ACTA - and you thought SOPA/PIPA was bad?

[Cathal]

At first I was just going to reply in the file sharing status topic, but as my frustration with the subject grew so did the length of my post, as I didn't want it to vanish in the discussion and derail another thread while I was at it I decided to make a new one.

 

While the world was busy with SOPA/PIPA being in the spotlight, something even more dangerous has been in the works for about 5 years. Yes I'm going to talk about ACTA -again-.

 

By the way, USA, Japan and Switzerland are also it's would be co-signers of ACTA so to people in the US - you DO get screwed even without SOPA/PIPA!

 

While everybody points out that SOPA/PIPA was lobbied by corporations, ACTA takes that even further, it was written for the most part behind closed doors behind the back of every government and every nation and now its being pushed for in the EU's Parliament.

 

Some fun facts:

-ACTA is not in accordance with EU's laws on e-commerce.

-Most of the enforcement section of the document is vague(by vague I mean - lets reduce penal code to when someone hurts someone they can be punished - this kind of vague)

-Spying on people suspected of piracy? no problem! distributing their personal details wherever and whenever they please? no problem! (let's make the world new North Korea!)

-It would make your ISP responsible for your actions in the internet meaning ISP's would censor your access to web contents just so they wont go bankrupt from lawsuits.

-ACTA bypasses the sovereign laws of participating nations.

 

And since I'm not an expert a quote from forbes.com:

-ACTA spans virtually all of the developed world, threatening the freedom of the internet as well as access to medication and food. The threat is every bit as real for those countries not involved in the process as the signatories themselves.

 

-ACTA has already been signed by many countries including the US, but requires ratification in the EU parliament and the US Senate.

 

Worse, it goes much further than the internet, cracking down on generic drugs and making food patents even more radical than they are by enforcing a global standard on seed patents that threatens local farmers and food independence across the developed world.

The entire monstrosity has been negotiated behind closed doors and kept secret from the public. Technocrats, beholden to the deep pockets of the entertainment lobby, have masked the agreement behind the misnomer of “anti-counterfeiting” when in fact it goes much, much further.

I'm as far away from getting obsessed with conspiracy theories as possible, but somehow this timing makes me wonder

SOPA/PIPA storm blows over everybody is like "phew were safe"

ACTA slithers through this aftermath without getting noticed, or at least they were hoping they would...

 

For a more detailed read:

http://www.forbes.com/sites/erikkain/2012/01/23/if-you-thought-sopa-was-bad-just-wait-until-you-meet-acta/

 

 

 

EDIT: also sorry, I was so ticked off that I put this in General Discussion instead of Off Topic

[Guest Donkey]

They call this the G8 right ?? the so called rich countries bla bla bla.. Man we are geverned by idiots everywhere. Why did wikileaks not get this out 5 years ago ?? it could have been stopped before it even started. Well they wanted war on terror. I guess we will really see who the real terror are.

 

This really marks the end for all freedom.

 

Japan lost allot past year from natural disaster. looks like there brain got fried along side it..

[Cathal]

Nah Donkey the thing is G8 had pretty much nothing to do with this since this was done behind the backs of politicians, hell most of the people in the EU Parliament don't even know the full extent of the bill from what I've heard, this thing has been in the works for the past 5 years in total secrecy.... For a more detailed read check 1st post I edited it.

[Guest Donkey]

if that is the case then how can country sign something they have no idea what it does ?? this part scary

By the way, USA, Japan and Switzerland are also it's co-signers

Co-signers of what, who signed it ??

[Cathal]

Sorry, rephrased that into "would be co-signers of ACTA" since as long as it doesn't pass in the US Senate it won't be signed by the US gov't. As for Switzerland as far as I know they refused to sign it.

[Guest Donkey]

Sorry' date=' rephrased that into "would be co-signers of ACTA" since as long as it doesn't pass in the US Senate it won't be signed by the US gov't. As for Switzerland as far as I know they refused to sign it.

[/quote']

 

Well the senate did refuce sopa and pipa. I don't think they will pass something that is even worse then those 2. They would get some very angry passents visiting them pretty soon.

 

Well Switserland, is smart for rufsing. If all other countries are the same then they wasted 5 years of there lifes.. Getting something of the ground that no countrie aggrees too.

[Cathal]

That's the problem: ACTA doesn't even get half the attention in the US SOPA/PIPA had, hence not so many protesters hence potential number of angry voters at the booths apparently might not be threatening enough.

 

EDIT: I'm not from the US so this is more or less my guesswork judging by the amount of uproar on different sites

[Guest Donkey]

That's the problem: ACTA doesn't even get half the attention in the US SOPA/PIPA had

 

Well it did take them 5 years in secrecy to come up with this. Now that it is no longer a secret then i guess they will get some plenty attention. Europe is pretty bad at the moment if the goverenments want to keep there peace they would shove this ACTA back where it belong. Right now they can't afford a civil war, with the Euro crisis happening all around us..

 

I think after reading what this ACTA does, does seem to have some fuell to ignite a civil war. Since it only effects civilians rights.

[Cathal]

We will see what will happen in due time, right now the only question is if the backing corporations have more power or the citizens.

[Guest Donkey]

The banking allready showed how they thirst for power, and look what that got them ?? Bank crises. Corporation may think they have the power, but ultimatly no civilian buys there product, and see how there real power diminishing.

 

Power corrupts absolutely.

[Cathal]

Yep and speaking of power somebody let it go to their head apparently thinking he's exempt from the law, people didn't like it:

 

https://wwws.whitehouse.gov/petitions/%21/petition/investigate-chris-dodd-and-mpaa-bribery-after-he-publicly-admited-bribing-politicans-pass/DffX0YQv?utm_source=wh.gov&utm_medium=shorturl&utm_campaign=shorturl

[Guest]

We have to try and warn as many people as we can. Post a vid about it if you have a youtube. Send a message to popular youtube stars. Contact your legislators and representatives. ANYTHING.

[idonotlikeusernames]

These petitions in the US, forgive my ignorance, but do they really work?

[HanPL]

Well Polish Goverment is signing ACTA tomorrow in Tokyo so we are pretty much fuck up

But after all attacks on gov websites, they decided to wait a year before "fully " active all ACTA statements >.>

[Guest Donkey]

So what will happen if the half the world refuse to sign this ACTA and the other half do ?? Will this lead to war or not ?? Also i can't really understand how a government even get it in is faul mind to sign something like this, it's like signing a death sentence.

 

And how can the people around the world allow there government to even sign this without riots. I guess people around just vote and then refuse to check who they voted for are even doing what they are suppose to do. How ironic.

 

HANPL where did you read about Tokyo signing the ACTA ?? I tought all government are going there for the greek Crisis within Europe there is no thing avaible about any ACTA.

[HanPL]

The United States, Australia, Canada, Korea, Japan, New Zealand, Morocco, and Singapore signed the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) at a ceremony on October 1, 2011, in Tokyo,

 

"Poland announced on January 19 that it will sign the treaty on January 26, 2012."

 

So those fucking retards in our goverment told us that they will sign anything 7 days before signing ACTA

And it was revealed by accident becasue everything was keept in secret.

 

And we don't stand idle to that.

But it's to late anyway since they will sign ACTA tomorrow in Tokyo

 

[Guest Donkey]

I don't think they will really get away with this. This is actually the reason why they created that tribunal in Europe, This whole treaty is even worse then the second world war. At least then it was war. This was done behind the people even knowing anything about it. Kind of like a sneak attack, terrorist uses that damage there opponant.

 

This is slap in the face for human right. Well if they sign this treatty there is no more democracy. In that case democracy died when the war on terror begon.

 

The United States, Australia, Canada, Korea, Japan, New Zealand, Morocco, and Singapore signed the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) at a ceremony on October 1, 2011, in Tokyo,

 

This can't be legal.. They signed something without telling there own people about it.. has japan lost there minds ?? I don't usually say this but that natural disaster did hit the right country afterall. too bad it left it standing afterwards.

[HanPL]

Well Japan invented ACTA

 

ACTA was first developed by Japan and the United States in 2006. Canada, the European Union and Switzerland joined the preliminary talks throughout 2006 and 2007[/Quote]

 

And most of the countries is signing it in secret so before you will know it your own country can sign that and you will find out about it few days before, like we did

[Guest Donkey]

Well Japan invented ACTA

 

ACTA was first developed by Japan and the United States in 2006. Canada' date=' the European Union and Switzerland joined the preliminary talks throughout 2006 and 2007[/Quote']

 

And most of the countries is signing it in secret so before you will know it your own country can sign that and you will find out about it few days before, like we did

 

While everyone was busy with there daily lifes these bastard where planning a way to silence us all.. How ironic.. I am glad i never voted for any party, this is atleast not my doing.. I haven't voted in over 10 years. So they never even got my vote. if everyone was just as smart politics ceased long ago.

[sathiny]

Why can't USA understand that the imperialism was the cause of the two grand war on recent humanity story? And I that had the Japan in high stands...

 

I live in Brasil and EVERTHING on my country is always done behind its people backs... so I don't even know where those damn ol'foxies stand about it

 

I think they haven't learned they lesson on the few least year: the world is no more composed by silly civilian that would let they representatives run they acts wild. Some times I think its all just a bad excuse to turn the whole world back to the way it was on '50 year when USA tell they people that URSS was "the evil" and were "the saviors" - and the URSS tell they people the very same thing... Seens like they need go back to school and listen to all the story class all again

 

ps.: sorry for such a boring argumment, its just that, as a story's teacher, I used to always look to the pass to know what spect from the future.

 

[hell77d]

America is corrupt from the the core, we strayed from Thomas Jefferson's ideals long ago and it's finally catching up to us in my opinion.

 

One example is our voting system:

[Guest]

How can we call any of these countries democracies now? Schemeing in secrect? What the fuck. I'm not fucking suprised here. All in a days work for the corrupt, fat, greedy, bastards running the "democratic" nations of this world.

I guess Plato was right, democracy ultimately leads to corruption and dictatorships.

I bet our forefathers who RISKED EVERYTHING to attain the dream of democracy and freedom are WEEPING in Heaven right now at seeing how pitiful this world has become.

Oh well, It'd be kind of interesting to make Deus Ex a reality...

[labrat]

Democracy. Yup. One day. Every four years.

 

So. Any Republicans out there? (I don't want to name names but I know that there are a few amongst us). How about voting for Ron Paul? If you're going to be right wing, might as well be libertarian rather than totalitarian? And he's dead agin anyone controlling his internet thank-you very much.

 

 

Have a nice day y'all.

 

 

PS Belgium. No government from Jun 10 to Dec 11. No pressing need for new legislation was perceived, life continued it's happy norm, but in response to threats from US credit rating agencies, (who disapproved of this dangerous experiment), a unity coalition government was formed in Dec 11.

 

Belgian Politician asked to form government

 

 

American Politician asked to form government

 

 

(...and, I kid you not, Newt's one of the brighter ones!)

 

 

PPS Belgium is the only country to enter the Eurovision Song Contest with a song in Elvish (Urban Trad with Sanomi in 2003).

They came second.

 

(The UK came last, with nul points.)

 

 

[Cryska]

Considering that foreign countries helped with bringing the megaupload execs to 'justice' this doesn't surprise me in the slightest.

[HanPL]

Well it's done Poland signed ACTA in Tokyo with rest of the EU countries.

So few more months before ACTA will come to live and we are fucked.