Wikipedia Closure

by **Jai** » January 17, 2012, 2:10 pm

Wikipedia will close down all its English language sites tomorrow for 24 hours in protest to what it sees as the draconian laws being brought before congress SOPA & PIPA .

The most controversial provision is in the House bill, which will enabled federal authorities to 'blacklist' sites that are alleged to distribute pirated content. That would essentially cut off portions of the Internet to all American users.
Companies such as Google, Facebook, Yahoo and others have questioned the legislation and said it poses a serious risk to the industry. Several online communities have announced plans to go dark in protest.

Part of statement from Wiki---

It is the opinion of the English Wikipedia community that both of these bills, if passed, would be devastating to the free and open web.
We depend on a legal infrastructure that makes it possible for us to operate. And we depend on a legal infrastructure that also allows other sites to host user-contributed material, both information and expression. For the most part, Wikimedia projects are organizing and summarizing and collecting the world’s knowledge. We’re putting it in context, and showing people how to make to sense of it.

But that knowledge has to be published somewhere for anyone to find and use it. Where it can be censored without due process, it hurts the speaker, the public, and Wikimedia. Where you can only speak if you have sufficient resources to fight legal challenges, or, if your views are pre-approved by someone who does, the same narrow set of ideas already popular will continue to be all anyone has meaningful access to.

by **BobHelm** » January 17, 2012, 2:30 pm

Just in case people think these laws will just effect Americans & America....they will not..

Take this case, for example...

'Piracy' student Richard O'Dwyer loses extradition case

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-so ... e-16544335

It is doubtful that this British citizen, living in England has actually broken any English law. The draconian internet laws introduced in the UK, by Labour just before they were ousted from power have been 'tested' in the UK courts & found wanting. The defendants were acquitted with a clean sheet.

Make no mistake these laws are examples of big business bribing the Governments of the so called 'free world' to act against its' own citizens.

by **jingjai** » January 17, 2012, 5:33 pm

"Once a government is committed to the principle of silencing the voice of
opposition, *it has only one way to go*, and that is down the path of
increasingly repressive measures, until it becomes a source of terror to all
its citizens and creates a country where everyone lives in fear."
Harry S Truman, August 8, 1950

by **KB_Texas** » January 17, 2012, 7:04 pm

"But we know that freedom cannot be served by the devices of the tyrant. As it is an ancient truth that freedom cannot be legislated into existence, so it is no less obvious that freedom cannot be censored into existence. And any who act as if freedoms defenses are to be found in suppression and suspicion and fear confess a doctrine that is alien to America. " Dwight D. Eisenhower

"The point is obvious. There is more than one way to burn a book. And the world is full of people running about with lit matches. Every minority, be it Baptist/Unitarian, Irish/Italian/Octogenarian/Zen Buddhist, Zionist/Seventhday Adventist, Women's Lib/Republican, Mattachine/Four Square Gospel feels it has the will, the right, the duty to douse the kerosene, light the fuse. Every dimwit editor who sees himself as the source of all dreary blanc-mange plain porridge unleavened literature, licks his guillotine and eyes the neck of any author who dares to speak above a whisper or write above a nursery rhyme." Ray Bradbury

by **Laan Yaa Mo** » January 17, 2012, 7:30 pm

If it is passed, and Obama signs it into law, I guess that will be the President's most lasting legacy to future generations? However, if he does not sign it...then what?

by **KB_Texas** » January 18, 2012, 8:27 am

One more from my favorite author, Robert Heinlein...
'When any government, or any church for that matter, undertakes to say to its subjects, "This you may not read, this you must not see, this you are forbidden to know," the end result is tyranny and oppression, no matter how holy the motives. Mighty little force is needed to control a man whose mind has been hoodwinked; contrariwise, no amount of force can control a free man, a man whose mind is free. No, not the rack, not fission bombs, not anything—you can't conquer a free man; the most you can do is kill him.'

KB

by **BobHelm** » January 18, 2012, 11:16 am

It would appear that Sopa is dead. Not sure what is happening to Pipa yet,
Pipa is certainly viewed as containing less stringent measures & actions that can be taken, although there are some parts of it that are 'iffy' to say the least..

Obama Says So Long SOPA, Killing Controversial Internet Piracy Legislation

http://www.forbes.com/sites/johngaudios ... gislation/

by **JimboPSM** » January 19, 2012, 1:20 am

There are a number of back doors that still give access, the one that works for me is pressing the "Esc" key several times while the page is loading.

If you have very high speed access you will need to be quick pressing the "Esc" key; one of the rare occasions that a slower access speed might actually be an advantage :lol:

by **Khun Paul** » January 19, 2012, 7:39 am

A boost for the Encylopedia makers maybe , people will actually have to resort to thinking and reading OMG a backwards step for humanity.

by **BobHelm** » January 19, 2012, 8:34 am

Khun Paul wrote:A boost for the Encylopedia makers maybe

I doubt it in the extreme.
The cost & long lead time required for a new issue of an encyclopaedia are just two of the reasons why Wiki has proved so successful.
If the likes of Facebook can be seen as the trivia & light end of the internet then Wikipedia is undoubtedly its' serious side.
It is a truly great resource even if it cannot present all views on all things & probably is biased on certain topics - a charge that could equally be laid at the door of any encyclopaedia as well.
It is just about the best starting point that anyone can make when researching an issue that they want to know more about.
The ability to use computer information resources immediately & seamlessly from one topic to the next & use media such as video as an integral part of the subject means that the days of the paper encyclopaedia are well & truly over.

Following on from the Presidents' lack of support for the two bills it would appear that American politicians of many hues are backing away from both bills..

Sopa: US backers end support for anti-piracy bill

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-16623831

The BBC's Jonny Dymond says that with Mr Rubio and Mr Blunt withdrawing their support, the Senate bill - Protect Intellectual Property Act (Pipa) - that had looked likely to pass, now appears to be in trouble.

The one thing is for sure though is that will not be the end of the matter.
Hollywood & the Music Industry have too much stake tied up in the matter to allow it to be forgotten...

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