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from the oh-good-stronger-copyright-laws-/s dept.
French president challenges 'inward-looking nationalist selfishness' in Europe:
Emmanuel Macron has outlined his vision for the future of the European Union in Strasbourg. The 40-year-old, who secured the French Presidency in May on a pro-EU platform amid a populist surge in the bloc, delivered his highly anticipated speech to over 700 MEPs in the European Parliament on Tuesday.
Macron challenged "inward-looking nationalist selfishness" amid populist sentiment in the bloc and pushed for a more united and reinvigorated Europe. "Nationalism will lead Europe into the abyss. We see authoritarianism rising all around us," he said. "The response should not be authoritarian democracy but the authority of democracy."
Macron also sought to tackle the "poisoned debate" on migration, proposing the creation of a European programme that could subsidise local authorities which host and integrate refugees.
In a speech which touched on a range of issues, Macron recommended that copyright law be tightened to protect artists' "genius" and reiterated his support for tougher environmental legislation.
Meanwhile, Macron wants to "reform" Islam:
Speaking alongside the flag-draped coffin of a police officer killed in a terrorist attack in southern France, President Emmanuel Macron last month lay blame on "underground Islamism" and those who "indoctrinate on our soil and corrupt daily." The attack added further urgency to a project already in the works: Macron has embarked on a controversial quest to change Islam in France — with the goal of integration but also preventing radicalization.
He has said that in the coming months he will announce "a blueprint for the whole organization" of Islam. And those trying to anticipate what that will look like are turning their attention to Hakim El Karoui, a leading voice on how Islamic traditions fit within French culture.
It's hard to miss that the man who appears to have Macron's ear on this most sensitive of subjects cuts a similar figure. Like the president, El Karoui is an ex-Rothschild investment banker with an elite social pedigree who favors well-tailored suits, crisp white shirts and the lofty province of big ideas. The latest of those ideas is this: that the best way to integrate Islam within French society is to promote a version of the religion "practiced in peace by believers who will not have the need to loudly proclaim their faith."
Also at BBC.
(Score: 3, Informative) by Runaway1956 on Thursday April 19 2018, @01:46AM (8 children)
Could you name a few of those patented algorithms "contained" in VLC? Do you mean things like MP3? Those are not "contained". VLC makes use of libraries, just like every other program in the world. If you have no codecs installed on your system, then VLC isn't going to play a lot of media.
(Score: 1, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday April 19 2018, @02:12AM (6 children)
Nope. Unlike most players, VLC bundles their own codecs, which they prefer to the ones you've installed unless you change an advanced setting. They also include their own DVD and Blu-ray implementations, including anti-DRM components.
(Score: 3, Interesting) by The Mighty Buzzard on Thursday April 19 2018, @02:18AM (5 children)
Depends on your OS. The vlc executable on my system is a whopping 15KB because it uses shared libraries. Windows and Mac? A little over thirty megs.
My rights don't end where your fear begins.
(Score: 2) by Pino P on Thursday April 19 2018, @03:24PM (4 children)
Answering the following questions should help clarify to the rest of us how your distribution packages VLC media player:
(Score: 2) by The Mighty Buzzard on Friday April 20 2018, @01:35AM (3 children)
I have two or three other media players that use the same libraries, not to mention everything else capable of playing audio and video, so it's no skin off my nose.
My rights don't end where your fear begins.
(Score: 2) by Pino P on Sunday April 22 2018, @04:56PM (2 children)
The Windows analog of this would be player applications that wrap the VFW or DirectShow codecs.
But what was the download size for the first of these other media players, which presumably brought a comprehensive codec pack with it? And does your package manager let you install these other media players without pulling in any format covered by a royalty-bearing patent? I think royalties are a big part of why Microsoft didn't just bundle a comprehensive codec pack with Windows for use in VFW or DirectShow player apps.
(Score: 2) by The Mighty Buzzard on Sunday April 22 2018, @06:41PM (1 child)
Royalties, software patents, a Jedi sweats not these things.
My rights don't end where your fear begins.
(Score: 2) by Pino P on Monday April 23 2018, @12:29AM
In which countries do Jedi operate, and how much does it cost a padawan to move there?
(Score: 4, Interesting) by The Mighty Buzzard on Thursday April 19 2018, @02:14AM
VLC is statically linked on most any OS besides Linux/*BSD.
My rights don't end where your fear begins.