Comments on: Internet Defense League will spring into action when dumb laws are proposed, guided by the CAT SIGNAL!

By: septimar

septimar — Sat, 14 Jul 2012 15:57:00 +0000

Why does regular socialism not work? Because material goods are scarce. Immaterial goods are not scarce, therefore info-socialism can obviously work. Also, North Korea officially discarded all references to Marxism and follows the Juche ideology.

By: pjcamp

pjcamp — Sat, 14 Jul 2012 05:15:00 +0000

Don’t we already have the Popehat?

By: benher

benher — Sat, 14 Jul 2012 04:24:00 +0000

Dude, I think I just saw Commissioner Gordon walking toward that spotlight with an ax.

By: Hugh Johnson

Hugh Johnson — Fri, 13 Jul 2012 23:57:00 +0000

Is that a cartoon shocked kitty? Looks that way to me.

By: Antinous / Moderator

Antinous / Moderator — Fri, 13 Jul 2012 22:04:00 +0000

Smells like big corporate astroturfing to me.

Splurrft!

By: septimar

septimar — Fri, 13 Jul 2012 21:59:00 +0000

You are such a miserable conspiracy theorist. Everything is secretly funded by Big Money in your little, pathetic world, not because somebody really believes in freedom or anything, oh no, YOU figured it out man, you are not part of the sheeple! Give me a break. SOPA, PIPA, ACTA, all this were laws or treaties lobbied by RIAA/MPAA. How in the name of Atargatis do you defend this lobbying, but deny rational people who don’t believe in Info-Feudalism their power? And you’re right, I deny copyright, you know why? Because it isn’t a right at all! Intellectual property is not real! It’s a monopoly depriving society of information. That’s why I’m an Info-Socialist. That makes me probably evil in your feeble mind.

By: JProffitt71

JProffitt71 — Fri, 13 Jul 2012 21:38:00 +0000

@ostuplex:disqus

Off the top of my head:

- Google instant search was introduced, vastly speeding up research.
- Gmail has been upgraded several times.
- Google drive is in full swing, bringing numerous improvements to google documents (which I have come to use for everything)
- Chrome was just released for the ipad and greatly improved mobile functionality.
- Google is working on augment reality glasses – let me repeat – augmented reality glasses, which I do believe qualify as a genuine product that (bonus) pushes the fold in one way or another.

Point being, they aren’t sitting with thumbs up their asses. The comment that films are more abundant than one companies products is absolutely asinine at any rate. To the point of films creating jobs, how many jobs get edged out because the MPAA and company decide for any arbitrary reason that a movie can’t be shown in a theater? What recourse do theaters have against being extorted by the studios? How much do ya think that stifles innovation and prosperity?

How about we look into an industry that doesn’t have one central authority green-lighting everything: gaming. They seem to be doing quite well despite having no one ‘protecting’ the producers or consumers, and independents such as Mojang are succeeding now more than ever even along side massive names like Bethesda and Ubisoft.

I do not see why we are arguing about this. As per your reasoning it is very obviously a bad idea to give one person all the power, which is why we need to be fighting legislation like SOPA that would seek to do EXACTLY THAT.

By: ostupkex

ostupkex — Fri, 13 Jul 2012 21:06:00 +0000

Google hasn’t had a successful new product since they started spying on your email to decide which ads to show you. Google Plus is a ghosttown filled with Google Employees.

The content industry, on the other hand, makes new films each week and, in the process, pays the salary and health care of hundreds of thousands of professionals. So when you pay $10 at the movie theater, that’s where the money goes. Are a few of them 1% rich? Sure, but a much smaller percentage of Hollywood is 1% rich than the folks at the Googleplex.

I bet you’ve seen more films lately than you’ve started using new Google products. Some of the films were probably even great.

The EFF is just Google’s MPAA. The only difference is that the MPAA pays taxes.

By: JProffitt71

JProffitt71 — Fri, 13 Jul 2012 20:41:00 +0000

I am aware that Google and company are no saints, however I find their relationship with me to be far more beneficial than the opposition. Google is constantly introducing new products and pushing the fold in one way or another, and generally seems to operate by providing useful services (and gathering useful data, as per their less saintly side) – it’s mutual.

Meanwhile my only experience with MPAA and other middle men types has been extortion and censorship enforced through monopolies. My decision to support anti-SOPA campaigns is a measured response to blatant corruption. Theoretical money flowing from other large entities looking out for their own best interest does not dissuade me, nor should it because the threat at hand is immediate and indiscriminately devastating, while possible private shadowy agendas are – well less urgent and more negotiable.

You talk about me as if I am bending over backwards to pleasure Google’s nether regions. That is just pissing me off.

Edit: If your point is to be wary when big names are involved, then I’ll consent, that’s sound advice. However I think it’s pretty clear fighting not just SOPA style provisions but SOPA style lobbying with absolute impunity is vital right now, which makes mud slinging like this much less than appreciated.

By: ostupkex

ostupkex — Fri, 13 Jul 2012 20:16:00 +0000

No. I didn’t say that. But you should know who is manipulating you. Recognize that the EFF, Wikipedia and most of these so-called Freedom fighters are just mercenaries bought and paid for by search engine billions.

But you can go on believing that Google is just in it for your freedom. Yeah. That’s the ticket. They’re just spending all of that cash for your sake.

By: ostupkex

ostupkex — Fri, 13 Jul 2012 20:14:00 +0000

Wow. I hit a nerve. Ask yourself who is bigger? Google or any of the “content mafia”? Google’s market cap is at least 10 times bigger than the largest Hollywood studio. That’s why the billionaires at Google are funding groups like the EFF and Public Citizen. They’re just creating their Mafia of Copyright Deniers to make sure that someone will defend their freedom to do whatever they want to make as much money as they can. And what’s great is that they’re doing it by claiming their lobbying is a charitable donation so they can use a tax loophole too.

That’s how Silicon Valley’s 1% keeps the content creators on their plantation.

By: JProffitt71

JProffitt71 — Fri, 13 Jul 2012 19:44:00 +0000

So the better alternative must be to pass SOPA type provisions. Got it.

By: septimar

septimar — Fri, 13 Jul 2012 19:38:00 +0000

That’s the absolutely dumbest thing pro-SOPA Quislings say, that it’s opposed by big corporations. Listen buddy, if someone is astroturfing, it’s likely you. Nobody’s buying it. The content mafia demanding SOPA gives way less to artists than independent funders, and you find way more billionaires in the SOPA defender camp than with those who fought the righteous fight against it. And if you don’t know what fair use is, because you obviously don’t have a clue, how about googling it?

By: Tiffiniy cheng

Tiffiniy cheng — Fri, 13 Jul 2012 19:21:00 +0000

really dumb laws that many many people want to spring into action for. there may be small actions that only some of us jump for. totally cat behavior.

By: Jonathan Doe

Jonathan Doe — Fri, 13 Jul 2012 18:53:00 +0000

Ostuplex: just like corporate astroturfing pushes sopa, except sopa and the like break the way the internet works.

By: Cowicide

Cowicide — Fri, 13 Jul 2012 18:48:00 +0000

Why don’t you email these people and ask some of them if you can join them and then report back to us on their activities?

http://fightforthefuture.org/#staff

By: Cowicide

Cowicide — Fri, 13 Jul 2012 18:44:00 +0000

Internet Defense League will spring into action when dumb laws are proposed,

That’s going to take a lot of springing! But, that’s what cats do best, eh?

By: ostupkex

ostupkex — Fri, 13 Jul 2012 18:32:00 +0000

Are they really interested in keeping the Internet free or do they just want to make sure that some corporations can continue to get rich without paying the writers, photographers or artists anything for their money? Most of the big companies fighting SOPA were just big companies that want to do what they want and claim that it’s all “fair use.” I wouldn’t be surprised to dig dieeper here and find the usual billionaires supporting this one, the same billionaires that gave money to Wikipedia and EFF just before those groups signed on to fight SOPA.

Smells like big corporate astroturfing to me.