The Digital Economy Act 2010

The Digital Economy Act 2010
What is the Digital Economy Act?

The Digital Economy Act is a newly passed piece of British legislation that is meant to protect copyright online and increase regulation and control of the way people use the Internet.
How did it happen?

* The entertainment industry is refusing to adapt to new models, clinging to obsolete 20th Century thinking.
* The Bill was drafted by unelected officials after lobbying from the entertainment industry.
* It was passed in a hurry during the Parliamentary "wash up" process without full scrutiny.

Why should you be worried?

* Websites will be blocked for alleged copyright infringement.
* Families accused of sharing copyrighted files will be disconnected without trial. They will have to pay to appeal.
* Even if you don't live in the UK, it sets a worrying precedent for other countries to follow suit.

Disconnection or "technical measures" like bandwidth throttling will kick in if file sharing does not drop by an incredible 70%. There are no alternative punishments to disconnection, no matter what the damage it will cause, and there is no statutory limit on the length of these disconnections, called, in the weasel words of the Act, "temporary account suspension".

Despite thousands of letters of concern and a petition with over 35,000 signatures of protest, the Bill was rushed through in the final days of parliament during the "wash up process" - it was not given the full scrutiny that it deserved.

This is a piece of legislation that gives potentially unlimited power to unelected officials, and assumes guilt on the part of those accused of copyright infringement. We can expect the industry lobbies to be out in force to roll back our human right to freedom of expression in the name of copyright very, very soon.

What's happening now?

Now that the Bill has been passed and the election is underway, candidates from all the main parties are keen to distance themselves from it. They admit that there are serious concerns and that the Bill did not receive the scrutiny and debate it deserves.

Dan Bull / Songwriter

one who seeks knowledge

من غدا إلى المسجد لا يريد إلا أن يتعلم خيراً أو يعلمه كان له كأجر حاج تاماً حجته



The prophet sal alaah alayhe wa salaam said :' whoever travels back and forth from the masjed seaking only from this to learn and teach the book of allah and the sunnah ,then he will earn himself the reward or a perfect hajj'

Kathir ibn Qays said: I was sitting with Abu al-Darda' in the mosque of Damascus. A man came to him and said: AbudDarda, I have come to you from the town of the Apostle of Allah (peace_be_upon_him) for a tradition that I have heard you relate from the Apostle of Allah (peace_be_upon_him). I have come for no other purpose.
He said: I heard the Apostle of Allah (peace_be_upon_him) say: If anyone
: If anyone travels on a road in search of knowledge, Allah will cause him to travel on one of the roads of Paradise. The angels will lower their wings in their great pleasure with one who seeks knowledge, the inhabitants of the heavens and the Earth and the fish in the deep waters will ask forgiveness for the learned man. The superiority of the learned man over the devout is like that of the moon
like that of the moon, on the night when it is full, over the rest of the stars. The learned are the heirs of the Prophets, and the Prophets leave neither dinar nor dirham, leaving only knowledge, and he who takes it takes an abundant portion.

For the new CEO of WASA fulling his swimming pool while poor ppl have to choose between brushing teeth or bathing that day

Home » News
Wasa truck fills swimming pool…
Caught in the act!
Published: 2 Apr 2010

A Water and Sewerage Authority (WASA) tank truck is caught filling a pool at a private residence on Columbus Circle, Westmoorings, on Wednesday night.

In the middle of the worst drought in Trinidad and Tobago since 1987, a truck belonging to the Water and Sewerage Authority (WASA) has been discovered pumping drinking water into a swimming pool in a private residence undergoing renovation in the upscale neighbourhood of Westmoorings. WASA in a statement last night said the water was requested for “construction purposes,” for a house it is leasing for its foreign CEO. Tipped off by a photograph sent by a resident of the La Riviera high-rise apartment, two Guardian journalists caught WASA employees pumping water into the pool located at Columbus Circle in Westmoorings on Wednesday night.

When the WASA employees realised that they were being photographed and filmed, they immediately unhinged the hose from the water wagon and drove off. One of the WASA employees was heard repeating the licence plate number of the Guardian. Less than five minutes later, a vanload of policemen arrived on the scene, with one saying that they had been told of two suspicious characters in the neighbourhood. Faced with the drought and rapidly-declining water levels in the nation’s resevoirs, WASA has repeatedly appealed to the public to use less water in the last two months. The authority has also criminalised the use of hoses to wash cars and water lawns and has reduced the regularity of supply to households across the nation. On Monday, WASA officials told a news conference that the country’s water situation was approaching crisis levels.

The water levels in the Caroni Arena dam, which accounts for 35 per cent of the country’s water supply, had fallen to 40 per cent, the Navet dam to 48, and both Hollis and Hillsborough to 50 per cent, according to the utility’s corporate communications manager, Ellen Lewis. Lewis commended the public’s support of WASA’s water conservation programme, but said more efforts were needed to preserve reserves. Last night, the utility issued the following statement: “WASA is in the process of leasing the property to use as accommodation for the foreign national who has been identified to fill the position of Chief Executive Officer following an extensive recruitment exercise. 

Upon inquiries we learnt the property is being renovated by the owner and that the water was requested for construction purposes.” Told of WASA’s explanation that a pool full of water was needed to renovate a house, one of the country’s most experienced builders scoffed audibly and said: “For actual construction activity, you would need 15 to 20 gallons a day for the mortar for plastering. You would get water for the concrete from the readymix companies and there would be need for a small amount of water for drinking and washing up purpose. You would not need a pool full of water.”

WASA CEO promises probe
Contacted last night, WASA’s acting chief executive, Jim Lee Young, said it is against the utility’s policy to provide water to fill a residential swimming pool. “I can categorically state that we will not supply water for use in a swimming pool. If a construction site requests water for construction purposes, and is a legitimate WASA customer, we will provide water for that.”

Stressing that he had not seen the report on the issue on CNC3 last night, an angry Lee Young described the WASA truck providing water to a swimming pool as “an abuse of what we are trying to do. I feel very strongly about this. That is not on.” He promised an investigation to get to the bottom of the matter.