I have been complaining for years that the incumbent "software manufacturing" firms have been justifying radical FLOSS crippling changes to the law using invalid statistics. The statistical method that the BSA (and it's Canadian arm with the Orwellian double-speak name of "Canadian Alliance Against Software Theft") use largely include the use of FLOSS software as if it were "infringement".

Their methodology is simple: Count the number of computers shipped to a region and "estimate" the demand for software from BSA members. Then count the amount of software BSA members shipped, subtract the two, and declare the difference as "piracy".

There has been a lot of discussion about software patents and how evil they are over the past months. Even without the insanities concerning RIM and those concerning "business methods," there has been a lot to really dislike.

But nothing has gotten my back up the way patents (in the US) have been distributed on mathematics.

No, I'm not kidding.

If you studied advanced algebra or calculus, you know that Fourier analysis is an important and often-employed method. It is based on the notion that complex wave forms can be approximated by a sum of sinusoids, each of a different frequency. There are a number of techniques that have been developed to perform analyses employing computers.

Globe and Mail: Liberal MP's fundraiser causes controversy - This Globe and Mail article by Roma Luciw about Bulte's fundraiser tonight contains this gem:
"I will not be silenced by zealots like Michael Geist and political opportunists like Peggy Nash who are making something out of nothing," she said, adding that she believes Mr. Geist's comments are nearing the point of being defamatory.
"I am not going to sue him before the election but dammit, watch me after the election."