24 Nov 2010
The European Parliament today passed a resolution welcoming the almost final text of the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA).
The MEPs' vote, which effectively gives the European Commission the green light to agree the final ACTA wording, was described today as a "call to arms for those interested in maintaining freedom of speech and internet-led innovation" by a member of civil liberties advocacy group La Quadrature du Net.
The resolution was passed with the backing of the European Parliament's conservative EPP and ECR groups, as well as some members of the liberal ALDE group. ACTA's supporters won the vote by 331 to 294, with 11 members abstaining.
The opposing group comprised the S&D/Greens/ALDE and GUE.
This is the first time in 11 rounds of internal negotiations, including two resolutions, one written petition and one written declaration, that the pro-ACTA lobby has beaten those opposed to the agreement.
ACTA aims to enforce online intellectual property rights and combat online piracy as well as illegal software. The ACTA negotiations have been embroiled in controversy from their inception because of secret nature of some of the talks.
The almost final text of the ACTA agreement will be the subject of a final round of negotiations at the European Commission, to be held in Sydney from 30 November to 3 December.
If rubber-stamped, the agreement will be presented again to the European Parliament, probably some time in the second half of 2011.
A member of La Quadrature du Net, Jérémie Zimmermann, said: "This resolution is a political statement from the parliament, and is very worrying for advocates of civil liberties; MEPs needs to be made aware of how this legislation would limit innovation and put corporations above the rights of ordinary citizens [before the agreement is passed].
"Now is the time to lobby your MEPs," he added.
A spokesperson for the Commission explained that the negotiations in Sydney were likely to be complicated by the fact that there are so many parties involved – the treaty is international in scope and the negotiations will see representatives from Australia, the US and the UK among others.
In addition, the Lisbon treaty passed just a year ago has given the European Parliament the power to reject legislation from the Commission, meaning lobbying of the Parliament could result in a positive outcome for the civil liberties campaigners.
What does ACTA really mean? - Americans To Control All -
What does it really protect?
a)The American film industry
b)The American Software industry
c)The American Music industry
d) All of the above
Fact: China, where almost everything is being copied, is politely being asked to join because nobody has the guts to force them anything. President Obama, you little girl, where are thy now?
Fact: All the other little countries are driven into submission by threatening them with donation loss if they do not join. Slaves of the American dollar. People with no dignity.
Fact: Millions of people will lose their jobs because of this (most people in third world countries live in harsh conditions). When can they pick up their welfare check Obama?
Fact: Prepared in utter secrecy to protect the consumers world wide is just another farce to protect the "AMERICAN ECONOMY", how many small companies on this planet have had their ideas stolen by American companies?
Fact: The United States of America owes billions of dollars to many countries and one of their policies is, as you might already have guessed, NOT TO PAY THEM NO MATTER WHAT. How can you trust a country which doesn't honor simple ethics? How can you trust a country which has one president after another staring into the cameras and telling lies to the whole world without blinking an eye? How can you trust a country which calls themselves your allies but in dire need they do NOT come to your aid? The answer is simple............................................................................. YOU CANNOT..........................
I will never ever in my life set foot in the U.S.A. or spend any money on American products. Check Google if you are not sure if it's American made. Remember, Coke made in Italy still counts as a BOY-COT item.
Made in the U.S.A. (or American related companies)= BOY-COT
Fact:They will laugh at one person, they will laugh at 100 people, but will they laugh at a 1.000.000 people or more? Emergency meeting will be called for, fingers will be pointed, apologies to the public uttered, and in the end president Obama will screech that was never part of all of this. Who dares? Do you have what it takes to make a difference, or are you enslaved already?
I do have my pride, and yes, I do feel insulted by ACTA. I am a free man and make my own decisions. Do you?
By the way all of this is copyrighted and forbidden to copy and/or share with anybody.
Posted by: Karla 25 Nov 2010
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