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President Signs Law Creating Copyright Czar
I Don't Believe in Imaginary Property writes "President Bush has signed the EIPRA (AKA the PRO-IP Act) and created a cabinet-level post of 'Copyright Czar,' on par with the current 'Drug Czar,' in spite of prior misgivings about the bill. They did at least get rid of provisions that would have had the DOJ take over the RIAA's unpopular litigation campaign. Still, the final legislation (PDF) creates new classes of felony criminal copyright infringement, adds civil forfeiture provisions that incorporate by reference parts of the Comprehensive Drug Abuse Prevention and Control Act of 1970, and directs the Copyright Czar to lobby foreign governments to adopt stronger IP laws. At this point, our best hope would appear to be to hope that someone sensible like Laurence Lessig or William Patry gets appointed."
Establish a secret police to rout all revolutionaries and anti-royalists. Establish a serfdom and enforce it with an iron fist. Confiscate the property of radicals and starve them and their families. Get lined up against a wall and shot when the revolution comes.
Similar to the upcoming US election results
Your government is out of control. Perfect timing. This will get zero media attention.
In the subject, you name Bush.
In your post, you name "your government"
Guess what, they are not one and the same.
Bush has issued 12 vetoes during 8 years.
4 of those vetoes were overridden.
The blame for this rests on the Senators and Congressmen who allowed themselves to be lobbied into passing such industry serving legislation.
[Fuck Beta]
o0t!
Because departments tend to be ultra-introverts and power crazy zealots a "Czar" is sometimes created to cross these boundaries to encourage (and enforce) cooperation to a common goal. (e.g. Drugs, terrorism and now copyright)
It has more impact and is (arguably) more cost-effective than creating a new department to carry out tasks which are the same as other departments. This also assumes that the departments will fail to work together effectively and squabble over funding and power.
Sometimes there is a double up. There is a department that deals with drugs specifically, so the Czar's main role would be to coordinate all the interested departments.
Drugs were but an excuse. The government wanted to increase their ability to track money through the economy, reduce gray/black market activities, force people into using banking for every penny they could, increase taxation success, reduce currency in circulation, increase plastic usage, etc, just give it some thought. I can remember when successful farmers and ranchers carried rolls of hundred dollar bills with them often, no idea if they still do that or not but if they do they are at risk while just trying to do their daily business. Used car dealers on buying trips have had their money seized in forfeiture as have many others that don't have anything to do with drugs. For law enforcement, it is a license to steal and even kill. One of the examples being:
Wonder how many similar things were just swept under the rug?
They already have.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Halliburton
Caesar was not an emperor of rome. Octavius was the first Emperor. Julius Caesar was appointed dictator for life by the Senate before being murdered by Senators. His ascension WAS the end of the republic, but he was not an emperor. The period after his death prior to Octavian's rule was essentially pure chaos and civil war between the Senate, Octavian, and Marc Antony for which of the three would rule Rome. After Octavian came to power, the Senate was officially done with and the Imperial period began.
I've done some research and it appears that out of Barack Obama, Joe Biden, John McCain and Sarah Palin none of them bothered to vote on it.
OK... Palin's my least favorite from that list. But blaming her for not voting on that bill is more than a little unfair.
You do realize that she's neither a senator nor a representative, right?
He's getting rather old, but he's a good mouse.