SOPA and PIPA anti-piracy act discussion. As of mid Jan 2012, bills are postponed

[bagelred]

SOPA and PIPA are postoned, for now (mid January, 2012)

Here's discussion leading through today

[TheAdmiral3]

i already posted this, fakkit.

[bagelred]

i already posted this, fakkit.

Yeah but my thread is better.

[TheAdmiral3]

Yeah but my thread is better.
make some corny jokes and i'm sure it will be.

[Hazard]

This thread is better, also sign this bitches. (https://www.google.com/landing/takeaction/)

Edit: Link fixed

[bagelred]

make some corny jokes and i'm sure it will be.

good. we agree.

[JerrySteakhouse]

Just press ESC when page loads if you actually wanna use Wiki.

[bagelred]

Just press ESC when page loads if you actually wanna use Wiki.

Doesn't work.

[Maniak]

It works on the frontpage of the english wiki but not on actual articles.

[JerrySteakhouse]

Doesn't work.
Works for me...

[BGriffin's Dad]

thank god Google only blacked out their logo...

if google.com went down, the internet might collapse

[falc39]

Facebook should do it too, it would prob raise our GDP :D

[LockoutOver11]

im starting to get scared,,, like that one south park episode...:(

well.. with the google comment that is

[Meticode]

thank god Google only blacked out their logo...

if google.com went down, the internet might collapse
Bing! :lol

[BGriffin's Dad]

damnit... i need to use wiki

they should only target the ip's of SOPA supporters for the blackout and spare us innocent casualties :(

[sunsfan1357]

You just have to stop loading each page you visit before the SOPA thing pops up and you can use it.

Does anyone think there's a chance they pull the plug on this bill? As for bagelreds comment about no news station covering this, it's because Fox News and NBC-Universal have voiced support for it.

[ballup]

You just have to stop loading each page you visit before the SOPA thing pops up and you can use it.

Does anyone think there's a chance they pull the plug on this bill? As for bagelreds comment about no news station covering this, it's because Fox News and NBC-Universal have voiced support for it.
If enough people complain about it, probably will.

If not, then the internet will suck.

[Timmy D for MVP]

thank god Google only blacked out their logo...

if google.com went down, the internet might collapse

It's happened before. And it was NOT a good day! :oldlol:

http://www.cracked.com/article_19519_5-tiny-computer-glitches-that-caused-huge-disasters.html

[talkingconch]

There's no way they go through with this bill.

Does Google, Facebook and Twitter protesting this bill not mean anything?? That's just scratching the surface, eBay, Yahoo, Reddit among many others are part of this anti-SOPA protest.

[BurningHammer]

What wikipedia and some others are trying to do is right and I support it. The Internet supposes to be "free".

[cteach111]

this is some serious potential legislation...

[YAWN]

craigslist is offline too. and 4c han has black bars over all the text (went to see what they were cooking up on the matter.

[bluechox2]

gov't trying to ruin the internet

[bagelred]

You gotta love how America is truly a fascist nation. Corporate inconveniences are Congress's #1 priority. This bill has nothing to do with helping the American people.

[LJJ]

Funny how they can impose bills that 99% of the population would never endorse if they understood it.

[bagelred]

craigslist is offline too. and 4c han has black bars over all the text (went to see what they were cooking up on the matter.

Craigslist isn't offline, that's just front page. See the countdown number? Give it 10 seconds and then click.

It's a good thing too. How was I going to order myself my usual Wednesday Transsexual masseuse? Whew.........crisis averted.........





.

[OhNoTimNoSho]

I, for one, support the SOPA act, I think it'll bring good things.

[Kebab Stall]

I really wish Google would have blacked out. So many more people would have been made aware on what is truly happening. Right now, not enough people even know what SOPA is.

This bill gives way too much power to the government and if it ever passes in the US you can be damn sure many other countries will pass similar laws, eventually leading to a total collapse of the internet.

Make yourself aware, watch this video...

http://wordpress.org/

[RoseCity07]

Just found this out trying to research whether or not Trish Stratus is a lesbian.

[Joshumitsu]

Just press the refresh button and click the red 'x' before it fully reloads. You'll still get the site.

F8ck Congress.

That being said, we all need to seriously gtfo the internet and go out and enjoy life more often.

[Scholar]

Just press the refresh button and click the red 'x' before it fully reloads. You'll still get the site.

F8ck Congress.

That being said, we all need to seriously gtfo the internet and go out and enjoy life more often.

That last part may be true for some of the members, but imagine trying to find some research material for an essay or any other school assignment & finding whatever it is you're looking for blocked out.
The USA is turning into George Orwell's "1984" book.
I bet if this law is truly set in place & allowed to control information, such things as the "9/11 inside job" documentaries, Bill Clinton's sex scandal, Ronald Reagan allowing cocaine trafficking into poor communities, segregation, slavery, etc., will be blocked from access to the general public. Eventually, we will get to the point where any and all wrong deeds committed within our govt will no longer "exist."

That's some scary ****ing shit!

[Draz]

Got a assignment to do and Wiki is down! Jk :]

[BurningHammer]

MPAA and RIAA are extremely dangerous lobby machines made from pure ignorance and greed.

[RidonKs]

Funny how they can impose bills that 99% of the population would never endorse if they understood it.
yes... funny...

:(

[alenleomessi]

http://a1.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc7/396818_10150498148116840_21785951839_9132344_59126 2686_n.jpg

[tomtucker]

what else can we do to stop the US goverment

[LOGoods7]

So yeah, I'm one of those people who tried to wiki something this morning and had no idea what's going on.

Anybody care to offer a simple explanation on what this whole SOPA situation is about?

[YAWN]

So yeah, I'm one of those people who tried to wiki something this morning and had no idea what's going on.

Anybody care to offer a simple explanation on what this whole SOPA situation is about?

Everything ███ █████ is█████ ████ ████ fine ████ ███ █ ██████ love █████ ███████ ███ your █████ ████ government #SOPA

[RidonKs]

Everything ███ █████ is█████ ████ ████ fine ████ ███ █ ██████ love █████ ███████ ███ your █████ ████ government #SOPA
lol, golden

[Kebab Stall]

So yeah, I'm one of those people who tried to wiki something this morning and had no idea what's going on.

Anybody care to offer a simple explanation on what this whole SOPA situation is about?
Watch the video I posted on the previous page.

[KingBeasley08]

f*ck i need it for my exam tmrow :banghead:

[YAWN]

Three co-sponsors of the SOPA and PIPA antipiracy bills have publicly withdrawn their support as Wikipedia and thousands of other websites blacked out their pages Wednesday to protest the legislation.


http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/technology/2012/01/sopa-blackout-sopa-and-pipa-lose-three-co-sponsors-in-congress.html

[Hazard]

Why didn't ISH shut down? God damn sell outs.

[Hazard]

Sign another petition. (http://sopastrike.com/strike)

[RidonKs]

signing petitions on the internet is so goddamn easy, what a great system

[Hazard]

signing petitions on the internet is so goddamn easy, what a great system
Agreed, lets take advantage of this while we can.

[YAWN]

Update: Six Lawmakers (And Counting) Abandoning SOPA, PIPA Anti-Piracy Bills
The latest reports as of Wednesday afternoon indicate that at least six legislators have dropped their support of the anti-piracy SOPA and PIPA bills now under consideration by Congress.

According to Bloomberg Businessweek, Co-sponsors Senators Marco Rubio, a Florida Republican, Roy Blunt, a Missouri Republican, and Ben Cardin, a Maryland Democrat will no longer support their own legislation. On the house side, Republican Representatives Ben Quayle of Arizona, Lee Terry of Nebraska, and Dennis Ross of Florida also withdrawing their support of the House bill.

http://www.billboard.biz/bbbiz/industry/digital-and-mobile/update-six-lawmakers-and-counting-abandoning-1005907152.story

Things seem to be heading in the right direction.


And lol at the "rickrolled" on here.

http://www.billboard.biz/bbbiz/photos/stylus//1494659-Red-Dennis-Ross.png

[YAWN]

http://a7.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc7/407566_961750337664_21300249_42263652_45650800_n.j pg

[Hazard]

More petitions. (http://www.avaaz.org/en/save_the_internet_action_center_b/?fuFeQbb&pv=187)

[Droid101]

http://www.billboard.biz/bbbiz/industry/digital-and-mobile/update-six-lawmakers-and-counting-abandoning-1005907152.story

Things seem to be heading in the right direction.


And lol at the "rickrolled" on here.

http://www.billboard.biz/bbbiz/photos/stylus//1494659-Red-Dennis-Ross.png
Side note, Rick Rolling would be illegal under SOPA, and anywhere a Rick Roll video was posted could potentially be blocked by the US government if it passed.

[blablabla]

wait up to 5 years if you post a pop song on the internet
so beating someone almost to death = posting a pop song on the internet

[bagelred]

http://www.billboard.biz/bbbiz/photos/stylus//1494659-Red-Dennis-Ross.png

I love how a Congressman knew what rickrolled was. You know this guys on ISH.

Good work, sir. We commend you. Now, who's better...Lebron or Kobe? :confusedshrug:

[blablabla]

http://a8.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc7/388289_326456357383147_309749849053798_1220337_137 1061363_n.jpg

[I.R.Beast]

I dont know if any of you are aware of the whole SOPA movement. Basically it's the STOP ONLINE PIRACY ACT, which will ultimately put an end to sports streaming, and force IPs to ban access to such sites. Search Engines will be forced disallowed results links to these types of sites and another site flagged for any form of copyright infringement. Lets keep our fingers crossed that this Bill does not get passed.

[04mzwach]

I dont know if any of you are aware of the whole SOPA movement. Basically it's the STOP ONLINE PIRACY ACT, which will ultimately put an end to sports streaming, and force IPs to ban access to such sites. Search Engines will be forced disallowed results links to these types of sites and another site flagged for any form of copyright infringement. Lets keep our fingers crossed that this Bill does not get passed.
It won't. Too many people/companies against it. Wow, Wikipedia really got people started even though so many knew about it already. edit: Oh yeah, you knew PIPA is on January 24th? Vote against that too.

[Batz]

It won't. Too many people/companies against it. Wow, Wikipedia really got people started even though so many knew about it already.
Glad wikipedia did that. Half my friends didn't even know what SOPA/PIPA was till they opened up wikipedia and I had to explain the entire shit to them! :oldlol:

[04mzwach]

SOPA isn't until February, but go to the proper websites for both.

[Dave3]

It won't. Too many people/companies against it. Wow, Wikipedia really got people started even though so many knew about it already. edit: Oh yeah, you knew PIPA is on January 24th? Vote against that too.
I have a feeling a lot of people are going to be against it, but the majority is going to either forget to vote, or will be too lazy, and it will end up being passed:oldlol:

[Yung D-Will]

I have a feeling a lot of people are going to be against it, but the majority is going to either forget to vote, or will be too lazy, and it will end up being passed:oldlol:



RP.

[cuad]

I have a feeling a lot of people are going to be against it, but the majority is going to either forget to vote, or will be too lazy, and it will end up being passed:oldlol:

I thought it wasn't our job to vote on it... I thought it was our elected congress people's job to vote on it, and the people's job to tell them how to vote/nag them about it...

Am I wrong?

[Dave3]

I thought it wasn't our job to vote on it... I thought it was our elected congress people's job to vote on it, and the people's job to tell them how to vote...

Am I wrong?
Not "our" elected congress, "your" elected congress. I'm not American.

[broke3113]

I have a feeling a lot of people are going to be against it, but the majority is going to either forget to vote, or will be too lazy, and it will end up being passed:oldlol:

I hope you know Congress and Sentate are the one Voting for these Bills SOPA and PIPA. Normal people dont vote for this stuff. you really should educate yourself.

[broke3113]

Not "our" elected congress, "your" elected congress. I'm not American.

Sorry didnt know you werent american.

[RoseCity07]

Ron Paul is crazy as hell and a racist. I don't understand his cult following.

[305Baller]

http://img194.imageshack.us/img194/482/1212fh.jpg

[vinsane01]

It's an asinine bill authored by a US representative who has no idea how the internet works and what his bill entails. Forbes magazine called him a hypocrite for owning a website containing copyright infringing materials. The sad reality is the american congress and senate are composed of a bunch of old men who are also ignorant of the internet and/or doesnt care of the consequences if the bill is legislated.

[triangleoffense]

Yes please vote against this BS act. I don't think any one website or entity "got people against it". It's a clear violation of your constitutional right. Any American (or otherwise) with internet access or a library card could have known this.

US legislators are being blatant about their draconian lawmaking these days.

[Tenchi Ryu]

Yea, props to Wiki for that, they started a movement today, and now a LOT of sites have followed suit. Time to keep kicking Sopa's ass.
:rockon: :rockon: :rockon:

[Mr Know It All]

Ron Paul is crazy as hell and a racist. I don't understand his cult following.

Please explain how he is racist. He's been a big defender of Muslims in debates in which they are profiled by the other candidates.:confusedshrug:

[04mzwach]

Ron Paul is crazy as hell and a racist. I don't understand his cult following.
He's a real guy with real ideas. He's not the typical candidate. People like that. He doesn't just campaign, but actually says stuff that he believes. He rarely repeats the same things over and over like every other candidate. Most candidates have like 10 catchphrases.

[StroShow4]

If this sh!t is passed it will be the worst day I have ever been alive to experience. I signed some petition against it and tried to spread the word.

[04mzwach]

Please explain how he is racist. He's been a big defender of Muslims in debates in which they are profiled by the other candidates.:confusedshrug:
I think he was in charge of a newspaper and he was supposed to catch something that was in the paper that was racist and he didn't. He didn't write it, but the news media probably made it seem like he did.

[Yung D-Will]

Ron Paul is crazy as hell and a racist. I don't understand his cult following.
If you're talking about his newsletters than I suggest you actually do some research into the matter . The guy is simple and he's made a fool of a lot of the other nominees because he bases his principles strictly on following the constitution and preserving personal liberties which is something people fail at debating against ( For obvious reasons) And the people who follow him are a lot of people from my generation no matter what party affiliation because he seems to be the only politician who's tired of just dumping this countries problems on the next generation and he's one of the few politicans I've seen who hasn't changed or altered what he belives in or fights for since the late 90's. The same guy who was speaking to our government over a decade ago about how it's out of control spending would cripple the economy is still delivering this message today. Honestly his voting records over the years speak for themselves( Against corporate bail outs, Against the patriot act ext). I mean he's made tons of speaches about ending the war on drugs which is wasting so much money that we don't have. And most importantly he's commited to going to war against the fed ( Obviously not litteraly) Who have basically made the dollar close to worthless he's trying to make our currency based on assets rather than Iou's to other countries.

I'm an independent. I was never that interested in the idea of voting because I felt most of the politicans of the past couple of years ( Excluding Clinton) Were tools who just became puppets .... Perfect example the guy in office right now. And if I find a politican who I actually think might do a good job then I'm part of a colt?

[SCdac]

4+ million signed that google petition today (I did), and thousands signed other similar petitions online. No way that bill passes (and if it does it's getting vetoed).

[MichaelCheazley]

No way that bill passes (and if it does it's getting vetoed).
http://www.phillygameday.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/stern_david.jpg

[clayton]

NBA supports SOPA.

[Kurosawa0]

Obama has already came out against SOPA. It would require a 75 vote majority in the Senate to be able to survive a Presidential veto. Both the right and left bases are against this. You'll never see 75 senators agree on something without overwhelming political cover, which doesn't exist here.

[Killer_Instinct]

The bill has already been stopped dead in it's tracks. (http://www.siliconrepublic.com/new-media/item/25366-controversial-sopa-bill/) The scary thing is how some of you people use the internet every day for hours on end, but are just now finding out about this. Seriously? It could have literally been passed five times when you consider how unaware the public seemed to be.

[broke3113]

Obama has already came out against SOPA. It would require a 75 vote majority in the Senate to be able to survive a Presidential veto. Both the right and left bases are against this. You'll never see 75 senators agree on something without overwhelming political cover, which doesn't exist here.

Obama did sign NDAA which the military can detain US citizens indefinitly on US soil without the right to a lawyer and no trial. That is even worse then these other horrendous SOPA and PIPA bills. I dont think obama spoke out against PIPA which is the Senate version of SOPA.

[broke3113]

The bill has already been stopped dead in it's tracks. (http://www.siliconrepublic.com/new-media/item/25366-controversial-sopa-bill/) The scary thing is how some of you people use the internet every day for hours on end, but are just now finding out about this. Seriously? It could have literally been passed five times when you consider how unaware the public seemed to be.

Senate still has to Vote on PIPA

[Meticode]

Today I heard more about kids complaining they couldn't do their homework because Wikipedia was down compared to SOPA...too bad the stupid bastards didn't know the mobile site was still up.

[Tenchi Ryu]

Today I heard more about kids complaining they couldn't do their homework because Wikipedia was down compared to SOPA...too bad the stupid bastards didn't know the mobile site was still up.
The entire site was usable if you tricked it. All you had to do was push the stop button next to the refresh button before the black screen came up.

[Batz]

The entire site was usable if you tricked it. All you had to do was push the stop button next to the refresh button before the black screen came up.
Or hit escape.

[04mzwach]

The bill has already been stopped dead in it's tracks. (http://www.siliconrepublic.com/new-media/item/25366-controversial-sopa-bill/) The scary thing is how some of you people use the internet every day for hours on end, but are just now finding out about this. Seriously? It could have literally been passed five times when you consider how unaware the public seemed to be.
It's only delayed.

[skaterbasist]

The bill has already been stopped dead in it's tracks. (http://www.siliconrepublic.com/new-media/item/25366-controversial-sopa-bill/) The scary thing is how some of you people use the internet every day for hours on end, but are just now finding out about this. Seriously? It could have literally been passed five times when you consider how unaware the public seemed to be.

The SOPA bill is still well alive. It is just now being 'revised'. And PIPA is very well on full health.

And I completely agree with you on your other point. That's exactly what the politicians rely on... the willfully ignorant. I can guarantee you NDAA and the Patriot Act wouldn't have passed if people were to raise their concerns as much as they have with SOPA and PIPA. Well, if it did, then the citizens of this country would have raised hell. But nope, people are still stuck in their own little bubble.

[Hammertime]

I guess delivering babies for free in a time of high racial tensions makes him a racist. Even the NAACP has said Ron Paul is not a racist. You must be one of those crazy cult followers of the media if you believe any of the slander against Ron Paul.

He's not a racist, he's just not sensitive to racial issues. The end product might be the same.

Being born black in America puts you at a distinct disadvantage. Statistically, you're going to get less educated, you're going to have a shorter life, you're going to have a lower quality of life, you'll be more likely to die violently, etc. It's awful, but it sure as hell ain't going to fix itself. The idea that you can just pull yourself up by the boot straps is akin to thinking you can beat me in a foot race if you give me a big head start. Sure, if you're a competitive sprinter, but if you're average, you're screwed.

Equality isn't going to fix inequality. Inequality will fix inequality. Ron Paul is against affirmative action at colleges. That's all I need to know. He may not have any issues with black people, but he sure as hell doesn't want to see them educated. Great.

[skaterbasist]

Affirmative Action has to be one of the most insulting policies ever created in America. You know what that's telling you? It's telling you that, as a minority, you're not good enough to do it on your own. You're not smart enough. You're not dedicated enough.

It's also a slap in the face to 'non-minorities'. Imagine working your butt off in school, only to be placed behind someone else simply because you're white and they're not. That's institutionalized racism.

No one is born at a disadvantage based solely on the color of their skin. I'd argue that women have more of a right to complain than 'minorities'. I have seen minorities coming from piss-poor families work their ass off and become successful.

Ron Paul wants equality for all. AA is NOT equality for all. You don't fight racism with [institutionalized] racism.

[Jotaro Durant]

wikipedia my homework nikkas helping me get my homework done and my streams alive :applause:

[sodap]

im from spain, but my opinion on this matter is that we (people) cant allow any form of limiting the freedom of internet. Right from the start, right now we have to stop any attempt to control it. I think its important, its not just about "oh I cant watch nba games online" or "oh I cant download movies for free". Its about freedom in general.

[dude77]

Affirmative Action has to be one of the most insulting policies ever created in America. You know what that's telling you? It's telling you that, as a minority, you're not good enough to do it on your own. You're not smart enough. You're not dedicated enough.

It's also a slap in the face to 'non-minorities'. Imagine working your butt off in school, only to be placed behind someone else simply because you're white and they're not. That's institutionalized racism.

No one is born at a disadvantage based solely on the color of their skin. I'd argue that women have more of a right to complain than 'minorities'. I have seen minorities coming from piss-poor families work their ass off and become successful.

Ron Paul wants equality for all. AA is NOT equality for all. You don't fight racism with [institutionalized] racism.

http://i1214.photobucket.com/albums/cc494/steelermia/b_w_serious_applause.gif

[dude77]

im from spain, but my opinion on this matter is that we (people) cant allow any form of limiting the freedom of internet. Right from the start, right now we have to stop any attempt to control it. I think its important, its not just about "oh I cant watch nba games online" or "oh I cant download movies for free". Its about freedom in general.

exactly .. give an inch and they'll take a mile .. allow crap like this and they'll start restricting other things on the internet .. and then something else and then something else ..

[Hammertime]

Affirmative Action has to be one of the most insulting policies ever created in America. You know what that's telling you? It's telling you that, as a minority, you're not good enough to do it on your own. You're not smart enough. You're not dedicated enough.

It's also a slap in the face to 'non-minorities'. Imagine working your butt off in school, only to be placed behind someone else simply because you're white and they're not. That's institutionalized racism.

No one is born at a disadvantage based solely on the color of their skin. I'd argue that women have more of a right to complain than 'minorities'. I have seen minorities coming from piss-poor families work their ass off and become successful.

Ron Paul wants equality for all. AA is NOT equality for all. You don't fight racism with [institutionalized] racism.

See, this is all bullsh*t. What you're saying is that if you work hard and apply yourself, and if you're talented, you can be black and go to college. That's great. On the other hand, you don't have to be any of that to be white and go to college. You just have to be lucky enough to be white.

Once again, black people have it pretty sh*tty. What exactly is Ron Paul going to do about that? Tell them to apply themselves more? To work harder? To keep dreaming big?

[dude77]

See, this is all bullsh*t. What you're saying is that if you work hard and apply yourself, and if you're talented, you can be black and go to college. That's great. On the other hand, you don't have to be any of that to be white and go to college. You just have to be lucky enough to be white.

Once again, black people have it pretty sh*tty. What exactly is Ron Paul going to do about that? Tell them to apply themselves more? To work harder? To keep dreaming big?

what ? that's not what he's saying at all :facepalm .. what he's saying is it is not right for someone who's busted their butt to succeed and is QUALIFIED to get pushed back based on their skin color or genitalia .. THAT right there is bullshit and is just as bad as 'racism' ..

you're stomping your foot and having a tantrum because you think it's ok for someone who might not have what it takes to get held by the hand and put in front of someone else who busted their a@# to get there .. sorry THAT is bs

[dude77]

See, this is all bullsh*t. What you're saying is that if you work hard and apply yourself, and if you're talented, you can be black and go to college. That's great. On the other hand, you don't have to be any of that to be white and go to college. You just have to be lucky enough to be white.

Once again, black people have it pretty sh*tty. What exactly is Ron Paul going to do about that? Tell them to apply themselves more? To work harder? To keep dreaming big?

are you aware of all the successful black folks out there ? they sure were held back .. and are you aware of all the whites who 'have it pretty shitty' ? because there are a lot of them out there .. screw that race baiting bs .. everybody has problems

[Tenchi Ryu]

screw that race baiting bs .. everybody has problems
This. The race war is over...it doesn't matter if you're black, white or whatever. Its ALL about classicism now. Rich vs Poor, with the middle-class dying off with each day. You got rich white people shitting on poor black folks, you got rich black people shitting on poor black folks.

[Hammertime]

are you aware of all the successful black folks out there ? they sure were held back .. and are you aware of all the whites who 'have it pretty shitty' ? because there are a lot of them out there .. screw that race baiting bs .. everybody has problems

So, this is "everybody has problems?"

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/9e/Education_Income_Race.jpg/300px-Education_Income_Race.jpg

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/bb/Higher_education_in_the_US_by_race.svg/350px-Higher_education_in_the_US_by_race.svg.png

No amount of black presidents makes up for the fact that on average, it's better to be white than black.

[dude77]

So, this is "everybody has problems?"

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/9e/Education_Income_Race.jpg/300px-Education_Income_Race.jpg

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/bb/Higher_education_in_the_US_by_race.svg/350px-Higher_education_in_the_US_by_race.svg.png

No amount of black presidents makes up for the fact that on average, it's better to be white than black.

got ya .. so your solution is to shove back that white guy who's qualified and deserves his position so the minority gets his 'share' just because he's a minority ? sounds eerly similar to 'racism'

[dude77]

So, this is "everybody has problems?"

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/9e/Education_Income_Race.jpg/300px-Education_Income_Race.jpg

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/bb/Higher_education_in_the_US_by_race.svg/350px-Higher_education_in_the_US_by_race.svg.png

No amount of black presidents makes up for the fact that on average, it's better to be white than black.

yeah man .. what do you think ? every white person walks around with 100k in the bank and a great job ? .. A LOT of whites have shitty lives too .. it's not just blacks

[Hammertime]

got ya .. so your solution is to shove back that white guy who's qualified and deserves his position so the minority gets his 'share' just because he's a minority ? sounds eerly similar to 'racism'

Ok, what's your solution to the problem that twice as many white people finish college and that even when a black person finishes college, they still make less money than a white person who finished college?

[dude77]

Ok, what's your solution to the problem that twice as many white people finish college and that even when a black person finishes college, they still make less money than a white person who finished college?

I don't know but your solution is 'racist' which is my point

[Hammertime]

I don't know but your solution is 'racist' which is my point

Great reason. Let's not improve the life of the black community, because that wouldn't be fair to the white community. What's fair is to keep the white people twice as educated. :applause:

Here's more fun statistics from the US government:

http://www.apa.org/Images/aids-rates_tcm7-82721.gif

http://equityblog.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/March-2011-Unemployment-by-Race.jpg

[dude77]

Great reason. Let's not improve the life of the black community, because that wouldn't be fair to the white community. What's fair is to keep the white people twice as educated. :applause:

Here's more fun statistics from the US government:

http://www.apa.org/Images/aids-rates_tcm7-82721.gif

http://equityblog.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/March-2011-Unemployment-by-Race.jpg

no one said anything about not improving the lives of blacks or anyone else and hey it's not all about blacks .. a lot of people could use some 'improving in their lives' .. why do you single out a group ? .. what happened to we're all equal ? we're all in this game ..

.. you can improve somebody's life all you want but don't come at me and say that in order to do that we should be ok with discriminating against whites in order to accomplish that .. THAT is bullshit .. it's just as racist .. are you not against racism ? can't have it both ways to your convenience .. I'm with you on helping people .. helping anybody .. that's for sure .. I like seeing success stories .. but you're advocating 'sticking it to one group' in order to help another .. not cool

[dude77]

the solution is to find out a way so that everyone gets an equal shot .. not equal share .. because no one's entitled to a share if they don't work for it .. without discriminating .. maybe it's naive to think that's even possible .. I don't know ..

[Walker]

The bill has already been stopped dead in it's tracks. (http://www.siliconrepublic.com/new-media/item/25366-controversial-sopa-bill/) The scary thing is how some of you people use the internet every day for hours on end, but are just now finding out about this. Seriously? It could have literally been passed five times when you consider how unaware the public seemed to be.

That's one of the things that make it so nasty.
The main stream media are the people behind it so there was no coverage or talk of it whatsoever on TV or print media. The only way the general public could have found out before yesterdays actions was by stumbling across it by accident.


Anyway you know shit is serious when internet porn search engine sites shut themselves down and instead display speeches against something :lol

[dude77]

That's one of the things that make it so nasty.
The main stream media are the people behind it so there was no coverage or talk of it whatsoever on TV or print media. The only way the general public could have found out before yesterdays actions was by stumbling across it by accident.


Anyway you know shit is serious when internet porn search engine sites themselves down and instead display speeches against something :lol

true .. this is why I can't even remember the last time I watched the 'news on tv' .. totally biased and paid for propaganda .

[Hammertime]

the solution is to find out a way so that everyone gets an equal shot .. not equal share .. because no one's entitled to a share if they don't work for it .. without discriminating .. maybe it's naive to think that's even possible .. I don't know ..

Aww, isn't that cute? Let's all be absolutely equal after white people had a 200 year head start. We'll just ignore that.

[OmniStrife]

You wouldn't live stream a CAR!! :no:

[raptorfan_dr07]

He's not a racist, he's just not sensitive to racial issues. The end product might be the same.

Being born black in America puts you at a distinct disadvantage. Statistically, you're going to get less educated, you're going to have a shorter life, you're going to have a lower quality of life, you'll be more likely to die violently, etc. It's awful, but it sure as hell ain't going to fix itself. The idea that you can just pull yourself up by the boot straps is akin to thinking you can beat me in a foot race if you give me a big head start. Sure, if you're a competitive sprinter, but if you're average, you're screwed.

Equality isn't going to fix inequality. Inequality will fix inequality. Ron Paul is against affirmative action at colleges. That's all I need to know. He may not have any issues with black people, but he sure as hell doesn't want to see them educated. Great.

:applause: :applause: :bowdown::bowdown: :cheers: :applause:

Hammertime owning clowns in this thread. Spitting the truth. I'm not black, but I'm Hispanic/Latino and can identify/relate.

[dude77]

:applause: :applause: :bowdown::bowdown: :cheers: :applause:

Hammertime owning clowns in this thread. Spitting the truth. I'm not black, but I'm Hispanic/Latino and can identify/relate.

he's not owning anyone .. he's advocating racism against whites .. you're whining about being discriminated against yet you want to discriminate against whites .. gtfo

[dude77]

Aww, isn't that cute? Let's all be absolutely equal after white people had a 200 year head start. We'll just ignore that.

a lot of whites had NOTHING to do with oppressing blacks .. sorry that guilt trip garbage doesn't work on me .. my ancestors had nothing to do with that .. so don't try that crap on me .. if you respect me, I respect you .. simple as that .. I don't give a fk where you're from .. I don't base that shit on anything else

so you don't want to be equal ? instead, you want to stick it to whites and discriminate against them as payback ? you're just as fked up as the 'racist' you're whining about

[Hammertime]

he's not owning anyone .. he's advocating racism against whites .. you're whining about being discriminated against yet you want to discriminate against whites .. gtfo

Let me ask you something. It's pretty evident from your writing that you did not attend college, but perhaps you know white people who tried to.

Have you ever heard of any white person who applied for college, had great grades, worked super hard, and was passed over for a black person? And then ended up homeless and crack addicted because a black man took their spot at a school?

You'd think with all these white people that this had happened to, all these politicians who are so strongly opposed to Affirmative Action could've found one cause c

[Hammertime]

Also, I'm not black.

[dude77]

[QUOTE=Hammertime]Let me ask you something. It's pretty evident from your writing that you did not attend college, but perhaps you know white people who tried to.

Have you ever heard of any white person who applied for college, had great grades, worked super hard, and was passed over for a black person? And then ended up homeless and crack addicted because a black man took their spot at a school?

You'd think with all these white people that this had happened to, all these politicians who are so strongly opposed to Affirmative Action could've found one cause c

[dude77]

[QUOTE=Hammertime]Let me ask you something. It's pretty evident from your writing that you did not attend college, but perhaps you know white people who tried to.

Have you ever heard of any white person who applied for college, had great grades, worked super hard, and was passed over for a black person? And then ended up homeless and crack addicted because a black man took their spot at a school?

[B]You'd think with all these white people that this had happened to, all these politicians who are so strongly opposed to Affirmative Action could've found one cause c

[dude77]

Affirmative action is pretty stupid because it really should take economic status into account instead of race. There are plenty of white people who are poor and have a bad chance of making it out of a shitty neighborhood too. I don't really have a problem with the general premise of it though.

and there's the crux of it

[InspiredLebowski]

I stickied this because SOPA and PIPA are bullshit.

And this thread can e(de)volve into whatever it does, but please, please, PLEASE, keep things civil and respectable.

[tomtucker]

please get back on topic ! :cheers:

[Hittin_Shots]

If the same graphs used in this thread were used to say white people are just smarter than black ones, would that be racist?

[nathanjizzle]

affirmitive action is not neccessary in this day and age.

[Yung D-Will]

He's not a racist, he's just not sensitive to racial issues. The end product might be the same.

Being born black in America puts you at a distinct disadvantage. Statistically, you're going to get less educated, you're going to have a shorter life, you're going to have a lower quality of life, you'll be more likely to die violently, etc. It's awful, but it sure as hell ain't going to fix itself. The idea that you can just pull yourself up by the boot straps is akin to thinking you can beat me in a foot race if you give me a big head start. Sure, if you're a competitive sprinter, but if you're average, you're screwed.

Equality isn't going to fix inequality. Inequality will fix inequality. Ron Paul is against affirmative action at colleges. That's all I need to know. He may not have any issues with black people, but he sure as hell doesn't want to see them educated. Great.



I'm black and I'm against affirmative action the whole concept is one of the most ridicoulous things I ever heard on the first place. Affirmative action just ensures colleges have to pick up a certain amout of Minorities into their college rather than looking at the real issue which is the fact tons of African Americans are graduating high school without being proficient in the skills they need to succeed in college. How about instead of accepting underqualified people just to meet a race requirement we try and fix the school system that is failing not only minorities but even white AMERICA.

A failing school system that's been corrupted by the teachers union and the fact they make it close to impossible to fire a bad teacher who in terms stunts the educational growth of a student and puts him at a disadvantage in life. Stats shows that a bad teacher covers on averge about 50% of the curriculam whiles a good teacher can go up to 150%. Now the thing about teachers unions is they don't even allow you to give an incentive to good teachers so basically they want to make it impossible for school systems to differentiate between good and bad teachers. We have tons of bad teachers around the country and people are starting to realize that maybe it's not poor neighborhoods producing bad students but maybe it's actually bad schools becoming "dropout factories" and producing dropouts who have no education which in turn makes the neighborhood poor. And the reasons schools are bad is because their stuffed with bad teachers who have more Job protection than nearly any other occupation in the country. ( If you want to look at the affect of having good teachers who actually have job security based on performance rather than mandate look at the Harlem success school and it's chains, who's students are well above being proficient in the skills needed to succeed.)

Why does no politican speak up against teachers unions? Well just go and look up how much money the teachers union donates to politicians ( Both parties).

[Velocirap31]

please get back on topic ! :cheers:

This. Don't be like youtube comments and bring up race about everything.

[burnsy87]

Ok, what's your solution to the problem that twice as many white people finish college and that even when a black person finishes college, they still make less money than a white person who finished college?

You can argue until your face is blue, but the fact of the matter is that finishing college is up to the person, not everyone around them. If a black person enrolls in college and eventually drops out, why is it anyones fault but his/hers?

College was the easiest 5 years of my life. My masters was easier than my bachelors. Anyone who doesn't finish, did it to themselves. "The Man" isn't holding them back. They are just lazy.

[burnsy87]

I'm black and I'm against affirmative action the whole concept is one of the most ridicoulous things I ever heard on the first place. Affirmative action just ensures colleges have to pick up a certain amout of Minorities into their college rather than looking at the real issue which is the fact tons of African Americans are graduating high school without being proficient in the skills they need to succeed in college. How about instead of accepting underqualified people just to meet a race requirement we try and fix the school system that is failing not only minorities but even white AMERICA.

A failing school system that's been corrupted by the teachers union and the fact they make it close to impossible to fire a bad teacher who in terms stunts the educational growth of a student and puts him at a disadvantage in life. Stats shows that a bad teacher covers on averge about 50% of the curriculam whiles a good teacher can go up to 150%. Now the thing about teachers unions is they don't even allow you to give an incentive to good teachers so basically they want to make it impossible for school systems to differentiate between good and bad teachers. We have tons of bad teachers around the country and people are starting to realize that maybe it's not poor neighborhoods producing bad students but maybe it's actually bad schools becoming "dropout factories" and producing dropouts who have no education which in turn makes the neighborhood poor. And the reasons schools are bad is because their stuffed with bad teachers who have more Job protection than nearly any other occupation in the country. ( If you want to look at the affect of having good teachers who actually have job security based on performance rather than mandate look at the Harlem success school and it's chains, who's students are well above being proficient in the skills needed to succeed.)

Why does no politican speak up against teachers unions? Well just go and look up how much money the teachers union donates to politicians ( Both parties).


Ding ding ding. Start at the roots.

If any of these "struggling minorities" were raised under the same principles as my family and went to a good school, they would not be "struggling" anymore.

Racism is not as prevelant in the workplace as people make it out to be.

[InspiredLebowski]

Get back on topic please.

[simcjt]

The government has now shut down megaupload :oldlol:

[QUOTE]McLEAN, Va.

[bdreason]

This is only the beginning.

[BurningHammer]

Kim Dotcom, the owner of Megaupload, sure has an awesome name. :rockon:

Oh, and the owner already stated before the bully taking it down that they play by the rules and have lawyers ready. There will be some dirty legal fights for sure.

[KevinNYC]

The government has now shut down megaupload :oldlol:




Source (http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/20/technology/indictment-charges-megaupload-site-with-piracy.html)

Since those laws have not got into effect, I'm pretty sure they got megaupload under existing laws.

[Loneshot]

Got damn, 2012 is upon is. Please quicksilverscreen don't die on me now!

[simcjt]

Kim Dotcom, the owner of Megaupload, sure has an awesome name. :rockon:

Oh, and the owner already stated before the bully taking it down that they play by the rules and have lawyers ready. There will be some dirty legal fights for sure.
http://www.nypost.com/p/pagesix/music_stars_in_upload_of_trouble_cpoHrLbEe7gr3Od5X cF9BL

:eek:
Swizz Beatz is the CEO of megaupload

[simcjt]

Since those laws have not got into effect, I'm pretty sure they got megaupload under existing laws.
yeah, I meant that they clearly planned this the day after the protest.

Its just proposed and they are not even laws yet

[KevinNYC]

Why would recording stars promote this site? Especially since they stand to lose $ from piracy.

[ConanRulesNBC]

Just found out about this. This is some crazy sh*t.

[LJJ]

No more Megaupload or Megavideo?


:cry:

[simcjt]

Why would recording stars promote this site? Especially since they stand to lose $ from piracy.
To go in business for themselves as a distributor.

The site host ads and if people are going to the site for say a mixtape by some artist Switz signs then not only will the distribution and hosting be taken care of but they will get a cut in the end as well.

[AirTupac]

Are you kidding me................................................ .......

[KevinNYC]

To go in business for themselves as a distributor.

The site host ads and if people are going to the site for say a mixtape by some artist Switz signs then not only will the distribution and hosting be taken care of but they will get a cut in the end as well.

But do the other performer who he asked to promote it get paid? and if so, how much do they get paid...because it's kind of like getting into bed with their enemy.

[KingBeasley08]

:cry:

[simcjt]

But do the other performer who he asked to promote it get paid? and if so, how much do they get paid...because it's kind of like getting into bed with their enemy.
I'm sure the ones who have a contract or some sort of connection with them do. I don't run the business but I doubt Will.I.Am is doing free favors.

[simcjt]

Also, who the hell 1 stars a thread like this :roll: :roll: :roll:

[Droid101]

Why would recording stars promote this site? Especially since they stand to lose $ from piracy.
Nobody loses money from digital copies floating around. People who download them illegally would never have bought them anyway.

If anything, they're getting free advertising. Might get a new fan who goes to your shows and gives you actual money.

[simcjt]

Nobody loses money from digital copies floating around. People who download them illegally would never have bought them anyway.



I understand the statement but that is not always true.

[bagelred]

Can you imagine if there were Corporate interests in helping the poor? Congress would be all over that shit, and poverty would be solved.

Instead, they prevent people from watching "The Office" reruns on MegaUpload. Damn you!!!!!

[bagelred]

Nobody loses money from digital copies floating around. People who download them illegally would never have bought them anyway.

If anything, they're getting free advertising. Might get a new fan who goes to your shows and gives you actual money.

There might be some truth to this, but I don't think you or I know. Would need a study done to determine that.

[Myth]

But this was how I was going to watch season 4 of Sons of Anarchy once I finish season 3 on Netflix :cry:

[Droid101]

There might be some truth to this, but I don't think you or I know. Would need a study done to determine that.
I admit I only have anecdotal evidence, but I do have quite a lot of it.

Pirating of copyrighted material helps advertise and get the word out.

Hypothetical Example: I never heard of or played the tabletop role playing game: Pathfinder. So, I downloaded a book to take a look. Because of that illegal download, I now own about 6 Pathfinder books, and my friends that I introduced to the games each bought many books, and some of them even became subscribers ($20 bucks a month) to the Pathfinder monthly book club. My illegal piracy made them hundreds upon hundreds of dollars.

Hypothetical Example 2: I download a movie, say, Inception, to see if I like it. I like it so much, that I add the Blu-Ray to my Amazon wish list. Someone buys it for me. The Movie Industry just made money off my illegal piracy.



Anyway, read this:

By now, most of you will know that megaupload.com was taken down today.

Doc Harvard, founder of 42wd Publishing LLC, helps us understand how what is happening with megaupload.com would radically change with SOPA and PIPA .

"(...)if it was done right then actual evidence had to be presented. If SOPA or PIPA gets passed all that would be needed is an accusation.

Additionally, under current legislation, if MegaUpLoad wins then they can counter sue for damages. With SOPA and PIPA you can't and the accusers aren't held directly responsible.

Also, if MegaUpLoad demonstrates that it has in place a system for filing complaint against allegedly copyrighted material and that they acted upon those complaints then they aren't responsible. Under SOPA or PIPA they are."

["Jesus"]

:facepalm :facepalm :facepalm :facepalm :facepalm
No more 1.5 MB/sec downloading, no more icefilms :facepalm :facepalm :facepalm :facepalm

[lilojmayo]

I don't know about you guys but this SOPA shyt, scarying the shyt outta me.


I want to be safe than sorry. Mass Downloading/ Transferring all my porno torrents to my ps3 slim that i never use.

120 GB of stored Pornos

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-JUwkPJKQTNU/Tk2A_VGpO7I/AAAAAAAACRY/TkxuAaJCGcI/s1600/homer-simpson-drooling.jpg

[AirTupac]

Man... I'm so bummed out... I watch EVERYTHING on icefilms...

The internet is gonna BLOW if this shit keeps goin on.

[AirTupac]

Anon attacks the department of justice and universal in response.

GO ANON!!!!!!

[franchise#3]

How can they shut down a site without proving first that it was infringing copyright laws?

[Richie2k6]

If they shut down Mediafire I'm gonna fukking flip

[Brunch@Five]

Nobody loses money from digital copies floating around. People who download them illegally would never have bought them anyway.

If anything, they're getting free advertising. Might get a new fan who goes to your shows and gives you actual money.

By that logic I'll just run into stores and take all the newspapers to read them without paying. Then I'll just say "Oh, I would never have paid for them anyways, so I'm right in taking them for free".
:facepalm
Do you know what "free rider/freeloader" means?

[Brunch@Five]

How can they shut down a site without proving first that it was infringing copyright laws?

It's pretty obvious that they do.

[simcjt]

It's pretty obvious that they do.
I get you are trying to be sarcastic but he was asking on what grounds would they claim they shut it down which is in the article.

Not if they do or do not shut sites down.

[skaterbasist]

So, this is "everybody has problems?"

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/9e/Education_Income_Race.jpg/300px-Education_Income_Race.jpg

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/bb/Higher_education_in_the_US_by_race.svg/350px-Higher_education_in_the_US_by_race.svg.png

No amount of black presidents makes up for the fact that on average, it's better to be white than black.

Maybe they should work harder? :confusedshrug:

I'm a 'minority' myself. Born and raised in Hollywood. And I can tell you, my 'people' only have themselves to blame. You cannot imagine the amount of idiots I knew that were of the same 'race' as me. They had the whole 'it's cool to be stupid' mentality.

They're just a consequence of their own lifestyle.

I'm doing pretty damn fine myself by the way. And I came from a family who worked minimum wage for decades. And with that said, my dad himself, a minority immigrant (who as I stated worked minimum wage for decades), is now a U.S. Citizen who made well over the 6-figure annual salary as a result of his own hard work.

Stop blaming it on whitey. Stop making excuses. This isn't the 1950's. Racism exists. But it's not excuse to be held back. AA is just an attempt at reconciliation for what people (who are already dead) did before. Move on.

[skaterbasist]

Get back on topic please.

My bad. I'll end it with my previous post.

Back on topic: FVCK SOPA and PIPA. :cheers:

[shlver]

The biggest problem with SOPA and PIPA is that they give the power to citizens and private corporations to engage in censorship. Many sites currently take down files, videos, etc on mere accusation and do not check if the said file is actually infringing.

[knickballer]

****


How the **** am I going to download shit now? There goes my account..

****ing nazi ass scumbags in government

[Droid101]

****


How the **** am I going to download shit now? There goes my account..

****ing nazi ass scumbags in government
Vote with your vote.

Get these assholes out of office.

[Loneshot]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-LEb_D2SD3k&feature=colike

Very informative.

[knickballer]

Vote with your vote.

Get these assholes out of office.

I did.. I called my rep, did the whole online petition crap, posted on another forum, told alot of people about this shit, etc..

But no one seems to care.. People are way too occupied with the Kardashians or Jersey Shore or Tebow..

[rezznor]

The biggest problem with SOPA and PIPA is that they give the power to citizens and private corporations to engage in censorship. Many sites currently take down files, videos, etc on mere accusation and do not check if the said file is actually infringing.
also, it takes away due process which is unconstitutional. these 2 bills are entirely too over-broad and if passed, will be be quickly abused.

[shlver]

also, it takes away due process which is unconstitutional. these 2 bills are entirely too over-broad and if passed, will be be quickly abused.
Yes that too.
I don't think they will pass, at least I hope so. Even DMCA has in some ways stifled academic research, experienced firsthand even in my university. Legislation has far reaching and difficult to predict consequences.

[shlver]

It is a success I think.
http://i39.tinypic.com/5xppn6.jpg
It accomplished a lot in showing how much influence internet users can have.

[RoseCity07]

It cost them 500 million? That was all content no one was going to pay for anyway. It's free promotion.

[simcjt]

It cost them 500 million? That was all content no one was going to pay for anyway. It's free promotion.
I'm sorry who are you referring to gets the free promotion?

[KevinNYC]

You folks are all kidding yourself.

Of course, it's costing the entertainment industries money. It's caused the music industry multiple billion dollars by now. Look at what Warner Brothers had to do to ensure the Dark Knight didn't leak out opening weekend. (http://articles.latimes.com/2008/jul/28/business/fi-darkknight28). How many millions did that cost? Even porn has been hit hard (http://www.thewrap.com/media/article/internet-piracy-killing-porns-profits-1394), um, had their revenues affected. (didn't see that one until I typed it.)

Are we going act like The Dark Knight was content no one was going to pay for anyway?

Let's be honest about what is going on here. Millions of people, including everyone complaining about this here, was stealing content and they enjoyed stealing content and they just didn't want that to go away. You can be bummed about it, but outrage simply isn't justified.

Nazi ass scumbags? Yeah, they infringed on your freedom to steal shit.

[KevinNYC]

I'm against SOPA and PIPA because they are bad laws which will scoop up folks who aren't breaking the law, not because they are going to affect my ability to steal shit.

[joe]

By that logic I'll just run into stores and take all the newspapers to read them without paying. Then I'll just say "Oh, I would never have paid for them anyways, so I'm right in taking them for free".
:facepalm
Do you know what "free rider/freeloader" means?

If you steal a newspaper, the store no longer has that newspaper in their possession. If you download a song.. everybody, including the artist, still has the song. Nothing has been "stolen," only reproduced.

I've said it before, I thought we logically snuffed out the labor theory of value a long time ago? Just because you work hard to create something, does NOT mean you deserve to be paid for it. I know the artists work hard, but the product they create is infinitely reproducable for no cost.

It's like pumping oxygen through a machine and trying to charge people to breathe. The product they're creating has infinite supply.. there is no reason to pay for it. Well, unless you don't want to be arrested. But the point is there shouldn't be these kinds of laws in the music industry.

[kumquat]

Maybe they should work harder? :confusedshrug:

I'm a 'minority' myself. Born and raised in Hollywood. And I can tell you, my 'people' only have themselves to blame. You cannot imagine the amount of idiots I knew that were of the same 'race' as me. They had the whole 'it's cool to be stupid' mentality.

They're just a consequence of their own lifestyle.

I'm doing pretty damn fine myself by the way. And I came from a family who worked minimum wage for decades. And with that said, my dad himself, a minority immigrant (who as I stated worked minimum wage for decades), is now a U.S. Citizen who made well over the 6-figure annual salary as a result of his own hard work.

Stop blaming it on whitey. Stop making excuses. This isn't the 1950's. Racism exists. But it's not excuse to be held back. AA is just an attempt at reconciliation for what people (who are already dead) did before. Move on.

:applause::applause::applause:

If you work hard you will make it.

[joe]

You folks are all kidding yourself.

Of course, it's costing the entertainment industries money. It's caused the music industry multiple billion dollars by now. Look at what Warner Brothers had to do to ensure the Dark Knight didn't leak out opening weekend. (http://articles.latimes.com/2008/jul/28/business/fi-darkknight28). How many millions did that cost? Even porn has been hit hard (http://www.thewrap.com/media/article/internet-piracy-killing-porns-profits-1394), um, had their revenues affected. (didn't see that one until I typed it.)

Are we going act like The Dark Knight was content no one was going to pay for anyway?

Let's be honest about what is going on here. Millions of people, including everyone complaining about this here, was stealing content and they enjoyed stealing content and they just didn't want that to go away. You can be bummed about it, but outrage simply isn't justified.

Nazi ass scumbags? Yeah, they infringed on your freedom to steal shit.

It cost them money that they only could get thanks to copyright laws. Copyright is meant to protect science and engineering type inventions.. not the movie industry. It's one of the best examples of government and corporations coming together to screw over people.

They are in the business of selling a product that can be infinitely reproduced for zero cost. Again, they might as well be trying to sell oxygen. The movie and music industries at this point should be crumbling away, and totally restructing their industry to overcome these new market obstacles. Instead, they've been using government to protect their poor business model ever since the internet was invented. Putting innocent people in jail just for downloading something.

[G-train]

First world problems

[KevinNYC]

If you steal a newspaper, the store no longer has that newspaper in their possession. If you download a song.. everybody, including the artist, still has the song. Nothing has been "stolen," only reproduced.

I've said it before, I thought we logically snuffed out the labor theory of value a long time ago? Just because you work hard to create something, does NOT mean you deserve to be paid for it. I know the artists work hard, but the product they create is infinitely reproducable for no cost.

It's like pumping oxygen through a machine and trying to charge people to breathe. The product they're creating has infinite supply.. there is no reason to pay for it. Well, unless you don't want to be arrested. But the point is there shouldn't be these kinds of laws in the music industry.

Joe, aren't you a libertarian or a constitutional conservative or something? Do you not understand the rights inherent in copyright? Do you not understand this legal concept protecting creators against intellectual theft dates back hundreds of years before the creation of the United States? Do you not know that copyright was written into our Constitution over 220 years ago? (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Copyright#History)


The Copyright Clause of the United States Constitution (1787) authorized copyright legislation: "To promote the Progress of Science and useful Arts, by securing for limited Times to Authors and Inventors the exclusive Right to their respective Writings and Discoveries."
Copyright is just that, the right to copy. It's the right of creators to profit from their creation for a limited time because they hold the copy rights. And because authors can make money from their books, you get more authors and more books and books, literacy, culture, etc can flourish.

[KevinNYC]

It cost them money that they only could get thanks to copyright laws. Copyright is meant to protect science and engineering type inventions.. not the movie industry. It's one of the best examples of government and corporations coming together to screw over people.
That bolded sentence is complete and utter bullshit. It's not a misguided opinion, it's something that is just factually wrong.

[KevinNYC]

This is the text of the first modern copyright law in 1710. It applied to ANY BOOK. No mention of inventions or science or engineering.


An Act for the Encouragement of Learning, by Vest-
ing the Copies of Printed Books in the Authors or
Purchasers of such Copies, during the Times therein
mentioned.

Whereas Printers, Booksellers, and other
Persons, have of late frequently taken
the Liberty of Printing, Reprinting,
and Publishing, or causing to be Print-
ed, Reprinted, and Published Books,
and other Writings, without the Con-
sent of the Authors or Proprietors of
such Books and Writings, to their
very great Detriment, and too often
to the Ruin of them and their Fami-
lies: For Preventing therefore such
Practices for the future, and for the
Encouragement of Learned Men to Compose and Write use-
ful Books; May it please Your Majesty, that it may be En-
acted, and be it Enacted by the Queens most Excellent Majesty,
by and with the Advice and Consent of the Lords Spiritual and
Temporal, and Commons in this present Parliament Assembled,
and by the Authority of the same, That from and after the
Tenth Day of April, One thousand seven hundred and ten, the
Author of any Book or Books already Printed, who hath not
Transferred to any other the Copy or Copies of such Book or
Books, Share or Shares thereof, or the Bookseller or Book-
sellers, Printer or Printers, or other Person or Persons, who
hath or have Purchased or Acquired the Copy or Copies of any
Book or Books, in order to Print or Reprint the same, shall
have the sole Right and Liberty of Printing such Book and
Books for the Term of One and twenty Years, to Commence
from the said Tenth Day of April, and no longer; and that
the Author of any Book or Books already Composed and not
Printed and Published, or that shall hereafter be Composed, and
his Assignee, or Assigns, shall have the sole Liberty of Printing
and Reprinting such Book and Books for the Term of four-
teen

Later on copyright was expanded


Copyright may apply to a wide range of creative, intellectual, or artistic forms, or "works". Specifics vary by jurisdiction, but these can include poems, theses, plays, other literary works, movies, dances, musical compositions, audio recordings, paintings, drawings, sculptures, photographs, software, radio and television broadcasts, and industrial designs. Graphic designs and industrial designs may have separate or overlapping laws applied to them in some jurisdictions

[alwaysunny]

First world problems

Son don't joke around this is serious

[miller-time]

question, why don't the entertainment industries do the same thing as megaupload and just host videos and music on their own servers and provide a subscription fee? instead of trying to control everything (like itunes), just bang the video or album file on there, ask for a subscription fee and everyone is happy. there are entire forums dedicated to sharing rapidshare and fileserve links - and people have to go out of their way to provide this service. if they just cut out the middle men (the uploaders) and host the files themselves they will reap all of the awards. instead they are losing millions of dollars because they don't have this kind of strategy and millions more trying to fight it.

[bladefd]

question, why don't the entertainment industries do the same thing as megaupload and just host videos and music on their own servers and provide a subscription fee? instead of trying to control everything (like itunes), just bang the video or album file on there, ask for a subscription fee and everyone is happy. there are entire forums dedicated to sharing rapidshare and fileserve links - and people have to go out of their way to provide this service. if they just cut out the middle men (the uploaders) and host the files themselves they will reap all of the awards. instead they are losing millions of dollars because they don't have this kind of strategy and millions more trying to fight it.

They would need permission to host those videos and music though. Without copyright permission, they would be making money from somebody else's work. The question is would they be able to acquire permission on all of the videos/music/etc? If they don't (or at least if they can't get the copyright permission on most of what is out there), it would open a whole can of worms. There would be a fight over who the copyright permissions can be sold to and you might see allegiances being bought between sites like megaupload and the music industry directly.. Then you run into issues like who has a right over what and can that be policed? Who polices it? Does the US government pay for the policing of those websites or does the music industry pay for policing those websites? You already see a lot of these issues. Doesn't stop all those issues.

Then again, it would not fix the blackmarket problem. There would still be websites and torrent sites to bypass paying money. You really can't stop blackmarket no matter what you do. I guess the only way possible is to stop all sharing like with SOPA/PIPA. It is either stop all sharing through a major threat like SOPA or pick-and-choose like it is now.

[KevinNYC]

question, why don't the entertainment industries do the same thing as megaupload and just host videos and music on their own servers and provide a subscription fee? instead of trying to control everything (like itunes), just bang the video or album file on there, ask for a subscription fee and everyone is happy. there are entire forums dedicated to sharing rapidshare and fileserve links - and people have to go out of their way to provide this service. if they just cut out the middle men (the uploaders) and host the files themselves they will reap all of the awards. instead they are losing millions of dollars because they don't have this kind of strategy and millions more trying to fight it.

With rampant piracy, they are probably less likely to attempt something like that. Blu ray was supposed to be secure for 10 years. Somebody cracked it within one year.

The subscription services exist for music. For movies and TV, you have services like Netflix and Amazon and Playstation and Itunes, etc. So if you wanted to legally download or stream movies, you have options for that.

What you don't have a is pay per month service.

[Draz]

Yall write way to much. Megaupload's gone, will it be gone forever?

[vinsane01]

Megauplaod is back online. Not sure if this is true though..

http://109.236.83.66/ I dont use it so i cant verify, log in at your own risk...

[shlver]

You folks are all kidding yourself.

Of course, it's costing the entertainment industries money. It's caused the music industry multiple billion dollars by now. Look at what Warner Brothers had to do to ensure the Dark Knight didn't leak out opening weekend. (http://articles.latimes.com/2008/jul/28/business/fi-darkknight28). How many millions did that cost? Even porn has been hit hard (http://www.thewrap.com/media/article/internet-piracy-killing-porns-profits-1394), um, had their revenues affected. (didn't see that one until I typed it.)

Are we going act like The Dark Knight was content no one was going to pay for anyway?

Let's be honest about what is going on here. Millions of people, including everyone complaining about this here, was stealing content and they enjoyed stealing content and they just didn't want that to go away. You can be bummed about it, but outrage simply isn't justified.

Nazi ass scumbags? Yeah, they infringed on your freedom to steal shit.
Sure there are some with a shallow view, and others that have a good understanding of what this bill can and will enable people to do. Fact is piracy is here to stay and will be until the USA resorts to 1984esque surveillance. Even with DNS filtering, tech people have already found workarounds. Google desopa. People will move their root dns servers offshores, and if the USA creates a wall to them, tech geeks will find workarounds.
These type of legislation have far reaching consequences not just the intents outlined in the bill. For example, academic research in my university and other institutions have been stifled by DMCA. Interpretations of the current bills' broad wording is without a doubt going to be abused. Does this have further reaching implications? Yes. It creates a legal mechanism in which citizens and corporations can engage in censorship by pure allegation. Including the violation of a citizens right to due process.
Blind massive policy change that can have hard to predict consequences and even blatant abuse is not the answer. Instead of using all this money on lobbying for a "go get a bigger stick" solution, content industries could be spending it on innovation, better copyright protection, better business model, etc.

[KevinNYC]

Sure there are some with a shallow view, and others that have a good understanding of what this bill can and will enable people to do. Fact is piracy is here to stay and will be until the USA resorts to 1984esque surveillance. Even with DNS filtering, tech people have already found workarounds. Google desopa. People will move their root dns servers offshores, and if the USA creates a wall to them, tech geeks will find workarounds.
These type of legislation have far reaching consequences not just the intents outlined in the bill. For example, academic research in my university and other institutions have been stifled by DMCA. Interpretations of the current bills' broad wording is without a doubt going to be abused. Does this have further reaching implications? Yes. It creates a legal mechanism in which citizens and corporations can engage in censorship by pure allegation. Including the violation of a citizens right to due process.
Blind massive policy change that can have hard to predict consequences and even blatant abuse is not the answer. Instead of using all this money on lobbying for a "go get a bigger stick" solution, content industries could be spending it on innovation, better copyright protection, better business model, etc.

I think you mistakenly think that I am in favor of SOPA or PIPA. And the shutting down of Megaupload was not done under SOPA or PIRA.

[shlver]

I think you mistakenly think that I am in favor of SOPA or PIPA. And the shutting down of Megaupload was not done under SOPA or PIRA.
Apologies. I thought you were referring to the Anti SOPA/PIPA outrage not being justified.

[KevinNYC]

You want a good sense of the legal aspects of the Megaupload case, you can check here (http://blogs.wsj.com/law/2012/01/19/were-not-pirates-were-just-providing-shipping-services-to-pirates/)



“we have a funny business . . . modern days pirates :)”
“we’re not pirates, we’re just providing shipping services to pirates :)”.
.....
Internet providers gain a safe harbor under U.S. law from civil copyright infringement suits if they meet certain criteria, including being able to take down copyrighted material as soon as it’s discovered.

MegaUpload created a so-called “abuse tool” with several major U.S. copyright holders to allow them to remove infringing material. They could simply enter specific links to pirated content, and MegaUpload’s systems would then remove the underlying file or block access to it.

But according to the indictment, MegaUpload tricked the copyright holders. If a user tried to upload a movie that was already in the company’s servers, it wouldn’t be duplicated on servers but a new link would be created nevertheless. So any one file could have dozens (or more) links, meaning a copyright holder would have to track them all down in order to actually have the one underlying file erased from the servers.

According to the indictment, MegaUpload executives distributed a number of infringing works personally, including a song by rapper 50 Cent, recordings by trance producer Armin van Buuren and episodes of the Sopranos.

[Draz]

Word I recently got premium for MU to.

[KevinNYC]

Apologies. I thought you were referring to the Anti SOPA/PIPA outrage not being justified.
:cheers: It's rare on this board, someone actually acknowledging a mistake, let alone, handling it with class.

:cry: nooooooooooo! that was my fav filesharing site.
See this is what I was talking about. He's upset, but no whiny entitlement about how someone won't let him steal files anymore.

[shlver]

You want a good sense of the legal aspects of the Megaupload case, you can check here (http://blogs.wsj.com/law/2012/01/19/were-not-pirates-were-just-providing-shipping-services-to-pirates/)
If you read the indictment, the fact that they themselves distributed copyrighted content is what really gave the DOJ what they needed. I see that's in the article. haha.

[KevinNYC]

I had an account there too with materials I uploaded so I wasn't just "stealing" but rather I was sharing. I just hope they don't come after my ass. :lol

I think they're doing this because of Hollywood. I doubt they did a damn about the porn industry, who's losing way way more than mainstream movies or music are.

Well no porn movie is going to make near what a big Hollywood movie can make in a single weekend. So yes, Hollywood is probably the lobbying money behind this.

By the way, those files that you were, um, sharing--they were your own creations distributed under a Creative Commons license, right?

[bdreason]

The system of trademarks, copyrights, and intellectual property rights does nothing but line the pockets of corporations while concurrently stifling creativity and scientific discovery. Without the constraints of such of system, who knows how much humanity could have achieved by this point.



It's amazing to me that society has come to the point where we are now willing to strip innocent people of constitutional rights in order to protect our precious intellectual property. What a sad, sad world we live in today.

[Brunch@Five]

If you steal a newspaper, the store no longer has that newspaper in their possession. If you download a song.. everybody, including the artist, still has the song. Nothing has been "stolen," only reproduced.

I've said it before, I thought we logically snuffed out the labor theory of value a long time ago? Just because you work hard to create something, does NOT mean you deserve to be paid for it. I know the artists work hard, but the product they create is infinitely reproducable for no cost.

It's like pumping oxygen through a machine and trying to charge people to breathe. The product they're creating has infinite supply.. there is no reason to pay for it. Well, unless you don't want to be arrested. But the point is there shouldn't be these kinds of laws in the music industry.

that's the whole free-rider problem. You say music/TV series is a public good. Assuming you're right (which I don't think is true), still someone had to pay for its preservation. That means pay for it via taxes basically. Because if there's no money to the business anymore, we won't get good music anymore. Doesn't remind you socialism, or does it?

[talk at ya]

Here's the problem with AA. If you focus on helping out only minorities, the lower-class whites are left behind while the middle/upper class blacks are getting significantly more help than they deserve. Like others have said, it is now an issue of class-ism. A white child raised on welfare actually has fewer opportunities than a black child raised on welfare due to AA, and that is flat out racism.

Also, if you notice, the higher the degree, the larger the gap between blacks and whites according to Hammertime's diagram. Why do you think that is? If it is easier for an African American to get into college, then their degree is devalued, and that screws over the blacks that earned their spot and worked to get where they were without using their race as a crutch. Minorities accepted into college due to AA have significantly lower test scores and GPAs, and thus their drop-out rate is much higher, and their grades are much lower. Throwing someone into college who is not prepared to be there is not going to help him out, and meanwhile it is screwing over white students who did meet the admissions standards and may have done extremely well.

Like Yung D-Will said, the problem starts long before college acceptance, and it includes many more unfortunate children than minorities. The schooling system needs to be reformed if we want to see any change. Yet, when our governor (Kasich) discussed a competitive-based salary system for teachers, everyone was up in arms. Too many people these days refuse to see the source of the problem and try to change it, and too many people insist on the same systems being put into practice that have not worked for decades.

[iamgine]

I like this new challenge. It's becoming too easy to pirate stuff. Pirates will become united and stronger than ever. I remember after they shut down napster, piracy became even bigger.

Go piracy! :rockon:

[305Baller]

**** sopa

http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y52/BESmith123/ObstructedColon.gif

[Kiddlovesnets]

Megaupload has been shut down, the government is being serious this time. Wonder if protests can actually help.

[KevinNYC]

The system of trademarks, copyrights, and intellectual property rights does nothing but line the pockets of corporations while concurrently stifling creativity and scientific discovery. Without the constraints of such of system, who knows how much humanity could have achieved by this point.



It's amazing to me that society has come to the point where we are now willing to strip innocent people of constitutional rights in order to protect our precious intellectual property. What a sad, sad world we live in today.

I completely disagree with your first point. If I write a book that might take me five years to write, I should be able to profit from my hard work. Some jackass with a laser printer shouldn't make work off my toil. Also, if I do make money, that will afford me support to write another book. Hell the fact that you can make money writing books or movies or songs means many, many more people will try to do that in the first place

I think the copyright system has been abused and they keep extending this term longer and longer (Mickey, cough, Mouse), however protecting the rights of creator's initial "right of copying" original works have been an absolutey boon to human society and creativity.

Your second point is just incoherent. What consitutional rights are stripped from people? That's just bullshit. I WILL REPEAT THIS AGAIN. COPYRIGHT is a right mentioned in our Constitution.

As for the copyright system does nothing to line the pockets of corporations...yadda, yadda.....
It actually helps creators and producers at all levels earn money from their own work. I know a guy who worked as musician, actually he worked at something else, but had a few albums on very, very small labels, but it earned him some money. He put in this way. "I've spent years at my craft, learning my instrument, learning production, learning songwriting. I've invested in musical and production equipment and I've worked until I've gotten to the point where I could make an album that people wanted to buy and was able to do it again and again. And today some kid with a DSL connection can download my entire creative output in two hours and distribute it to everyone all over the world." His sales plummeted.

[Rose]

I completely disagree with your first point. If I write a book that might take me five years to write, I should be able to profit from my hard work. Some jackass with a laser printer shouldn't make work off my toil. Also, if I do make money, that will afford me support to write another book. Hell the fact that you can make money writing books or movies or songs means many, many more people will try to do that in the first place

I think the copyright system has been abused and they keep extending this term longer and longer (Mickey, cough, Mouse), however protecting the rights of creator's initial "right of copying" original works have been an absolutey boon to human society and creativity.

Your second point is just incoherent. What consitutional rights are stripped from people? That's just bullshit. I WILL REPEAT THIS AGAIN. COPYRIGHT is a right mentioned in our Constitution.

As for the copyright system does nothing to line the pockets of corporations...yadda, yadda.....
It actually helps creators and producers at all levels earn money from their own work. I know a guy who worked as musician, actually he worked at something else, but had a few albums on very, very small labels, but it earned him some money. He put in this way. "I've spent years at my craft, learning my instrument, learning production, learning songwriting. I've invested in musical and production equipment and I've worked until I've gotten to the point where I could make an album that people wanted to buy and was able to do it again and again. And today some kid with a DSL connection can download my entire creative output in two hours and distribute it to everyone all over the world." His sales plummeted.
Terrific. But he really shouldn't care that his music was being "stolen." He got free publicity which PLENTY of artists say piracy actually helped them, and got them the exposure to get on a bigger label. Which then leads to the real money of a big label. Where you don't earn your money from the actually production of the album, but from touring, ticket sales, tshirts, etc etc.

Plus it boils down to kids in the 80s/90s were doing the same thing with cassette tapes, and then cds in the 90s/early 2000s, and now it's just mostly downloads which the companies can finally track. Sure it's not "fair" to the artists, but as long as you sell x amount of albums anyways you get your money for making the album. It's the record companies themselves that screwed out of it, and I frankly don't give a shit if they lose "millions" off an album when they already have billions.

[Norcaliblunt]

This is just a classic example of the status quo fighting against the natural evolution of a social system. Technology and the ability to create resources in abundance with easy access and distribution to all is the future. File sharing entertainment and intellectual material on the internet is just the beginning.

[Droid101]

Studios don't lose money from piracy. People who illegally download things would never have bought them anyway, and instead might become a fan and go to concerts/movies in the theater due to their new experience.

Piracy makes the RIAA/MPAA money.

[Droid101]

rock vets like Radiohead and Pearl Jam don't even need major labels anymore, they're selling their music straight to their fans.
And most of them give it away for free. They sell extras/concert tickets in conjunction.

Read this immediately:

Going Around the Major Record Labels: http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20091119/1634117011.shtml


Trent Reznor, the man behind the band Nine Inch Nails, has done so many experiments that show how this model works that it's difficult to describe them all. He's become a true leader in showing how this model works in a way that has earned him millions while making fans happy, rather than turning them into the enemy.

Reznor has always reached out to his fans, and has an amazingly comprehensive website, with forums, chat rooms and many other ways of interacting. He encourages fans to better connect with each other as well. While companies like Warner Music forced all the music videos of their artists off YouTube for many months, Reznor actually aggregates all the videos his fans take at concerts (he encourages them to bring cameras) on one page on his own website. He does the same for photos. He released a (free) iPhone app that allowed fans to locate each other, and communicate with each other, while sharing photos and videos as well. It's all about connecting with those fans, and helping them better connect with each other, so they feel like a part of a club.

From there, he gives fans real reasons to buy. Lately, he's taken to releasing everything he records for free online, knowing that the music will show up on file sharing sites anyway, so he sees no reason to fight it. Yet, he adds many other options that people might want to buy. With his release of the album Ghosts I-IV, he released all the tracks under a Creative Commons license that allowed anyone to share them online for free. Yet, he also set up some cool "reasons to buy." You could get the two disc CD, if you wanted, for just $10. Above that, though, was a Deluxe Edition Package, for $75. It was, effectively, a box set, but around a single album. Beyond the two CDs, it also included a DVD and a Blu-ray and a photobook of images.
Go to the link for a ton more examples. Good read, really.

[Norcaliblunt]

I think the only kind of artists that are hurt by it are mainstream pop artists who rely a lot of commercial hits. Indie bands and even rock vets like Radiohead and Pearl Jam don't even need major labels anymore, they're selling their music straight to their fans. For indie bands, privacy helps them sell out their shows and concerts, where they get most of their money in the first place.


WTF! Indie artists and indie stores are the ones who take the hit the hardest. Do you seeing many mom and pop record stores anymore? It is almost impossible to be a straight up independent recording artist if selling recorded material is all you do. You have to find other avenues for revenue like hardcore touring and merchandising. The days of dudes dropping an inde record, selling 10k, and making 100g's is practically over. The mainstream are the only ones with enough ends to overcome any of this.

[simcjt]

WTF! Indie artists and indie stores are the ones who take the hit the hardest. Do you seeing many mom and pop record stores anymore? It is almost impossible to be a straight up independent recording artist if selling recorded material is all you do. You have to find other avenues for revenue like hardcore touring and merchandising. The days of dudes dropping an inde record, selling 10k, and making 100g's is practically over. The mainstream are the only ones with enough ends to overcome any of this.
You are misunderstanding the statement.

He said it helps indie bands. He said nothing about independent labels. Yeah, the labels deserve their share for fine tunning but its the bands that make them.

[CelticsDraftee]

http://booyahfacts.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/stop-sopa.png

[CelticsDraftee]

http://booyahfacts.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/stop-sopa.png

[Draz]

http://booyahfacts.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/stop-sopa.png

LMFAO

[tomtucker]

Studios don't lose money from piracy. People who illegally download things would never have bought them anyway, and instead might become a fan and go to concerts/movies in the theater due to their new experience.

Piracy makes the RIAA/MPAA money.
:cheers:

[nightprowler10]

:cheers:
I daresay places like Gamestop make these companies lose more money than piracy.

[Brunch@Five]

Does anyone here actually think he's right morally to download or stream media without paying for it?

[Sarcastic]

Does anyone here actually think he's right morally to download or stream media without paying for it?

Sure, why not. If my friend buys a dvd, is he not allowed to let me borrow it for free, or do I have to pay the movie companies to watch it?

["Jesus"]

http://mashable.com/2012/01/20/sopa-is-dead-smith-pulls-bill/

Good riddance. :applause:

[LemonMan]

http://img194.imageshack.us/img194/482/1212fh.jpg
:roll: :roll: :roll:

[SteveNashMVPcro]

**** sopa

[Derrick]

:roll: :roll: :roll:
:lol

[Draz]

YES. Now give us back MU!

[CelticBaller]

:bowdown:

[TheAdmiral3]

thanks godbe

[BurningHammer]

Its clones will be back very soon. But for now, :banana: :banana: :banana:

[Hazard]

NDAA, Patriot Act, Guantanamo Bay, etc.... small victory to say the least.

["Jesus"]

NDAA, Patriot Act, Guantanamo Bay, etc.... small victory to say the least.

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_wBT9om5vlsE/TTouCqYnHKI/AAAAAAAAB5U/8kCkd9n-8eQ/s320/debbie_downer.jpg

[East_Stone_Ya]

now to megaupload fast:D

[Yung D-Will]

Like Yung D-Will said, the problem starts long before college acceptance, and it includes many more unfortunate children than minorities. The schooling system needs to be reformed if we want to see any change. Yet, when our governor (Kasich) discussed a competitive-based salary system for teachers, everyone was up in arms. Too many people these days refuse to see the source of the problem and try to change it, and too many people insist on the same systems being put into practice that have not worked for decades.

Not to mention whenever someone questions the teachers unions they're very quick to say " We're here to help the younger generation" when it's become perfectly clear the unions are more concerned with protecting the adults than educating the children.

[KevinNYC]

Sure, why not. If my friend buys a dvd, is he not allowed to let me borrow it for free, or do I have to pay the movie companies to watch it?

Do you really think your analogy holds up?

When he lends you the physical disk, he no longer has it. Nothing has been copied.

Also does your friend have ten million friends? Because the scale is a bit off otherwise.

[Loneshot]

Woo hoo.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3GwjfUFyY6M&ob=av2n

[KevinNYC]

Terrific. But he really shouldn't care that his music was being "stolen." He got free publicity which PLENTY of artists say piracy actually helped them, and got them the exposure to get on a bigger label. Which then leads to the real money of a big label. Where you don't earn your money from the actually production of the album, but from touring, ticket sales, tshirts, etc etc.


This is rationalization pure and simple. A rationalization after the fact, after the theft occurred. If wanted to give away his music for free for the publicity value, that should be his choice.

Yes, artists have adapted to the new landscape, but the "real money of a big label" is a lot less these days because music sales are down so much. Also it means a lot fewer bands are getting on the real label. You actually used to make money by producing an album and selling it. And yes some bands can tour and make money. Usually rock bands, but that's not the only type of music around And that assumes he's young kid who doesn't have a family and who can tour all the time.

Also touring used to be used to support album sales.

[KevinNYC]

Studios don't lose money from piracy. People who illegally download things would never have bought them anyway, and instead might become a fan and go to concerts/movies in the theater due to their new experience.

Piracy makes the RIAA/MPAA money.

So people are going to pay for The Dark Knight or College Dropout?

This is just nonsense.

[Myth]

Woo hoo.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3GwjfUFyY6M&ob=av2n

I somehow knew that was the song going to be used in the link even before clicking. :cheers:

:party: :djparty :hammertime: :dancin :rockon: :banana:

Edit: It makes me happy being in this thread, watching those emoticons dance, and listening to that song all at that same time.

[KevinNYC]

YES. Now give us back MU!

Um, again, nothing to do with SOPA.

[nightprowler10]

Does anyone here actually think he's right morally to download or stream media without paying for it?
Nah I almost always do it legal. Thing is though, I always buy used media, so guess what, certain artists aren't making money off me anyway. Which was the point of my post.

[LJJ]

Does anyone here actually think he's right morally to download or stream media without paying for it?

The question is more complex than it seems. A lot of these laws are based more around business interest and the underlying morality is more of an afterthought. The boundaries set by the authorities on this issue are very arbitrary and to it's core do not make a lot of sense.


For instance, The Wire has already been shown in it's entirety on TV for free. Where I live it was shown on public television. There are no commercial breaks, access to this channel is 100% free, and the broadcast is basically a DVD image. Had I set my VCR to record all of that, I would have obtained crisp HD recordings of every episode for free.

When media has been publicly available in this manner, is it morally wrong to obtain it in a different fashion? Setting or not setting your VCR has nothing to do with morality if you ask me. However, that is the key difference between obtaining it legally for free versus illegally for free.

[KevinNYC]

The question is more complex than it seems. A lot of these laws are based more around business interest and the underlying morality is more of an afterthought. The boundaries set by the authorities on this issue are very arbitrary and to it's core do not make a lot of sense.
Um, first off tons of our laws are based around business interests. Did you mean biased in favor of business interests?

For instance, The Wire has already been shown in it's entirety on TV for free. Where I live it was shown on public television. There are no commercial breaks, access to this channel is 100% free
And no laws were broken and a fine time was had by all.

Public TV is not ripping off content producers. Public TV has a budget usually raised by taxes or fees. They paid for the Broadcast Rights to show to the producers of The Wire and negotiated a contract agreed to by both parties. A standard commercial transaction.

Had I set my VCR to record all of that, I would have obtained crisp HD recordings of every episode for free.
(On a technical note, you would not be able to record HD shows on a VCR, perhaps you meant a DVR.)
Also, there are fair use exceptions to copyright. I dunno about your country, but in the US, one of these fair use exceptions is using a VCR or a DVR for personal use. This is also called timeshifting and that is legal, but you can't distribute your recording.

LINK (http://www.quora.com/If-you-have-Cable-and-a-DVR-at-home-why-is-it-still-illegal-to-download-an-episode-of-a-TV-show-you-missed-from-BitTorrent)

The courts have determined that "Time-shifting" is a Fair Use when done for personal use only. But "Library Building" is not a Fair Use. Because VCRs (and now DVRs) have a potential use that is allowed, these devices are not illegal. But they can still be used in ways that infringe copyright.

Time-shifting requires that the signal be recorded at your house. You could have watched it at home but choose to have your gear save the recording for a later time.

But having another person doing the recording and then distributing it to you is not the same thing as time-shifting. His distribution is the infringing act, as is your receiving the copy that he made.

[Norcaliblunt]

That's what I said. The indie acts as well as established acts make their money off concerts, not selling records. I didn't say anything about selling physical records, which nobody buys anymore anyway. And getting their music through the piracy helps these no-name acts gain fanbase for shows, where you make most of their money anyway.


Yeah, but that didn't always have to be the case for these "INDE" acts. You never saw a majority of these hardcore underground rappers on tour, or have to sell T-shirts all over the place just to make any money at all. They could create a record, promote it, and watch some decent cash roll in from their fan base. That is what piracy killed for the "INDE" game. You have to have other avenues now, when in the past is you could just slang CD's or tapes and get by pretty well.

[LJJ]

Um, first off tons of our laws are based around business interests. Did you mean biased in favor of business interests?

And no laws were broken and a fine time was had by all.

Public TV is not ripping off content producers. Public TV has a budget usually raised by taxes or fees. They paid for the Broadcast Rights to show to the producers of The Wire and negotiated a contract agreed to by both parties. A standard commercial transaction.

You would not be able to record HD shows on a VCR, perhaps you meant a DVR.
Also, there are fair use exceptions to copyright. I dunno about your country, but in the US, one of these fair use exceptions is using a VCR or a DVR for personal use. This is also called timeshifting and that is legal, but you can't distribute your recording.

LINK (http://www.quora.com/If-you-have-Cable-and-a-DVR-at-home-why-is-it-still-illegal-to-download-an-episode-of-a-TV-show-you-missed-from-BitTorrent)

:blah You know what I meant ***.


Anyhow, that is exactly the point. You record it and they've made some type of weird exception to make it legal. But at it's core it's a freely obtained digital copy no different from any other type of digital copy.

The licenseholder of The Wire has already sold the rights for it to be broadcast publicly, freely available to anyone in the country. At the moment it has been broadcast in that manner, and could have been freely captured by anyone, it ceases to be morally wrong to own a free copy of it.

[KevinNYC]

:blah You know what I meant ***.


Anyhow, that is exactly the point. You record it and they've made some type of weird exception to make it legal. But at it's core it's a freely obtained digital copy no different from any other type of digital copy.

The licenseholder of The Wire has already sold the rights for it to be broadcast publicly, freely available to anyone in the country. At the moment it has been broadcast in that manner, and could have been freely captured by anyone, it ceases to be morally wrong to own a free copy of it.

Um, I didn't know what you meant because you used three different formats, VCR, DVD and HD, each of which has a different image quality.

The producers of the Wire still retain all copyrights and unless you made a personal copy in your own home, it's illegal. The logical conclusion of your argument is that movies or TV shows should never been broadcast if the producers want to retain their copyrights.

[LJJ]

Um, I didn't know what you meant because you used three different formats, VCR, DVD and HD, each of which has a different image quality.

You understood I meant recording. Who cares about the format? It has nothing to do with the discussion. You were just being a little vag, lettuce be reality.


The producers of the Wire still retain all copyrights and unless you made a personal copy in your own home, it's illegal. The logical conclusion of your argument is that movies or TV shows should never been broadcast if the producers want to retain their copyrights.

Yep.

The bottom line should be this:

If you don't want your intellectual property to be freely available, DON'T MAKE YOUR INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY FREELY AVAILABLE.

We are talking common sense here.

You can't say it's freely available for everybody only under arbitrary condition Y in arbitrary situation X, and still pretend that it's a moral issue. And this is just a single example. All of copyright law and similar is full of having nonsensical and arbitrary implications on a wide array of different situations.

[-23-]

Sopa

Suck

Obamas

*****

Asswipes.

[KevinNYC]

You were just being a little vag, lettuce be reality.

You're twelve years old aren't you.



The bottom line should be this:

If you don't want your intellectual property to be freely available, DON'T MAKE YOUR INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY FREELY AVAILABLE.

We are talking common sense here.

So don't publish a book or put out an album or make a movie or broadcast a TV show?

Your common sense was rejected 300 years ago. Also if you extend your argument to regular property, it translates to, if you didn't want your car to be stolen, don't put it somewhere where I can steal it.

[LJJ]

So don't publish a book or put out an album or make a movie or broadcast a TV show?

Your common sense was rejected 300 years ago. Also if you extend your argument to regular property, it translates to, if you didn't want your car to be stolen, don't put it somewhere where I can steal it.

Don't publish a book for free. Don't put out an album for free. Don't show a movie for free. Don't broadcast a TV show for free.

And then expect people to pay for it, after you've already distributed it for free.

[bluechox2]

**** sopa

http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y52/BESmith123/ObstructedColon.gif
:roll:

[Tenchi Ryu]

http://booyahfacts.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/stop-sopa.png
That's so ****ed up
:facepalm :facepalm :facepalm

[tomtucker]

**** sopa

http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y52/BESmith123/ObstructedColon.gif

is this real ?

[flipogb]

Filesonic voluntarily shut itself down. :( It was one of the better porn file hosts. If Mediafire is next...it's gonna be the end of the Internet world for sure.

http://gyazo.com/eb7879a3c60f051545f91139cfa6606f.png

If they're putting so much effort to shut these filesharing sites down, they should start brainstorming ideas on how to reboot the music and movie stores business. I actually didn't mind spending $3 or $4 on a rental. Albums(physical CDs)? start selling them for $5 and I'll start buying again.

$5 is the magic number for selling anything

[flipogb]

you could go back to cassette tapes and then convert the song back to MP3.

people who like to get songs for free wont stop getting them for free no matter what

and this also goes back to that theory that those who download wouldnt have bought anyway as they are probably the same people who used to record songs from the radio with tapes

[RidonKs]

i think there's something entirely disjointed about applying the moral principles of intellectual property to artistic creation. the semantics that seem to override every argument i've ever heard regarding this issue, almost always with explicit reference to online piracy but nevertheless generalized to every other comparable exercise under the sun, all boil down to total insignificance. if the issue really is morality, shit just breaks down once you try to pin down the axioms on which to build the case for ownership of art. there's no base to support the discourse, but it doesn't really matter because folks go about running their mouths and propagating their ideas nevertheless.

but all of that meaningless drivel aside;

anybody have any thoughts on the duration of artistic ownership? the radical expansion of individual property eating into what was formerly a vast rich public domain... by, like, hundreds of years. the fact that copyright has transgressed from allowing a man to create and distribute his personal works of art as a means to making his living -- perfectly admirable and certainly worthy of the phrase 'societal progress' -- to allowing his great great great great grandchildren to capitalize on his work through the dissemination of memorabilia and foam fingers and bullshit that takes nothing but crappy marketing. it's a damn shame and it's eating into our conscience.

[Droid101]

anybody have any thoughts on the duration of artistic ownership?
No, but this guy does:

http://www.jonathancoulton.com/2012/01/21/megaupload/

[quote]Uh oh, he