American Censorship

[Giccin]

So for those who are unaware of what's going on in Congress... Let me inform you. This link leads to the American Censorship (http://americancensorship.org/) bill that's going on.

So here's the deal. The "Online Piracy Act" or the "IP..." something something is a bill simply translated too.. "Government can block certain websites so people cannot visit it."

Most of you (completely assuming here haha) probably don't follow what congress is doing... because its a headache to follow and a full-time job on its own, but here is a bill that will strike most of you.

Sign the petition. Don't let assholes in congress control what you can and cannot do on the interwebs. Porn is for everyone. And as it should be. So is 4chan and torrent.

Hollywood is complaining because people steal their movies. I say.. stop making shitty movies. Artists are complaining people are stealing their songs. I don't want to pay money for a CD if I'm going to listen to 1 song. Or hell.. write fking better songs.

So here's the getter. If this bill does pass (I hope to god it doesn't) we're all limited to what we can and cannot see. If you want JDM parts from wherever you're thinking of purchasing from.. the website may be blocked because "U.S government wants you to buy USDM parts instead of imports."

Your rights are being taken away right under your nose. Freedom of speech? Right.. You can't say certain things or you "disappear" in the middle of the night. Right to bear arms? You can have them but can't use them. You can no longer have a peaceful protest because the government won't listen to you. You're fked anyways.

You don't need to be into political science to understand you're being butt F'd by the Gov.

Sign the petition so we can have something we still enjoy while pissing off those who make millions or billions of dollars.

Cheers.:happy0180:

Updated with some stuff I found in some Articles

Reference http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/sopa-stop-online-piracy-act-debate-why-are-google-and-facebook-against-it/2011/11/17/gIQAvLubVN_story.html?tid=pm_business_pop

Big names from Silicon Valley went head-to-head with media giants at a House hearing Wednesday on the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA), which would punish companies for posting pirated content online.

Internet giants including Yahoo, Google, Facebook and the Consumer Electronics Association have joined forces to oppose the legislation, which they say would give the government too much power to shut down Web sites accused of pirating or counterfeiting content.

But the types of content that would be prohibited under SOPA would also include amateur remix works, like YouTube covers of songs or mash-ups of movies. These works would be considered copyright violations, and not only could the creator of the work be legally vulnerable, but also could the host of the content.

Update 2: 11/18/2011 of a Article found on TIME techland
Techland

There’s a disturbing bill making the rounds on Capitol Hill right now called the Stop Online Piracy Act, or SOPA. It’s purportedly designed to thwart music and movie piracy by empowering copyright holders to isolate and shut down websites or online services found with infringing content. SOPA is the House version of the bill, introduced by Representative Lamar Smith (R-Tex.), and there’s another in the Senate called the Protect IP Act, introduced by Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.). Hearings on SOPA began Wednesday, and the chances it’ll pass are excellent, because it’s backed by powerful business lobbies and has bipartisan majority support in both the House and Senate. If it does pass, the only thing that could shut it down would be a veto by President Obama.
In short, SOPA, if passed, would allow the U.S. government to blacklist any website found to have infringing material, inhibiting access to said sites using DNS filtering techniques similar to those employed by China and Iran. What’s “infringing material”? Anything deemed in violation of copyright, say a few posts by users in a web forum or on a social network—even links sent in email. What’s more, a website or Internet communication medium’s owners would be held liable for any infringing content, and the government would be empowered to cut off revenue to those sites’ owners and force search engines to block them, too.

[Neutral_Eyes]

If they take away my internets, I'll skip the occupy bullshit and start voting from the rooftops. Signed earlier.

[Longhorn248]

Yay a politics thread!!!

I agree with almost everything in the OP minus the part about not paying for songs/movies. They are products just like anything else that someone put time and money into producing and they should be paid for those products. Just because you think the material is shitty doesn't mean you have a right to steal it. It's almost like saying that just because you think a Kia is a shitty car you should get one for free.

The government taking away your rights isn't anything new. It has been happening for decades as more and more regulations and laws are passed right under the public's nose. Unfortunately the average citizen doesn't have any idea what's happening in congress and probably doesn't care.

Fortunately there are people fighting back that can actually make a difference, and by people I mean corporations with money like Facebook and Google. They recognize that this law is definitely too far reaching and could spell trouble in the future.

[Dimman]

Do American politicians even remember what the hell America is supposed to be about?

This is straight out of China's book. Blocking the 'Net for 'morality' reasons.

That's like saying no-one is allowed to go to LA, because you may car-jack someone there.

(sorry for silly Canadian stereotype about LA but you get my point...)

[VenomRush]

Originally Posted by Longhorn248

Yay a politics thread!!!

I agree with almost everything in the OP minus the part about not paying for songs/movies. They are products just like anything else that someone put time and money into producing and they should be paid for those products. Just because you think the material is shitty doesn't mean you have a right to steal it. It's almost like saying that just because you think a Kia is a shitty car you should get one for free.

The government taking away your rights isn't anything new. It has been happening for decades as more and more regulations and laws are passed right under the public's nose. Unfortunately the average citizen doesn't have any idea what's happening in congress and probably doesn't care.

Fortunately there are people fighting back that can actually make a difference, and by people I mean corporations with money like Facebook and Google. They recognize that this law is definitely too far reaching and could spell trouble in the future.

+1
get rid of torrent sites and call it a day

[Dimman]

Originally Posted by VenomRush

+1
get rid of torrent sites and call it a day

By that logic pawn shops should all be illegal, too.

[VenomRush]

Originally Posted by Dimman

By that logic pawn shops should all be illegal, too.

yes, cuz all things in a pawn shop are stolen

[Longhorn248]

Originally Posted by Dimman

Do American politicians even remember what the hell America is supposed to be about?

This is straight out of China's book. Blocking the 'Net for 'morality' reasons.

That's like saying no-one is allowed to go to LA, because you may car-jack someone there.

(sorry for silly Canadian stereotype about LA but you get my point...)

"Government, even in its best state, is but a necessary evil; in its worst state, an intolerable one." -Thomas Paine

Over-regulation doesn't work, but it keeps people in power and helps them line their own pockets. You can put all the rules in the world out there, but people are still going to break them. Case in point, the guy taking pot shots at the White House last week. DC has all sorts of laws restricting firearms and discharging weapons in public yet some guy still popped off rounds towards 1600 Pennsylvania Ave leaving one of them embedded in bulletproof glass. How would more regulations stop this if there's someone already not following them in the first place?

[Longhorn248]

Originally Posted by VenomRush

yes, cuz all things in a pawn shop are stolen

You're making the assumption that all things on a torrent site can't legally be shared.

[VenomRush]

Originally Posted by Longhorn248

You're making the assumption that all things on a torrent site can't legally be shared.

only because movies and music were mentioned

[Longhorn248]

Originally Posted by VenomRush

only because movies and music were mentioned

There are artists that don't care if their music is shared, and some even encourage it. I'm sure the same goes for small time movie productions that just want to get their name out there. IMO shutting down the torrent sites to stop piracy isn't the answer, unfortuantely I don't have a real solution and neither does anyone else at this point it seems.

[Neutral_Eyes]

I see the music and movies downloading a bit differently. A friend I don't have hands me a CD or DVD/BD and says "This album/movie/tv series was pretty neat, let me know what you think." Just because I watched or heard those artists' creations doesn't mean I'm obliged to support their work. The friend I don't have supported their work and is trying by way of free advertisement through sharing to have others do the same. From there I can decide whether to purchase or not.

Videos are pretty easy. Did I like it? If no, delete. If yes, enough to purchase? If yes, purchase. If no, delete.

Music is trickier because some tracks rock, and others suck. If I like the music and want to support the artist, I'll buy their CD, keep it, or rip it to FLAC and MP3 and trade it back in. The gray area for me occurs when there's a song or two that I want, but the whole CD just isn't worth purchasing. You can buy the MP3 tracks themselves from Amazon or iTunes or what have you, but that's not a lossless track like I'd want. This is where I become a dirty pirate and steal.

[Giccin]

Pffffffffft. How the hell am I going to get anime then??!

[MF_DEUCE]

Originally Posted by Giccin

Pffffffffft. How the hell am I going to get anime then??!

You can go here: http://www.frankandsonshow.net/

My sister and i just went there recently and she found her anime and i was stuck in my past with pokemans and ps1. lol