaviour.

More formally, from the MHC Overview [PDF]:

The Nova Scotia Mental Health Court Program is a voluntary offender-based program for adults (persons 18 years of age and older) who have been charged with a

One of my colleagues, found a colourful way to describe his growing disconnect with finding legal information on his own: “It’s like trying to find a piece of hay in a haystack.”

A Law Librarian blog post offers an excellent visual representation of this concept:

These two haystack comments make me think of teaching legal research. The topic has been on my mind a lot lately. And recent debate here at Slaw about sources of legal material tells me that others are likely thinking about it too.

On the weekends, I am a farmer. There is no hay on my . . . [more]

Steven Covey is addressing the Drucker Institute live on the web: http://www.drucker100.com/

Not sure if it will be available afterwards.

Thanks Dave Bilinsky for the link. . . . [more]

All the concerns about Google amassing information about users has led to the Internet giant deciding to be more transparent.

You can see a video of Google Dashboard here. The control panel lets you see what Google is collecting about you, and modify your preferences.

The Globe points out that some of the bigger privacy concerns, such as Street View, have still not been addressed. . . . [more]

One of the things I enjoy about reading the Language Log, a cooperative blog by academic linguists, is the ease with which some of the authors slip into high dudgeon. (I suppose I might be like that, too, if my subject were language, in which everyone is an expert.) The latest target of Geoff Pullum’s indignation is U.S. Supreme Court Justice Kennedy, who, it turns out, doesn’t know his active from his passive, when it comes to voice.

The offending passage occurred in the judge’s dissent in Jones v. United States 526 U.S. 227 (1999) where Kennedy is interpreting a . . . [more]

Cross-posted on The AvoidAClaim blog (www.avoidaclaim.com)

As part of a brief endorsement dated November 3, 2009 in RE: IN THE ESTATE OF Evelyn O’Reilly, et. al., Justice D. M. Brown of the Superior Court Of Justice–Ontario provided some useful direction on the form and content of an order in applications to prove a lost will under Ontario Rule 75.02. Ontario lawyers handling this issue on estate matters will find Brown J.’s comments helpful. . . . [more]

University of Toronto law professors Ben Alarie and Andrew Green have posted a draft of a new paper to the Social Science Research Network.

The paper is entitled Interventions at the Supreme Court of Canada: Accuracy, Affiliation, and Acceptance:

“Do interveners matter? Under Chief Justice McLachlin the Supreme Court of Canada has allowed an average of 176 interventions per calendar year and interveners have cumulatively made submissions in half of the cases heard by the Court. This level of activity suggests that interveners are doing something. But what is it that they are doing?”

“In the abstract, there are

I over-think and over-analyze every purchase I make, large or small. One of my favourite sources of information is Consumer Reports Magazine (www.comsumerreports.org).

The December issue arrived at home yesterday. It is “The Best New Electronics” issue and is perfectly timed for anyone thinking about a Christmas electronics purchase. They have tested and give ratings for 400+ hot new electronic products. They give basic info on the features you should consider and list the top performers and values. They have repair history ratings on some products, and tell you where to buy computers and electronics, and how to . . . [more]

♫ If it should chance to be
We should see
Some harder days,
Empty-larder days,
Why grouse?
Always a chance we’ll meet
Somebody to foot the bill…♫

Lyrics and Music by Lionel Bart, from Oliver!

Ever trying to put a positive spin on a negative situation, the Legal Services Society of British Columbia has just announced that it has reduced 58 positions arising from replacing its regional centers in Kamloops, Prince George, Kelowna, Surrey and Victoria with local agents and an expanded, province-wide call center.

Civil law advice programs such as the LawLINE (the Society’s telephone legal advice service) will . . . [more]

A CBS news article says that blueprints of Obama’s helicopter were found on a computer in Tehran. How did it get there?

Seems that a defense contractor legitimately had the documents. An employee saved it on her home PC. That home PC contained, like many do, file sharing software. But that employee did not realize that the file sharing software was configured to share the folder it was put in.

In other words, if anyone anywhere using that file sharing software/network did a search, they could find and download that document.

This danger is not new – but its a . . . [more]

Last Wednesday, the The Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada, the Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner for British Columbia and the Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner of Alberta published two documents on privacy and management of the H1N1 pandemic. This post invites critical thought about the substance of these documents.

One document, for employers, is entitled Privacy in the Time of a Pandemic: Guidance for Organizations. The other, for employees, is entitled Privacy in the Time of a Pandemic: A Fact Sheet for Employees.

Both documents argue that private sector privacy laws “apply . . . [more]