Hitler, John Boehner And Pirates

"Name Prince Harry's last three Halloween costumes."

Some Johnny Carson humor (for those of you over the age of 35).

If you use the internet, you need to be aware of SOPA, the Stop Online Piracy Act.  It's currently being debated in the House of Representatives.  It passed the House Judiciary Committee earlier this month, and is expected to pass the House with strong support within the next couple of months.

SOPA will essentially bring online censorship to a level seen currently in China or Iran.  That isn't an exaggeration.  The day to day online experience as you know it will cease to exist.

Let me give you an example.  Here is a video of my daughter dancing our living room last night:



In the background of the video, 'Across the Universe' was playing.  It was originally recorded by The Beatles, but in this case, was being sung by Rufus Wainwright.

If SOPA passes, Sony Music, the label that owns the rights to The Beatles catalogue, could approach YouTube calling for the removal of the video.  All it would take would be an email.  YouTube would be forced to remove it.  Also, by embedding the video on this post, they could, if they desired, send an email to Go Daddy, the company hosting my website, claiming copyright infringement.  Under the articles of SOPA, Go Daddy would be forced to shut down my website.  Completely wipe it from existence.

Not because of a court order from a judge.  Not due to a notice from the F.B.I. or any local law enforcement.  But from a single email message from someone claiming they hold a copyright on material I am displaying on my website.  They do not need to show any proof of ownership.  I do not have the opportunity to remove the material in question.  'The Twitch Online' simply ceases to exist.  Years of work for nothing.  No record that it was even there to begin with.

How does this effect you?

Think about it.  The sites you visit every day - YouTube, Facebook, Google and Wikipedia, just to name a few.  All of them will either disappear or change in such a way that they will become practically unrecognizable.

And, in the end, is this new legislation really going to stop anyone from downloading a shitty CD in order to avoid paying $13.99 for it at Target.  If people have the motivation to pirate (lack of selection/price), they're going to find a way to do so.

Another casualty of SOPA will be the internet meme.  One of my personal favorites is the "Hitler finds out about _____".  If SOPA is enacted, that too will be gone.  The clip is taken from the 2004 German film 'Downfall'.  The video, while extremely funny, is surprisingly accurate and educational.



So, what can you do about this.  Get involved.  Contact your Congressman.  You can go to americancensorship.org right now to be directed to the offices of your local representative.  At the site, you can also sign a petition being sent to the state department, and send an email to Congress asking that SOPA not pass.  So far, more than 780,000 people have done so.

If this bill would have passed a decade ago, think about how different your life would have been.  If this bill passes in 2012, think about how different the internet will be for your children.  The internet was never intended to be policed to such a degree.  If the U.S. government can tell us what we can and can't say, watch or listen to online, what's next?

Was George Orwell just off by 30 years? 

Breaking: Twitter Hashtags "#occupywallstreet/#takewallstreet" Being Censored Within U.S.

THE MAINSTREAM MEDIA IS HARDLY COVERING ANY OF THIS!!  SPREAD THE WORD!!

Massive protests have been underway on Wall Street in New York City for the last 36 hours.  Thousands of people are camping out, protesting not only corporate greed, but the role that many in Washington have in lining the pockets of those at the top of the corporate ladder.

Throughout the day, the hashtags #occupywallstreet and #takewallstreet have been used on Twitter in reference to the protests.

Within the hour, it has been learned that somehow, those hashtags that have originated from within the United States have been blocked.

Trendsmap.com is a website that tracks the location of where hashtags are trending.  If you go to the site, and do a search of #occupywallstreet and #takewallstreet, you'll find not one tweet coming from the U.S.  According to Twitter, neither of the two hashtags are even trending within New York City.  I'm only following #occupywallstreet, and have at least 20 new tweets every 30 seconds popping up.  Keep in mind, that it is currently after 3:00AM EST.  Something illegal is happening, pure and simple.

I will try to keep you posted as I get more information.

Correction: The #occupywallstreet protests have been going on now for 8 days, since September 17th.  There has been absolutely zero media attention given to these protests, even though hundreds of people have been arrested (93 on the 24th alone), and dozens have been injured by NYPD officers.  I first caught wind of the protest through Buzzfeed.com last night, after police brutality had taken a sharp up swing in recent days.  What outside media personnel that are trying to get into the protests are being refused entry.  According to numerous sources, two PBS journalists were arrested and detained Saturday morning.  Most information from the scene is coming from bloggers and amateur cameramen.

Update 4:07AM EST:  It appears that #takewallstreet is finally starting to show up on Trendsmap.  When looking at an image of the globe, you cannot see the United States.  It is completely covered with the hashtag.  #occupywallstreet still is not showing.

Walmart "Magazine Censor" Fail

As most of you know, Walmart makes a regular practice of censoring some magazines at their registers, to "protect" younger customers' eyes from viewing more risqué material.  In my experience, Cosmo is most often the victim of the censorship, due to the topics of their articles.  Today, however, I saw the perfect example of how their tactics backfired on them.  Here is a picture of this month's cover of Cosmopolitan magazine:

Nothing really too shocking, right?  Now let's take a look at Walmart's censored, "child safe" version:

Now, until about 1:35 this afternoon, I had never thought of Glee's Lea Michele as "sexy".  Now, thanks to Walmart, I would seriously make out with that Rachel girl from Glee.  Walmart has opened up a whole new world for me.  Thank you, Walmart.