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EU Data Protection Proposal Taken Word For Word From US Lobbyists
Qedward writes "Glyn Moody looks at the proposed EU directive on Data Protection — and how some of the proposed amendments seem to be cut and pasted directly from the American Chamber of Commerce — that well-known European organisation... You might ask, Glyn writes, who are these MEPs representing — some 500 million EU citizens that pay their salary or a bunch of extremely rich U.S. companies intent on taking away our privacy?"
Lobbyplag lets you look at which lobbyist wrote each part of the bill. Fears of the U.S. exerting undue influence seem to be justified.
Not like we didn't know already, but it's still nice to see some proof once in a while. I hope this taints the whole proposal enough so they won't be able to push it through. I guess from time to time politicians need a Zero rupee note to remind them.
Imagine the outrage in the US if Chinese or European groups drafted a law for congress.
In US, lobbyists are the guys (officially) donating money to the candidate (which is, sadly, allowed). But I don't believe that such "donations" are allowed in EU.
So what does it even mean "US lobbyist" here? Isn't simply giving money to MEPs illegal??
US citizens don't want this either. As a German, I say, it's not right to blame them too. Yes, there's a pathetic passivity when it comes to rising up and saying no. But are we sure we wouldn't be too, in the face of intelligence agencies that actively disrupt any form of protest with false flag moles and propaganda / mass media (See: Occupy movement, W(ikileaks) T(ask) F(orce), even in other countries, like with the "orange revolution"), and eating mostly tiring high-fructose high-fat "food". I'm pretty sure that would leave me apathetic too.
This is the government. And with that, I do not mean what e.g. teabaggers think they mean. I mean the corporations and their lobbyists. The actual ruling class in the US (and here too, mostly). The teabaggers just have never experienced an actual government, that is on their side against the ruling class. (Think French revolution against the nobility, or US independence against [foreign] nobility.) So you have to understand why they think they want a small "government". They actually want less lobbyists. Just like everyone else does.
So... how about that? Let's get rid of lobbyists once and for all. Since the US government is already taken by them, we cannot rely on them ever changing that. Since the whole governmental system around it, is already shaped to allow nothing else, we cannot use elections or mass-media, etc, to do this. It has to come in the form of a "high-road" revolution, where the US citizens will push forward no matter what, but will not engage in the evilnesses, mass-murder, terrorism, etc, the corporation-rulers will no doubt engage in. No matter what. Otherwise it will just end up being the same after the revolution, since those revolting will have become like the ones they hated, in the process.
As a German, who grew up in the 80s, let me say: I can haz cool America back again?
And if you have any doubt that non-open influence of leaders is bad, please read Animal farm by George Orwell to see an example of how bad things can get.
When you are sure of something, you probably are wrong (search for "Unskilled and Unaware of It").
If you get a bunch of expert debaters and politicians, then ask them to make decisions about a complex and sensitive matter that they have no idea about, they are going to ask someone who knows a little more than them. They are going to be more able to listen to the louder voices among those who know more. It may just be that the loudest voices on the planet belong to Americans. I mean American companies.
...
That data looks pretty safe to me, I mean, what could possibly go wrong
In all seriousness though if these amendments are too ludicrous they won't go past proposals, and if they do they will struggle to make it to domestic legislation.
we hope.
Funny to see that the commitee members having the highest percentage of amemdement made by US companies are comming from UK....
I have no idea of how you guys elect your MEPs, but at least in Finland we have many people from all parties running for the EU parliament. I can vote for any of them. It's true that parties do use the EU parliament as a dumping ground for old politicians, but the lists always contain new names also and I choose who I vote for.
So, maybe you need to vote for some other party or reform the voting in your own country instead?
Are you really shocked by this? The media companies already own the EU.
Bought and paid for. Just like the rest of the world other than a few 'evil' countries who will eventually bend over just the same. They have no other choice left that doesn't lead to the same end.
At the very least the mega raid should have tipped you all off by now. You WILL dance to the tune of the USA. And the USA dances to the tune of Hollywood.
The only thing you should really be shocked by is it took them this long to roll it out. You'd better get used to the idea. The one world is here. And it's not under the thumb of some evil dictator or secret organization. It's the multinational corporations and the media industry is right there at the top of the list.
And they've already won. We've been handing them money, power, and control for decades now. We are the good little consumers who WILL do as we are told or else. It's all over but the shouting and acceptance if we wan't our nice modern lives to continue.
He was close... But only thought it was one country.
"The real owners are the big wealthy business interests that control things and make all the important decisions. Forget the politicians, they're an irrelevancy. The politicians are put there to give you the idea that you have freedom of choice. You don't. You have no choice. You have owners. They own you. They own everything. They own all the important land. They own and control the corporations. They've long since bought and paid for the Senate, the Congress, the statehouses, the city halls. They've got the judges in their back pockets. And they own all the big media companies, so that they control just about all of the news and information you hear. They've got you by the balls. They spend billions of dollars every year lobbying lobbying to get what they want. Well, we know what they want; they want more for themselves and less for everybody else."
"But I'll tell you what they don't want. They don't want a population of citizens capable of critical thinking. They don't want well-informed, well-educated people capable of critical thinking. They're not interested in that. That doesn't help them. That's against their interests. They don't want people who are smart enough to sit around the kitchen table and figure out how badly they're getting fucked by a system that threw them overboard 30 fucking years ago.
"You know what they want? Obedient workers people who are just smart enough to run the machines and do the paperwork but just dumb enough to passively accept all these increasingly shittier jobs with the lower pay, the longer hours, reduced benefits, the end of overtime and the vanishing pension that disappears the minute you go to collect it. And, now, they're coming for your Social Security. They want your fucking retirement money. They want it back, so they can give it to their criminal friends on Wall Street. And you know something? They'll get it. They'll get it all, sooner or later, because they own this fucking place. It's a big club, and you ain't in it. You and I are not in the big club."
-george carlin
And who will you have to replace them?
And how long will they stand aginst the epic tide of money and power?
Every man has his price... And these large companies can meet it. Money? Power? Fame? Women? Men? Drugs?
Anything.
Legal or illegal.... What.... they can and have done it all in the past... what makes now any different?
And those that cant be bought have 'accidents'. Or someone claims they raped them and there goes their support.
It's hard to get rid of the lobbyists, but at least you should be able to get rid of the corrupt MEPs who listen to them.
And who will you have to replace them?
With corrupt MEPs who listen to me instead of course!
While it is concerning that a U.S.-based lobby has this much power, the real issue is that nobody should be listening to the American Chamber of Commerce. If the EFF started writing EU legislation, we'd be jumping for joy.
I would compare ethical behavior in international politics to a giant whack a mole game. No one is really ethically superior and bad apples turn up everywhere. That why the hammer of public outrage should come down on them. The problem is some countries consider themselves exempt.
Lobbyists are people who try to influence members of the parliament. In former times they were allowed to enter the lobby of the House of Commons in England to meet sympathetic members of the House between sessions, thus the name. If you write to your congress critter, you are lobbying. If you discuss with them in town hall meetings, you are lobbying. If you talk to them in private, you are lobbying. Anything you do between elections to influence members of the parliament is lobbying. Do you really want to get rid of that?
You don't have any clue what a primary actually does. Right?
If everyone can found his own party and even get elected to the European Parliament (look at the swedish Pirate Party!), there is no point to go through the primaries of two big parties. Just cut out the middleman and get your own election platform! You try to turn a sad necessity of the congealed U.S. two party system into something of an advantage.
My response to this, and other nonsense regarding IP issues, can be lifted word for word from Arkell v. Pressdram. Both of them.
So ... in your fantasy country of the United States of No Taxes at All, your politicians get no salary at all?
Mr Tulip looked down at the departing coach
'From what I hear he mostly doesn't do a --ing thing!' he complained
'Yeah,' said M. Pin smoothly. 'One of the hardest things to do properly in Politics'
"I have downloaded hundreds and hundreds of records, why would I care if somebody downloads ours?" Robin Pecknold
You could replace "MEP" with "MP" in your diatribe and you'd have the same point but different context. So what?
As with any politician in Europe, you fire them by voting elsewhere, etc.
Take the UK, (the) most developed countries in the EU follow the guidelines set by the Working Hours Directive, for the well-being of the workforce (~=population) an employee is allowed to work a maximum of 48 hrs. per week.
The UK Tories try all in their power to get exempted from it because "it's damaging to the economy"...
Yet the Germans that adhere rigorously have economic growth while the British economy shrinks.
This directive does allow exemptions for the likes of the police and the military but the UK saw fit to include the oil industry, yeah right, as if they are suffering!
"The likes of Facebook and WhatsApp are free to those whose privacy is of zero value."