Pro-ACTA Site Says 'Get the Facts' 84
Glyn Moody writes "We hear a lot about politicians and countries rejecting ACTA, but not so much from the treaty's supporters. Here's a new site, called 'ACTA Facts,' which invites Europeans to 'get the facts' on how wonderful ACTA really is. Judging by its content, this one will be about as successful as Microsoft's 'Get the Facts' campaign a few years ago, which tried to dissuade people from using GNU/Linux. For example, a new report linked to by the site claims that ACTA could 'boost European output by a total of €50 billion, and create as many as 960,000 new jobs.' Unfortunately, that's based on numerous flawed assumptions, including the idea that countries like China and India are going to rush to join ACTA, when the treaty is actually designed as a weapon against them, as they have already noticed."
Gotta love this (Score:5, Insightful)
Members of Europe's Parliament have come under considerable pressure to "look the other way" on the fight against counterfeiting and piracy - a global problem that impacts virtually every product category in every sector worldwide.
If that "considerable pressure" is being brought by the people who live in the EU, then perhaps it's not something they want. Why pass laws that nobody who lives in the EU wants? Doesn't sound like this is in the best interest of the population in Europe...
Re:Gotta love this (Score:5, Insightful)
Presumably, from the standpoint of the "Get the Facts" site, the only reason the European public dislikes ACTA is because they don't have, well, the facts.
Like the way a rape victim's only basis for fighting back is that they don't realize how good the rape will feel if they just accept it.
Re:Secret negotiations (Score:5, Insightful)
Okay, I'd like to get the facts about who was involved in the treaty planning, and what they said.
Oh, I'm sorry. By "facts", they apparently meant their talking points. My mistake - I assumed we were using the normal meanings of words today.
Not sure why this was modded "Funny". It points out a very important problem in the consumption of knowledge today.
Propaganda is masquerading as "fact". Both on this "Get The Facts" website, FOX News [ceasespin.org], and other outlets for malicious marketing.
How do we fix this problem?
For those who can handle the truth... (Score:5, Insightful)
ACTA was conceived and written in corporate boardrooms, for the benefit of the corporations those boardrooms control. Corporate money solicited politicians to secretly adopt it. Corporate money funded the politicians. Negotiations were done in secret so that the general population couldn't see what underhanded business was going on. Politicians were paid to change national/international laws to allow ACTA. Again, they were selected in boardrooms, funds drawn up from corporate funds and listed as 'investment'. Corporations led negotiations. Corporations put the soft sell into the politicos. They found vulnerabilities in the politicians and offered 'helping hands' in a quid-pro-quo form. In many cases the politicians problems were exacerbated so that the corporations could 'save them' in a more pronounced way. The entire thing was stage managed from beginning to end. When given the light of day and public scrutiny (that's where we are at now), ACTA fails. Its corporate greed writ large. Its draconian and undemocratic. The corporations will yelp and complain about its absence, but their interest is in corporate welfare. When you look at ACTA, repeat the words of Gandalf: "YOU SHALL NOT PASS!"
€50 billion, 960,000 new jobs (Score:5, Insightful)
Is that the amount they plant to extort from 960,000 people per year?
Re:€50 billion, 960,000 new jobs (Score:5, Insightful)
It's the same imaginary numbers on how people would spend billions of their money on IP if only they couldn't get it for free on the Internet. Because everybody would totally spend that money anyway if it wasn't free. Also those 50 billions earned is coming out of someone's pockets, so it'd probably be a million less jobs in all other industries. It's a million jobs, not a net million jobs.
How can you tell when a politician is lying... (Score:5, Insightful)
For example, a new report linked to by the site claims that ACTA could "boost European output by a total of 50 billion (euro), and create as many as 960,000 new jobs."
How can you tell when a politician or special interest group is lying?
When they start talking about all the jobs their new laws will create.