WaFiTz! » Entries tagged with "Law"
Watford Labour Candidate, Claire Ward’s Response – Disconnection and Web-blocking
Last but not least, New Labour’s Claire Ward‘s reply to my email regarding the Digital Economy Act (below). The letter feels sincere enough, but echoes the party line despite Claire not even bothering to turn up to vote on the Bill when it was presented to parliament. I’m disappointed of course. Claire Wards main platform for re-election seems to be based solely on Watford General Hospital which is apparently under threat of cuts from the Tories – but there is a hint of FUD in this strategy I think. Regardless, thankyou both Claire and Richard for making my decision easier tomorrow. I will be voting for the party that seems to have a little more common sense and is slightly more resistant to lobbying – at this stage (whether that’s a market share issue … Read entire article »
Filed under: Distractions
Watford Lib Dem Candidate, Sal Brinton’s (@SalBrinton) Response – Disconnection and Web-blocking
Here’s the response I received from Sal Brinton (below), Liberal Democrats candidate for Watford. This is a much better response and I’m pleased that Sal has signed an open letter to rethink the Digital Economy Act. Sal’s response is one of the reasons I’m 99% positive I’m going to vote Lib Dem on Thursday. Let’s be clear. I don’t expect any politicians to fully understand the culture or technology that drives the intertubes… but I do expect them to consider all sides of the debate – investigate the claims of big media lobbyists and perhaps, is it too much to ask that they seek the opinions of the little guys? That they speak to real pirates and find out why the DE Act is completely unworkable and within a few years – if not … Read entire article »
Filed under: Distractions
Watford Conservative Candidate, Richard Harrington’s (@Richard4Watford) Response – Disconnection and Web-blocking
If you’re into numerology, you should enjoy this. I emailed the following standard email provided by the Open Rights Group to my electoral candidates for Watford. Dear ___, The Digital Economy Act was rammed through Parliament as the election was called. Over 20,000 people contacted their MP to complain, adverts were paid for by donations, and thousands of people watched the debate live from Westminster. I was appalled by this process. It seemed to me undemocratic and dangerous. Now, new powers have been granted without really understanding the consequences. I do not think that disconnection – for whatever length of time – should be used as a punishment for allegations of civil copyright infringements. There is no justification for interfering in someone’s ability to communicate because of a civil dispute. Such disputes require financial recompense, … Read entire article »
Filed under: Distractions, Statistics
Netbabble Podcast Episode #6: The Digital Economy Bill #debill (12/04/10)
Our latest Netbabble podcast is available over at netbabble.com. In this one we discuss the controversial Digital Economy Bill recently passed into UK law. There’s a lot I didn’t get to say about this one, but I hope I made my feelings clear. It’s a bad law, and it’s already ineffective since not only is it possible to cover your tracks almost completely whilst file-sharing, pirates are already working on new technology – just as BitTorrent rose out of the ashes of Napster. The sooner big media dies or gets a new business model the better. I look forward to the future where non-commercial sharing is legal and treated the same as the sneakernet. … Read entire article »
Why I’m Now Using A VPN
If you keep on top of tech news (The Register is a very good site for this), you will have noticed a growing campaign by many politicians and even some media to seize control of the internet and monitor your activity online. This is quite unsettling for me. For one, I think that ISPs should effectively be a dumb pipe. Just like the post office, your water, gas and energy suppliers, they bring the internet to your home and charge you for it – no glamour or value added services – I just want my internet, thanks. Imagine if the postman opened all your letters before he delivered them through your door? This is effectively what the government wants ISPs to do with your packets. Furthermore it’s one big slippery slope … Read entire article »
Filed under: Distractions
Protected: The Wisdom of UK Driving Law
There is no excerpt because this is a protected post. … Read entire article »
Filed under: Distractions
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