4 ms·

Lamar Smith Proposes Expanding Hollywood's Global Police Force

Rasiej 14y ago
The death of the Open Internet by a thousand cuts starts.
- HistoryInAction 14y ago
  Yep, push back once, and they'll try, try again until decisively checked... apparently, 2000 in front of the NY Senators wasn't enough ;)
rhizome 14y ago
When beaten back, even in the miniscule way that they have, they reveal more and more of their priorities by attrition. The elements that were in SOPA/PIPA/etc. that aren't in this, we can figure are the things that they're secure with, or that they don't care about. Regardless, there's plenty of business intelligence in the selection criteria between then and now.
politician 14y ago
Ah, the good ole boy 21st district candidate. This corrupt politician has free reign as long as his district remains gerrymandered. Just throw a few bones to the rednecks and a few kickbacks to the rich white folk and then collect checks from the MPAA/RIAA. Seriously, look at this map: http://lamarsmith.house.gov/District/InteractiveMap.htm http://lamarsmith.house.gov/District/InteractiveMap.htm
- politician 14y ago
  I just want to clarify my definition of corruption. I believe a politician is corrupt when his or her district looks like the end-game of a round of Go. Or two simultaneous rounds as is the case in district 21.
  - oacgnol 14y ago
    It's particularly insidious when you see that a large part of tech-friendly Austin is under the district as well. We are but a drop amongst the sea. Off-topic: I can't help but to note how meta your username is right now.
- pi18n 14y ago
  brilliant observation
- regularfry 14y ago
  It is utterly mindboggling to me that gerrymandering is legal in the US.
  - CWuestefeld 14y ago
    Not only legal, but required. It's another example of how something that was intended to ensure the voice of minorities, has turned into a tool for entrenching the powerful.
    - iamdave 14y ago
      Required? This I did not know, I'm about to learn something. Can you go into a little detail?
      - CWuestefeld 14y ago
        From the Wikipedia article [1]: After the Voting Rights Act of 1965 was passed, some states created "majority-minority" districts. This practice, also called "affirmative gerrymandering", was supposed to redress historic discrimination and ensure that ethnic minorities would gain some seats in government. Since the 1990s, however, gerrymandering based solely on racial data has been ruled unconstitutional by the United States Supreme Court under the Fourteenth Amendment, first in Shaw v. Reno (1993) and subsequently in Miller v. Johnson (1995). [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gerrymandering#Voting_Rights_Act_of_1965 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gerrymandering#Voting_Rights_A...
        vijayr 14y ago
        Is this similar to the reservations in India (in jobs, educational institutions, voting etc)? If it is, then nothing good will come out of it.
        iamdave 14y ago
        Thanks for this!
  - 14y ago
albertsun 14y ago
If only some tech billionaire could set up a SuperPAC to defeat this guy in 2012. Here's his Democratic opponent in 2012 https://candaceduval.nationbuilder.com/contribute https://candaceduval.nationbuilder.com/contribute
- gojomo 14y ago
  It's a safely Republican district; if Smith was to be defeated, it would have been in the GOP primary. (He cruised to victory over two challengers from more libertarian/tech-friendly backgrounds.)
- greenyoda 14y ago
  If Smith were to be defeated the RIAA would just start throwing money at whoever became the chairman of the committee that he's currently in charge of. (The new chairman would likely be another Republican since they currently have a majority in the House.) Corruption is so deeply entrenched in the system that you won't get rid of it by throwing out one politician, no matter how influential. The best approach might be to publicize as widely as possible how the system works in the hope that there will eventually be widespread support for reforming it (maybe by passing a constitutional amendment to outlaw the kind of legalized corruption that we call "campaign finance" in the U.S.). If I were a billionaire, that's what I'd put my money behind.
r00fus 14y ago
Anyone who thinks Democrats have a monopoly on MAFIAA-corrupted legislators needs to seriously examine this Republican. A truly corrupt individual.
- nhebb 14y ago
  Historically, contributions by the RIAA have been pretty evenly split between Democrats and Republicans. Lobbyists care more about influence than they do about the R or D after the name. Politicians care more about reelection campaign funding then they do about ideology. Edit - sources: http://www.opensecrets.org/pacs/pacgot.php?cycle=2012&cmte=C00009357 http://www.opensecrets.org/pacs/pacgot.php?cycle=2012&cm... http://www.opensecrets.org/pacs/pacgot.php?cmte=C00139519&cycle=2012 http://www.opensecrets.org/pacs/pacgot.php?cmte=C00139519&#3... You need to look through the last few election cycles for a full picture. The MPAA, it seems, leans towards Democrats, but they do shift contributions according to which party controls each chamber.
guard-of-terra 14y ago
Maybe now countries around the world will see that strong copyright is an one-way street to channel money for USA. And then we'll see adoption of more public-oriented copyright regimes.
damian2000 14y ago
I'd never heard of Lamar Smith before, but the name conjures up the image of a sheriff in a cheesy western, ready to cut the bad guys down with a six shooter.
DeanCollinsNYC 14y ago
I was reading a report today that states the following "Digital TV Research calculates that China became the largest digital TV household nation in 2010, and will boast 417 million digital homes by end-2017, by which time India will almost certainly have overtaken the US." The USA (eg read Hollywood) has been a long time social influencer of the world because of its ability to export its tv/movies to the rest of the world powered by a profitable cable revenue generation cash machine that is the US cable tv market (just look at the recent A&E sale as a guide to valuation). So my question is this...... If India takes over the USA in terms of pay tv market size, and China already bigger than the USA (almost as a rounding number with continued annual growth), Could we ever see a situation where "BollyWood" or "Shanghai" is the exporter of cool around the world? Will it get to a situation where Hollywood police no longer matter? - http://blog.collins.net.pr/2012/07/bollywoodchinese-entertainment-engines.html http://blog.collins.net.pr/2012/07/bollywoodchinese-entertai...
hastur 14y ago
The Committee hearing is happening RIGHT NOW. You can see the topics and watch a LIVE VIDEO here: http://judiciary.house.gov/hearings/Markups%202012/mark_07102012.html http://judiciary.house.gov/hearings/Markups%202012/mark_0710... Note: As can be seen on the topic list, there are a number of different topics, and the IPAA is not being discussed yet as of writing this comment. (This second, they're talking about Child Prevention Act of 2012, HR 6063.)
- HistoryInAction 14y ago
  It's possible that some disagreements between Republicans and Democrats will prevent IPAA from coming up in today's markup, reports seemed to indicate as of last night.
  - hastur 14y ago
    Good to know, thanks. Where did you learn about that? BTW, did the stream suddenly die? Or did they finish or go into recess when I wasn't watching?

The death of the Open Internet by a thousand cuts starts.

HistoryInAction 14y ago
Yep, push back once, and they'll try, try again until decisively checked... apparently, 2000 in front of the NY Senators wasn't enough ;)

When beaten back, even in the miniscule way that they have, they reveal more and more of their priorities by attrition. The elements that were in SOPA/PIPA/etc. that aren't in this, we can figure are the things that they're secure with, or that they don't care about. Regardless, there's plenty of business intelligence in the selection criteria between then and now.

politician 14y ago

Ah, the good ole boy 21st district candidate. This corrupt politician has free reign as long as his district remains gerrymandered. Just throw a few bones to the rednecks and a few kickbacks to the rich white folk and then collect checks from the MPAA/RIAA. Seriously, look at this map: http://lamarsmith.house.gov/District/InteractiveMap.htm http://lamarsmith.house.gov/District/InteractiveMap.htm

politician 14y ago
I just want to clarify my definition of corruption. I believe a politician is corrupt when his or her district looks like the end-game of a round of Go. Or two simultaneous rounds as is the case in district 21.
- oacgnol 14y ago
  It's particularly insidious when you see that a large part of tech-friendly Austin is under the district as well. We are but a drop amongst the sea. Off-topic: I can't help but to note how meta your username is right now.
pi18n 14y ago
brilliant observation
regularfry 14y ago
It is utterly mindboggling to me that gerrymandering is legal in the US.
- CWuestefeld 14y ago
  Not only legal, but required. It's another example of how something that was intended to ensure the voice of minorities, has turned into a tool for entrenching the powerful.
  - iamdave 14y ago
    Required? This I did not know, I'm about to learn something. Can you go into a little detail?
    - CWuestefeld 14y ago
      From the Wikipedia article [1]: After the Voting Rights Act of 1965 was passed, some states created "majority-minority" districts. This practice, also called "affirmative gerrymandering", was supposed to redress historic discrimination and ensure that ethnic minorities would gain some seats in government. Since the 1990s, however, gerrymandering based solely on racial data has been ruled unconstitutional by the United States Supreme Court under the Fourteenth Amendment, first in Shaw v. Reno (1993) and subsequently in Miller v. Johnson (1995). [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gerrymandering#Voting_Rights_Act_of_1965 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gerrymandering#Voting_Rights_A...
      - vijayr 14y ago
        Is this similar to the reservations in India (in jobs, educational institutions, voting etc)? If it is, then nothing good will come out of it.
      - iamdave 14y ago
        Thanks for this!
- 14y ago

albertsun 14y ago

If only some tech billionaire could set up a SuperPAC to defeat this guy in 2012. Here's his Democratic opponent in 2012 https://candaceduval.nationbuilder.com/contribute https://candaceduval.nationbuilder.com/contribute

gojomo 14y ago
It's a safely Republican district; if Smith was to be defeated, it would have been in the GOP primary. (He cruised to victory over two challengers from more libertarian/tech-friendly backgrounds.)
greenyoda 14y ago
If Smith were to be defeated the RIAA would just start throwing money at whoever became the chairman of the committee that he's currently in charge of. (The new chairman would likely be another Republican since they currently have a majority in the House.) Corruption is so deeply entrenched in the system that you won't get rid of it by throwing out one politician, no matter how influential. The best approach might be to publicize as widely as possible how the system works in the hope that there will eventually be widespread support for reforming it (maybe by passing a constitutional amendment to outlaw the kind of legalized corruption that we call "campaign finance" in the U.S.). If I were a billionaire, that's what I'd put my money behind.

r00fus 14y ago

Anyone who thinks Democrats have a monopoly on MAFIAA-corrupted legislators needs to seriously examine this Republican. A truly corrupt individual.

nhebb 14y ago
Historically, contributions by the RIAA have been pretty evenly split between Democrats and Republicans. Lobbyists care more about influence than they do about the R or D after the name. Politicians care more about reelection campaign funding then they do about ideology. Edit - sources: http://www.opensecrets.org/pacs/pacgot.php?cycle=2012&cmte=C00009357 http://www.opensecrets.org/pacs/pacgot.php?cycle=2012&cm... http://www.opensecrets.org/pacs/pacgot.php?cmte=C00139519&cycle=2012 http://www.opensecrets.org/pacs/pacgot.php?cmte=C00139519&#3... You need to look through the last few election cycles for a full picture. The MPAA, it seems, leans towards Democrats, but they do shift contributions according to which party controls each chamber.

guard-of-terra 14y ago

Maybe now countries around the world will see that strong copyright is an one-way street to channel money for USA. And then we'll see adoption of more public-oriented copyright regimes.

damian2000 14y ago

I'd never heard of Lamar Smith before, but the name conjures up the image of a sheriff in a cheesy western, ready to cut the bad guys down with a six shooter.

DeanCollinsNYC 14y ago

I was reading a report today that states the following "Digital TV Research calculates that China became the largest digital TV household nation in 2010, and will boast 417 million digital homes by end-2017, by which time India will almost certainly have overtaken the US." The USA (eg read Hollywood) has been a long time social influencer of the world because of its ability to export its tv/movies to the rest of the world powered by a profitable cable revenue generation cash machine that is the US cable tv market (just look at the recent A&E sale as a guide to valuation). So my question is this...... If India takes over the USA in terms of pay tv market size, and China already bigger than the USA (almost as a rounding number with continued annual growth), Could we ever see a situation where "BollyWood" or "Shanghai" is the exporter of cool around the world? Will it get to a situation where Hollywood police no longer matter? - http://blog.collins.net.pr/2012/07/bollywoodchinese-entertainment-engines.html http://blog.collins.net.pr/2012/07/bollywoodchinese-entertai...

hastur 14y ago

The Committee hearing is happening RIGHT NOW. You can see the topics and watch a LIVE VIDEO here: http://judiciary.house.gov/hearings/Markups%202012/mark_07102012.html http://judiciary.house.gov/hearings/Markups%202012/mark_0710... Note: As can be seen on the topic list, there are a number of different topics, and the IPAA is not being discussed yet as of writing this comment. (This second, they're talking about Child Prevention Act of 2012, HR 6063.)

HistoryInAction 14y ago
It's possible that some disagreements between Republicans and Democrats will prevent IPAA from coming up in today's markup, reports seemed to indicate as of last night.
- hastur 14y ago
  Good to know, thanks. Where did you learn about that? BTW, did the stream suddenly die? Or did they finish or go into recess when I wasn't watching?