[digritz]

It Seems TPB lost their appeal last week.
[Only registered and activated users can see links. ] You can check out [Only registered and activated users can see links. ] too.

[Conduit]

The RIAA and MPAA are completely oblivious of the hornets nest they keep poking. If they keep pushing, this is going to get ugly.

[OniKage]

In the end, what will happen is that these judges and lawmakers are going to vote in favor of a law that will totally change the internet and make many people (like myself) hate the internet because it will become so bland and up-tight if they have their way.

They will kill what makes the internet great. Freedom. The internet is today's wild west. On the web, most anything goes. But I have a feeling that will soon change.

Whether or not you feel that most of what happens on the internet should be legal or not, aside. What makes all of this complete B.S. is the fact that I can almost guarantee that all of these idiots and a$$holes that are trying and bringing up charges in this case (or bitching about it in the first place), have probably all broken these same laws downloading music for their iPods at one point in their past. I don't buy for a second that EVERYONE's iPod but ours is full of nothing but legally downloaded music gotten through iTunes (I simply can't believe that)...

And THAT my friends, is the REAL CRIME in all of this...

[Conduit]

Originally Posted by OniKage

In the end, what will happen is that these judges and lawmakers are going to vote in favor of a law that will totally change the internet and make many people (like myself) hate the internet because it will become so bland and up-tight if they have their way.

They will kill what makes the internet great. Freedom. The internet is today's wild west. On the web, most anything goes. But I have a feeling that will soon change.

Whether or not you feel that most of what happens on the internet should be legal or not, aside. What makes all of this complete B.S. is the fact that I can almost guarantee that all of these idiots and a$$holes that are trying and bringing up charges in this case (or bitching about it in the first place), have probably all broken these same laws downloading music for their iPods at one point in their past. I don't buy for a second that EVERYONE's iPod but ours is full of nothing but legally downloaded music gotten through iTunes (I simply can't believe that)...

And THAT my friends, is the REAL CRIME in all of this...

Except they won't win, infact they've already lost. The only constant in this world is change, and it comes no matter how hard we fight against. By taking the side of maintaining the status quo and stubbornly resisting the changing times in order to preserve their outdated business models, "Big Content" has already doomed its self to failure.

Further, they're picking a fight they can't possibly win. The internet generation has already proven its self a generation of doers, activists, and protesters, they will not simply roll over and take it. Everytime the MPAA and RIAA make a push it further galvanizes resistance against them. Eventually public resistance against their activities will reach the point that politicians will cease supporting them out of fear of public backlash, and without political backing groups like the MPAA and RIAA will fall apart.

The current generation of politicians may be clueless about technology and the internet, but one thing every politician knows all too well is that if the public completely turns against you, your career is over.

[Darkchao45]

Originally Posted by Conduit

one thing every politician knows all too well is that if the public completely turns against you, your career is over.

Truth.

OT: Well ain't that some shit

[OniKage]

I wouldn't be so sure... You may be right that SOPA is being (has been) shot down, but if you all pay attention to politics at all, you know that just cause the "public" bill was shot down, doesn't mean it work get placed as some earmark and hidden in another bill...

I have some limited involvement with alot of government bodies due to my job, and from my experience, when government wants something done.. it gets done.. It may just take a little longer and come in chunks...

And Yeah you would think that all politicians would be afraid of stuff like this ruining their career, but I have watched alot of politics in the last 10 years or so, and I am not so sure American politicians are really afraid of public opinion anymore. Now a days that all hide behind, a similar line like "I may have done xxxxxx, but even though I did that, look at all the other 'great' things I have done for you..."

And we all know, many people don't vote with proper knowledge, and many of these guys count on that.

I hope I am wrong..... But if anything, I'm sure they will be at least an inconvenience for at least until they get distracted by some other thing to crack down on...

[OniKage]

Small example of the kind of non-sense the U.S. system faces..

In the last couple weeks some idiot (I believe a senator from California, but I may be mistaken on that) purposed a bill that would make sugar a semi-controlled substance. They wanted to put some kind of age restriction (If memory serves, it was 18) on buying sugar.

I understand that many of us Americans cannot think for ourselves, let alone moderate our diet while watching our sugar intake. However, being that a bill like that would nearly kill many candy companies putting possibly thousands out of work, and that it seems like a really STUPID f'ing bill, they still thought that they would give it a go...

I am not sure if anything is happening with the bill, or if someone has talked some sense into the person or not, but when I heard that, I realized, our American politicians have absolutely lost their minds... How do people like that even GET elected?

Once they decide to start regulating something, they keep trying until they get even a tiny something they can call a victory...

[digritz]

Change may come but it may be good or bad. The only certainty in this world is uncertainty.

[Conduit]

In the past politicians could get things passed as riders on other bills because it was an easy way to slip things in under the public radar, theres no such thing as slipping in under the internet's radar. Everything is exposed and the internet generation is better educated and more aware of issues that are important to them than any previous generation in history. Large scale public activism and protesting are on the rise and we are steadily approaching a new age of revolution.

Also mind numbingly stupid bills get proposed all the time, probably 75% of all proposed bills get shot down in the opening sessions.

[nothng2do]

politicians these days have the lowest IQ...just think for a minute
all the smart people become doctors,engineers and pilots,mediocre people go
for casual buisnesses,teaching,etc...and then the really dumb people who can't
do anything else go for politics,i don' know about the US,but i've been to a lot of
countries and the scenario just keeps repeating itself