General Poker Discussion Poker Forums

While we're on George Carlin, I think this works for this situation too, it doesn't get to the point till about 4:20-4:25 though

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hWiBt-pqp0E&feature=related

whatever i think of SOPA (whose fight this is, who can stop it), extorting people to side for your cause is an abuse. if you can hold information hostage, that information was never free, Wikipedia.

Wait, are you saying that Wikipedia is holding information hostage in order to get people to side with them?

well, it's not quite hostage. you can still access pages by disabling Javascript in your browser.

http://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/English_Wikipedia_SOPA_blackout/Technical_FAQ#Are_there_ways_to_circumvent_the_read_blackout.3F

they think piracy is bad now. they don't understand. when you make an enemy of curiosity, you open the floodgates. when you drive it deeper underground, you give up more control. be careful what you ask for.

"This is our world now... the world of the electron and the switch, the beauty of the baud. We make use of a service already existing without paying for what could be dirt-cheap if it wasn't run by profiteering gluttons, and you call us criminals. We explore... and you call us criminals. We seek after knowledge... and you call us criminals. We exist without skin color, without nationality, without religious bias... and you call us criminals. You build atomic bombs, you wage wars, you murder, cheat, and lie to us and try to make us believe it's for our own good, yet we're the criminals.

Yes, I am a criminal. My crime is that of curiosity. My crime is that of judging people by what they say and think, not what they look like. My crime is that of outsmarting you, something that you will never forgive me for."

http://www.mithral.com/~beberg/manifesto.html

they think piracy is bad now. they don't understand. when you make an enemy of curiosity, you open the floodgates. when you drive it deeper underground, you give up more control. be careful what you ask for.

"This is our world now... the world of the electron and the switch, the beauty of the baud. We make use of a service already existing without paying for what could be dirt-cheap if it wasn't run by profiteering gluttons, and you call us criminals. We explore... and you call us criminals. We seek after knowledge... and you call us criminals. We exist without skin color, without nationality, without religious bias... and you call us criminals. You build atomic bombs, you wage wars, you murder, cheat, and lie to us and try to make us believe it's for our own good, yet we're the criminals.

Yes, I am a criminal. My crime is that of curiosity. My crime is that of judging people by what they say and think, not what they look like. My crime is that of outsmarting you, something that you will never forgive me for."

http://www.mithral.com/~beberg/manifesto.html

Sheeple Unite!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=tzqMoOk9NWc

http://vimeo.com/31100268

1

I'm way out of my element when it comes to this type of stuff but I saw rumors of Reid bill getting attached to Protect IP if/when it becomes evident that it will pass. how f'in bittersweet would that be...

So is SOPA officially in action?

No. In fact, it is dead. For now.

whatever i think of SOPA (whose fight this is, who can stop it), extorting people to side for your cause is an abuse. if you can hold information hostage, that information was never free, Wikipedia.

It's not really hostage - their ability to survive depends on a free Internet. Given the likelihood that PIPA and/or SOPA would force them to leave the US market entirely, it's more of a warning as to what the Internet will look like (to the US) if these laws pass, and is something that their entire customer base should be aware of.

Rob

Having a big government system. Big government allows for lobbyists to come in and corrupt the system. If big government does not exist and a governments only role in life is to ensure that rights and liberty is preserved then there can be no lobbyist influence in the first place. Its only that the government has become so vast and corruptible that big corporate interests can get their foot in the door in the first place.

I didn't read past this but this is utterly wrong. Government size has nothing to do with corruption. There are very small, very corrupt governments in Africa for example. They are even quite efficient. Government is a means money exerts power. Government's purpose is to act in the interests of its people, but it is rarely used for that purpose at least in America. In this particular case, for now, the public good has overcome money's interest. Although it's amusing to think of people calling it defending liberty because by killing SOPA, the government has prevented capitalism. Usually those ranting about liberty worship capitalism.

I'm way out of my element when it comes to this type of stuff but I saw rumors of Reid bill getting attached to Protect IP if/when it becomes evident that it will pass. how f'in bittersweet would that be...

I think that'd be much more bitter than sweet. This legislation is genuinely scary - poorly thought out, corporatist, over-reaching, borderline unconstitutional legislation that serves to benefit a very small portion of the world at the expense of EVERYONE else.

http://www.khanacademy.org/ has a very good 11 minute video that everyone should watch to educate themselves more about this. The legislation is losing support, but it's far from dead.

http://grassroutes.us/ - share this with others - we need to be calling our representatives nonstop to stop this legislation.

Rob

It's not really hostage - their ability to survive depends on a free Internet. Given the likelihood that PIPA and/or SOPA would force them to leave the US market entirely, it's more of a warning as to what the Internet will look like (to the US) if these laws pass, and is something that their entire customer base should be aware of.

Rob

i tend to overreact when i get told i can't do something. i use Wikipedia a lot, so the blackout today hit too close to home for me. but it worked! i actually started reading about SOPA/PIPA more in depth. it'd definitely be better for the world if it wasn't passed. i have some intellectual reservations about how to properly protest and the efficacy of different forms of protest, but regardless, SOPA sucks.

Government size has nothing to do with corruption.

if the government's power is greatly restricted by law (i.e. we have small government), then any corruption that does exist is much less consequential than when the government has a lot of power.

Although it's amusing to think of people calling it defending liberty because by killing SOPA, the government has prevented capitalism.

huh

Capitalism and corporate welfare aren't quite the same thing, unless your definition of capitalism completely disregards free markets.