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Posted By Nobunaga about 4 months, 1 week ago
"Google? Yup, foreign site with pirated material… better shut'er down…"
Alright, I’ll admit the headline is a bit melodramatic, but in essence the Stop Online Piracy Act and the Protect IP act have just been dealt the metaphorical boxing one-two combo that will send it sprawling to the mat. Over the past few months countless organizations have stepped forward to protest the act or things within it… but now, the heavy hitters come to play. The biggest hit of them all? The Obama Administration…
Now I’ll admit, as a Canadian my stake in the SOPA and PIPA bills is only slightly less than most… though it doesn’t take a brilliant man to see that once something impacts the United States, it is often followed elsewhere, even if Canada does have quite lax copyright and even less enforcement of said laws. That being said I’ve been passionate in my hatred to the two bills and what the logical outcomes of them are. And while people like Adam Savage of Mythbusters fame, dozens of game companies (Sega, Bungie, Riot Games…), every online review and news site known to the internet, nearly every major search or social media provider and countless individuals all warn of the devastating effect of the bills, it’s hard to stop governmental politics without violent rioting an-… oh… wait, that probably was about to happen knowing the internet, considering a great deal of companies were (and still are) throwing around the idea of a internet blackout in protest.
But hot on the heel of the SOPA and PIPA bills is both Congress and the White House. The Obama Administration came out with a statement early today saying “While we believe that online piracy by foreign websites is a serious problem that requires a serious legislative response, we will not support legislation that reduces freedom of expression, increases cybersecurity risk, or undermines the dynamic, innovative global Internet,” the statement read in part.
And with every day members of Congress are turning against SOPA it seems almost inevitable that the SOPA and PIPA bills will have a hard time getting back up from the blow. But that being said… all that being said… and as much as I hate the overall cliche level of it… people can not stop the fight. SOPA must be fought and buried and rewritten in a manner that actually works, not simply by allowing sweeping, unchecked and rampant take downs and the victimization of the country’s own citizens. There will be people who will try and pull SOPA and PIPA back to the metaphorical corner, give it some water and slice it’s swollen eye in an attempt to get it back in the ring…
But this fight has to end, the boxing match must have it’s final bell. Once it’s over, we’ll all be able to take a breath again…
"Yah still thinking the internet be letting this happen, mate?"
Well I will admit that Piracy is a problem, a bill like this is a bit much, this is like like using nuclear weapons to mow your lawn, it’s just too much.
Hit ‘em with a one two punch! A one two punch!
Wait, you’re Canadian?
The real problem are in 90′s we’ve feared of Big brother and what the government will do.. But after the explosion of internet… Big brother isn’t a governmental entity but the mass of people information and transaction in freedom and now the government want take control over it… Too Bad isn’t how it’s evolute and you cannot stop that or control that.The Chinese government , best and the most hackers of the world have difficulty with it, U.s don’t still a chance.
U.N talk about the freedom of information and legislative and legalize internet for all… SOPA and PIPA will be crushed . The only way for a certain control are relatively easy, all media depends of internet and all server are the fortress of contains with firewall and java guardian
. Like Apple product, but i really hate this idea 
.
My explanation are maybe bad, but the idea of exclusivity and secure internet database are the only way to not be pirated, like mp3, mtv video, movies and that kill the real shopper for promoting the online.
I’m with Senator Rand Paul as he wants to crush this kinda thing out of existence and keep it from ever coming up again. Our biggest obstacle is the doddering old empires of the MPAA and the RIAA who have always from the birth of the commercial recordable media platforms have seen the consumer to be a primary threat to their Monopolistic system, Now that the Internet within the past decade has shown itself to be an increasingly adept and worthy foe to their media dominance they are seeking to destroy it rather than innovate and compete. That coupled with politicians that see this form of legislation as a way to better control the populace by limiting information sources its a very dangerous cabal that could take shape here. This battle may be winnable people but the war is far from over. Those old empires are in a near panic as their systems collapse and its going to get worse before it gets better,
With all the backing SOPA and PIPA had some time ago, I lost the will to fight. Despite our best efforts, I felt taking on that kind of firepower was pointless. Their minds were made up and we only had to accept our fate.
Somehow, the tables have turned and while this doesn’t mean we’re far from finished, it has restored my will to fight.
Politics in general confuses me. I want to think that there’s much more than the one with the most money in their pockets holds rules the government but so far it continues to look like that really is the case.
Hopefully those strong enough to oppose this bill will continue hitting hard till SOPA and IPA have run out of steam.
We’d like to believe the people in charge are moralistic and only seek to better our way of lives but reality can be a bitter pill to swallow. While not the case with every politician, the ones who usually get into those seats of power bought their way there by taking ‘donations’ from various private sources. So in return they swing decisions that effect the whole country in favor of their financial backers. Not to mention in the wake of the Bush administration the doors have opened for the highly spiritual candidates to throw their hats into the ring and have a legitimate chance of getting a position of importance. Spiritual candidates who openly claim their reasoning through divine calling and who attempt to push their often alienating and short sighted morals on to the rest of the populace.
I can’t deny I politics have left me more than a little bitter towards those who run the country but it is good to see more and more standing up against such a critical bill that would have terrible and far reaching consequences. Sadly this is a battle that will continue for some time. Those who seek to control and who are driven by greed will attempt another SOPA again in the future. We can only hope the citizens learn from this and cut it off at the knees the next time such a thing begins brewing.
A nice gesture from Obama, but this doesn’t excuse his renewal of the Patriot Act, signing indefinite detention into law, or his many other Bush-like blunders.
He stripped a lot of the power that automatic detention clause had, now its only usable by the President and needs approval I believe, which is a lot better than saying it can just happen irregardless of the evidence.
“irregardless”
Really, Robert? I trusted you
With this being an election season and all, we need to carefully examine each candidate’s positions on these issue, including their position on SOPA and internet restriction. While tables are turning in our favor, we need to make sure that the next batch of legislators and the next or current president won’t do something like this.
You also have to figure that with an election coming up Obama isn’t going to go against one of the groups that got him into office the first time. At least publicly. He IS a politician, after all.
I really don’t think there’s anything to worry about. Too many people are passionately against it for it to go through.
True but the people behind this bill have, so far, managed to keep this a largely closed door decision, excluding any opposition who would voice their side of it, even technical experts who would clearly outline the trouble such a act would cause. Thankfully we’re finally getting our say on the 18th, so I hope the numbers are a deciding factor.
I agree. We can’t celebrate just yet. This could be a false sense of security. We can’t celebrate until we know for sure. Is it paranoid? Probably. It’s how politics work. They will say how everything is going to be okay in order to make people feel better. This IS a good hit at the bill. However, we MUST remain vigilant in the face of this. We can’t lose sight of the goal and we can’t back down. We have to vote Lamar Smith out of office in Texas and those like him.
We Won !
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=07M3waPg6DU
Not quite.
I’m hesitant to put too much faith in this. The President has already flaked on a few things, including the recent NDAA signing. But this does bode well so far.
As the article says though, we can’t and shouldn’t celebrate just yet. More work needs to be done to crush this bill and force a rewrite that guarantees freedom on the internet while protecting IP.
yeah… maybe… I just don’t know how american politic works…
Most people don’t =)