SOPA hearing yesterday: There are not enough /facepalms in the world

[DEAD34345]

Well, at first I was kind of terrified that this bill was actually even being considered.

Then I looked up the pro-SOPA ads I've heard people talking about, and now I just can't stop laughing. They're hilarious. Hilariously terrifying.
... Now I don't know what to feel.

Can you Link some here, I am curious but they are so hard to find around the anti-sopa adds.

Ordinarily I wouldn't want to post advertisements supporting this kind of crap without explaining my own viewpoint, but honestly, I think the sheer ridiculousness of this stuff speaks for itself.

... Damn, you're right. This stuff is difficult to find.

I can only find this one on Vimeo. http://vimeo.com/33248176

Ah, and here's "Premonition".

 

[SenseOfTumour]

That first video is amazing, complaining that music awards shows were watched illegally? They're a two hour advert for your artists, you should be paying people to watch, and be overjoyed that people are using their own time and bandwidth to view them.

As for the Daily Show / Colbert Report, I'd watch it with ads, hell even pay a reasonable fee for each show, IF I could watch it. Just get ads from international companies, and case solved. As such, if people who CAN'T legally watch your show are pirating it, how are you 'losing' anything?

Louis CK recently placed his new show online, DRM free, with no dvd release or anything, for $5, and he's doing really rather well by it, making more on the $5 sales than he would have on $20 dvds released by a company working for him. Sure it's getting pirated, but I've seen comments reproduced from pirate sites actually saying 'don't pirate this, don't click download, go buy it, prove Louis right in taking a chance on people'

Sure Louis CK is probably doing just fine, while not being A list. I ask tho, how much more content would be legitimately bought if it was available, DRM free, in high quality, worldwide on the same day?

The main reason (of course some people will pirate anything) for most US TV getting pirated is we just don't want to wait six months over here in the UK, if you can't get a deal for TV, at least release a UK box set so we have the option to buy it, or get it on itunes for UK at the time of the US showing.

 

[SenseOfTumour]

snip

it,s called technocracy it makes more sense then democracy you might end up having people in charge nobody likes but at least they know what they are talking about.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Technocracy

I AM SO WITH YOU ON THAT!

Fuck me, how much better might the world be if people quit voting for the guy with the nicest haircut and looked at what he was planning on doing instead? Too many votes I feel end up going the way of 'He's a christian/middle class/straight white male/ southern type, so I feel a connection to him over the other guy.'

I'm not saying go that far even, although it'd be nice, the idea of casting all the ignorant people out of power would terrify most people, the masses seem to prefer a good ol' family man who's not too smart, them smart people are intimidating, and if they pretend to be a cowboy with a ranch, even better.

All I'm asking is maybe a five or ten question multiple choice quiz before they can vote, asking very basic questions about the subject they're voting on. As I said before, materials would be available so they could read up the facts on the subject until they feel ready to vote on it.

Won't stop em being paid to vote one way, but might stop em ticking the box they've been pushed towards if they actually understand what they're voting on. Far easier right now to tell em that the party line is 'yes'.

I also find it hilarious that they think a few government techs are going to be able to defend against the tidal wave of hacking that will ensue about 3 seconds after this got passed.

As Dilbert pointed out -

 

[Spacewolf]

Has anyone checked the earlier posters Reddit thing about them postponeing the vote until next year?

 

[SenseOfTumour]

That's a good move, another year's worth of heavy net users and people who actually inform themselves and read about current affairs....will be of legal voting age, and looking at the kind of people voting on the bills, about half of the current lot will have died of old age, maybe even making room for some under 80s on the panel.

Yeah, postpone it another year!

 

[ShindoL Shill]

The internet runs on hamsters running on wheels stationed in omaha right?

no, they're gerbils and it's CERN. thats what the LHC is doing. making more internet. if they dont, we cant make more websites...

OT: ... which we'd have to if it passes. because all the american sites would go bye-bye.
...
like this one.

 

[MrFalconfly]

Oh the joy of living in a globalized world.

Sitting in Denmark being on different web-sites (including american ones), but now some old right-wing (I know this is right-wing because they are in support of the BIG corporations adding to the fact that american politics is only right-wing (Democrats) and slightly-more-right-wing(Republicans)) yankees want to let the corporations censor web-sites for no reason at all, and there's nothing I can do about it because they are based in a different country than me.

 

[Cracker3011]

I'm hardly an Anonymous fan, but for fuck's sake, I wish they would do something here. Maybe taking down the US defence grid. That would get the message across.

Or maybe just ordering each of the SOPA-supporting senators a shitload of porn and ensuring they send the bill to their wives/husbands.

EDIT: And this might actually be a decent time for a boycott. If everyone stopped watching Hollywood movies, and stopped buying WMG music, that should penetrate their bloody feeble-minded skulls.

 

[Jinx_Dragon]

I noticed something in these adds... they included ANY internet viewing as 'illegal.' This is highlighted as they said Colbert report and Daily Show (Two shows against SOPA interestingly enough) have been viewed millions of times illegally. These are two shows that willingly stream their material online! This means they have included shows that are openly streamed as 'illegal content' just to booster the numbers so they can claim they are being defrauded more then they are.

I think this is very telling if you ask me: They will target any 'copyrighted' material online, regardless if it is legally being streamed or not.

 

[spartan231490]

We have no one to blame but ourselves. "Those who would sacrifice essential liberty for a little temporary security deserve neither."

"And lose both" Maybe If it does pass and they threaten YouTube, the people who hold advertisements there will buck up and say "No." Not the channel owners but the companies that pay for their ads on YouTube. If we can't persuade Congress with our petition, then the Ad holders can use their wallets. It's sad that it may actually come to that...

They won't. There are a lot of ways to advertise, they don't need youtube. They don't need much of anything actually, but I admire your optimism. But I wouldn't worry about it too much, these things are generally put into effect pretty slowly, I doubt we will see SOPA used for anything controversial for at least a year, maybe two. Then again, now that they also have the NDAA, they might not need to wait, they might just jump straight to tyranny.

 

[WanderingFool]

I think the real problem here is that we (by that I mean my currant generation which grew up with all these advancements in technology) dont have any politicians to vote for. All we have are old white men with the minds set firmly in the past. What we need are politicians who have grown up and actually understand the tech. So unfortunatly, this wont be happening for a while, but in about a decade or two, that'll change.

 

[Jinx_Dragon]

I'm hardly an Anonymous fan, but for fuck's sake, I wish they would do something here. Maybe taking down the US defence grid. That would get the message across.

Or maybe just ordering each of the SOPA-supporting senators a shitload of porn and ensuring they send the bill to their wives/husbands.

Seconded... the retired old fags (hacker term) I know is very disappointed that they have not done anything either. This also raises the possibility that something big is in the works, and the few ideas we bounced off each other can be down right scary. I won't go into details, but lets say I learned a few new ways to make virii do physical damage to a computer system.

Edit: Might be a few minor movements out there, looks like Sopa.org has been hacked unless it was always about soy production....

 

[Cracker3011]

I think the real problem here is that we (by that I mean my currant generation which grew up with all these advancements in technology) dont have any politicians to vote for. All we have are old white men with the minds set firmly in the past. What we need are politicians who have grown up and actually understand the tech. So unfortunatly, this wont be happening for a while, but in about a decade or two, that'll change.

Assuming we don't all die in 2012.

Spoiler: We won't.

 

[Something Amyss]

Kind of makes me glad I can now vote. Hell, a lot of people like me can now vote. Of course, getting them to care is the challenge. People born in the 90's are quite apathetic, after all. Hopefully this gives them the kick in the ass they need. So they realize "hey, we can not vote for these douches, and vote for someone who understands this stuff! Lets do that!"

Damn kids with your commercialised cynicism! GET OFF MY LAWN!

On a serious note, I feel kind of powerless. Patrick Leahy, Senator from Vermont, is one of the jackasses behind this sort of stuff. A good chunk of his campaign money comes from Hollywood, which is why he does it. He doesn't understand the legislation he proposes (He once used wording that would effectively make the internet itself illegal), but he's got a pretty much assured seat because he's got a (D) next to his name on the ballot.

I feel kind of powerless, as I've voted against him since I was old enough to do so, and I'm pretty sure nothing will change. Thankfully, most of his legislation has changed, but he was also co-author of the USA PATRIOT act.

Hell, it looks like I never hit send. Whoops.

 

[Cracker3011]

I'm hardly an Anonymous fan, but for fuck's sake, I wish they would do something here. Maybe taking down the US defence grid. That would get the message across.

Or maybe just ordering each of the SOPA-supporting senators a shitload of porn and ensuring they send the bill to their wives/husbands.

Seconded... the retired old fags (hacker term) I know is very disappointed that they have not done anything either. This also raises the possibility that something big is in the works, and the few ideas we bounced off each other can be down right scary. I won't go into details, but lets say I learned a few new ways to make virii do physical damage to a computer system.

Edit: Might be a few minor movements out there, looks like Sopa.org has been hacked unless it was always about soy production....

Well thank fuck for that. If anon does actually stand for free speech as it says, then I would be disappointed if the SOPA supporters aren't in spiraling depression by Christmas. Nothing is funnier than seeing old people terrified of tech being owned. Such as my gran not understanding what 'loudspeaker' means on a phone.

 

[I-Protest-I]

You let The Patriot Act get signed, why not this?

 

[Sporky111]

I'm Canadian and I fucking hate SOPA. I can't do anything to fight it! I just have to sit up here and watch and hope that it goes alright, because America seems to be trying to turn itself into some dystopian horror.

 

[renegade7]

I am intensely disturbed that the US Government has this much power over a worldwide network. Most of the sites I use daily are US-based, which means that hey presto poof, my daily source of information, be it global, local or personal, goes down the drains like so much half-eaten soup.

Hang on, you guys voted a DEMOCRAT into power. Aren't they meant to be "the good guys" in these things? Power to the people, freedom of speech, liberalism, etc etc?

Yes, but the democrats also believe in more government control and regulation.

 

[BabySinclair]

Well we really have two options in the US, get some younger guys backed by the internet/grass-roots to start running for congress as a Democrat or Republican (hard since they have to approve the candidate) or make a country wide push for a third party created by all the Independents of our generation and let's be honest, most people on this site and others like it are all without party or strong ties with one. If half the people ages 18 to 35 that actually have an education decided to make a party they could probably start making a large entrance into Congress. We really just need a third party for common sense.

 

[Irridium]

Kind of makes me glad I can now vote. Hell, a lot of people like me can now vote. Of course, getting them to care is the challenge. People born in the 90's are quite apathetic, after all. Hopefully this gives them the kick in the ass they need. So they realize "hey, we can not vote for these douches, and vote for someone who understands this stuff! Lets do that!"

Damn kids with your commercialised cynicism! GET OFF MY LAWN!

On a serious note, I feel kind of powerless. Patrick Leahy, Senator from Vermont, is one of the jackasses behind this sort of stuff. A good chunk of his campaign money comes from Hollywood, which is why he does it. He doesn't understand the legislation he proposes (He once used wording that would effectively make the internet itself illegal), but he's got a pretty much assured seat because he's got a (D) next to his name on the ballot.

I feel kind of powerless, as I've voted against him since I was old enough to do so, and I'm pretty sure nothing will change. Thankfully, most of his legislation has changed, but he was also co-author of the USA PATRIOT act.

Hell, it looks like I never hit send. Whoops.

Hey, wait a minute. I'm in Vermont! I can now not vote for him! SWEET!

Also, seems it's not postponed until next year.

http://techcrunch.com/2011/12/16/sopa-delayed-but-not-for-long/

They're really trying to rush this thing through.