ACTA passed one of the several voting gates it needs to get through before becoming law.
It was ratified in Poland last night. This was the scene at Polish parliament afterwards, as (presumably) a bloc of anti-ACTA politicians expressed their displeasure and, perhaps without knowing it, foretell of the Anonymous repercussions to this bill.
Some things you should know:
- Online petitions are meaningless. While they are well-intentioned and organized, the signing of a digital petition takes about twenty seconds, and does not require that you leave your beanbag chair in the coal cellar. Politicians know this, and pay just as much attention to online petitions as is warranted by a “political action” that is literally less strenuous than leaving a YouTube comment.
- Nothing except direct action is going to do a goddamn thing. This means getting out in the street, it means DDoSing, it means vicious and widespread boycotts, site blackouts, and other strongarm tactics that actually impact the flow of money from corporations to lobbyists to politicians. How do you, as a tiny flailing consumer, do this? You can’t, really. You can join up with groups that are intent on doing actions that actually mean something, adding your voice to a chorus of hundreds or thousands, instead of screaming alone. You can contact celebrities, the spokespeople of our time, as ask them to leverage their followers on the issue. You can write to Tumblr and ask for more blackouts. None of these things will be very effective, so don’t be too disappointed when they don’t work, but they sure as fuck are more effective than online petitions, and the intense response to SOPA by corporations and consumers was responsible for getting it “tabled” (not dead, but dreaming lies).
- ACTA was already signed by Obama in September of 2011. He had been praising the bill for over a year prior, and signed it without reservation. Most of us didn’t hear about it, and he likely used the 9/11 coverage to make sure of that.
- Eventually, one of these bills will pass, and the pro-corporate laws will go into effect. Expect it. Be prepared. Learn to circumvent this garbage and you’ll have a leg up when the feds shut down the internet as we know it.
- The best thing you can do now is install Tor and learn how to use it. Tor is free software and an open network that helps you defend against a form of network surveillance that threatens personal freedom and privacy, confidential business activities and relationships, and state security known as traffic analysis. In order to circumvent the coming corporate takeover of the web, we’re going to have to go underground, creating a sub-internet of encrypted nodes known as a “darknet”. It’s probably going to be like the internet was in the beginning, with most people only seeing what AOL wanted them to see, and only a small group of super-nerds existing outside of that bubble in the “real” internet. It’ll take another twenty years for them to catch up to us again.
- Welcome to the grim cyberpunk future.
Online petitions are meaningless.
Online petitions are meaningless.
Online petitions are meaningless.
Online petitions are meaningless.
Online petitions are meaningless.
(via solitaryforager)
If university presidents function as CEOs and students are branded products—that is: if universities are more profitable as corporations—then why are students unable to demand a refund? Products are always refundable. Students are said to be the products of universities:…
This is a great read if you have the time. William Hamilton hits the nail on the head, couldn’t have said it better myself. do yourself a favor; read this and then think critically about the university you spend your days at.
Black March!
P.S: If you think this doesn’t concern you, Megaupload’s owners are from New Zealand, today (1.19.2012) they were deported to USE and will be prosecuted under a crime that DOESN’T EXIST IN THEIR COUNTRY, under a law that HAS NOT BEEN APPROVED YET.
That’s….really fucking awful.
It’s sad that this is now cliche:
(via bohemianarthouse)
The Federal Bureau of Investigation moved against a group of suspected online pirates Thursday, targeting the popular file-sharing website megaupload.com a day after Washington lawmakers were besieged by complaints about legislation designed to crack down on the online sharing of pirated copies of music, movies and other material, people familiar with the matter said.
Investigators said there was no connection between arrests in their two-year investigation and the political firestorm that erupted this week over a pending vote on the Stop Online Piracy Act.
This is a big deal, and even if it’s not related to SOPA, the timing certainly does a lot to put it on the minds of those worried about the law.
-shit just got real. again.
WTFFFFFFFFFFFFFF
