Acknowledging Blackout, Politicians Ditch SOPA
- Thread starter Earnest Cavalli
- Start date
You know something's bad when the collective users of the internet, the most disconnected, wild mess of people on the planet rally together in order to stop it.
Excellent work so far, soldiers, but we can't stop now. SOPA's not dead, we've just knocked it over, so don't let it get back up. We have the advantages of numbers and actually knowing what the hell we're trying to stop, and that's something over the politicians, so keep pushing forward for them to withdraw their support.
Excellent work so far, soldiers, but we can't stop now. SOPA's not dead, we've just knocked it over, so don't let it get back up. We have the advantages of numbers and actually knowing what the hell we're trying to stop, and that's something over the politicians, so keep pushing forward for them to withdraw their support.
So it would appear that it indeed took nearly 10 million offically petitioned voices to get the Cockroaches to scatter. They're scattering and they're panicking. The voting public have made it perfectly clear they're not happy, so now it's stopped being about censorship and is now about Lobbyist signed cheques vs. re-election.
SOPA and PIPA will fall and die, but don't think for one minute that we've heard the last of the copyright industry. They're pissed that the big money they have spent to vilify the entire Internet is not working, the bribes are not working and their incessant threats and bleating is not working. The only weapons they know how to use are failing them, and like a baby that's just dropped its bottle, they're screaming like banshees.
If I were making the argument to someone who knows nothing about SOPA, I would explain it like this; You have three factions involved in this debate. One side are the advocates for freedom of speech, information and the internet. There's the middle faction; the Politicians who are mere mercenary pawns on the chessboard, paid under the table to do the bidding of the last faction, the copyright industry and their big business leaders who are fighting to effectively kill the internet for personal, private use to achieve their own financial agendas.
I would have this person ask themselves this; of those three factions, which of them has the most honorable, sensible, admirable and plausible agenda? Answer that, then you have the side you're on.
SOPA and PIPA will fall and die, but don't think for one minute that we've heard the last of the copyright industry. They're pissed that the big money they have spent to vilify the entire Internet is not working, the bribes are not working and their incessant threats and bleating is not working. The only weapons they know how to use are failing them, and like a baby that's just dropped its bottle, they're screaming like banshees.
If I were making the argument to someone who knows nothing about SOPA, I would explain it like this; You have three factions involved in this debate. One side are the advocates for freedom of speech, information and the internet. There's the middle faction; the Politicians who are mere mercenary pawns on the chessboard, paid under the table to do the bidding of the last faction, the copyright industry and their big business leaders who are fighting to effectively kill the internet for personal, private use to achieve their own financial agendas.
I would have this person ask themselves this; of those three factions, which of them has the most honorable, sensible, admirable and plausible agenda? Answer that, then you have the side you're on.
I'm glad that they're withdrawing from co-sponsorship, but I want them to state that they won't vote for it. Call me cynical, but I don't trust these people not to do what the ESA, MPAA and RIA tell them to if they think they can slip it by the glare of public scrutiny.
I want them to be clear that if they vote for this crap, they don't get another term.
(I mean we vote them out of office, feds- please don't send a van to my house.)
I want them to be clear that if they vote for this crap, they don't get another term.
(I mean we vote them out of office, feds- please don't send a van to my house.)
I am a bit curious though if these laws were not set as bait. Simpely to draw out an reaction so that another law could pass more easily. The same thing happened in the Netherlands regarding goverment scholarships. Seems like a clever political strategy to me.
Yeah, I've read the bill now. Exchange the term "rogue website" with "infringing site" or "internet site dedicated to theft of US property" and you've pretty much got the same thing.The Cool Kid said:
Now, maybe you're a law student or something, and thus might have more experience in reading this stuff than me, but I'm still seeing more or less exactly what any other law students/graduates have told me about this bill.
Oh, want more examples? [http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20120110/11395317367/website-censored-feds-takes-up-lamar-smiths-challenge-heres-your-hypothetical.shtml]
Here you go. [http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20110620/01370314750/universal-music-goes-to-war-against-popular-hip-hop-sites-blogs.shtml]
Hell, Universal even considers 50 Cent's own website an infringing site. [http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20110620/16364214774/did-universal-music-declare-50-cents-own-website-is-pirate-site.shtml]
And besides, even if my first example didn't go under DMCA, they're still practicing corporate censorship. I see no reason why these people should get more power to exploit.
It's too easy to work around to claim that it will have any effect on piracy.
Looks like we might have to go nuclear after all, the feds just shut down Megaupload not too long ago. God, I swear this is the kind of crap that makes me hate my government so much.IKWerewolf said:
Here's hoping Twitter, Google and Facebook really give them a sound pounding.
I think that the politicians are getting nervous about having so many eyes watching them attempt to make laws governing something they have no understanding of. Could you imagine how many of them would lose their jobs if people realized that getting elected doesn't automatically make someone an expert on everything and that politicians should be highly educated and knowledgeable?
In short, old men who ran on 'country boy' ideals have their f*** up exposed and are now backpedaling as quickly as they can.
The people in politics are overwhelmingly lawyers. Stats [http://www.senate.gov/CRSReports/crs-publish.cfm?pid=%260BL%29PL%3B%3D%0A] on the current US congress show most of them are career politicians. Very few engineers, economists, computer scientists, etc. to be had. The only people knowledgeable about the SOPA issue are the lobbyists whispering in their ears. Little wonder the bill could be so messed up without them realizing it.
In short, old men who ran on 'country boy' ideals have their f*** up exposed and are now backpedaling as quickly as they can.
The people in politics are overwhelmingly lawyers. Stats [http://www.senate.gov/CRSReports/crs-publish.cfm?pid=%260BL%29PL%3B%3D%0A] on the current US congress show most of them are career politicians. Very few engineers, economists, computer scientists, etc. to be had. The only people knowledgeable about the SOPA issue are the lobbyists whispering in their ears. Little wonder the bill could be so messed up without them realizing it.
I'm not a big fan of Megaupload but I don't think that sets a very good precedent. Also I - You have reached your 72 character limit please subscribe to continue reading -dalek sec said:
Yet they're blacklisting completely legitimate sites, claiming they want to shut them down if the bill goes up. You seriously don't think they'll do that?The Cool Kid said:
No, few laws start out perfect, but this one won't do anything useful. At all. It won't help against piracy when it's so easy to work around it.
I've spent about 10 000 NKR (an equivalent of $2000) on music, and I've found every single motherfucking one of those artists through file sharing in one way or another. The numbers they are pulling out of their ass is according to their business model where every downloaded song is a lost song, yet completely ignoring how musicians are actively using "piracy" as marketing and even forging their success based on that. People aren't buying less media now than they were before.
YAY! big business stopped a political move created by, wait for it... BIG BUSINESS!
I'm so glad to see corporate America pitted against itself and using the political stage to fight their battles.
GO BIG BUSINESS!
I'm so glad to see corporate America pitted against itself and using the political stage to fight their battles.
GO BIG BUSINESS!