Another One Bites the- uh, Consumer...

[Cluttermagnet]

Copyright Law Faces New Test On Thursday"...privacy advocates said the proposed bill would dramatically rewrite copyright law and require consumers to buy multiple licenses for the same content." Oh joy...:thumbsdown:Ah, well, I'm not personally afected. Not in my own wallet, at least. The stuff they're pushing these days is absolute crap. Now, if they tried to round up and confiscate all the good old music out there on vinyl and CD, then I'd really get mad. But this does mean that I live in an increasingly less free society.You know, vinyl has an amazingly long lifespan. I'm willing to live with its technical limitations. I don't need digital fidelity, not really. Wouldn't miss it. I'm planning to re-cartridge my turntable and probably buy another turntable as well. I'm constantly looking for good music on vinyl or old CD releases (no DRM crap). DRM rape will not be fully accomplished until I and my generation have returned to dust. There are just too many of us to put us all in forced internment and indoctrination camps. Oh, wait- they already have that. It's called couch potato TV go to movies play video games wear an iPod. OK, I admit it, they already have the little ones. Poor innocents- they actually believe what the media tells them..."What have they done with the earth?...Tied her with fences and dragged her down..."Jim Morrison Edited June 12, 2006 by Cluttermagnet

[Guest LilBambi]

You might want to buy a few extra cartridges for your turntable Cluttermagnet and buy with cash in a store that doesn't have cameras. This whole thing is VERY bad. But this part is unbelievable!:

Another potential landmine inherent in SIRA is that it does not give copyright owners the right to opt out of licensing their works."The feeling is that if we give them the option to opt out, they're all going to opt out thereby destroying the efficiency that they are designing," said Aaron Davis, an intellectual property attorney with Patterson, Thuente, Skaar & Christensen. A blanket fee means a blanket price and opponents believe that the market should dictate copyright fees, he said.

Has everyone gone loco in government and corporations?Some works are already in the public domain, what happens with those?Some rights holders don't want to license, and still others give some of their works for free to entice listeners to buy other of their works, etc. What happens with that?!Oh, that's right ... the government thinks it's citizens are such children and have to be protected, particularly the voracious predator corps. ...Hey, somebody told me that in the U.S.A., a corporation counts as a citizen (like some sort of individual or person) in the government's eyes? Is that true??

[Guest LilBambi]

This was also the same one that last week was passed by the House of Representatives...Check out EFF.org's SIRA page for more info:

The entertainment industry has sneaked language into an obscure copyright bill that could smash Internet fair use. The law implies that licenses from copyright holders are needed for every digital copy made in the transmission of digital media -- including cached copies on servers or on your hard drive, and even temporary copies in RAM. The wording is being debated in a House Judiciary subcommittee on Wednesday (postponed to Thursday!). Don't let the music industry turn your cache into their cash. Check below to see if your representative is on the right committee, and call them now!

[epp_b]

Has everyone gone loco in government and corporations?

Yeah, loco over cash. Edited June 13, 2006 by epp_b

[BoardFlak]

"The feeling is that if we give them the option to opt out, they're all going to opt out thereby destroying the efficiency that they are designing." Translation: We know this is so outrageous that no one will stand still for it if we give them a choice.

[Cluttermagnet]

expect more. and less freedom / rights. george orwell's 1984 took a bit longer to get here.

Yep. It's taking them about 30-50 years more beyond 1984 to get the job done. But don't worry, they'll get around to you.

[Guest LilBambi]

"The feeling is that if we give them the option to opt out, they're all going to opt out thereby destroying the efficiency that they are designing." Translation: We know this is so outrageous that no one will stand still for it if we give them a choice.

Excellent point!

[daihard]

After reading this thread after unrelated but equally outrageous news, I feel like I have no freedom anymore.

Edited June 15, 2006 by daihard

[Cluttermagnet]

After reading this thread after unrelated but equally outrageous news, I feel like I have no freedom anymore.

You still have some freedom, at this point. But the next generation is going to be really stepped on by all of this, collectively. It'll get worse. It's a shame, what happened to the supreme court. Along with many other government institutions, it no longer has my trust or respect (as a body). That line was forever crossed right after the 2000 election. My country has been hijacked. One of the dissenting justices said it far better than I could. After that decision, the court will no longer be seen as a fair arbiter.The entire government, including the courts, has been stacked with right wing ideologues, whose primary purpose is to tear down government. Remember? Less government. That's what was promised, and that's mainly what's being delivered. But here's the rub- they're tearing it down selectively. So don't look for a leaned-down security apparatus, for example. But OTOH agencies like FEMA and numerous others have been gutted, and the miserable results of that were recently seen in New Orleans. Social services are being gutted, and many in our country will suffer from that. But if you call the massive, obscene national debt racked up during recent years "less government", I'd like to know what you've been smoking. As the above referenced article implies, no-knock home invasions by various arms of government likely will become more common in the coming years. You'll think it's good, it's all right, for a while. They will bust illegal drug operations, suspected terrorists, illegal aliens, wanted fugitives, and such. Yeah, it'll be OK, right? But eventually, the horrible truth will dawn. They can do literally anything they want to do to you and they can get away with it, because they have 'the power'. Well, you all gave it to them. So don't complain. Shut up, watch the latest bad news on TV, and eat your gruel. And above all, don't speak up, don't be controversial. Besides, that might be 'traitorous and unAmerican'. Less free speech in this country lately. Any of you old enough to remember Nixon's 'enemies list'? I sure do. Today, with such a list, and the teeth they're now sharpening, they'll be able to do some serious damage. Some day, they may come for you...Two brave newsmen of Nixon's era stood up for what was right and had him busted. He was arrogant and he broke the law. Today's media prostitutes do PR for the government. They'll send film crews along, and you can watch them violate the rights of fellow citizens. They'll offer the disclaimer that all arrestees are presumed innocent until convicted. Indeed, some of them actually are innocent. Now, lessee, which one of you is the terrorist?

[Guest LilBambi]

I hear what you are saying Cluttermagnet, but let's not start a political party flame war here.There are strong feelings on both sides, and on the side of those who are totally done with both parties in this country.There are plenty of things to talk about without zeroing in on a particular political party. Oh, and btw: that 'list' didn't start with Nixon. It didn't even start with WWII but there's plenty to NOT be proud of from many past administrations from both political parties, so let's not focus on using this a a political party platform.Just check out what happened in World War II in regard to 'lists' and the equivalent of 'camps' within our own country toward those 'considered' to be traitors ... many were just innocent bystanders who just happened to be from the wrong country in that war:http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=world...G=Google+SearchAnd what about after the U.S.S.R. was closed off when the 'Iron Curtain' fell upon those folks:http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&q=I...+US&btnG=SearchAnd let's not forget what happened during Prohibition in our own USA ... http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=alcoh...G=Google+SearchYes, there is much to be distressed about in politics ... particularly where Citizens have been losing their rights year after year, and laws being put in place out of fear, particularly since 911 but it started WELL before that.....if one has eyes to see.

[Cluttermagnet]

Thanks, lilBambi-Sage and level-headed words from you. It's true, of course, that there have been many shameful interludes throughout American history, and that no 'side' has a monopoly on insanity and plain meanness. I'll never forget, for example, the shame of Waco, TX, which happened on Clinton's watch. "...those who are totally done with both parties in this country..." are indeed growing in number. That would largely describe me, though I do still see certain strategic voting opportunities as analogous to setting back fires to contain an out of control wildfire. Heh! i.e. voting for the 'lesser of two evils'.I strongly suspect that the 'winners' (voters) in the 2000 election are secretly still feeling disenfranchised. No matter how much their side appears to 'win', it probably still feels about as empty. All empty calories. A deep and gnawing hunger that can never be sated. That's very hard to admit, however, when your side is ostensibly 'the winner'. I certainly feel disenfranchised. I have my doubts as to whether my beloved America can ever recover, so badly has she fallen. That's right, she's 'fallen and she can't get up'. There's no magic button to press that will make it all better, either. True change takes time and is strenuous. Nothing worthwhile ever came easy.If it makes anyone feel better about it, I can truthfully lay blame for America's vanishing freedoms mainly (though not entirely) at the doorstep of international terrorism. Terrorism and guerilla warfare can sap an opponent's strength and wear them down quickly. I wouldn't blame it on any silly political party. In a very real sense, we can see that attacks on America have caused her to shoot herself in the foot, in terms of rapidly vanishing personal freedoms. Heck, both feet. That's why she can't get up. That's why she fell. Get it? God, I love metaphor! But we caused international terrorism. We brought it on ourselves. We can probably also defeat it, but that will take, I figure, a good five generations or more, now. That's right, another hundred year war. Enjoy...

Edited June 20, 2006 by Cluttermagnet

[Guest LilBambi]

Gawd I hope not! But as the old saying goes ... those who refuse to learn from history are doomed to repeat it ... and we certainly are seeing the bad kind of deja vu ... Now here's some more interesting deja vu .. while discussing network neutrality:http://www.dejavu.org/LOL! :w00t:Sad that when good things could truly begin to happen for the Internet and the users themselves ... BAM! ... it all hits the fan ...