[Wolves] More on faxing your MP

[fizzy]

>From that very site:

So what can you do? 
If you think this is a bad idea, what should you do?
Fax your MP again? 

Well, unfortunately, this is an EU Directive.

EU Directives are implemented using statutory
instruments. Now, as you might remember from earlier
this year, it's hard, but not impossible to stop a
Statutory Instrument - that's what the Blunkett RIP
proposals were, the ones that were going to allow
parish councils to look at your private telephone and
Web records. Which you stopped.

But that the RIP proposal was what's called a positive
statutory instrument. EU Directives work as negative
statutory instruments. Positive statutory instruments
become law as soon as they receive a quick,
undiscussed vote in the Commons and Lords. Negative
statutory instruments are set to become law as soon as
they are announced. They only stop being law if
Parliament passes a motion cancelling them within
forty days. They're like those "Book of The Month
Club" things. You keep getting them until you tell
them to stop. 

The chances of Parliament successfully voting down a
positive SI is very slim. It happens though. The
chances of Parliament spontaneously getting together,
drafting a bill to undo an already existing law,
getting it into the timetable then rapturously and
then unanimously voting their new law in, and the old
government law out, doesn't even happen in Jeffrey
Archer novels.

So what can you do, really? 
Read the Campaign for Digital Rights' analysis.

Read the proposal itself. The "Summary" bit explains
how send in your comments.

Tell the Patent Office what you think. The e-mail
address is in the consultation document.

IE, don't fax your MP, it's nowt to do with them,
instead email the patent office.

fizz

 --- Aquarius <aquarius-lists@kryogenix.org> wrote: >
In addition to faxing your MP about the EUCD,
> contact the patent
> office. There is one month to go.
> 
>
http://www.stand.org.uk/weblog/archive/2002/08/21/000243.php
> 
> -- 
> Something must be Done
> This is Something
> Therefore, This must be Done
>         -- The Thatcherite Syllogism
> 
> _______________________________________________
> Wolves mailing list
> Wolves@mailman.lug.org.uk
> http://mailman.lug.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/wolves 

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