We 'Umbly Petition....

I'm not sure that these e-petitions do any good, but since they exist, it seems churlish not to use them. Here's another one Brits may be interested in signing:

We the undersigned petition the Prime Minister to not force internet service providers to act as legal representatives for the RIAA and be treated like a common courier.

I think they meant "not to force" and "carrier", but I doubt Gordon's going to be paying that much attention....

ODF La La!

France really seems to have something about ODF. I wrote before about one initiative to bring in ODF, and now here's another that's even more promising.

That's because the report is to the French prime minister - no messing on this one. Moreover, its recommendations are very broad in their sweep. So, not content with proposing

Introduire, par voie réglementaire, l'usage obligatoire de ce format par l'administration française pour la création et la diffusion de tout document administratif.

the obligatory use of the ODF format for the creation and distribution of all administrative documents of the French Government, it also suggests

Proposer à nos partenaires européens de favoriser systématiquement les standards ouverts et, comme premier exemple, d'imposer le format international ISO «odf» pour la création et la diffusion de tout document officiel échangé dans le cadre européen.

proposing to European partners to do the same for all official documents of the European Union.

It's well-worth reading the whole document, which ranges widely - the GNU GPL and Yochai Benkler's Wealth of Networks are both discussed - and offers a uniquely French perspective on the modern world. It reminds us yet again that if France did not exist, it would be necessary to invent it.