Issa tells us about secretive ACTA “Treaty”

March 7, 2012 — bunkerville 
 
 

With all that is bearing down on us, it is hard to keep up with the usurping of our freedoms. This one merits getting to the head of the line. While it appears we beat back SOPA for a time, this one is even more troublesome. So here we go, and let all of us bloggers move it up to priority one status. We must keep the internet open and free if we are to have any chance at reversing this course we are on. Time to take a hard look at this “Act”.  Here we go, and thank you Mr. Issa once again.:

 Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA) today opened the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) to the American people and all stakeholders who were excluded during the development of the intellectual property (IP) enforcement agreement. 

Worse Than SOPA & PIPA, ACTA Excluded Both American People and Congress

Worse, ACTA appears to be an unconstitutional power grab begun by the Executive Branch to bypass Congress’ Constitutional authority over international commerce and intellectual property rights protections

Core problems with ACTA include:

  • No Transparency: ACTA is a multilateral intellectual property agreement that was negotiated in secret, excluding American taxpayers and key stakeholders who would be impacted by it.  Despite the fact that ACTA has huge implications for the public, until now few steps have been taken to give the public input into this process.
  • Circumvents Congress & the Constitution: While ACTA carries several provisions that directly affect U.S. trade and intellectual property law, the Bush and Obama Administrations appear to have violated Congress’ constitutional authority over policymaking in these areas.  Adding insult to constitutional injury, the Administration refuses to even classify ACTA as a treaty, which would then require ratification by the U.S. Senate.  Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR) raised these troubling issues in an October 12, 2011 letter to President Obama.
  • Vague & Far-Reaching: Like its domestic counterparts SOPA and PIPA, much of ACTA is vague, with consequences for individuals and stakeholders that could reach far beyond the agreement’s original intent. ACTA also contains no safeguards against wrongful cases of intellectual property rights infringement. Full Story at The Right Planet
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Windows 8 computers have “kill switch”

February 25, 2012 — bunkerville

While we are worried about SOPA, 1984 continues. I will stick with an Apple, but for how long will that be safe from prying government eyes? Google is following our every move like a Blood Hound. Our cell phones on or off provide a constant tracking device. Something to think about on a Saturday.

With the rollout of the Windows 8 operating system expected later this year, millions of desktop and laptop PCs will get kill switches for the first time. Microsoft (MSFT) hasn’t spoken publicly about its reasons for including this capability in Windows 8 beyond a cryptic warning that it might be compelled to use it for legal or security reasons. The feature was publicized in a widely cited Computerworld article in December when Microsoft posted the terms of use for its new application store, a feature in Windows 8 that will allow users to download software from a Microsoft-controlled portal. Windows smartphones, like those of its competitors, have included kill switches for several years, though software deletion “is a last resort, and it’s uncommon,” says Todd Biggs, director of product management for Windows Phone Marketplace. More at Business Week H/T:Prison Planet

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Former Senator Dodd behind SOPA bill

January 18, 2012 — bunkerville

As many know by now, a number of websites and bloggers are either black today or otherwise recognizing The Stop Online Piracy Act. I choose to pay homage to the corruption that brought us this bill, as well as many bills in Congress that have little to do with advancing our society, but rather lining the pockets of others.

Ever since former Senator Chris Dodd retired from the Senate and miraculously was hired immediately for this unlikely job with Hollywood, I knew something was coming. Not done with our financial system, let’s move on to the Internet.  The video below will tell you all you need to know about our corrupt system. A great snarky rant.

The Motion Picture Association of America, which is counting on Mr. Dodd to revive its diminished influence, announced that he would take over on March 17 as its chairman and chief executive. The job, which will pay about $1.5 million a year, will require Mr. Dodd to push a Hollywood agenda in Washington that includes a more aggressive government stance against piracy and an effort to persuade China to lift limits on the distribution of Western movies. New York Times

 

UPDATE: The SOPA/PIPA Internet blackout has delivered a message to at least one elected official in Washington, DC. Tea Party favorite Senator Marco Rubio announced a few minutes ago on his Facebook page that he has abandoned his support for the Senate PIPA bill and will ask Harry Reid to withdraw it. And considering that Rubio co-sponsored the PIPA bill, this is fairly significant news. More at  Hot Air

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Internet SOPA Blacklist bill underway

December 16, 2011 — bunkerville

Ever since Dodd retired from the Senate and miraculously was hired immediately for this unlikely job, I knew something was coming.We know now what. Riding low, beneath the light of day, a Committee is moving forward to propose a bill that  is reported to have bi-partisan support. Every blogger and user of the Internet should pay close attention. They are coming for us. Under disguise of piracy, they will have a kill switch without due process. It is not enough that Dodd helped to destroy our financial system. Lets move on to the Internet.  The video will tell you all you need to know about our corrupt system.

The Motion Picture Association of America, which is counting on Mr. Dodd to revive its diminished influence, announced that he would take over on March 17 as its chairman and chief executive. The job, which will pay about $1.5 million a year, will require Mr. Dodd to push a Hollywood agenda in Washington that includes a more aggressive government stance against piracy and an effort to persuade China to lift limits on the distribution of Western movies. New York Times

Today, a group of 83 prominent Internet inventors and engineers sent an open letter to members of the United States Congress, stating their opposition to the SOPA and PIPA Internet blacklist bills that are under consideration in the House and Senate respectively. …

Last year, many of us wrote to you and your colleagues to warn about the proposed “COICA” copyright and censorship legislation. Today, we are writing again to reiterate our concerns about the SOPA and PIPA derivatives of last year’s bill, that are under consideration in the House and Senate. In many respects, these proposals are worse than the one we were alarmed to read last year.

If enacted, either of these bills will create an environment of tremendous fear and uncertainty for technological innovation, and seriously harm the credibility of the United States in its role as a steward of key Internet infrastructure. Regardless of recent amendments to SOPA, both bills will risk fragmenting the Internet’s global domain name system (DNS) and have other capricious technical consequences. In exchange for this, such legislation would engender censorship that will simultaneously be circumvented by deliberate infringers while hampering innocent parties’ right and ability to communicate and express themselves online. Full letter here: EFF

 

Posted in Government. Tags: , , , . 7 Comments »