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ACTA would establish a new international legal framework that would create its “own governing body outside existing international institutions” such as – the World Trade Organization (WTO), the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) or the United Nations.

An open letter signed by many organizations, including Consumers International, EDRi (27 European civil rights and privacy NGOs), the Free Software Foundation (FSF), the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), ASIC (French trade association for web 2.0 companies), and the Free Knowledge Institute (FKI), states that “the current draft of ACTA would profoundly restrict the fundamental rights and freedoms of European citizens, most notably the freedom of expression and communication privacy.” [video link]

http://video.nixxon.net/~riesling/acta/  |  http://www.stop-acta.info/  |

26 Jan 2012:

Other witness statements and hearing transcripts

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Facebook, Google, Popbitch executives appear

Leveson suggests Facebook and Twitter should be regulated differently from papers

It’s a day of high jinx, high revelry and high people in Australia; a day when a large and vocal majority come together to “celebrate what’s great” about this country. But what is the meaning of all this fanfare? What is the true origin of this passionately marked day of facepaint and binge drinking? Is everyone in Australia so keen on this particular anniversary? To get to bottom of these questions, and more, join your amiable host Robert Foster as he conducts a high-octane, high-frequency satellite link-up with a representative of the Mainstream Australian media: multi-Logie award-winning broadcaster, entertainer, emu-wrangler and true blue Aussie, Kenneth Oathcarn.

WARNING: contains adult Australian vernacular – viewer discretion is strongly advised. [video link]

25 Jan 2012:

Other witness statements and hearing transcripts

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Leveson inquiry: Bob Crow, Mazher Mahmood

• Bob Crow says he was followed by investigators on holiday
• Claims he was harassed by Sun reporters over strikes
• Mazher Mahmood denies bribing former colleague in 1989
• Letter from Times editor: reporter was told to discover blogger’s identity by legitimate means after admitting email hacking

24 Jan 2012:

Other witness statements and hearing transcripts

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Leveson inquiry must address sexist media stereotypes, say women’s groups

Leveson urged to ensure libel law reform is not delayed

Leveson inquiry: Sun executive says sorry for Christopher Jefferies coverage

[...] Even more fundamentally, there is no such thing as creativity that doesn’t rely on the past. Sometimes the links are very subtle and hidden; sometimes they’re out in the open, and we don’t notice them only because we’ve declared Bach and Beethoven “great composers” and forgotten the popular music of their day. Our peculiar post-Romantic notion that all real artists somehow create their works out of nothing is partly to blame. Nothing could be further from the truth. And it’s not just art. In a very rare moment of humility, Isaac Newton said “If I have seen further it is by standing on the shoulders of Giants.”

So the notion that creativity can be owned, and that any use of someone else’s ideas requires compensation, is nothing but an attempt to steal all of creativity. Whoever can pay their lawyers the most wins. Anyone smell pirates in the room? I am not willing to sacrifice this generation’s great artists on the altar of Hollywood. I’m not willing to have the next Bach, Beethoven, or Shakespeare post their work online, only to have it taken down because they haven’t paid off a bunch of executives who think they own creativity.

The Constitution of the United States provides a legal basis for copyright and patent, but it’s for a specific purpose: it’s “To promote the Progress of Science and useful Arts.” We’ve gone way beyond that now, with patent and copyright piracy: our notion of intellectual property is now hindering both science and art.

In Book IV, section 4, of St. Augustine’s “The City of God”, Augustine tells the parable of a pirate captain who is captured and brought before Alexander the Great. The emperor says “How dare you terrorize the seas”? The pirate captain replies, “How dare you terrorize the whole world? Because I only have one ship, I’m called a pirate; because you have a great navy, you’re called an emperor.” The difference between a pirate and an emperor is one of scale only. And that’s the position we find ourselves in here: the Motion Pictures Association of America (MPAA) and its allies have twisted the discussion so we’re talking about the wrong thing. We shouldn’t be talking about the small-scale piracy of individual movies (which probably helps sales in the long run, as we’ve observed in the publishing business). We should be talking about the real piracy, the wholesale takeover of creativity by the media industry. That’s the piracy we should be outlawing.

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source: On pirates and piracy – O’Reilly Radar

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 is an executive agreement between countries besides the United States, and it can be passed without the approval from Congress and the Supreme Court. It is potentially hazardous to the Internet we know and how it works.

We need to stop ACTA before it is finally approved by all countries involved. If you value your privacy and you don’t want “Big Brother” watching over you, sign this petition and spread the word. Research ACTA and see just how dangerous it is to the Internet, our privacy, and our liberties.

Sign the petition via whitehouse.gov

Cliffy will be produced by Clock End Films for ABC1. It will be directed by Dean Murphy (Charlie & Boots, Strange Bedfellows) with Nigel Odell (Strange Bedfellows, Long Weekend) as producer. The telemovie has been written by Robert B. Taylor (Muggers).

Casting is currently underway with filming to start in mid April across Albury-Wodonga and regional Victoria.

Carole Sklan, ABC TV’s Head of Fiction said “Few stories capture the public imagination like that of Cliff Young. Nearly 30 years after famously shuffling from Sydney to Melbourne and into Australian folklore, Cliffy continues to fascinate and inspire. We are delighted to be partnering with such an accomplished creative team to bring this iconic tale to ABC TV.”

Producer Nigel Odell said “Dean and I are thrilled to be working with ABC TV to bring to life the story of this Aussie legend. Here is a man, who at the very mention of his name makes people smile. Everyone relates to Cliffy because secretly we all feel we have the ability to do amazing things if only we were given the chance and we love an underdog. He embodies everything we value in Australia and it’s fantastic that ABC TV is giving Australian audiences another chance to celebrate this amazing man and his incredible achievements.”

Set against the backdrop of the early eighties, Cliffy retraces his extraordinary journey from famously training in gumboots among cow paddocks through the epic six day period of the ultra marathon and his emergence as Australia’s most unlikely sporting hero.

Cliffy is a Clock End Films production for ABC1; financed with the support of Film Victoria and ABC Commercial.

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source: http://www.abc.net.au/corp/pubs/media/s3404529.htm

23 Jan 2012:

Other witness statements and hearing transcripts

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Leveson Inquiry: Lord Patten and Mark Thompson appear

• Thompson: BBC spent £310,000 on investigators since 2005
• Receives about 240,000 complaints a year, out of 1m contacts
• ‘Sachsgate’ was ‘very serious lapse of editorial judgment’
• Statutory regulation would risk newspapers’ independence
• Patten says Murdoch blocked publication of book in 1997/98
• Patten and C4 News editor chief warn over statutory regulation
• Patten praises Sky News for hacking coverage

Phone hacking: News of the World journalists lied to Milly Dowler police

Surrey police report released by MPs reveals reporters interfered with investigation as well as hacking missing girl’s phone

Read the Surrey police report on the Milly Dowler investigation

News of the World journalists who hacked Milly Dowler’s phone told a string of lies and interfered with the investigation into her disappearance in 2002, according to a Surrey police report released by a parliamentary committee.