Perhaps the government should remember one of their most-used quotes when it comes to invasions of privacy. "If you have nothing to hide, you have nothing to fear."
And it is indeed true, onfortunately, that the 'leaker' will be arrested; but the Wikileaks people probably not. Not all of them are citizens of the U.S., and while the U.S. has seen no problem in abducting citizens of other countries to "try" them, these are not Muslim "terrorists", so there will be internation outcry and such. The fact that Wikileaks is in the center of the attention will probably protect them.
As long as authors/songwriters/... continue to defend copyright terms of 70y after their death, they have no right whatsoever to claim a moral high ground.
In Belgium, children are learnt the following: "If everybody would jump in the Scheldt (a major river), would you jump after them?", if they are doing something stupid "because everybody else does it". Unfortunately, our politicians seem to have forgot this lesson, probably the same moment they forgot that they are "Representatives of the People", not "Representatives of the Money"...
Creative Commons licenses (and the GFDL for that matter) are non-revocable ("[the] Licensor hereby grants [the user] a worldwide, royalty-free, non-exclusive, perpetual (for the duration of the applicable copyright) license to exercise the rights in the Work [...]")
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia%3ARevocation_of_our_licensing_is_not_permitted#The_inability_to_revoke
Perhaps we should "invent" (the same way they "invented") a new crime: A crime against our freedoms. As this would be an offence even more serious than "piracy", a even harsher punishment should be applied, in line with the glorious European revolutionary tradition when the citizens saw their rights violated. "The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots & tyrants."
As Churchill once said (after the invasion of the USSR) "If Hitler invaded Hell, I would make at least a favourable reference to the devil in the House of Commons."
Techdirt has not posted any stories submitted by kameraadpjotr.
League of Nations
The U.S. refused to become member of the League of Nations, while it was an idea of their president (Wilson), so there is a precedent.
Re:
Perhaps the government should remember one of their most-used quotes when it comes to invasions of privacy. "If you have nothing to hide, you have nothing to fear."
And it is indeed true, onfortunately, that the 'leaker' will be arrested; but the Wikileaks people probably not. Not all of them are citizens of the U.S., and while the U.S. has seen no problem in abducting citizens of other countries to "try" them, these are not Muslim "terrorists", so there will be internation outcry and such. The fact that Wikileaks is in the center of the attention will probably protect them.
Moral high ground
As long as authors/songwriters/... continue to defend copyright terms of 70y after their death, they have no right whatsoever to claim a moral high ground.
Re:
In Belgium, children are learnt the following: "If everybody would jump in the Scheldt (a major river), would you jump after them?", if they are doing something stupid "because everybody else does it". Unfortunately, our politicians seem to have forgot this lesson, probably the same moment they forgot that they are "Representatives of the People", not "Representatives of the Money"...
Re: Re: Re: I'm starting to see the side of the copyright abologists
Creative Commons licenses (and the GFDL for that matter) are non-revocable ("[the] Licensor hereby grants [the user] a worldwide, royalty-free, non-exclusive, perpetual (for the duration of the applicable copyright) license to exercise the rights in the Work [...]")
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia%3ARevocation_of_our_licensing_is_not_permitted#The_inability_to_revoke
Re: Re:
My DNA *is* copyrighted. If it is used without my permission, I will have no other option than to sue.
Capital Punishment
Perhaps we should "invent" (the same way they "invented") a new crime: A crime against our freedoms. As this would be an offence even more serious than "piracy", a even harsher punishment should be applied, in line with the glorious European revolutionary tradition when the citizens saw their rights violated. "The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots & tyrants."
Re: Re: Election Time?
They blocked the SWIFT-treaty in a similar way.
Re: Optimism
As Churchill once said (after the invasion of the USSR) "If Hitler invaded Hell, I would make at least a favourable reference to the devil in the House of Commons."