Shocker: MPAA Writes U.S. Anti-Piracy Bill?

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Honestly, does it really matter if the MPAA / RIAA are behind this bill? The sheer amount of money those groups spend lobbying the government, they might as well be signing the bills themselves. ;)

MPAA exec Michael O’Leary said in an afternoon press call that the agency “will come forward with language that will address some of the legitimate concerns,” of those opposed to the bill, including Google, Facebook, Yahoo, Zynga and myriad other Web companies and advocacy groups.
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if it passes, just proves the corruption wins again. $$$$
 
bloodhawke83 said:
if it passes, just proves the corruption wins again. $$$$
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Sorry to play devil's advocate, but..

And then what?

Okay, it's proven. The US government is corrupt.

Now what?

Forget about it because we're powerless? Check.
 
Guys, find out about ALEC, or the American Legislative Exchange Council. Corporations pay membership fees of tens of thousands a year so they can discuss legislation with politicians, most of whom being Republican. Many of the most radical bills that we scratch our head about have come verbatim from this unholy alliance. We need to get money out of politics, as I've said many times.

http://alecexposed.org/wiki/ALEC_Exposed
 
Fixed:
MPAA exec Michael O’Leary said in an afternoon press call that the agency “will come forward with language that will address some of the legitimate concerns,” of those opposed to the bill, including the 99.9% of the population that isn't part of the MPAA / RIAA.



Thier greed continues to kill off affordable access to media, yet they complain about piracy? Looking at the industries policies, it's almost as if they WANT people to pirate thier product. Specifically, delays in making rentals available, the higher prices and limits on titles available for streaming, etc.

The cost of new contracts has almost killed Netflix's streaming, and the coming slowdown in the postal delivery schedual will help kill of DVD's by mail due to the longer delivery/return cycle.
 
XacTactX said:
Guys, find out about ALEC, or the American Legislative Exchange Council. Corporations pay membership fees of tens of thousands a year so they can discuss legislation with politicians, most of whom being Republican. Many of the most radical bills that we scratch our head about have come verbatim from this unholy alliance. We need to get money out of politics, as I've said many times.

http://alecexposed.org/wiki/ALEC_Exposed
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And just as many (or more) of the most radical bills come from left wing groups.

I do agree about the money, as long as we also get the money from Wallstreet and the unions (which mostly goes to Democrats) out of politics too.
 
nutzo said:
And just as many (or more) of the most radical bills come from left wing groups.

I do agree about the money, as long as we also get the money from Wallstreet and the unions (which mostly goes to Democrats) out of politics too.
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I agree, by money I mean all money. Nothing should influence a politician's decisions except the merit of the legislation and its impact on the American people. Directly funding a politician should be done away with, replaced by public funding, or some other alternative

But please try to make this distinction: Unions in general are like credit unions, they don't work as much for a profit as they do for the welfare of their members. While what corporations and unions do is the same, as it is lobbying, the end result is worlds apart. Unions are generally trying to even out of imbalance in worker's wages and increased productivity, so that the average American isn't 2x as productive as 35 years ago, but making about the same income. I see unions as working toward a worthwhile end, corporations I do not.

Please research ALEC, you'll be more informed for having done it.
 
so if all these private companies are writing all our legislation....

WHAT THE FUCK DO WE PAY OUR REPRESENTATIVES FOR?
 
I can't be the only one who feels like this.

It's like being a parent. When your kid (MPAA) comes crying to you that their sibling (joe Public) is teasing/hitting/etc and you need to defend them. The first thing I think about is what the hell did you(MPAA) do to provoke them?

As a politician I would think, well if this group is crying bloody mary then maybe they are just exaggerating and before I hand them the world, I should investigate just how true these claims are.

I mean for $%^& sake. The RIAA/MPAA just moans and moans but makes record profits. *



* http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&ved=0CB0QFjAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.zeropaid.com%2Fnews%2F92692%2Fpiracy-who-mpaa-celebrates-5th-consecutive-year-of-record-profits%2F&ei=YBTdTt28DcLa0QGsx4HKDQ&usg=AFQjCNFL04bCw9NkPUaT-BXxQmRY7w0raA&sig2=Ze1C9N_trT_E2QubM57MUg
 
what do you expect when we have a LEGAL bribe system setup in this country?

I agree someone in a high public office should be paid well and fairly but that's IT. If you are a public official your entire life should be an open book, especially your finances. Set a cap on what they make, and make sure every cent comes from the tax payers. Any outside income on top of that will be tracked down and verified.

Politics these days is just one big circle jerk of people scratching each others backs while fucking over joe six pack.

If you want real change, fire every single one of them, fresh blood + new rules. And anyone caught breaking these rules should be put on a no exception VERY harsh prison sentence.
 
Tiburon1186 said:
We should form a bill of separation of corporations and state... just like religion,,
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...and this would be passed by the corrupt politians being wined and dined with corporate money?

It took a lot of violence to create that separation of church and state. The French Revolution was partly a revolt against the church having control of the economy and power. That wasn't a very peaceful transfer of power.

The French alcohol industry before their revolution would be interesting to compare to our current American corporate entaglement with politics.
 
nutzo said:
And just as many (or more) of the most radical bills come from left wing groups.

I do agree about the money, as long as we also get the money from Wallstreet and the unions (which mostly goes to Democrats) out of politics too.
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The "but they do it to" argument doesn't carry much weight here. The conservative ideology is clearly doing more harm than good in this area. It's true that both parties contribute to and further the modern american corporatist oligarchy, but the conservative philosophy undeniably made this state of affairs possible by championing deregulation, regressive tax structures and other short sighted policies. When it comes down to it blame can be placed squarely at the feet of one end of the political spectrum, but that covers politicians from both parties.

We now have corporations literally writing their profits into legislation, and not even trying to pretend or be cute about it. What did these people think was going to happen?
 
LeninGHOLA said:
Get money out of politics? Let's be realistic here...
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They can at least get foreign money out of it and require disclosure ad nauseum (not restricting the speech of the non-corporeal entities, just sharing it publicly).

And things can change, if slowly. Mothers who neither married nor own property can vote! They can even be Senators, elected by the unwashed masses! Good heavens!
 
PynkFloydd said:
...and this would be passed by the corrupt politians being wined and dined with corporate money?

It took a lot of violence to create that separation of church and state. The French Revolution was partly a revolt against the church having control of the economy and power. That wasn't a very peaceful transfer of power.

The French alcohol industry before their revolution would be interesting to compare to our current American corporate entaglement with politics.
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TBH I can't see it happening either, but IMO no meaningful change is going to occur until we do. The body acts based on the head's commands, and right now our government is headed by multinational corporations.

I think if someone gave a presentation to a joint session of Congress, and pitched the change not just as a political change, but as "the thing that will make our country the land of equality and opportunity once again, the thing that you will all be remembered for", that our politicians as a whole might pivot toward making it happen. It needs to happen, for all of our sake (or 99% at least).
 
Trackr said:
Okay, it's proven. The US government is corrupt.

Now what?

Forget about it because we're powerless? Check.
Click to expand...

Or protest, and get called a bunch of whiny hippies who need to find a job, get pepper sprayed in the face, hit with batons, and thrown in jail.
 
XacTactX said:
TBH I can't see it happening either, but IMO no meaningful change is going to occur until we do. The body acts based on the head's commands, and right now our government is headed by multinational corporations.

I think if someone gave a presentation to a joint session of Congress, and pitched the change not just as a political change, but as "the thing that will make our country the land of equality and opportunity once again, the thing that you will all be remembered for", that our politicians as a whole might pivot toward making it happen. It needs to happen, for all of our sake (or 99% at least).
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I think you have a good point... It's like an abusive relationship; the behavior exists only because it's allowed.

Plus, if people were reaaaaaally pissed, they'd stop supporting those companies that heavily lobby legislation (and especially stop seeing those crappy reboots/remakes that the movie industry spits out).

I guess Hollywood is just preparing legislation to force people to watch the crappy Scarface reboot they recently announced...
 
XacTactX said:
Guys, find out about ALEC, or the American Legislative Exchange Council. Corporations pay membership fees of tens of thousands a year so they can discuss legislation with politicians, most of whom being Republican. Many of the most radical bills that we scratch our head about have come verbatim from this unholy alliance. We need to get money out of politics, as I've said many times.

http://alecexposed.org/wiki/ALEC_Exposed
Click to expand...

Everyone's been saying that we need money out of politics, but how? We vote for Republicans or Democrats, and both are bought. It's all theater really.

We need to come to a realization that we can vote outside of the two party system. We just need someone who will take lobbying out of congress. It would be a great start.
 
Not sure why some are so surprised. Laws are created based on corporate interest, that's the case in the U.S. and in any other non-dictatorship on Earth. That's how politics work and I for one am OK with that. At least you always know where you stand when it comes to business, they will support profit and I support profit, so it's all good.
 
Thuleman said:
Not sure why some are so surprised. Laws are created based on corporate interest, that's the case in the U.S. and in any other non-dictatorship on Earth. That's how politics work and I for one am OK with that. At least you always know where you stand when it comes to business, they will support profit and I support profit, so it's all good.
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The profit motive isn't a good thing. In fact, it might be the worst thing. I'm not even sure if you're serious? :confused:
 
Thuleman said:
Not sure why some are so surprised. Laws are created based on corporate interest, that's the case in the U.S. and in any other non-dictatorship on Earth. That's how politics work and I for one am OK with that. At least you always know where you stand when it comes to business, they will support profit and I support profit, so it's all good.
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Yes, but profit for who? It seems to be profit for a fraction of a percentage of the people at the top to the detriment of everyone else. Why do you think the earning power of the bottom 99% has been steadily dropping for the last 50+ years? It's certainly not because of a reduction in production per capita; which has been and probably will continue to increase at a phenomenal rate.
 
Perhaps instead of paying our representatives only a few hundred thousand, we should make them fabulously wealthy so they have no need to be bought? And have all campaign funds paid for by the gov't based on certain criteria, so you don't have Obama and McCain spending nearly $2B to get elected. Just a random thought...
 
TwistedAegis said:
Perhaps instead of paying our representatives only a few hundred thousand, we should make them fabulously wealthy so they have no need to be bought? And have all campaign funds paid for by the gov't based on certain criteria, so you don't have Obama and McCain spending nearly $2B to get elected. Just a random thought...
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How about we pay them nothing until they do what we want them to do. Like a real job.
 
mETRo said:
How about we pay them nothing until they do what we want them to do. Like a real job.
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Then those lobbyists' dollars will be all the more tempting. I also think we should go back to reapportioning the House of Representatives based on population, which we used to do with each Census until around 1910, I believe. Right now each rep represents the ideas of hundreds of thousands of people, rather than mere tens of thousands, which makes it harder to get access to them and easier for large monied interests to monopolize their time.
 
TwistedAegis said:
Perhaps instead of paying our representatives only a few hundred thousand, we should make them fabulously wealthy so they have no need to be bought? And have all campaign funds paid for by the gov't based on certain criteria, so you don't have Obama and McCain spending nearly $2B to get elected. Just a random thought...
Click to expand...

Idea #1 wouldn't help. Ridiculously wealthy people don't usually lose the drive to earn more.

Idea #2 I'll support without hesitation. Well, as long as the cap for campaign funds is reasonable. No more than $25k.
 
Trackr said:
Sorry to play devil's advocate, but..

And then what?

Okay, it's proven. The US government is corrupt.

Now what?

Forget about it because we're powerless? Check.
Click to expand...

Ummm...corporations are corrupt.

We are powerless in the face of corporate greed?
 
Hamish Campbell said:
The profit motive isn't a good thing. In fact, it might be the worst thing. I'm not even sure if you're serious? :confused:
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A profit motive is as honest as it gets, no hidden agendas, no backroom deals, they just come out and say that it's about making money. Profit is a good thing, profit is what drives innovation and frankly civilization as a whole. If it weren't for profit and self-interest we would still be living in caves clubbing each other over women.

wtiger said:
Yes, but profit for who? It seems to be profit for a fraction of a percentage of the people at the top to the detriment of everyone else. Why do you think the earning power of the bottom 99% has been steadily dropping for the last 50+ years? It's certainly not because of a reduction in production per capita; which has been and probably will continue to increase at a phenomenal rate.
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Please, the bottom 99% is just a dramatization for effect used by some folks who would rather live in a tent and complain all day about how everything is not their own fault than take charge of their life.

I am an immigrant. I came to the US some 15 years ago with a suitcase, a bicycle, an old computer, and $600 in my pocket. Now I am upper middle class and no one handed anything to me. I had to work for my success. I am the 53% that pays taxes, I got nothing against the 1% on the top because they worked and they keep working to maintain the position on the top, they earned their right to be there.

I can't stand the people who are either lazy or inept at life and just want government handouts. If you don't like your life then change it. This is the land of opportunity, if you want to be in the 1% you can do it, all you have to do is put forth the effort to get there.
 
Government of the corporations, by the corporations and for the corporations :mad:
 
Thuleman said:
Please, the bottom 99% is just a dramatization for effect used by some folks who would rather live in a tent and complain all day about how everything is not their own fault than take charge of their life.
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Which is why fuzzy left-leaning rags like The Economist post stories about American social mobility falling year after year, with many European countries' citizens having a greater likelihood of changing their economic standing vs American citizens? With a Gini rating worse than banana republics? With the bottom 40% of Americans (apparently, over 100 million lazy bastards :rolleyes:) owning only 0.2% of all the wealth in this country?

Yeah, all those numbers are just smoke and mirrors. Don't be jealous plebes, it's just because you're not good enough, not because we've rigged the system.
 
Thuleman said:
A profit motive is as honest as it gets, no hidden agendas, no backroom deals, they just come out and say that it's about making money. Profit is a good thing, profit is what drives innovation and frankly civilization as a whole. If it weren't for profit and self-interest we would still be living in caves clubbing each other over women.


Please, the bottom 99% is just a dramatization for effect used by some folks who would rather live in a tent and complain all day about how everything is not their own fault than take charge of their life.

I am an immigrant. I came to the US some 15 years ago with a suitcase, a bicycle, an old computer, and $600 in my pocket. Now I am upper middle class and no one handed anything to me. I had to work for my success. I am the 53% that pays taxes, I got nothing against the 1% on the top because they worked and they keep working to maintain the position on the top, they earned their right to be there.

I can't stand the people who are either lazy or inept at life and just want government handouts. If you don't like your life then change it. This is the land of opportunity, if you want to be in the 1% you can do it, all you have to do is put forth the effort to get there.
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"I can't stand the people who are either lazy or inept at life and just want government handouts."
Whats your view on the Financial Institutions, Investment Houses and of course our Capitalists Corporations who received trillions of dollars of Taxpayer Funded Bailouts. Now the system is so far in debt that if one talks of a National Health Care system, thats blasphemous, and the taxpayers and the future taxpayers who helped fund the bailout by being ripped off of future benefits which they helped create through their hard work , are shit out of luck. Or do you put the 1% of " the people who are either lazy or inept at life and just want government handouts." in a different category.
 
XacTactX said:
Guys, find out about ALEC, or the American Legislative Exchange Council. Corporations pay membership fees of tens of thousands a year so they can discuss legislation with politicians, most of whom being Republican. Many of the most radical bills that we scratch our head about have come verbatim from this unholy alliance. We need to get money out of politics, as I've said many times.

http://alecexposed.org/wiki/ALEC_Exposed
Click to expand...
Republican? Sure. ...because they are the ones doing all the spending... :rolleyes:
 
ghost6303 said:
so if all these private companies are writing all our legislation....

WHAT THE FUCK DO WE PAY OUR REPRESENTATIVES FOR?
Click to expand...
Depends on who you feel they're representing.

The great thing about corporations is that it funnels money into a very few people who can make donations far beyond what an individual can. Thanks to this loophole, this one giant voice can drown out millions of smaller voices.

In order to drown out the voice of five or six head honchos at the MPAA, RIAA, etc., you need millions of people flooding representatives inboxes and phone lines. Each one of those head honchos has a voice equal to millions of people. It's sick.
 
I propose we handle legislature like jury duty, but with one four year term with 100% turnover every time. Random selection.

There will be a midterm election every four years (two years into the legislator's term) where the people can choose to reject them and put their alternate in place. No campaign contributions will be allowed. The legislator may only communicate their election pitch via their website.

We'll select representatives and alternates. People will be paid according to the average of their last two tax years with a minimum pay for those who didn't make much. And unlike jury duty, it will be very difficult to dodge.

The two-party system has just made it easy for corporations to decide who they will make out checks to. Select people randomly and, at the very least, you can push the reset button on the graft machine every two to four years.
 
fattypants said:
I propose we handle legislature like jury duty, but with one four year term with 100% turnover every time. Random selection.

There will be a midterm election every four years (two years into the legislator's term) where the people can choose to reject them and put their alternate in place. No campaign contributions will be allowed. The legislator may only communicate their election pitch via their website.

We'll select representatives and alternates. People will be paid according to the average of their last two tax years with a minimum pay for those who didn't make much. And unlike jury duty, it will be very difficult to dodge.

The two-party system has just made it easy for corporations to decide who they will make out checks to. Select people randomly and, at the very least, you can push the reset button on the graft machine every two to four years.
Click to expand...

Insanity could be fun
 
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