Slashdot Mirror
Thousands Take To the Streets To Protest ACTA
An anonymous reader writes "The protests
against the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement continue
to spread in cities across Europe. The protests began in Poland, where thousands
have taken to the streets and opposition politicians have worn Guy
Fawkes masks in protest against the country signing the agreement last
week. The scenes
from Poland and France
are remarkable, demonstrating the widespread anger over
the decision to join ACTA. A full rundown of protest plans
can be found
here."
Can we also get rid of the counterfeit politicians who are selling out to big business?
media tried to downplay Occupy Wall Street as just a money issue?
Downplay? The whole thing has been a media event from the beginning.
see thats the problem right there, they dont know, but will happily vote for it cause bubba next to them supports it and maybe they got a little money to pad their wallets as well
its pathetic that people have to call them to inform them how to do their effin jobs
correction: the end of our *illusion* of being able to be represented and have a say in how we are 'governed'.
I submit that mankind has been this way since we evolved from ooze. its always been about competition and conquest and domination. look at nature; we are not so different from animals, in this respect.
our society, all over the world, is in constant conflict with wanting to be at peace with each other, while also wanting to dominate each other. such a delicate balance and its often not achievable.
what has happened is that the filteration of this concept is being bypassed. people can directly read and understand what the powers 'up there' have in mind and how they view us surfs^Hserfs.
overbearing rulers have always, always been the norm. what's changed is that we all, collectively, are *realizing* that.
yes, it will cause class warfare. and that, too, has always been a continual struggle in the history of man.
--
"It is now safe to switch off your computer."
Why do corporations contribute so much money to politicians in western nations? Because they except and get a 10-fold return on investment, by having laws, tax policies, regulations, and government purchases catered to their wishes.
Protesting only value in the political equation, is its dollar value against the advertisement and other media costs needed to negate it. (Note that SOPA was only stopped, when Google, Wikipedia, and others put the equivalent of hundreds of millions of dollars of advertising against it, and not but grass-roots protests alone.)
The only reasonable way to stop ACTA now would be to get some major corporate support on board and/or generate a signifigant bribe fund for politicians that would be greater than the amount the media company are bribing with.
partly to FTFT, partly to inform: ACTA is an enabling piece of EU legislation that allows Governments to shut down websites they deem to be overly freethinking in their politics (eg positive action group blogs and newsboards). This is nothing to do with copyright infringement but with ACTA, they won't need pesky courts of Law, or even investigation into claims of copyright infringement - just the mere suggestion of copyright infringement will be enough for permanent shutdown and shitlisting of the domain.
Screw due process, Slashdot is subversive and it links to copyrighted material. Hell, you don't even have to go to court or attend police interviews.
Bye Slashdot, 'twas nice knowing you.
Operation Guillotine is in effect.
Yes, these protests do something. They show people that they are not alone in their anger towards the politicians who are selling them out. When the Swedish Pirate Party formed, it showed people in other countries that proper representation of the internet affine generations is possible, and Pirate Parties formed in other countries. People no longer believe that they are tiny minority whose interests are being trampled. They see other people who think alike. When the German Pirate Party made it into the senate of Berlin, it created a turmoil among the incumbent parties. A flurry of "me too" promises resulted and the parties which had ridiculed the Pirate Party before the election tried to suck up to the "new" voters. It hurts to lose a couple percent points of the votes to a new party. The protests in Poland may well remove people from office, as they're not just about ACTA, but about Poland's signature in violation of the decision of the expert commission of Poland's parliament. The anger is also about the USA's meddling, and ACTA will cause the USA to lose some standing in the world, this time not amongst the countries which it already perceives as enemies, but among "friends".
Does it concern anyone else that Americans seemingly couldn't be bothered to actively protest this very same legislation with any level of ferocity here in the states? What will it take to get us upset enough to leave our collective couch, do you think?
I'm glad there are people in the world voicing their opinion.
People in America seem to make infographics, complain on message boards, shout in slashdot comments... anything, as long as they don't have to get up from their computer desks.
Are you scared of pepper sprays? Europeans clash with the police and aren't afraid to get a little hurt to express their anger towards draconian legislation.
That is why when RFID chipping comes to America, people will take it.
why should patentable items only have a 20 year shelf life
You say it as if the moment a patent expires, any products covered by that patent become unprofitable to sell. There are a lot of counterexamples to this statement...
if there was a strong united Internet demand for fair copyright terms.
Copyrights are dead and everyone knows it. Trying to enforce copyrights, as originally envisioned, is as crazy as trying to tell people that they are not allowed to drink their tap water. It is not going to work. In the worst case -- the one where we continue to have copyrights -- we need to turn copyright infringement into an offense that you receive a ticket for, like parking your car in the wrong place. The better alternative is to develop a new system for compensating artists and ensuring public access to arts and useful sciences.
Palm trees and 8
Teargassing/pepperspraying a group of 2000-4000 protesting geeks MIGHT backfire somehow later on.
Obama has essentially given congress the finger.
$PRESIDENT, congress and the judicial branches all give the US people the finger.
obama does not matter. bush would have fucked us over, too. and clinton, and etc etc.
people stop thinking that an individual matters, anymore. the whole system is slanted to the rich and powerful and this president or that party does not matter. they are DISTRACTIONS to keep us fighting with each other.
--
"It is now safe to switch off your computer."
Those differences are irrelevant in the face of one striking similarity: both are granted by government, both are protected with the force of government, both are a subsidy to specific business models and both must go.
You can't handle the truth.
This is the argument for apathy, and it's wrong. Protesting isn't just about results, protesting is about standing up for what's right. Regardless, I do believe there are positive results - right now we, along with many others around the world, are discussing an issue that may not have occurred to us, or we may not have known about, had it not been for a group of Polish protestors.
Money isn't everything. That's just a defeatist attitude. It's the type of attitude that, by accepting injustice as inevitable, is complicit in it.
"From the depths of my skeptical and rationalist soul, I ask the Lord to protect me from California touchie-feeliedom."
Actually in this case attendance was not a problem - tens of thousands physically showed up. It was also done with remarkably little violence, so at least media could not spin it as violent hooligans rioting.
And that is why the common man should have the right to bear arms. Tread on us will they?
Life is not for the lazy.
Check the differences between today's Oakland vs yesterday's London.
That used to work back when guns were all about the same size.
It's officially a third world country in terms of press freedom now
No, it's pretty much the definition of a first world country. The term "third world" has pretty much lost all meaning after the end of the Cold War. At best, it's a vague synonym for "undeveloped country'. At worst, it's nothing but a pejorative.
Just because you're paranoid doesn't mean there isn't an invisible demon about to eat your face
Douglas Adams was right all along with his post of Galactic President: "a role that involves no power whatsoever, and merely requires the incumbent to attract attention so no one wonders who's really in charge"
GP's post is not misinformational at all.
Go ahead, allow ACTA to be signed, ratified, and put into effect. THEN, go online, open up a website, and start building up a case AGAINST ACTA and it's proponents. Watch to see how fast your site is taken down.
ACTA is nothing, if it is not a tool to censor the masses, and to form public opinion - while at the same time enabling "Rights holders" to fleece those same masses of their hard earned money.
"Windows is like the faint smell of piss in a subway: it's there, and there's nothing you can do about it." - Charlie Br