I missed this article. Rush Limbaugh is trying to use the DCMA to silence a video that is critical of him. Poor Rush, can be mean and obnoxious to others but when he gets taken to task he has to use a method that is probably not legal. Most likely the video in question is using clips of Rush as Fair Use. So all you fans of Rush out there, your hero is a wimp.
[It] is threatening the rights of people in America, and effectively rights everywhere, because what happens in America tends to affect people all over the world. Even though the Sopa and Pipa acts were stopped by huge public outcry, it’s staggering how quickly the US government has come back with a new, different, threat to the rights of its citizens.
Arrests for Violation of St. Petersburg Anti-Gay Law
In St. Petersburg, Russia, two men were arrested on Thursday for holding up a sign reading “Homosexuality Is Normal.” It marks the first arrests on the strength of the city’s new law against disseminating information on homosexuality.
David Boies and Ted Olson, the famed lawyers behind a legal challenge to California’s Proposition 8 ban on same-sex marriage, are threatening to sue the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) unless it changes the R rating of the documentary film “Bully…”
The MPAA’s Classification and Rating Administration assigned “Bully” an R rating because the F-word is used several times in dialogue. The rating means children under 17 cannot see the film without a parent or guardian.
The filmmakers, led by producer Harvey Weinstein, officially appealed the rating, saying that the film offers an important message to children about the effects of bullying, but the MPAA’s appeals board denied the motion on Feb. 23.
“How ridiculous and unfair and damaging it is to have a film of this power and importance that is being censored by a rating system that has got simply no rational basis,” said Boies. “You can kill kids, you can maim them, you can torture them and still get a ‘PG-13’ rating, but if they say a couple of bad words you blame them.”
Twelve countries named ‘Enemies of the Internet’
The “Enemies of the Internet” list includes Bahrain, Belarus, Burma, China, Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Vietnam.
Arizona State University is reportedly blocking students’ access to the petition and advocacy site Change.org and to messages from the site to ASU email addresses. A popular website that uses petitions to create social change, Change.org is hosting a petition by ASU students to lower tuition rates. Free speech advocates and net neutrality group Free Press are concerned that it was this petition, and not the threat of ‘spam mail’, that led to the blockage of the site.
Censorship U? Arizona State Downs Site After Tuition Petition
Under this new treaty, Internet Service Providers will police all data passing through them, making them legally responsible for what their users do online. And should you do something considered “breach of copyright” like, for instance, getting a tattoo of a brand logo, taking a photo and posting it somewhere, you may be disconnected from the Internet, fined or even jailed.
This, of course, threatens the entire founding idea of the Internet – the free sharing of information. But ACTA doesn’t stop there. It goes beyond the Internet, bearing down on generic drugs and food patents. If passed, ACTA will enforce a global standard for seed patenting, which would wipe out independent, local farmers and make the world completely dependent on the patent owners (read “big corporations”) for supplies.
This, of course, threatens the entire founding idea of the Internet – the free sharing of information. But ACTA doesn’t stop there. It goes beyond the Internet, bearing down on generic drugs and food patents. If passed, ACTA will enforce a global standard for seed patenting, which would wipe out independent, local farmers and make the world completely dependent on the patent owners (read “big corporations”) for supplies.
ACTA: The International Treaty You’ve Never Heard of That Could Affect Internet Freedom
Lublin, Poland
Protesters with their mouths taped shut during a demonstration against the government’s plan to ratify the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA). ACTA commits its signatories to counteract global trade of counterfeit goods and pirated copyright. Opponents have argued that the treaty will restrict fundamental civil and digital rights. (via ZUMA)
In Fight Over Piracy Bills, New Economy Rises Against Old
When the powerful world of old media mobilized to win passage of an online antipiracy bill, it marshaled the reliable giants of K Street — the United States Chamber of Commerce, the Recording Industry Association of America and, of course, the motion picture lobby…
Yet on Wednesday this formidable old guard was forced to make way for the new as Web powerhouses backed by Internet activists rallied opposition to the legislation through Internet blackouts and cascading criticism, sending an unmistakable message to lawmakers grappling with new media issues: Don’t mess with the Internet…
“I think it is an important moment in the Capitol,” said Representative Zoe Lofgren, Democrat of California and an important opponent of the legislation. “Too often, legislation is about competing business interests. This is way beyond that. This is individual citizens rising up.”
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A Blackout is Working to Stop SOPA and PIPA
As you’re probably aware, several major websites have blacked out in protest of the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) and its senate sibling, the Protect IP Act (PIPA). Wikipedia is still usable, but it takes some futzing to get it to work. Otherwise, Reddit, Craigslist, Boing-Boing, Mozilla, SMBC, and other popular sites are effectively down for the day.
This has turned out to be an effective form of protest.Politico:
An Internet blackout Wednesday by Wikipedia, Reddit, Mozilla and thousands of other sites against two anti-piracy bills in Congress has started to have its desired effect: Co-sponsors of the legislation have changed sides and other lawmakers have called for more debate before any vote.
Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) — who was a co-sponsor of the PROTECT IP Act — became the latest lawmaker Wednesday to pull his support. In the House, Rep. Ben Quayle (R-Ariz.), originally a co-sponsor of the Stop Online Piracy Act, pulled his name from the list of sponsors on Tuesday. A spokesman for Rep. Lee Terry (R-Neb.), meanwhile, told the Omaha World-Herald on Wednesday that the congressman is also unable to support SOPA as written
The widespread Internet protest is even bringing new Washington voices into the fray. Mostly silent in the debate, Sen. Jim DeMint (R-S.C.) tweeted Wednesday he doesn’t back the bills.
“I support intellectual property rights, but I oppose SOPA & PIPA,” DeMint tweeted. “They’re misguided bills that will cause more harm than good.”
But the fact was that these bills were all but dead before the blackout. “[S]ponsors of the House and Senate bills ran into fierce and unexpected opposition, largely derailing their legislative plans. The White House didn’t issue a veto threat, per se, but the administration’s chief technology officials concluded, ‘We will not support legislation that reduces freedom of expression, increases cybersecurity risk or undermines the dynamic, innovative global Internet.’ The statement added that any proposed legislation ‘must not tamper with the technical architecture of the Internet,’” writes Steve Benen. “The White House’s position left SOPA and PIPA, at least in their current form, effectively dead.”
Part of the problem here is that members of congress are often asked to vote on legislation dealing with issues they don’t really understand. The members of the specific committees generally get the bills they generate, but outside those committees they’re about as well informed as you or I might be. Think about it; do you really believe your congress critter is an expert on issues like internet commerce, international trade, the health insurance industry, nuclear power, and national defense all at the same time? Pretty doubtful.
As a result, congress members rely on lobbyists and their own colleagues to educate them. There’s nothing wrong with this in and of itself, but the problem is that there’s often incentive for these educators to be a lot less than honest. And it’s not just corporate lobbyists who present this problem, but citizen groups as well. Imagine being a member of a group committed to eliminating online porn — giving congress the tools to shut down websites could be an inviting first step in realizing your goals. This is a precedent you want to set and you’re obviously not going to give a presentation that includes a “here’s the downside” PowerPoint slide (actually, small money lobbyists probably just write a letter or submit a study, but you get the idea).
It’s hard to see how this can possibly be avoided. Even if we reduce the money influence of lobbyists, you could make a pretty damned good argument that the educational influence of lobbyists is almost necessary. You’ve seen congress. Some of these people are dumber than a sack of doorknobs. Their only actual skill seems to be in getting elected. I, for one, don’t want Rep. Louie Gohmert trying to figure out NASA’a latest rocket science project or trying to figure out the math behind monetary policy. If you gave a monkey a shotgun, he’d do less damage.
So what’s the answer? You’re looking at it. Pressure from citizens and businesses that would be affected by SOPA and PIPA have severely hobbled the legislation’s progress. Co-sponsors are jumping ship and the White House is suggesting it’s heading for a dead end — assuming it moves forward at all. It’s not the blackout itself that’s causing the problem for lawmakers, it’s the message that websites are putting up instead of their usual content, a message they’ve been pushing for weeks now — call your congress members, tell them to oppose these bills.
It’s just like dealing with hate speech. If the answer to hate speech is more speech, not censorship, then the answer to misleading educational lobbying is more lobbying — in this case, from actual voters. If you contact your representative or senator, it has an impact. If you tell them that you’re going to do more than just vote against them — that you’re going to volunteer for and donate to their opponent in the next election — it counts that much more.
If you doubt that your opinion matters, look at what’s happening today and reassess that conclusion.
-Wisco](http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_ly0c8fuzB61qfengno1_400.jpg)
A Blackout is Working to Stop SOPA and PIPA
As you’re probably aware, several major websites have blacked out in protest of the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) and its senate sibling, the Protect IP Act (PIPA). Wikipedia is still usable, but it takes some futzing to get it to work. Otherwise, Reddit, Craigslist, Boing-Boing, Mozilla, SMBC, and other popular sites are effectively down for the day.
This has turned out to be an effective form of protest.Politico:
An Internet blackout Wednesday by Wikipedia, Reddit, Mozilla and thousands of other sites against two anti-piracy bills in Congress has started to have its desired effect: Co-sponsors of the legislation have changed sides and other lawmakers have called for more debate before any vote.
Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) — who was a co-sponsor of the PROTECT IP Act — became the latest lawmaker Wednesday to pull his support. In the House, Rep. Ben Quayle (R-Ariz.), originally a co-sponsor of the Stop Online Piracy Act, pulled his name from the list of sponsors on Tuesday. A spokesman for Rep. Lee Terry (R-Neb.), meanwhile, told the Omaha World-Herald on Wednesday that the congressman is also unable to support SOPA as written
The widespread Internet protest is even bringing new Washington voices into the fray. Mostly silent in the debate, Sen. Jim DeMint (R-S.C.) tweeted Wednesday he doesn’t back the bills.
“I support intellectual property rights, but I oppose SOPA & PIPA,” DeMint tweeted. “They’re misguided bills that will cause more harm than good.”
But the fact was that these bills were all but dead before the blackout. “[S]ponsors of the House and Senate bills ran into fierce and unexpected opposition, largely derailing their legislative plans. The White House didn’t issue a veto threat, per se, but the administration’s chief technology officials concluded, ‘We will not support legislation that reduces freedom of expression, increases cybersecurity risk or undermines the dynamic, innovative global Internet.’ The statement added that any proposed legislation ‘must not tamper with the technical architecture of the Internet,’” writes Steve Benen. “The White House’s position left SOPA and PIPA, at least in their current form, effectively dead.”
Part of the problem here is that members of congress are often asked to vote on legislation dealing with issues they don’t really understand. The members of the specific committees generally get the bills they generate, but outside those committees they’re about as well informed as you or I might be. Think about it; do you really believe your congress critter is an expert on issues like internet commerce, international trade, the health insurance industry, nuclear power, and national defense all at the same time? Pretty doubtful.
As a result, congress members rely on lobbyists and their own colleagues to educate them. There’s nothing wrong with this in and of itself, but the problem is that there’s often incentive for these educators to be a lot less than honest. And it’s not just corporate lobbyists who present this problem, but citizen groups as well. Imagine being a member of a group committed to eliminating online porn — giving congress the tools to shut down websites could be an inviting first step in realizing your goals. This is a precedent you want to set and you’re obviously not going to give a presentation that includes a “here’s the downside” PowerPoint slide (actually, small money lobbyists probably just write a letter or submit a study, but you get the idea).
It’s hard to see how this can possibly be avoided. Even if we reduce the money influence of lobbyists, you could make a pretty damned good argument that the educational influence of lobbyists is almost necessary. You’ve seen congress. Some of these people are dumber than a sack of doorknobs. Their only actual skill seems to be in getting elected. I, for one, don’t want Rep. Louie Gohmert trying to figure out NASA’a latest rocket science project or trying to figure out the math behind monetary policy. If you gave a monkey a shotgun, he’d do less damage.
So what’s the answer? You’re looking at it. Pressure from citizens and businesses that would be affected by SOPA and PIPA have severely hobbled the legislation’s progress. Co-sponsors are jumping ship and the White House is suggesting it’s heading for a dead end — assuming it moves forward at all. It’s not the blackout itself that’s causing the problem for lawmakers, it’s the message that websites are putting up instead of their usual content, a message they’ve been pushing for weeks now — call your congress members, tell them to oppose these bills.
It’s just like dealing with hate speech. If the answer to hate speech is more speech, not censorship, then the answer to misleading educational lobbying is more lobbying — in this case, from actual voters. If you contact your representative or senator, it has an impact. If you tell them that you’re going to do more than just vote against them — that you’re going to volunteer for and donate to their opponent in the next election — it counts that much more.
If you doubt that your opinion matters, look at what’s happening today and reassess that conclusion.
-Wisco
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