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THE ATTORNEY GENERAL was never shown a copy of an alternative proposal for changing copyright law in Ireland, Sean Sherlock has said.
One of the two TDs who drafted the alternative guidelines has said she was disappointed that the AG had not seen the proposal for a statutory instrument, which had the support of a number of internet website owners and was significantly different to the one signed by the government earlier this year.
At a discussion on Ireland’s copyright laws in Dublin this afternoon, junior minister Sean Sherlock also said that he is willing to change the legislation on copyright depending on the outcome of consultation with the public and representative bodies.
Sherlock told the audience at the Science Gallery that he believes some of the criticism around copyright law is based on general anti-government sentiment, saying:
It’s clear that people are pissed off with us as a government.
Sherlock had originally pulled out of the Digital Rights Forum discussion saying he would not share a stage with Simon McGarr, who was involved in setting up the StopSOPAIreland petition. He agreed to attend the debate last night.
“I’m man enough when I make a bad decision to review it and reverse it if necessary,” Sherlock told the audience.
In an at times heated debate, Sherlock called for a consensus-driven debate on copyright. He encouraged internet users with opinions on the matter to fill in the online questionnaire launched last month as part of his department’s review of Irish copyright law.
Sherlock said that the questionnaire being conducted by the independent Copyright Review Committee will form the basis for how the internet is legislated for in Ireland in the future. He said that issues such as a possibly copyright council and rules around fair usage will be discussed.
“There’s a little bit of a philosophical debate as well because we have to ask ourselves what kind of internet do we want, or how we can remove any barriers to innovation,” the junior minister told the audience.
(Simon McGarr speaking at the Digital Rights Forum discussion in Dublin’s Science Gallery today. Photo: Christine Bohan)
“This doesn’t work… and it won’t work”
Tom Murphy, co-founder of boards.ie, criticised the junior minister and the government for the recent government instrument on copyright, saying it was vague in the extreme and extremely problematic for many websites in Ireland.
Murphy said the current situation was comparable to a bank prosecuting the roads authority because its roads were used by a getaway driver after a robbery. He told the audience:
This doesn’t work, It hasn’t worked anywhere else, and it won’t work here.
He described the current situation facing many websites as ‘Schrodinger’s Law’, saying that the law around copyright on websites doesn’t seem to exist until it has been observed by a judge.
On the issue of illegal downloading, Murphy told the audience that internet service providers were unlikely to cut off customers’ internet access for online piracy.
He pointed out that Eircom had sent warning letters to 29,000 customers in an effort to curb illegal downloading. . One hundred customers had had their internet access cut off for one week, and twelve were at the stage where they could be cut off permanently.
Solicitor Simon McGarr, who organised the petition against the government copyright legislation, said that members of the public need to be involved in the ongoing consultation and urged people to make a submission.
Paul Durrant of the ISPAI, which represents internet service providers in Ireland, said that the recent statutory instrument signed by the government needs to be clarified instead of being decided on a case by case basis at the courts.
Tone of the debate
Sean Sherlock also criticised some of the tone of the debate around copyright, telling some critics to “park the egos” and get involved in a consensus-driven debate:
I think the debate so far perhaps has been one where we’ve all had the swords drawn and maybe now we need to put the swords back into the scabbards and see how we can move on in this debate.
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A person who travels in space for the Chinese space program is called a Taikonaut.For America and the rest of the world its Astronaut and for Russia its Cosmonaut.
@Padraig: nobody travels in space its all fake
Lol! Alt-Right conspiracy theorists are funny.
@Breas: <——- a man with good discernment.
@OpenBorders No alt right, Just a guy with his own opinion. Which seems a tad silly.
@OpenBorders:
I don’t think you can really say much when you have set up a profile specifically to invoke a reaction.
@Pádraig Ó Raghaill:
Hey. Paddy. While you’re here…..I’m not a Zionist. You know this.
@Charlie Fogarty:
I thought we settled that – no need to rehash – I believe I even said you have discussions unlike many
@Pádraig Ó Raghaill:
I just take umbrage with being considered a Zionist when my support of Israel differs greatly to that mode of thinking. It’s important to differentiate between them.
…or a Coconaut!!!
What’s a Irish one called ???
The whole lot of them??
Surely not. Who’s going to make all our stuff?
@WJH: Why? Sure the Chinese are a great bunch of lads!
I hear they want to go to the sun at night as well
That was north Korea dude… But easy mistake they appear similar.
A Great Bunch Of Lads
That’d be awesome if it happens
They already own half of Canada and Africa!
China look set to dominate this sphere for the foreseeable future:
Soon they will be the only nation to have in-service, proven moon landing technology. By 2025 China will also likely have the only remaining Space Station in orbit with the ISS due to retire. They are already pretty far ahead in the race to capture a Near Earth Object and return in to an Earth orbit. NASA started their project this year on a shoestring budget as they prioritise a Mars 2030 run. The first nation to return an asteroid will lead the way in develop methods and technologies to mine such asteroids.
Essentially they are the only people actually trying to begin a space exploitation program. NASA are stuck on a vanity project, ESA doesn’t have a real budget and the Soviets are only interested in selling rockets anyway. They can do this because their system has advantages for long term infrastructure development over systems with elections. I really don’t see how they’d catch up at this point anyway.
@John Considine:
“the Soviets” ? C’mon comrade.
@Charlie Fogarty: I like how the only part of my reply worth of comment was my use of “Soviet” as opposed to Russian….
China’s relentless march towards becoming the next true Superpower? Let’s not worry about nonsense like that. All post in defence of Comrad Putin!!!
Sometimes you guys are just *too* transparent man.
@John Considine:
It was the funniest part. You’re framing the whole thing this as if the race hasn’t already been run. Any progress into space exploration is a positive now, regardless of who does it.
Who cares who owns the moon? I hope they are planning on building a base.
Who is ewe guys?
Sounds very interesting, It would be great to see the results and what type of minerals and compounds are found. Maybe E.T too
Good for them.
Apparently we’re all on a big ball, rotating at a speed of 1000mph and further rotating around a Sun, at 67,000mph. In addition, all of that is hurtling through an infinite universe at speeds up in the 100s of 1000s of mph – yet I feel absolutely zero vibration, lateral movement, or rotational pull from all of it.
Do you ?
Yawn…. No response on the last article you posted with the exact same comment so thought you would try again? What is wrong with you?
@Roibeard O Beachain: I like to question what I’m instructed to believe, is what’s wrong with me.
An admirable quality in a world teaming with MSM controlled automatons, if I do say so myself.
@Patrick Mac: ‘I like to question what I’m instructed to believe’
Unless it comes from a conspiracy website,then you won’t question it at all.
@Patrick Mac: Ha ha not this crap again! :-)
@OpenBorders: what website is it your referring to. I don’t need any website, book, TV set, radio to tell me that when I go outside, sit/stand still and do my best to detect, or feel motion I fail every time.
You can try it yourself if you wish. Stand away from the computer, go outside and ask yourself:
“where is the motion” ?
Go ahead, do it now, then report your findings.
Inertial frame…
@ Patrick Mac. I went outside. I observed the motion of the stars in the sky. The speed is almost imperceptible because the Earth rotates at only once per 24hrs. This is half the speed of the hour hand of a clock so I wasn’t expecting to have to hold on for dear life. But its very real all the same. Go outside and check yourself.
@Patrick Mac:
Yeah I don’t get science either.
@Paraic McDonagh: you’re ignoring the other two, additional trajectories Paraic:
*** rotating around a Sun, at 67,000mph
*** hurtling through an infinite universe at speeds up in the 100s of 1000s of mph
Why did you feel nothing from those, either ? More importantly, who, or what, carries out the task of steering planet earth through the infinite universe at such extreme speeds, huh ?
If you can answer this then you will be a rich man indeed.
Paraic, he’s a known troll so don’t waste your time.
Patrick i thought you were gonna go watch miles from tomorrow?
Scientists rarely become rich men. The reason you don’t feel anything is because space is a vacuum and so there is no resistance to the earth spinning or moving so that’s why you don’t feel anything. Simple really.
@Patrick Mac. Tell me this; when you’re on a train, do you expect your tea to splash into your face at 70mph when you tilt the cup to your mouth?
…If I was sitting next to you, it would.
@Paraic McDonagh: sorry, that’s not comparing like with like, Paraic.
He is Patrick. You could travel 60, 000 kph on a train and not feel a thing. Take away sound, windows and vibration from the track and you wont know you are moving ( if the train’s velocity is constant ) A sudden change in the trains velocity and coffee is getting spilled all over you or a lovely fat women has signed your death warrant….
Ha ha! You don’t notice anything because you are traveling at the same speed!
Your atoms are vibrating if that helps
Their mission will be as Fake as the US one in 1969. I wonder will the show the earth spinning from the moon. maybe they could place a video camera on the moon and show us the earth spinning 24/7
How can it spin if it’s flat?:
China already put a rover on the moon in 2013 called Jade Rabbit.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yutu_(rover)#
You do realise that optical reflectors were placed on the moon by Apollo astronauts which anyone can bounce a laser off and are therefore verifiable? How do you purpose those got there if the moon landings were fake?
Charlie, you can spin a plate. Same principle, just bigger. The Earth sits on a big wobbly stick. Or on four elephants on the back of a giant turtle. Depends who you ask.
Padraig, odd name for a dog.
Trump will want to get there first to brand it Trump Moon.
How high is the moon -Ho Hi is a China man? Ho low is his brother.
@Bennythekid:@Bennythekid:who is his brother how low is his cousin
Wonder how they will take all of China to Mars?
*The moon
Lol
Look at the south China sea…I don’t trust these medieval s (umbags
The Earth is Flat!!!! This is not a piss take..
Apparently the Chinese have admitted that there was no sign of the NASA every been on the moon! No Apollo Missions!! All a big Masonic lie..
Yes and they want to buy Donald Trump for a Trillion Dollars and have him run it for them……
Is his wife’s name She Qisong!!!!!
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