Well today is Friday, finally the weekend is here. I’ve been busy lately so I couldn’t blog some days. I’ve been updating my computer so it could be in a fast, pristine condition. I also ordered some stuff for my new phone like a leather case and a data cable so I can upload and download pics and contact information. Work is the same as usual, boring. Just painting all day and it sucks sometimes, but hey what can I do; just suck it up and do what you gotta do because at the end of the day, you gotta eat right.

Well I was reading this article on one of my favorite site www.slashdot.org and it was interesting. Here’s a clip..

Antipiracy bill targets filesharing

A forthcoming bill in the U.S. Senate would, if passed, dramatically reshape copyright law by prohibiting file-trading networks and some consumer electronics devices on the grounds that they could be used for unlawful purposes. This could include P2P networks, IM programs with file sending, FTP, IRC, the VCR, and just about every file storage device on the planet.

The proposal, called the Induce Act, says “whoever intentionally induces any violation” of copyright law would be legally liable for those violations, a prohibition that would effectively ban file-swapping networks like Kazaa and Morpheus. In the draft bill seen by CNET News.com, inducement is defined as “aids, abets, induces, counsels, or procures” and can be punished with civil fines and, in some circumstances, lengthy prison terms.

The bill represents the latest legislative attempt by influential copyright holders to address what they view as the growing threat of peer-to-peer networks rife with pirated music, movies and software. As file-swapping networks grow in popularity, copyright lobbyists are becoming increasingly creative in their legal responses, which include proposals for Justice Department lawsuits against infringers and action at the state level.

Under the Induce Act, products as humble as VCR could be outlawed because they can potentially be used to infringe copyrights. The Induce Act stands for “Inducement Devolves into Unlawful Child Exploitation Act,” a reference to Capitol Hill’s frequently stated concern that file-trading networks are a source of unlawful pornography.

News source: News.com
Original article here

We can’t have our legislature doing this to the internet. This bill could end the very usefulness of the internet by stifling us and relinquishing our freedom of speech on the internet. File-sharing is a great peace of technology, if used correctly. Now what the legislature should focus its attention on is the basic need our society lacks like free healthcare, affordable housing, starvation, ect not the basic freedom of the internet.

Here’s a similar article I was reading recently..

Sen. Hatch to Introduce Wide-ranging Copyright Bill

C|Net News is reporting that a new copyright bill, to be introduced next week by Sen. Orrin Hatch, will likely overturn the Betamax decision (which held that VCRs were legal) and threaten all sorts of innovation. EFF broke the story and Copyfight has been all over it. Don’t miss the comments of law professor Susan Crawford who says, ‘This is amazing. Now we’re waaaaaay beyond contributory and vicarious theories of liability, which are court-created and pretty darn broad on their own.’ Text of the bill here and PDF.

Original article here

The legislature these days seems to be more focused and favoring large corporations rather than the average user. They don’t understand the impact this would have on the average consumer because even now things are complicated. Where back in 1990 you could go into a store and buy a CD, play it in your CD player, and enjoy the music you bought outright. Those days, mind you, you could do whatever you wanted to the cd, as long as it was used for “personal use only”. Now people unknowingly buy copyrighted cds which aren’t labeled as they should be, and it limits their use of the product. These CD’s contain these copyright schemes and they think that passing bills will alleviate the situation. No. It would only enable the corporations to have a stronger hold on the average user. Now what they fail to realize is that people like me and other “L33ts” (pronounced Leets, or Elites) circumvent there schemes so we could enjoy the product we payed for with our hard earned cash. So if they continue to act the way they do, and pass bills which limits our use of media, we will continue to find ways to exploit these schemes and make them widely available to other users around the world. “Everything made by man can be broken by man” Peace and love. 1