Slashdot Mirror
European Parliament Declaring War Against ACTA
An anonymous reader writes "The European Parliament is preparing to take on ACTA. A joint resolution (DOC) has been tabled by the major EP parties that threatens to go to court unless things change. The EP is calling for public access to negotiation texts and rules out further confidential negotiations. Moreover, the EP wants a ban on imposing a three-strikes model, assurances that ACTA will not result in personal searches at the border, and an ACTA impact assessment on fundamental rights and data protection."
It's getting heated up in my country too. People are demanding answers from politicians, but even they don't know what the fuck is going on. ACTA is seriously the kind of secrecy movement that should not be allowed. It's good to see we actually have some backbone. My image towards EU has growth a lot with this.
but sometimes it's worth the corruption and the bureaucracy.
Recent polls show that most people regard Internet access as a fundamental right and considering how important Internet access has become that is very understandable.
Thus any three-strikes law would likely be in violation of the European Convention on Human Rights and be struck down by the European Court of Human Rights.
Given that it makes sense for MEP to oppose three-strikes provisions as they can not be certain of implementing them and could potentially suffer very negative fallout for trying.
Finally we have the chance to lobby elected representatives rather than aetherial bureaucracy! Don't let's waste it, guys...
If anyone in the UK wants to write to their MEPs about this resolution (you should), you can use this page to do so. I'm sure similar services exist in other countries, or you could just post the MEPs a dead tree version of your complaint.
Could this be a sudden outbreak of common sense? News at 11...
I tried to think of a good sig, and this wasn't it.
Yeah in this case, politics works. It's not because they see this as for the good, they are doing it because they can get political capital out of it. Which in this case works out to be in favor of the people. The irony.
For all the anti-European sentiment here in the United States, specifically against France, it's ironic that we're becoming more dependent on them protecting our civil liberties.
If they don't do it, our government (no matter what Administration) surely won't do it.
I wish I was European so I could take pride in the fact that someone is finally standing up and calling bullshit on this entire process. I just wish Canada's government would do the same but, so long as Stephen 'Bush-wannabee' Harper is in power (proroguing government in an attempt to remain in power), I don't imagine that will ever happen so I'll have to simply be glad that the Europeans are doing the right thing.
As an American, I say, "Thank you very much", to the EU.
I assume we are speaking of the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement.
Wasn't there a time when the US led the world in freedom, liberty, and openness?
I know I'm going to get horribly trolled for this, but damn it, it needs to be said.
I don't see why it's necessary. Any compromise reached will just be another stepping stone in their agenda and they will be one step closer then, even if they get frustrated momentarily without total passage.
What's the old adage about bargaining - start way higher than your actual goals and then during negotiations inch lower on your demands but at least you end up with what you wanted. But at least with a negotiation, both sides get something they need and want. What are we getting in return that we don't already have?
First they shot down the forced SWIFT bank transactions monitoring by the US of EU citizens (http://yro.slashdot.org/story/10/02/06/1836221/EU-Committee-Says-No-To-Bank-Data-Sharing) and now they're (trying to) blow the lid on all the secrecy surrounding this ACTA agreement.
Maybe the EU Lisbon treaty (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treaty_of_Lisbon) has really given th European Parlement some teeth. At least they are probing the limits of their power, in the right direction.
---
"The chances of a demonic possession spreading are remote -- relax."
A joint resolution has been tabled
Whose "tabled" is that? Is that "brought forward" or "set aside"?
I want my Cowboyneal
I find your ideas intriguing and wish to subscribe to your newsletter.
Sincerely,
USA
I'll meet you at the intersection of "Should be" and "Reality"
Having too much freedom for the people and too transparent a government is endangering the power of individual politicians as they can more easily be held accountable for their actions. This they do not like, and so they came to the conclusion that going back to secrecy and less freedom for the people is the way to go, as that would help secure their powers. Sucks monkeyballs, but that's what you get when you have people who think of themselves instead of the people they represent in power.
One, real life example of this alleged "bureaucracy" inconveniencing you.
Go ahead. ....
Stop reading the Daily Fail. kthxbye
The secrecy behind this act is insane. People have the right to Fair Use. And our Constitution and Bill of Right are meant to protect the people. Companies are not People, and that what this ACTA seems to be protecting, the bottom line of profit. Kudos European Parliament!
Life takes interesting turns, but the most interest is when you're off the beaten path.
Well, I think it's only a false image... At first, "american" were greedy colonists (either going to america to flee some judicial problems in europe or going there to make some big profit).
While esclavagism had mostly disappeared in Europe, it had been brought back in US...
US has always be about freedom without limits... If you succeed in earning money, it gave you the right to "enslave" other people (well, employing them with minimal salaries), to crush the other trying to earn their living (most known example on slashdot is Microsoft... but it's true for many other),...
On the other hand, in Europe, it had been more and more about limiting personal freedom so it don't infringe on someone other's freedom (I won't say it was perfectly done)... Corporate greed also existed in europe... long ago... And it's brought back from the US (and other) thanks to the buyouts, merges, ...
Finally the EU does something _for_ the people!
(aside from money flowing to everywhere except to my country)
It shouldn't surprise you that the only part of the EU which is directly elected by the people is the only part of the EU which works for the people. The rest of the EU (commission, etc.) is the legislative arm of the corporations.
Moderators please read the parent before modding up the grandparent. The grandparent starts well reflecting on national interests and then veers into total nonsense.
The EU parliament is waking up to a serious threat to democracies everywhere and this is a case for us to acknowledge them wearing pants.
Companies are not People
You're absolutely right. In many regards they enjoy superior rights than people. :-/
"Good news, everyone!"
Yes, I'm an American and I find it fantastic that Canada and the EP have a damn head on their shoulders. As long as Americans believe there are ONLY TWO POLITICAL PARTIES, this country will be f'ed. Those in control have been there too long and need to be replaced. The problem is those two parties have all the money for running real political campaigns. If an independent or some other political party had the money to actually get their name out, AND (and a HUGE and) if the American people wouldn't just vote BASED ON A PARTY NAME, things in this country could be much better. As it is now, you have two real parties and one of them is basically given control of the congress and/or house so they can just push what bills they want out the door. IF American's would actually open up their mind and quit voting by party name, and IF we could get 4, 5, or 6 PARTIES into congress and house, thing would be less "This is what we (as in the controlling party) want, push it though!" to more checks and balances on the whole process. It wouldn't be a controlling group with the same ideas in charge, but a mix of ideas from a range of people.. and I have a feeling it would keep more crap like this from appearing, as well as cut back on all the bullshit tucked away in bills.
well, it's up to you (in USA) to push for SHORTER copyright terms... Vote with your wallet, write to your local politicians, organise some big MPAA hit boycott, ...
At first, copyright was about a SHORT LIMITED TIME, now, it's longer and longer... with the clear intent to make it infinite...
It's up to you to push for a ban on stupid patents... Explain to other that if they have to pay more for their MP3/camera/... it's because of the so many patent fees on trivial or outdated technologies... I'd say that for everything computer-related, max patent duration should be 1 or 2 year... That's the rate at which most computer technologies become more or less obsolete...
It's up to you to say no to the removal of HQ on analog signals on TV/DVD/BluRay/... and to say no to the enforcement of HDCP and removal of analog signal later... Unless you want that your equipment becomes obsolete and you had to replace it...
It's up to you to shake your legal system, to prevent bullies (oops... corporation) from dragging court process until the other part can't pay for court and attorneys fees.
Are you new here? Of course you'll be modded troll for expressing what we all know.
next,
I would like to start seeing a G~8
err, we're talking about the European Parliament, not a some government, no member can afford to send a corruption prone representative since a screw-up will tarnish the image of the country permanently, so ... more bureaucracy, true, more corruption, no.
media corporations and their paid-for government whores are attempting to backdoor their oligopolistic unneeded parasitical existence into the internet age
but the people have spoken: we like our freedoms very much, and it is clear the internet has meant that your continued existence means compromising our freedoms in ways we don't like. so i guess you'll just have to die then, unnecessary media corporations
artists, writers, directors: you don't need old school distributors. there's a better, free, distributor: the internet. sure, you won't get pennies everytime someone sings your song in the shower (while some lawyer asshole gets the lion share of pennies) but you'll get fabulous exposure and advertising and presence. then you can tour, and make money the honest way
intellectual property law is philosophically incoherent. it is your moral duty to ignore it or sabotage it
Yep, and at the time, the US was NOT the major power player in the world. Nowadays, the US has buy-in to the current system. Everyone from the politicians to the homeless folk on the streets have something to lose if the status quo changes in any significant manner. That said, rather than be the cocky young new kid on the block, that can try new things and write strongly worded declarations denouncing the old way of doing things, the US has grown into the upper management, middle aged, slick haired fellow that will screw you for a dollar, not out of maliciousness, but out of a desire for the preservation of his own way of life.
Once a country has something to lose, they will fight damn hard to keep it.
The US has a lot to lose these days.
Motorcycles, Robots, Space Gossip and More!
Calling for publication of the text is good.
The other provisions of this demand are pretty weak. Some example points:
#2 - no basis? Here's the basis: 2008-04-14: EU: negotiating guidelines for ACTA formally adopted by the Council
#10 - "subsidiarity" etc. - no problem, that's why the EU keeps pushing the words "Those measures, procedures and remedies shall also be effective, proportionate and deterrent" into the ACTA text (see March 1st leaked draft)
And the criminal sanctions are EU okay because the treaty will be handed to the member states for implementation.
Still a great move. Just don't starting thinking we win with it.
Please help publicise swpat.org - the software patents wiki
I'm not going to nitpick their reasons. So maybe they had plans to go along with that crap, then they were exposed, and are now fighting against it to look good.
I don't care. I'm just thankful they're doing it.
I love my country. We do a lot of good things, but we also screw thing ups pretty good. The agreement has been brought to light and, unlike the EU, my country is not chancing its stance. That's what matters.
As for Canada and New Zealand? Thank you too, guys!
Wasn't there a time when the US led the world in freedom, liberty, and openness?
That was probably a long time ago. But I like the fact that Americans still think this, because that means that they want it to be true.
But for this to be true, it pretty much depends on what you consider to be freedom, liberty and openness. The rule of law has always been about protecting the strong from the weak, as stealing from others is easier than making things for yourself, thus laws must exist to protect our ability to evolve as a species. And as has been mentioned earlier, ACTA is simply a move to ensure that the US gets a bigger cut of IP, copyrights etc. Arguably what RIAA/MPAA et al. does, hardly falls under the category of human evolution, more like the opposite, but they're strong, and they seek the protection of the law to maintain their wealth and power. That's the American way.
So if the US is pro freedom, pro liberty, pro openness, but also pro capitalism, the question instead becomes: What takes priority among these values ?
And Presumably the reason for keeping stuff like this secret, is that it's really bad press when people find out that the US is willing to not only sacrifice its OWN citizens freedoms, but also that of its allies' on the altar of capitalism.
Apparently a lot of people (not just RIAA and others) have forgotten an old quote:
"The man who trades freedom for security does not deserve nor will he ever receive either". (- Franklin, AFAIK)
I applaud Americans, chineese and pretty much anyone who would stand against any legislation that could be used to monitor limit or cut off internet usage. As this will limit our ability to communicate with eachother, and experience different views (political and otherwise), openly exchange ideas and cooperate virtually across borders, ethics, religion and race. The internet is what makes us a global community, and attempts to stop this globalisation must be met with resistance. Let us not forget that the internet can actually be used for WAY more than just distributing porn and pirated music.
--- To err is human... Am I more human than most ?
People are worried it's another one-two by the record companies (and it probably is). This is great news and comes down to a bitchslap to the pencil pushers trying to get away with it.
Btw, if you want to rally more support: join our facebook group: We Need 5m people to prevent the labels killing internet freedom with ACTA. http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=213704134963
A positive attitude may not solve all your problems, but it will annoy enough people to make it well worth the effort.
Can we please stop saying we're declaring war on things that aren't sovereign nations?
Let's especially stop if they're ideas, conferences, or pieces of paper.
Question everything
You need to separate the system from the subject it has been used to process. Democracies and dictatorships are capable of arriving at the same solution to a problem, or answering the whim of the people.
The reason why you might want to implement a representative democracy, a dictatorship, or a direct democracy (or the EU Lisbon Treaty) etc. is separate from the reasons why you might want to implement, say, dog licences.
The fact that the EU may have done something good (in someone's eyes) doesn't mean that the EU system itself is good, any more that a popular policy implemented by a dictator means that dictatorships are good.
The Lisbon Treaty requires so many things of the component nations that they have been left unable to make decisions for themselves which might undermine the open market and capitalism. FIne if you are a capitalist, but not so fine if you aren't. In a real democracy the people could vote either way, and even change their mind. The EU system doesn't allow that.
And by the way, only the Irish got a vote on this before it was adopted. In my books that is closer to dictatorship than democracy.
The "war on" metaphor has become trite. Can we just say what it is: The EU Parliament is investigating/opposing/*something* against ACTA. The way people use the word war has stripped it of effect. War used to be a big deal... no it just means arguement/conflict/opposition.
Sure we can use metaphors, but when we over use them or use them incorrectly, the original word loses meaning and the metaphor becomes "cute" at best.
Utilizing the synergization of benchmark e-solutions to pre-workaround action items!
I vote that we no longer refer to this kind of thing as "declaring war," since that terminology has become cliche. I suggest the replacement of "calling intervention on." For instance, the headline here should be "European Parliament Calls Intervention on ACTA."
And "I know I'm going to get horribly trolled for this" is like a giant bullseye.
I've lost all my marbles except one & It's fun to test angular & centripetal acceleration in my skull
It might be worth explaining for non-European readers that the balance of power between the (elected) Parliament and the (appointed) Commissioners shifted significantly as a result of the Lisbon Treaty, which recently took effect. There was plenty to worry about in that treaty, but this part, at least, they did get right.
A similar difference in opinion between MEPs and the appointed guys explains the recent oddities about allowing the US access to bank records: that provision was pushed through by the appointed government weenies literally hours before Lisbon came into effect, and the MEPs have been working to get it fixed since the change.
If you disagree, post your argument. (-1, Overrated) isn't your personal censorship tool for views you don't like.
Usually when reading mainstream media the always say that EU wants this or EU wants that. This is a severe simplification, and makes the whole issue wrong.
There are three institutions in the EU that have power and they usually want different things. The 3 are:
* European Commission (members not elected)
* Council of Ministers (members are elected ministers of their home countries, not elected on a European level)
* European Parliament (members are elected in democratic elections all around Europe)
The European Commission has been handling the ACTA negotiations in secrecy with USA and other countries. What has happened now is that the European Parliament has come up with a resolution saying the the European Commission can no longer do this in secrecy and all negotiations must now be public.
In short, the Parliament, representing the people, wants to see the ACTA files.
I guess we'll have to invade the EU next to protect our way of life, because obviously this treaty is designed to improve the lives of citizens in their respective countries.
Maybe some of our congress corponauts will jump on this bandwagon.
No troll intended, just a slight historical correction...
No, the US has never led. Ever.
esclavagism
Am I right in guessing that you meant slavery? Based on the word, I'd say that you're French, or at the very least a speaker of a Romantic language.
13 years of almost forgotten French immersion isn't all lost!
Worse (for the Beltway, anyway), if there is greater transparency in governance, it risks exposing further all the quid pro quo-style deals that lobbyists, interests, and politicians have set up to make themselves wealthy at the expense of the people.
It boils down to having a media, business, and political environment that is too interdependent. Big corporations with huge amounts of resources (don't even think about comparing them to labor unions, who command a tiny fraction of a percent of what corps can spend) pay huge sums to lobbyists who convince legislators and regulators to bend policy towards said corporations, who in turn offer lucrative jobs to said regulators/legislators when they retire or are voted out of office. And, since the majority of the media is own by corporations who share directors, you will never hear about these deals, when in a truly independent media, they would be a major scoop.
Even "public" broadcasting is influenced-- if they over-expose this corruption, there goes the lucrative underwriting grants. If the aim of the modern American corporation is to assume full control of government operations and information distribution, either they've succeeded or they're very close to succeeding. Citizens United is just the beginning.
"We are Microsoft. You shall be assimilated. Competition is futile."
Hmm, the word “freedom” is used as a newspeak word, meaning something quite different (whatever fitted the greed for power), for a long time already. But the EU-countries are not really that much better. They mostly try to imitate the US anyway. And badly too.
Luckily, this very article proves that not all is bad. By far.
Also, while the media likes to portrait it as if the people of the US and the EU hate each other, actually it couldn’t be further from the truth. We hate Cheney. And fighting pointless wars. But 1. we BOTH hate that. And 2. what does that have to do with the people, rather than the governments? :) :)
Unless we have met someone personally, we still can’t judge him, can we?
So only dumb people would get angry over your comment.
Any sufficiently advanced intelligence is indistinguishable from stupidity.
In the beginning, there was God. He just magically appeared!
I keep lots of pirated stuff in my Hotmail account. I am sure that everyone else does also. Can we complain that Microsoft is HOSTING this pirated information and other intellectual property? Three strikes and they are offline permanently right? Secondly, a bunch of the spam that I received has stolen logos from various pharmaceutical companies, watch-makers, banks, software companies, etc. Is hosting these jpgs of corporate logos and apparent IP infringing emails a crime? If so, that is strike 2 for Microsoft (hotmail at least). Ooooh, look, Bing just transmitted links to lots of pirated stuff. I demand that Microsoft be disconnected from the internet at once. Where do I file take down notices?
I thank the EU for this.
I hate that it seems like Europe has to protect us Americans from American crap like this, but I must say that I am grateful they are doing it.
yeah, well... that girl isn't really a girl.
Shocking, yes?
I know nothing about European politics. How often does the European parliament stand for public elections? (Clearly people who believe in human rights and democracy wouldn't allow themselves to be ruled by dictators). Could this be election propaganda to sway the voters?
The juggernaut starts moving. A Juggernaut which isn't that easy to corrupt and can actually do something about this weird treaty. Lets just hope they will stop this, otherwise things might just start looking very, very ugly in the future. After this, things like civil disobedience and open revolt become a very real option.
Well I was particularly impressed with the EP motion B7-0180/2010 as it is very clear and logical (and long-winded..):
So basically, your right to fight counterfeiting and protect your trademarks, copyrights and patents ends where it infringes on your fellow human beings' fundamental human rights. ;-)
Spread the word, otherwise only old people will know this
To be, or not to be: isn't that quite logical, Slashdot Beta?
i told you Eu parliament wouldnt stand for this.
now we all need to gather behind the parliament, regardless who and where are we from. american and belgian, swedish or italian. even hindu, japanese, brasilian.
if you are from Eu or from an Eu candidate status country, you can officially petition European Parliament. this is a legal right. you can do it online, or you can do it with snail mail, as long as you put your name, address correctly. they all are valid and processed.
here is the link to official petition information page of Eu parliament :
http://www.europarl.europa.eu/parliament/public/staticDisplay.do?id=49
in decades now, a parliament is acting on people's behalf with no agenda. support your parliament.
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War against one campaign not enough. We need to pay attention to who is behind the campaign, because for them, every campaign is nothing more than a learning experience under the belt.
The very institutions lobbying and campaigning for controlling the only (still) free medium and making its use depending on their approval should be dismantled. They are forces of oppression, control, fear and insensitive cruelty based on infinite greed.
The news story says:
"A joint resolution (DOC) has been tabled by the major EP parties that threatens to go to court unless things change. "
(Here in the US, "to table" means "to postpone, to shelve, to take off the table" while in the EU, "to table" means to make the motion, to propose, to put on the table.)
This is evidently an attempt to lull American corporations like Disney into a false sense of victory (after all, the motion was tabled, right) so that it can be passed ;-) Yeah, but one can hope....
LedgerSMB: Open source Accounting/ERP
With all the controversy regarding ACTA all over the world, people in the U.S. are largely very unaware of it. The media here in the U.S. will not report on it in the main stream and so it's just not as well known as Britney Spear's crotch is.
ACTA represents a peak in U.S. government corruption and ownership by Big Media. It may not pass as a treaty world-wide, but you can bet it will be ratified between the U.S. and at least one other government and then enacted and enforced at the U.S. border. It will not matter if one is travelling to or from a non-signing country. It's going to be messy... well, more messy than it is now.
Companies have been running our government(s) for a while now. The natural result is that the government and the laws it enforces are creating conditions pushing the people into the role of servants / slaves of the companies. It is true that companies are also made of people, too. So, we see different conditions for the people who stay on top of the companies.
The superrich live in a world of incredible healthcare, luxury, super high quality products, food, services. The rest of us fall towards slavery, pollution, bad or lacking healthcare etc.
You get the picture. Tendencies haven't changed since the Roman Empire, or earlier.
What is different now is that never have we been so well informed or educated. I think we have a chance to enforce change in these tendencies, once and for all. Changing Money from a tool for enslavement to a measure of gratitude could be a good beginning.
mod parent Insightful. HUGE potential for errors.
404555974007725459910684486621289147856453481154 in hex is "You sank my Battleship?"
[GPG key in journal]
it was the acta participant countries' ministers who were going along with acta. Eu, with its bureaucracy and parliament, havent supported acta at any point. and see, Parliament acted against it.
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it was in low countries (netherlands and belgium) that the first baselines for age of reason were laid, and it was in late 18th century france that age of enlightenment (which has created the concept of rights of the ordinary man and equality) has come to being.
there is nothing to be ashamed or feel inferior or hate. these are fundamental principles that go beyond and above nationalities and locales. we should all support these from wherever, from whomever they come out.
Read radical news here
I'm not sure I really want an essentially Parliamentarian system, where someone in a six-party coalition gets in a snit and boom: the government falls apart. But you are so very right when it comes to the subject of IP and the Content Lords: both Red and Blue partys are the same color - servile corporate yellow.
European Union and European Parliament represent the age of enlightenment and humanist ideals. Upon these facts were all the previously warring countries were united. (they were in ww 2 just 5-10 years ago). And up to this point, Eu and Eu Parliament have properly acted as people's organizations, protecting the rights of 'the people' rather than industries' and private interests', even at the risk of hampering those industries.
no its not quite clever. if you try hard, you can find a 'self preservation' motive in everything.
first of all, noone, no country on the face of the planet would want to be american corporations' bitch in regard to intellectual property and internet.
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That the UE will be the force that compels opening up this process.
The U.S. should be, but our current Administration is acting, well, frankly, as I would expect a European administration to. No offense intended.
Go for it, EU! We need someone to step up and deal with this. Legislation crafted in secret is kept secret for a reason, and that reason is never in the best interest of the people.
We have fallen in the U.S. We've let this Administration go much too far in the wrong directions. At least with ACTA, we may yet prevail, with a little help from our friends.
deleting the extra space after periods so i can stay relevant, yeah.
European parliament have been trying to fight for ordinary people's rights even when they had NO authority in the previous decades. leave aside a parliament representing entire europe not to have any authority being an appalling thing, it would be even appalling and so 'american like' if they hadnt used their authority right now, in this issue.
and, its about acta. acta undermines VERY fundamental european ideals regarding freedoms. like, freedom of thought, speech. this is why the parliament outright stated that no form of 3 strikes can be allowed under any circumstances.
i dont know why some people spew shit without having their facts straight ...
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What can I do to encourage Europe and help them?
Responsibility is an addiction
Virtue is a temptation
Community is a cartel
ACTA was never a list of what anyone would expect to come into force. The EU Parliament will stage their objections; a "compromise" will be reached at precisely the level ACTA sponsors had been hoping for in the first place.
The only "assurance" I need from the European parliament is an outright refusal of ACTA. Actually, I'd prefer that from the UK parliament, but principle is a privilege of youth and only one of the two parliaments is young.
https://www.secure.europarl.europa.eu/parliament/public/petition/secured/submit.do?language=EN
send your petition. be warned, this is not an ordinary 'web' petition. if you fill your details correctly, it is a real petition that will be processed by real people in relevant Eu parliament offices. and its the official page.
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I'm so glad that we have the "leaders of the free world" on our side. It's a shame that this phrase can no longer be applied to the US. And I am sorry that this mantle has been cast away from us by the idiot politicians in DC.
That is all.
http://www.europarl.europa.eu/wps-europarl-internet/frd/live/live-video?eventId=20100309-0900-PLENARY_SESSION&language=en
real time representation -- nice
until 1-2 years ago, lobbies of private interests ignored Eu parliament, because it held no power and it was a 'novelty' parliament. Pretty little parliament.
Lisbon treaty ended up giving powers to Eu parliament. Now, there is a powerful parliament, members of which were elected not through lobby support, but popular support and concerns.
right at the time they were trying to push acta to put a stranglehold on internet and emerging technologies and people's rights .... and there is not enough time to wait for reelection so that they can support their puppet representatives to power - not that they could easily though - europe is close to 1 billion people, and members get elected from all countries. its not something similar to dominating us houses or brit parliament...
funny how things turned out ...
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I meant to write something about this for a long time. /. is probably not the right forum for it, but for what it's worth, here it goes.
America was founded on the idea that the people are sovereign, not the government. Government at the time meant the Crown of England. A lot of what makes the US constitution deals with ways of protecting the people from its government. This has worked well for a bit over 2 centuries, but what we are now seeing is nothing less than monarchs taking over again. Only this time they are not called King, they are called CEO. Because the constitution protects persons, they have now convinced everybody that a corporation is a person entitled to all protections afforded by the constitution. ACTA is a small part of this process. DMCA is another one. The extension of copyright terms is another one. The mockery that is the business method patent is yet another one. These are all tools being forged and deployed in order to shift power from the people, as yielded and controlled by their elected representatives in government, to corporations.
Old-time conservatives keep repeating the mantras about checking in the powers of government, not realizing that government is being eroded and real power is being, more and more, transferred to corporations.
Remember, government in the US is subject to laws that make it be, as much as possible, open and transparent. This is good as it helps keep the people in charge. Corporations are however accustomed to secrecy and back-room deals. They are used to NDAs, trade secrets, etc. I'm convinced that this is the sentiment behind ACTA's secrecy. This may be the first time something like this has happened, or it may be the first time we actually caught them at it. But ACTA, like the DMCA and others, has been written by corporations, for corporations. Government and the good of the people have very little to do with either.
Lightbulbs
Damn it's embarrassing when we have to look to Europe for a lesson in intellectual freedom!
It would be interesting to have a three-strikes law now that more and more EU countries seems to be mindlessly pushing towards voting in political elections over the internet. Can we end up in a situation where you can't participate in political elections because of three-strikes?
before they 'implemented' modern democracy, modern democracy was being practised in netherlands, britain already long before.
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... but I say to you, love your enemy, do good to the one who hates you, bless the one who uses you spitefully... I don't see no beatings there not, without re-writing the dictionary or some such jiggery-pokery (Hit me! Hit me! ... ah... that feels much better).
cheers...ank
Still hoping for Gentle Treatment...
Europeans get it, finally. Hopefully.
"The man who trades freedom for security does not deserve nor will he ever receive either". (- Franklin, AFAIK)
I think it's Jefferson, but I'm too lazy right now to look it up.
There's nothing like $HOME
So-called "intellectual property" rights aren't, indeed, fundamental rights. They are instrumental rights that have been designed, and initially balanced, in order to encourage talented individuals to contribute to society as a whole by the productions of their minds. Unfortunately, the initial desired balance has been tinkered with into oblivion.
There's nothing like $HOME
Yep yep. In some EU countries (like Finland), internet connection is already considered a human right similar to freedom of press etc. Also many countries here are forcing its citizens to do stuff on the net (tax returns, housing registration, applying for social security etc.)
This is cost saving and service improoving (well, to SOME extent), so I dont really see goverments as wanting to get rid of this option and going back to paper and phone calls again.
--- To err is human... Am I more human than most ?
Europe now has more balls than America.
Discuss.
"When information is power, privacy is freedom" - Jah-Wren Ryel
Why sign it at all?????????
Classic formula: introduce oppressive legislation; remove unpopular items due to public outrage; pass the rest into an act of law.
How about NO ACTA?!?!?!
Funny that you think that a services-only economy is progress. Really? Suppose China refuses to export anything to the US? The shelves at Wal-Mart are gonna get real bare, real fast.
If you want your life to be different, live it differently.
Don't forget Canada and New Zealand. The leaked ACTA docs show that they were standing up for rights and good law from the beginning.
As a proud Canadian that is very concerned about the continuing efforts of the current right-wing minority government to elbow this country away from democracy at every twist and turn, I cannot accept your compliment.
I can assure you that, based on the evidence to date, the so-called Canadian reps only tried to give the illusion of protecting the people's rights, while in fact doing no such thing, in keeping with the modus operandi of that minority government. In fact, they made little to no material objection to the meat of ACTA and commented only on superficialities.
New Zealand, on the other hand, appears to have represented the interests of its citizenry honourably and made material objections to the meat of ACTA. For that I commend New Zealand's government.
I was a member of the Waffen-SS, you insensitive clod!
They mostly try to imitate the US anyway. And badly too.
Given the current situation in the US, imitating it badly is probably a lot better than imitating it well.
That's standardization.
In any case it's probably not even true, the size of the glasses is not mandated, it's the unit used. To wit, in France beer glasses are 25 cl or 50 cl (a "pint"), but some rare bars sometimes serve 12 cl, and I've seen 40 cl pints.
Also wine glasses are usually 12 cl, but in some restaurants in 10 cl, and sometimes it's more. It just has to be spelled out in the menu.
It wasn't bananas, it was cucumbers. And it was Daily Fail bullshit anyway.