Let's check out their Facts about music piracy:

The music industry worldwide has gone from a $40 billion industry in 2000 down to a $26 billion industry in 2002 (based on U.S. dollar value of shipments).

n the past three years, unit shipments of recorded music have fallen by 26% from 1.16 billion units in 1999 to 860 million units in 2002 in the United States (based on units shipped).

This is my favorite tidbit from their site:

Releasing an album with major distribution costs a record label at least $1 million; of the thousands of new titles released each year by major labels, fewer than 10% are profitable.

And another:

Hit recordings have been impacted most dramatically. In 2000, the ten top-selling albums in the United States sold a total of 60 million units. In 2001, that number dropped to 40 million. Last year, it totaled just 34 million.

Fortunately private sharing is legal in Canada.

And I still maintain that they'd never go after downloaders. Why? Because if there is the slightest non-infringing use of p2p networks for things such as space shifting then the onus is on them to prove that you don't legitimately own a license to the music which is hard to do. They need not just download logs but access to your physical CD collection (which requires search warrants) never mind all the CDs you may have bought but lost, gave away,...
3:01:00 PM   []

..Twice in the past 24 hours the news people have told me that air pollution in southern Ontario is a problem. What do they recommend we do? Is it to stop driving and take more public transit? No. Is it to use our air conditioners judiciously? No. Is it to appeal to large multi-national companies to reduce their environmental foot print? No. Is it to stop BBQing? Yes.

BBQs. Are they *really* the leading cause of air pollution?

(If I didn't have a BBQ I'd probably starve so it's unlikely I'll be cutting back on my use of it).

Update: G&M, Ontario BBQ-smog warning dismissed

The head of an Ontario environmental group has dismissed as absurd the suggestion that people should barbecue less to help reduce air pollution during Toronto's current heat wave.

12:04:48 AM   []