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Apple Goes to Court With French Tax Activist Group That Paints Company as The Empire From Star Wars
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1. France isn’t China. IP is still IP.Yeah, it is France so I am guessing not.
2. You’ve forgotten about EuroDisney, then? About a half hour east of Paris.
First, I didn't say they were in the store; second, literally the very first sentence: Last month, Apple sued French tax activist group "Attac" for occupying its flagship Parisian store
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And..... where's the lecture? How is that quote "lecturing Americans"? France Info isn't "Americans".
I find the anti-socialist sentiments in this thread really interesting. A lot of people here are disregarding socialists as people who "want to put someone else's money in their pocket," and that's just misleading. Socialists think we all deserve that money—you included.
And so many of you also admit that you'd happily take advantage of any tax loopholes to increase the money in your pocket. If your end goal is to increase your own wellbeing, why do you turn your nose up at an ideology with the same goal that wants to do it without making you jump through hoops for it?
(And I'm talking about socialist ideas here not full-blown discontinue-the-concept-of-currency socialism.)
I think a lot of people would agree with your views. And while I'll happily give you the benefit of the doubt and assume your opinion comes from a sincere concern for free speech, I sadly don't think that's true for most of the people who agree with you. I suspect a lot of them would U-turn quickly on this issue were a Syrian man to start parading a Mohammed puppet down their street.
And so many of you also admit that you'd happily take advantage of any tax loopholes to increase the money in your pocket. If your end goal is to increase your own wellbeing, why do you turn your nose up at an ideology with the same goal that wants to do it without making you jump through hoops for it?
(And I'm talking about socialist ideas here not full-blown discontinue-the-concept-of-currency socialism.)
I think a lot of people would agree with your views. And while I'll happily give you the benefit of the doubt and assume your opinion comes from a sincere concern for free speech, I sadly don't think that's true for most of the people who agree with you. I suspect a lot of them would U-turn quickly on this issue were a Syrian man to start parading a Mohammed puppet down their street.
I’d be interested to know what smartphones these activists use. All major phone manufacturers evade tax one way or another. Therefore, unless they don’t own a smartphone (unlikely) it effectively makes them hypocrites.
Edit: This applies to any product or service these people have bought since they started their protest.
[doublepost=1518514421][/doublepost]Ahahahahahaaa!
They use Facebook to promote their activism against Apple’s tax avoidance. Why don’t they also use Facebook to promote activism against Facebook’s tax avoidance?!
They irony is so thick you could choke on it.
https://m.facebook.com/attacfr
Edit: This applies to any product or service these people have bought since they started their protest.
[doublepost=1518514421][/doublepost]Ahahahahahaaa!
They use Facebook to promote their activism against Apple’s tax avoidance. Why don’t they also use Facebook to promote activism against Facebook’s tax avoidance?!
They irony is so thick you could choke on it.
https://m.facebook.com/attacfr
Not really. You don't have to be 100% one thing or 100% another. This is just an invalid point used to devalue an argument you don't agree with.
Doesn't mean Microsoft is suddenly good now - I still think Fakebook and Google are greater evils.
You do if you are going to argue against it. Otherwise you are part of the problem you are arguing against.
It's not hypocritical to exist in a system while actively working to create a better system.
For example, you've been vegan for ten years. Then you eat one cheeseburger. Does that one cheeseburger offset the environmental effect of being vegan for ten years? No. You've still contributed greatly to helping the environment, and one action doesn't negate all your other actions.
In this case, giving up Apple products and social media doesn't have as great an effect as using them as tools to fight for this issue. They're still contributing more to the cause than someone who gives up Apple products and doesn't protest.
One simply doesn't negate the other and suggesting that they do is just shutting the argument down instead of coming up with a genuine argument in return.
Probably...we live in an unfortunate time where free speech is under assault by both the right—Christians can say whatever they want but Muslims and other minorities should pipe down—and the left—nobody can say anything that "offends" anyone ever. Actually I think the left is far worse in this regard, but nevertheless.
You really think France is going to do anything about those images/likenesses of Star Wars characters.
My bet is a resounding no way. You go with the IP is still IP line and see where that goes.
To a deadend in this case.
EuroDisney is still a thing? I haven't heard anything about it after it's horrible kickoff and long running problems. But hey, I am glad it got turned around.
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The same world, two views. That is what you see.
Try this on.
The unemployment rate in France is crazy/ridulously high. From Trading Ecomonics: the youth unemployment rate as of last December was 22.3% and that was up from November. This is not a new thing for France. Sure France has good paying jobs, if you can find one. As far as a 35 hour work week, perhaps you might consider that the government was trying to reduce unemployment by restricting working hours.
The tax rate. France's tax rate on the wealthy in France is so fair that now the biggest number of French millionaires live in London.
From my view, France has a seat at the big boy table in world politics but doesn't share the cost burden.
Life is great and you can do more for your people when someone else is picking up the keeping the world safe tab.
Back to the main reason, the Attac protest.
At issue is the dispute of Apple not paying the full amount of tax due in Ireland, not France. Apple is not being accused of not paying tax in France even by the EU. I am all for peaceful protest, but protest in the correct location for goodness sakes. How about Americans being pissed off for having to pay countries to have bases in their country when the purpose is to keep the WORLD safe. There should be no cost to have bases in their country. Consider it part of the country's contribution to keeping the world safe.
Just some thoughts from another side.
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You know how multinational corporations can play the shell game with their money right? I'll explain it to the younger audience who don't.
The simplest way is by having a branch in a low tax country claim most of the profit. Apple Ireland (lets say 4% tax rate) can bill Apple France (for laughs say 30% tax rate) for some services (real or bogus). Apple France pays Apple Ireland which decreases the revenue of Apple France and increase the revenue of Apple Ireland. Zero net gain or loss of revenue for parent company, Apple, Inc. But a 26% savings in total taxes paid out.
Of course, the real world shell game isn't that simple. But the basic idea is the same. That is how multinational companies avoid paying there fair share. And those type of practices not only hurt regular tax payers but small companies as well, since they can't hide their profits off shore.
The left doesn't often shoot, blow up, or drive cars into the people they disagree with. The right does. Like, a lot.
I think that's an unfair characterization of both sides. The left much prefers to shut down and silence anything they might potentially disagree with before it even begins. And I say this as a staunch leftist.
Well assuming we're limiting this to the US, I would hardly say the right often kills people they disagree with outside of extremists who obviously exist on both the right and the left. I think that the right is more often driven by hatred, xenophobia, racism and fear; whereas the left seems to think that their goal of ensuring nobody is ever "offended" by anything justifies rioting, threats of violence, the stripping of due process rights from college students, and chasing distinguished academics off college campuses and/or assaulting them.
I'm glad for the young that you have explained and I agree that multinational corporations play hide the money from governments. Now tell them who is to blame for this "shell game" these corporations play. The problem is you don't finished the explanation. You leave the uninformed young people with the idea that all fault falls squarely at the feet of these multinational corporations. Get the young to look past the effects, the shell game, to the root cause of this situation. GOVERNMENT in short. The EU is a mess with layers upon layers of government. There are, kind of, independent countries all ruled by a group in Brussels. These stupid governments created the rules for this shell game to exist. Why? Corruption! Politicians bought by mega multinational corporations which sell their loop hole services to the highest bidder. If these governments set the rules to say there is no sliding around of money the shell game wouldn't exist. But the corrupt politicians love it. They stuff their pockets full of corporate money while the public screams at the multinational corporations for not paying their fair share. Let's face it. The politicians are loving it. Their greed triggers miss directed anger all the while they get Rich. Now that's a great job. If you can get it.
What?
You are living in bizarro world.
A Lefty hunted Republicans at a baseball practice.
The Left riots to stop freedom of speech.
Wow! Just amazing.
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I think you missed the whole dust up regarding making images of the prophet. Remember, people died over it. In your example, people would definitely make a U-turn because they would not want to get caught up in the attack brought by the supporters of the prophet.
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To give some background you were responding to the idea that the Left shuts down ideas they disagree with.
Perhaps you are unaware that YouTube has been demonetizing right leaning YouTube channels.
Perhaps you missed the campus riots by the Left when a person they disagree with trys to speak on campus.
There is your, how so, answer.
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You miss the point by the anti-socialists. These folks want to keep their own money not take, aka, steal other people's money.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terrorism_in_the_United_States#Attacks_by_type
This doesn't address my point and instead deflects to a separate issue.
YouTube's new methods have also affected a number of left-wing channels, a lot of sex-related content, and, most notably, the LGBT community. "The right" is not a specific target, although arguably Neo Nazi channels are, which I'm fine with if I'm honest.
As for protests against speakers, you're entitled to the right to free speech, not the right to a platform. That's a completely different thing we can talk about.
And I and many others believe that that is against their own best interests.
He didn't say "no person on the political left has ever tried to hurt people on the right", nor did he say "The left doesn't riot or try to stop people from speaking"*. He said: The left doesn't often shoot, blow up, or drive cars into the people they disagree with. The right does. Like, a lot (emphasis mine). Nothing about the left not rioting, nothing about hunting republicans, and the key word is in bold.
*No one, right, left, or centre, can stop freedom of speech since there is no general freedom of speech. No one has the right to say what they want, when they want, where they want. The only freedom most (all?) Westerners enjoy is that the government won't unreasonably restrict people's expression. If a non-government person is not allowing you to speak your mind, that is not stopping your freedom of speech. That's just being a dick.
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It addresses the point that you chose a bad example to try to prove your point.
But that, of course, is your prerogative.
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I should have cited an example to clarify my point of the Left bias of YouTube. Yes, I agree YouTube does act against the type of sites you indicated. I too would probably agree with you regarding those sites. The example I was thinking of, and should have cited, was Dennis Prager's Prager University videos. These are 5 minute videos on different topics. One of these videos, which was put on the restricted list was a video on one of the 10 commandments, Do Not Murder. There is no sex in it. There is no showing of murder. It discussed the biblical commandment to not murder.
Watch it and tell me why it should be in YouTube's restricted list. Another such example is the restricting of a video on free speech from the same website/YouTube channel. YouTube actually restricted a video on free speech. Now that would be funny, if it weren't so sad.
Now you can better understand the bias I was referencing to in my earlier post.
Because YouTube's goal is to make money and they don't care to expend resources on tasks than can be accomplished algorithmically. So you end up with an algorithm that demonetises videos based on keywords, not context. And those keywords are designed to please the advertisers, to keep the cash flowing.
I agree - the lineup of those people is 100% commie-pinko weenies. Wow. Apple should pull out of France as should any productive business. What a joke these Twenty-something year old SJW's are. Losers.