Mockazine

Stop SOPA and PIPA

From Wikipedia:

The Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA), is a proposed law (bill) of the United States of America, to fight online trafficking in copyrighted intellectual property and counterfeit goods. Proposals include barring advertising networks and payment facilities from conducting business with allegedly infringing websites, barring search engines from linking to the sites, and requiring Internet service providers (ISP) to block access. The bill would criminalize streaming of content, with a maximum penalty of five years in prison.

In practice user-content websites such as Youtube would be greatly effected and websites like Etsy, Flickr and Vimeo all seemed likely to shut down if the bill becomes law. Opponents say the legislation would enable law enforcement to take down an entire domain due to something posted on a single blog, arguing, an entire online community could be punished for the actions of a tiny minority. In a 1998 law, copyright owners are required to request the site to remove the infringing material within a certain amount of time. SOPA would bypass this "safe harbor" provision by placing the responsibility for detecting and policing infringement onto the site itself.

Lobbyists claim it protects the intellectual property market and corresponding industry, jobs and revenue. The US president, and legislators suggest it may kill innovation. Representatives of the American Library Association state the changes could encourage criminal prosecution of libraries. Other opponents say that requiring search engines to delete a domain name begins a worldwide arms race of unprecedented censorship of the Web and violates the First Amendment

A number of protest actions were organized, including petition drives and boycotts of companies that support the legislation. On January 18 English Wikipedia and several other internet companies coordinated a service blackout to protest SOPA and PIPA.

The House Judiciary Committee held hearings on November 16 and December 15, 2011. The Committee was scheduled to continue debate in January 2012, but on January 17 Chairman Smith said that "Due to the Republican and Democratic retreats taking place over the next two weeks, markup of the Stop Online Piracy Act is expected to resume in February."

TOTUS on the road-us

A truck carrying President Barack Obama’s podium, teleprompter and audio equipment was stolen in Richmond, Va., a local news outlet reports.

Sources tell WWBT/NBC12 that about $200,000 of presidential equipment was stolen from a Richmond Marriott hotel in advance of Wednesday’s presidential visit to Chesterfield, Va.

via www.politico.com

Was the TOTUS stolen or did it escape of its own free will?

Did the president cry?

If TOTUS had not been recovered, would the economy have recovered? Would the president have written a country music song lamenting his loss?

How is Wall Street like a Port-O-Potty?

via www.hamovhotov.com

It stinks once it's occupied.

My Halloween Costume

I think, this year I will be an "Occupy" protester for Halloween.

I heart Protests (2)

The occupy movement seems to be gaining traction on one hand and losing focus on the other.  Don't get me wrong, I agree that something is wrong in the country, but the movement seems to swell and then degenerate into some kind of woodstock-wannabe without the music.  Forceful statements give way to pungent aromas.  Civil disobedience decays into poor hygiene.  Protest signs turn into litter on the roadside.

It is as if the growing movement attracts people who are not part of the base message and so the root complaint is drowned out by all manner of side issues. Whenever I see a news report about an "Occupy" event, I lose sight of the message and, instead, I see the messages like these below:

Click the image to open a larger version in a new window.

We need a smaller government that encourages, rather than hinders American small business.  We need a government that does not show favoritism to big business and the financial industry.  We need a government that spends within its means and encourages its citizens to do the same.  The federal government is not the great saviour of mankind, it is a beast that consumes American Innovation.  These protesters are right to call for reform, call for justice, but they must not accept reform that increases the size of the federal government and hampers small business.

Unfortunately, their message is hindered by the packaging.