"1. The government completely fails at something.
2. This complete failure is touted as an obvious reason to expand the scope of the government in that area. (See: Banking Regulation)"
Actually that's a pretty bad distortion of how the government failed at banking regulation. It really went more like this:
1. Starting with Carter, and ramping up massively under Reagan, the government agencies regulating banking practices were dissolved, defunded and generally eliminated.
2. In the absence of meaningful oversight, the big banks get away with murder, destroying the economy in the process.
3. Sane people (many of whom warned about this decades ago) renew calls for government regulation of speculative banking to be restored to appropriate levels.
What exactly do you mean by "digital health care startups"? Does it refer to health care for the fingers? Or perhaps we are considering health care provided by droids and computers a la Star Wars and Star Trek?
While I support technology growth in general and believe the law and government support could be tweaked a bit to help startups, I am very leary of the implications of some of your suggestions. Specifically in education, the interest of venture capitalists in exploiting the education market all to often harms students and the school system in general. The public school system is being gutted of its tax funding as that money is diverted to for profit private schools that offer in the end less educational quality than their public counterparts (while using unfair comparisons to make themselves seem better). And teachers lose living wage, union jobs with health insurance to be replaced by near minimum wage slaves without benefits. Entrepreneurial exploitation of the education market is as much a danger as an opportunity.
Most movies/TV shows etc. assiduously get "clearance" on any recognizable brand name before including it in the film, but this isn't because they strictly speaking have to -it's just cheaper than fighting potential civil suits later. The pressure to pre-clear absolutely everything comes down strong from the corporate offices onto the director and crew, such that it is practically impossible for us to use uncleared brands in the production. The fact they included these brands in this movie without clearance shows they cared about authenticity and resonating with viewers. It is certainly a calculated decision on their part. And I applaud them for it.
Well, long past time actually. Assuming we defeat the menace of Darth Romney (yeah, see previous post), one way to apply pressure is the next Democratic presidential primary. Biden will be the presumptive nominee, but what if he got some serious competition from a challenger who was strong on civil liberties? If we can get more people in congress agitating about his as well we might see real progress.
Assuming we defeat the menace of Darth Romney, Biden will be the presidential nominee in 4 short years. We need to keep hammering this administration hard to get them to ease up on the copyright/patent maximalism. Make it a campaign issue. I wouldn't hope for them to join EFF and condemn the MPAA, but a position of moderacy might be achievable.
I kind of skimmed the article quickly so maybe I missed the comments you are referencing, but it seems like he makes some points in our favor: he admits SOPA/PIPA were flawed and attempted to be snuck through, he opines that copyright terms are too long, and comes out against sueing individual end users for infringement. Doesn't go far enough for me it at least it's progress.
Seems like there is a need for a new chapter forming. Sad state of affairs that U.S. sponsored corporate greed has brought us to this, but the world really needs more Robin Hoods these days.
I've always felt that BitTorrent or something like it could be useful to commercial distributors (like Netflix and Hulu) to reduce their bandwidth costs. The problem of course is how do they introduce DRM into the equation.
NBC/Uni demonstrates less ethics than the average drug dealer by putting this on. What an affront to journalism is. But Cotton and his ilk will always lie as long as they stay rich.
And the bureau that oversees it all will be called the "Ministry of Freedom". The bureau that imprisons and tortures, err, re-educates violators will be called the "Ministry of Love"
And EFF and the ACLU will be classified as terrorist organizations because they "economically terrorize" the big labels and studios.
Misinformation like this used to make my head spin with its shear Orwellian, surrealistic disconnect from reality. But now, sadly, I have come to expect it from the likes of the **AAs. Didn't Dodd come out a few months ago acting a bit concillatory and promise to engage the forces of reason in honest dialogue? I guess they shitcanned that idea and back to newspeak as usual.
"Movies and Television production happens in all 50 states"
This is factually correct, but it bears mentioning that a lot more production happens in those states that pay kickbacks (incentive programs) to the studios. Basically these multi-billion dollar corporations induce the states to compete with each other as to which can offer the highest bribes in exchange for production activity.
Only a true Scrooge would value profit over a child's quality of life like this. Apple and Google disgrace themselves by suppressing the app. Assuming the patent infringement is proved, still in this case I would say it is more moral to break the law than to obey it.
Only a true Scrooge would value profit over a child's quality of life like this. Apple and Google disgrace themselves by suppressing the app. Assuming the patent infringement is proved, still in this case I would say it is more moral to break the law than to obey it.
I work for one of those major media companies making movies for your enjoyment. I am union, and while by no means wealthy, have a family wage job with health insurance. My bosses higher up in the corporation replace their fancy cars every 4 years because they are wealthy, because their company has been making record profits this last decade, this in spite of piracy. This at the same time as they try to screw us in contract negotiations, actually proposing a wage freeze and rolling back benefits.
Not making a good living selling your media? That's because you are not part of the 1%. There is plenty of profit being made. As for me I hope my corporate masters pull their heads out of their asses, realize obscenely profitable DVD sales are not ever coming back, and start making their (our) products available for download/streaming in all markets at reasonable price points so his industry can move into the 21st century!
On the post: Homeland Security Spent $430-Million To Tune Its Radios To A New Frequency, And Failed
Re: Not the Way It Works
2. This complete failure is touted as an obvious reason to expand the scope of the government in that area. (See: Banking Regulation)"
Actually that's a pretty bad distortion of how the government failed at banking regulation. It really went more like this:
1. Starting with Carter, and ramping up massively under Reagan, the government agencies regulating banking practices were dissolved, defunded and generally eliminated.
2. In the absence of meaningful oversight, the big banks get away with murder, destroying the economy in the process.
3. Sane people (many of whom warned about this decades ago) renew calls for government regulation of speculative banking to be restored to appropriate levels.
FTFY
On the post: Democrats & Republicans Should Come Together To Support A Future Of Abundance
A question
On the post: Democrats & Republicans Should Come Together To Support A Future Of Abundance
Don't want to get fooled again
On the post: Budweiser Asks Paramount To Remove Their Beer From The Movie Flight
This was intentional
On the post: Why Do Both Major Parties Suck So Badly On Civil Liberties?
Time to start making it an issue.
On the post: Biden Takes Part In MPAA Board Meeting; Suggests Studios Tell Paying Customers They're Thieves
In 4 years...
On the post: Spanish Gov't Wants To Make It A Crime To Photograph Cops
Off to the Gulag with you!
On the post: Apparently If You Explain Many Ways That Artists Can Make Money Outside Of Copyright, You're Against Artists Getting Paid
At least he's showing a little moderation
On the post: The New Imperialism: Forcing Morality Shifts And Cultural Change Through Exported IP Laws
Viva la Pirate Party!
On the post: UN: We Don't Want To Take Over The Internet... Just Fundamentally Change How It Works
Good suggestion
The same could be said of the MPAA, RIAA and U.S. CoC as well.
On the post: Yes, There Are Many, Many, Many, Many Legal Uses Of BitTorrent
Distribution solution?
On the post: Crime Inc. Inc., The Business Of Hyping The Piracy Threat
Par for the course
On the post: DHS Boss, In Charge Of Cybersecurity, Doesn't Use Email Or Any Online Services
Clueless
On the post: Judge Orders Woman To Delete Her Facebook Page For Typing LOL About Her DUI
Seems unusual
Once again, the biggest "cyberthreat" to us all is the technological cluelessness of our elected officials.
On the post: EU Officials Propose Internet Cops On Patrol, No Anonymity & No Obscure Languages (Because Terrorism!)
In Newspeak
And EFF and the ACLU will be classified as terrorist organizations because they "economically terrorize" the big labels and studios.
On the post: MPAA Sends Five Key Propaganda Points To Politicians
Back to business as usual
"Movies and Television production happens in all 50 states"
This is factually correct, but it bears mentioning that a lot more production happens in those states that pay kickbacks (incentive programs) to the studios. Basically these multi-billion dollar corporations induce the states to compete with each other as to which can offer the highest bribes in exchange for production activity.
On the post: Google Follows Apple In Unnecessarily Pulling App That Allowed A Little Girl To Speak
Ebenezer would be proud
On the post: Google Follows Apple In Unnecessarily Pulling App That Allowed A Little Girl To Speak
Ebenezer would be proud
On the post: USTR Tells Public Interest Groups They Have 8 Minutes To Talk To TPP Negotiators
Maybe they should take this as a clue...
On the post: Crime Inc. Produces Thoughtful, Nuanced Episode About Piracy (Haha, Just Kidding! Cue Scary Music)
I'm a media professional too!
Not making a good living selling your media? That's because you are not part of the 1%. There is plenty of profit being made. As for me I hope my corporate masters pull their heads out of their asses, realize obscenely profitable DVD sales are not ever coming back, and start making their (our) products available for download/streaming in all markets at reasonable price points so his industry can move into the 21st century!
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