Internet Blackout to oppose SOPA
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I disagree. This isn't government* doing this. This is the powerful entertainment and media industry in action bribing the government into creating this legislation.
Why?
Big Media says it's to protect against theft. They've already got the DMCA, encryption on DVDs, regular copyright law, fines and any number of other protections. Obviously they don't work. More isn't the solution.
It's not about theft, it's about control.
They want to control where music, videos and movies are released. They want to control how it is released, and they want to control who releases it. It's not about money to the government, taxes on media is no more or less important than any other taxable good.
It's about money to Big Media. If they control who, where, and how it is distributed, they can make money off each and every way it is handled, viewed or sold. That's what it's about. Want to link to something? Get permission and pay a fee. Want to spoof or lip sync an artist? Get permission and pay a fee. Ad nauseam.
*Lobbyists = campaign contributions or other kickbacks = legalized bribing. It is about government if you believe government is owned and run by Big Business lobbyists.
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@unknownuser said:
The government (aka congressmen,) are motivated by ONE thing. TAXES. They cannot collect taxes on music, movies, books, etc., (either sales or inventory tax,) for items that don't pass over the sales counter (either physical or virtual.)
Agreed, though it means something deeper. To steal all your money, your bank account, your home, your life. Your freedom by all means!
They don't listen, these people are elected by people, right? They don't represent voter's will. Such politicians are criminals of the worst kind. But I don't say IMO here. Just read the constitution of any democratic community-country you like. Carefully please!
I noticed, more and more people, these days, mentioning that democracy is a failure or something. Here comes the judgment day. Good luck to all of us.
It's just happening in 2012 and this makes me nervous
Make your voice louder, these politicians should start feeling this well known "fear". Fear of people, fear of god. Both are equally fine for me.
Sorry for the language barrier, I hope I made it clear enough.@EscapeArtist, this could explain the motivations of some politicians. This wasn't my point. They Do Not Have the rights to do this.
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I must disagree again. Politicians do not get a percentage of taxes as a bonus, so there is no inherent reason for them to view lost taxes as a personal loss should they be reduced or lost.
They do have the "rights" to do this, they were elected to do this and could change the laws as needed to do what they wish. We the people are ignorant of the process due to the complexity of the political system and the difficulty of obtaining clear and concise information about how these events affect us.
They are slaves to the corporate money that pays their campaign financing.
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Two very good videos from TED.
This one explains what the side effect of SOPA will be. http://www.ted.com/talks/defend_our_freedom_to_share_or_why_sopa_is_a_bad_idea.html
and this one shows how the fashion world thrives and makes money without copyright.
http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/en/johanna_blakley_lessons_from_fashion_s_free_culture.html -
I am hearing that this legislation is a bad idea--that there are better ways to handle the problem. That's all I hear. I wonder what some of the better ways to handle this might be? [Personally, I believe no politician will ever provide the ultimate solution, and too much legislation stifles most everything it attempts to regulate]
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The MPAA's thoughts on the matter:
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@escapeartist said:
I must disagree again. Politicians do not get a percentage of taxes as a bonus, so there is no inherent reason for them to view lost taxes as a personal loss should they be reduced or lost.
They do have the "rights" to do this, they were elected to do this and could change the laws as needed to do what they wish. We the people are ignorant of the process due to the complexity of the political system and the difficulty of obtaining clear and concise information about how these events affect us.
They are slaves to the corporate money that pays their campaign financing.
"Politicians do not get a percentage of taxes as a bonus, so there is no inherent reason for them to view lost taxes as a personal loss should they be reduced or lost." and then this follows "They are slaves to the corporate money that pays their campaign financing."
As for the rest, I suggest you to read the constitution. You have some kind of constitution in your country, right?
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Corporate lobby money == taxes paid to the government. They are separate issues.
I fail to see your point referring to the constitution. If you imply that current methods run against the constitution's or our forefather's intent, you may be right; but you must also admit that the constitution came with the ability to be amended, which has happened many times, and therefor the current situation is also legal. like it or not.
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Power in numbers. Looks like a lot of the congress supporters are backing out now. People always want to be on the winning team and we have everyone from EBay to Google opposing this thing. I'm sorry but I do not feel bad that Hollywood lost a few million because someone pirated Legally Blonde 2 (you would have to pay me to watch this) and posted it to the web. Just this weekend alone they grossed over $120 million! http://www.imdb.com/boxoffice/. Oh what, someone bootlegged Pokerface and put it on Youtube! Damn that really cut into Lady GagGa's $90million in record sales. http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/lady-gaga-taylor-swift-forbes-earning-2011-274329
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I would like them (Hollywood and Co.) why I should buy their DVDs that tell me five time repeatedly before the main menu (unskippable) how bad piracy is and how it is a crime - then their unskippable adverts. I paid for the damn film - and now I need to be taught a lesson on piracy in addition to see ads for film already out of date... somewhere the whole idea of customer experience got lost to them. Instead they focus their attention on blaming everyone and everything.
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Twitted yesterday
@unknownuser said:
"Big bipartisan majorities both houses sold out by POTUS for search engines. How about 2.2 m workers in entertainment industry? Piracy rules," Rupert Murdoch
Now that is rich from a guy who profited from phone tapping, lobbying and general mafia style business practices.
Lol, the people voted with their mouses yesterday, over 9 million petitions signed, politicians scampering to be on the right side of this issue, good to see the old entertainment gods getting their asses handed to them by the new ones.
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It ain't over yet though... there are mutations of SOPA coming up...
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Well, when we are at it... Google does not sell educational SU licenses outside the US (and maybe Canada). True that some "international" (as "non-US" is generally called
) resellers do but there are countries where there are no resellers.Now these students (usually way poorer than any US student) have to buy the full version - or use pirated versions if they cannot afford...
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They complain that overseas sites are selling/giving away pirate downloads, yet the US entertainment industry is reluctant to offer legal ways to download their stuff overseas.
It just doesn't make sense. I want to give them my money, but they refuse it!
Brain... exploding...If it's really a matter of stop losing money and protecting "workers' pension and healthcare plans, and healthy local economies and tax revenues", they would be going out of their way to find ways to sell their stuff in every market and medium possible.
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BTW Pete: you will love this:
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I just SO damn weary of liberal people trashing Fox News, just because they air conservative viewpoints (along with liberal viewpoints.)
As if conservatives do not deserve to enjoy the freedom of speech, that they think only liberals should enjoy.
It is WAY more scary that Juan Williams (a liberal,) was fired from NPR, because a something he said, that the far left liberals (controlling NPR,) did not like !!
.. And WHO immediately hired the liberal, Juan Williams ??
Fox News, in fact.
Liberals, where was your freedom of speech loving support for Juan Williams' freedom, when he needed it ??
(And do not say "He's better off. He making much more money now." That ignores the issue.)
Either EVERYONE enjoys freedom, or the term is just a farce. -
Returning to topic:
When you guys call your congressmen, make sure to say you're against piracy and in favor of artists being paid for their work. Tell them that you have a better idea to generate more money for artists: Stop geographic restrictions for selling music and movie downloads. Law-abiding citizens everywhere in the world will have no excuse to resort to piracy. Everybody wins.
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