Members of France's lower house of parliament have adopted the principal and most contested provision of a new anti-piracy bill, which grants state agencies the right to cut off a Web user's Internet access in case of illegal downloads.
France 24 | Amnesty report decries French laxity on police brutality | France 24
Human rights watchdog group Amnesty International published a report on Thursday denouncing the lack of disciplinary measures France has taken against certain members of its police force who have committed human rights violations. ...The watchdog highlighted the case of Abdelhakim Ajimi, who died on May 9, 2008 of asphyxiation after having been knocked to the ground by police at the time of his arrest. The responsible parties were not charged. Amnesty also criticised French authorities of having "very slow" penal procedures, often marked by "the lost or disappearance of files or proof."
...The watchdog highlighted the case of Abdelhakim Ajimi, who died on May 9, 2008 of asphyxiation after having been knocked to the ground by police at the time of his arrest. The responsible parties were not charged.
Amnesty also criticised French authorities of having "very slow" penal procedures, often marked by "the lost or disappearance of files or proof."
I've seen how police behave. Due to my "training" in pedestrian crossing guerilla fighting, I know how to never give the other side the slightest whiff of a pretext to turn violent on me: I'm always scrupulously polite and calm, I don't shout, even if I don't give in an inch.
Of course, I'm also white, male, usually in a suit, and in a nice part of Paris. But sometimes it's amazing how you see they're that close from just "letting it rip" - just because someone is standing up to them, even if properly. In the long run, we're all dead. John Maynard Keynes
EUOBSERVER / BRUSSELS - The French National Assembly finally passed the much-contested `three-strikes' bill to combat internet piracy late on Thursday (2 April) evening. In a reduced chamber, all but one of the governing UMP voted in favour of the legislation, a centrist deputy abstained and the Socialist opposition voted against. The so-called Creation and Internet law introduces a `graduated response' to illegal downloading that cuts off access to the internet for those believed to be repeatedly flouting the law. Under the legislation, those accused of such activities are first sent an email warning them of their infraction by a new government agency. They are subsequently sent a warning letter in the post. If after this second warning they continue to illegally download copyrighted content - the `third strike' - the internet service provider will cut off access to the internet for between two months and a year.
EUOBSERVER / BRUSSELS - The French National Assembly finally passed the much-contested `three-strikes' bill to combat internet piracy late on Thursday (2 April) evening.
In a reduced chamber, all but one of the governing UMP voted in favour of the legislation, a centrist deputy abstained and the Socialist opposition voted against.
The so-called Creation and Internet law introduces a `graduated response' to illegal downloading that cuts off access to the internet for those believed to be repeatedly flouting the law.
Under the legislation, those accused of such activities are first sent an email warning them of their infraction by a new government agency. They are subsequently sent a warning letter in the post.
If after this second warning they continue to illegally download copyrighted content - the `third strike' - the internet service provider will cut off access to the internet for between two months and a year.
How many UMP deputies walked out on their own government's law to avoid having to vote against or hold their nose? Most economists teach a theoretical framework that has been shown to be fundamentally useless. -- James K. Galbraith
