SOPA and PIPA anti-web priracy bills halted by U.S. Congress

Good.

Now repeal the P.A.T.R.I.O.T. act, and we're getting somewhere.

Postponed only, not defeated, so the assholes will probably sneak in a vote on it later down the line when no one's paying any attention.

Also, overturn the Citizen's United SCOTUS decision, forever ban all corporate funding of any election campaign everywhere, and institute the exact same two-terms only limit on all Representatives and Senators that the President is subject to. In other words, dissolve all corporate satrapy and bring back some semblance of genuine American democracy.

I think you hit the nail on the head here. Congress knows the people are pissed off at the moment. They have to retreat for now. Sooner or later there will be a vote of major importance at the 11th hour[ government shutdown, disabled vets losing their benefits, old people being thrown out on the streets,etc. etc.]. This SOPA bullshit will be slipped in as a rider on some bill somewhere. Standard Operating Proceedure for these dickheads in D.C. Its a sad state of affairs when a Canadian has a better grasp of the American political landscape than 80% of the American population.

I think you hit the nail on the head here. Congress knows the people are pissed off at the moment. They have to retreat for now. Sooner or later there will be a vote of major importance at the 11th hour[ government shutdown, disabled vets losing their benefits, old people being thrown out on the streets,etc. etc.]. This SOPA bullshit will be slipped in as a rider on some bill somewhere. Standard Operating Proceedure for these dickheads in D.C. Its a sad state of affairs when a Canadian has a better grasp of the American political landscape than 80% of the American population.
Unfortunately I have to agree I've learned a long time ago never to underestimate Congress's ability to pull an asshole move like that.

If these two pieces of trash were to become US law could our Bart get sued over using a copyrighted Image as an Avatar?

No, he would have had to upload it 10 times within 180 days or the picture would have to be worth more than $2,500.

Sec. 201.
(a)(a)(1)Any person who willfully infringes a copyright shall be punished... if the infringement was committed;
(A) for purposes of commercial advantage or private financial gain.
(B) by the reproduction or distribution...of at least 10 copies or phonorecords, or of at least 10 public performances by means of digital transmission, of 1 or more copyrighted works, during any 180-day period, which have a total retail value of more than $2,500;
(C) by the distribution or public performance of a work being prepared for commercial dissemination... if such person knew or should have known that the work was intended for commercial dissemination."

I wonder if someone finally, FINALLY, explained to some of these politicians the economic implications of SOPA, should it have passed. Think of the disincentive to investment on the internet if a law was passed that could shut down websites, instantly and indiscriminately, without a hearing or defense of any kind. There wouldn't be a nickel invested in any new web initiative if it could be bankrupted on a whim or a phone-in complaint. The future Mark Zuckerbergs of the world would never get a chance to to innovate. The next eBay or Twitter would die in the planning stages.

I've read a few articles about this in the past few days, and every one of them starts with the disclaimer: we're not against fighting piracy but this goes to far. So with that in mind have any of these internet companies that are protesting this come up with a better solution to combat piracy?

The owner of the property which has been stolen may submit a notice to the advertising and funding agencies that a crime has taken place and business with the accused must cease.

The notice must clearly indicate; the facts to support the claim, that damages will result if immediate action is not taken, a statement that the website does not have permissions to the content, a statement that the information is accurate. If this claim turns out to be false then the accuser may be charged with perjury.

If refusal to remove the content is indicated in an effective counter notice then the owner of the property may begin a law suit. A court order may then be issued to have the content temporarily removed from the website.

Sec. 103.
(b)(1) Except in the case of an effective counter notification...a payment network provider (or an Internet advertising service) shall take technically feasible and reasonable measures...within 5 days after delivery of a notification...prevent, prohibit, or suspend its service.
(b)(4)(A) ...notification under this paragraph is effective only if it is a written communication that is provided to the designated agent... (iii) the specific facts to support the claim... clearly show that immediate and irreparable injury, loss, or damage will result... (vi) A statement that..a good faith belief that the use of the owner's works or goods in which the right exists...is not authorized. (vii)A statement that the information in the notification is accurate... under penalty of perjury.
(c)(1) If an effective counter notification is made or if a payment network provider( or Internet advertising service) fails to comply... a qualifying plaintiff may commence an in personam action
(c)(5) On application of a qualifying plaintiff...the court may issue a temporary restraining order, a preliminary injunction, or an injunction...to cease and desist from undertaking any further activity."

If you want to fight piracy, forget file sharing. Start where the real problem lies. Take the Chinese to task over manufacturing pirated materials. Not just movies and music. Go on tradetang.com sometime. You can buy fake EVERYTHING: Gibson guitars, Ray Ban shades, Levis jeans, you name it. They’re turning out shit, labelled as the real McCoy as fast as their sweatshops can, and shipping it worldwide. Put the enforcement effort on the real source of the problem.

File sharing has hurt two groups: record companies and movie studios, both of whom are unscrupulous entities that have gotten rich by screwing consumers and artists for decades. Fuck them. File sharing has made the artists rich beyond their dreams by cutting out the middlemen. It’s allowed artists to grow demand for their products without holding up the consumer to sample it.

Any attempts to crack down on copyright violations must consider the reality of the technology. You can’t make mp3s go away and you can’t prevent billions of people from using the technology that they already possess. You can’t. It’s wasted effort to even try.

If you want to fight piracy, forget file sharing. Start where the real problem lies. Take the Chinese to task over manufacturing pirated materials. Not just movies and music. Go on tradetang.com sometime. You can buy fake EVERYTHING: Gibson guitars, Ray Ban shades, Levis jeans, you name it. They’re turning out shit, labelled as the real McCoy as fast as their sweatshops can, and shipping it worldwide. Put the enforcement effort on the real source of the problem.

File sharing has hurt two groups: record companies and movie studios, both of whom are unscrupulous entities that have gotten rich by screwing consumers and artists for decades. Fuck them. File sharing has made the artists rich beyond their dreams by cutting out the middlemen. It’s allowed artists to grow demand for their products without holding up the consumer to sample it.

Any attempts to crack down on copyright violations must consider the reality of the technology. You can’t make mp3s go away and you can’t prevent billions of people from using the technology that they already possess. You can’t. It’s wasted effort to even try.So none of these billion dollar companies has offered any solution to file sharing?