Speed comes at a price - Bob Colwell, former chief architect at Intel
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European Parliament official resigns over ACTA
EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT INVESTIGATOR Kader Arif has quit his post over the controversial Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) that the European Union (EU) signed yesterday in Japan.
Arif is apparently sick to his back teeth about the murky agreement and the behind closed doors manner in which it was created. Fair enough we say.
He published his reasons in French on his own web page, but they have been translated by La Quadrature Du Net, and we'll observe that he didn't mince words.
"I want to denounce in the strongest possible manner the entire process that led to the signature of this agreement: no inclusion of civil society organisations, a lack of transparency from the start of the negotiations, repeated postponing of the signature of the text without an explanation being ever given, exclusion of the EU Parliament's demands that were expressed on several occasions in our assembly," he wrote.
"As rapporteur of this text, I have faced never-before-seen manoeuvres from the right wing of this Parliament to impose a rushed calendar before public opinion could be alerted, thus depriving the Parliament of its right to expression and of the tools at its disposal to convey citizens' legitimate demands."
He added, "Everyone knows the ACTA agreement is problematic," and said it is likely to cause problems in areas such as generic drugs manufacturing and leave users open to punishment with little protection.
"This agreement might have major consequences on citizens' lives, and still, everything is being done to prevent the European Parliament from having its say in this matter. That is why today, as I release this report for which I was in charge, I want to send a strong signal and alert the public opinion about this unacceptable situation. I will not take part in this masquerade."
Although the ACTA treaty has been signed by a number of countries it still needs to be ratified by the European Parliament, at which Arif was the rapporteur. This is a French term for a person appointed to facilitate an investigation or negotiation process. µ
Tags: Internet
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No loss here. Next.
How is resigning going to help fight this Act?? That's about the worst way to stand against this piece of crap! I understand the publicity stunt, but who will represent us now in the EU Parliament?!
No one's civil liberties are being taken. This is about illegal copyright infringement. Time to get real.
Simple: VOTE AGAINST THE INCUMBENTS.
If they haven't come out and denounced ACTA in the strongest possible terms, then they are tacitly support Facism, and it's time to dispose of them.
give up the names please
"Me" is too dumb and ignorant to realize it's about erroding civil liberties further. Current laws can and already do address piracy cfr Dotcom.
"nie wieder fascismus" is becoming a VERY hollow phrase in the formerly free and democratic continent of europe...
Unless I miss my guess, Me and whatever other names he goes by (JustMe) appears to be a corporate shill.
When a politician resigns because he can't support the methods used to pass a bill, you know it descended into some pretty underhanded and disgusting power plays. And he's absolutely correct. I saw how this was pushed in the US. Obama even invoked 'National Security' to keep this treaty out of the public's attention. Talk about corrupt.
ACTA is a piece of legislation written not by your lawmakers, but by lobbyists paid for by the media industry. They are using massive campaign contributions to purchase lawmakers that will pass the bill.
The public has repeatedly and in many countries said ACTA and it's similar SOPA/PIPA type legislation are not what they want. Our governments no longer care, and try to shove this legislation down our throats anyway.
Who cares. Governments world wide are going to make it even tougher for those who chose to pirate, and they should.
Behind those closed doors and maneuvering operations are elected officials. Names are what are needed. They need to be publicly denounced, and hit where it hurts (i.e. reelections). Kader Arif can denounce the process all he wants, but without names, we the people can't do crap. Give the names out, damn it.