The End of Democracy: Say NO to ACTA (video)

Transcript (via LYBIO.net):

“Can you imagine your internet service provider policing everything you do online? Can you imagine generic drugs that could save lives being banned? Can you imagine seeds that could feed 1000′s being controlled and withheld in the name of patents? This will become reality with ACTA!!!

ACTA is the “Anti-Counterfeiting Trading Agreement”. Disguised as a Trade Agreement, ACTA goes much, much further than that.

For the past three years, ACTA has been negotiated in secret by 39 countries. But the negotiators are not democratically elected representatives. They don’t represent us, but they’re deciding laws behind our backs.

Bypassing democratic process, they impose new criminal sanctions to stop online file sharing. ACTA aims to make Internet Service & Access Providers legally responsible for what their users do online, turning them into private copyright police and judge, censoring their networks. The chilling effects on Free speech would be terrible.

In the name of patents, ACTA would give large corporations the power to stop generic drugs before they reach the people who need them and stop the use of certain seeds for crops.

The European Parliament will soon vote on ACTA. This VOTE will be the occasion to say NO, once and for all, to this dangerous treaty. As citizens, we must URGE our representatives to reject ACTA!!!

NO To ACTA

Learn more
laquadrature.net/ACTA“

“Freedom from WikiLeaks”

So Apple has now joined the club of “independent” companies that censor WikiLeaks: Apple Removes WikiLeaks App From App Store (techcrunch.com). Official reason (bits.blogs.nytimes.com):

“Trudy Muller, an Apple spokeswoman, said the company had removed the app “because it violated our developer guidelines.” Ms. Muller added: “Apps must comply with all local laws and may not put an individual or group in harm’s way.”“

This is simply an excuse for censorship.

I’ve been of course boycotting Apple (and switched to PC hardware/Linux) ever since they let me down with my broken iMac G5 after a Leopard “upgrade” that went badly wrong and when they then even removed my post to their forum about the matter in April 2008.

Apple is of course also on the list of patent trolls that steal your and mine (not any more since I got rid of that camera) H.264 footage.

Beware of those who offer you “Freedom from XXX” (techcrunch.com). You pay for it. You get it.

Freedom from WikiLeaks you got today.

Freedom from Freedom it will be tomorrow.

War is Peace

Freedom is Slavery

Ignorance is Strength

WikiRebels – The Documentary

This is a pretty good documentary by Swedish TV station svt about those (who used to be) behind WikiLeaks and why they do what they do.

There is some war footage in there (the one previously released) that is disturbing. But so is war.

Recommended viewing.

WikiRebels – The Documentary (2010), 57:25

Video’s page (svtplay.se).

Berlin votes for online censorship: Jugend-beschmutz-fuck-new-media-Vertrag (“JMStV”)

netzpolitik.org reports that the very controversial JMStV (Jugendmedienschutzstaatsvertrag) has been approved by Berlin’s House of Representatives. It’s not all over yet, other local governments still need to vote on the JMStV. It can still be derailed if only one other local governments decides against it.

To those few – on all parts of the political spectrum – who yesterday voted against the JMStV because you care about free speech and your good conscience means more to you than “parlamentarische Zwänge” (“parliamentary necessity”): I raise my virtual hat to you!

To all those who voted against it simply for tactical reasons and to all those who voted for it simply for tactical reasons (while you actually would have liked to vote against it but felt you could not because of the “parlamentarische Zwänge”) I say: you’ve proven yourself an unworthy representative of the people. May another generation forgive you your weakness. I can’t.

I believe it is now fair to say that the majority of the delegates of the city of Berlin:

* may be to weak to vote according to their conscience or

* may be uninformed/incompetent in regards to new media and internet or

* may have been corrupted by lobbyists.

This is a very sad outcome for the capital of Germany!

All bloggers, (online) artists, new media producers, filmmakers and investors take note of this. Serious and very dangerous online censorship in Germany is now one step closer!

Here one comment from the netzpolitik.org article linked above:

“Wer hat uns verraten? Sozialdemokraten

Wer war mit dabei? Die Linkspartei.

Wer verrät uns eh? Die FDP.

Wahlen boykottieren!”

For me this is another very good reason to only vote Pirate Party in all future elections!

No politician who voted for – or against – the JMStV and who did not vote according to his or her good conscience after thoroughly listening to the experts *)

* is in a position to ever lament again over a low turnout at any future election

* should be surprised about (political) radicalisation of young people

* and in the case of Berlin should not be surprised at all about new media artists now possibly leaving this wonderful city and moving on to another country where there is political sanity and understanding for online media.

You have utterly failed. Shame on you!

*) see:

Gesellschaft für Informatik und SIBB e. V. fordern Stopp des JMStV! (2. Update) (www.netzpolitik.org)

Schützt endlich unsere Kinder! Katholische Junge Gemeinde fordert Stopp des JMStV – “Echter Jugendmedienschutz geht anders” (www.netzpolitik.org)

PayPal closes WikiLeaks account

In case you were still using PayPal: now is a good time to support free speech and take the appropriate steps…

PayPal Cuts WikiLeaks’ Access to Funds Amid Global Scrutiny (www.businessweek.com)

Paypal bans Wikileaks just before midnight Friday (www.boingboing.net)

Paypal stoppt Geldfluss an Wikileaks (www.spiegel.de)

Maybe Flattr is an interesting alternative for you…? (en.wikipedia.org)

Update: see also Wikileaks, UFOs, Fatwas und PayPal (www.heise.de/tp/)