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Hello, All: <br>
<br>
<br>
Owen in Occupy San Jose is organizing a protest against the
"Stop Online Piracy Act" (SOPA), which is currently scheduled for a
vote this Wednesday, Dec. 21. For ignoramuses such as myself, I
will summarize here my understanding of the current status of this
bill (mostly taken from the Wikipedia article on it); if anything
below seems inappropriate, please let me know. <br>
<br>
<br>
WHAT IS SOPA? <br>
<br>
<br>
1. This is a House bill scheduled to come to a vote
this Wednesday, Dec. 21. The corresponding Senate bill, the Protect
IP Act, passed the Senate Judiciary Committee but is not currently
scheduled for a vote. As of Dec. 17, there were 31 official
sponsors, and 4 known opponents in the House, including Nancy
Polosi, Zoe Lofgren, Darrell Issa, and Ron Paul. <br>
<br>
<br>
2. "The bill would authorize the U.S. Department of
Justice to seek court orders against websites outside U.S.
jurisdiction accused of infringing on copyrights... . After
delivering a court order, the U.S. Attorney-General could require
US-directed Internet service providers, ad networks such as Google
and payment processors such as PayPal or Visa to suspend doing
business with sites found to infringe... . The Attorney-General
could also bar search engines from displaying links to the sites."
<br>
<br>
<br>
3. However, most experts outside the US media industry
are opposed for several reasons. First, its provisions could so
disrupt the normal functioning of the Internet that it seriously
degrades its utility. Second, civil libertarians say that it
essentially authorizes prior censorship in ways that could be
virtually beyond public scrutiny. In theory, the bill gives web
site owners unjustly accused of copyright infringement the right to
sue their accusers. In practice, it's not realistic to expect that
"occupysj.org", for example, could afford the attorney's fees
required to challenge Disney -- especially since most of the media
industry supports Disney's position and would happily see
"occupysj.org" destroyed if they could do so without a large public
outcry. <br>
<br>
<br>
CALL TO ACTION: <br>
<br>
<br>
1. Write (and perhaps call) your representative in the
US House. If that's Lofgren, thank her for her strong opposition to
this in order to reinforce her resolve to sustain her position and
to give her ammunition in talking with other representatives. For
others, ask their position and express your opposition. If you
haven't done this before, go to "<a class="moz-txt-link-abbreviated"
href="http://www.house.gov">www.house.gov</a>" and enter your zip
code. This will identify your representative and provide a link to
how to communicate to him / her. <br>
<br>
<br>
2. Write your friends and acquaintances to tell them
what you did and encourage them to do likewise. <br>
<br>
<br>
3. While you are at it, I encourage you to also write
your Senators. Boxer is fourth highest recipient of money from the
organizations pushing for this legislation: $544,424 (according to
"<a href="http://www.opencongress.org/bill/112-s968/money">www.opencongress.org/bill/112-s968/money</a>")
and include those when you write others. <br>
<br>
<br>
The following are what I'm writing. <br>
<br>
<br>
Spencer <br>
<br>
<br>
Representative Zoe Lofgren: Dear Representative Lofgren: I wish to
thank you for your strong opposition to the "Stop Online Piracy
Act". I oppose it because (a) I'm convinced it presents serious
technical problems as discussed by many technical experts, (b)
authorize prior censorship in ways that are easily concealed in part
because the media have a conflict of interest that would push them
to avoid reporting on any such events when they could do so without
substantive loss of audience, and (c) it's one more example of
corporate welfare and bribery at work in the halls of congress.
Thanks, Spencer Graves<br>
<br>
<br>
Senator Barbara Boxer: Subject: Protect IP Act<br>
Dear Senator Boxer: What is your position on the Protect IP Act?
From what I've read, it is (a) one more example of corporate welfare
and bribery at work in congress that would (b) presents serious
technical problems as discussed by many technical experts and (c)
authorize prior censorship in ways that are easily concealed in part
because the media have a conflict of interest that would push them
to avoid reporting on any such events when they could do so without
substantive loss of audience. According to "<a
href="http://www.opencongress.org/bill/112-s968/money">www.opencongress.org/bill/112-s968/money</a>",
you've received $544,424 in contributions from the industry pushing
for this bill. Are you planning to vote for the special interests
and against the constitution or for the general welfare of the
public? Sincerely, Spencer Graves<br>
<br>
<br>
Senator Diane Feinstain: General Topic: Civil Liberties. <br>
Dear Senator Feinstein: What is your position on the Protect IP
Act? From what I've read, it is (a) one more example of corporate
welfare and bribery at work in congress that would (b) presents
serious technical problems as discussed by many technical experts
and (c) authorize prior censorship in ways that are easily concealed
in part because the media have a conflict of interest that would
push them to avoid reporting on any such events when they could do
so without substantive loss of audience. Sincerely, Spencer Graves<br>
<br>
<br>
On 12/19/2011 7:54 PM, Owen wrote:
<blockquote
cite="mid:bf6c7dae-5197-4b44-a942-20e97eb5a5ad@p16g2000yqd.googlegroups.com"
type="cite">
<pre wrap="">ALSO, I don't like that is an unofficial action, either. Came up with
the idea or this yesterday since #SOPA goes to vote on the 21st.
My apologies for this unorthodox (spontaneous) action.
</pre>
</blockquote>
<br>
<pre class="moz-signature" cols="72">--
Spencer Graves, PE, PhD
President and Chief Technology Officer
Structure Inspection and Monitoring, Inc.
751 Emerson Ct.
San José, CA 95126
ph: 408-655-4567
web: <a class="moz-txt-link-abbreviated" href="http://www.structuremonitoring.com">www.structuremonitoring.com</a>
</pre>
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