Unfortunately, there are too many very vested publishing interests involved. Much cash will be spread around and the bill will either mysteriously disappear or get shot down on some minor technicality in committee. No way would the publishers allow their profits to be killed like this.
I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to enter: So help me God."
Each and every one of our esteemed congresscritters, and the members of the Executive branch, are blatantly violating their oaths of office. In most cases, they are also violating the duties of their offices. They are sworn to uphold and protect the Constitution. Instead, they are attacking it at every turn.
They are sworn to "well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to enter". Instead, they ignore or directly violate those duties with impunity. They seem to regard Federal service as license to print money, curry favor with the rich and powerful, and directly ignore the reason they were elected or appointed.
Somebody needs to grab them by the scruff of the neck and shake them up a little. Some prison time wouldn't hurt.
I don't know, yet, what to do about it. They're pretty deeply entrenched. But there must be an answer somewhere.
10,000 drones too expensive, and unnecessary. One 100KT bomb will do it, in the name of national security. To the UN: "We had to do it. They were destroying our profits!"
Who profits by keeping these, admittedly talented, people from coming here? We NEED them. There should be NO restrictions on them. They create businesses and jobs. They boost the economy. Why send them home to compete with us? Someone has, again, subverted Washington in the name of profits. This all has to stop.
I would think that, if he's as bright and resourceful as he appears, Oxford, or Stanford, or MIT, or any of a dozen really good schools would be in a major arm-wressling match to get him on their campus. Let's see what happens.
Oh, BTW, the original "school" has shown it's true colors, and lost the PR war, big time. With any luck, they'll never recover.
In true Magic Castle fashion, the whole show is designed to divert your attention from the fact that the royalties in question are so far out of whack, and make you concentrate on irrelevant authority issues. Pure smoke and mirrors.
I just wonder why all of these buggywhip producers, like the -AAs and the dead tree publishers keep fighting the obvious and inevitable - they NEVER win. Technology changes, constantly. The purveyors of the old, obsolete technologies either adapt and change, or die (usually noisily with much thrashing of everything in sight, the Constitution and human rights be damned - we're talking about PROFITS here!).
Ain't it amazing how any given sect of any given religion will tell any OTHER sect of any other religion that they're heathens and are destined for Hell????? Us against them!
You just know there's some idiot somewhere, probably looking for a little attention, that's gonna squawk now. So, Mr. Richards might as well pack up. It won't be long.
BTW, England's idea of "free speech" is not exactly the same as the US's version. Close, but not quite identical.
There's something I don't understand. Since when was pornography copyrightable? I thought it couldn't be legally copyrighted. If so what are these supposed pirates infringing?
Way back in the day, say 1982 or so, IBM came up with a wonderful (if anemic) machine called the "Personal Computer". It used a ROM based program called a BIOS (Basic Input Output System) to act as an interface between the hardware of the machine and the software running on it. At the same time, IBM published a binder they called the Technical Reference (which I still have). This volume contained, among other things, the complete source code for the BIOS (copyrighted), one presumes on the hope that this would prevent a third party from copying the machine and it's BIOS.
Along comes Phoenix. They set up two teams of engineers. The first read the IBM source and from that produced a specification of exactly how the BIOS worked and the requirements to operate it. We call those APIs now.
The second team, which had never seen the original source, took the specification and wrote a completely new program that performed all of the BIOS functions without copying any of the original. This is called a "Clean Room" procedure.
IBM, of course, sued to prevent Phoenix from using their BIOS, but lost in court, and the age of "IBM Clones" was born.
The idea that APIs or software specifications are not copyrightable is not new by any means. I don't understand what Oracle is thinking. They MUST know this, but are still wasting megabucks and months of lawyer time relearning the Phoenix lesson. WAKE UP ORACLE!
Mike:
I don't know how you feel, but Mr. Wyden had best be careful. These people are not above arranging an "accident" to eliminate this interference with their plans, in the best family tradition. He's been much too vocal lately, not that I disagree with him.
This whole situation is simply the Gummint's reaction to the demands of their Hollywood masters screaming for them to "Do Something!!". The problem is that there's really no violation of anything so they end up in neverland. Maybe someday the US populace will wake up to what money is doing to our democracy and put a stop to it...or maybe not.
On the post: NY Considering Bill To Require Open Access To State Funded Research
On the post: Lamar Smith Looking To Sneak Through SOPA In Bits & Pieces, Starting With Expanding Hollywood's Global Police Force
Re: Lamar Smith - on the take
Federal Oath Of Office -
"The current oath was enacted in 1884:
I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to enter: So help me God."
Each and every one of our esteemed congresscritters, and the members of the Executive branch, are blatantly violating their oaths of office. In most cases, they are also violating the duties of their offices. They are sworn to uphold and protect the Constitution. Instead, they are attacking it at every turn.
They are sworn to "well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to enter". Instead, they ignore or directly violate those duties with impunity. They seem to regard Federal service as license to print money, curry favor with the rich and powerful, and directly ignore the reason they were elected or appointed.
Somebody needs to grab them by the scruff of the neck and shake them up a little. Some prison time wouldn't hurt.
I don't know, yet, what to do about it. They're pretty deeply entrenched. But there must be an answer somewhere.
On the post: A Floating Island Of Nerds... Or Just Evidence Of A Broken Immigration System?
Re:
On the post: A Floating Island Of Nerds... Or Just Evidence Of A Broken Immigration System?
Follow the Money.
On the post: University Sues Student For Graduating Too Fast
Grab Him!
Oh, BTW, the original "school" has shown it's true colors, and lost the PR war, big time. With any luck, they'll never recover.
On the post: The Warehousing And Delivery Of Digital Goods? Nearly Free, Pretty Easy, Mostly Trivial
Re: Let the old guard scream.
You are exactly, precisely, correct. My only problem is with the damage they do during their death throes. It can be substantial.
On the post: Copyright Royalty Board Found Unconstitutional; Appeals Court Magically Makes It Constitutional Again
Hollyweird's at it Again
On the post: Copyright Royalty Board Found Unconstitutional; Appeals Court Magically Makes It Constitutional Again
Re: Re:
On the post: The Warehousing And Delivery Of Digital Goods? Nearly Free, Pretty Easy, Mostly Trivial
Re: archive.org
From a great fan, thank you. I have a few terabytes available if needed.
On the post: The Warehousing And Delivery Of Digital Goods? Nearly Free, Pretty Easy, Mostly Trivial
On the post: US Gov't And Hollywood Have Turned Kim Dotcom Into A Beloved Cult Hero
Re:
On the post: UK Pensioner Could Face Arrest For Atheist Poster
Re: Re: NSS
easy, read the bible"
Ain't it amazing how any given sect of any given religion will tell any OTHER sect of any other religion that they're heathens and are destined for Hell????? Us against them!
On the post: UK Pensioner Could Face Arrest For Atheist Poster
BTW, England's idea of "free speech" is not exactly the same as the US's version. Close, but not quite identical.
On the post: When Even Comcast Is Refusing To Identify Those Accused Of Infringement...
Huh???
On the post: The Streisand Effect Wins Again: Scottish Council Reverses Ban On 9-Year Old Blogging About School Lunches
Re: Re: What's the problem?
On the post: Judge Delivers Thorough And Complete Smackdown Of Oracle's Copyright Claims
This is old news
Along comes Phoenix. They set up two teams of engineers. The first read the IBM source and from that produced a specification of exactly how the BIOS worked and the requirements to operate it. We call those APIs now.
The second team, which had never seen the original source, took the specification and wrote a completely new program that performed all of the BIOS functions without copying any of the original. This is called a "Clean Room" procedure.
IBM, of course, sued to prevent Phoenix from using their BIOS, but lost in court, and the age of "IBM Clones" was born.
The idea that APIs or software specifications are not copyrightable is not new by any means. I don't understand what Oracle is thinking. They MUST know this, but are still wasting megabucks and months of lawyer time relearning the Phoenix lesson. WAKE UP ORACLE!
On the post: Judge Delivers Thorough And Complete Smackdown Of Oracle's Copyright Claims
Re: Re:
On the post: Senator Ron Wyden Slams Cybersecurity Legislation Proposals For Eroding Trust & Privacy
Re:
On the post: Senator Ron Wyden Slams Cybersecurity Legislation Proposals For Eroding Trust & Privacy
I'm worried
I don't know how you feel, but Mr. Wyden had best be careful. These people are not above arranging an "accident" to eliminate this interference with their plans, in the best family tradition. He's been much too vocal lately, not that I disagree with him.
On the post: Feds Tie Themselves In Legal Knots Arguing For Domain Forfeiture In Rojadirecta Case
Not the point!
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