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SOPA (Stop Online Piracy Act) lawmaker opposition grows as debate heats up
Columbus Underground Messageboard » General Columbus Discussion » Politics
Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA)
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myliftkk
Columbus, OH
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Hopefully it will die a long and tortuous death in committee.
What I love about these "industry x loses enormously large amount y to intellectual property theft" claims is that no one questions the inherent ridiculousness of the number. Are we to suppose that if perfect anti-pirating techniques were in place, those individuals accessing that pirated content would turn around in a 100% conversion rate and pay for it? Not hardly.
Targeting the MPOA in particular, if perhaps the major industry players weren't committed to foisting subpar content in subpar venues using overly aggressive marketing, they wouldn't have the image problem they do.
Posted 6 months ago # -
jeff_r
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I thought it was interesting that on the same day that protesters were getting evicted from Wall Street Pfizer, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the MPAA got to make their pro-SOPA case during Congressional hearings.
It turns out you can learn a lot about the dynamics of power just by paying attention to who's getting invited to Congressional hearings and who's getting maced.
Posted 6 months ago # -
TomOver
herenowbeyond.org
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To what extent is this part of a larger pattern of corporate-government collusion that further consolidates power while doing further damage to our political freedoms ?
Over-generalizing and jumping to conclusions is not good, but it's also not good to fail to recognize how a wide variety of issues might be connected.
Whether it's consumer choice, access to information or political freedom, to what extent does it seem that big money's power over our government at the expense of the will of the people factors in to :
food (ie the corporate attempt to control supplements, and government subsidies for factory farming while small holder farmers struggle with debt and barely stay afloat);
communications (ie threats to net neutrality);
healthcare (ie huge profit margins for health insurance companies while millions struggle with medical expenses);
criminal justice (ie private prisons that might incentivize draconian laws and sentencing);
finance (ie banks getting bailouts while they sit on money, give big bonuses to CEOs and millions lose their homes);
and taxes (ie: companies such as GE and many others dodge taxes, while cities lay off cops, firefighters, teachers and other public workers).
Anyone care to add to the list of ways in which our government promotes the interests of big corporations at the expense of small businesses and just about everybody else?
Occupy may seem to have no coherent message, that is, if you neglect to think systemically and thereby fail to connect the dots. Isn't it interesting that in the wake of the Occupy protests, we have two bills that involve attacks on our freedom----the National Defense Authorization Act and SOPA ?
Posted 5 months ago # -
hugh59
Aboard the ultimate power in Olde Towne East
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What bothers me about much of the anti-piracy legislation is that the rights holders promote the legislation as a way of protecting the creators of the works. Sadly, the creators are frequently screwed by the media entities that end up owning the copyrights on the works.
Posted 5 months ago # -
BuenaVista
OTE
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Analogue Kid
5th by West-Northwest
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Keep in mind folks that the internet is simply a series of tubes. It's so great that the folks trying to regulate the internet fully understand it. ※
Posted 5 months ago # -
TomOver
herenowbeyond.org
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BuenaVista said:
Can you explain how one "sits on money"? Not sure how that would work. Explain your thinking behind this statement.Perhaps you or other users of this forum can offer differing perspectives, but the idea is some or all of the large banks to which the Fed lent almost $8 trillion MSNBC have not been keeping their end of the bargain in terms of lending to small to medium-sized businesses which was-- at least ostensibly--- part of the reason for bailing them out. Yes ! Magazine
Posted 5 months ago # -
dubdave00
Dublin
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They will only drive the illegal crap even further underground and create more alternate internets and services if this passes.
Stuff like this only furthers more anti-government sentiment and creates larger problems down the road.
My view... good luck with that.
Posted 5 months ago # -
BuenaVista
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TomOver said:
Perhaps you or other users of this forum can offer differing perspectives, but the idea is some or all of the large banks to which the Fed lent almost $8 trillion MSNBC have not been keeping their end of the bargain in terms of lending to small to medium-sized businesses which was-- at least ostensibly--- part of the reason for bailing them out. Yes ! MagazineIf banks are not lending, then how are they making money? Reg D cut out a lot of fee income in terms of overdraft fees. Now under Durbin the interchange fees are being cut in half, so banks are getting killed there. Net interest margins are extremely low, and banks are making very little on the money tnhey are lending, expecially because most banks tend to be asset sensitive. M&A is down, so that fee income has been reduced, and fixed income trading has dried up, and they are laying people off like crazy. Finally, with the Volcker rule, banks are not allowed to do proprietary trading with their own capital.
So, I ask you if banks do not want to lend, how on earth are they supposed to make money in this new environment. Banks lend money, that is what they do.
Besides, have you seen small business lending stats?
Do you not remember when your hometown bank Huntington did this?
http://www.businessweek.com/smallbiz/running_small_business/archives/2010/02/huntington_bank_1.html
I ask you again, what are you talking about Tomover?
Posted 5 months ago # -
TomOver
herenowbeyond.org
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BuenaVista said:
If banks are not lending, then how are they making money? Reg D cut out a lot of fee income in terms of overdraft fees. Now under Durbin the interchange fees are being cut in half, so banks are getting killed there. Net interest margins are extremely low, and banks are making very little on the money tnhey are lending, expecially because most banks tend to be asset sensitive. M&A is down, so that fee income has been reduced, and fixed income trading has dried up, and they are laying people off like crazy. Finally, with the Volcker rule, banks are not allowed to do proprietary trading with their own capital.So, I ask you if banks do not want to lend, how on earth are they supposed to make money in this new environment. Banks lend money, that is what they do.
Besides, have you seen small business lending stats?
Do you not remember when your hometown bank Huntington did this?
http://www.businessweek.com/smallbiz/running_small_business/archives/2010/02/huntington_bank_1.html
I ask you again, what are you talking about Tomover?
I'm talking about the very big banks such as JP Morgan, B of A, Citigroup, Wells Fargo, Goldman Sachs, and Morgan Stanley who make much of their money thru speculation, lending to other big players, and generally not small to medium-sized businesses.
These banks received huge amounts of bailout money, and their influence over 'our' politicians drowns out the voices of ordinary Americans. They work hand-in-glove with the government officials who are supposed regulate the financial sector.
Lobbyists for these big banks impede or water down legislative attempts at creating greater public accountability.
As for the link about Huntington, obviously not all of the banks are the same. I've heard they are better than some of the others.
If you feel like it, post links about small business lending stats. Thanks
Posted 5 months ago # -
pez
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hugh59 said:
What bothers me about much of the anti-piracy legislation is that the rights holders promote the legislation as a way of protecting the creators of the works. Sadly, the creators are frequently screwed by the media entities that end up owning the copyrights on the works.Amazing how transparent it is that MPAA, RIAA, etc. wrote the language of the bill. I don't know that it'll do any good, but you can let your representative know how you feel at this Electronic Frontier Foundation link.
Expect Some Toning Down of Antipiracy Bills, Says Movie Industry Supporter
By MICHAEL CIEPLYLOS ANGELES — Look for changes in the proposed antipiracy legislation that has giants in the entertainment and technology industries squared off against each other, but nothing extensive enough to please all of the legislation’s opponents. That was the message from Michael O’Leary, the senior executive vice president for global policy and external affairs of the Motion Picture Association of America, during a telephone news briefing on Wednesday.
“We will come forward with language that will address some of the legitimate concerns” of technology companies that have opposed the Stop Online Piracy Act in the House, and a similar Protect I.P. Act in the Senate, Mr. O’Leary said.
Posted 5 months ago # -
Twixlen
Westgate, Columbus
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Looks like Reddit is on board with a boycott - Reddit Blacking Out to Protest SOPA
We've seen some amazing activism organized by redditors at /r/sopa and across the reddit community at large. You have made a difference in this fight; and as we near the next stage, and after much thought, talking with experts, and hearing the overwhelming voices from the reddit community, we have decided that we will be blacking out reddit on January 18th from 8am-8pm EST (1300-0100 UTC).
Posted 4 months ago #
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