MythBuster Adam Savage: SOPA Could Destroy the Internet as We Know It

MythBuster Adam Savage: SOPA Could Destroy the Internet as We Know It

Right now Congress is considering two bills—the Protect IP Act, and the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA)—that would be laughable if they weren’t in fact real. Honestly, if a friend wrote these into a piece of fiction about government oversight gone amok, I’d have to tell them that they were too one-dimensional, too obviously anticonstitutional.

Make no mistake: These bills aren’t simply unconstitutional, they are anticonstitutional. They would allow for the wholesale elimination of entire websites, domain names, and chunks of the DNS (the underlying structure of the whole Internet), based on nothing more than the “good faith” assertion by a single party that the website is infringing on a copyright of the complainant. The accused doesn’t even have to be aware that the complaint has been made.

I’m not kidding.

Hope everyone has contacted their Congressmen and women and told them exactly what you think of this unconstitutional and anticonstitutional ‘so called’ legislation! I have!

BTW: Don’t forget to urge the President to VETO NDAA!!! “President has until December 26 to act on NDAA” per Americans to Obama: Veto NDAA, White House phones jammed

SOPA flip flop

So we can’t just sit back and relax and enjoy the holidays, eh?

House Delays Taking Action on SOPA Until Dec. 21 – Mashable

Nope. Guess not. SOPA was supposedly pushed off till 2012, but then they flip flopped and now they will be meeting on the 21st. I wonder how they got Congress to come back when they were supposed to be on break? Must have been pretty profitable to them one way or another?

SOPA Markup Runs Out Of Time; Likely Delayed Until 2012 [Update: Or Not...] – TechDirt

From this article: SOPA, bill to stop online piracy, hits minor snag in House – CBS:

Public Knowledge, a Washington based advocacy organization pushing for an open Internet, slammed the panel’s chair for pushing the legislation without understanding the bill’s unintended consequences.

“SOPA, as written, would threaten the functioning, freedom, and economic potential of the Internet,” said Sherwin Siy, deputy legal director of Public Knowledge, adding that scheduling a vote “when many members may well be absent demonstrates a clear desire to continue dodging the questions raised by experts, members, and the public.”

Tech Companies have repeatedly stated that this would be bad for everyone:

Looks like Congress has declared war on the internet – Gigaom

Tech firms fight SOPA by talking job creation – CNN Money

WTF is happening with SOPA now? – Boing Boing:

If you followed my tweets from the markup session for SOPA in the House of Representatives, you know how frustrating it was to watch: you had these lawmakers blithely dismissing the security concerns of the likes of Vint Cerf, saying things like, “I’m no technology nerd, but I don’t believe it.” In other words: “I’m a perfect ignoramus, but I find it convenient to disregard the world’s foremost experts.” Another congressman from Florida kept saying things like “No one can explain to me how this bill harms political debate or academic freedom.”

Congressional SOPA hearings: no opponents of the bill allowed:

Irony Alert: The House is holding hearings on sweeping Internet censorship legislation this week — and it’s censoring the opposition! The bill is backed by Hollywood, Big Pharma, and the Chamber of Commerce, and all of them are going to get to testify at the hearing.

But the bill’s opponents — tech companies, free speech and human rights activists, and hundreds of thousands of Internet users — won’t have a voice.

And can anyone be blamed for being upset with this mess!?!

The nightmarish SOPA hearings – ComPost – Washington Post:

This is terrifying to watch. It would be amusing — there’s nothing like people who did not grow up with the Internet attempting to ask questions about technology very slowly and stumbling over words like “server” and “service” when you want an easy laugh. Except that this time, the joke’s on us.

…

As long as there have been new technologies, the entertainment industry has been trying to get them shut down as filthy, thieving pirates. Video cassettes? Will anyone tune into TV again? MP3 players? Why even bother making a record? Digital video recorder that lets you skip ads? That’s a form of theft!

…

SOPA, the Stop Online Piracy Act, is a bill that, in the name of preventing online piracy of copyrighted work, creates a horrifyingly large censorship authority for the Internet. Among other things, it requiresservice providers (which have come out opposing the bill) to block access to entire sites if a user on the site is accused of copyright infringement.

There are dozens of reasons this is wrong. The biggest and most pressing is that not only does the bill not do what it sets out to do, it also creates a horrifyingly blunt instrument to censor the Internet.

Top Internet engineers warn against SOPA:

Some of the original engineers of the Internet called Thursday for lawmakers to scrap anti-piracy bills, saying the proposals would pose major technological barriers for the Web and stifle new innovations.

The letter comes as House Judiciary committee members on Thursday debate the Stop Online Piracy Act introduced by Lamar Smith (R-Tex.) that has drawn impassioned support from media firms but opposition by Web firms and some public interest groups.

…

Vint Cerf of Google, domain name system software author Paul Vixie and Internet routing engineer Tony Li were among 83 high-profile engineers who signed an open letter to Congress in opposition to the House Stop Online Privacy Act and Senate Protect Intellectual Property Act.

“If enacted, either of these bills will create an environment of tremendous fear and uncertainty for technological innovation, and seriously harm the credibility of the United States in its role as a steward of key Internet infrastructure,” the engineers wrote.

An Open Letter From Internet Engineers to the U.S. Congress:

Today, a group of 83 prominent Internet inventors and engineers sent an open letter to members of the United States Congress, stating their opposition to the SOPA and PIPA Internet blacklist bills that are under consideration in the House and Senate respectively.

The article has the letter itself, as well as a link to the pdf of the letter.

It also has the impressive list of VERY SMART PEOPLE! Engineers! People who would know! SOPA is a very bad thing!

Call your Senators! Please work it in to your busy holiday schedule. I did and I hope you will too. I will do it again come Monday. All this on the weekend when we can’t do anything about it?! Very annoying that they would flip flop like this at beyond the 11th hour!

As an American Citizen..I am appalled at our Congress. And even more so with our President who seems to be backing this crap legislation.

The PIPA (Protect IP Act = Senate Bill S.968) is no better. Both of these crap legislations need to go!

These bills are so bad, in next to no time, we could all be feeling like we are in a tyrannical empire … The NDAA was bad enough and they let that piece of crap legislation through already. Don’t let Congress make yet another major mistake and give away the remaining liberties and freedoms we so love.

In the words of Eye Drops from the old ZDTV/TechTV: “Think about that!“

EDIT: Adding the following from Cory Doctorow on Twitter:
“@doctorow: A good piece explaining what #SOPA can mean to everyday Americans http://t.co/qIqInkYJ” The original posting is here: http://www.bricoleur.org/2011/12/overbroad-censorship-users.html

When Copyright Goes Bad

When Copyright Goes Bad

Info from the YouTube video page:

A film by Ben Cato Clough and Luke Upchurch.

Suddenly, copyright rules no longer do what they are supposed to do. They have gone bad.

This is a film about how copyright has become one of the most important consumer issues of the digital age; why corporate lobbying risks criminalising the actions of hundreds of thousands of people; and what the future holds for the fight for fairer copyright laws.

When Copyright Goes Bad is an introduction to the renegotiation of copyright and is for anyone interested in how copyright is affecting consumers. It features some of the key players in the copyright debate, including:

Fred Von Lohmann – Electronic Frontier Foundation; Michael Geist – University of Ottawa Law School; Jim Killock – Open Rights Group; and Hank Shocklee – Co-founder of Public Enemy.

For more, visit http://www.A2Knetwork.org/film

Listen to Pandora on your Blackberry

Pandora for BlackBerry

This sounds like fun! If you have a BlackBerry, you can enjoy the free personalized Internet radio on Pandora.

Talk about being able to broaden your musical horizons without having to buy additional satellite equipment or costly subscriptions.

Downside? Speakers in the Blackberry? FM Transmitter might fix that, eh?

RIAA Determined to destroy tributes to artists and more!

RIAA NAZIS DETERMINED TO DESTROY NEW AND FRINGE MUSIC:

I just got this new directive from the CPB (Corporation for Public Broadcasting) in the USA that applies to all public radio stations. Here’s an excerpt:

“In any three (3) hour period you can transmit up to three (3) different selections of sound recordings from any one CD, but you can transmit no more than two (2) consecutively. Additionally, in any three (3) hour period you can transmit up to four (4) different selections by the same featured artist, or up to four (4) different selections of sound recordings from any set or compilation of CD’s, but you can transmit no more than three (3) consecutively.”

As the Just As We Thought Blog noted — so much for dedicating programs to artists when they die or to honor birthdays.

Sad. They have to feel in total control! That is such an alien concept … controlling music. Music is all about freedom and speaking out, revolution, love, deep thoughts. That is so contrary to control!

I will be so happy when artists finally say, “That’s it! I have had enough of this!”

That will be a truly great day for all music lovers the world over.

Not in My Name…

NOT IN MY NAME… Artists Against Guilt Upon Accusation:

As the natural world meets the digital … opportunities are opening up for artists to connect with new audiences across the world. However, with the digitisation of media the lines between use and copy have become blurred. Laws regulating the act of copying have failed to keep pace with technology and soon ISPs will be forced to take down internet connections and websites of anyone accused (not convicted) of copyright infringement. Copyright law is now having the effect of limiting artists, restricting businesses, and harming public rights. The Creative Freedom Foundation speaks for artists concerned at this trend and through Our Goals we seek to bring Copyright Law into the 21st Century.

This is in response to Section 92 and happening February 2009 in New Zealand if their Citizens don’t speak up!

“Not In My Name, the CFF campaign for Fair Copyright”

*CFF (Creative Freedom Foundation)

Campaign to Stop File-Sharers Being “Guilty Upon Accusation”

I thought most civilized countries had an ‘innocent until proven guilty’ stance? Maybe not.

Think this can’t happen in the USA or other Western Countries? Think again. Freedom is only as good as the vigilance of it’s Citizens. Laws that are this far reaching can never be good and most certainly can be seriously abused.

Copyright holders can just as easily be on the receiving end of such a law. So artists need to also be very careful what laws you allow to be passed in New Zealand!! It may come back to bite you on the a**.

Big 4 record labels ripe for government bailout?

I sure hope this was a tongue-in-cheek political statement about the absurdity of bailouts, but I fear it could be the real deal.

Big 4 record labels “ripe for government bailout”

p2pnet news view Music:- With the US already authorising billions of dollars in taxpayer money for American banks, the four major labels (and Merlin) are similarly, “ripe for a government bailout,” says Tommy Silverman in an A2IM (American Association of Independent Music) post.

The Big 4 are:
* Vivendi Universal (France)
* Sony BMG (Japan and Germany)
* EMI (Britain
* Warner Music (US, but controlled by a Canadian)

p2Pnet also stated,

If the Big 4 had spent as much time and money establishing themselves as major users of P2P technology in the 21st digital century, instead of launching bizarre campaigns to sue their own customers into becoming compliant consumers of corporate ‘product,’ and trying to gain exclusive control of how, and by whom, music is distributed online, they’d now be sitting pretty.

Which was confirmed by the CEO, Edgar Bronfman Jr., who, in a turnaround bit of honesty, commented to the audience at the GSMA Mobile Asia Congress:

We used to fool ourselves…We used to think our content was perfect just exactly as it was. We expected our business would remain blissfully unaffected even as the world of interactivity, constant connection and file sharing was exploding. And of course we were wrong. How were we wrong? By standing still or moving at a glacial pace, we inadvertently went to war with consumers by denying them what they wanted and could otherwise find and as a result of course, consumers won.

Based on a A2IM commentary by Tommy Silverman entitled, “Commentary: Save The Music,” AKA, “A Modest Proposal For Government Intervention” by TOMMY SILVERMAN

Now that the government has bailed out the banking system, it should take action to rescue the four major labels and the independent companies represented by Merlin. The U.S. recording industry, worth $14 billion in retail value when George W. Bush took office, has fallen to $9 billion today.

Could it be a coincidence that the music industry boom ended in 2000, just before the 8-year slide in the American economy? Music has been one of America’s most important exports, as our inventions; jazz, blues, rock & roll and hip-hop are all enjoyed worldwide. Rock & Roll did more to bring about the fall of the Soviet Union than the CIA. A strong music business is a matter of national security.

And this tidget,

Of the four major labels, only the Warner Music Group is an American company; the others are owned by the Japanese, British or French. Just as the government prevented a Dubai company from safeguarding American ports, it should take steps to stop rock & roll from slipping away to foreign control. At the very least, they should fund the purchase of the Elvis Presley catalog back from the Japanese.

Like the auto industry, the music business needs loan guarantees to retool to adapt to new technology. The government should fund a five-year, $25 billion loan package industry to pay for artist development and marketing and retooling for and adaptation to new technologies during the transition period. As a condition, it would limit salaries and bonuses and temporarily eliminate golden parachutes for top executives.

And this,

What remains perfectly clear is that the recording industry is ripe for a government bailout, long overdue for the support that almost all other countries recording industries get. The industry is worthy of that investment as benefits accrue not only to the companies but also through trickle down to publishers, radio, venues, artist managers, booking agents, merch companies, CD and component manufacturing facilities, recording studios and their employees. Through a strong American music business and strong American music, we bolster consumer confidence which, at its core, drives the financial markets and America’s standard of living.

But apparently even Warner Music Group (WMG), although it supposedly is the only stand-alone music company to be publicly traded in the United States is apparently is controlled by a Canadian?

I thought that Warner Music Group was sold to a group of investors led by Edgar Bronfman Jr. in March 2004. Where does Canada come into it? Is the main money investor in the group a Canadian?

Although that is neither here nor there really.

Since when should the American Taxpayer feel the ‘necessity’ to bailout any entertainment industry? Especially since 3/4 of the music industry are not even Americans to begin with.

And what makes them think that the music industry deserves a bailout by the taxpayers –many of which have been sued with no mercy even to the poor by the the music industry through their RIAA?!

I just don’t get it. I get so sick and tired of this. Why doesn’t our government and the world just hook up an IV bottle and suck us dry. Most of us in America are not wealthy by any stretch of the imagination. The majority of Americans are poor or low to mid-income range.

Besides, the world of music certainly won’t die even if the Big 4 go away.

Richard Wright joins the “Great Gig in the Sky”

Rest in peace, Richard Wright. You will be missed more than you likely knew.

The Great Gig in the Sky
(Wright) 4:44

“And I am not frightened of dying, any time will do, I
don’t mind. Why should I be frightened of dying?
There’s no reason for it, you’ve gotta go sometime.”

“If you can hear this whispering you are dying.”

“I never said I was frightened of dying.”

(Instrumental)

There are four great songs that feature Richard Wright’s piano/keyboard free for the listening from imeem.com available on the WiredBlog article noted above.

Jeff Healy – Your Music will be greatly missed!

(image from Canada.com)

Rising above great adversity (cancer) from the time he was one year old, Jeff Healy went on to be a brilliant guitarist and leader of The Jeff Healey Band.

From his website jeffhealey.com:

Jeff Healey, arguably one of the most distinctive guitar players of our time, died today (Sunday March 2) in St. Joseph’s Hospital, Toronto. He was 41, and leaves his wife, Cristie, daughter Rachel (13) and son Derek (three), as well as his father and step-mother, Bud and Rose Healey, and sisters Laura and Linda.

Funeral and memorial arrangements are pending.

Robbed of his sight as a baby due to a rare form of cancer, retino blastoma, and he started to play guitar when he was three, holding the instrument unconventionally across his lap. He formed his first band at 17, but soon formed a trio which was named the Jeff Healey Band.

After his appearance in the movie Road House, he was signed to Arista records, and in 1988 released the Grammy-nominated album See the Light, which included a major hit single, Angel Eyes. He earned a Juno Award in 1990 as Entertainer of the Year.

Also from an article in the National Post:

At the time of his death he was about to see the release of his first rock/blues album in eight years, Mess of Blues, which is being released in Europe on March 20, and in Canada and the U.S. on April 22. The album was the result of a joint agreement between the German label, Ruf Records, and Stony Plain, the independent Edmonton-based label that has released his three jazz CDs.

Mess of Blues was recorded in studios in Toronto, with two cuts recorded at the Jeff Healey’s Roadhouse in Toronto and two at a concert in London England. The backup group on the upcoming CD — the Healey’s House Band — played with him regularly at the downtown Roadhouse, and at a previous club bearing his name in the Queen-Bathurst area.

Sorry to hear that he didn’t get to see how well his album would be accepted when it was released.

More in the article and at his site and on Wikipedia and Wikinews as well.

I loved his part in Road House!

I am so sorry to hear about Jeff’s passing. He was so young and such a brilliant guitarist! My heart goes out to his wife, children and the rest of his family and friends.

Rest in Peace Jeff Healy. You will be greatly missed!

RIAA Declares Using Brain to Remember Songs is Criminal Copyright Infringement (satire)

Thought Crime Satire! ROFL!

RIAA Declares Using Brain to Remember Songs is Criminal Copyright Infringement (satire)

(NewsTarget Satire) On the heels of the RIAA’s recent decision to criminalize consumers who rip songs from albums they’ve purchased to their computers (or iPods), the association has now gone one step further and declared that “remembering songs” using your brain is criminal copyright infringement. “The brain is a recording device,” explained RIAA president Cary Sherman. “The act of listening is an unauthorized act of copying music to that recording device, and the act of recalling or remembering a song is unauthorized playback.”

In the paraphrased words of Bill Cosby, “Pick your brains up off the floor! Have you lost your mind!?!”

ROFL!