On Rick Falkvinge's site you can read all about information policy and civil liberties in Europe and elsewhere in the world, if only we could channel Rick's ideas through the megaphone Alex holds across the pond, far more people would understand and appreciate those issues that directly impact their online lives.
And like Alex, on this side of the pond, Rick is a force gathering momentum along with millions of fellow enthusiasts in search of all the latest data re SOPA, ACTA and PIPA.
Speaking of...at first, the German government was a bit amused by Pirate Bay, now they're taking them seriously.
The news (Spiegel, Netzpolitik) seems to cast the future of ACTA into serious doubt. The accord requires signatures and ratification from all 27 of the European member states as well as from the European Parliament itself.
It started with Poland announcing a hold to the ACTA ratification, which – just like that – put the whole agreement in doubt. Few people seem to know this, but Poland is a heavyweight in the European Union’s policymaking.
That was followed by the Slovenian Ambassador apologizing in public for her signature on the agreement, saying she had failed in her civic duty, and calling for anti-ACTA rallies, which is profoundly unique.
Since then, Slovakia, Czech Republic and Latvia have stepped forward and said they’re putting ratification on hold.
With Germany – the European Union’s superpower, by far the heaviest politically – now saying that it won’t even sign ACTA for the time being, much less ratify it, it looks like we can actually win this fight and kill ACTA dead in the water.
And let’s be clear: while the US and Japan could theoretically have ACTA between them, without the European Union, there is effectively no ACTA at all.
As I said, if only we could get Rick Falkvinge's voice heard on Infowars. For those that don't know, Falkvinge's the founder and first party leader of the Swedish Pirate Party.
I first met Rick in Amsterdam, he's super cool, open to meeting everyone and exchanging ideas. The last time we met was in Berlin, he was celebrating the Pirate's Party success in German Parliament. There is hope and Rick Falkvinge is a hopeful and very focused person.
I was curious about Julian Assange but discretion was key as Rick was to testify on his behalf. I'm still a strong supporter of Wikileaks and Julian Assange and will forever be a fan of government transparency. Unfortunately Julian Assange became far too large a figure on the national stage, perhaps his independent personality was simply too independent. And this is unfortunate, I'm a huge fan.
And, we all know what happens when you act like a true patriot, like Bradley Manning, you end up at the bottom of a military hole, your very own dante's inferno.
However, Rick Falkvinge's got some serious ideas and he's being taken seriously by many; he's certainly on the leading edge of SOPA, ACTA and PIPA.
Check him out, he's not doing a podcast and just complaining about all that is wrong with this world, he's actually doing something about it, meeting with people, legislating his ideas into Parliament, and likes to compare the early version of the Environmental movement with what's happening today; you have 40 year cycles and for today's youth, for today's educated, concerned, online person; SOPA, ACTA and PIPA are where its at....
