********* http://pathfinder.com/netly/editorial/0,1012,940,00.html The Netly News Network May 13, 1997 No, Canada by Declan McCullagh (declan@well.com) Krishna Bera wasn't surprised when the order from the Canadian government arrived last Friday. It was couched in the stilted language of universal bureaucratese, but its message was cold and clear: Purge a political endorsement from your web site or go to jail. Bera's offending web page had said simply, "Vote Green." It didn't exhort its readers to commit a crime. It wasn't libelous or defamatory. It didn't even feature any porn. Yet the pro-Green Party statement was enough to draw the ire of the commissioner of elections, for Canada has a rule, buried in the 187-page Elections Act, that prohibits anonymous political recommendations. And Bera's web page was unsigned. [...] ------------------------- Declan McCullagh Time Inc. The Netly News Network Washington Correspondent http://netlynews.com/