Been too long without an update, so here’s a classic south park clip from the tourettes episode.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UxofXW8exYo&feature=related

-Enjoy

So last night I got to see a great DVD, I can’t wait to check out the extra’s there seems to be quite a few of them.

The ass kicking Industrial band Collide has released their first DVD of among their first live shows “Like the Hunted” and it really is unbelievable.

I’d suggest to anyone that they should check it out, you can pick it up for $16.98 from Metropolis’s online store;

http://www.metropolis-mailorder.com/product.php?prodnum=NPM+5000

As if it wasn’t cool enough they performed their cover of White Rabbit but they also did the OLD creepy classic The Lunatics (have taken over the asylum) by Fun Boy 3. Aside from kaRIN’s total babe-ness it’s one of the best live performances I’ve seen, for sure. Kai, the bass guitar guy seems to play a Warr Guitar for most of the show, first I think I’ve ever seen, it’s insane;

So the whole thing served to remind me that I haven’t been paying enough attention to a great industrial bands, especially since they’re also a Southern California act!

I don’t want to be any kind of chicken little but I have little faith in the rest of the world to be able to fight ACTA, especially since awareness is so non-existent at this point. It sounds like a really bad idea.  As they add another layer working toward taking away our rights & privacy.

First imagine a world where you buy music and don’t ever even consider the legality of making a backup copy after accidentally ruining a few good CDs over time and having learned your lesson.  The industry does consider it illegal to make a backup or for that matter to copy the music on to your mp3 player or other portable device.  But people don’t get busted for it so I guess that’s why nobody really made a stink about not being able to legally use your music as you wish.

Now imagine a world where your copies of your favorite CDs that you take with you (to keep the originals safe) are not only illegal but if you’re crossing borders could be destroyed, cause you to be detained AND fined?  Then consider that it wouldn’t be limited to burned CDs but if they find illegal copies on your cell phone, your mp3 player or your laptop they can all be searched, destroyed and will lead to detainment and fines for each infraction.  (Then consider the mindless grunt who’s making these determinations?  Customs agents?  Now working as double agents for the RIAA?  Yikes.)

Might be in the near future. In addition to all that, privacy (encrypting your private data, especially handy in case your computer is stolen) will also be illegal and actionable after ACTA.  Figure that one out!  Now, people may say “big deal they don’t harass people much anyway, they wouldn’t be able to nail everyone for that kind of thing, it would cause too many delays, there aren’t enough resources etc etc etc etc” - right but as usual people seem to miss the point… My argument is mainly this;

If you put this current line of bullshit in context with what made this possible: the BS copyright laws, DMCA, etc…  Well you should be able to figure out where this is going!  They’re laying the foundation here.  It’s not about the direct results of ACTA.  I don’t even need to mention the huge the number of people who run around with MP3 players and CDRs full of music they THINK is legal and what would be likely to happen to them if caught either.  My problem is with the facts that 1) too many people who don’t know any better could get in a lot of trouble and 2) even worse, they destroyed hope for fair use rights and we let them get away with it.  They’ve done amazing things that shouldn’t have been possible and we let them get away with it.  Now, if they get away with this: What’s next?  Doesn’t matter so much if it’s totally extreme and over the top in the next stage, they’ll have gotten this far!  How could we hope to maintain a level of sanity with IP issues?

It’s never that the sky is falling, it’s never a tech apocalypse.  It’s never the end of the world nor a sudden, drastic change in the way we have to live our lives.  It is always a slow process.  The pot we swim in is always slowly brought to a boil so we never realize what’s going on and often don’t think to look back and go “wtf happened?”.  We just get cooked to death.

Details in these articles: First Info Leak, and then it gets worse.

Excerpts from the first article:

“Now Wikileaks has obtained a leaked copy of the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA), a shadowy bill that has been being discussed in Congress behind closed doors.  The new multi-lateral intellectual property measure is being pushed by Republican U.S. Trade Representative Susan C. Schwab, who designed much of it.  The ACTA bill is apparently supported by the U.S., the European Commission (well known for its recent fining of Microsoft), Japan, and Switzerland.”

“The new bill would place the internet under the firm grasp of international law authorities and industry officials.  ISPs operating within the U.S. and the involved nations would be forced to fully disclose consumer information.  Meanwhile, use of internet privacy tools would be greatly restricted and made illegal in many cases.”

“It appears the U.S. government and other member parties plan to push forward a finalized version of the agreement in July 2008 at the G-8 summit.  Clearly this is one of the most significant develops in online law and legislation in recent history.”

Excerpts from the second:

“Additional ramifications of the deal of interest to American and Canadian citizens are the new restrictions on travel.  The new act will make border agents essentially “copyright regulators”.  They will be authorized under current provisions to search those crossing for illegal copyright materials.  Laptops, iPods and even cellular phones are among the devices that would be searched for illegal content.”

“If they found infringed content such as ripped copies of DVDs or CDs they could detain the person.  The penalties are still being ironed out, but a fine for any materials found is planned.  It would be at the discretion of the border agents to determine what infringement is and what isn’t.  Under the new act, even legally copied DVDs or CDs would be open to scrutiny.”

“Under the new ACTA deal, iPods and other electronic devices will be subject to searches. It will be at border agents’ discretion what material is infringing. The searches can be conducted without lawyers present and those found in violation will be fined and have their devices destroyed.  (Source: Canada.com)“

“The leaked ACTA documents indicate that the new agreement marks a dramatic departure from previous anti-infringement efforts in that it authorizes government action against suspected infringers without any request from the copyright holders.  In the past the copyright holders, or organizations that represented them such as the RIAA or IFPI took action against infringers.  The new act gives government officials “authority to take action against infringers”, essentially making them a government RIAA of sorts.”

“For some users the new act may be “bye bye” to their iPod or laptop.  Under the new act the border agents could destroy any devices found to hold copyright content that is deemed infringed.”

“The new agreement states that it’s oriented towards increased “civil enforcement” measures.  And don’t plan on having a lawyer present; the act includes “authority to order ex parte searches” (searches without a lawyer present) and “and other preliminary measures”.”

And other prelimiary measures?! Wow, I’m glad they’re so specific.

“Fewer takes issue to the secrecy in the international community surrounding the act.  He states, “We knew this existed, we filed an Access to Information request for this but all it provided us with was the title. All the rest of it was blacked out.  Those negotiations can take place behind closed doors. At the end of the day we may be provided with something that has been negotiated which is a `fait accompli’ in which civil society gets no opportunity to critique it.”

“The new act has also been criticized as it operates outside other international trade organizations such as the World Trade Organization (WTO), the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) or the United Nations.  Under the agreement a governing council consisting of representatives from member nations would be created and make policy decisions.”

And finally;

“Michael Geist, Canada research chair of Internet and E-commerce law at the University of Ottawa and expert on Canadian copyright law says that the government’s behind doors behavior is quite ominous.  He states, “That’s what happens when you conduct all of this behind closed doors.  The lack of consultation, the secrecy behind it and the speculation that this will be concluded within a matter of months without any real public input is deeply troubling”

Fewer and Geist both agree though, that once the act is adopted it will be difficult to back out.  If Canada does not comply, it may face big financial penalties as well, similar to those imposed during the Softwood Lumber trade dispute. 

The final decision on the acts adoption is believed to be made at the upcoming G-8 international summit in July 2008.  The agreement marks the most dramatic piece of international law enforcement and copyright to date.  If adopted it will truly transform the electronics world and touch the lives of many citizens.”

Playing with this post is Project Pitchfork’s “Alpha Omega”.