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SOPA 'shelved' until consensus is found

washingtonmonthly.com

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Re: SOPA 'shelved' until consensus is found

#21

Post by toyg »

ars wrote: post #15
toyg wrote: post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Easy! :s/SOPA/PIPA/g PIPA, the sister bill coming through Senate, is still there and needs to be squashed as well.

Once it's been canceled in either branch it's dead. They both need to pass it for it to become law so PIPA doesn't matter anymore except maybe symbolically.

Technically a bill originating in any branch can be approved and then sent to the other branch for debate, amendment and approval, followed by reconciliation if it now differs from the version originally approved.

I don't see why you couldn't have a situation where PIPA supporters lay low for a news cycle or two, then get PIPA approved and sent to the House when nobody is watching. PIPA is even more generically-worded than SOPA, so it will be more difficult to fight it on the basis that "it will break the internet".

There is clearly a lot of money riding on this bill, and it's election year.

Re: SOPA 'shelved' until consensus is found

#22

Post by ErrantX »

dangrossman wrote: post #2

They're certainly trying to get in front of this story before the 18th. I hope none of the sites planning to protest drop those plans. Politicians and lobbyists know well that the public has a short attention span -- a few weeks of quiet and most of the discussion will have died down. When's the last time you read about protesting the full body scanners and patdowns of children at airports? Even if these bills are sh…

The risk there is that the media just ignores it (or worse, casts the internet as "failing to understand Congress, because it is shelved", or something like that).

Which leaves the big protest flopped - and after the election fracas no one will remember it.

I think this was a very smart move by the bill proponents. And, unfortunately, a protest now risks playing into their hands.

Re: SOPA 'shelved' until consensus is found

#23

Post by sp332 »

dangrossman wrote: post #2

They're certainly trying to get in front of this story before the 18th. I hope none of the sites planning to protest drop those plans. Politicians and lobbyists know well that the public has a short attention span -- a few weeks of quiet and most of the discussion will have died down. When's the last time you read about protesting the full body scanners and patdowns of children at airports? Even if these bills are sh…

There's so much crappy IP legislation right now, we could easily switch to, say the Research Works Act https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Research_Works_Act which would put some taxpayer-funded research results behind paywalls. [edit] It's effectively double-dipping, getting paid once to do the research and then again if you want to actually read the results.

Re: SOPA 'shelved' until consensus is found

#24

Post by pak »

Maxious wrote: post #4

Excerpts from Rupert Murdoch's reaction https://twitter.com/Rupertmurdoch "So Obama has thrown in his lot withSilicon Valley paymasters who threaten all software creators with piracy, plain thievery." "Piracy leader is Google who streams movies free, sells advts around them. No wonder pouring millions into lobbying." "Sure misunderstand many things, but not plain stealing. Incidentally google blocks many other undesi…

Isn't it ironic that the owner of hundreds of newspapers, magazines and TV channels decides to express his frustration over the "Silicon Valley paymasters" by posting his thoughts on... Twitter?

This guy can't recognize the value of freedom of expression on the internet when it is literally slapping him in the face.

Re: SOPA 'shelved' until consensus is found

#25

Post by toyg »

Maxious wrote: post #4

Excerpts from Rupert Murdoch's reaction https://twitter.com/Rupertmurdoch "So Obama has thrown in his lot withSilicon Valley paymasters who threaten all software creators with piracy, plain thievery." "Piracy leader is Google who streams movies free, sells advts around them. No wonder pouring millions into lobbying." "Sure misunderstand many things, but not plain stealing. Incidentally google blocks many other undesi…

Look how cute he is, trying to reframe it as "universal anger" against Obama, when ordinary people are really experiencing relief. And how he berates Google for playing the game, when he's been doing that openly for decades. Or how he directs fire at Axelrod, threatening the less powerful element of the administration.

He's like Mr. Cotton yesterday: an old man lying through his teeth in order to maintain his power and privileges, proud to be evil.

Re: SOPA 'shelved' until consensus is found

#26

Post by maeon3 »

We need right to connectivity to internet right up there with the right to vibrate your vocal chords in public and use your ears to detect vibrations in air. To take away a human's access to these basic things because they are criminals is unacceptable.

Re: SOPA 'shelved' until consensus is found

#27

Post by impendia »

sp332 wrote: post #23
dangrossman wrote: post #2

They're certainly trying to get in front of this story before the 18th. I hope none of the sites planning to protest drop those plans. Politicians and lobbyists know well that the public has a short attention span -- a few weeks of quiet and most of the discussion will have died down. When's the last time you read about protesting the full body scanners and patdowns of children at airports? Even if these bills are sh…

There's so much crappy IP legislation right now, we could easily switch to, say the Research Works Act https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Research_Works_Act which would put some taxpayer-funded research results behind paywalls. [edit] It's effectively double-dipping, getting paid once to do the research and then again if you want to actually read the results.

Wrong, we researchers are not double-dipping, just because the publishers are charging exorbitant sums doesn't mean we see a dime of it.

Re: SOPA 'shelved' until consensus is found

#29

Post by DanielBMarkham »

I would urge extreme caution about reading too much into this article.

I (I'm a political junkie) saw Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D) on TV yesterday. The message I got from his body language, nuance, and phrasing was something like "Obviously people who are elected from heavy technology areas are feeling a lot of heat. There's still a lot of support, though. Let's see if we can tweak this in such a way as to pass some kind of compromise."

Maybe that's just Reid trying to keep the RIAA cash cow alive, not sure. But I was fairly certain that what I was hearing was a tactical retreat, not a strategic surrender. Not by any means. My money says next time they'll have some language in there that could be interpreted a bunch of different ways (to prevent informed debate), and they'll wait until the last minute and sneak it into some other bill that is a "must-pass."

Re: SOPA 'shelved' until consensus is found

#30

Post by wisty »

Maxious wrote: post #4

Excerpts from Rupert Murdoch's reaction https://twitter.com/Rupertmurdoch "So Obama has thrown in his lot withSilicon Valley paymasters who threaten all software creators with piracy, plain thievery." "Piracy leader is Google who streams movies free, sells advts around them. No wonder pouring millions into lobbying." "Sure misunderstand many things, but not plain stealing. Incidentally google blocks many other undesi…

Says the guy who bought a social network where practically every profile had a pirated mp3 autoplaying, and pirated profile decorations.
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