eBay Does Battle With Two Foreign Governments or Purveyor of Parasitic Practices Hammered In French Court or eBay Willing To Display Arrogance In Australia and France.

The bottom line is a French court has ruled against eBay in a battle involving counterfeit Louis Vuitton products. To the tune of $63 Million (US).

Eliciting this response from LVMH: “The Paris commerce court’s verdict will make case law. For the first time in France it clearly states the principle under which auction sites that operate on the web have to ensure that their activities do not permit unlawful dealings. The court has dismissed as without foundation the argument used by eBay to exonerate itself that its clients are solely responsible for their illegal undertakings when transacting. eBay is not a host but a broker.”

Ouch – case law? Dismissed without foundation? Wow, without foundation – that’s pretty heavy.

eBay responded: “We believe that this ruling represents a loss not only for us but for consumers and small businesses selling online, therefore we will appeal. It is clear that eBay has become a focal point for certain brand owners’ desire to exact ever greater control over e-commerce. We view these decisions as a step backwards for the consumers and businesses whom we empower everyday.”

Nice spin – I actually like it – blame everyone else and even include your buyers and sellers but exonerate yourself. Of course, it seems someone forgot that it wasn’t the brand owner that came to the ruling, it was a French Court!

Post from: EveryJoe

eBay Not A Host But A Broker

Blogger arrests hit record high

“More bloggers than ever face arrest for exposing human rights abuses or criticising governments, says a report.

Since 2003, 64 people have been arrested for publishing their views on a blog, says the University of Washington annual report.”

Those of us who currently have the freedom to write ought to remain grateful even in the face of the destruction of privacy laws, net neutrality, freedom of speech, etc. Try this on…

“More than half of all the arrests since 2003 have been made in China, Egypt and Iran, said the report.”

Arrested for blogging to expose “corruption in government, abuse of human rights or suppression of protests. They criticised public policies and took political figures to task.” Imagine? So that a select “few” can live a lifestyle of waste and opulence, without regard to humanity.

Crooks and Liars and HuffPo might want to pay attention to this;

“arrests tended to increase during times of “political uncertainty”, such as around general elections or during large scale protests.”

There’s a lawless administration somewhere that can’t be trusted… especially with the truth!

Post from: EveryJoe

Remaining Consistent – The Truth Hurts

So, the Associated Press attempts to re-define Fair Use. And someone doesn’t care for it. So what? The AP isn’t controlled by those who don’t like what they do.

“So here’s our new policy on A.P. stories: they don’t exist. We don’t see them, we don’t quote them, we don’t link to them. They’re banned until they abandon this new strategy, and I encourage others to do the same until they back down from these ridiculous attempts to stop the spread of information around the Internet.”

Oh – please… stop. Maybe we should give you credit for the AP thinking on its own;

“the news association convened a meeting of its executives at which it decided to suspend its efforts to challenge blogs until it creates a more thoughtful standard.”

Here is more coverage on this story.

Post from: EveryJoe

Horsefeathers! AP’s Attempts To Re-Define Fair Use – The Fallout

Australia Says No to eBay’s PayPal-Only Policy

“The Australian government told eBay it could not implement its PayPal-only policy in Australia next week and would make a final determination on the matter. It issued a 42-page draft notice today that said consumers are in the best position to determine which service offers the best features. The agency waded through submissions by eBay buyers and sellers, online payment providers, financial industry organizations and other interested parties.”

Ooops! In another article on the same topic, Ina quotes the chairman of the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, Graeme Samuel, saying something that strikes me regarding consumers and their best interests. eBay really tried to give the impression that the consumers’ interests were at the heart of their changes. Well, Mr. Samuel says;

“While the organization (the ACCC) believes a PayPal-only policy has the potential to deliver some benefits to users, such as increased buyer protection insurance in certain circumstances, it believes that ‘consumers are in the best position to decide which payment method is most suitable for them.’”

I.E. eBay ought to leave the consumers’ best interests to what the consumer wants, not what eBay wants, or – Do you think eBay might have had a self-centered motive? :)

Post from: EveryJoe

Australia Tells eBay – Rethink Your PayPal-Only Plan

• Watch Out Craigslist and Kijiji, Wal*Mart’s Coming!

• Walmart Launches Online Classifieds Powered by Oodle

“We recently launched Walmart.com Classifieds beta to provide additional opportunities for our customers to save money and live better. This free, community-based resource allows customers to buy and sell items locally, find local jobs and learn about events in their area.

Our new Classifieds beta at Walmart.com provides an expanded offering of products and services, the majority of which are not traditionally available from Wal-Mart, such as job listings, automobiles, rentals and real estate. It also further connects our community of 130 million customers who shop the Wal-Mart brand each week.”

Tell me – do you think that eBay’s executives gave this any consideration, at all??? Do you think it could put a dent in either Kijiji, Craigslist or both? Personally, I don’t think it would bother Craigslist at all but Kijiji might be another story. Wal-Mart is most certainly a power to be reckoned with and can compete with eBay on every level!

Post from: EveryJoe

Blind-Sided By Wal-Mart

Craigslist files countersuit against eBay

“Craigslist filed a countersuit against eBay Tuesday, alleging that the Internet auction company engaged in unfair competition, trademark infringement and a slew of other improper activities.”

Do you think there was a chance in 2004 eBay knew that buying those shares from a former Craigslist shareholder would bring grief down the road? Yeah, I think they knew… kinda like when you do something behind someone’s back and they figure it out – you’re caught! But, you won’t admit it come hell or highwater!

I find this statement by eBay spokeswoman Kim Rubey rather telling in its plasticity: “The original agreement between the two parties always envisioned that there could be competitive activity.” Really? But I guess it was above (or beneath) eBay to communicate with Craigslists people about Kijiji to see if it would work for them. Naaah – I doubt they did that.

There might be a chance that these two will get into a shouting match before long – that is how children do it.

Post from: EveryJoe

These Two Are Trying To Fool Each Other

“Intimidating, relentless and rich. That, in a nutshell, is Carl Icahn. His investment strategy is simple: find a company he thinks is poorly run and then start buying up shares of its stock. Then, start agitating until changes are made. Along the way, the companies he chooses generally start improving, improving his bottom line over and over.”

It’s being passed around that Icahn is about to launch a shareholder revolt to force Yahoo’s board of directors out of the company to replace them with others who would favor the takeover by Microsoft. I guess when you buy 50 million shares in a company (worth $1 Billion) at exactly the right time your reputation precedes you…

If it is true, then I guess Icahn perceived Yahoo! as being poorly run eh?

Post from: EveryJoe

You Can Fool Some Of The People – But Not This Guy

“You can fool some of the people some of the time but you can’t fool all of the people all of the time.”

Nowadays it seems that those who have a “feeling” of power have lost sight of this simple proclamation, especially politicians and executives in big business. More so today because those two are working hand in hand!

But this medium I have the absolute pleasure to be able to work in is increasingly putting the end to this crap these folks attempt to confuse us with! The playing field is getting leveled, and rightfully so!

How many of you noticed this?

Bush Administration Rules Limit Lawsuits

“Faced with an unfriendly Congress, the Bush administration has found another, quieter way to make it more difficult for consumers to sue businesses over faulty products. It’s rewriting the bureaucratic rulebook.

Lawsuit limits have been included in 51 rules proposed or adopted since 2005 by agency bureaucrats governing just about everything Americans use: drugs, cars, railroads, medical devices and food.

Decried by consumer advocates and embraced by industry, the agencies’ use of the government’s rule-making authority represents the administration’s final act in a long-standing drive to shield companies from lawsuits.”

And how many of you still favor immunity for telcos? Why? Did I hear anyone mention Net Neutrality lately?

Post from: EveryJoe

You Can Fool Some Of The People

From the EFF (Electronic Frontier Foundation);

Ominous Signs of a Forthcoming “Compromise” on Telco Immunity – Tell the House To Stand Firm

“This morning, CongressDaily reported that Senator Jay Rockefeller is now privately circulating a new ‘compromise’ proposal on surveillance legislation, only a day after it was reported that the telecoms themselves have begun shopping their own ‘compromise’ proposals around the Hill. You may remember Sen. Rockefeller as the force behind the surveillance bill passed by the Senate in February, which included blanket retroactive immunity for phone companies like AT&T that are alleged to have participated in the National Security Agency’s illegal warrantless wiretapping program.”

If you click through to EFF’s article you now see that the proponents of this legislation have the impression they can treat you and I like we’re ignorant and useless. What these clowns have done is alter the previous crap cosmetically so it looks different yet affords the criminals the same exact protection the originally proposed legislation did. So we must be idiots – they think we won’t notice!

Please, pay attention…

“Unless citizens stand up and make their voices heard now, there appears to be a very serious threat that the House could soon succumb to the President’s relentless demands for immunity to cover up his illegal spying program and throw Americans out of court. The phone companies still have a massive lobbying effort and deceptive fearmongering advertising campaign on their side — the only things on the side of civil liberties and the rule of law are public opinion and your voice.”

I guess Dubya never came to the understanding that doing the same thing over and over expecting different results was the definition of insanity. That’s right, I said that!

Post from: EveryJoe

Telco Immunity – Out Of Sight, Out Of Mind – NOT!

Sellers say they’ll boycott eBay and now writers will be boycotting Amazon.

Funny, but I find the news about Amazon strange. On one hand some say they’re “Standing Tall” and on another hand others say their Stock is Losing Ground. Causing wonder and amazement :) Actually it appears that profit margins are suffering.

Meanwhile PowersellersUnite offers information and hope for the eBay sellers regarding the boycott there.

eBay may also be feeling some sense of loss on Wall Street but it doesn’t feel too strong from this report or from this article telling us only that “eBay’s core auction business continues to stagnate.”

eBay words of arrogance?

So what’s the deal folks? Can you put something together that either proves or disproves that these boycotts can or will diminish either of these companies in any way?

Post from: EveryJoe

How Successful Are Boycotts – Really?