Category Archives: Government, Politics
More free trade IP b.s.
[MeFi] Australia hosts secret trade agreement negotiations this week in Melbourne This Thursday, behind closed doors in Melbourne, representatives from nine countries will take up discussions once again on an ambitious, comprehensive trade agreement for the Asia-Pacific region. Negotiators from Brunei Darussalam, Chile, Vietnam, Malaysia, the United States, Australia, New Zealand, Peru and Singapore will pore […]
Thousands across Europe protest against ACTA
http://twitpic.com/8iffzw [storyful] Protesters took to the streets across Europe on Saturday against the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA). The treaty establishes international standards for intellectual property rights enforcement, and covers counterfeit goods, medicines and copyright infringement on the internet. Online, the protest tweets lined up under the hashtags #ACTA and #ActAgainstACTA. Last month, 22 out of the European Union’s 27 […]
Stop ACTA and TPP
[BB] Stop ACTA & TPP: Tell your country’s officials: NEVER use secretive trade agreements to meddle with the Internet. Our freedoms depend on it! Write Them Now! I urge you to vote no on ACTA and to communicate its severe problems to your colleagues. ACTA’s vague language locks us into obsolete copyright and patent laws, […]
Full-body scanners at major Australian airports
The Australian Government is to introduce full-body scanners at major airports across the nation. No Scan, No Fly… Here‘s a Media Release (AA012/2012) from the Minister for Infrastructure and Transport, Anthony Albanese MP. “Body scanners will be introduced at all of Australia’s international airports providing the travelling public with the most advanced passenger screening […]
Anonymous Hack FBI-Scotland Yard Conf. Call
[wired] As FBI and Scotland Yard investigators recently plotted out a strategy for tracking suspects linked to Anonymous, little did they know that members of the group were eavesdropping on their conference call and recording their plans. The online vigilante group has released a 17-minute clip of a Jan. 17 conference call between investigators discussing evidence gathered […]
Non à ACTA
[MeFi] Anti-ACTA protests have begun around Europe after the secret treaty was signed in Tokyo last Friday. Activists have planned larger protests for Saturday 11 February. The European Parliament will formally consider ACTA in June. (previously) In Poland, ACTA sparked large protests with 15,000 protestors gathering in Kraków, 5000 in Wroclaw, and thousands more across other Polish cities (wp). ACTA prompted a no confidence vote as well, which features Palikot’s Movement wearing Guy Fawkes masks. In France, there was a […]
ACTA makes SOPA and PIPA look reasonable
[End The Lie - Madison Ruppert] First off, the most important thing to point out is that the United States already signed the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement, or ACTA, at a ceremony last year along with several other nations. That’s right, with little to no fanfare or coverage in the controlled establishment media, an “agreement” (which is […]
Petition: End ACTA
We petition the Obama Administration to: End ACTA and Protect our right to privacy on the Internet. The Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement, or ACTA, is a ‘plurilateral’ trade agreement, currently being negotiated between the US, Canada, Japan, the European Union, South Korea, Mexico, Switzerland, Australia and New Zealand. It is somewhat similar to SOPA/PIPA, however ACTA […]
US Senate delays vote on Protect IP Act
20 Jan 2012 Statement from Judiciary Committee Chairman on Senate Delay of Vote on PROTECT IP Act Washington, D.C. — House Judiciary Committee Chairman Lamar Smith (R-Texas) today issued the following statement in response to the Senate decision to postpone consideration of legislation to help combat online piracy. Chairman Smith: “I have heard from the critics and […]
Aust Govt calls for comment on GM application
[foodstandards.gov.au] Food Standards Australia New Zealand today (16 Jan 2012) invited comments on an application for food derived from a corn line genetically modified to be tolerant to the herbicide glyphosate. FSANZ acting Chief Executive Officer Melanie Fisher said that the application was received from Monsanto Australia Limited and seeks to vary Standard 1.5.2 – […]
White House Blasts Internet Blacklisting Bills
The Obama administration said that it would not support legislation mandating changes to internet infrastructure to fight online copyright and trademark infringement.
SOPA – I Can’t Hear You
[Chad Rocco] Chad says: Meet Lamar Smith, representative from Texas, and Chairman of the House Committee on the Judiciary. As Chairman he can kill any bill he doesn’t like by denying it a hearing while giving priority to the bills he wants to pass, Like SOPA. While addressing the massive outcry over SOPA he stated […]
US Threatened To Blacklist Spain For Not Implementing Site Blocking Law
[TorrentFreak] United States government interference in Spain’s intellectual property laws had long been suspected, but it was revelations from Wikileaks that finally confirmed the depth of its involvement. More than 100 leaked cables showed that the US had helped draft new Spanish copyright legislation and had heavily influenced the decisions of both the government and […]
Belarus Bans Browsing of All Foreign Websites
[TorrentFreak] While there are many reasons why people oppose the implementation of SOPA [Stop Online Piracy Act], a common thread is that any level of censorship will simply encourage yet more. The fear is that an inch will become a mile, and before long the Internet will be a place of restrictions where innovation is […]
Interview with Retired Surgeon David Halpin (Dr David Kelly case)
David Halpin reacts after a judge refuses his case for a judicial review of the UK goverment’s decision to refuse to re-open the inquest into Dr David Kelly’s death. Interviewed by Hassan Ghani. [video link] or Condensed report.
