Posted on 11/05/2009 7:34:11 AM PST by Reaganesque
This is the way this article appears on the website Red Ferret Journal:
The Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (or secret copyright treaty as it’s being called) is as perniciously nasty a piece of proposed legislation as you’re likely to find anywhere on the planet. Ostensibly being created to defend the rights of copyright owners, this is yet another instance of stupid government serving the narrow agendas of greed of the massive entertainment corporations. This is not good law.
Unless we all want the dead soul less hand of government stamping out our freedom to communicate, every single Internet user on the globe should protest this slimy proposal in every way possible. Don’t put it off, make excuses or let apathy rule, make sure you do it. If you don’t, as sure as eggs are rotten, we’ll see full blown censorship, selective shutdown and worse arrive next. And that’s the reality of this stuff, folks,
We need to stop it now. Dead. And warn future governments that the Internet has now moved on beyond something that can be controlled by uninformed, self-serving bureaucrats with an agenda and funding from big business.
I think Nigel is doing what a lot of liberals are doing these days.
Tightly squeezing his eyes closed and desperately trying to convince himself that none of this is real and Obama really is good.
Bush started it in 2007, and it was supposed to be a done deal by 2008. There were some delays, so Obama inherited it.
Looks like this treaty is going to make my ping list a bit higher volume than usual.
Is the current form of the legislation the same as that which the Bush Administration proposed?
To be fair, most Republicans congresscritters have supported legislation of this type in the past.
With the exception of the stupid armband, the article makes no connection to the GOP.
The article is correct that copyright (and patent) law is being used in ways that are not Original Intent.
Regardless, the Obama Administration is now all for it so, if it was Fascistic under Bush, it is equally Fascistic under Obama.
Nobody knows for sure because of the secrecy Bush imposed, and Obama continued. But so far it looks like the answer is yes. Bush allowed many members of the copyright cartel to be in on the negotiations to push their agenda, and excluded consumer advocacy and rights groups from even knowing what was being discussed. With that framework, I'm sure this was a copyright cartel wish list from the beginning.
However, Obama campaigned on not being beholden to lobbyists and corporations. His continuation of this treaty flat-out breaks those promises. He promised openness of government, but this had to be leaked for the public to know. He promised a fair and balanced approach to copyright, and this treaty breaks that promise, too.
Any Democrat with half a brain, and they do exist, should be pissed at Obama right now.
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