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New Congressional Bill Makes DMCA Look Tame
An anonymous reader writes "Representative Lamar Smith is sponsoring the Intellectual Property Protection Act. The new bill is designed to give the Justice Department 'tools to combat IP crime' which which are used to 'quite frankly, fund terrorism activities,' according to Attorney General Alberto Gonzales. Among the provisions is lowering the standards for 'willful copyright violation' and increasing the corresponding prison term to 10 years." More information is also available at publicknowledge.org.
Is it me or are people, better yet, politicians forgetting what terrorism really is? Terrorism is spreading fear by inflicing selective pain to force a decision. This kind of bill does exactly that. It inflicts pain on small businesses trying to make a living, and forcing everyone to pay up to the big companies and patent/IP leeches. Probably the same leeches that sponsor this senator..
Let me guess, everyone opposing this bill will be labelled as 'unpatriotic', 'pro-terrorism' etc?!?
To Terminate, or not to Terminate, that's the question - SCSIROB
That Red Hat is on the board of directors of some
organisation (SIAA) that supports this bill. I know
I will now be recommending any other linux vendor for
enterprise support.
It seems that according to the US government, everything that opposes the benefit of the few is ultimately one of the many forms of terrorism. This is the regime that the people you voted for are upholding. It bothers me that they can get away with it, but I guess that it's not possible for America to start using a pluriform multi-party system which I firmly believe would help keep the amount of insane propositions like this one at bay, like it effectively does in the Netherlands.
I guess that at this point there is not much pouting is going to do to help!
It's a tax grab.The government has found a way to create taxable value by fiat. The value of currency in modern capitalist states is by fiat. The creation of value by way of IP and Patents and DRM is by legislation, by fiat.
Maggy Thatcher introduced Value Added Tax, in Canada in the 80's the Conservatives introduced the GST. In America the federal government has created taxable value in IP. Remeber the /. article last week about a merger wherein the parties are underinvestigation because they undervalued the IP?
You can argue about civil liberties and the government will join in happy to count the number of angles dancing on the head of a pin.
When I was in grade school during summmer vacation I had to put in 2 weeks working on my grandparents farm. I was told it would build character. It build muscle mass if nothing else. One summer on the farm my uncle decided to butcher a pig. That side of the family is pioneer stock and has farmed the same area for 7 generations. They can make anything they need, including good German sausage. I'd never seen an animal butchered. The pig was tied to corral posts by 3 legs. One rear leg was left free. My uncle slit the pigs jugular and the pig kept kicking his one rear leg, obligingly pumping his blood out. The fuss being kicked up about the laws and civil liberties is the pig's back leg kicking furiously. The tax income is the blood.
"Academicians are more likely to share each other's toothbrush than each other's nomenclature."
Cohen
>>Solution: kill the man who saw you steal that 20 bucks worth of software, if you think you have a 50% chance of not getting caught.
Although that sounds funny, I'd like to point out that is exactly what happened during the Dark Ages. The classic example was when stealing bread was punishable by death, rather than the desired effect of deterring crime, the murder rate increased dramatically. If you might die for stealing, you might as well kill the person too and decrease your chance of getting caught.
Punishments have to fit the crime or they serve no valid purpose.
A preposition is a terrible thing to end a sentence with.
Yes, lots of similiarites. USSR was actually bankrupted in the 70's by Nixon and Carter. Reagan did nor bury USSR, but kept them going by restoring such things as grain trading. What is interesting about this, is that the argument can be made that had we allowed the USSR to fall in early 1981, then it would have been very bloody (perhaps for us). But Reagan's massive giveaway to USSR allowed them to survivie while decaying slowly.
I have wondered if that is what is happening to us. Basically, China and Middle east are propping up Regan and now Bush's outrageous deficts (all of Poppa Bush's and Clinton's efforts was wiped out). Sooner or later, China will have the other nations dependant on them and we will be in the way. At that time, I suspect that all the funding will be pulled and we will tumble as hard as USSR or will elect to start a war.
I prefer the "u" in honour as it seems to be missing these days.
The GOP is dedicated to grabbing every non-member of the 1% by the ankles and seeing what falls out of their pockets.
The upside? At least this isn't as bad as the shit they did on behalf of Jack Abramoff.
http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/week_200 5_08_07.php#006266/
Wait a second! Yes it is!
The recording industry is largely run by the mafia anyhow. So... It's just the same as the Indian gaming scandal.
I'm no big fan of either political party, but the Republicans are bad news.
Corruption-wise, this is the ugliest America has been since the end of the 19th Century.
I scream. You scream. I assume that means we're both acquainted with the problem. We proceed.
It seems to me that the actions of the RIAA against suspected file sharers are an act of terrorism. Demanding payment under the threat of a lawsuit, just because your underage child downloaded music is simply a shakedown. This law will make it much easier and less costly for the RIAA to extort the single mothers, because they don't have to sue any longer - they just threaten to call the cops. That's a pretty efficient process, and greatly increases the cost-to-income ratio. Enough to afford to buy.... Say.... A congressman.
So how do you stop this? Perhaps all the Slashdot readers in Texas could:
1. Call and ask his staff why he wants to send single moms to jail?
2. Then call your local news station and ask why he wants to send single moms to jail?
3. Then call your local newspaper and ask why he wants to send single moms to jail?
Let's see if there's a Slashdot effect on the local media. Three phone calls is all it takes.
http://lamarsmith.house.gov/
Call Rep. Smith at (202) 225-4236
If you're willing to bitch about it, how about makeing one or more phone calls?
Place nail here >+
It's beginning to look like the US government is *really* starting to lose it. And the UK gov doesn't seem too far behind (I'm English). I now live in Italy where we have our own fair share of stupid legislation (possibly more!) But there's one significant difference: If we think a law is really stupid - we ignore it - and so do the police (and, more importantly, their Mums and Dads).
My point is (OK, maybe a bit off topic); is it the law itself that's the problem, or the ability/willingness to enforce it? We're looking at motives, here.
WHY is this and other legislation being put forward? Obviously, it's nothing to do with the stemming of terrorism. Obviously the AG is getting involved for photo-ops and the like and probably hasn't a clue what it's all about. And, equally obviously, it hasn't a cat-in-hell's chance of making any significant difference to the problem it's supposed to address.
So the *ability* to enforce angle doesn't look so good. The very best they can expect is that they'll trawl up a few impoverished souls to throw to the wolves. The big operators will continue as before - and, anyway, there are plenty of existing laws to deal with their activities already.
That leaves *willingness* to enforce. Well, there is a cultural difference between here and the US. But it surely can't be that wide - and I thought the Yanks were a belligerent lot when it came to their rights. Sure, you're always going to get some jobsworth who will follow the rule book no matter how absurd it seems (suing grannies for grandkids' downloads springs to mind here)but the *entire* law enforcement community can't be stupid, can they? For the sake of argument (and peace of mind) let us assume "Nah!"
So, we come back to the actual law itself. If one accepts the previous points about ability/willingness to enforce, one has to ask what the hell is the law for?
I'd *really* like to know.
(Dons tin foil hat and hides under table).
You misunderstand. Your legislative bodies are elected in a series of smaller winner-takes-all elections. In a proportional election, the proportion of the Representatives from one party would correspond to the proportion of votes for that party in the election; so if the vote went 40% Republican, 30% Democrat, 10% Libertarian, 10% Greens, 10% various independents,* distributed equally across the whole country, then you'd get approximately 40% Republicans, 30% Democrats, 10% Libertarians, 10% Greens, 10% various independents elected to the House of Reps. By contrast, that same election under the current First-Past-the-Post winner-takes-all system America has, you'd get 100% Republicans.
I think before this could be applied to America, you'd either need to significantly increase the size of your House of Representatives (so that states like South Dakota, Vermont and Wyoming had at least three or four Representatives), or abandon voting by state (which might not actually be any harder to abandon than the first-past-the-post system you have).
* Obviously that you can have independents in a proportional system means I've simplified --- but you can probably read up more on it yourself if you're interested.
Look out!
I know .. hope you are being sarcastic. Yet, here's how safe we really are:
The 14 Defining Characteristics Of Fascism by Dr. Lawrence Britt
Dr. Lawrence Britt has examined the fascist regimes of Hitler (Germany), Mussolini (Italy), Franco (Spain), Suharto (Indonesia) and several Latin American regimes. Britt found 14-defining characteristics common to each:
1. Powerful and Continuing Nationalism - Fascist regimes tend to make constant use of patriotic mottos, slogans, symbols, songs, and other paraphernalia. Flags are seen everywhere, as are flag symbols on clothing and in public displays.
2. Disdain for the Recognition of Human Rights - Because of fear of enemies and the need for security, the people in fascist regimes are persuaded that human rights can be ignored in certain cases because of "need." The people tend to look the other way or even approve of torture, summary executions, assassinations, long incarcerations of prisoners, etc.
3. Identification of Enemies/Scapegoats as a Unifying Cause - The people are rallied into a unifying patriotic frenzy over the need to eliminate a perceived common threat or foe: racial , ethnic or religious minorities; liberals; communists; socialists, terrorists, etc.
4. Supremacy of the Military - Even when there are widespread domestic problems, the military is given a disproportionate amount of government funding, and the domestic agenda is neglected. Soldiers and military service are glamorized.
5. Rampant Sexism - The governments of fascist nations tend to be almost exclusively male-dominated. Under fascist regimes, traditional gender roles are made more rigid. Divorce, abortion and homosexuality are suppressed and the state is represented as the ultimate guardian of the family institution.
6. Controlled Mass Media - Sometimes to media is directly controlled by the government, but in other cases, the media is indirectly controlled by government regulation, or sympathetic media spokespeople and executives. Censorship, especially in war time, is very common.
7. Obsession with National Security - Fear is used as a motivational tool by the government over the masses.
8. Religion and Government are Intertwined - Governments in fascist nations tend to use the most common religion in the nation as a tool to manipulate public opinion. Religious rhetoric and terminology is common from government leaders, even when the major tenets of the religion are diametrically opposed to the government's policies or actions.
9. Corporate Power is Protected - The industrial and business aristocracy of a fascist nation often are the ones who put the government leaders into power, creating a mutually beneficial business/government relationship and power elite.
10. Labor Power is Suppressed - Because the organizing power of labor is the only real threat to a fascist government, labor unions are either eliminated entirely, or are severely suppressed.
11. Disdain for Intellectuals and the Arts - Fascist nations tend to promote and tolerate open hostility to higher education, and academia. It is not uncommon for professors and other academics to be censored or even arrested. Free expression in the arts and letters is openly attacked.
12. Obsession with Crime and Punishment - Under fascist regimes, the police are given almost limitless power to enforce laws. The people are often willing to overlook police abuses and even forego civil liberties in the name of patriotism. There is often a national police force with virtually unlimited power in fascist nations.
13. Rampant Cronyism and Corruption - Fascist regimes almost always are governed by groups of friends and associates who appoint each other to government positions and use governmental power and authority to protect their friends from accountability. It is not uncommon in fascist regimes for national resources and even treasures to be appropriated or even o
I hope I didn't brain my damage.
instant runoff
IRV doesn't help that much. It allows third parties to obtain more of a voice, which is good, but it doesn't really allow them to obtain power. As the strength of the third party grows to a point where it threatens to win an election, IRV still creates a situation where voters have to vote strategically for the major party they consider the lesser evil, rather than the third party they really prefer. Otherwise, they risk the third party candidate knocking out the more ideologically similar major party candidate, but without acquiring enough votes to defeat the other major party candidate.
Approval voting is better than IRV, and the Condorcet voting systems are even better. For legislative bodies, proportional representation is also an option, though it has downsides as well -- I prefer to vote for people, not parties.
Note to ACs: I usually delete AC replies without reading them. If you want to talk to me, log in.
- Type "Taxachusetts" into Google.
- Click "I'm Feeling Lucky."
- Learn that, as of 2004, Massachusetts has lower taxes than almost 70% of the country.
- Realize that anyone seriously using the term Taxachusetts either has a political axe to grind, or is somewhat misinformed.
(Profit.)concrete5: a cms made for marketing, but strong enough for geeks.