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BLaCK OuT 2012...
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Professor Lawrence Lessig, Harvard Law School:
“As we’ve seen, our constitutional system requires limits on copyright as a way to assure that copyright holders do not to heavily influence the development and distribution of our culture.”
“Copyrights have not expired, and will not expire, so long as Congress is free to be bought to extend them again.”
“In these times, the hardest task for social or political activists is to find a way to get people to wonder again about what we all believe is true. The challenge is to sow doubt.”
“If the internet teaches us anything, it is that great value comes from leaving core resources in a commons, where they’re free for people to build upon as they see fit.”
“So uncritically do we accept the idea of property in culture that we don’t even question when the control of that property removes our ability, as a people, to develop our culture democratically.”
WB7: If you are looking for cogent reading on the subject of the role of intellectual property rights in a “wired democracy”, I recommend Professor Lessig’s writings. They can can be obtained readily online.
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The perliamentary tricks that are being deployed are mind boggling. Seriously, we are being subjected to legislative spaghetti on steroids. They are experts at it. It is so hard to find the simple answer to a question by trying to read the laws that are being written now.
There must be a readible book on the subject...that has not been burned.
If only people delegitimized the magic show, the tricks would fail to have an effect.
But no, we live in a world filled with Stockholm Syndrome suffers, never considering the most basic question, which is one's consent to be governed. Instead of questioning the "divine right of kings" to rule over us all, all people manage to do is to fight over what coercive violence they wish to inflict upon others to control their behavior (never one's self though, as they either abide by this rule already, or it is moot in their lives).
Fighting trickery gets you no where (just better tricks, as you've noted). Only when people decide they do not need to be ruled by criminals will things improve. Until then, the political class can only aid in their own demise.
To better understand why it is people don't resist, I recommend the book: They Thought They Were Free, which I very recently learned of on a ZH post. It is about how the Weimar German's became compliant and why.
"The person who gives up his individual self and becomes an automaton, identical with millions of other automatons around him, need not feel alone and anxious any more. But the price he pays, however, is high; it is the loss of his self."
Escape from Freedom Erich Fromm http://www.amazon.com/Escape-Freedom-Erich-Fromm/dp/0805031499/ref=sr_1_...That's an important bit of history - despite losing the war, Germany was still a centre of technology, culture, and industry. It can happen anywhere.
I was asking why you beg criminals for the right to live.
Do you not own your own life?
Do you really believe the criminal gang running the world has any legitimate claim over you?
If not, then why do you fight their rules, instead of their right to rule you?
As I keep saying, the real question is not whether to SOPA, or not to SOPA, but rather, do you consent to their rule? If not, why do you focus on the irrelevant while accepting consent as a given? If so, well, you deserve all of the SOPA you can get, as hard as you can get.
Truthfully, I chose freedom a several years ago. Let me assure you no one tells me what to do anymore, but they can die trying.
You have not chosen freedom if you choose to fight criminals over what rights you have, instead of choosing to fight them over their insistence that you are not free. You only BELIEVE you have.
Do you realize you didn't answer a single question I posed, but instead chose ignore my logic by responding with this false belief?
I do not mean to pick on you WB7, but I'm very frustrated that either I cannot make my point clearly or you just refuse to consider it.
Why does it matter? Well, IMO, because perversion of the ideology of "consent of the governed" is the crux of the issue of ALL social problems. If it is taken as a given, then there is no limit to how far governing can go.
While this excellent essay does not discuss "consent of the governed" explicitly, it certainly brings up all of the points that make one consider it.
"The Ruling Class: How They Corrupted America and What We Can Do About It"
http://spectator.org/archives/2010/07/16/americas-ruling-class-and-the/p...
Once again, I do not consider any activity against SOPA a solution to anything, as it avoids the central question of consenting to a corrupt government. Furthermore, anyone who does so while knowing that structure of government has been undermined by criminals, is merely engaging in fantasy, unwittingly supporting the tyranny against them.
Mark my words, YOU CANNOT WIN THIS FIGHT! All you can do is to force them to achieve it through other means (like the upcoming EU fiscal union).
And you still haven't answered my questions. Which is odd, since you act as if this subject is very important to you. Or is it just maintenance of the facade you're interested in?
I'll leave this discussion with a quote by G. Carlin.
"When I hear someone talking about a political solution, I know I'm not talking to a serious person."
First of all if SOPA shuts off the lights in the US, I will be here in Asia doing what I am doing now. You just won't see it or will have to jump through hoops to get to it.
In terms of consent to being governed, my concern is more deeply rooted in my concern for my friends and family as well as the country I thought I knew.
I will take every fight as it comes along and my views on what is happening to the overall system are well known.
Whether or not one wants to rescind the their consent to be governed by is a personal decision and I am not here to advocate a revolt. At least not yet.
You may disagree with me, but in terms of public awareness, I think relatively greater strides are being made just only now because every time people are educated about what their government is trying to pull over their eyes (NDSA, SOPA etc), the amount of anger and disenchantment with those in power builds.
When it rains, it pours.
No need to quote brother George to me. One of my role models.
That is an excellent essay you linked.
I was at a board meeting today , and most of these people are of advanced age, The topic of the internet blackouts came up. Every one of them asked "what are they protesting now?" I told them that congress is trying to pass legislation that will allow them to seize internet sites. One person commented " well don't they do that now?" My comment was "well if you believe in due process and free speech then you should have issues with this legislation." Then one of the members made the comment " I'm sure that the government isn't going to do anything that they shouldn't be doing." The scary thing was, everybody,except me, agreed with that comment. These are the people who vote. We are totally screwed.
Brilliant as always Banzai. Thank you
Pick the weakest out of the heard and work to convert em.
Harder to change Iron thoughts of stupidity.
Work on the more malleable.
I will be working at them. I was more stunned than anything to hear that response.
It's not simply advanced age. Both of my parents are seniors and they understand all the issues very well.
There is some other invisible element at work that causes civil stupidity.
Or perhaps it is age, fewer and fewer old enough to remember what gradual fascism really looks like.
"There is some other invisible element at work that causes civil stupidity."
This video is one answer. Never gets old:
How To Brainwash A Nation - YouTube - http://bit.ly/zVUGrk
The bigger picture:
Yuri Bezmenov: Sleepers Emerge and Messiah Appears - YouTube - http://bit.ly/AuADlH
Full lecture:
Yuri Bezmenov: KGB Psychological Warfare Strategy Part 1 - YouTube - http://bit.ly/xd7joM
Yuri Bezmenov: KGB Psychological Warfare Strategy Part 2 - YouTube - http://bit.ly/yxVJt8
Martin Lindstrom (Author) http://www.amazon.com/Brandwashed-Tricks-Companies-Manipulate-Persuade/d...
I have watched those Bezemov clips before. The truth is brain washing on a massive scale is much easier than it sounds.
Yes, there are invisible elements contributing to civil stupidity, but it is more than that. Think along the lines of fractals or emergent properties in biological systems. it's a Nobel Prize.. or more likely an Ignobel for the person who puts together the stupid meme epidemic theory.
Think evolutionary landscapes. We are stranded on a suboptimal peak like Idiocracy Heights with sweeping views of the real mountains which we could have reached.
We scribble sketches with analogies like the happy boiled frog. Such individual pictures make sense to most; string them out one after another and most are lost after a half dozen.
We can list the causes: from mass poisoning like flouration and vaccine insults to infant brains, to 100 years of Carnegie / Rockefeller dumbing down in public schools, to 90 years of refinement of work like Bernay's, to the corrosion of fiat money.. and two of my favorites - Orwell's concept of crimestop and the Chinese three generation rule. It's a long list.
But the cumulative effect of all these factors is what we now face and it is far more than the sum of the contributing factors.
What is amazing is that we are able to proceeded at all under these debilitating fators.
I have written this many times on ZH. We have been practicing living on adjusted scales for so long that the new generation is using letters in place of real words. Look at the on going confusion on what LOL means, is this grading on a new curve? Now, we are re-adjusting the inflation index ' to better reflect reality"...WHAT??? We re-adjust to the dumbest with evey new administration, and march to the 'we must do better' drum.
When you live on a lily pad, standing on a chair seems dangerous. Whipsaw the 'information', make up 'facts and figures', have your soldiers repeat half truths often and quote each other until respected media fall victum to their own laziness and repeat fabrications as real facts. Create diversions, just gotta haves, miss-quote the bible...anything to disarm, confuse, and dismay the masses. and get their asses to bestbuy and walmart.
Anyone who thinks all this is not connected and moving faster and faster everyday, is asleep and wants to be. Time is of the essense, sadly 'they' are not wasting it, but we, as a nation of people and the world, are.
Now is a good time to re-read SI Hayakawa. "The map is not the territory."
I know this might be surprising to you, but I followed everything you just said, particularly the bit about Mandebrot sets and being stranded on suboptimal peaks.
Herd mentality, fluoride, poor diets where we are basically starving ourselves of real nutrients, seeking entertainment and not knowledge, mass media programming, government education, fear of making a stand, and many other things are against us. Regardless of all of that, I believe we are on the verge of a great awakening. If that awakening never happens however, we are completely effed with very little hope of acheiving victory over the fascist oligarchs.
There will be no mass awakening in the Occupied Zone (the lower 48) until it's much too late for the chemically lobotomised inhabitants.
Europe, on the other hand, will demonstrate to the Central Planners the futility of attempting to herd cats ... notwithstanding that it is currently under closer central control and essentially disarmed.
Most of the rest of the world will simply observe from the sidelines with quiet amusement.
You know what is extremely troubling. The number of books being destroyed as a result of digitization.
That of course reminds me of Black's Law Dictionary. Earlier versions of it are very hard to find. What isn't being destroyed by digitalization is being destroyed through revisions. All one needs to do is look up the definition of Militia in a current Black Law Dictionary to see what I mean too.
They may be burned, digitalized, or revised, but the truth will still be the truth.
Hmm, I'm pretty sure mine's sitting in a storage box. I'm sure you will recall how clearly and readably the old Hornbooks were written.
I never thought about that before. I can see where that would be a problem in the near future. Thank you.
I did a SOPA post two weeks ago and someone posted a link. All the libraries are downsizing and converting and it is more expensive to give the books away than to just destroy them.
I have one question. Who will be the digital gatekeeper?
+ 451
The mass media does its level best to demonize the Internet--I catch it all the time in the news reports. "The killer used Craiglist to lure his victim." Imagine if car companies were equally demonized--it is absurd--"The killer used a van to transport his victims."
"The SUV jumped the curb and mowed down granny and her three toddlers while they waited for the light to change."
"The SUV careened out of control..."
"The SUV slammed into the house, killing a single mom as she studied for her GED next to the cradle while her little one slept"
Yup.
Yes, the evil Craigs list. It's fucking ridiculous.
To-morrow, and to-morrow, and to-morrow,
Creeps in this petty pace from day to day,
To the last syllable of recorded time;
And all our yesterdays have lighted fools
The way to dusty death. Out, out, brief candle!
Life's but a walking shadow, a poor player,
That struts and frets his hour upon the stage,
And then is heard no more. It is a tale
Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury,
Signifying nothing.
Macbeth Act 5, scene 5, 19–28
One of my favorite Shakespeare quotes.
Really? If life is all "sound and fury, signifying nothing", why resist Evil? Some of Shakespeare resonates; this bit is literary drivel.
Banzai, Simply Brilliant
Free men cannot start a war, but once it is started, they can fight on in defeat. Herd men, followers of a leader, cannot do that, and so it is always the herd men who win battles and the free men who win wars. John Steinbeck - The Moon is Down
Free internet = free speech = free men
SOPA = Sheeples
Desert Irish
Aside from a small % of individuals, that fear is unfounded. See this:
People Behave Socially and 'Well' Even Without Ruleshttp://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/01/120116095821.htm
ScienceDaily (Jan. 16, 2012) — Millions of human interactions were assessed during the study which included actions such as communication, founding and ending friendships, trading goods, sleeping, moving, however also starting hostilities, attacks and punishment. The game does not suggest any rules and everyone can live with their avatar (i.e. with their "game character" in the virtual world) as they choose. "And the result of this is not anarchy," says Thurner. "The participants organise themselves as a social group with good intents. Almost all the actions are positive."
If you follow links, you can get to the scientific paper.
I think the theory os self regulating collective behavior is valid. However, I also think there is a big problem switching to that kind of model when you are already resource constrained and over populated. The situation could get very nasty before you get to homeostasis. An interesting theoretical discussion.
wb7: You are right that the changeover is less than pristine.
But, then again.... what we're living in now is a LONG way from pristine.
What was that Jefferson said about preferring the inconveniences of excess liberty? :)
Might as well consider how the scenario might play out before we decide to jump into it.
That's exactly the mistake that Central Planners make ... thinking that they can see how the scenarios will play out.
Complex systems -- like society, the economy, groups, and even groups of single cells -- have emergent properties that nobody can foresee. Read up on chaos theory, fractals and complex systems.
It's time to try something different - because we know how Statism always ends.
williambanzai7
Steinbeck had a couple of descriptions of the organic nature of crowds. One was in east of Eden.
But the biggest examples of crowd behavior are the riots after psorts events.
Crowds become unreasoning. They think like dog packs. Once the violence erupts the crowd follows.
I would prefer to think the best of my fellow man, but the reality is far darker than anyone chooses to accept.
Lord of the Flies nailed it.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2011_Vancouver_Stanley_Cup_riot
The 2011 Vancouver Stanley Cup riot was a public disturbance that broke out in the downtown core of Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada on Wednesday, June 15, 2011. The riots happened immediately after the conclusion of the Boston Bruins' win over the Vancouver Canucks in game seven of the Stanley Cup Finals, which won the Stanley Cup for Boston. At least 140 people were reported as injured during the incident, one critically; at least four people were stabbed, nine police officers were injured, and 101 people were arrested that night, with 16 further arrests following the event
Gully Foyle,
Was going to respond to your comment earlier and had typed I agreed with Wilson's anolagy and actually referenced Lord Of The Flies but deleted as confused with the Leary comment. In seeing your later comment I should have perservered.
Firstly the establishment destroyed Leary and broke Kesey, at the time with Ginsberg probally the 3 most outspoken "libertarians" of the 60's. To me this is a warning of what is to come. Think for Yourself and Question Authority - in retrospect in light of Leary's persecution the quote should have read Question authority but not too much.....
Regarding Wilson's comments, anarchy unfortunately brings out the worst of individuals - I'm thinking both Somalia and Cambodia. I actually went looking for another passage from the Moon Is Down on the governments distrust of the individual but it has been many years since I last read it and decided to use the above quote which I still find relevent.
The Moon Is Down was a propaganda piece written in 1943 hence another reason I quoted it with the relevent passage. The Norwegian government had surrendered. The Free men who disobeyed their leaders and had fled Norway after the surrender and were the men that trained as pilots in Canada (there is still 7 planes and accompanying bodies in the lakes of Muskoka) and the ones that took out the German's heavy water shipment in 1943 that destroyed the Nazi's atomic weapons program.
The world needs free men and my argument is stiffling the internet will lead to less of them.......
Of Mice and Men was one of my favorite reads as a kid.
I highly recommend The Crowd, by Gustave Le Bon. It was apparently on the reading list of Hitler and Stalin. It is a systematic analysis of the phenomena of crowd behavior. How harmless individuals are transformed by the mob and how the mob can be easily manipulated.
There was also a very interesting book in the 90s called Among The Thugs - written by a guy who hung out with soccer hooligans for a season.
A couple of years ago, a lawyer friend explained copywright extension logic to me:
Micky Mouse will never go out of copywright protection. Get used to it. It is foreveh!
You know I don't think I have played with Mickey Mouse. I find the Micket character to be absolutely boring. His more jaded predecessor, Mickey Rat?, was much more interesting.