the US government does NOT have the power to block content on any website. the US government does not even currently have the power to prevent someone from accessing websites it does not want them to access. the only power the US government currently possesses is the ability to remove the operations of websites which provide specifically illegal activities through law enforcement methods. NOT because some hollywood executive slipped a few million dollars into a senators pocket but real, honest to god, information gathering and analysis of data. the bills in question would give all these powers and more to the US government, but it does not currently have this power now.
If they wanted to do it, they would, and only legal recourse could reverse that. Since the argument is that these bills must not be passed because the government would illegally abuse their power (though why would they need to pass a law to break it I have no idea) we are already screwed, new law or no.
Honorbound and honored to be Bonded to Mahtaliel Sedai
Last First in wotmania Chat
Slightly better than chocolate.
Love still can't be coerced.
Please Don't Eat the Newbies!
LoL. Be well, RAFOlk.
Last First in wotmania Chat
Slightly better than chocolate.
Love still can't be coerced.
Please Don't Eat the Newbies!
LoL. Be well, RAFOlk.
English Wikipedia Anti-SOPA Blackout
- 17/01/2012 08:31:46 AM
2104 Views
Yeah, man, because currently copyright holders have no recourse, am I right?
- 17/01/2012 11:47:35 AM
938 Views
"altering the infrastructure of the Internet so as to render RAFO virtually inaccessible"? 
- 17/01/2012 08:12:27 PM
1041 Views
- 17/01/2012 08:12:27 PM
1041 Views
I'll go ahead and ask before I get my panties in a bunch: do you understand these bills?
- 17/01/2012 09:09:22 PM
1133 Views
I admit I have not looked into it much
- 17/01/2012 11:42:30 PM
988 Views
And yet you're still arguing the matter. 
- 18/01/2012 02:34:04 AM
1092 Views
- 18/01/2012 02:34:04 AM
1092 Views
I love you. *NM*
- 18/01/2012 03:41:03 AM
632 Views
heh, thanks. I usually find myself pushing minority opinions. Nice to be "appreciated" for once. 
*NM*
- 18/01/2012 04:01:10 AM
619 Views
*NM*
- 18/01/2012 04:01:10 AM
619 Views
Can i second the adulation?
- 18/01/2012 04:07:17 AM
824 Views
I too (three?) appreciate the common sense and reasonable explanations. *NM*
- 18/01/2012 04:12:59 AM
617 Views
Right, because the argument is not just over THIS bill but, apparently, over ANY bill.
- 18/01/2012 11:09:13 AM
990 Views
Alternatives to SOPA/PIPA have been proposed for months now. Please stop arguing this.
- 18/01/2012 05:42:10 PM
943 Views
Also, in the case of the OPEN Act, it has not "been proposed for months."
- 18/01/2012 07:28:15 PM
1408 Views
"sensitive federal content"? Provide a source justifying this claim and it's relevance, please.
- 18/01/2012 05:59:47 PM
1006 Views
I would not have thought a source necessary.
- 18/01/2012 06:24:44 PM
1003 Views
Okay, I'm with Aemon now.
- 18/01/2012 07:36:21 PM
1016 Views
OK.
- 18/01/2012 10:16:16 PM
1039 Views
should be interesting
- 17/01/2012 12:41:47 PM
862 Views
Could be; depends on a lot of factors.
- 17/01/2012 07:38:55 PM
930 Views
See, that's one of the biggest problems that people aren't understanding.
- 17/01/2012 09:31:38 PM
948 Views
So tell them that.
- 17/01/2012 11:54:19 PM
1092 Views
Joel, I think I'm done with this unless you want to do some research.
- 18/01/2012 02:53:19 AM
895 Views
Research would tell me what is wrong with these bills and how a good bill should look.
- 18/01/2012 11:22:46 AM
1012 Views
Could've done without the snide rejoinder, but, good.
- 17/01/2012 02:20:08 PM
866 Views
I love the black banner, like some kind of internet Holocaust.
- 17/01/2012 08:03:27 PM
1006 Views
Are you aware that SOPA/PIPA has nothing to do with hackers and everything to do with copyright?
- 18/01/2012 02:08:56 AM
848 Views
There seems to be some overlap.
- 18/01/2012 01:08:22 PM
971 Views
Re: There seems to be some overlap.
- 18/01/2012 08:13:15 PM
842 Views
Re: There still seems to be some overlap.
- 18/01/2012 10:27:32 PM
1107 Views
Re: There still seems to be some overlap.
- 18/01/2012 11:30:39 PM
962 Views
Just because the news does not mention something does not automatically make it non-applicable.
- 19/01/2012 04:08:58 PM
975 Views
Re: Just because the news does not mention something does not automatically make it non-applicable.
- 19/01/2012 10:39:40 PM
960 Views
If you re-read your last sentence it should be clear why this law is being pushed.
- 20/01/2012 09:12:29 PM
1243 Views
Re: If you re-read your last sentence it should be clear why this law is being pushed.
- 21/01/2012 03:19:49 AM
869 Views
Er, what Ghav said.
- 18/01/2012 02:30:37 AM
872 Views
Sorry, protecting Pirate Bay and offshore gambling are not compelling counterarguments.
- 18/01/2012 11:38:08 AM
913 Views
Okay, another analogy:
- 18/01/2012 02:04:12 PM
899 Views
The devil is always in the details, and it seems clear the details need great revision.
- 18/01/2012 03:31:20 PM
904 Views
what they SHOULD do is stop taking money from proponents of sopa/pipa
- 18/01/2012 03:51:09 PM
1017 Views
Yes, they should, but, once again, that approach will not prevent a new law.
- 18/01/2012 04:05:02 PM
992 Views
Re: The devil is always in the details, and it seems clear the details need great revision.
- 18/01/2012 04:27:30 PM
943 Views
If the US government wants to summarily block sites within the US, it already can and will.
- 18/01/2012 06:15:53 PM
894 Views
NO - you are still wrong on this point
- 19/01/2012 02:38:14 AM
902 Views
Power, or authority?
- 19/01/2012 03:41:24 PM
964 Views
You know all this anti-SOPA bullshit is making me hope the bill passes.
- 18/01/2012 04:00:17 AM
959 Views
I would not go THAT far; it seems clear these bills have many objectionable provisions.
- 18/01/2012 11:41:23 AM
984 Views
Re: I would not go THAT far; it seems clear these bills have many objectionable provisions.
- 19/01/2012 01:57:46 AM
807 Views
Yeah, the extreme bias on both sides is why the bills will likely pass more or less as written.
- 19/01/2012 03:31:52 PM
991 Views
joel, you need to consider three things
- 18/01/2012 06:06:16 AM
952 Views
You need to consider that they WILL pass some legislation, and what you want it to contain.
- 18/01/2012 12:15:38 PM
1001 Views
again, it's not about piracy, it's about protecting the mpaa/riaa business model at our expense
- 18/01/2012 03:34:32 PM
1075 Views
Yeah, see, that is the problem: "it's not about piracy."
- 18/01/2012 03:57:55 PM
913 Views
if piracy is such a problem then the mpaa/riaa need to PROVE their losses
- 19/01/2012 02:43:31 AM
933 Views
How do you expect anyone to prove what people WOULD HAVE bought if they could not just take it?
- 19/01/2012 03:57:24 PM
1217 Views
A technical examination of SOPA and PROTECT IP
- 18/01/2012 08:32:44 AM
878 Views
"As a disclaimer, I am not a lawyer, I'm a sysadmin."
- 18/01/2012 12:47:16 PM
1137 Views
Wikipedia has already convinced me
- 18/01/2012 03:26:01 PM
758 Views
Trying to stop this legislation without proposing an alternative is trying to stop ANY legislation.
- 18/01/2012 03:44:18 PM
982 Views
It isn't their job to propose legislation
- 18/01/2012 04:12:53 PM
903 Views
No, but they have as much RIGHT to do so as anyone else.
- 18/01/2012 05:31:55 PM
881 Views
Strike three.
- 18/01/2012 05:37:55 PM
940 Views
That is fine; that is what people SHOULD be doing.
- 18/01/2012 06:03:59 PM
756 Views
Things being better now than they would be under SOPA seems like a legitimate argument to me
- 18/01/2012 09:04:18 PM
1018 Views
Against SOPA, sure; against ANY new law, no.
- 18/01/2012 10:46:48 PM
862 Views
About "proposing new legislation"
- 18/01/2012 04:45:08 PM
1018 Views
So true
- 18/01/2012 05:08:45 PM
956 Views
Re: About "proposing new legislation"
- 18/01/2012 05:59:55 PM
1094 Views
Hm, you should read my post one above about combatting online piracy.
- 18/01/2012 06:20:16 PM
1047 Views
I would not recommend photocopying a book and handing it out on street corners.
- 18/01/2012 06:45:52 PM
966 Views
Not to blame, neccessarily. But you have to live in the real world.
- 18/01/2012 07:31:18 PM
887 Views
Re: Not to blame, neccessarily. But you have to live in the real world.
- 18/01/2012 08:55:59 PM
976 Views
I always liked the codewheels SSI provided with copies of their Gold Box AD&D games.
- 18/01/2012 10:07:40 PM
1098 Views
These are really different arguments
- 19/01/2012 12:05:10 AM
868 Views
TV is slightly different, because regional availability becomes a factor.
- 19/01/2012 04:18:58 PM
861 Views
Yeah, so I use Russian wikipedia for a day. Or German wikipedia, or French, or Italian... *NM*
- 18/01/2012 06:23:36 PM
670 Views
Or just hit stop right before the script runs. *NM*
- 18/01/2012 06:52:40 PM
654 Views
Or just disable Java. *NM*
- 19/01/2012 01:58:03 AM
516 Views
That's not as much fun though. *NM*
- 19/01/2012 02:13:44 AM
644 Views
Exactly, this way its kind of a game. *NM*
- 19/01/2012 02:20:37 AM
458 Views
I really don't see the fun in that. Wikipedia is just a tool, not a game. *NM*
- 19/01/2012 04:59:14 AM
561 Views
I don't know about those (except French), but none of the ones I ever used are remotely as good. *NM*
- 18/01/2012 08:13:47 PM
645 Views
Russian wikipedia is very good if you're not checking some obscure Western cultural phenomena.
- 19/01/2012 01:57:43 AM
1042 Views
Or Answers.com, or even the actual sources that are often copy/pasted into Wikipedia...
- 19/01/2012 01:07:38 AM
1005 Views
Re: Or Answers.com, or even the actual sources that are often copy/pasted into Wikipedia... *NM*
- 19/01/2012 01:34:46 AM
691 Views
Oh, no; now Congress will be inundated with complaints from lazy college students! 
- 19/01/2012 04:40:12 PM
1026 Views
- 19/01/2012 04:40:12 PM
1026 Views
13 previously unopposed senators now do not support SOPA.
- 19/01/2012 11:36:15 PM
989 Views
How does that "rebutt" what was a facetious post in the first place?
- 20/01/2012 09:24:27 PM
1089 Views