These two acts limit our freedom and ability to do certain things over the World Wide Web. Not sure if any of you heard, but Wikipedia had a black out opposing these two bills. And Google, they blocked out their homepage banner. Not sure what other sites did but the effort or thought was good enough. S.O.P.A, and P.I.P.A, are just plain out stupid, and bad. For one thing they will censor the Internet VERY much, and hurt economic growth, possibly even kill jobs that some people had.

I can’t remember the congressmen’s name exactly. But anyway, back to the point. I posted this article for some feedback, and ideas or whatever else you all might have. So just post some comments below, and let’s start a discussion as to what we all think.

PIPA (Protect IP Act) was introduced to the U.S Senate on May 12, 2011 by Senators Patrick Leahy, Orrin Hatch and Chuck Grassley. This act is a re-written act because the original failed to pass Combating On line Infringement and Counterfeits Act (COICA) in 2010.

If PIPA did pass then it would be giving U.S. corporations and the government the right to seek legal action that they see as enabling copyright infringement whether in the U.S. area or not. This is what they would have the power do do:

• Force the U.S. Internet providers to shut down or block access to websites deemed as enablers of copyright infringement,
• They could seek legal action in order to sue search engines, blog sites, directories, or any site to have “black listed” sites removed from theirs,
• Companies will have the power to sue any kind of new website that they started after the bill had passed if they think that they are not doing a good job of preventing infringement on their site,
• And much more..

SOPA (Stop On line Piracy Act) is a bill introduced to the U.S. by the House of Representatives by Lamar Smith on October 26, 2011. Just like PIPA this bill has also been re-written (being the PRO-IP Act of 2008).

If SOPA passed it would be working in conjunction with PIPA. SOPA is nothing less than the U.S. government and private corporations blacklist. This is the power that would be given to Government and Private corporations:

• The U.S. Attorney General would be able a court order that would force search engines, advertisers, DNS providers, servers, and payment processors from even having any contact with allegedly infringing websites
• It would allow private corporations to create their own personal hit lists composed of websites they feel are breaking their copyright policies. These companies will be able to directly contact a website’s payment processors a notice to cut all off payment involvement with the targeted website. This payment processors and website in question will then have five days to act before it is simply taken down.
• Payment processors will have the power to cut off any website they work with, if they can provide a strong reason of why they believe this site is violating copyrights.

How can this affect us?

1) Blog Sites like 1stwebdesigner could be blocked or shut down:

The internet will become a hunt into any kind of possible copyright violation and because the government loves blogs and bloggers, it would only be natural to know that they will recieve more attention. They would make it the blogger’s responsibility for everything that is displayed on their site, even the visitors comments.

2) Say Goodbye to Innovation:

This act would be stopping developers to invent the next big thing in the online market that could even change the way we use it now a days. Imagine if this bill had been passed a few years back, we wouldn’t have Facebook, YouTube, Mediafire, Twitter, Dropbox and many other popular sites that could be a target for online piracy. 

3) The U.S. Government Hope They Will Spark Global Change:

Not only are they trying to apply this act in the U.S. but they are also trying to put other countries in their side. What kind of world are we going to become?

18 January 2012, The protest against SOPA/PIPA Online

In order to protest against these bills various online companies joined the SOPA blackout protest. It was a 24 hour black out and around 162 million saw the protest against SOPA. Google is now holding an online petition against these bills and due to the blackout various supporters of these bills backed out. Are we really going to be able to stop these bills? I am pretty sure we can. What kind of revolution would even happen if this bill passed by? Who know?

Watch the sky and stars for a change!

The first photograph is really a beautiful one with all these lights in the night. But the other is even a more beautiful one, because a general blackout lets the Earth breathe for a while and it saves few bob in our pockets.

One will possibly think that this form of action isn’t going to sort out much. What shall we get by switching all the lights and domestic appliances for half an hour? Well, if we add up everyone’s thirty minutes in darkness, it will certainly mean millions of watts. 

In 2011, there was a call in Spain to stage a general blackout in protest for the abusive rise on the electric tariffs. If I am not wrong it was on some day in February. I really looked forward to it. I managed few candles. I made diner and, at ten o’clock sharp, I switched off all the lights.

In the call, they told us to switch off the general switches instead of going round the house switching off everything, because by doing so it is more effective as regards the generators in the different companies. 

Obviously, while my friend and I dined, we weren’t able to listen to some music, but as we ate, we talked a lot and we forgot that the blackout was only for half an hour!

I must also say that it was only partially successful, because and as we looked out of the window, many of the bars, restaurants and in some of the houses there was lightening. It seemed that people couldn’t stay without watching their daily portion of rubbish. What the electric companies lost was for them as

 mere loose change as well as the VAT that the Minister of Finance collects out of electricity bills. But it doesn’t mean it can’t be staged again. 

On another occasion, I received in my in-box a worldwide call to switch off to give the Earth a rest. I know that leaving the world in total darkness is more difficult than doing it in an only country, but wouldn’t it be great to achieve this worldwide blackout just as we did on October 15th to protest for financial chaos we’ve been plunged in? 

Computers, hi-fi, radios, bulbs, all sort of domestic appliances… Think of how much energy we are all using and think of how much money all the electric companies pocket out of us.

As I once wrote, the word boycott comes from Ireland. The labourers working on a British landlord’s household went on strike to protest for their abusive prices on their housing and the low pay they got. It happened that the man’s name who had to deal with their demands and boycott was Boycott. It was the first time in history that a group of labourers got together to defend their demands using a peaceful way of action.

It is, indeed, one of the most peaceful ways of action that can achieve a lot if it is staged by an overall majority.

Increased traffic, noted research firm Zscaler, fueled by curiosity Internet users who want to see how the response of Wikipedia.

“The data shows more people visit Wikipedia on Wednesday, just to see what kind of protest SOPA conducted this online encyclopedia and some details on the SOPA. This behavior can be called ‘online rubber necking’,” wrote Zscaler in their blog posts.

Traffic Wikipedia main page on the previous day was recorded about 60 percent. On Wednesday during a blackout, the percentage to 85 percent. Meanwhile, traffic SOPA page Initiative increased from 15 percent in the previous day to 45 percent on Wednesday.

During the blackout period, the mobile version of the English-language Wikipedia can still be opened, to meet the needs of Internet users who need the information. Cries of protest are shown only by displaying a banner that contains information about SOPA and PIPA.

In addition, the White House had announced that not support the initiative. The bill would allow the U.S. Justice Department investigate, prosecute and disconnect any person or company accused of providing material on the network without permission subject to copyright within and outside the country. The law would force the search engines providers, domains and American advertising companies to block the services of any site that is under investigation by the Justice Department for having published material in violation of intellectual property rights.

These providers, who are all in the U.S. would have to fulfill the requests of Department of Justice to prevent them being affected by the regulation. The bill provoked a chain reaction of the defenders of freedom of expression on the network and Internet companies like Google, Yahoo! and Facebook, to ensure that the text could curb innovation and restrict the rights of users.

When blackout led by Wikipedia, will join also the hacker group Anonymous and the social network Reddit, but the giant Twitter, Google and Facebook have not yet confirmed if they will do the same, despite various rumors. Given the generated debate, the chairman of the Oversight Committee of the House of Representatives, Darrell Issa, said over the weekend that the House passed a controversial law will not vote unless there is consensus.

Rather, the chairman of the Judiciary Committee, Lamar Smith, sponsor of SOUP law, made ​​a major concession to critics of the project to remove the most controversial point, which required service providers to block internet sites that infringe copyright. In addition, last Saturday, the White House said in a statement the President Barack Obama will not support laws against Internet piracy if they encourage censorship, threaten the security or alter the structure of the cyber-network.

     Other technical companies such as Facebook, Yahoo and Google have questioned the legislation.    There concerns are that it poses a serious threat to the Tech industry.   There is also going to be a total blackout in several online communities. – Reddit, Boing Bong has announced plans to go dark in protest.   Many other smaller sites are considering a similar approach, which would inconvenience millions of users.   

  Enforcing this legislation worldwide, would not only be very costly but nearly impossible accomplish.    These factors though will not stop the Legislation coming to the floor, where heated discussions are very likely. – With the Obama administration, trying to water it down saying it would work with Congress to help battle piracy and counterfeiting.    Whilst at the same time the concepts of free expression, privacy, security and innovation in the Internet must be defended.    

  The Stop Online Piracy Act and the Protect Intellectual Property Act before Congress are designed to crack down on pirated US products overseas.   Its supporters say that it is a much-needed legislation, to protect both intellectual property and jobs.   Critics of the legislation are adamant saying instead of protecting; this will hurt the technology industry by infringing on free speech rights.

It was going to be on Februrary 15th this year. I had received the leaflet on my email account. It said, LET’S STOP GETTING ANGRY. IT IS TIME TO ACT…

It was about the huge increse on domestic electricity bills that was going to be due. As usual, the ones who had emailed this asked us to forward it to all our friends, so the Electrical companies knew what we thought.

So I did and the days prior to the general blackout, I prayed that many switched off all their lights and domestic appliances.

I met many people in the neighbourhood. Some of them would say that they were going to join in. Others would say that it was fine, but they weren’t going to be at home at that time, anyway. There was a third group of people, and this was the most annoying, that would exclaim adamantly “Oh, what are we going to gain with it?” I told these type of people, who think all is hopless, that it all depends on how many people join in. If a few, then, yes, it’s useless. But if they count for millions, it can create some problems to these Electrical Companies.

When there’s a massive blackout, their generators stop working and they have to fix them.

It is also money that they won’t get out of our pockets, including the VAT.

With such an action, we also show that we are no lambs to whom they can impose whatever they want.

I did join in. At ten in the evening, I set myself to have a candle lit supper.

I looked out of the window. Except for bars and restaurants, many of the houses were in darkness. Hurray!

Few days later, they released the results. Well, well, it hadn’t resulted in such a success, although, they said it had been. If the Electricals had lost a million euro… ha, ha, ha, this is pocket money for them!

If this happened in one country, just imagine when a world blackout is called for to give the Earth a rest. There was one in March. I don’t know what the results were, but I don’t think it was very sucessful. Trying to get all the millions that inhabit Planet Earth to switch off their domestic appliances is way too ambitious and whether we like it or not, there are still millions that think like my third group above mentioned. This is the most annoying thing.

The idea is good though. Why not give the Earth a rest once in a while?     

So what do we do during a power outage? Light a few candles and have fun!

(Although you never want to assume something, because it makes an ass of u and me, I am going to assume)

Let us assume you are home with the family watching TV, and the bam the power goes out. After you figure out its not qa problem with  the breakers or fuses, you are suddenly hit with boredom. What do you do? And here is what you do:

Put down the laptop and light a few candles and have fun:

1. Blow the dust off of a much loved board game like Clue or Monopoly.
2. Catch up on your reading.
3. Gather around a flashlight with your family and pretend your camping.
4. Go outside and sit under the stars.
5. Write (my personal favorite)
6. Have a pillow fight with your siblings or if you dont have any have a pillow fight with your parents.
7. For the girls, paint our nails.
8. Thumb wrestle
9. Load up on junk food
10. Pretend your superman
11. Pretend your batman
12. Do everything on the list in 5 minutes

Enjoy your next blackout!