The Embedded Citizen

Pirate MEP Christian Engström on ACTA

2011-12-21T14:13:00.004+01:00

Pirate MEP Christian Engström on ACTA in the European Parliament's committee on Legal Affairs, JURI. 20 December 2011. [Youtube] [Vimeo]

Dan Bull vs. SOPA

2011-12-20T13:32:00.000+01:00

TorrentFreak: File-Sharing Darling Dan Bull Publishes Anti-SOPA Rap

[Direct link: Youtube]

Ending the Global Drug War

2011-12-15T10:03:00.002+01:00

[Direct link]

EDRi, ACTA & the Treaties

2011-11-25T23:30:00.000+01:00

Act-on-ACTA: EDRi, ACTA & the Treaties from Henrik Alexandersson on Vimeo.

Back to the Future?

2011-11-17T10:09:00.001+01:00

The new Italian government seems to consist only of technocrats and people from Big Business.

Didn´t they already try that, once upon a time?

BBC

Podcast: EU Power Ambitions & the Alternative

2011-11-02T23:42:00.000+01:00

EU Power Ambitions & the Alternative by Henrik Alexandersson

Hasbrouck on PNR

2011-10-20T09:36:00.001+02:00

Edward Hasbrouck talking about Passenger Name Records (PNR) at The European Parliament 19 October 2011. Moderator: MEP Eva Lichtenberger.

Via: Erik Josefsson on Vimeo.

Grandmuther - on the Crisis and Politics

2011-10-16T22:26:00.001+02:00

Grandmuther - on the Crisis and Politics by Henrik Alexandersson

Satire. At least for the moment...

European Superstate Rising

2011-10-02T13:14:00.001+02:00

A few clips from the "State of the Union"-debate in the European Parliament 28 September 2011. A bit scary, if you ask me...

[Direct link]

[Direct link]

[Direct link]

Freedom of expression online

2011-05-06T23:00:00.001+02:00

A seminar in the European Parliament May 5:th 2011 hosted by Greens/EFA.

Part 1: Jörg Polakiewicz (Council of Europe), Erich Möchel (Austrian investigative journalist), Rafik Dammak (internet activist and blogger via Skype from Tunisia) & Caroline de Cock (N-square consulting).

Freedom of expression online, Part 1 by Henrik Alexandersson

Part 2: Petter Ericson (Telecomix), Gerard de Graaf (EC DG Information Society and Media), Susan Morgan (Global Network Initiative) & Smari McCarthy (Icelandic Modern Media Institute).

Freedom of expression online, Part 2 by Henrik Alexandersson

All is intresting. End of part one extra god. Part 2 = Hot, with interventions by Joe McNamee (EDRi).

Enjoy!

[Direct link] Downloadable. CC=0.

Document Freedom Day 2011

2011-03-30T21:56:00.001+02:00

Document Freedom Day (European Parliament) from Henrik Alexandersson on Vimeo.

Seminar held on Document Freedom Day 2011 (30 April) in the European Parliament.

With Kaido Kikkas (Estonian IT College & Tallin University), Håkon Wium Lie (Opera Software) and Stefan Gradmann (Europeana & Humboldt-University in Berlin). Arranged by members of the Grens/EFA-group in the EP.

A bit on the long side, but very interesting for everyone who wants to look around the corner, when it comes to Information Society, IT and the Internet. Open Standards and a broad Public Domain can help expand access to culture and information.

CC=0

WikiLeaks, The Internet And Democracy

2011-01-23T17:19:00.001+01:00

Paul Jay, Daniel Ellsberg, Clay Shirky, Neville Roy Singham, Peter Thiel and Jonathan Zittrain on a panel at the Churchill Club – on WikiLeaks, The Internet And Democracy.

A Must See!

30 minutes well spent

2010-06-27T12:07:00.000+02:00

Stephen Fry: What I wish I'd known when I was 18 by Peter Samuelson om Vimeo. 29 April 2010. 32 mins.

(Self)censorship and freedom of speech

2010-06-26T17:54:00.001+02:00

Here you will find some extracts from the seminar on (self)censorship and freedom of speech, that the liberal group in the European Parliament held last week. Among others – the artist Lars Vilks and the spokesperson for Wikileaks Julian Assange.

Traffic roundabout dog... There is some sort of Swedish context, I promise. ;-)

A New, Simple and Reasonable Copyright

2010-06-10T15:39:00.005+02:00

Today's copyright laws are not suited for today's information society. We see some culture being locked in, orphan works and a huge part of our cultural heritige in company safes (where people nor can enjoy it or make money on it).

Positions in the discussion on copyright seems to be in gridlock. But, is it really that impossible to set up a legal framework that works reasonably well?

Below, I will outline one model. It is mainly based on Pirate Party policy - but with some personal add-ons. What makes this model attractive is not just that it would solve 90 per cent of the problems we see with today's copyright. Even more exiting is that it works well with people all over the political field; from right to left; from individualists to collectivists. And even better: It is simple and understandable...

i) If someone wants copyright protection, he or she will have to apply for it. (If people need to apply for welfare cheques, it is quite reasonable that people who wants society to protect their business and their products also will have to do so.)

ii) Works that are not acitively protected will become "public domain" - and could freely be e.g. shared, copied and sampled by others. It should, however, not be allowed to "kidnap" other peoples works in the public domain by copyright protecting them.

iii) The copyright protection time is five years, from the day the creator of a work has applied for it. (In today's world, normally the commercial lifespan is not longer than that.)

iv) The copyright protection time can be prolonged with five years at a time, for those who would like to do so. (But I´m pretty shure most works will become public domain after five years.) Prolonging the protection time must be done actively, with a new application.

v) The copyright protection for a work is transferable from the artist / author. It can be sold, inherited or given away to others. This way, it is possible for the artist to focus on creating - and leaving marketing and day to day business to experts. (One could also consider the possibility that the artist can lease the right to commercial use of his/her protected work to others.)

vi) With this system applied on an EU-level we would avoid the problems with 27 different licenses in the otherways single market. A data base could provide updated information on on the status of all works that once have been registered. (So that you e.g. can see if a piece of music is free to use or still under copyright protection.)

This is not a perfect model. But it might solve most problems. It is more reasonable than today's system. And I think most people would understand and accept it.

Starting at this point, it would also be simpler to handle the issue of file sharing of copyright protected works. (Witch I, by the way, think should be permitted if it is done without commercial intent. But that is an other discussion, that will go on regardless. And with higher stakes with today's system.) The point is that lots and lots of works in the public domain would be a goldmine for people who wants to enjoy free culture. The public domain would expand fast, as most copyright holders would probably allow their work to be public domain after five or ten years, when the commercial lifespan is over.

The model above would also stimulate new business models - even those that do not assume copyright protection at all. (See Chris Anderssons book Free, for plenty of examples and ideas.)

[This blog post in Swedish]

Elections i The Netherlands: Judge in copyright case scandal

2010-06-07T16:16:00.005+02:00

Wednesday The Netherlands will elect a new Parliament. And it looks like the Dutch Pirate Party has a resonable chance to win a seat or two.

And now, a few days before the election, there is an emerging scandal concerning Pirate-related issues. It is about a judge that ruled that the publication of P2P file namnes in a forum, FTD, is copyright infringement.

Now, it turns out – this judge has been educating copy right holders in how to fight filesharers. And he has done it together with the lawyer representing the complaintifs in the FTD-trial!

This shuold get international attention. It might very well be the Pirate ticket to the Dutch Parliament.

(Read about the court case against FTD at the Torrent Freak site.)

[In Swedish]

How do the Artists get Paid? Part 2.

2010-05-12T22:55:00.002+02:00

Rasmus Fleischer in the European Parliament, May 12, 2010 from Henrik Alexandersson on Vimeo.

In the never ending discussion "How do the Artists get Paid?" today we turn to Rasmus Fleischer – caught on tape just before addressing the European Parliaments Workinggroup on Copyright.

[Also on Youtube] [CC0]

Lecture: How do the Artists get Paid?

2010-05-12T20:40:00.003+02:00

Here you can find documentation from the seminar "How can Europes Creators get a Fair Deal in the Digital World?" in the European Parliament.

Read, see and listen to Professor Roger Wallis and Dr Lars-Erik Eriksson:

Sound file (MP3, 28,7 MB)
PowerPoint-slides
HR pictures, CC0 (JPEG, ZIP, 32,8 MB)
Video at Vimeo
Bambuser stream

Enjoy!

Realated: Christian Engström

Podcast: PNR

2010-04-28T22:51:00.006+02:00

PNR, Passenger Name Records, is information about you and your travels that is stored the moment you buy e.g. an airline ticket.

In this podcast I talk to Edward Hasbrouck and Erik Josefsson about how PNR works and about the implications when it comes to privacy. This spring, European Parliament will decide how PNR is to be used in the future.

The MP3-file for this podcast. XML/RSS for my earlier podcasts (mostly in Swedish).

Edward Hasbroucks blog | Erik Josefssons blog

Cuba Blog Event

2010-02-25T16:58:00.067+01:00

This is my live blogging from the March 4:th Cuban Blog event in the European Paliament...

Right now we are establishing a working phone line with Cuba.

Cuban bloggers Yoani Sánches, Claudia Cadelo, Orlando Luis Lazo, Reinaldo Escobar, Miriam Ceyla, Iván García, Laritza Diversent, Eugenio Leal, Dimas Castellanos.

In the European Paliament: Franziska Brantner MEP, Christian Engström MEP, Manuel Desdin, Benoît Hervieu, Susan Dennisson and many others.

More info / Press Release.
Also read Grégoy Engels live blogging from this event on Inotes.de.
Update: Also see Cubiyanqui.

So, let´s start...

Almost up and running. The phone number in the Press Release does not work. But questions can be sent to cubablogging@gmail.com

- Phone lines with Cuba working.

- Franziska Brantner, German Greens, greats everyone welcome and says hallo to Cuban bloggers. She states that it is important that we face the difficult Cuba issue.

- Cristian Engström, Swedish Pirate Party, talks about how the internet (web sites, blogs, forums, Twitter etc.) helps people in oppressed parts of the world to organise in opposition. He also underlines that the Internet also is important for transparency and openness in our part of the world.

- Manuel Desdin is talking about how Cuban bloggers have taken citizens journalism to a new level - and that this really is changing the Cuban society.

- Benoît Hervieu, Reporters sans frontièrs, tells us how bloggers in Cuba often must try to use the hotels wireless networks. He tells us how the regime bullies bloggers and filter the Internet. Even "ordinary" journalists have the same problem. He is afraid that this will get worst the next few months.

- He continues by telling us that the Cuban Regime are going more nervous and aggressive. But he thinks that contacts between Cuba oppositionals and people in the outside world might hold back this development.

- Susan Dennisson, Amnesty, touches on several aspects of Cuban oppression. When it comes to the technical aspects of Internet in Cuba, she would like to know if the EU can help in any way.

- SD also tells us that Cuban Post Offices have started to provide (limited) Internet access.

- Phone line down. Redialing in progress.

- While we wait, BH tells us how Cuba censors foreign media. (E.g. Le Monde, but not WSJ.)

- Phone line works again.

- Yoani Sánchez in Cuba will now tell us about how the Cuban bloggers find their situation.

- She tells us that the blogger community in Cuba is very young. Only the Nomenclatura and people from other countries have OK internet access. For all others connections are very expensive and slow. So they do most of their blogging of line. Then they try to get an connection to send many blogposts for many bloggers at the same time.

- Y.S. continues: When it comes to censorship it can also be imposed by threats, isolation etc. to scare people so they sjut up. But bloggers in Cuba support each other actively, even if they all do not share the same views on politics.

- Y.S.: Internet was the only option for these Cubans to express them selfes in Cuba and to the world.

- Y.S.: The Cuban blogosphere is growing rapidly. They also use Twitter. And they have so many things to blog about...

- Y.S.: Cuban bloggers hope that the world will understand the diversity of opinions in Cuba. They need support to protect the security for bloggers ad others who voice their opinions. And there should be pressure from the outside world when it comes to the regime censoring / closing blogs.

- Y.S.: Things might get worse when it comes to freedom of speech on Cuba, very soon.

- Claudia Cadelo is about to speak. But the phone line might be down again.

- I think the phone line is up again...

- C.C.: Spread info about the Cuban blogosphere in social networks. And refer to Cuban bloggers as a source as often as possible.

- C.C.: Embassies from other countries in Cuba could open WiFi-networks for their surroundings.

- C.C.: Vitrual activism is punished in the real world. E.g. Cuban bloggers are not allowed to attend public events.

- Now, Eugenio Leal is on the phone...

- E.L.: Sometimes we share information on USB-sticks. And by fileshareing we gather and share info from the net and world media.

- E.L.: About the election question: PCC can never win. An survey proved that more than 50 pct. of Cubans want to change the system all toghether.

- E.L.: There will be independent candidates in the elections in the future. But the Secreet Police are leaning on them not to run.

- E.L.: About Skype - It is not possibel to use Skype in Cuba. If you go to a hotel for a connection, they start asking where you got your money.

- Manuel Desdin: Cuban net technology is on "modem-level"...

- M.S.: EU do good things for democracy and freedom in Cuba. But more countries should do more.

- E.L.: The treatment from the government is getting worse. There is violence and "social apartheid" where bloggers are banned from events and places.

- E.L.: There are also blogs supported by the regime. They attack the free bloggers and are officially promoted.

- Dimas Castellanos: Things will change. We will use the case of freedom of expression / speech to break ground for other reforms and civil rights. We have already broken the Cuban regimes monopoly when it comes to information with (and about) the rest of the world.

// Flickr-photos from the event: http://www.flickr.com/photos/24005871@N00/sets/72157623553586666/ //

// Tweet-tag #cubanbloggers (Thanks @dichter) //

- D.C.: Democracy in Cuba - if / how: Cuba is a society without civil rights. We must have human rights, e.g. freedom of expression. We have a history of violence - but we must avoid repeting that part of history in the next transformation of Cuba.

- D.C.: The Cuban regime will not allow for even a slow transition to a free economy. The exhange rate is terrible. And clothes etc. sent as aid from Europe are sold - for dollars.

- D.C.: Even if the blocade would go, we do not have real money...

- And now a very emotional description of the situation for political prisoners. And an appeal to the rest of the world to put preassure on Cuba - to allow for inspection from human rights organisations.

- Benoît Hervieu: The EU must stop being so polite and accepting the Cuban regimes vague explanations and excuses.

- Reinaldo Escobar: We have many different opinions, but one thing in common. That is that Cuba should allow for all to have different opinions and to accept freedom of expression.

- R.E.: EU should connect more with the Cuban civil society.

- Franziska Brantner: We would love to. But we are blocked by the Cuban government.

- I´m not sure who, i Cuba: What do EU say about Cuba signing treaties about human and civil rights, without ratifying them later on?

- F.B.: It is better if they sign. Because then we can remind them.

- Laritza Diversent: What do the EP think about recent cases when dissidents e.g. have starved themselfs to death...

- F.B.: (Ansvers in Spanish. I didn´t get it.)

- All 20 bloggers around the phone in Cuba says hallo to you all - and hope that we will stay connected. With better connections.

- F.B.: (Says something, shurely very nice, and thanks everybody, in Spanish.)

OK! The event is over. Thanks for following. Sorry for any typos and misspellings. And please note that the text above not is quotes, but summaries of often long translations.

Youtube license also in France?

2010-01-19T14:04:00.001+01:00

According to our sources among local journalists, France is now planning to follow Italy - demanding that everyone who would like to upload video on the Internet should have a license to do so.

This is still to be confirmed. But... who would be suprised?

Italy to license uploading to Youtube

2010-01-19T09:10:00.002+01:00

In Italy the government has proposed a new law, stating that everyone uploading video on the internet will have to get a permission to do so.

The Italian government really do not understand the internet and the information society. And they have no feeling for the value of freedom of speech.

(Link, in Swedish.)

Update: More, in English, at BoingBoing. (Via Berinder.)

Swedish Pirate Party on Copyright

2010-01-18T18:12:00.000+01:00

Pirate MEP Christian Engström has translated the Swedish Pirate Party platform on copyright into English.

Might be useful...

This IS the Market, Stupid!

2010-01-08T23:12:00.014+01:00

Working with Pirate MEP Christian Engström in the European Parliament, I often come in contact with advocates for Intellectual Property – e.g. lobbyists from the film, music and book industry. And one thing almost always strikes me...

They don't seem to have a clue about what's really going on.

They don’t seem to realize that we now live in an information society with hyper distribution. And if some of them might have some sort of a clue after all, it seems they think the Pirate Party or Christian himself invented the internet, free flow of information and file sharing. (We sometimes respond to that, saying “No, that was someone much more clever”. But they really don’t seem to catch the subtle humor, nor the message.)

What the Pirate Party does, is “just” to point out what policies are reasonable in our new society.

Billions of people are online. Al of them can, at least in theory, connect with each other. And there are often a surprisingly sort distance (or few links) between person B and person Q. A thought, an idea or an application can spread over the world in just a few days. All kinds of data that are on my computer could be transfered to yours. Or to that that of a bike repair man in Chile. If it is good and interesting enough.

Some entrepreneurs have got the message. They start net applications, they set up web stores (that often are more successful the more specialised they are), they start their own media channels and they start projects where people cooperate. In most cases it can be done with very little money. And if they choose, they can address a global market.

The IP-lobbyists from the entertainment industry, on the other hand… They refuse to see or to accept the real world as it is. They are upset, because people don’t want to go downtown to a store to buy their products engraved to plastic discs anymore. They go bananas if someone shares the information he or she has bought with someone else. They curse the Internet. They want so supervise, filter and control the flow of information. They want to cut people of from the net. They have no problem making the world a worse place for everybody else – e.g. all the entrepreneurs, scientists, students, activists, artists, blogers and ordinary people that every day spontaneously fills the Internet with life and creativity.

The IP-lobby does not make any real effort to accept, embrace and make use of our new reality and of the information society. They could, if they wanted. And they could make a lot of money doing so. But so far, they seem unable and unwilling to think outside the box.

Sometimes it’s almost amazing. We met with a person from the book publishing sector. That person told us, with a stiff upper lip, that the amount and the multitude of information on the Internet is a problem – as no one can handle the selection process, deciding what should be published and not. So… von oben.

An online information society with a multitude of information and hyper distribution is the new market. And in many ways it is a much more free market than the old one. You should accept it – or get out of the way.

And let’s face it. Some products, business models, concepts and stuff will end up in the trash can – as they don’t fit our modern society. And they should end up in the trash – making open space for things that are new, profitable, focused on the future, viable and blooming.

No one can tell what tomorrows business concepts will look like. But you don't need to worry. We'll find out, eventually. The market will solve that. On its’ own. There will always be talanted people developing new stuff for new markets. You might call it capitalism, spontaneous order, progress, the invisible hand, dynamic effects or what ever you like. But it will be there.

Trust the Force!

[This blog post in Swedish]

Orwellian

2010-01-08T13:27:00.000+01:00

A soceity built on a supicious mindset...

The Changing Media Landscape

2009-12-02T11:57:00.001+01:00

Some reading about the new media landscape and those who resist it...

FTC to Examine Possible Support of News Organizations

FTC explores future of journalism in Internet age

Murdoch Says Mobile TV Is Key to Future

Newspaper publishers told "free is too expensive"

Government funded news? Mobile pay per view? I´m not so sure...

Climategate

2009-12-02T11:53:00.000+01:00

Financial Times: Secrecy in science is a corrosive force

The Daily Telegraph: Climate change: this is the worst scientific scandal of our generation

And some other climate stuff...

New York Post: Climate-cult con is hard to 'bear'

The Times: Taking the private jet to Copenhagen

Demo-Crazy

2009-11-12T15:36:00.003+01:00

The European Parliament is working on a resolution on the Stockholm Programme. (So this is, thanks God, not legislation. But it is important anyhow.)

The Stockholm Programme points out how to work when it comes to judicial procedures, criminal trials, migration and everything that is connected with surveillance and Big Brotherism. This will be synced with the roll out of the new EU Treaty, The Lisbon Treaty.

The papers for this afternoons vote in the joint meeting with the JURI, LIBE and AFCO committees where distributed in the very last minute. There are almost 500 amendments and lots of compromise amendments. Some members did get the papers less than three hours before the meeting. Some papers did not reach the members at all. So most of the parlamentarians have not had a chance to more than glance at the documents. There have been no analysis, no prior discussion and no possibility for cross party border talks.

This is simply ridiculous.

Naturally, some members object. So at the beginning of this afternoons meeting they wanted to postpone the vote.

Then there was an objection to the suggestion to discuss this at all. (It´s Thursday. All members have planes home to catch.)

So it was decided not to discuss to postpone the vote, as it would take to long.

Then the voting on the amendments to the Stockholm Programme started - without anyone knowing what they really are doing.

ACTA: Do they really want to risk their brands?

2009-11-12T11:49:00.010+01:00

There is a lot of buzz about ACTA. This international trade agreement was ment to stop counterfeit handbags, jeans, watches and other goods. I have no objections to that.

Then the film- and music industry got envolved. File sharing became an issue. And suddenly there are leaks suggesting that ACTA will contain copyright focused measures related to the internet.

Apparently there are discussions about disconnecting filesharers from the internet, internet cable operators having to inspect and filter traffic etc. – in these secret negosiations.

Rumors even suggests that customs officers will have to inspect laptops, smartphones and MP3-players in the hunt for copyright protected material. All of this is simply bad, as it is in conflict with citizens rights and an open internet for all.

Now, this should be food for thought for all the companies whos' products originally was going to be protected by ACTA – before it expanded to filesharing and copyright related issues.

Do the owners of Nike, Boss, Diesel, Camel, Swatch and all other trendy brands really want to be associated with internet censorship, limitations of freedom of information and measures that infringes on peoples privacy?

Imagine the harm that will be done to brands like Adidas, Marlboro and Prada if they where to be considered responsible for hunting down a generation of young people on the internet!

If I where in their shoes – I would use all my influense to get all references to file sharing, internet filtering etc. out of the ACTA trade agreement. Anti counterfeit, yes! Hunting file sharers, no!

Brands and counterfeit vs. file sharing

2009-11-10T15:42:00.004+01:00

In the EU, the word "piracy" is often used both for counterfeit goods and for file sharing. Naturally, this is a deliberate way to confuse the discussion.

The Pirate Party has no problems with brands, as they give consumers important information. And we are against counterfeit of goods. Counterfeit infringes on the brand. And counterfeit goods are usually poorer and sometimes plain dangerous. People have the right to know what goods they are buying and who the producer is.

The Pirate Party is also pro non commercial file sharing between private individuals.

From our standpoint, everything becomes strange and wrong when the EU tries to confuse counterfeit with file sharing. E.g. in a communication from the EU Commission, practically all the text is about counterfeit - but still everything boils down to measures to prevent file sharing. The Commission ought to know better.

Swedish Pirate MEP, Christian Engström, spent this morning in the European Parliaments committee on legal affairs to try to get people to grasp this.

This is also an important distinction when it comes to the ACTA trade agreement - that also tries to bundle counterfeit with file sharing.

[In Swedish]

EU Telecomspackage: Update

2009-11-09T13:13:00.000+01:00

Some updates on the EU Telecoms Package from the blog of Pirate MEP Engström:

Landmarks in the Telecoms text

Telecoms Package quick FAQ

Might be useful.

EU Telecoms Package: We might have won...

2009-11-05T04:55:00.008+01:00

Press Release from the Swedish Pirate Party

EU negotiations on Telecoms Package completed

Earlier this night there was an agreement in the negotiations on the EU Telecoms Package.

First of all, it is notable that the European Parliament delegation stod up and managed to maintain support for the principle that Member States should not be allowed to disconnect people from the internet without prior judicial procedure. This is more than most people expected when the meetings began Wednesday evening.

"It is a plesant surprise that the European Parliament stod firm on this principle. This is a direct result of the hard work by thousands upon thousands of Internet users. They have contacted their politicians, networked on blogs and raised media attention on this issue. Without them, there would have been no progress on this in political circles" Cristian Engström, Swedish Pirate MEP, says.

Until the very last minutes of the negotiations in the EP delegation, there was a discussion about Member States possibility to cut people of from the Internet without prior judicial procedure. This will only be possible in situations of extreme national emergency (European Convention, article 15). There hould be no possibility to use this legal framework to disconnect e.g. file sharers from the net.

If a Member State wants to cut citizens of from the net in other cases (like in France), this must be under strict rules respecting citizens rights. The judicial procedure shall be prior to the measures taken. It should respect the principle of presumption of innocence and the right to privacy. This must be done with respect for general principles of Community law, including effective judicial protection, due process and the right to be heard of the person or persons concerned. All measures must respect the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms.

"I think it would have been very difficult to get a text with a wider protection of citizens rights. It is possible that the text now at hand is more far reaching in this respect than any other that have been discussed. But still, I must stress that we think it is wrong for governments to cut people of from the Internet at all" Christian Engström concludes.

The European Parliament will confirm this agreement in a vote at its' November session.

More information:

The final text is to be found on Christian Engströms blog.

There you can also find the different proposals and posts about the negotiation process this autumn.

More information:

Christian Engström (PP), MEP, The Swedish Pirate Party
+46 706 633 780

Rick Falkvinge (PP), leader of the Swedish Pirate Party
+46 708 303 600

Henrik Alexandersson at MEP Engströms office in the EP
+32 484 088 770 (mobile) or +32 228 47368

[In Swedish]

(Please excuse any misspellings and / or half-baked language, as this is translated at 4.30 in the morning from a material that is partly in legal English written by people from many different countries.)

EU Telecoms Package: New meetings today

2009-11-04T14:43:00.003+01:00

Press Release from the Swedish Pirate Party, November 4:th 2009

EU: Negotiations on the EU Telecoms Package tonight

Our line is that the principles of "amendment 138" must be defended. This is to say that Members States should not be allowed to cut people of from the Internet (if any MS decides on such measures) with less than a prior, fair trial in a court of law.

In this process there are many proposals, compromises and ideas flying around. The Swedish Pirate MEP Christian Engström says...

"Right now it is essential that the European Parliament stays with the core values of amendment 138. We would like to stick to amendment 138, more or less in its original form. But we have conflicting judicial advice about that possibility."

"A key issue is if we will be able to stop French Hadopi-laws and British Mandelson-measures. If the text negotiated do not do this, we cannot accept it."

"I am worried that other MEP:s in the delegation might be willing to compromise. Or that they will give up, exhausted. We call upon them to focus on the principle that the European Parliament at several occasions has voted for - that government should not be able to punish people without a fair, prior trial. This is also fundamental for a democracy respecting rule of law" Engström concludes.

Also see Christian Engströms blog:

http://christianengstrom.wordpress.com/2009/11/02/telecom-package-meetings-on-wednesday/

Time table:

7 p.m. tonight, Wednesday, the European Parliaments Delegation to the Conciliation Committee on the EU Telecoms Package will meet.

8 p.m. there will be a Trialouge Meeting (leaders of the EP Delegation, leaders of the Councils delegation and representatives for the Commission).

After this there will be a brief report from the Trialouge to the Delegation.

9 p.m. there will be a meeting with the full Conciliation Committee (27 from the EP, 27 from the Council and represenatives from the Commission). At this meeting the EU-Precidency will be represented by the Swedish Minister for Infrastructure, Åsa Torstensson. Commissioner Vivian Reding will also be present.

Or - if the negosiations get stuck - there will be another Trialogue Meeting at 9 p.m.

Thursday morning at 9 a.m. the Delegation leaders from the EP, Torstensson and Reding will hold a press conference.

Thursday at 10 a.m. the Green Group in the EP and Swedish Pirate Party will hold a press conference. (Both press conferences are to be held in room PHS 0A050 in the European Parliament in Brussels.)

Contact details:

Christian Engström (PP), Swedish Pirate MEP, +46 706 633 780.

Rick Falkvinge (PP), leader of the Swedish Pirate Party, +46 708 303 600.

Henrik Alexandersson at MEP Engströms office in the EP, +32 484 088 770 (mobile) or +32 228 47368.

[In Swedish]

EU Telecoms Package: Flying a kite

2009-11-03T14:58:00.000+01:00

On Pirate MEP Christan Engströms blog - you will find an sketch for a text to the Conciliation Committee. It´s just an idea. Please give feedback.

Can it be that simple?

EU Telecoms Package: The week ahead

2009-11-03T14:39:00.002+01:00

Tomorrow evening (Wednesday) there will be a new round of negotiations on the EU Telecoms Package. First there will be a meeting with the European Parliaments delegation to the Conciliation Committee. Later on, we will probably have a full Conciliation Committee meeting (27 from the EP + 27 from the Council + Commissioner Reding + Swedish Minister of Infra Structure, Åsa Torstensson).

I have a feeling they want to wrap things up tomorrow. But there is no reason to stress this through or to take desissions without proper analysis. According to the rules we have until the end of December for this process.

Our (Swedish Pirate Party and the Green Grp.) position is that the core values of the famous amendment 138 shall be kept. (Not allowing Member States to cut people off from the Internet with less than prior ruling in a Court of Law.)

For every suggestion or compromise presented, we must ask: Will it open up for Hadopi laws (like in France) or Mendelson-measures (like the ones proposed in the UK)? If they do, we cannot accept them,

And a central point is the fight about the word "prior" - that the Council seems to refuse to accept.

The Councils lates proposal for a compromise (that is a bit dogy and that not include the word "prior") can be read on Pirate MEP Christian Engströms blog. Please do and give him feedback.

(Here in the EP interest from the media is rapidly increasing. Wednesday will be hysterical. The meetings will start at 7 p.m. and might continue into the night. I and Christian will try to keep you updated as much and as soon as possible.)

[In Swedish]

An other take on Net Neutrality

2009-11-02T23:16:00.001+01:00

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart

Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c

From Here to Neutrality

www.thedailyshow.com

Daily Show
Full Episodes

Political Humor

Health Care Crisis

EU Telecoms Package: The week ahead

2009-10-30T21:10:00.008+01:00

Wednesday (Nov 4:th) there will be another round of negosiations on the EU Telecoms Package.

Some seems to expect this to be a speedy affair. Swedens minister of infrastructure Åsa Torstensson (representing the Swedish EU Presidency) and EU Commissioner Vivian Reding have anounced their presense. And thursday morning the leaders of the European Parliaments delegation to the Conciliation Committee on the EU Telecoms Package will hold a press conference to 9 a.m. The boot in our face?

Wednesday afternoon begins with strategy talks in the political groups in the EP. 7 p.m. the EP delegation will meet. 8 p.m. there will be a trialogue meeting (leaders of the EP and Council delegations + the Commission). And at 9 p.m. there will either be a new trialogue or a meeting with the full Consoliation Committee (27 from the EP and 27 from the Council). (This might take a while. Make some sandwiches and put the kettle on.)

I suspect that the European Council expects this whole affair to be wraped up this week. But there is no reason for the parliament to rush things. The consiliation rules give us until the end of the year to handle this matter.

[In Swedish]

Shift happens

2009-10-29T17:27:00.001+01:00

Rumors about the EU Telecoms Package

2009-10-28T23:15:00.008+01:00

Reports in international media suggest that the European Parliament have backed down from the famous amendment 138 to the EU Telecoms Package. (The one demanding prior ruling by a court of law if any member state starts disconnecting people from the internet.)

This is not my picture of what is going on. Yes, the EP delegation to the Conciliation Committé on the EU Telecoms package did support a rather messy compromise text on its´ last meeting. It included "prior", but was vague on what kind of judicial instance to use and had other elements that where both promising and sneaky.

(The Swedish Pirate Party, the Greens and the leftist group did not clear this text. First of all, we did not get it in writing and where supposed to decide upon it after a oral review. This is not a serious way of law making. We are also suspicious when it comes to several elements in the text. So we have stated that we expect the delegation to uphold the essence of 138.)

And, as we suspected, this text crashed and burned in the Trialogue meeting with the leaders of the EP delegation and the Council. (E.g. did the Council take "prior" away and at the same time it suggested more reasons for suspending people from the net.) I find this very hard for the EP delegation to swallow.

Now, we are waiting for the Council to elaborate on the preliminary compromise text from the Trialogue, above. But we know that there have been disagreement on this in Coreper (the body that prepares dosiers for the European Council).

But there is, as you can se, no agreement on anything at the moment.

The Council do not accept the EP proposal. The EP delegation will not be able to accept the preliminary Council proposal. There is disagreement in Coreper. And in the EP the Pirates, the Greens and the left sticks to 138 for as long as possible. At least until we get something that is better.

This means that it is far to early to say anything about anything. If something at all have changed, I would say that the level of disagreement has rised.

Wednesday next week the EP delegation will meet again in the afternoon. And in the evening there will be a full Conciliation Committé meeting (EP and Council). This is the first CC meeting. And until then, we have nothing like an agreement. No common ground. And I doubt that we will afterwards.

This far, all we have is disagreement betwen the institutions, in the Council and in the EP delegation.

But it is quite clar that someone is trying to spin this. In a press release the Swedish EU Presidency, earlier this week, described the talks as "open and creative"...

[In Swedish]

It´s not just about filesharing...

2009-10-26T13:05:00.010+01:00

A note on the European Councils draft compromise proposal from last weeks trialogue about the EU Telecoms Package. It discusses cutting of users from the Internet (and other measures) in these terms...

"...authorising the measures to be taken and to adopt urgent measures in order to assure national security, defence, public security and the prevention, investigation, detection and prosecution of criminal offences."

Interesting. So, this fight is not just about filesharing anymore.

Disconnection from the network (and other "measures") can be applyed to a long series of cases. Remember that legality is different, in different EU countries. And that there are a few strange laws. The EU Framework Decision on Racism e.g. says that one may not deny genocide. (It does not, however, apply to all genocides. Just some.) In France it is especially illegal to challenge official historical records on the Turkish genocide of Armenians. In many countries, gambling sites are prohibited. In some places information about medicine is prohibited. In Lithuania, one can not write positive things about gays. The laws about pornography varies between countries. The rules governing the advertising of alcohol and tobacco are also different. And many things that are on public record in countries like Sweden is illegal to publish in other places.

Feel free to fill in with more examples in the comment field. I just listed a few from the top of my head.

Internet might become seriously regulated. People might be disconnected from the Internet for many different reasons. And what other "measures" the Member States and EU have in plan, one can only imagine.

Add to that the European arrest warrant, which allows for pepole to be extradited to other countries for acts that are not criminal in their home country. So what happens if a Swede start a French blog, questioning the Turkish genocide of Armenians? If a Spaniard starts a gay porn site that turns to a Lithuanian audience?

(A few years ago Swedish online gambling company Unibet's CEO Petter Nylander was arrested in Holland, when he was on his way to England - and called for extradition to France. Among other things he was accused of having sponsored a French bike race, which is in violation of French gambling laws.)

And if the "mesures" mentioned are to be deployed, it also mean that the possibility to be anonymous on the net will have to be removed.

So, it is not just filesharers who should defend amendment 138 to the EU Telecoms Package - stating that governments can not decide to cut people of from the Internet (or other similar measures) without a prior ruling by judicial authority.

Not unexpected, in the European Councils draft compromise proposal, quoted above, the word "prior" is deleted...

[In Swedish]

Telecoms Package: Council divided?

2009-10-24T17:14:00.007+02:00

Yesterday, friday, there was an Coreper-meeting in the EU. (Coreper is the body that prepares dosiers for the European Council.) One of the points on the agenda was the EU Telecoms Package.

I have first hand information that the meeting was much longer than planned. According to my source, it was the Telecomes Package that caused a lengthy debate. This suggests disagreement in the Council on this issue.

This fits well with information that I have recieved earlier. The word is that UK is now the driving force for member states "right" to cut people off from the Internet. They even seems to be more eager on this than the French.

To be continued.

[In Swedish]

The EU Telecoms Package

2009-10-24T16:36:00.006+02:00

Meeting on the Telecoms Package, EP Strasbourg.
Photo: Christian Engström, MEP.

My MEP, Christian Engström of the Swedish Pirate Party, is one of the members of The European Parliaments delegation to the Conciliation Committé on the EU:s Telecoms Package.

This means that I am in the meetings on this dosier. I can tell you that it is an interesting and somewhat disturbing experience.

Read some of Christians blogposts on what have occured: Chaotic delegation meeting on the telecoms package | An insult to the Parliament | The Hadopi test for the Telecoms Package

I also recomend you to read Monica Hoortens blog. She has a scientists way of looking at this process. Read her blog posts and her paper "The Telecoms Package - a licence to chill".

I´ll try to keep you updated as the process develops...

Back in Business

2009-10-24T16:19:00.003+02:00

This blog has been sadly neglectd by me for some time.

But now it will be up and running again.

From this sommer I work with the Swedish Pirate Party in the European Parliament. And as I have lots of information about freedom on the Internet, EU Big Brotherism etc. that is interesting for an international audience – I will now run this blog alongside my Swedish one.

Welcome back!

The EU Commission on democracy

2009-03-17T09:44:00.005+01:00

This interview on BBC Newsnight – is a modern classic. The EU Commissions vice president Margot Wallström tries to explain why ignoring the Irish no to the new EU Treaty is the right and democratic thing to do...

Below you will find a transcript, whith the quotes that ought to haunt Ms Wallström...

GE = Gavin Esler, BBC Newsnight
MW = Margot Wallström

GE: ...and I'm joined now from Brussels by Margot Wallström, vice president of the European Commission. And your boss, José Manuel Barroso said that the treaty isn't dead, the treaty is alive. Can you explain to voters what they have to do to kill it?

MW: (3s pause) I think, first of all, if we are serious about democracy I think we have to understand why the Irish people voted no. That must be, sort of, the first stage, and this is what the Irish, and what we will contribute to, to do until the heads of states and governments meet.

GE: Presumably they voted no because they don't like the treaty, but you boss is saying...

MW: Well, you don't know that!

GE: ...will go on. I'm just asking you: what would they have to do not to have it?

MW: I think you just have to find out and that the Irish government will make the analysis and we will also, through the Eurobarometer, try to find out more.

GE: ...but are there anything?

MW: ...exactly as we did after the French and the Dutch votes as well. And the answers were very different actually, if you compare what the voters in France and in the Netherlands said, so thats the...

GE: Well they said no! ... but is there anything voters could do...

MW: ...first stage and then they'll have to discuss what to do.

GE: But is there anything voters could do to get rid of this treaty? ...in a democracy?

MW: In a democracy, then you listen to the concerns, and you see is there anything we can do to meet those concerns? What, exactly, was it that they were worried about and made them say no?

GE: ...but you see...

MW: And the political leaders have invested so much political capital and time and energy to try to get a new machinery, to make the EU work better. So ofcourse they will not give up easily. They will try to find...

GE: ...right...

MW: ...a way forward because we need to make it more democratic and more open... and more effective.

GE: ...but do you see, the fundamental problem here is that many voters throughout Europe think that the EU is an undemocratic imposition. And they don't object to membership of the EU, they just object to the way it's been run and things are imposed on them. And when voters say no you say we gonna go on and on and try find a way to make you say yes.

MW: No. I think that what we have done here is ofcourse that member states decide themselves on how they want ratify a new treaty. All the leaders have ofcourse signed up to this particular treaty and in Ireland, according to the national constitution, they have to have a referendum. And if there is 18 member states having said yes...

GE: Without asking the voters!

MW: ...and one member state said no, then I think all member states will want to have a say in all of this and ofcourse you have to analyze why there was a no. Is there anything we can remedy? Is there anything that can be corrected? And that analasis has to take place first of all.

GE: But to go back to the point: for the voters, the only voters that have had a say on this treaty. The only ones, the Irish voters. Very intelligent, very well informed people. Quite a big turnout. They said no and yet the process still goes on. So therefore... That is absolutely what people mean by the democratic deficit.

MW: But lets leave it to the leaders to discuss whats to do in a situation like this. And remember, the problems, they have not gone away because the Irish have said no. The problems of a european union with a democratic deficit, with a number of new challenges, with 27 member states and not 12, and with a machinery that was designed for 12 and not 27 the problems have not gone away. And this is still what we expect our political leaders to tackle. If we want to be effective fighting climate change or dealing with high oil prices then we better equip the European Union to do that. Effectively and more democraticly. And that was the starting point of this whole discussion and I think thats where we have to focus our efforts right now.

GE: Ok. Margot Wallström, thank you very much for joining us from Brussels.

Feel free to spread this transcript.

Tax Havens

2008-12-14T14:10:00.001+01:00

The Democratic Deficit revisited

2008-10-15T03:14:00.003+02:00

A few weeks ago the European Parliament voted on the Telecoms Package.

At the last minute the EP managed to stop parts (created by the copyright lobby) of the package aimed to filter the internet and to close down internet access (without judicial process) for people engaged in e.g. file sharing. So far, so good.

Now, it turns out, the European Commission seems to have removed all references to this EP-decision in its working papers – preparing the Telecoms Package for a second reading in the EP or an OK in the Council. This we where not supposed to know. But the document leaked out...

It is not to bold to guess that this is the work of the French EU presidency and its friends in the copyright lobby. They simply will not take no for an answer. Not even a clear no from the EP.

(Personally, I am pro copyright. But I will not accept mass survilance, limitations in citizens rights or give up the freedom of the internet. And I think it is a really bad idea to use laws to save an outdated business model.)

Read more and find the relevant links at icmpecho.com.»

Gordon Browns Downfall, Part 2

2008-10-03T20:22:00.000+02:00

Gordon Browns Downfall

2008-09-28T19:41:00.000+02:00

Lex Orwell: Wiretapping Sweden

2008-09-19T17:40:00.002+02:00

The web documentary Wiretapping Sweden, about the new Swedish survilande law, is now on the net. See it above or at www.wiretappingsweden.com.

Lex Orwell, part 2

2008-08-17T07:24:00.002+02:00

Per Bylund is writing about the new Swedish surveillance law on Lew Rockwell.com.

Lex Orwell

2008-08-08T19:12:00.008+02:00

Sorry about the relative silence on this site.

You get kind of paranoid in these days when the government is trying to legally break into your mailbox. The debate on "national security" and integrity has been enourmos the entire summer, in the UK, in Germany and especially in Sweden.

As for myself, well I'm now being investigated for espionage for taking on the government on the new Swedish snoop law – "Lex Orwell".

My doings have resulted in some international media. Please read the full story by Einar Du Rietz at Center for the New Europe and in The Local...

CNE 1 | 2 | 3
The Local 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10

Tax Competition

2008-05-30T01:47:00.001+02:00

Flat Tax

2008-05-30T01:46:00.002+02:00

Swedish NSA to wiretap all phones & internet

2008-05-27T13:51:00.001+02:00

Read the full story here...

The EU Treaty of Lisbon (A Trailer)

2008-04-27T00:09:00.000+02:00

Patrick Moore on Nuclear Energy

2008-04-16T00:09:00.003+02:00

"Other than hydroelectric energy—which I also strongly support—nuclear is the only technology besides fossil fuels available as a large-scale continuous power source, and I mean one you can rely on to be running 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Wind and solar energy are intermittent and thus unreliable. How can you run hospitals and factories and schools and even a house on an electricity supply that disappears for three or four days at a time? Wind can play a minor role in reducing the amount of fossil fuels we use, because you can turn the fossil fuels off when the wind is blowing. And solar is completely ridiculous. The cost is so high—California's $3.2 billion in solar subsidies is all just going into Silicon Valley companies and consultants. It's ridiculous."

Environmentalist and Greenpeace co-founder Patrick Moore in Newsweek.

Link»

But... do we need one?

2008-04-14T12:52:00.003+02:00

A salary of around € 270,000, a chauffeured car, a housing allowance and a personal staff of around 20. This is some of the stuff taxpayers will have to pay for the new EU President. To begin with.

"However the commission is not expected to mention the EU president's salary in its first budget draft for fear of upsetting the current ratification process of the EU treaty - particularly in Ireland which is to have a referendum" according to the EU Observer.

Link»

One Europe, One Culture, One History?

2008-04-13T22:50:00.006+02:00

The European Parliament last week adopted the report »Sharper focus needed on European cultural heritage«, written by Portugese MEP Vasco Graça Moura (EPP-ED).

Now, what does »sharper focus« mean? Well, the EP Press Release is a little... diplomatic.

But if you read the report you will find that it says that we have one European culture, that we should adopt one cultural agenda and that there should be one curriculum on European history in schools.

In the words of Sweet Virgin Mary: Come again!?!

I don't even dare to think what this translates into in German...

The report was adopted by the EP with 533 MEPs voting in favor and 68 against. 22 did not vote at all.

(This report has stirred up a rather lively discussion on my Swedish blog.)

Linking

2008-04-11T16:08:00.002+02:00

As this is a new blog – links would be appreciated.

The blog can be reached at the following web addresses:

www.theembeddedcitizen.com
www.theembeddedcitizen.co.uk
www.theembeddedcitizen.eu
www.theembeddedcitizen.blogspot.com

Merci!

Small is Beautiful

2008-04-11T16:00:00.003+02:00

Micro Credits are gaining momentum again, according to an article in the International Herald Tribune.

This way to, entirely privately, or in cooperation with governmental financing (which most often is not necessary, but hey, why say no to free money) help people into independence instead of dependence is one of the best formulas the last decade.

Maybe that’s why it’s also looked upon suspiciously by old style foreign aid people. After all, there’s money t be spent. In Sweden, a ruling by parliament prohibits the government from spending less than on percent of GDP annually on foreign aid.

Link»

What the French are up to...

2008-04-10T16:43:00.003+02:00

Information is beginning to leak on the French governments plans for its EU Presidentcy.

Among other things, they want exceptions from Free Trade Agreements – when it comes to culture, including film and TV.

The reason is to protect and to promote "domestic" culture.

In other words: To the French, what makes culture important is where it is created, not the content!

Cultural protectionism is a term that comes to mind.

The French approach is an narrow minded and arrogant dismissal of other peoples thoughts, creativity and creations.

Baguette!

EP: No Internet Ban

2008-04-10T16:28:00.003+02:00

Today the European Parliament voted about banning people envolved in File Sharing from the Internet.

Yesterday, the French government made an last minute appeal to the Parliament to accept such a ban. (It is no doubt something they would like to introduce in France. And in the EU, during the French Presidency.)

But with 314 votes to 298, the European Parliament decided with MEP Fjellners motion not to ban people from the Internet.

MEP: Don't ban people from the Internet!

2008-04-08T23:11:00.004+02:00

The Bono Report presented to the European Parliament suggests that people engaged in activities like file sharing should be banned from the Internet. (One can wonder how that is going to be enforced.)

The idea of banning people from the Internet is supported by French President Sarkozy, among others.

But in the European Parliament, there is resistance against this ill thought out proposal. Among others, Swedish MEP Christopher Fjellener (EPP-ED) is putting up a fight. In a Motion for Resolution he writes...

"Calls on the Commission and the Member States to recognise that the Internet is a vast platform for cultural expression, access to knowledge, and democratic participation in European creativity, bringing generations together through the information society; calls on the Commission and the Member States, therefore, to avoid adopting measures conflicting with civil liberties and human rights and with the principles of proportionality, effectiveness and dissuasiveness, such as the interruption of Internet access."

Shortly we will know what the EP decides.

"Harmonisation"

2008-04-08T20:28:00.004+02:00

France is planning to push forward plans for a common EU company tax base during its six-month term at the bloc's chair, starting in July. And this will be the first step towards "harmonisation" of tax rates.

One might ask what the point with free movement in the EU will be – if everything is going to be exactly the same everywhere.

Especially as the EU tends to adopt the worst practice on different areas within the union, when "harmonising".

Link»

More bad news for Doomsday Prophets

2008-04-08T15:27:00.002+02:00

"Propagandists for global warming were very excited last September when Arctic ice-cover, at 3 million square kilometres, hit a record low. They have been strangely silent, though, about the latest data (see the Cryosphere Today website) which shows that, after the northern hemisphere's coldest winter for 26 years, ice-cover is now 14 million sq km, a million more than this time last year."

Christopher Booker in The Daily Telegraph.

Link»

Will she ever learn?

2008-04-07T07:26:00.004+02:00

Once again, Hillary Clinton has been caught stretching the truth a bit to far.

VP Rice?

2008-04-07T06:51:00.003+02:00

According to ABC News US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is now pursuing the job as Vice President.

Speculations started after Rice visited The Americans for Tax Reforms Wednesday meeting with conservative leaders ten days ago.

So far many analysts have dismissed Rice for VP, because of her close bonds with President Bush.

On the other hand, some think it might be a waste of time to introduce someone less known – having to educate the American public about who that person is.

Link»

Did the Chinese Really Know what they where doing?

2008-04-06T19:32:00.005+02:00

Today, protesters took to the streets as the Olympic torch was carried trough the streets of London.

Now there will be months and months of new protests against Chinas policy on Tibet, Burma and Darfur. We will se lots of manifestations against the lack of Freedom of Speech and Democracy in China. And there will be plenty of time to protest against the lack of Human Rights there.

And then the Olympic Games will commence – with lots of opportunities for high profile protests at ceremonial events in front of the worlds media...

I've got a feeling that the Chinese regime did not know what it was doing, when bringing the Olympic Games to their country. And I cannot remember seeing this much international protests against the Chinese leadership ever before.

So, in a way, maybe we should be grateful for the Chinese hosting the Olympic Games...

AP on todays protests in London.

P&T: War on Drugs

2008-04-06T19:23:00.003+02:00

Some of you have already seen this, no doubt. But if you have missed Penn & Teller Bullshit – War om Drugs, or if you want to see it again, here it is in three Youtube-clips.

Direct links to Youtube: Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3

George Carlin on the Ten Commandments :-)

2008-04-05T17:06:00.004+02:00

Youtube link»

Flat Tax in Hungary?

2008-04-05T16:47:00.002+02:00

Political turbulence in Hungary might give the small opposition party the Hungarian Democratic Forum an opportunity to maneuver a Flat Tax-proposal through Parliament.

Link»

Bad news for Doomsday Prophets

2008-04-04T23:56:00.003+02:00

Insurance gigant Lloyd's of London might reduce their premiums – due to a lack of natural disasters and man-made accidents in recent years.

Link»

Must see!

2008-04-04T22:47:00.001+02:00

Fox News video: Hitchens Slams Hill and Bill.

Al Gore does Scandinavia

2008-04-03T23:32:00.010+02:00

No one can have missed that Climate Chief Alarmist Al Gore received The Nobel Peace Prize last December. But some details might have escaped you...

When arriving in Oslo for the Prize Cermony – Al Gore took the Airport Express Train to town. He made a big fuzz about this in the media. This train ride was to be seen as a Climate Statement.

Well. According to the Norwegian paper Verdens Gang his luggage did not. It was sent by car to his hotel. In a Mercedes van, to be precise. Does this strike anyone as a bit odd?

After the Prize Cermony Gore went to Sweden – to meet with the Cabinet and to address the Parliament. He did not take the train. Nor did he use the Scandinavian Airline Systems frequent shuttle services. He was picked up by the Swedish Governments private jet.

Thus making a huge CO2 footprint. Exactly the thing he wants all other people to refrain from...

But Gore was still to produce Hot Air. Not only in the Swedish Parliament.

From Stockholm he went to Frankfurt. Once again in the Swedish Governments private jet. None of the 17 flights with SAS and Lufthansa on the route that day suited him. So again, he emitted huge amounts of CO2 for no other purpose than his own comfort.

(As the Swedish Government Jet is not allowed to be used as a taxi for anyone, top brass had to join Gore on his trips. PM top advisor Ms Clase took him from Oslo to Stockholm. The Secretary of International Aid, Ms Carlsson, escorted him to Frankfurt, and then flew back minutes later.)

The bill for Gores trip Oslo - Stockholm - Frankfurt was picked up by the Swedish Taxpayers: About 12-15.000 euros.

Al Gore – the guy who wants the rest of us to stop flying, driving and doing all that other stuff that's emitting CO2. Just because he has a (not very good) theory on what is driving climate change.

Words like »hypocrisy« and »expensive« comes to mind.

Some links in Swedish: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5

That's timing...

2008-04-03T12:58:00.003+02:00

Hillary Clinton might run for governor i New York – as an exit strategy if she doesn't make the Democrats 2008 ticket – according to The Economist.

Link»

La, la, la! I can't hear you. La, la, la!

2008-04-03T12:48:00.005+02:00

When the Swedish Parliament holds a hearing on Immaterial Rights on the Internet today – they have decided not to invite anyone who is critical against the Control State and Big Brotherism that might follow.

A few links...

2008-04-03T12:05:00.003+02:00

Do you want to know what buggs Journalists around the Globe? Link»

McCain and Letterman in Verbal Wrestling. Link»

Botox on your mind? Link»

Ted Turner claims Global Warming will cause Mass Cannibalism. Link»

Argentinas President covets The Falklands..? Link»

Referendum on EMU in Denmark

2008-04-03T02:09:00.006+02:00

In a surprise statement to German magazine Die Welt, Danish PM Anders Fogh Rasmussen has declared that there will be a national referendum on his country joining the Euro-zone / EMU or not.

Poor Hillary

2008-04-03T01:58:00.003+02:00

Christopher Hitchens is not a fan. Link»

Neither is Stanley Crouch. Link»

But Hillary thinks she is Rocky Bilboa. Link»

Sylvester "Rocky" Stalone, however, probably don't. He's got other preferences. Video»

April Fools

2008-04-03T01:51:00.002+02:00

Here you can find some of the April Fool Jokes in the international press. Link»

This, however, is unfortionatley not an April Fool Joke... Link»

Wet snuff against Cancer

2008-04-03T01:47:00.001+02:00

Once again, a scientific report, this time ordered by the European Parliament, has concluded that the unique Swedish wet snuff – “snus” – does not cause cancer.

Nonetheless, it’s still prohibited in all of the EU except Sweden. Hence smokers, who are trying to get off the habit are barred from a virtually risk free substitute.

Hooray for Swedish MEP Fjellner, who not only campaigns against the prohibition, but also sells the stuff from his office. According to rumour, it’s also very popular among his fellow parliamentarians.

You need a license to shoot a duck...

2008-04-03T01:45:00.000+02:00

And to smoke. In the UK, legislation is coming up requiring a special licence, priced at 10 quid annually, to purchase cigarettes.

Regardless of this bizarre injustice to her Majesty’s subjects, what am I – or the thousands of people who travel to and from London every day – supposed to do? Can you buy a day card at the airport?