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| I'm starting to get the hang of this driving thing, though I'm occasionally still letting the car cut out and making the odd minor error.
Driving has been a big issue in Ireland this past couple of weeks. The minister for transport (&some other stuff) has decided to fix an unbelievably stupid system which we've had for years. We've several hundred thousand people driving on provisional licences. Some of these are genuine beginners like me. Others are rather different. 15,000 people are on their 5th provisional licence. That's going on ten years driving without passing the driving test. I try to picture how this should go:
Teller: Good morning. What can I do for you?
Moron: Hello, I'd like to renew my provisional licence. Here is my expired one.
Teller: You've had four provisional licences already?
Moron: Yes.
Teller: And you haven't passed your test?
Moron: No.
At this point the teller stamps "FAIL" in permanent red ink on the guy's forehead, and slams the shutters down on his position.
Instead, these people are allowed drive. Technically, they have to have a licensed driver with them, as do people on their 1st and 3rd licences. In practice, this is routinely ignored in this country.
The minister suggested that perhaps this last isn't such a good idea, that maybe you should actually demonstrate competence before being allowed drive on your own. This is a fantastic idea, wonderful, I thought. When are you going to bring it in minister? Tuesday, you say.
Yes, that's right, he thought that a bank holiday weekend was sufficient to overcome years of ingrained lunacy. The howls of rage on the phone in radio shows are something you had to have listened to to believe. "I drive a van for a living. What am I going to do on Tuesday?" What in the name of Jesus H. Christ are you doing driving for a living without passing the basic competency test? What imbecile hired you? "I live four miles from the nearest school. How am I going to get little Johnny to school on Tuesday?" Bicycles, neighbours, the husband making some sort of arrangement with work, trying to get an exception made on the school bus booking, passing the frigging test... it seems to me she had better options available to her than whining on the radio.
The result of course is that the proposed changes have been put off for 8 months or so, and that the website to book the driving test couldn't be more crashed if the story was posted on slashdot.
In the mean time, I'm practising and taking lessons, which has put me in the fun position of getting to see how our road users actually behave. Of course, I could see this before, but it's rather more obvious when you have to react to their actions. That whole story could take days to write, but my favourite is the speeding. When I set off at a light, assuming I don't stall the car, I accelerate to 50kph or whatever the speed limit is. While doing this, the cars in front of me stay reasonably put. More experienced drivers are a bit quicker off the mark, but not too much. Then I reach the speed limit, and ease off on the accelerator, to maintain speed. The traffic in front of me shoots off into the distance. They're much like the minister's aspirations in that sense.
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| I just applied for my provisional driving licence! At long last, at the age of 24, I'm going to be legal to drive. City people here don't seem to learn this very young. Oddly, country drivers have a terrible reputation. I wonder...
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| My brother bought me Boston Legal season 2 for my birthday, which was very cool of him - he's not yet employed and I'm sure money is tight.
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| Keeping it low key this year. 24 doesn't feel like a big deal.
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| Dear John,
Thank you for your recent message on IPRED2.
On 25 April, the European Parliament adopted its first reading on this
proposal. The EP excluded patent rights from the scope of the directive
and agreed that criminal sanctions should apply only to infringements
deliberately carried out to obtain a commercial advantage.
I enclose for your information the statement I issued following the
vote and the summary of the EP's first reading issued by the EP's Press
Service.
Attention now turns to the Council of Ministers which has to adopt a
'common position' on the proposal. Both institutions share
decision-making powers over the proposal and any differences between the two will
have to be resolved at future readings.
I would stress that prior to the ECJ's ruling in September 2005,
decision-making on such initiatives rested with the Council of Ministers and
initiatives in this field could not be challenged in the European Court
of Justice, as the current proposal can.
With best wishes,
Yours sincerely,
Proinsias De Rossa
INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS
Statement by Proinsias De Rossa MEP
25 April 2007
Speaking in Strasbourg today Dublin Labour Party MEP Proinsias De
Rossa, has welcomed the European Parliament's detailed amendment of the
proposed directive on criminal measures to ensure the enforcement of
intellectual property rights. "It is an extremely important step towards
effective future legislation in this field.
"The European Union needs to fight commercial scale counterfeiting and
piracy. However, we must also protect consumers from criminal
sanctions.
"As Socialist Group Amendment number 39 makes clear "infringements on a
commercial scale means any infringement of an intellectual property
right committed to obtain a commercial advantage; this excludes acts
carried out by private users for personal and not-for-profit purposes".
"Indeed, a further Socialist amendment successfully ensures for the
fair use of protected material for the purposes of teaching, research,
and, in libraries.
Intellectual property: pirates and counterfeiters to feel the full
weight of criminal law
Research and innovation - 25-04-2007 - 14:07
The first EU directive aiming at harmonising national criminal law was
backed by the European Parliament when it adopted on Wednesday a
first-reading report on legislation imposing criminal sanctions for the
infringement of intellectual property rights. If ultimately adopted, the
directive will oblige all Member States to regard any intentional
infringement of an intellectual property right carried out on a commercial
scale as a criminal offence.
The deterrent measures being proposed range from fines to imprisonment,
according to the gravity of the crime.
Commercial operators, not private users, targeted
Parliament, in approving today the report by Nicola Zingaretti (PES,
IT) by 374 votes to 278 with 17 abstentions, has backed the overall aim
of the Commission proposal, while amending some of its provisions. The
EP excluded patent rights from the scope of the directive, and decided
that criminal sanctions should apply only to infringements deliberately
carried out to obtain a commercial advantage. Piracy committed by
private users for personal, non-profit purposes is therefore also excluded.
The proposed directive aims to ensure that national judicial
authorities will always be able to impose sufficiently serious penalties by
setting out minimum levels for the upper limits on punishments imposed by
national law.
At present maximum fines for violating intellectual property rights
range from ?86 in Greece to ?7,000 in Holland. Maximum prison sentences
range from three months in Greece to 10 years in Britain.
Under the new directive, in cases of serious crimes committed by a
criminal organisation, the maximum penalty must be at least EUR300,000
and/or four years' imprisonment. The same applies where the offences carry
a health or safety risk. For less serious infringements, the maximum
penalties should include criminal and civil fines of at least EUR100,000.
Aiding or abetting and inciting anyone to infringe intellectual
property rights will also be treated as a criminal offence. In some cases,
remedies can include the seizure and destruction of counterfeited goods.
Crime pays - for the moment
Counterfeiting is estimated by industry sources to reduce EU GDP by 8
billion euros annually, with individual companies losing a total of
between 45 and 65 billion euros. Annual losses in revenue are estimated at
7.2 % for perfume and toiletries, 5.8 % for pharmaceuticals and 11.5 %
for the toy and sports sector. 40% of software in use worldwide is
believed to be pirated, and 37% in the EU (= a loss of revenue of 2.9
billion euros annually). Worldwide, 36% of all music CDs and cassettes
sold are pirated (total sales of pirated goods is 5 billion units).
First use of criminal law to enforce Community legislation
This is the first directive using criminal law (with the exception of
cross-border damage to the environment, where the right to impose
criminal sanctions is laid down in the treaties).
The proposed directive reflects the Commission's interpretation of the
European Court of Justice's ruling of 13 September 2005. According to
the Commission, this judgment allows for measures under the Community
method to insist on criminal sanctions where these are required for the
effective implementation of Community law. This view is contested by
those who believe criminal law is not a Community competence, but an
amendment rejecting the entire proposal on this basis, tabled by the
GUE/NGL and Greens/EFA groups, was defeated by 452 votes to 197 with 11
abstentions.
The text adopted by the Parliament will now be sent to the Council for
discussion by national governments. | | |
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