Bill S.978

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[Face]

"Bill S.978 is a new bill proposed in the USA, which would make it illegal under certain circumstances to share videos of copyrighted materials over the internet. The problem is that it appears to also make it illegal to upload videos of games, such as let’s plays and speed runs.

Here’s a great video on the subject [Notch] found via Reddit:
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/v/ib7-vSrp6y8&rel=1" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/v/ib7-vSrp6y8&rel=1</a>"

Many indie games grow partly due to the widespread use of youtube to disseminate the games to a broader audience that may not have otherwise found those games.  There is a link (DemandProgress) on that video as well for people to make their voice heard in opposition to this bill.

[Bruschev]

Wow, atleast you guys have time to protest a copyright bill unlike we did.

In New Zealand a bill was passed to make it illegal to file share, surprise, surprise, no one in New Zealand was backing it, but rather some media companies over in the U.S were. Essentially, if you are caught downloading copyrighted things, you will be sent 3 warnings, on the 3rd you are taken to court, thing is, you are guilty till proven innocentwhich is a violation of human rights (everyone is allowed a fair trial), however, the government is making it out to be "fair", when clearly it is not.

The account holder is always going to be the on responsible, so you could get many cases where the account holder could be a library or a university, where a student has downloaded copyrighted material, then the university or library will be fined, when they have no total control over someones actions. This bill was sneakingly passed under "urgency" when the Christchurch quake hit and state of emergency was enacted, which means things can be passed without any public consultation and well "urgently"

Of course in theory this can be stretched to copyrighted material on youtube which is where the biggest problem lays. These are backward solutions I think, and the media companies just don't want to keep up with the times and figure out a way to make profit off it, rather just block it and ignore the bigger picture instead.

[Lengo]

So! Have you written your Representatives and Senators to tell them what you think? What do you think? Are you willing to take the time to suck up to the owners of these copyrights, or willing to take the time to suck up to your Senators and Rep?

Does this bill remove the clause in the DCMA law that states that the owner must show damages to force removal? This is the law that allows Google to have YouTube. Will YouTube have to block/remove files, report people, etc.?

WTF is a copyright anyway? Who da F invented it? Whatever, whoever, in my opinion, copyrights are not part of the new world order unless you can *prove* damages. This is an ancient invention that discourages many things, among them art, entertainment, and political statements.

p.s. Did you know (you will in a minute) that the first song ever pulled off a radio station was written by a dead man? The man was Stephen Foster, America's 19th century writer of "Oh Susanna", and hundreds of others. The copyright owner had copyrights on the sheet music, and claimed that the singer had no right to sing it and the radio station no right to play the recording! This happened in 1924, long after Stephen Foster had passed away. The suit was won by the plaintiff, but none of Stephen Foster's heirs got a dime. (now you know)  Izzat stupid or whut?

[CoconutKid]

It's hard to sort out the main class of cretins responsible for the irrational use of the copyright and patent laws. Typically, it's the lawyers who, upon close examination, deserve the first appointments at Madame Guillotine's "Focus Your Mind" set-up.

If you find the copyright law irrational, consider the patents on pharmaceuticals and genetic parts of crop seeds.

Farmers don't worry about trading videos or recordings. It's the pollen blowing in the wind from the patented crops next door that may contaminate their crop and get them sued by a seed company.

Oh well, another 15 years more or less and I'm out of here.   

[Lengo]

Yes, it is difficult to sort out the Cretins and selfish fools, but that's not the goal.  The goal is to voice your opinions to the people who can make a difference: Your people in Congress. You have the right to petition them, so write to them. Also, tell the people who feel the same way you do to write to them, and also tell these people to tell others to do the same. Start a movement!

You can find your senators and your House representative online. Go to each's contact page and bookmark it in a bookmark folder named Congress. You can then 'open all in tabs', write to one, then copy the text to your clipboard, and then paste your text into the text box of the next congressman. It takes less than 30 minutes to write to all of them. Then sit back and wait. It will take perhaps months to get a response.

By having your congressmen in your bookmarks, you can also visit their main page to see what they're up to. They love to pat themselves on the back. But beware! A lot of what they have to say is doublespeak.

You can also add to your Congressmen bookmarks, the site for the congressional record. With this, you can see what they have actually proposed in their bills; what they support; and how they've voted on other bills. You can read the text of any bill! You can quickly learn if they are truly on your side or if they are shmoozers or liars, and if they are, you have the right (and the obligation) to call 'em out on it and have 'em explain. However, don't expect a reasonable explanation from them. Instead, if you get more shmoozing, write to them again and tell him or her that you will not be fooled. Complain! You have this right!

You also have the right to write to Senators from other states. If one of them offends you, write to them. Tell others what he/she said or proposed and tell them to complain to him/her too.

It saddens me and at times even sickens me, that people know that they have the right to participate in government by petitioning, but don't exercise it. What good is this right if you don't use it? Please don't tell me that it doesn't do any good and that the lobbyists have congressmen in their pockets. We all know this! The only way to wrestle back the control is to do what the lobbyists do -- bend their ear! Call 'em out. Let 'em know that you are angry. They have no right to retaliate. There is nothing they can do to you. And though the effect of writing to them is dubious, you gotta make the effort. Anything less is just giving up.

A personal note: This summer I attended two town hall meetings held by my state's House representative. At both, he was explaining the tragedies of the tax loopholes allowed to corporations and the rich. At the first meeting, someone asked him what we could do. He said "get angry!"  At the second meeting, he spoke on the same subject. I got an opportunity to speak, so I told him that at the last meeting he said to get angry, and then angrily asked him why he isn't making headlines and raising public awareness. He balked. He blushed. She shuffled his feet while looking at the ground instead of his audience! I had him. I trapped him in his own words! Two weeks later, I saw a headline in the newspaper about him. My voice counted! It, at the very least, helped a little. What's the lesson here? You CAN make a difference, even if it's slight! And remember the great Chinese proverb: A long journey is made by taking small steps.

So do what you can. It may seem very little, and most of the time it is, but it's better than doing nothing. Don't just complain to your fellows. Complain to the people who can and should be making democracy work. Write! Call! You don't have to make this a full-time job, but you *should* at least make it a part time one. You have nothing to lose and everything to gain.

p.s. I made a mistake in the first post about this. I spelled it 'DCMA'. It is spelled DMCA, meaning the Digital Millenia Copyright Act. Look it up. Find the text and read it. You can make it work for you, just like YouTube made it work for them.

[CoconutKid]

I know both of my Senators and my Congressman personally.

The Congressman is completely fixed minded. He has no time nor room to undergo a rational consideration of a view different from those who paid for his campaign. In a face-to-face discussion (which he or his handlers seldom allow), no matter how softly or gently a differing view is presented -- he turns on the pity spigot, "you poor soul, let me explain to you the truth of the matter ---" Nothing, but nothing, can get him to say, "That's an interesting idea, maybe my staff can explore it with you."

The Senators are so lofty (now) that they respond only to $1,000 per each fund raisers or to the doubly filtered "constituent services" members of their staffs. You, of course, know about "constituent services" I suppose.

I cheer you on for your confrontation. But how much was that slight effect on all of the rest of the voters in the district (state wide single member)? My representative has possibly the largest district other than some of the single representative states. If I could challenge him to the point that he would piss his pants, maybe a few hundred people would know. If it got general media coverage, I would be the evil one - disrepectful of a fine public figure in his first term.

I'm sorry, I think your view of the political process is a bit antiquated. Maybe.

[Lengo]

I know both of my Senators and my Congressman personally.

The Congressman is completely fixed minded. He has no time nor room to undergo a rational consideration of a view different from those who paid for his campaign. In a face-to-face discussion (which he or his handlers seldom allow), no matter how softly or gently a differing view is presented -- he turns on the pity spigot, "you poor soul, let me explain to you the truth of the matter ---" Nothing, but nothing, can get him to say, "That's an interesting idea, maybe my staff can explore it with you."

Don't expect that much of them. And now you know to NOT vote for him and to campaign against HIM. Him, meaning personally, not just voting for the other guy.

The Senators are so lofty (now) that they respond only to $1,000 per each fund raisers or to the doubly filtered "constituent services" members of their staffs. You, of course, know about "constituent services" I suppose.

Well, I'm happy to report that my House rep and one of my Senators are for real. Don't make generalized statements, or you'll end up convincing others not to participate.

..... If I could challenge him to the point that he would piss his pants, maybe a few hundred people would know. If it got general media coverage, I would be the evil one - disrepectful of a fine public figure in his first term.

Don't take this wrong, but your words are the words of a coward. It's okay to be disrepectful of someone who is disrepectful. It's also okay to get arrogant with people who are arrogant. Go ahead! GET MAD! But be sure to temper it with facts to support your position. And hey! Go ahead. Call the media. Tell 'em there's gonna be trouble at a Town Hall, but don't tell 'em what the trouble is gonna be. Just tell 'em that there's gonna be trouble and they'll show up out of curiosity.

Sun Tzu's Art of War, Rule number 1: Never tell your enemy what you're gonna do next.

I'm sorry, I think your view of the political process is a bit antiquated. Maybe.

No it ain't! It's All American and it still works! All that's needed is honest people in power, not self centered, corporate ass wipers. It may seem antiquated because we don't get enough honest people in power, but they are there, for sure. Just look. You'll find 'em. I'm not Christian but the Bible says "You'll know them by their fruits." It also says "Seek and ye shall find". These are Truths (spelled with a capital T)!

Also, it's All American to denounce oppression. This was the start of the nation, and it's been going on ever since. Look to the history books. You'll see that people rise up each and every decade, but most are too comfortable to make any real sacrifice. However, history repeats itself, and every few hundred years, people revolt. It happens around the world. Nations come and go. Ideologies come and go. And when this happens, it's bloody hell, but most always, the righteous win, only to slowly become more and more corrupted by the greedy who lack social morals. That is why we're in the place we're in. People are comfortable, and too comfortable! They're persuaded that 'this is the way things are', and think this is good enough. Don't be like them! FIGHT! Fight with words. Fight with reason! Be rational, and like your opponent, unrelenting. And the best thing you can do, is show the people that are complaining about things that they are cowards. Tell 'em they expect too little. Tell 'em they walk away too easily. Tell 'em to flood so and so's mailbox with nastygrams, demonstrate in the streets, carry pickets, and get busy FIGHTING for what they believe in.

M'thinks you are unaware that there are many who are fed up, but don't know what to do, and are too afraid to do it themselves. These people are looking for a leader!

There are more fed up people than you think there are. Go on! Do the math. How many people make 6 figures per year? How many make 4? There's a lot more 4s than 6s, and my experience is that everyone has something to complain about. The trouble is, those who complain about the wrong things, don't get straightened out. Who is going to do it? Are you looking for a leader too?

Never fear. Walk with dignity. "I won't be wronged. I won't be insulted. I won't be laid a hand on. I don't do these things to other people, and I require the same from them." -- John Wayne in "The Shootist". If your employer screws with you, screw with him! If your Senator screws with you, screw with him!! And be sure to let others hear the fight! THAT is the American Way.

I strongly encourage you to read and study Sun Tzu's Art of War. It is short and full of insight into engaging in battle or avoiding it when battle is not to your advantage. And guess what! It's still being taught. Guess where! In business classes on university campuses around the USA. The corporate asses use it. You can too!

Sun Tzu's Art of War is available at amazon.com and many other book stores. BUY IT! This book will teach you axioms, tactics, and self confidence. Study it. Find out why you/us keep losing. Find out how to turn that around!

You will learn how to fight corporate policy. You will learn how to fight corruption. You will learn how to set traps, pitfalls, and swindle those who think you don't know how to fight, and the ever so many that think you are unwilling to fight. All you need to do is learn how to fight, and how to outsmart them (this is easy, because they are no smarter than you).

Not to blow my own horn, but here are few things that I have accomplished, so that you can see that it can be done and won.

I fought my city's police department for unlawful arrest and invasion of privacy, and got $7000 in damages.

I have fought my landlord over the backboard of my air conditioner. They told me I had to bear the expense of making it look 'sightly'. I knew better, and told them that I knew the law, and they better start spending money on their attorney or the backboard -- "choose". I won. They did the work they wanted me to do.

I fought a previous landlord, and embarrassed his ass so badly in front of other tenants, he finally gave in and sold the property. Good! This place has been much better ever since!

I have fought my Medicare plan over a denial of a claim. These people are real corporate fucks, full of lies, accusations and even intimidation, so I purposely let it go all the way to Medicare's arbitration to ensure that I would win. I did.

As stated before, I got my House rep to get his words in the newspapers.

I fought an employer over the conditions of the employee's bathroom. They upgraded it very fast, very fast indeed, and this fight started my first day on the job! The other employees thought me some kind of threat to them at first, then their hero. I told them differently. I won doubly in this one.

There are others, some minor, some major, and some too long to explain. I've won some. I've lost some, but you CAN win. You just gotta be a little brave and a lotta educated. Sun Tzu's book will teach you how to fight, when to fight, where to fight. It will teach you how to win public opinion, THE most valuable prize! Read it! It is only 20-some pages long. It will give you confidence, and that is the thing that most people lack.  

You would also be wise to study game theory. Look up Game Theory at wikipedia. There's lots tactics and strategies linked to this one entry. Many of these were born from teachings of Sun Tzu.

[Face]

gonna stick my nose in here for a min to bring attention to another bill:

S. 3804, Combating Online Infringement and Counterfeits Act.

There are renewed efforts by senator Leahy to reintroduce the COICA bill this year, which will allow to censor on demand any website the entertainment industry of the United States dislike. Practices like this are common in countries like Iran or China, the difference here is that the site they choose to target will be censored in the whole world.

Please take the time to visit DemandProgress to learn more about it and to contact your senator to raise your concerns.

DemandProgress on COICA
http://act.demandprogress.org/sign/petition_blacklist/?source=front

DemandProgress on domain seizures
http://act.demandprogress.org/sign/dhscomplaint/?source=front

also(somewhat dated but important to be known):

In the United States, a new law proposal called The Combating Online Infringement and Counterfeits Act (COICA) was introduced, and there will be a hearing in front of the Judiciary Committee.

If passed, this law will allow the government, under the command of the media companies, to censor the internet as they see fit, like China and Iran do, with the difference that the sites they decide to censor will be completely removed from the internet and not just in the US.

Please see the following article from the Huffington Post for more information.

Stop the Internet Blacklist

One example of what this means in practice: sites like YouTube could be censored in the US. Copyright holders like Viacom often argue copyrighted material is central to the activity of YouTube, but under current US law, YouTube is perfectly legal as long as they take down copyrighted material when they're informed about it -- which is why Viacom lost to YouTube in court.

But if COICA passes, Viacom wouldn't even need to prove YouTube is doing anything illegal to get it shut down -- as long as they can persuade the courts that enough other people are using it for copyright infringement, the whole site could be censored.

And if you are a US citizen, please take the time to sign this petition
DemandProgress.org - Petition to Stop the Internet Blacklist!


Update: Also for US citizens, you can email your Senator from the following link and tell him or her your concerns about this bill

Tell Your Senator: No Website Blacklists, No Internet Censorship!

[Lengo]

S. 3804, was shot down. This is old news. It appeared in the 111th Congress -- 2009-2010.  Findings by committees was that it had no significant impact.

VII. CHANGES TO EXISTING LAW MADE BY THE BILL, AS REPORTED

Pursuant to paragraph 12 of rule XXVI of the Standing Rules of the Senate, the Committee finds no changes in existing law made by S. 3804, as ordered reported.

In other words, this is old news. Th Bill never came to a vote and won't be revived.

[Face]

ah, thank you. My follow through researching skills need a bit of brushing up evidently.