Monday 4 March 2002

EU Ministers Ratify Kyoto Protocol. The 15 nations of the European Union agreed Monday to ratify the Kyoto Protocol on global warming, but failed to set their own emission levels of pollutants to meet the accord's targets. [AP World News] Let's hope this first step quickly leads to concrete results at national level.       A significant quote appears towards the end of this report: EU ministers also held a public debate on a proposal to introduce EU-wide rules to make polluters pay for the mess they make. Under the rules, polluters would held liable for any environmental damage, such as to the soil, water and animal habitats. Several ministers said damage to human health should be included in the proposal. They also said nuclear plants should be subject to the rules. Industry argues the rules would cost them billions of dollars in liability insurance, forcing them to move out of the EU. It's that final sentence which is so significant, of course. Good old 'industry', playing the blackmail card yet again: make things difficult for us and we'll pull out. This is a bluff which must be called. 11:29:27 PM  Your view

Steve Jobs criticizes record companies [MacNN] Well said, Steve. This is the bottom line, of course. If I've bought something, then I should be free to use that as I see fit once this is for my own use. Apart from the more obvious instance of re-organising sub-sets of my CD collection in multiple variations to suit differing moods or requirements, it's an ideal way of putting together compilation discs of 'demo' tracks which show off the best of recording technology -- which can act as a practical advertisement for the original product and engourage others in turn to go out and spend their money -- so I end up helping rather than hindering the record companies. 11:14:54 PM  Your view

Switzerland Joins United Nations. European countries on Monday applauded a decision by Switzerland to join the United Nations after 57 years on the sidelines [~] a decision that Swiss opponents feared would threaten the country's centuries-old tradition of neutrality. [AP World News] Ireland also has a long tradition of neutrality, but we're being dragged screaming out of this stance due to our EU membership. It's good to see Switzerland agonising about similar issues, and interesting also to see a buried reference in this report to the Government there having a long-term aspiration towards EU membership. 11:03:15 PM  Your view

House Cool to Copy Protection. Key legislators in the Republican-controlled U.S. House of Representatives aren't keen on embedding copy protection controls in consumer electronic devices. Declan McCullagh and Robert Zarate report from Washington. [Wired News] Hopefully this report is accurate. Even if the reasons for opposition to the proposal are more political than principled, anything which scuppers this ridiculous idea is to be welcomed. 10:58:19 PM  Your view

		© Copyright 2002 Jim MacCormaic . Last update: 29/09/2002; 06:01:46 am .