Marybeth Peters, the U.S. Register of Copyrights, is planning to announce her support for the measure at a Senate hearing on Thursday. The Induce Act, which critics warn could imperil products like Apple Computer's iPod, is an "important improvement over existing law," according to a copy of her statement seen by CNET News.com.

http://news.com.com/Antipiracy+bill+gains+new+ally/2100-1027_3-5278980.html?tag=cd.top

The webcast hearing is at http://judiciary.senate.gov/hearing.cfm?id=1276

Hatch is making it sound like people are downloading to make profit from it.

Hatch claims it's intent is not to tartget P2P or Technology.......sounds like a bunch of bull so far.....

Leahy is full of crap too....sounds so far like he hasn't a clue.

Peters just announced support for it.

I'm afraid that means one thing: We're all dead . . . these Goliaths just have too much power, influence and clout for any meaningful challenge, and those in Congress who support these fascistic initiatives just prove Governator Schwarzenegger's "girlie men" canard.

It should be shouted over and over again: This is NOT anti-piracy, it's anti-TECHNOLOGY, and this is the product of out-and-out BIGOTRY. It would also amount to a "final solution."

Well...Peters is full of crap too....

Finally....Shapiro is talking....someone that IS making sense!

You know that, and I know that . . . but unfortunately, virtually every Congressman and Senator of major power carry the water for the pertinent special interests that seek to drag us all down to a technological Dark Ages.

It should be noted that NAACP heads Julian Bond and Kweisi Mfume recently claimed that any African-American who dissented from their party line were "ventriloquist dummies" for the conservative movement, and thus should be cast aside like any piece of trash. With the obvious differences in "the details," that is pretty much the attitude of, say, the RIAA towards the likes of Janis Ian.

Sounds like BSA is actually calling for this bill to have clarifications in it, so as to be specific and not cause frivolous lawsuits. Hmmmmm

Greenberg is also questioning the the possible "fallout" of what could happen in courts with this law. Hmmmm

Greenberg is also questioning the possible "fallout" of what could happen in courts with this law. Hmmmm

NetCoalition is up now....giving an example...attempting to place Hatch and Leahy on our side of the fence and asking that they think of how they would advise a client if they would be sued under this law.

Oh no.......MITCH!!!!! Olie!!!!

He opens his mouth and spurts out a pile of scooby Doo

Mitch Bainwol is the biggest lying scumbag that I have ever seen.

He is basically saying it is all because of P2P and the only reason it exists is to Induce kids and a haven for pornographers.....what a crock of bull! I would think pornographers would want to get paid....why would they offer porn on P2P, they turn around and try to sue people just like RIAA did when they started their sue-em-all campaign?

Says if you use Kazaa...you are infringing......he has no clue.....

Mitch says he like the law "as is" Imagine that....

Hatch attempting to put down Shapiro......what an idiot Hatch is.....

Mitch says to forget about the law....I'm sure he would include the constitution as well as something that should be forgotten about as well.

Mitch saying the Harvard study gives Harvard a bad name......bet they'll like that

Leahy and Hatch getting "mushy" with each other....give me a break!

Is this the way leahy always speaks? He sounds drunk

Mitch will probably want this crap law passed this afternoon....what a schmuck!

They all seem to like to beat up on Shapiro.....

This is very depressing..listening to Leahy describe himself as a small town lawyer....sure Washington, DC is some small town. He's now meandering on about how lovely the internet is..so he can email pictures of his grandchildren.

Leahy makes it sound like we should all feel sorry for the RIAA and MPAA.....

This law is about one thing...using american legislation to eliminate competition against the Big 4. Punish the customers and make us end up paying per play.

Thats what it sounds like pinemikey.....

Hatch says he agrees with Mitch that the artists are getting hurt.......He really means the bottom line of the RIAA and MPAA.....

In other words . . . gentrification combined with disenfranchisement / enslavement . . .

The lack of objectivity is palpable in Hatch and Leahy's comments. Orrin Hatch has just stated he believes Mitch His Bitch Bainwol's take on it all. (operative word for the RIAA is TAKE ) . How can any independent study on p2p usage get anywhere with this guy?

I thought this was full committee? Where's the rest of em to ask questions of the witnesses? What a crock.

How can that scumbag Bainwol even dare to say that songwriters are on the streets in Nashville because of p2p? This is amazing. I've never seen such out and out lying scumbags.

Hatch says the RIAA, MPAA etc has been treated badly.....yeah right......more like they have treated everybody else badly.

Hearing over....what a farce! hatch is determined he is going to pass this laws for his buddies.....

I recorded the hearings and will post the video shortly--(hopefully!)----regarding MaryBeth Peters, George Z and I were astonished at her performance last year at the USC hearings. She was holding her head and crying and unable to follow the patient explanations of how RAM works etc.

Today's hearing was shameless, and she needs to resign. She really doen't grasp the balance she is sworn to uphold. The positions of Registrar and Librarian of Congress are appointed by the President. All I can say is--the next president needs to appoint someone who is not openly part of the dreaded phrase "regulatory capture"--or "in the pocket of the Industry"--in this hearing you can see for yourself---she is mugging, rolling her eyes and grimacing throughout---and is sitting right in the laps of the RIAA goons, Cary Sherman and Bainwol. And blushing all the while at Hatch's courtly flirtations.

Hatch's pathetic attempts at charisma and humor openly admit that MaryBeth peters is a disgrace and needs to be replaced by someone who is not a creature of the entertainment industry.

Otherwise----Gary Shapiro is magnificent.

Stay tuned. I am compressing the video and will post it shortly.

That was a travesty of the legislative process. That committee is bought and paid for. I think and I hope, the technology industry is going to work quickly to fix this appalling attempt at using the US justice system to fatten the pockets of the Big 4. They need to hit the TV and state straight out that this legislation will make the VCR illegal. If the RIAA wants to use the worst terminolgy to sell their version then opponents of this crap need to do the same. What do you think kind of phone calls will Hatch and Leahy get if people think they want to criminalize VCRs and CD Burners?

Now I know why I never watched this crap before. I'm so mad, I can't spit. If someone wants to make money off me right now, sell me one of those inflatable punching toys with bainwol, hatch or leahy's ugly mug on it.

Aha, see Leflaw, we have a winner.

Sell coffee mugs and bumper stickers. What a concept. Now if we could only convince Cafe Press to manufacture customized big bottom Bozo clown roly pollies. Failing that big ticket item---mebbe dunking ducks. Stay tuned, lemme go surfing thorugh the internet for just the right graphic of a clown dollie and past Bainwol's face on it. What else do I have to do while witing for the video to compress.

What a flapdoodle, eh, Mroopie?

This whole hearing was a joke. It was bought and paid for. The only 2 memebers of committee that asked questions was Hatch and Leahy. I think all memebers should have been able to ask questions. This was biased as hell towards the greedy entertainment industry. What a bunch of bull! Talk about bad actors!

Time to investigate moving back to Canada. Any Canadians out there know of a good place to move to that has a lot of technology jobs?

It's funny in a way reading comments about what repubs are doing, although it does appear comments are aimed at senators in both parties. Now you know why the RIAA and MPAA give money to both parties, that way they'll get help from both. This reminds me of the time when the Democrats where in the majority, and Joe Lieberman was heading the hearing on Video Game violence. I was totally pissed by regulations in that regard. I recall there was one video game that was actually banned.

In regards to regulations in general, I believe we should hold ALL elected officials accountable.

It's so stupid, the RIAA could make a lot more money by embracing some of the licensing models outlines on the EFF website. People wouldn't be sued, technology would florish...

What do we end up with instead ? A bunch of clueless old boyz pushing for stupid laws. Laws that will harm innovation, the public and the RIAA (they have such a bad judgement). Everybody is losing, even people like the RIAA who even don't realize it... And despite this universal mess, we still can't get our point of view heard...

Actually, since the multinational entertainment-media complex started screaming "piracy," any investigations into video-game violence were nipped in the bud. As were the investigations into gangster rap. Or marketing of sexually explicit music, movies and video games to children. Anything to divert attention from the libertine, licentious agenda of the Hollywood elites.

Also interesting that while Bush supports this trend towards engineering a closed, exclusivist society in this realm, the very same entertainment-media elites pushing this bigoted bill are working overtime to defeat him. Again, flapdoodle, flapdoodle everywhere . . .

It's certainly a strange world indeed. Repubs typically talk about deregulation. I say we hold them to it, and this legislation is unnecessary. BTW, Barbara Boxer is up for reelection.

The media industry claim:

"Just let this act pass and we promise we wont use it. Please?"

Besides the obvious Ontario choice, Alberta and New Brunswick are good bets. Alberta for the oil and gas sector in Calgary. While that is not a direct technology link...the money generated by oil and gas development drives technology. New Brunswick's provincial gov't long ago subsidized communication and internet development and that industry has flourished there under friendly business tax laws. British Columbia is just a plain nice place to be and it has a natural connection to eastern Asia with the large intellectual influx of chinese immigrants who came and stayed when the Communists took over Hong Cong. With that increase of people came the development of technology as well. I'm from Newfoundland and while tech has spiked it still has a long way to go. This stuff is just off the cuff, but I'm sure the Canadian posters will fine tune it if you need some more info.

Of course the US register of copyrights likes a pro-copyright bill!

Capt..any comments you get from me are always down the middle. The only reason the repubs may get more attention at all is because they're the ones running the show right now.

Politicos need to put aside their petty Bush/Kerry crap and get to the problem at hand or November's winners will be patting themselves on the back while their rights are legislated out from under your feet.

Personally I think people who only see right or left are only half americans. In order to properly keep your balance you must keep your weight in the middle or you'll fall down everytime.

I'm glad I missed it, I would probably have had a stroke. This way I can watch tomsong's video files at a slower pace (breathe, breathe).

Was Durbin there? Edwards? I'm assuming not. Any other committee members?

They might have stayed at the cafeteria having coffee and donuts. Hatch and Leahy hogged it. Too much personal commentary and asking leading questions which were worded to compliment the decision they have so obviously made with regard to this legislation. A RIAA bought and paid for dog and pony show. No wonder Mitch da Bitch Bainwol could barely contain his smugness when addressing his employees, Hatch and Leahy.

Sorry for the bad grammar. First line should read. They may have just as well as stayed at the cafeteria having coffee and donuts.

Saskatchewan has a world class University, the
U of S, which also houses one of the largest teaching hospitals in North America with some of the most reknown doctors on staff.

Also, proudly, Saskatchewan has the newly built and liscensed Candian Light Source Syncrotron http://www.cls.usask.ca/ which will bring scientists and teckkies from around the globe...

I can't wait for the video!! I saw most of the hearing on the internet, but I missed Gary Shapiro and Marybeth Peters. And I do so want to see what made her blush! I also want to know who was there; I saw Hillary Clinton on C-Span, so I know she wasn't there. As a co-sponsor of the bill, I would think she should have been there. And Edwards is off in the middle west or the west coast drumming up votes. So who else besides Hatch & Leahy was there?

I don't post to this forum very often, but I do visit almost daily, living in Canada. Newfoundland to be exact, I won't likely be directly affected by what transpires in you American legislative processes, but knowing the reach of the RIAA and Corporate America in general, and the technological illiteracy of the majority of our own Canadian Politicians, coupled with the stated position of our Prime Minister to inact similar favorable legislation in Canada, I'm sure it is only a matter of time before we see our own Canadianized versions of the induce Act, DCMA etc.

The small victories that have been won in Canadian Courts thus far are sure to be steamrolled by the Corporate sector, if not through the Court system then through legislative change. But there is something that Business should consider, even though they may be able to buy legislation that favours their position at the same time it compromises mine. There is no legislation that can compel me to buy a single Music CD, DVD Movie or the technology that these items require ie. Players, recorders etc. My ultimate protest will be to refuse to buy the products of any company that will attack me with such cavalier self interest.

Consequently, this Site is very aply named Boycott RIAA, but not only the RIAA but any business, or politician that supports the current actions of the Entertainment industry. They are buying Politicians and legislation with our money., they may be successful in getting this legislation passed, but if you are also successful in making this Boycott grow, it will be a hollow victory.

Good luck, and keep fighting

Hey Max, east or west of the overpass?

My favorite Hatch quote so far:
Free-riding downloaders are unlikely to become altruistic uploaders, so most filesharing software automates the decision to upload: When used as intended, this software automatically redistributes every file downloaded.

Absolutely no clue.

i find it ironic that the companies that have been sitting back letting us get sued and not stepping up to the plate to help us make changes are the very ones that are going to get burned by this . it would have been better if they would have done something about it when they had a chance if this goes into law they will be spending all their time and money in court . im willing to keep playing p2p craps wonder if they will be

I was considering voting for Kerry this
November, but having read this, I'm planning
to vote all Libertarian and no Democrat or
Republican. Both sides are on the take from
the media companies, and there's not even
one mention from any of the elitist owned
news stations of any of this. It isn't even on
their radar - they and the sheeple who are
blindly marching in lockstep aren't even
aware of the implications this has on their
rights, or technology in general. And Hatch
and Leahy (as well as the other Induce
sponsors) are menaces to Technology who
are demonstarting by their actions that they
want America to go back to the dark ages.

BTW, there's a news item about the Induce
Act on Broadband Reports:

http://www.dslreports.com/shownews/49719

One of the forum mods suggested that Hatch's
picture at the top would be better with horns
and a pitchfork.

jeff, there's the future Supreme Court justices to consider. Having Bush appoint them would be a disaster.

I didn't see anybody but Hatch and Leahy there. I had thought this was full committee. No one else asked any questions.

I would guess their mouths were too full of RIAA supplied Krispy Kremes, Boggieman. To go along with their too full pockets of RIAA supplied cash.

What is so infuriating is that he pontificates from a self annointed pulpit, accusing every user of P2P as a criminal. This is rich for a guy who is on the take from so many special interests, his donor report card is more like a book.

Mitch....aka "Olie", as Code depicts him in Parody, Hatch and Leahy all seemed very anxious to pass this thing like "NOW". Going by what I saw, these three are very much "partners".

"I would guess their mouths were too full of RIAA supplied Krispy Kremes, Boggieman. To go along with their too full pockets of RIAA supplied cash."

Lobbying is nothing but legalized corruption. I still don't understand how it found its way to the US political system. Sadly it is also trying to get a place in the sun at Bruxelles (European parlement).

There are days like this one where I feel hopeless. I'm really not sure we can stop anything. Maybe the site should have an action center like the EFF does ?

IICA (INDUCE) has powerful enemies in the house.

I think the senate is bought..

However.. there will be extreme pressure on it in the house.

I seriously doubt it will be passed in its current form. It will likely be thoroughly defanged if it passes at all.

Then it can be suspended for a long period by a single challenge to its constitutionality.

It will be bitterly fought in court and struck down if need be.

In a way i hope it passes, and turns the USA into a tech backwater.
The weaker the US economy.. the more likely we will fall to foreign pressures and be deposed.

The USA is truly corrupt. I do not want to see it remain in power.

This law may be the least damaging way to undermine US political and economic power.

"Then it can be suspended for a long period by a single challenge to its constitutionality."

You don't know what you are talking about.

even tho I see your point and do feel the same pain, awehr, please watch your "tone" because even tho the American government may be corrupted by the corporations, the PEOPLE are NOT (yet)

USA is STILL the best place in the world.
(We just need to clean house or risk NOT being the best)

"USA is STILL the best place in the world."

Arguably...

even tho I see your point and do feel the same pain, awehr, please watch your "tone" because even tho the American government may be corrupted by the corporations, the PEOPLE are NOT (yet)


I'm sorry i have to disagree.

The minority may not be, but the majority are.

If they are not guilty of shallow egotism and cruelty than they are guilty of applying severe ignorance.

All those transgressions, in my book, are equally evil.

Blindness in the american population is usually by choice by the time you are 30.

Enough people will try to tell you otherwise before you reach that age.

there is no excuse for those who put their head in the sand.
Perhapse its time for a rude awakening, even if at the expense of those who are already conscious.

I posted this to the action ideas forum but I'm reposting it here to generate awareness.

Drokaten

Subject: Lets enlist Michael Moore
Date: July 23, 2004 @ 3:36 AM
I'm sending a couple letters to Michael Moore to see if we can enlist him in the cause.

Whether you agree with his politics or not is irrelevant. He's the only director in the industry who's on our side of fair use publicly. Frankly, lets face it - no one can cause a storm in the media better than he can either - we NEED awareness, we need MILLIONS of people to be generating dissent on this topic or they WILL pass it.

I urge each of you - even those who do NOT agree with his politics to send him an e-mail asking for him to speak out against induce.

He's MORE likely to do it if even people that aren't in alignment with his political leanings agree with his stance (our stance) on fair use.

Desperate times require desperate measures and mailing our representatives isn't proving terribly effective with as easily as this bill is progressing.

He could get the word out - and keep the war rolling because this is WHAT he does - takes on big companies and takes the fight to THEM. If you havn't seen his TV series, I recommend viewing the first episode of 'The Aweful Truth' - after how he took Humana HMO's policy apart and got their kidney transplant policy changed while saving a mans life all in one fell swoop - you'll see that disecting the RIAA's very very flimsy policies is exactly what he does best.

As soon as the RIAA jumps on him - LOOK OUT - he'll make a movie and then, WE WIN. 70% of the country easily takes advantage of fair use - they would not be able to withstand the scrutiny of a major motion picture detailing all of their unfair practices in 2 hours Moore style.

here are all his contacts. - sending news about INDCUE to his news address will also help get us in front of the 30,000,000 hits a day his site recieves.

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If you have an idea for Mike's Office of Homeland Security, send your suggestions to homelandsecurity@michaelmoore.com



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Awher - you are right about most people with the "heads in the sand". I speak from experience.

Anytime I mention any of the issues here, people get a look in their eyes, as if I were some "comspiracy nut" who is too paranoid. This is even though I offer proof.

People just do not want to hear that our country can be as bad. They want to go to work, come home, get some leisure time to watch TV, and then bitch about life. Heaven forbid they actually do reasearch and find out how they've been enslaved.

I'd put money that less than 1% of the population are even aware of what's really happening.

Maybe you're right. Maybe America needs a downfall to regain it's sense of self.

PineMikey

Sorry to be so long responding, but just got back online.

To answer your question East, I guess I'm what would commonly be referred to as a Townie, although I moved out of St. John's years ago.

Drokaten

Your post about trying to involve Michael Moore, has a lot of merit. What this movement and this particulat site need is exposure, if you could bring someone of that stature onside, it could give these efforts the kind of boost that would bring the positions and sentiments being expressed here mainstream.

Its certainly worth a try, and one of the better suggestions I've seen so far.

Why stop at Michael Moore, why not try to recruit anyone with a celerity or public status, who could advance the cause

Drokaten, this is a good idea and this site is full of starting point material for whoever would like to put a documentary together, a real gold mine of news and discussions. However, it is still difficult to put "our" fight on the same level as healthcare of the so-called war on terror.

An action center would be a terrific project here as only easy things really appeal to the people. I know it would mean a lot of work and I'm not sure it will ever happen. But it would make a real difference.

Max...yeah..I left home to come to south Texas in 96. I was born and raised in the east end.

I'm one of the Canadian shipbuilding refugees...the industry has been devastated by Government inaction...so I had to go.

I dont think stopping there is a good idea - but I do know for certain that MM has linked negative article relating to INDUCE from his site. There may be many more directors and musicians on the correct side of the issues that won't step up to bat until someone like MM is in front of the pack taking their abuse for them.. no one wants to be blacklisted in hollywood or memphis.

With exposure from MM - there would be a 'protective bubble' for these other supporters to exist within.

Good idea, Drokaten.
We've had no response from Howard Stern. He may be anti-ClearChannel, anti-censorship, and anti-Bush, but he reads commercials on-air for record stores that sell "RIAA" CDs.