SOPA and PIPA - Learn more

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Wikipedia is protesting against SOPA and PIPA by blacking out the English Wikipedia for 24 hours, beginning at midnight January 18, Eastern Time. Readers who come to English Wikipedia during the blackout will not be able to read the encyclopedia: instead, they will see messages intended to raise awareness about SOPA and PIPA, and encouraging them to share their views with their elected representatives, and via social media.

SOPA and PIPA represent two bills in the United States House of Representatives and the United States Senate respectively. SOPA is short for the "Stop Online Piracy Act," and PIPA is an acronym for the "Protect IP Act." ("IP" stands for "intellectual property.") In short, these bills are efforts to stop copyright infringement committed by foreign web sites, but, in our opinion, they do so in a way that actually infringes free expression while harming the Internet. Detailed information about these bills can be found in the Stop Online Piracy Act and PROTECT IP Act articles on Wikipedia, which are available during the blackout. You can also follow them through the legislative process here and here. The EFF has summarized why these bills are simply unacceptable in a world that values an open, secure, and free Internet.

Nothing like this has ever happened before on the English Wikipedia. Wikipedians have chosen to black out the English Wikipedia for the first time ever, because we are concerned that SOPA and PIPA will severely inhibit people's access to online information. This is not a problem that will solely affect people in the United States: it will affect everyone around the world.

Why? SOPA and PIPA are badly drafted legislation that won't be effective in their main goal (to stop copyright infringement), and will cause serious damage to the free and open Internet. They put the burden on website owners to police user-contributed material and call for the unnecessary blocking of entire sites. Small sites won't have sufficient resources to defend themselves. Big media companies may seek to cut off funding sources for their foreign competitors, even if copyright isn't being infringed. Foreign sites will be blacklisted, which means they won't show up in major search engines. And, SOPA and PIPA build a framework for future restrictions and suppression.

Yes. Wikipedians spend thousands of hours every week working tirelessly in reviewing and removing infringing content. Wikipedia talk pages show tremendous care about protecting copyright and sophisticated study on the many nuances of what constitutes infringement as opposed to legitimate speech. Wikipedia is based on a model of free licenses. Every Wikipedian is a rights owner, licensing their work under free licenses. Infringement harms our mission; free licenses do not work with infringement. Wikipedia has a mission of sharing knowledge around the world, and that is not possible when the knowledge is tainted with infringement. So, yes, Wikipedians care deeply about protecting the rights of others and ensuring against infringement.

But this does not mean Wikipedians are willing to trample on free expression like SOPA and PIPA. The proposed legislation seeks to take down sites entirely, because courts and others simply don't have time to worry about the nuances of copyright law and free expression. That is what is troubling. When the remedies are bludgeons, when entire sites are taken down, when everyone assumes that all content is infringing because some is, we lose something important. We lose the nuances of copyright about which our community cares, we lose our values based on protecting free speech, we lose what we represent. The Internet cannot turn into a world where free expression is ignored to accomodate overly simple solutions that gratify powerful rightowners who spend lots of money to promote the regulation of expression. There are better ways, like the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, to find the right approach to legitimate copyright enforcement without trampling on free expression. SOPA and PIPA don't represent these values, and for that reason we ask you to oppose these bills.

No, neither SOPA nor PIPA are dead. On January 17th, SOPA's sponsor said the bill will be discussed in early February. There are signs PIPA may be debated on the Senate floor next week. Moreover, SOPA and PIPA are just indicators of a much broader problem. We are already seeing big media calling us names. In many jurisdictions around the world, we're seeing the development of legislation that prioritizes overly-broad copyright enforcement laws, laws promoted by power players, over the preservation of individual civil liberties. We want the Internet to be free and open, everywhere, for everyone.

SOPA and PIPA are still alive, and they’re still a threat to the free and open web, which means they are a threat to Wikipedia. For example, in its current form, SOPA would require U.S. sites to take on the heavy burden of actively policing third-party links for infringing content. And even with the DNS provisions removed, the bill would give the U.S. government extraordinary, ambiguous, and loosely-defined powers to take control over content and information on the free web. Taking one bad provision out doesn't make the bills okay, and regardless, Internet experts agree they won't even be effective in their main goal: halting copyright infringement. The Electronic Frontier Foundation has published a really great post about some of the more dangerous SOPA and PIPA provisions.

Readers who don't live in the United States can contact their local State Department, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, or similar branch of government. Tell them that you oppose the draft U.S. SOPA and PIPA legislation, and all similar legislation. SOPA and PIPA will have a global effect - websites outside of the U.S. would be impacted by legislation that hurts the free and open web. And, other jurisdictions are grappling with similar issues, and may choose paths similar to SOPA and PIPA.

The Wikipedia community, as part of their request to the Wikimedia Foundation to carry out this protest, asked us to ensure that we make English Wikipedia accessible in some way during an emergency. The English Wikipedia will be accessible on mobile devices and smart phones. You can also view Wikipedia normally by completely disabling JavaScript in your browser, as explained on this Technical FAQ page.

No. Some people are characterizing it that way, probably in an effort to imply all the participants are motivated by commercial self-interest. But you can know it's not that simple, because Wikipedia has no financial self-interest here: we are not trying to monetize your eyeballs or sell you products. We are protesting to raise awareness about SOPA and PIPA solely because we think they will hurt the Internet, and your ability to access information. We are doing this for you.

We hope you continue to trust Wikipedia to be a neutral informational resource. We are staging this blackout because, although Wikipedia’s articles are neutral, its existence actually is not. For over a decade, Wikipedians have spent millions of hours building the largest encyclopedia in human history. Wikipedia's existence depends on a free, open and uncensored Internet. We are shutting Wikipedia down for you, our readers. We support your right to freedom of thought and freedom of expression. We think everyone should have access to educational material on a wide range of subjects, even if they can’t pay for it. We believe people should be able to share information without impediment. We believe that new proposed laws like SOPA and PIPA (and other similar laws under discussion inside and outside the United States) don’t advance the interests of the general public. That's why we're doing this.

Try these links:

As of midnight PT, January 18, Google has 3,740 articles about the blackout. Here are a few:

CAN ANYONE FIND A GEORGE, A JEB, EVEN A COUSIN IN THE BUSH ABOVE?
TRY ... OR FOLLOW
BERKSHIRE HATHAWAY 
TO THE 
ALFALFA CLUB 
OR
TEXAS COMMERCE BANK
TO
JP MORGAN CHASE
TAKE AND MAKE YOUR OWN  ... LINKS .. FROM THERE.


    Young Republicans . 


FROM NNDB 

EVERY

On An Apple & An I

This is just a small update on my last post

Here on CybeRoute66 entitled,

'On iCloud and iBooks.'

A somewhat competent Apple 

Employee was asked about the iCloud issue.

To paraphrase the

Apple employee,

They assuming the general 

user has

A combined total iTunes

account no

Having no bigger than 64mb storage needs, 

And that’s only since they made their 

iPhone 64mb. 

???

Yup, that’s it in a nutshell.

The three import points in the Conversation can be summed up as Follows: −1: they

Assume you can sync via iCloud 

EVERYTHING you own because You only own exactly or less Than the iGadgets they produce Can hold. If, however you decide to Own more than they have Anticipated ‘that’s their problem And not Apples.’ Their only Problem is to get you to buy Things knowing you do not Really end up owning anything. Every so often read the new Terms they send you as you are Trying to do something. 

DO NOT ASSUME YOU HAVE

ANY RIGHTS WITH APPLE. YOU ARE NOW JUST A NUMBER. 

Excuse me, but maybe there Should be a standard like in any other Industry.

People who assume Cannot imagine nor create since anything Can and will be tarnished having

Been bent to any assumption They so desire to ASSume. Can’t Imagine an automotive Manufacturer producing a car And saying we are not putting Seat belts  because ‘that’s their problem And not Apples.’

Roll bars incase of a rollover?

‘that’s their problem And not Apples.’; A petrol gauge without An empty indicating light, because

In their limousines, ‘that’s the

Drivers problem And not the Apple exec.
GREAT vision bending

 2:  MobileMe WAS a

Mistake and that is why they

Came up with iCloud.

Yes we iCloud the problems YOU

Had under the rug.

iMagic ??

They didn’t learn anything,

Just to change the name.

They have a captured market

Prisoners, may be a better word.

3: The new iBooks now does

Copy and past, but that is if

Your books open. Otherwise,

Since you ace only 1 book,

Download it again.

40% of my books DO NOT work

In the new iBooks and I have to

Re-download them again.

That’s 40% of 2,200 books.

Apple, the worm is back.

On a side note, when asked about the
Issue of why iTunes deletes apps.
From an iGadget that were purchased
While someone was on the road,
The Apple exec. said that wasn't true.
iTunes does not delete apps.
On request, he downloaded an app.,
Connected his iPad to his laptop and showed
Us how iTunes does not delete apps.
WITHIN 30 SECS THE APP WAS
DELETED BY iTUNES.

... ?!?!?!?

SUBJECT WAS CHANGED.

DO YOU GUYS AT APPLE
ACTUALLY TEST ANYTHING ???

You can skirt everything by passing
The fault over to the user. That can be done.

If there are some things I knew about Steve,
One of them is this, he would listen to any
Idea that would better Apple, the product,
The customer, the experience ...
ANYTHING !

THE GOOD,
THE BAD AND THE UGLY NEWS
WAS A WAY TO FIX TOMORROW.

IF YOU DO NOT GUAGE EXPERIENCE HIGHLY, WHY CHANGE ANYTHING
EXCEPT TO RETALIATE WHEN THE COMPETITOR DOES?
YOU DON'T NEED A GOOD PRODUCT,
JUST ANYTHING AND FAULT THE CUSTOMER.

I

AM

iEvolutiOne

Prometheus

Cincinnatus

PheoniXrizin

For those given the excuse

'You know, he is a sick person,'

by Alex F Bouri, 

for his not reacting to

what I write,, I want you not

To worry. 

 Incase you have not read

my over 400 posts

(which I can't blame you for)

I have repeatedly mentioned

The Gift’s Nature

has bequeathed me.

A quick recap is always

Reassuring to me uncase

I got more presents in the meantime, so:

I have

ADD

DYSLEXIA

PSORIASIS

ASTIGMATISM

SHORTSIGHTEDNESS

… ???

People who had ADD/ADHD

From : ABout -

Architect
Frank Lloyd Wright

Artists
Salvador Dali
Pablo Picasso

Vincent Van Gogh

Athletes
Terry Bradshaw
Scott Eyre
Justin Gatlin
Cammi Granato
Jason Kidd
Michael Phelps
Pete Rose

Authors
Charlotte and Emily Bronte
Samuel Clemens
Emily Dickenson
Ralph Waldo Emerson
Virginia Woolf
William Butler Yeats

Composer
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

Entrepreneurs and Business Leaders
Andrew Carnegie
Malcolm Forbes
Henry Ford
David Neeleman
Paul Orfalea

Explorers
Christopher Columbus
Lewis and Clark

Entertainers
Ann Bancroft
Jim Carrey
Steve McQueen
Jack Nicholson
Ty Pennington
Elvis Presley
Evil and Robbie Knievel
Justin Timberlake
Robin Williams

Inventors
Alexander Graham Bell
Thomas Edison
Benjamin Franklin

Photographer
Ansel Adams

Physicist
Albert Einstein

Political Figures
James Carville
John F. Kennedy
Abraham Lincoln

People who had ADD/ADHD 

From :  ADHD  RELIEF -

People often mumble, 'Life is hell.'

Could be, I know off enough devils

Here on this planet that do make it so,

But what interests me is if true,

What percentage of that is self brought about,

And what is the general average

For indirect, external factors.

I know that this is all but impossible

To taking the days of a life span and

Analyzing the the events, things that

Turned sour to see if it was unnatural or natural

Direct, indirect,

Consequential, accidental … factors.

Maybe, for some live it is easier since fine line

Really do not exist and the grey is black.

But even then, there must have been a point

Of, and maybe unseen 'opportunity',

If one could do it again, to not walk down

The path of increased external factors.

I've tried, but for the life of me,

I can't see it in mine.

Because of the issue's in my life,

I would repeat it, even at my own detriment.

To those unfamiliar as to what I speak off,

By December the 19th you will be up to speed.

On December 19th, 2009,

After nearly 5 years of corporate war,

Following 40 odd years of subjugation,

I walked into an office set on ending

The aggressors tyranny arresting by

Having him and 4 others arrested.

A grace period of 6 months was requested,

To show new found good intentions.

Now, closing on the 2 year anniversary

Of misery, tied to 45 years of more,

Compounded, interest etc, I have,

And over time you will see as to why,

To go back in time, an older person,

And do what I should have finished then.

For Principle, Honor, +

You always know what is the Correct,

The intrinsically Right thing to do.

Courage is the willingness to do the

Right thing in the face of monumental odds.

Knowledge is the tool.

People ask … to temporarily grace them with

The wisdom to do the right thing.

Sometimes they request courage too.

Wisdom is the ability to look back at the thing

You were doing when the voices of the people you 

Were helping pleaded for you to give 

The other people a second, and years later,

Still love those people for not understand,

As usual you were right, and years of life

Have but faded into but wrinkles.

Yes, I know I said the four letter word,

BUT, Love, is what makes being mortal, immortal.

A combined 300 to 400 years of subjugation

End on December 19th, 2011.

(Mainly because I want to enjoy one year before …

December 21st 2012 … 

When the calendar restarts.)

NO REGRETS.

I

AM

iEvolutiOne

Prometheus

Cincinnatus

PheoniXrizin

Text of Draft Proposal for Bailout Plan

LEGISLATIVE PROPOSAL FOR TREASURY AUTHORITY

TO PURCHASE MORTGAGE-RELATED ASSETS

Section 1. Short Title.

This Act may be cited as ____________________.

Sec. 2. Purchases of Mortgage-Related Assets.

(a) Authority to Purchase.--The Secretary is authorized to purchase, and to make and fund commitments to purchase, on such terms and conditions as determined by the Secretary, mortgage-related assets from any financial institution having its headquarters in the United States.

(b) Necessary Actions.--The Secretary is authorized to take such actions as the Secretary deems necessary to carry out the authorities in this Act, including, without limitation:

(1) appointing such employees as may be required to carry out the authorities in this Act and defining their duties;

(2) entering into contracts, including contracts for services authorized by section 3109 of title 5, United States Code, without regard to any other provision of law regarding public contracts;

(3) designating financial institutions as financial agents of the Government, and they shall perform all such reasonable duties related to this Act as financial agents of the Government as may be required of them;

(4) establishing vehicles that are authorized, subject to supervision by the Secretary, to purchase mortgage-related assets and issue obligations; and

(5) issuing such regulations and other guidance as may be necessary or appropriate to define terms or carry out the authorities of this Act.

Sec. 3. Considerations.

In exercising the authorities granted in this Act, the Secretary shall take into consideration means for--

(1) providing stability or preventing disruption to the financial markets or banking system; and

(2) protecting the taxpayer.

Sec. 4. Reports to Congress.

Within three months of the first exercise of the authority granted in section 2(a), and semiannually thereafter, the Secretary shall report to the Committees on the Budget, Financial Services, and Ways and Means of the House of Representatives and the Committees on the Budget, Finance, and Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs of the Senate with respect to the authorities exercised under this Act and the considerations required by section 3.

Sec. 5. Rights; Management; Sale of Mortgage-Related Assets.

(a) Exercise of Rights.--The Secretary may, at any time, exercise any rights received in connection with mortgage-related assets purchased under this Act.

(b) Management of Mortgage-Related Assets.--The Secretary shall have authority to manage mortgage-related assets purchased under this Act, including revenues and portfolio risks therefrom.

(c) Sale of Mortgage-Related Assets.--The Secretary may, at any time, upon terms and conditions and at prices determined by the Secretary, sell, or enter into securities loans, repurchase transactions or other financial transactions in regard to, any mortgage-related asset purchased under this Act.

(d) Application of Sunset to Mortgage-Related Assets.--The authority of the Secretary to hold any mortgage-related asset purchased under this Act before the termination date in section 9, or to purchase or fund the purchase of a mortgage-related asset under a commitment entered into before the termination date in section 9, is not subject to the provisions of section 9.

Sec. 6. Maximum Amount of Authorized Purchases.

The Secretary’s authority to purchase mortgage-related assets under this Act shall be limited to $700,000,000,000 outstanding at any one time

Sec. 7. Funding.

For the purpose of the authorities granted in this Act, and for the costs of administering those authorities, the Secretary may use the proceeds of the sale of any securities issued under chapter 31 of title 31, United States Code, and the purposes for which securities may be issued under chapter 31 of title 31, United States Code, are extended to include actions authorized by this Act, including the payment of administrative expenses. Any funds expended for actions authorized by this Act, including the payment of administrative expenses, shall be deemed appropriated at the time of such expenditure.

Sec. 8. Review.

Decisions by the Secretary pursuant to the authority of this Act are non-reviewable and committed to agency discretion, and may not be reviewed by any court of law or any administrative agency.

Sec. 9. Termination of Authority.

The authorities under this Act, with the exception of authorities granted in sections 2(b)(5), 5 and 7, shall terminate two years from the date of enactment of this Act.

Sec. 10. Increase in Statutory Limit on the Public Debt.

Subsection (b) of section 3101 of title 31, United States Code, is amended by striking out the dollar limitation contained in such subsection and inserting in lieu thereof $11,315,000,000,000.

Sec. 11. Credit Reform.

The costs of purchases of mortgage-related assets made under section 2(a) of this Act shall be determined as provided under the Federal Credit Reform Act of 1990, as applicable.

Sec. 12. Definitions.

For purposes of this section, the following definitions shall apply:

(1) Mortgage-Related Assets.--The term “mortgage-related assets” means residential or commercial mortgages and any securities, obligations, or other instruments that are based on or related to such mortgages, that in each case was originated or issued on or before September 17, 2008.

(2) Secretary.--The term “Secretary” means the Secretary of the Treasury.

(3) United States.--The term “United States” means the States, territories, and possessions of the United States and the District of Columbia.

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Archimedes

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Pogo

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U.S. President, Franklin D. Roosevelt

Herbert Hoover

Sir William Pitt

William Hazlitt

Francis Bacon

William Hazlitt

Dante

Francois~Marie Arouet

(Voltaire)

Albert Einstein

Christoph Lichtenberg

Dick Tuck

George W. Bush

Carl Jung

Diogenes Laertius.

Francois~Marie Arouet

(Voltaire)

Ambrose Bierce.

George Bush

Nikita Khrushchev

Michael Levine

CNBC-TV, October 8, 1996

Anonymous

George W. Bush

Mark Twain

Gore Vidal.

Ernest Benn

George Orwell.

Albert Einstein

Francois~Marie Arouet

(Voltaire)

Unknown

Francois~Marie Arouet

(Voltaire)

Rabbi Yaacov Perrin

Stanley Motss

Conrad 'Connie' Brean

Wag the Dog (Movie 1997)

M-Sam Levenson

Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon

George Washington Plunkitt  

Roland Barthes

Golda Meir,

The Sunday Times, June 15th, 1969.

Sophocles

Golda Meir

David Ben~Gurion

Stanley Motss

Conrad 'Connie' Brean

Wag the Dog (Movie 1997)

Edward Kennedy

President Theodore Roosevelt.

David Ben-Gurion

Senator Richard Russell,

William Hazlitt

Bertrand Russell

James Branch Cabell

William Shakespeare

David Ben Gurion,

Ambrose Bierce

Upton Sinclair

Bob Hope

~~~~~

~~~~~

I

AM

iEvolutiOne

Prometheus

Cincinnatus

PheoniXrizin