Friday Reads
Posted: January 20, 2012 Filed under: morning reads | Tags: equal protection, FBI sting on copy right infringement, Republican spending plans increase deficit, SOPA 48 Comments
Good Morning!
I’m still sick so that’s why I’ve not been around much this week.. That flu led to a secondary infection and I’m really sick now. I’m trying to negotiate the world of Health Care with no Insurance at the moment. It’s awful. This put me in the hospital last year when I had insurance. Now, after a shot and some horse pills, I’m trying to improve on my own.
The Justice Department has moved against a file-sharing site just one day after the SOPA protests. Interesting timing, isn’t it?
The Justice Department seized Megaupload.com, one of the world’s most popular file-sharing sites, and several of its related sites on Thursday.
Prosecutors charged seven employees of Megaupload with criminal copyright infringement, conspiracy to commit racketeering and other charges.
Each faces up to 55 years in prison.
Megaupload, which operates sites such as Megavideo.com and Megapix.com, claimed to receive 50 million daily visitors, accounting for 4 percent of total Internet traffic. According to court documents, Megavideo.com was the world’s 52nd most frequently visited website.
The crackdown comes just one day after a massive Web protest against legislation to expand the power of law enforcement and copyright holders to go after infringing websites.
Prosecutors accuse Megaupload’s owners of generating more than $175 million in criminal proceeds and more than half a billion dollars in harm to copyright owners.
The authorities seized 18 domain names related to Megaupload and $50 million in assets.
New Zealand police arrested four of the alleged Megaupload employees in New Zealand on Thursday at the request of U.S. officials. Three of the alleged employees remain at large.
The NYT has some interesting details about the company.
According to a grand jury indictment, Megaupload — one of the most popular “locker” services on the Internet, which lets users anonymously transfer large files — generated $175 million in income for its operators through subscription fees and advertising, while causing $500 million in damages to copyright holders.
Four of the seven people, including the site’s founder Kim Dotcom, born Kim Schmitz, have been arrested in New Zealand, the Justice Department and Federal Bureau of Investigation said on Thursday; the three others remain at large. The seven — who a grand jury indictment calls part of a “Mega Conspiracy” — have been charged with five counts of copyright infringement and conspiracy, the authorities said.
The charges, which the government agencies said represented “among the largest criminal copyright cases ever brought by the United States,” come at a charged time, a day after online protests against a pair of antipiracy bills being considered by Congress — the Stop Online Piracy Act, or SOPA, in the House, and the Protect I.P. Act, or PIPA, in the Senate.
In response to the arrests, the hacker collective known as Anonymous said it had taken down the Web sites of the Justice Department,the Motion Picture Association of America, and the Recording Industry Association of America. All three sites were inaccessible late Thursday afternoon.
I got a really good laugh out of this James Kwak post responding to news of big spending Republicans at the NYT. All the spending proposals of the Republican candidates for president will increase the deficit. Most of them are the usual huge tax cuts for megawealthy “job creators”. Romney himself would be a big beneficiary of Gingrich’s plan.
The tax cuts proposed by the Republicans would more than wipe out the budget-balancing effects of the cuts that were agreed to as part of the compromise that was ultimately reached last summer to raise the debt ceiling. One part of that compromise called for a series of automatic cuts to begin next year with the goal of reducing the deficit by $1.2 trillion over a decade — cuts that some members of Congress are trying to avert on the grounds that they are too onerous. The Tax Policy Center has calculated that by extending the Bush tax cuts, Mr. Romney’s tax plan would add $1.2 trillion to the deficit in just two years. The tax plans offered by Mr. Gingrich and former Senator Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania would add more than that to the deficit in just one year, the center found.
“The amounts of revenue loss we’re talking about in one year is the kind of thing we’re used to seeing over a decade,” said Roberton Williams, an analyst at the Tax Policy Center.
Experts from across the spectrum acknowledge that the Republican tax proposals would benefit the wealthiest the most. Polls have repeatedly shown that a majority of Americans favor raising taxes on households earning more than $1 million a year to reduce the deficit
Kwak-writing at baseline scenario called his response the “Department of Duh” and had these figures. So, who is the fiscal conservative, hmmmm?
Surprise, all the Republican candidates’ tax plans increase the national deficit! The numbers(reduction in 2015 tax revenues, from the Tax Policy Center):
- Romney: $600 billion
- Gingrich: $1.3 trillion
- (Late lamented) Perry: $1.0 trillion
- Santorum: $1.3 trillion
I guess that makes Romney the “fiscally responsible” choice, at least among the Republicans. But President Obama’s tax proposals would only reduce 2015 tax revenues by $222 billion. (That’s $385 billion in Table S-4 less $163 billion in Table S-3.)
Second surprise: The big winners in all of these tax plans are the rich! (That’s not just in dollars, but in percentage increase in after-tax income.)
Leave it to Nebraska to try to figure out a way to deny sexual preference status as a protected class. This would deny legal protection against all kinds of things for members of the GLBT community in that state. Religionists are interested in being exempted from civil rights legislation and would like to freely discriminate based on sexual orientation.
A new debate is brewing at Omaha City Hall and in the State Capitol over who can qualify as a “protected class” under discrimination laws.
City Councilman Ben Gray says he plans to place a measure to ban discrimination against homosexual and transgender people on the council’s agenda — as early as the end of the month or by late February.
But an Omaha state senator wants to bar cities and local governments from unilaterally creating such protected classes. Instead, the bill would grant such authority solely to the state.
The conflicting proposals are likely to reignite debate about more than a municipality’s rights. The conversation will center on sexual orientation, the rights of private enterprise, religion and civil rights.
Local business groups and religious-based organizations were pitted against a cadre of supporters of the anti-discrimination ordinance during Gray’s first attempt to place a similar measure on city books in 2010.
State and federal governments and the court system continue to wrangle with such issues. The U.S. Supreme Court last week upheld a “ministerial exception” to employment discrimination laws, a move that would often clear religious institutions to dismiss their leaders with legal impunity.
In the Legislature, State Sen. Beau McCoy’s Legislative Bill 912 would amend state law to prohibit local governments from creating new classes of residents protected from discrimination.
Such changes could only come from the Legislature, the proposed law says.
“It just merely says that if we’re going to change the protected classes … we need to come to the Capitol to do it so that it’s consistent across the state,” McCoy said. “If it’s the right thing to do, it ought to be the right thing to do border-to-border, not just in one city or municipality.”
In Omaha, Gray said he knows of gay or transgender people who have left the city “because they saw it as an unfriendly place towards them.”
“I’ve seen enough smoke that I think there’s a fire,” Gray said. “If we have a segment of our community that is not enjoying those freedoms, or are in fear of not enjoying those freedoms, government has an obligation to act.”
It’s nice to know there are a few reasonable people left in government there. Nebraska is also in the limelight over the Keystone Pipe line decision made by President Obama. The governor believes the president made a mistake. Interestingly enough, it was the complaints of Nebraska officials that put the project on hold. Partisan politics any one?
Nebraska’s Republican Gov. Dave Heineman, whose state is a key part of the Keystone XL oil pipeline debate, expressed his disappointment with the final decision the Obama administration made yesterday to kill the project.
“I want to say I’m very disappointed,” Heineman told POLITICO. “I think the president made a mistake.”
“Really what he was saying in denying the permit was ‘no’ to American jobs and ‘yes’ to a greater dependence on Middle Eastern oil,” he said. “We want to put America back to work.”
The White House has used Heineman as political cover in the fight, pointing to the fact that the original route approved by the State Department was opposed by Heineman for ecological reasons. He said that his Legislature and his administration were working to get the final approvals in place and that the State Department should have approved conditionally while Nebraska worked out the final route. The company seeking to build the pipeline, TransCanada, was perfectly willing to begin construction at either end and finish in Nebraska, according to Heineman.
The administration pushed back yesterday that Heineman’s suggestion was wise but wouldn’t elaborate on whether it was legally possible to grant such a conditional approval.
Somebody must’ve gotten to the governor. It certainly wasn’t the farming community.
So, that’s it for me today. What’s on you reading and blogging list?
peej
Carissa
bostonboomer
ecocatwoman
mablue2
Mama Lopez
peggysue22
quixote
skydancingguestblogger
Mona (aka Wonk the Vote)
Sky Dancing 
Sorry to hear you are sick, dak.
But did we just hear the demise of the “family values” crowd who stood and applauded Newt Gingrich’s multiple infidelities?
The same crowd who shudders at the idea of gay marriage but sends out cheers when it comes to “open marriage”?
Does nothing count these days? Herman Cain got thrown off the stage for groping every female in sight but Newt gets cheered for changing partners whenever it suits him?
Perhaps I am living in a different universe than these people but I once believed that some form of integrity counted when seeking the highest office in the land.
Guess not.
As long as you’re a Republican, you’re considered pure as the driven snow, but if you’re a Democrat you’re pure evil according to these freaks.
“Freaks” is correct when describing this mob.
Dak, please take care of yourself, we don’t want you back in the hospital!
How are you feeling, Minx?
Sore and bruised…but thankfully not broken. I was lucky, it could have been worse.
Dak, are you seeing any improvement?
I am still paying for the last time and I had health insurance then. I am on the heal or die quickly plan now.
Take care of yourself and get well soon!
Yes, please take care, Dak.
I am sure trying.
Etta james passed.
I just heard. RIP, Etta.
The first one is the only option. Hugs and healing.
PIPA bill delayed in Senate, as more Senators withdraw support.
I hope they kill this thing for good. The MPIA/RPIA are running TV commercials for it, trying to drum up support.
Dak and Minx get better soon. please!!
also I love this post,Dak. 🙂
Go Newt, In the PPP Jan 18 poll of Texas, Obama beats Newt and was 1 point behind Perry.
Click to access PPP_Release_TX_0118.pdf
It’s closer than I would have expected for Romney as well.
Tomorrow night should be interesting. If Newt wins or comes really close to Mitt, it will be fun to watch.
I hope you are right, but……..
I am reading some comments actually praising Newt and defending his past actions if you can believe it.
No need to be a Repub or a Dem to see that this guy is unstable, corrupt, and a detriment to this country but there it is. So many hate and despise Obama that they are willing to overlook Newtie’s issues even when it flies in the face of logic.
A lying, cheating, sexist, homophobic, racist bully, this guy should never be where he is in the primary let alone a serious contender for the nomination.
But the Obama hate is so palpable for some that even Newt looks acceptable. Which just goes to show you can never depend upon the voter to actually use any form of critical thinking when it comes to electing a POTUS.
And some of these positive comments are coming from women so go figure.
Newt is more than acceptable to them. To many, he’s preferred because they think he’ll really hurt Obama in debates. Obama hatred on this level is irrational at best and flat out crazy otherwise.
As far as I can see Newter went from about 20% in the polls to nearly-35% overnight after that debate performance a few days ago when he used every racist dogwhistle and out-and-out whistle he could manage.
Based on that correlation, I’d bet he simply got SC’s racists energized. Which isn’t to say he won’t win SC because of it, but it may not play as well in states with more people and less comfort with out-in-plain-sight racism.
it’s funny, watching the Repubs shrug off their “core values” when it gives them a Newter-size outlet for their distempered resentments. Not funny as in “haha.” Funny as in “e-e-e-w-w-w-w-w.”
RIP Etta James.
Thank you for letting us know Dakota.
Obama Administration Approves Rule That Guarantees Near-Universal Contraceptive Coverage
I like Obama better when he’s in campaign mode.
Well said. Me too.
And just to keep it all in perspective, here’s ralph’s and my own favorite, Charles Pierce ,weighing in:
http://www.esquire.com/blogs/politics/gop-debate-south-carolina-6641865?click=pp
Not to be read while drinking anything liquid btw.
That’s the best description of the debacle I’ve seen anywhere. 🙂
I’ve been waiting for his take on the debate, his twitter messages where hilarious last night.
Penn State to pay former assistants $4 million in severance
Wow…
Jon Stewart: ‘Can Newt Gingrich Be Reclassified As A Pollutant?’
http://2012.talkingpointsmemo.com/2012/01/jon-stewart-can-newt-gingrich-be-reclassified-as-a-pollutant.php?ref=fpnewsfeed
Mitt should have brought this up last night: Romney calls on Gingrich to release ethics violation report | World news | guardian.co.uk
That would have been a very good idea.
Oops, it turns out the report is already in the public record.
That’s a big oops… That Jon Stewart bit was great!
Gallup: Romney Support ‘Collapsing’ Nationally
http://2012.talkingpointsmemo.com/2012/01/gallup-romney-support-collapsing-nationally.php?ref=fpnewsfeed
If this continues, the race is wide open again.
Interesting that 0bama jumped up to do “something” after his buddies in Hollywood expressed concern over the failure of SOPA being shelved — hid Hollywood buddies threaten to withdraw their money.
So 0bowma jumps and does something.
I’ve never heard of this company — amazing what word of mouth can do.
The point is Hollywood fat cats spoke out and today we see action from the ONE. Oh wow — goes to show what can be done if one has a ton of money.
Well is seems that the US Feds have stolen personal files that individuals stored on the Megaupload website. I’ve always been uncomfortable about backing up my computer files in free or even pay for Cloud storage.
So it seems that in closing down this megaupload.com company — a lot of people have been harmed.
http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/print/9223591/What_Megaupload_s_Demise_Teaches_about_Cloud_Storage
I’ve been hanging around computers since the late 1970s, the Bad Old Days when you wouldn’t dream of assuming a file that was here today would be here tomorrow. Computers, networks, disks, power supplies, anything could and did fail without notice. You always had three backups of everything. Things are way more reliable now, but, hey, stuff still happens.
Then, when the cloud came along with all its fine print about the owner owning your data and no legal recourse, I couldn’t believe people just blithely put their lives on these clouds and ignored all that. It’s a disaster waiting to happen. Megaupload isn’t even the first example. It’s just the biggest recent one.
We desperately need data ownership and privacy rights in law.
Instead, we’re given a SOP(A).
People don’t read the fine print, even if it’s pointed out to them. There are essentially two choices, either blame the cloud (which is not helpful because they are moving as fast as they can) or blame clueless users who are now surprised.
Wonder how many of those personal files were ripped off movies or music put out there for others to download? Probably a great many of them so, if they were harmed, too bad that’s the point.
The lessons seems to be — Never rip off the 1% — Look at all the jail time the owners of Megaupload.com could get — if convicted. Meanwhile the Goldman sucks guys get their bonuses — and mega bucks.
However — the 1% gets a Prez pardon for ripping off the 99%.
The 1% stole billions from us — proven — the money is gone and in the pockets of the 1%.
Now for the dumb folk who trusted the Cloud storage — remember folks — free isn’t necessarily “free”. The 1% gets a free ride but not the 99%.
I can top that. I’ve been hanging around computer since 1965. In those days, they were the size of a small room.
Weren’t punch cards fun? And Job Control Language. Do *not* get me started on JCL. (I never did get the hang of it.)
You could live out on semi colon and get 40 Green bar pages of errors.
Punch cards and then paper tape!
Hollywood controlling the WH.now 😡
And, for everyone to ponder…from the man doesn’t tea bag a woman, he potato sacks them…Chuck Norris reveals his choice for Republican nomination
My endorsement for president
He may have the heart of a conservative reformer, but he has the penis of a philandering egomaniac bastard.
(And I know it was a tasteless joke, but I am sure Newt would appreciate it.)
Ugh!
Clear and present moral fortitude? Chuck is smoking something good.
Meanwhile the war on women continues.
http://shakespearessister.blogspot.com/2012/01/quote-of-day_20.html
State sponsored terrorism.
Thanks to the Republicans & Democrats & Supreme court.