Slashdot Mirror
Australia May Adopt DMCA-Style Copyright Regime
beaver1024 writes "Australia, desperate to garner more U.S. trade, has indicated that it is willing to follow a more stringent regime for protecting copyright. This follows attempts by MediaForce to force Australian ISPs to comply with U.S. DMCA provisions. I fear that due to the current Australian government's weak spineless nature, the harsh provisions of the DMCA will soon arrive in the land down under."
As an American citizen I should tell Autralia not to fear us. We won't bomb your asses unless you give us damn good reason to.
The MPAA may be sleeping with congress, but they can't afford the needed bribes to start a war. So long as we keep pirating movies they never will and the world will remain safe!
I hereby confess to reverse engineering magnetic tapes. It was an act of civil disobedience. Come and get me.
You can't judge a book by the way it wears its hair.
As an Australian also, I am also immensely disappointed. This only confirms my suspicions that my government is filled with greedy politicians.
Anyhow, what are we going to do about it? Here's a few of my suggestions:
1. Complain to our "representatives".
2. Disobey.
3. Create our own countries, outside the jurisdiction of evil legislation.
4. Exercise our rights to free speech and, in the case of Free Software, print code on T-Shirts, in books, on mugs and, what the heck, on the Net. After all, how can free speech be overruled by lesser dmca-like laws, anyway?
5. Stop using computers. Ugh. I don't like the sound of that.
6. Cry and/or scream in horror (and shame).
7. Rejoice that the media cartels will now profit even more, at our expense.
Anyone have any more suggestsions?
Posted by DanUltra
Trust me, I live here :(
If it's not Telstra fucking us with a Microsoft style monopoly, or "protect the people" revenue rais... whoops speed camera's - then it's senator Alston making us look like nearthandals tech wise "high speed internet is used only for porn"
Then there's a new tax / levy introduced tri-monthly to help out some band of poor bastards - course they never see the money but we still get our wallets bent over and plowed.
(I'm surprised I can still browse slashdot actually considering that "ISP's must ban content" clause that the government passed several years back.
Oh oh and we pay a SHITLOAD for cars here too, like 15 metric assloads for a car, that's right this BIG fat country with 20 million people and you can't find a decent second hand car under 10,000$ - but our backwards sheep plowing neighbours in NZ can score ex Japanese imports in the 6000$ (NZ!) range... wheeeeee
(sorry for the rant but I just have to do it now and then)
I love this country *COUGH* (I've said this a million times now, but is there ANYONE out there in the states with a spare basement for me to live in!?!)
Hell, I said 'record'. Now I'll have to pay a fine of $250,000, undownload my 600 mp3s, sell my 12x CD burner (equivelent to 347) and have to move my offices to the Pacific island nation of Vanuatu.
I have come to the conclusion that the only way to get away from these stupid laws, and stay away from them in the future, is to create SlashNation, where attempts to keep any forms of information, such as source code, secret has a death penalty. CowboyNeal for president!
This might provide solutions to your points mentioned above except the first "1st world type living". The Geeks of SlashNation would have a long way to get there, but I'm sure we can do it!
Beware: In C++, your friends can see your privates!
"Ooh! Ah, that's it. I'm going to report this to me member of parliament. Hey, Gus! I got something to report to you."
Bruno: Ooh! Ah, that's it. I'm going to report this to me member of parliament.
[yells out window] Hey, Gus! I got something toreport to you. [Gus tends his swine]
Gus: That's a bloody outrage, it is! I want to take this all the way to the Prime Minister.
[they go down to a lake] Hey! Mr. Prime Minister! Andy!
Andy: [floating naked on an inner tube with a beer] Eh, mates! What's the good word?