p2pnet.net news:- Would you call a crew of entertainment cartel copyright-cops ‘elite’? Well, that’s how they’re being described by The Local which posts an, “elite corps of Swedish police has been trained to combat Internet piracy by the FBI and American lobbying lobbying organization the Motion Picture Association.”

It’s mind-boggling how not just the MPAA (Motion Picture Association of America), as the Hollywood spin organization is better known, but brother outfit the RIAA (Recording Industry Association of America) and the corporate software industry’s BSA (Business Software Alliance) are freely able to use police officers around the world, paid for by local people through their taxes, for hard-core business exercises.

And no one says a blind thing, least of all the taxpayers whose hard-earned money is thus being used to enhance corporate profits.

Nor has anyone studied what kind of detrimental affect this may have over the short or long term on normal policing duties, such as going after murders and the like.

Marianne Hilton, head of studies at the Swedish National Police Academy, defended the use of involvement of lobbying organizations such as the MPA, says the story, quoting Computer Sweden.

“I have full confidence in the organizer of the course,” it has her declaring. “We have contacts with organizations outside the police. If we have made the judgment that if a group has competence that we can use, then we invite them in.”

She doesn’t say who initially ’sensitized’ the police.

Meanwhile, six police officers have been given training by the MPA and by FBI agent Andrew Myers, “as well as a number of Swedish experts in the field,” says The Local, still quoting Computer Sweden.

And from the look of it, it’s all down to The Pirate Bay, recently written up by US fashion mag Vanity Fair.

“Sweden, home to The Pirate Bay, the world’s largest bit-torrent site, has come to be viewed by many in the music and movie industries as a haven for Internet piracy,” says the story, going on:

“In an attempt to improve the Swedish police’s record on piracy, a group of six police officers have been given training by the MPA and by FBI agent Andrew Myers, as well as a number of Swedish experts in the field, reports.

“According to documents from the International Intellectual Property Alliance seen by computer Sweden, the MPA will be participating at further seminars in Sweden later this year.”

The IIPA is currently on a major world rantkrieg, accusing countries everywhere of harbouring copyright criminals, and Computer Sweden, says, “representatives from the Motion Picture Association and the FBI have been invited in to give lectures at Sweden’s National Police Academy.”

“The police do not see any conflict of interest in welcoming the lobby organisation but Sweden’s Pirate Party, which campaigns for copyrighted material to be free for everyone, says the MPA should not be able to get involved in this country’s justice system, ‘just to protect their old, lucrative monopoly’,” says Radio Sweden, adding:

“Internet Piracy was a hot topic in Sweden last year, after Swedish Police closed down one of the world’s biggest bit torrent sites, The Pirate Bay.

“It was alleged Washington had threatened to go to the World Trade Organisation to get sanctions imposed on Sweden if the site was not stopped. It was back up and running three days later.”

Slashdot it! s

Also See:
The Local – FBI and film industry train Swedish piracy police, February 19, 2007
written up – The Pirate Bay meets Vanity Fair, February 14, 2007
world rantkrieg – Canada arouses corporate ire, February 14, 2007
Radio Sweden – Film industry lobbyists train Police on internet piracy, February 19, 2007

If your Net access is blocked by government restrictions, try Psiphon from the Citizen Lab at the University of Toronto’s Munk Centre for International Studies. Go here for the official download, here for the p2pnet download, and here for details. And if you’re Chinese and you’re looking for a way to access independent Internet news sources, try Freegate, the DIT program written to help Chinese citizens circumvent web site blocking outside of China. Download it here.

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Tired of being treated like a criminal? They depend on you, not the other way around. Don’t buy their ‘product’. Do bug your local politicians. Use emails, snail-mail, phone calls, faxes, IM, stop them in the street, blog. And if you’re into organizing, organize petitions, organize demonstrations and then turn up on your local political rep’s doorstep, making sure you’ve contacted your local tv/radio station/newspaper in advance. Don’t just complain. Do something!

This entry was posted on Monday, February 19th, 2007 at 3:21 pm and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

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