Weekend Quencher 01/21/12 – Stand Against SOPA, PIPA, Edition

The Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) and Stop Internet Piracy Act (PIPA), have caused quite a stir around the internet because of the nature of the bills. Said bills would change the internet as we know it, but because of vigorous Washington lobbying, and a massive protest staged all over the internet on Wednesday, with media giants like Wikipedia and Google participating, both bills have stalled. This, however, does not mean we should let up the pressure. Let’s keep the rage on, folks, we’re standing against SOPA and PIPA all this weekend, all year, if necessary.

The bills would try to regulate the internet to stop the bleeding of millions of dollars from Major Hollywood firms, who say illegal file-sharing sites have collectively robbed them of over $500 million, prompting the feds to shutdown MegaDownload yesterday. Senate democrat Harry Reid, sponsor of SOPA, has postponed indefinitely a vote on the bill, saying in a statement negotiators must “forge a balance between protecting American’s intellectual property, and maintaining openness and innovation on the Internet.”

So here we are, trying to protect the internet and its freedom, not wanting to have the feds breathing down our throats every time we embed a YouTube vid on here because of copyright claims. It would, in every sense of the word, break the internet as we know it. Let’s keep hope alive. Be sure to keep the pressure on your local government officials and even call your congressman/woman if you have to. The fight isn’t over.

As for the weekend, I’ll be at some meetings today, after that, I’ll be going to the movies to see something (I have no idea what it is), and of course I’ll be gaming. Just got a brand new headset, by the way

What about you, friends? What are you up to? Have a blessed weekend!