I'm baaacck.

Well. I had moved the blog. then after 3 years, I shut down the blog as I wasn't finding the investment of the .com domain was worthwhile. There are such a small number of readers of my blog that there wasn't much point in continuing.

By now, I expect I've lost all my readers, but I will start putting content back here on blogger.com eventually, if my words are of interest, readers will return!

Blog is Moving.

For some time I've been playing with Word press and I've decided to import my blogger info into Word Press. This blog is now closed.

To continue reading my blog, please update your bookmarks, favorites, etc.

the new URL is http://blog.germanpickle.com

I will have a new feed there also.

Thanks.

-The Pickle

Dear Anonymous

Based on your comments, I would guess that it’s you, not I that is the hot head. Fact of the matter is that I laughed while writing my last post. I laughed because of how ridiculous some of your comments were. However, I’d like to clarify a few things for you.

One. I have an open mind, and two I am willing to learn from the interaction; hence the reason why I chose to open my mouth. So, being a man of my word, I did some research for both our benefit. As stated earlier, I am no lawyer, but I believe that I’m intelligent enough to be able to understand the following two websites, within reason.

http://laws.justice.gc.ca/en/charter/

In case you haven’t guessed by the url, it’s a link to the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. I’ll help you out. Here’s a cut and paste of the Fundamental Freedoms.

Fundamental Freedoms

2. Everyone has the following fundamental freedoms:
a) freedom of conscience and religion;
b) freedom of thought, belief, opinion and expression, including freedom of the press and other media of communication;
c) freedom of peaceful assembly; and
d) freedom of association.

As you see, bullet B indicates, “freedom of thought, belief, opinion and expression, including the freedom of the press”. This means that whatever is written in this, or any other blog, is protected by that freedom. This applies within the limits of the Canadian Justice System.

So, let’s look at the Criminal Code of Canada.

http://laws.justice.gc.ca/en/C-46/

PART VIII of the Criminal Code of Canada is titled, Offences Against the Person and Reputation, probably a good place to start. Let’s see…. …

Section 298 belongs to the sections regarding “Defamatory Libel”, which is what the anonymous reader has accused me of.

Section 298 reads

298. (1) A defamatory libel is matter published, without lawful justification or excuse, that is likely to injure the reputation of any person by exposing him to hatred, contempt or ridicule, or that is designed to insult the person of or concerning whom it is published.

Interesting. So In order to injure the reputation of an individual does that individual not need to be identified? No names have been mentioned. So I see nothing in this section that makes me or any other person referred to in “Anonymous” reader’s comments that indicate actual libel. Lets keep reading.

298. (2) A defamatory libel may be expressed directly or by insinuation or irony

(a) in words legibly marked on any substance; or
(b) by any object signifying a defamatory libel otherwise than by words.

Very interesting. So Libel can be marked on any substance. That means, I could arrange Alphagettis into a libelous sentence. Cool! Lets read on.

299. A person publishes a libel when he

(a) exhibits it in public;
(b) causes it to be read or seen; or
(c) shows or delivers it, or causes it to be shown or delivered, with intent that it should be read or seen by the person whom it defames or by any other person.

So, I’d have to publicly display my alphagettis. Sorry, I’d have to publicly display my alphagettis in a manner that shows intent that I want the person I’m allegedly defaming to read my noodles.

So before I continue, my blog, and that of “Mr. Justice” has already not met several key requirements for libel.

1. No person has been ridiculed, insulted, or exposed to hatred.

2. Although both the blogs in question are publicly published, it has not been stated that either blog has been published with intent that it should be read by the person it defames.

3. Furthermore, since no name is mentioned even had there been ridicule, insults, or exposure to hatred, no person was identified, therefore there’s no way to prove whom this alleged ridicule, insult or exposute to hatred is about. This makes points 1 and 2 mute.

But please let’s continue.

300. Every one who publishes a defamatory libel that he knows is false is guilty of an indictable offence and liable to imprisonment for a term not exceeding five years.

301. Every one who publishes a defamatory libel is guilty of an indictable offence and liable to imprisonment for a term not exceeding two years.

Libel has strong consequences. Let this be a warning to all. Including those who publicly publish a comment indended for me to read, addressed to me calling me a “Pompous Ass”. This is clearly a statement directed at me to insult me (meets qualifications of section 298) and it was delivered with intent that it should be read by me (Section 299). And, since I was being accused of libel, anonymous clearly knows all about law, so that would mean section 300 would apply. Five years rather than two.

Lastly, lets look at how this legislation applies to blogs. What is a blog? Blog, or Web Log is a journal published by an author intended to provide items of public interest and public discussion. Sections 309 and 310 apply to this.

Public benefit

309. No person shall be deemed to publish a defamatory libel by reason only that he publishes defamatory matter that, on reasonable grounds, he believes is true, and that is relevant to any subject of public interest, the public discussion of which is for the public benefit.

Fair comment on public person or work of art

310. No person shall be deemed to publish a defamatory libel by reason only that he publishes fair comments

(a) on the public conduct of a person who takes part in public affairs; or
(b) on a published book or other literary production, or on any composition or work of art or performance publicly exhibited, or on any other communication made to the public on any subject, if the comments are confined to criticism thereof.

So if it can be stated that the Pickle’s Perspective, and Justice4Fathers Blogs are journals where the respective authors, publish material which is, on reasonable grounds considered true for the purpose of public interest for the public benefit would NOT be deemed to have published defamatory libel.

So, based on these readings, my beloved readers, here are the facts, about libel in Canada. I’d like to thank all my readers, whether you comment or not. I write this blog for your entertainment. For your input, and for your benefit. If my posts make you question something, I’ve done my job. This trip into my mind is bumpy, funny, ridiculous, and sometimes offensive, but it’s always 100% the pickle’s perspective.

The Truth About Libel.

Recently my blog was spammed by an anonymous reader claiming that I, by posting a link to another blog, could become legally responsible, if said blog contained libel. I've never backed down from a confrontation on my blog, and I surely won't now.

Once again, I'd like to make two comments.

1. If you know absolutely nothing about a subject, then either button your lip and don't open your mouth, or two, listen to what others tell you and gain knowledge and experience from the interaction.

2. If you have a closed mind you should have a closed mouth.

Now to continue. Here's the exact quote from the comments on my other blog post.

"YOU ARE JUST AS GUILTY of these acts as the man who wrote the Justice Blog because you posted the link to his. You are in essence making this available to a wider public audience. This is injurious and grounds for a civil suit against you too. It is no defense in law if you just repeat but did not originate the defamation.

The fact that the blog was written with malice is also important in civil cases.

You can state your opinion, but you cannot perpetuate this libel. You are the owner of the blog, and you must share in the damages when awarded."

So, lets set something straight: Oxford Dictionary defines libel as: Noun - the publication of a false statement that is damaging to a person’s reputation.

Let's examine this definition. First off. Libel means false statement. I personally have made no false statements. Secondly, in order for statements true or otherwise, to be damaging to a person's reputation, they must include identifiable details about said person. This did not occur either.

A few months ago, an individual posted a website containing libel about me. The website was created in retaliation to negative ebay feedback I left for a seller that sold me an open item when it was claimed to be in a factory sealed box. This libel website contained my full name, my email address, and my paypal account information. I contacted the RCMP, and Vancouver Police department for assistance.

As it turned out, the seller broke no Canadian Law. First off there a freedom of speech. Secondly in Canada it must be proved that the person who is suspected of writing the libel is in fact the person who typed it into the keyboard. Using an IP address as evidence isn't sufficient. Lastly, posting personal information about me on the Internet didn't violate any Canadian Privacy Legislation if the personal information contained on the website was publicly accessible in another fashion. Post your email on any media for any reason yourself and that email address is now publicly available.

So I may not be a lawyer, or a judge or an enforcement officer of any kind. However I have something called common sense and intelligence. With those two combined, I can easily deduce that based on my experiences; the person who essentially threatened me with a civil suit, knows nothing of what they talk about. Clearly any person who reads a post on the internet, especially a post that mentions no names, and still thinks the post is libel about them, is clearly confused and misguided.

That's all. You can go outside and play now.

The Moving Baby Swing

IF you have this swing, be careful. Some parents put a baby into a swing so they can do some chores around the house. Our baby loves her swing. She swings and naps, giving us time to clean up etc. Well on the weekend, I was doing some computer work, when I noticed little girl was right beside me.

Check out the video.



I called Graco to log a safety concern. They are investigating and appear quite pro-active at this point. I'll keep you up to date!

Unfaithfulness = Die Young!

Based on a Cambridge University Study, it appears that the competition over sex is the reason why males live shorter lives than females. The Cambridge study compared males of various species and found that, the more polygamous a species was the shorter the life expectancy was of the male in regards to the female. In these examples, the males ages quicker also.

So, if the dishonesty of cheating isn't a strong enough deterrent to infidelity, perhaps the fact that it can shorten your life, may be!

See the original article here: http://www.livescience.com/animals/071016-male-age.html

Don't be Ringing My Doorbell!

As Halloween approaches and we grownups decorate and prepare for an evening of Ghouls and Goblins terrorizing our front lawns, I have only one simple request. DON'T be ringing my doorbell.

This must be a sign of a society that's getting ever lazier. Last year, one kid, must a been 15 or so, (Voice had already cracked) rang the doorbell and exclaimed, "Gimme some candy."

Yeah, Piss off!

When I was a kid there were rules to Halloween.

1. Dress up.

2. Shout at the top of your lungs. "Trick or Treat" or "Halloween Apples" If we yelled trick or treat, we knew we could be getting the trick.

Nowadays it's a "Ding dong" and silence. Bahh... maybe I'm becoming an old fart, I dunno....

Nonetheless the 2 rules should still hold true. In the past I've done the tricking from time to time. Jumping out at kids, lighting fire crackers behind them, or other such childish antics. So all you kids, if you expect good candy and effort on my part, you best not be ringin' my doorbell. You'll need to put a little effort in too... if you know what's good for ya.