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Post by winterhawk99 on Jan 18, 2012 19:09:13 GMT -5
I usually do not write about politics on the site or any site I traffic (being that most would consider me a radical Libertarian). This is an exception to the rule. There are several bills going through congress to Censor the Internet. Tonight I've been going through the bills and reading them along doing my homework on who is for these bills and who is against them. Who sponsored the bills and why and what the financial interests are in the bills. The more I look into these bills the more I find out its more about controlling the Internet than censoring it, and controlling the free speech we all enjoy. These bills are outrageously scary. Here are some links to help you understand the bills. Pay special attention on the sponsors/supports that would likely have nothing to do with intellectual property. Its eye opening. americancensorship.org/www.opencongress.org/bill/112-h3261/showwww.opencongress.org/bill/112-s968/showwww.foxnews.com/opinion/2012/01/18/sopa-what-it-is-and-why-its-bad/ |
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Mistermoonlight
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Post by Mistermoonlight on Jan 18, 2012 20:06:19 GMT -5
Thank you, Winterhawk. I've been following the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) news on public radio for a while now, and I think no matter what side you're on, providing more information is a great service, so hats off to you!
Personally, I'm a Liberterian too.
Would you be welcome to opening this thread to those with different points of view, so that we could talk about the subject and debate it here?
The latest news I got today is that Republicans seem to be backing off the bill, at least temporarily. It seems that angry calls and the internet blackouts are having some effect.
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purpledragon1229
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Post by purpledragon1229 on Jan 18, 2012 20:43:07 GMT -5
Thank you, Winterhawk. I've been following the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) news on public radio for a while now, and I think no matter what side you're on, providing more information is a great service, so hats off to you! Personally, I'm a Liberterian too. Would you be welcome to opening this thread to those with different points of view, so that we could talk about the subject and debate it here? The latest news I got today is that Republicans seem to be backing off the bill, at least temporarily. It seems that angry calls and the internet blackouts are having some effect. I think he went back to his cave but knowing Winter he won't mind as long as no one flames anybody he's extremely open to discussion and debate. |
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Post by Mistermoonlight on Jan 18, 2012 21:20:46 GMT -5
This is one of the most important debates out there right now. It affects everything we do here, from posting photos (we are already prohibited from posting copyrighted photos, by the way) to text from books to movie clips . . . you name it.
On the other side is the right of artists to be compensated for what they do.
I would feel a little better if it were individual artists behind this bill, but as is always the case these days in American politics it's huge corporations (who are now legally defined as 'people') behind it.
I for one, miss the days when all of the radio stations in my market were owned by unique individuals, serving their local market in different ways, rather than three corporate giants owning all of the airwaves and serving up a homogenized blend of corporate pap. Or Wal-Mart destroying all of the mom and pop businesses in my small town. But that's just me.
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Post by winterhawk99 on Jan 19, 2012 0:17:37 GMT -5
Sure if anyone wants to chime in thats perfectly ok with me. I do have alot of experiance with this subject. I have seen and have experienced property rights stolen. It's rampant in the game design industry both amuture and professional. In fact in some cases I see companys steal amuture work for their own purposes. So I am no stranger at all to this subject.
The way I police it within HMC is by throwing out anyone that does not give proper credit to original authors of work whether that be storyline, texturing, modeling or any other facet of the intellectural property we deal with.
The Goverment getting involved in these private legal matters is a herendous thought to me personally. Not only that but seeded within the bills are other features the goverment can use to shut down a site. The individual owners of the site may have done nothing wrong and the goverment can still shut the whole site down. Also include in the bills are features that have nothing to do with intellectual property where by if the goverment doesnt like the content they can still shut a site down ie pornography, gambling, adds for tobacco etc. These are bad bills any way you look at them. It gives the goverment a huge amount of control on any content on the internet similar to chinas laws.
It reminds me of the time shortly after 9/11 when people were saying they would give up alittle bit of their freedom for the home land security bill. I heard people I know actually say it. It made me sick to my stomach at the though of the unintended consequences.
By the way the literal translation of Homeland Security in German is Stahzi. That should send some cold chills down your back.
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Post by Aeryn on Jan 19, 2012 12:43:27 GMT -5
It reminds me of the time shortly after 9/11 when people were saying they would give up alittle bit of their freedom for the home land security bill. I heard people I know actually say it. It made me sick to my stomach at the though of the unintended consequences. By the way the literal translation of Homeland Security in German is Stahzi. That should send some cold chills down your back. Yes, many of us were quite willing to give up a little freedom for the purpose of security... especially after 9/11. And frankly, I don't see why that frightened some; resulting in the Chicken Little Syndrome displayed by those who fear more government control. Americans have far too much freedom as it is, which is why we have such a terrible crime rate. Take a look at the nightly news, and tell me we don't need stricter laws. And there's way too much crap available on the Internet. It should have limits. I'm very open-minded, but even I'm often shocked by some of the things I see online. Government was created for a reason. Let it do what it needs to do. |
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purpledragon1229
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Post by purpledragon1229 on Jan 19, 2012 13:02:47 GMT -5
It reminds me of the time shortly after 9/11 when people were saying they would give up alittle bit of their freedom for the home land security bill. I heard people I know actually say it. It made me sick to my stomach at the though of the unintended consequences. By the way the literal translation of Homeland Security in German is Stahzi. That should send some cold chills down your back. Yes, many of us were quite willing to give up a little freedom for the purpose of security... especially after 9/11. And frankly, I don't see why that frightened some; resulting in the Chicken Little Syndrome displayed by those who fear more government control. Americans have far too much freedom as it is, which is why we have such a terrible crime rate. Take a look at the nightly news, and tell me we don't need stricter laws. And there's way too much crap available on the Internet. It should have limits. I'm very open-minded, but even I'm often shocked by some of the things I see online. Government was created for a reason. Let it do what it needs to do. Aeryn You are aware that if these bills go through your avatar and signature pictures would not be there. The RPGers would not be 'allowed' to RPG because they do so based on TV shows that are copyrighted. There would be no fan-fiction, there would be no YouTube, there would be not LOL Cats. That's what these bills are about not about making the internets 'safer'. |
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Post by Mistermoonlight on Jan 19, 2012 13:18:57 GMT -5
If it passes, this could be the future father of the new 'improved' internet: ![]() Pat Robertson |
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Post by purpledragon1229 on Jan 19, 2012 13:20:27 GMT -5
If it passes, this could be the future Father of the Internet: ![]() Pat RobertsonAnd your ass would be busted for not crediting the photog! |
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Post by KyleEl on Jan 19, 2012 13:23:32 GMT -5
I'm anything but Libertarian. I lean more toward liberal than conservative. On most issues I say we need the government to protect us from big business who will otherwise cheat, lie, outsource and pollute in the name of profit.
But I'm with Winterhawk and Mistermoonlight on this issue. No one has to use the Internet. For a long time I didn't and I can't believe I use it so much now. And yesterday it bothered me that I couldn't just look up something on Wikipedia. That has become my place to go to look stuff up, because paper encyclopedias are outdated and if I'm at home I want a safe and reliable place to go.
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Post by Mistermoonlight on Jan 19, 2012 13:31:25 GMT -5
I see that I have used the term 'libertarian' incorrectly now that I've done some research. I was thinking only in terms of individual rights. I'm a liberal in most cases.
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Watchtower
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Post by Watchtower on Jan 19, 2012 16:42:12 GMT -5
Yes, many of us were quite willing to give up a little freedom for the purpose of security... especially after 9/11. And frankly, I don't see why that frightened some; resulting in the Chicken Little Syndrome displayed by those who fear more government control. Americans have far too much freedom as it is, which is why we have such a terrible crime rate. Take a look at the nightly news, and tell me we don't need stricter laws. And there's way too much crap available on the Internet. It should have limits. I'm very open-minded, but even I'm often shocked by some of the things I see online. Government was created for a reason. Let it do what it needs to do. Aeryn You are aware that if these bills go through your avatar and signature pictures would not be there. The RPGers would not be 'allowed' to RPG because they do so based on TV shows that are copyrighted. There would be no fan-fiction, there would be no YouTube, there would be not LOL Cats. That's what these bills are about not about making the internets 'safer'. Okay... when I read that I was like... 0.0 Whoever knows me will know why my reaction was like that...  |
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Post by avp60685 on Jan 19, 2012 17:48:37 GMT -5
I know that a lot of stuff would be copyright protected and that would just suck...
BIG TIME!
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purpledragon1229
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Post by purpledragon1229 on Jan 20, 2012 9:29:40 GMT -5
Aeryn You are aware that if these bills go through your avatar and signature pictures would not be there. The RPGers would not be 'allowed' to RPG because they do so based on TV shows that are copyrighted. There would be no fan-fiction, there would be no YouTube, there would be not LOL Cats. That's what these bills are about not about making the internets 'safer'. Okay... when I read that I was like... 0.0 Whoever knows me will know why my reaction was like that... ![]() You and AVP were the first two people I thought of when I heard about this! They don't want to make us safer, they want to control us! |
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Post by 3sheets2thewind on Jan 20, 2012 9:40:17 GMT -5
The RPGers would not be 'allowed' to RPG because they do so based on TV shows that are copyrighted. There would be no fan-fiction,Okay... when I read that I was like... 0.0 Whoever knows me will know why my reaction was like that... ![]() You and AVP were the first two people I thought of when I heard about this! They don't want to make us safer, they want to control us! They (Big brother government) want to keep us afraid and fearful so that not only can they control us but to be able to strip us of our freedoms and tell us it is for our protection and when we complain we are not being patriotic. |
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Post by Mistermoonlight on Jan 20, 2012 9:45:12 GMT -5
The story out today is that the FBI, working with New Zealand authorities have shut down one of the internet's biggest file-sharing sites: MegaUpload.
This is really scary to me--the fact that some faction within the United States government is attempting to sweep the internet on a worldwide basis to further their own ends on an issue that is up for debate. This is a little too Orwellian for me.
In retaliation thousands of hackers were able to shut down the MPAA, Dept. of Justice, and FBI websites for some time.
So, what are we seeing now-- the beginnings of a worldwide internet war?
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purpledragon1229
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Post by purpledragon1229 on Jan 20, 2012 10:02:58 GMT -5
The story out today is that the FBI, working with New Zealand authorities have shut down one of the internet's biggest file-sharing sites: MegaUpload. This is really scary to me--the fact that some faction within the United States government is attempting to sweep the internet on a worldwide basis to further their own ends on an issue that is up for debate. This is a little too Orwellian for me. In retaliation thousands of hackers were able to shut down the MPAA, Dept. of Justice, and FBI websites for some time. So, what are we seeing now-- the beginnings of a worldwide internet war? Supposedly this was a two year investigation and it was a total coincidence that the whole SOPA thing was happening. It's also being said that the site cost the people w/the copyrights $500 million. I'm not agreeing w/anything just playing Devil's Advocate. |
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Post by Mistermoonlight on Jan 20, 2012 10:11:26 GMT -5
When I first heard the news this morning this line from Winterhawk's post really resounded with me: It gives the goverment a huge amount of control on any content on the internet similar to chinas laws. And playing Devil's advocate is a very valuable service, Purple. I don't like to make up my mind about an issue till I've examined it from all sides. To do that well usually requires input from others. |
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purpledragon1229
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Post by purpledragon1229 on Jan 20, 2012 13:03:07 GMT -5
The vote has been postponed indefinitely!!!
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Post by Watchtower on Jan 20, 2012 13:03:51 GMT -5
The vote has been postponed indefinitely!!! Sorry if I'm being a dumb blonde... but what does that mean? |
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purpledragon1229
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Post by purpledragon1229 on Jan 20, 2012 13:06:29 GMT -5
The vote has been postponed indefinitely!!! Sorry if I'm being a dumb blonde... but what does that mean? They were going to vote on the bill on 1/24 but they have removed it from the schedule (for lack of a better word) and have not said when it will be voted on nor have they given any indication of when they might vote on it. |
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Post by avp60685 on Jan 20, 2012 13:06:56 GMT -5
It means it won't be happening at all!
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Post by Watchtower on Jan 20, 2012 13:08:25 GMT -5
Sorry if I'm being a dumb blonde... but what does that mean? They were going to vote on the bill on 1/24 but they have removed it from the schedule (for lack of a better word) and have not said when it will be voted on nor have they given any indication of when they might vote on it. YAY!!! I'm so happy about that!!! |
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Post by avp60685 on Jan 20, 2012 13:09:39 GMT -5
Now if only they could more to help out stem-cell research to help out people like Brooke Ellison and Michael J. Fox~
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Post by Watchtower on Jan 20, 2012 13:13:22 GMT -5
There's a lot that the government has to do. Another major thing has to do with people with disabilities.
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Post by avp60685 on Jan 20, 2012 13:20:57 GMT -5
True but I think they need to find a way out of our personal business and find a constructive way to spend their time
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Post by Mistermoonlight on Jan 20, 2012 13:21:03 GMT -5
It means it won't be happening at all! Not neccessarily. One congressman said something to the effect that this bill wouldn't fly, as it is, and was dead in the water, but to watch out for the next one. |
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Post by KyleEl on Jan 20, 2012 14:16:32 GMT -5
Now if only they could more to help out stem-cell research to help out people like Brooke Ellison and Michael J. Fox~ I agree with this. I don't support the act of abortion except to save the mother's life or in cases of rape or incest, but I feel it's not the government's business. And yet if something can be done for these people I'd like to see it done. |
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Post by KyleEl on Jan 20, 2012 14:17:54 GMT -5
There's a lot that the government has to do. Another major thing has to do with people with disabilities. Yes. How are the conservatives planning on paying for these people's health care if they repeal Obamacare? The insurance companies don't want them if they can't make a profit off of them. And if we're wandering off topic, I'll quit for now. |
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