I had hidden my profile, but had to come back to post this.
Below is a recent article from the Huffington Post:
So what is being done about this? If this Bill is passed by the Senate, the U.S. will yet again affect the entire bloomin globe, not just their own backyard! Hasn't the Senate got better things to do?????
By David Segal and Aaron Swartz
When it really matters to them, Congressmembers can come together -- with a panache and wry wit you didn't know they had. As banned books week gets underway, and President Obama admonishes oppressive regimes for their censorship of the Internet, a group of powerful Senators -- Republicans and Democrats alike -- have signed onto a bill that would vastly expand the government's power to censor the Internet.
The Combating Online Infringement and Counterfeits Act (COICA) was introduced just one week ago, but it's greased and ready to move, with a hearing in front of the Judiciary Committee this Thursday. If people don't speak out, US citizens could soon find themselves joining Iranians and Chinese in being blocked from accessing broad chunks of the public Internet.
Help us stop this bill in its tracks! Click here to sign our petition.
COICA creates two blacklists of Internet domain names. Courts could add sites to the first list; the Attorney General would have control over the second. Internet service providers and others (everyone from Comcast to PayPal to Google AdSense) would be required to block any domains on the first list. They would also receive immunity (and presumably the good favor of the government) if they block domains on the second list.
The lists are for sites "dedicated to infringing activity," but that's defined very broadly -- any domain name where counterfeit goods or copyrighted material are "central to the activity of the Internet site" could be blocked.
One example of what this means in practice: sites like YouTube could be censored in the US. Copyright holders like Viacom often argue copyrighted material is central to the activity of YouTube, but under current US law, YouTube is perfectly legal as long as they take down copyrighted material when they're informed about it -- which is why Viacom lost to YouTube in court.
But if COICA passes, Viacom wouldn't even need to prove YouTube is doing anything illegal to get it shut down -- as long as they can persuade the courts that enough other people are using it for copyright infringement, the whole site could be censored.
Perhaps even more disturbing: Even if Viacom couldn't get a court to compel censorship of a YouTube or a similar site, the DOJ could put it on the second blacklist and encourage ISPs to block it even without a court order. (ISPs have ample reason to abide the will of the powerful DOJ, even if the law doesn't formally require them to do so.)
COICA's passage would be a tremendous blow to free speech on the Internet -- and likely a first step towards much broader online censorship. Please help us fight back: The first step is signing our petition. We'll give you the tools to share it with your friends and call your Senator.
But during digestion, starch is converted to glucose, which is stored as fat if those calories aren't used. Just the same as starch from bread, pasta, potato, and other starchy carbs.
it's the same as the misleading marketing of some candy, as 'low fat', Of-course it's low fat. But what about all the sugar??????
It reads as if you're disappointed at the responses you've received. It's clear from your last post that you've decided it will go all pear shaped for your friend. Presumably, though, your friend is no fool and has weighed up the situation, and is willing to take the risks involved.
Be careful about making assumptions about the lady involved. Some people can and do remain good friends with their ex's, uncommon, but it does happen. I know of a few. The fact that they are living in the same home means just that, unless proven otherwise. It might be only a matter of pragmatism on both their parts. Not everything fits into social convention.
In any case, from reading your posts, you seem to be the one doing all the fretting. Wish your friend well. Then let it go. If you find it hard to do that, ask yourself why.
'Cept they can't find enough people interested in being a spy. They haven't met their targets for this year, so they've got stacks of money left over to hire some of us.
So, let's hold some intervies for, K?
Firstly, WOT makes you think you'd make a good spy?
Then, name yer assets. Why would YOU make a good spy???
Go on!
As for me, I reckon I'd make a good spy, cos I'm gettin' so old, no-one would even blink if I were next to them, lookin' over their shoulder, and then talking into my shoe 'phone.
venere08 Forum Posts (9,996)
All Americans: Where's your First Amendment now???
I had hidden my profile, but had to come back to post this.Below is a recent article from the Huffington Post:
So what is being done about this? If this Bill is passed by the Senate, the U.S. will yet again affect the entire bloomin globe, not just their own backyard! Hasn't the Senate got better things to do?????
By David Segal and Aaron Swartz
When it really matters to them, Congressmembers can come together -- with a panache and wry wit you didn't know they had. As banned books week gets underway, and President Obama admonishes oppressive regimes for their censorship of the Internet, a group of powerful Senators -- Republicans and Democrats alike -- have signed onto a bill that would vastly expand the government's power to censor the Internet.
The Combating Online Infringement and Counterfeits Act (COICA) was introduced just one week ago, but it's greased and ready to move, with a hearing in front of the Judiciary Committee this Thursday. If people don't speak out, US citizens could soon find themselves joining Iranians and Chinese in being blocked from accessing broad chunks of the public Internet.
Help us stop this bill in its tracks! Click here to sign our petition.
COICA creates two blacklists of Internet domain names. Courts could add sites to the first list; the Attorney General would have control over the second. Internet service providers and others (everyone from Comcast to PayPal to Google AdSense) would be required to block any domains on the first list. They would also receive immunity (and presumably the good favor of the government) if they block domains on the second list.
The lists are for sites "dedicated to infringing activity," but that's defined very broadly -- any domain name where counterfeit goods or copyrighted material are "central to the activity of the Internet site" could be blocked.
One example of what this means in practice: sites like YouTube could be censored in the US. Copyright holders like Viacom often argue copyrighted material is central to the activity of YouTube, but under current US law, YouTube is perfectly legal as long as they take down copyrighted material when they're informed about it -- which is why Viacom lost to YouTube in court.
But if COICA passes, Viacom wouldn't even need to prove YouTube is doing anything illegal to get it shut down -- as long as they can persuade the courts that enough other people are using it for copyright infringement, the whole site could be censored.
Perhaps even more disturbing: Even if Viacom couldn't get a court to compel censorship of a YouTube or a similar site, the DOJ could put it on the second blacklist and encourage ISPs to block it even without a court order. (ISPs have ample reason to abide the will of the powerful DOJ, even if the law doesn't formally require them to do so.)
COICA's passage would be a tremendous blow to free speech on the Internet -- and likely a first step towards much broader online censorship. Please help us fight back: The first step is signing our petition. We'll give you the tools to share it with your friends and call your Senator.