SOPA: United States decided tomorrow Nov,17, 2011, the future of the Internet.

[Uso.. Shinji]

First of all, apologies for semi-ranting earlier.

The phrase "The government controls the media, the government controls the people." is essentually not incorrect nor specifically about America. During WW2 Japan used the phrase, "every inch of film is a bullet". It was this time that all media production was controlled my the central government. Granted we aren't in the same situation, the idea is not baseless. - This is also where I say that the US government wouldn't control all the media, just the internet.:exhausted:

I don't disagree with the idea behind the act itself, just the excecution.
And I agree with you Ceewan that the politions dont all vote on monetary gain.
I haven't been called a thief for downloading yet. Though I know the reason for people getting upset about it.:thief:

endless_blue_water, I do agree with your stance on the protesters. Although, I don't blame big businesses, the economic model in the US needs a LOT of work. By meaning "successful" the meaning can be a bit eschewed. CEO's of some companies, can earn more in one year, than most people can in a lifetime. This isn't always because they are successful. If the company is to blame for some accident etc. for example the case of the Leeman Bro's collapse, the CEO walks away with millions of dollars severanve whilst the people who were owed buy them got nothing. As he is effectively in control it would seem right that he forfeit this in light of his failure to keep it afloat.

Ahhh. I seem to have ranted off topic too...:vomit::notagain:


Any news on the bill? I don't live in the US, news is old by the time I get to read it...

 

[Ceewan]

I'd gladly vote next year for a Republican who isn't completely batshit insane regarding social issues and foreign policy (if one exists...)

The pot calling the kettle black.

 

[endless_blue_water]

In regards to this SOPA, IP thing.
I would like to see more corporation and team work on the "technical" subject of what to do about avoiding this. What I mean is, if something like this passes, we as a community should all be trying to help each other understand how to implement and setup our computers to utilize a new DNS system like Dot-Bit. I've asked a question here and got no response. I know there are far more technical people then my self who could respond.

Look, the more we each know about using these types of tools, the larger "our" base will become as there will be more knowledgeable people to pass the wisdom on. Time is passing and for those who have the knowledge but are unwilling to share it with the less technical, all that will amount to is a smaller isolated community.

 

[Ceewan]

CNET

There is a great and informative article on the current situation here:

http://news.cnet.com/8301-31921_3-57344469-281/sopa-vote-well-theres-always-next-year/

One of my favorite quotes on this short article:

Polis suggested an amendment, perhaps not seriously, that would curb SOPA's use to police pirated porn sites. Smith opposed it and it was defeated by a vote of 9 to 18.

There are many informative links found in the article, including a list of the sponsors of both SOPA and the Protect IP Act. According to Wikipedia:

The House Judiciary Committee adjourned on the second day and will resume December 21, despite Congress not being in session. This lead to confusion amongst many of the those opposing the bill, as it was reported that the hearing had been postponed until the next session of Congress.

Don't give up the fight people, even if it is in vain. If you live in the US keep emailing your congressman about your opposition of SOPA and the Protect IP Act. If you live outside of the US contact your government and voice your concerns. Be heard or be silented, we have a choice.

 

[bigjoeyboy]

http://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2011...right-laws-to-crush-government-criticism.html

 

[Ceewan]

Yesterday Congressman Darrell Issa, who along with Zoe Lofgren, has been leading the opposition to SOPA in the House, tweeted out:

#SOPA UPDATE: markup scheduled for tomorrow AM has been POSTPONED "due to House schedule" #stopSOPA #OPEN #dontbreaktheinternet
— Darrell Issa (@DarrellIssa) December 20, 2011

source:
http://www.avc.com/a_vc/2011/12/sopapipa-update.html


An official list of SOPA and PIPA sponsors, (feel free to boycott and/or send nasty emails to):
http://judiciary.house.gov/issues/Rouge Websites/SOPA Supporters.pdf

Excellent link for anti-SOPA and anti-PIPA supporters:
http://demandprogress.org/

from previous webstite:

Write to the supporting companies asking for a statement explaining why they support the legislation and enquiring whether they understand the full horrific ramifications of it passing. Make some noise on their forums etc. bring their support out into the open."

I've got to leave for a while, but if the business you work for isn't on this list, perhaps encourage it to publicly come out against SOPA? Maybe make a statement regarding how this bill threatens the future of a free internet. How SOPA does not include a due process in court, and how that is the problem. How SOPA allows a "guilty until proven innocent" mode of operations and how that establishes a terrible precedent.

Statement from Laurence H. Tribe, (University Professor of Constitutional Law at Harvard), on how SOPA violates the First Amendment:
http://www.scribd.com/doc/75153093/Tribe-Legis-Memo-on-SOPA-12-6-11-1

[highlight]The opposition is growing and making itself heard, be a part of it! [/highlight] No contribution is too small, just do what you can.

 

[megatroll]

Just as a suggestion:

Could it not be possible for the US to have their own secluded, censored police state internet and leave the rest of the world out of it? They probably posses the ability to shut the US off from the rest of the web, similar to how China handles it.

That way the US can do whatever they want, and we can go on with our lives and wouldn't have to worry. uzzled:

I don't intend to be mean, but I'm seriously not willing to put up with this nonsense. I understand the US foreign policy is based on oppression and coercion, but since when can a nation effectively determine the world's broadcasting and information exchange laws? Wouldn't that at least require them to stage some pseudo unilateral agreement, just to give it the mask of legitimacy??? Otherwise China could censor the world's internet as well, right??? uzzled:

 

[Ceewan]

GoDaddy Drops SOPA Support After Customer Revolt

Domain registrar and hosting company GoDaddy has dropped its support for the controversial Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA). The change in position follows the protests of thousands of customers who threatened to transfer their domains to competitors. In a statement released today the company now says it “will support it when and if the Internet community supports it.”

http://torrentfreak.com/godaddy-drops-support-111223/



Small victories add up.

 

[Rollyco]

PR smokescreen.

http://dorkitude.com/post/14691558851/the-godaddy-victory-is-a-red-herring
http://gizmodo.com/5870920/brave-godaddy-ceo-says-hes-neither-for-nor-against-sopa

 

[endless_blue_water]

How SOPA's 'circumvention' ban could put a target on Tor

http://news.cnet.com/8301-31921_3-57346592-281/how-sopas-circumvention-ban-could-put-a-target-on-tor/

Could it not be possible for the US to have their own secluded, censored police state internet and leave the rest of the world out of it? They probably posses the ability to shut the US off from the rest of the web, similar to how China handles it.
That way the US can do whatever they want, and we can go on with our lives and wouldn't have to worry. uzzled:

I just want to make one thing clear. ... I know you're referring to the US government, and not the people.
Most US citizens do not want this LARGE and growing government control. They just don't have the knowledge to know what's being unfolded before them. The problem, is that the terminology has got so complex and ambiguous that most US citizens would have to have a law degree to understand what laws are being passed under their noses. Most people these days are just trying to make a living in the US. Big corporations have the money to pass these laws. I have to be honest, this crack down in the US didn't seems to start until Obama got in office. Look at the people around him. They're Czars. Last year, grad-school books were being handed out in eastern schools in the US that had modified Preambles.

http://www.theblaze.com/stories/socialist-mantra-hidden-in-grade-school-chants/

Someone please tell me the US is not under attack within it's own boarders?
Last year and the year before the US gov wanted to implement a civil defense force. Really? Isn't that what the police are for? Wake up America!

http://www.infowars.com/obama%E2%80%99s-civil-defense-program-resembles-domestic-draft/

http://www.americanthinker.com/2008/07/obamas_civilian_national_secur.html

--

 

[megatroll]

Someone please tell me the US is not under attack within it's own boarders?
Last year and the year before the US gov wanted to implement a civil defense force. Really? Isn't that what the police are for? Wake up America!

The articles you posted are priceless. I'm aware that certain individuals on this site don't agree with my political and social views, hence declaring my statements "anti-American" or whatever, while all I'm doing is pointing their noses at the core of the problem. Isn't it ironic? The US are on the edge of a radical change because their empire is crumbling, thus the people in power are flirting with full blown fascism and they're slowly inducing it to every aspect of society. The population is slowly but steadily conditioned to accept these changes as "normal". Think back a few years... If you'd have told the average person about today's laws and US foreign policy, they wouldn't believe you. Now it is status quo.

People will not fear nor fight it. They will beg for it!

 

[Ceewan]

Hi, this is Congressman Jared Polis of Colorado. As a member of the League of Legends community (partial to Anivia and Maokai), and as someone who made his living as an Internet entrepreneur before being elected to Congress, I’m greatly concerned about the future of the Internet and gaming if Congress doesn't wake up. You may have heard that Congress is currently considering a bill called the Stop Online Piracy Act, or SOPA. While SOPA has a ton of problems, there are some significant issues that I thought fellow gamers might want to know about.

I’m particularly concerned that SOPA might stifle the kind of innovation that brings us games we love, such as LoL. The bill makes it far too easy for angry competitors to sue good law abiding companies out of existence. It threatens any company or website that depends on user-generated content, even companies like Riot. Instead of coming up with great ways to keep making games like LoL even better, companies will have to spend their money hiring lawyers. That's why companies like Riot, who want to protect the games they create, are opposed to SOPA.

I’ve been working on alternative legislation that would protect the games companies create while also fostering innovation. But we also need you to call your members of Congress and let them know of your opposition to SOPA. This bill has a very real chance of passing, and it is up to all of who want to protect the Internet to take action. More information is available at http://keepthewebopen.com/. Please make your voices heard in this debate! I will be happy to respond to your posts below, and will check back every few hours today and respond to as many as I can.

I thought the whole post of his worth sharing here.
Sources:
http://torrentfreak.com/congressman-fears-that-sopa-may-kill-his-league-of-legends-addiction-120112/
http://na.leagueoflegends.com/board/showthread.php?t=1696462

 

[Ceewan]

SOPA author Lamar Smith said DNS blocking would be removed from the bill until further notice.

http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20...-plans-to-delay-dns-implementation-sopa.shtml

source:
http://torrentfreak.com/white-house-speaks-out-against-sopapipa-sort-of-120114/

The move by Smith comes after Patrick Leahy (D-VT) said he would consider a similar move for the Senate version of SOPA, known as the Protect IP Act (PIPA).

source:
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2012/01/13/rep-lamar-smith-blocks-dns-blocking-from-sopa/

I love torrentfreak. That is not to say I agree with absolutely everything they have to say....much of it though. They back up a ton of what they report to. Here is another good tidbit from the same article:

many of the largest websites on the Internet have vowed to blackout their sites this coming Wednesday

http://sopastrike.com/

At the moment includes a nice list of sites but it would be nice to see more join.

Not everyone was ready to jump on the SOPA bandwagon after Smith's changes, however.

The Electronic Frontier Foundation said the steps taken by Smith and Leahy are "heartening," but "we still have a long fight ahead and we face formidable foes."

"Both bills still contain fundamental flaws that threaten freedom of speech and the future of the Internet. We've written before, for example, about the threats to the human rights community, to students, to software development, and to the economy," the EFF said. "These threats remain. What is worse (and we can't say this enough), is that this legislation, if made law, will do little to stop online infringement. These bills cannot be fixed—they must be killed."

source:
http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2398926,00.asp

 

[Ceewan]

SOPA Derailed

Wikipedia Confirms PIPA/SOPA Blackout

Coming Wednesday the English Wikipedia will go dark.

With this unprecedented move Wikipedia joins the ranks of Reddit, Mozilla, Boing Boing and many others.

The blackout will start at midnight Washington DC time and will last for 24 hours.

Jimmy Wales advises students to finish their homework before Wednesday.

source:
http://torrentfreak.com/wikipedia-confirms-pipasopa-blackout-120116/

U.S. House Judiciary Committee Member Congressman Darrell Issa (R-CA), and Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) opponent has announced that House Majority Leader Eric Cantor has promised him that he will not bring the bill to the floor. That means, for all practical intents and purposes, that [highlight]SOPA is dead[/highlight].

source:
http://www.zdnet.com/blog/networking/sopa-derailed/1897
http://www.extremetech.com/computin...-has-been-shelved-but-we-must-remain-vigilant
http://www.examiner.com/computers-in-denver/house-kills-sopa


One down one to go.

 

[Evil Kitten]

So is Akiba Online going "dark" in solidarity with other anti-SOPA/PIPA websites tonight? Seems like it would be extremely appropriate, but I didn't see it confirmed anywhere. Anyone who thinks this battle is over or won probably hasn't been paying attention for very long.

 

[Ceewan]

According to Fight for the Future, one of the groups organizing the protests, nearly 12,000 websites have said they will join the blackout. That number is still growing.

source:
http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9223496/Protests_against_SOPA_PIPA_go_viral

Google, the Web's top search company and one of technology's most influential powers in Washington, will post a link on its home page tomorrow to notify users of Google's opposition to controversial antipiracy bills being debated in Congress.

source:
http://news.cnet.com/8301-31001_3-57360223-261/google-will-protest-sopa-using-popular-home-page/

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) has said he still wants to bring PIPA to the Senate floor for a full vote on January 24. But six Republican senators--two of them, PIPA sponsors--Friday wrote to him urging that he delay such a move. In particular, they cited hearing from numerous constituents "with vocal concerns about possible unintended consequences of the proposed legislation, including breaches in cybersecurity, damaging the integrity of the Internet, costly and burdensome litigation, and dilution of First Amendment rights."

source:
http://www.informationweek.com/news/government/policy/232400473


Fights not over but the initiative has swung in a favorable direction.

 

[chompy]

So is Akiba Online going "dark" in solidarity with other anti-SOPA/PIPA websites tonight?

The bandwagon is pretty full at this point. Akiba-Online wouldn't be making anybody aware of anything they are not already aware of.

It would just be trendy for the sake of trendy. Ew.

 

[Ceewan]

Rep. Lee Terry, from Nebraska -- who just last week expressed some concerns about the bill at CES, but still appeared committed to it -- has announced that he's removing his name as a co-sponsor of the bill, becoming the first US Representative to do so.

source:
http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20...rry-removes-his-name-as-sopa-co-sponsor.shtml

Senator Roy Blunt dropped his co-sponsorship for PIPA

source:
http://torrentfreak.com/senator-roy-blunt-drops-pipa-co-sponsorship-120118/

Senator Marco Rubio was one of the first to de-list as a PIPA co-sponsor today.......
Senator Mark Kirk also decided that it is a good idea to withdraw his support.....
Senator Orrin Hatch followed, and is no longer a co-sponsor of PIPA either......
Senator John Boozman is no longer backing PIPA......
Representatives Ben Quayle and Lee Terry have quietly withdrawn their support for the House bill.......

excerpts from:
http://torrentfreak.com/pipa-sopa-co-sponsors-drop-like-flies-120118/

Senator Kelly Ayotte of New Hampshire has also pulled her support....
SOPA sponsor Tim Griffin, an Arkansas Republican, now says: "I will not support a bill unless my constituents are comfortable with it.....

I add my loud voice to those opposed to #SOPA!
We don't need SOPA...we need FREEDOM!

— Rep. Jeff Duncan (@RepJeffDuncan) January 18, 2012

source:
http://www.forbes.com/sites/andygre...-senate-copyright-bill-loses-a-key-supporter/
http://news.cnet.com/8301-31921_3-5...ead-to-weakening-support-for-protect-ip-sopa/
http://news.blogs.cnn.com/2012/01/18/sopa-internet-blackout/

(don't you just love an election year?)

Some bandwagons are worth jumping on.

 

[ezepietro]

http://riverdaughter.wordpress.com/2012/01/07/opblackout-january-23-2012/

---------

Get Involved!

http://americancensorship.org/
https://donate.mozilla.org/page/s/SOPA?source=sopa_page
http://act.demandprogress.org/sign/sopa_testimony/?akid=1018.606560.JTkqV4&rd=1&t=2
http://voteforthenet.com/
http://www.dontcensorthenet.com/
http://act2.freepress.net/call/pipa_call/              
http://www.mozilla.org/sopa/
http://act.boldprogressives.org/survey/survey_sopa_reddit/?source=boing
http://stopcensorship.org/
http://sopastrike.com/
http://www.change.org/petitions/electronic-arts-pull-support-for-sopa 
http://act.ly/5cz

 

[Desu]

On Sunday we reported on a “we the people” petition asking the White House to investigate the MPAA’s alleged bribery practices.

Today the petition reached its goal of 25.000 votes, but that’s not the only pressure that Washington is facing over the issue.

Before the Obama Administration has a chance to respond to the petition, several citizen rights groups are gearing up to put pressure on Congress to return “Hollywood’s dirty money”.

“The MPAA is so brazen in its efforts to buy legislation with campaign cash that its leader, himself a former senator, sees nothing wrong with threatening legislators on national TV,” said Free Press Action Fund President Craig Aaron today.

“We think it’s time that Congress showed that its votes are no longer for sale. The first thing Congress must do is give back the MPAA’s tainted campaign cash or give it to charity. Congress must make it clear to the world that it won’t be bullied into supporting censorship.

Now that various congressmen reconsidered their positions on the controversial PIPA and SOPA bills, Free Press thinks they are ready for the next step.

“Last week’s unprecedented grassroots uprising, in which millions mobilized against the Stop Online Piracy Act and the PROTECT IP Act , clearly got Washington’s attention. And we’ve since seen dozens of legislators scrambling to show they were really against these bills all along. But the real test is whether they will put their money where their mouths are by returning Hollywood’s dirty money,” Aaron concludes.

It will be interesting to see how Congress responds to this call for refunds. To be continued.

Source: TorrentFreak

http://torrentfreak.com/congress-asked-to-return-dirty-mpaa-money-120124/