Mike Burton's Conspiracy Theory Debunked

by Deborah Jones Publisher
Biz X Magazine

I am sure everyone has been reading about Ward 4 candidate's Mike Burton's press conference recently where he accuses Biz X magazine and myself, for hurting his campaign regarding the distribution of a April 2010 article by Mr. Alan Halberstadt (the incumbent Mr. Burton is running against in the 2010 Municipal Election).

View Mr. Burton’s six minute press conference video at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8vmxbS_ZcqQ posted by windsorcityblog.

Now, let's set the record straight Mr. Burton concerning your press conference.

1- At :40 you say “the article by the way is readily available on the Biz X website.” Ref for point #4 below.

2- At :58 you say “Alan's long time employer.” Mr. Burton, Alan Halberstadt is not an employee of Biz X Magazine. He is a freelance writer.

3 - At 1:45 you say “the Biz X lawyer called me on Monday and denied my request to reprint the article.” Mr. Burton, you had already printed this article without permission the week before.

4- At 3:00 you say, “However it appears Alan wants to keep his agenda hidden and that Biz X wants to stifle any debate on it.” Mr. Burton, the current and past issues of Biz X Magazine are available at http://www.bizxmagazine.com/ 24/7/365!!! There's no conspiracy here. It's called the Internet. Al Gore invented it! By all means spread our links around all you want . . . just don't photocopy copyrighted material that you do not have permission to use is all I asked.

5- At 3:58 you say “so in effect they have stopped my campaign in a very critical week.” WOW, one flyer has brought your entire campaign to a screeching halt? What are you going to do if you're elected when many issues are coming at you? We also question how you would handle the pressure of City Council when you state “Biz X Magazine is going to extraordinary lengths to cover up Mr. Halberstadt’s residential tax position.” “Extraordinary lengths! I sent you one polite email and you received one phone call?!?! We put the issue to rest, you kept it going.

6- At 4:50 you say “which by the way on the particular website page I took this from, there's no mention of copyright.” Mr. Burton the copyright notice is in the Masthead of any magazine and newspapers print it on random pages. On the website, it is not only in the Masthead but it is in the footer at the bottom of the home page. It reads “no artwork, contents or photos can be reproduced elsewhere without the consent of the Publisher”. So to note, Mr. Burton if you were to be elected, you will be reading many legal documents and you need to ensure that you read ALL the details and read EVERY page to make sure you follow the proper procedures!

The only issue here for us, was the copying you did and admitted to doing, of my property…that’s it.

Also to note, my magazine, Biz X has NEVER run any political ads nor supported any politician…We have kept totally out of this municipal election and have not favoured one candidate over another in ANY WARD nor in the race for the Mayor.

Also you are continually quoting snippets from an entire article and using it for your own means. You only wanted to use the April 2010 to benefit your political agenda, and I can not go along with this for you, nor any candidate in fact (so there is NO bias)…and this is the reason why I could not give you permission. However since the article is “readily available” as you say (and this was the one true statement you mentioned)…people are free to go and read ALL of Mr. Halberstadt’s articles.

Here's the link to the April 2010 issue so you can stop perpetrating this big spooky conspiracy against you. http://www.bluetoad.com/publication/?i=35022 Mr. Halberstadt's column is on Page 6.

The residents of Ward 4, the citizens of Windsor and everyone here at Biz X (and the Windsor media too!), have heard plenty from you on your opinion of Mr. Halberstadt . . .the time is short for you to get your political platform out there and to stop commenting on others…what is your position—concentrate on that!

Mr. Burton, If you're going to take a run at me or my magazine, I'm going to stand up for myself!

Good luck to all candidates on Monday Oct. 25 – it’s an exciting time for all of us!

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