thanks for stopping by and inadvertently joining me on my NYC adventures! you can reach me at lizmallbright@gmail.com p.s. tip: click on pictures to make them bigger! var _gaq = _gaq || []; _gaq.push([‘_setAccount’, ‘UA-11777243-2’]); _gaq.push([‘_trackPageview’]); (function() { var ga = document.createElement(‘script’); ga.type = ‘text/javascript’; ga.async = true; ga.src = (‘https:’ == document.location.protocol ? ‘https://ssl’ : ‘http://www’) + ‘.google-analytics.com/ga.js’; var s = document.getElementsByTagName(‘script’)[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(ga, s); })();Tumblr (3.0; @lizallbright)http://lizallbright.tumblr.com/<img src="http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_ly07p3nugm1qznr7uo1_500.png"/><br/><br/><p>There are two bills in Congress right now - the Protect IP Act (PIPA) and the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) - whose outcomes will directly affect you. <em>Please </em>make yourself informed about these bills, and should you feel compelled, take your stance to your Congressional representative. Take advantage of the democracy that we live in, and let your voice be heard!</p> <p>This vote and the implications of these bills are huge for what we can and can’t do on the internet, what sort of regulations websites like Wikipedia and YouTube operate under, and ultimately they will affect internet-based businesses and websites of all kinds.</p> <p>While I don’t often given my political opinions on my blog, I’m making an exception for this. I will absolutely be encouraging my congressmen to vote NO to these bills. As someone who blogs, uses countless internet resources, and more, I do not want to see the online community get censored like this. I am completely against piracy - it damages people’s jobs, their creative rights, etc. - but I don’t think that PIPA and SOPA are the answers to stop piracy and copyright infringement in the form that they’re in right now. It’s not adequate legislation for this purpose, and it’s censorship extends beyond just looking out to protect people’s rights.</p> <p>I am not telling you the opinion to take, you can decide this for yourself, but it is very important to be informed and to voice your opinion, particularly on such huge legislation.</p> <p>Here are a few articles to check out to learn more:</p> <p><em>Forbes </em>- <a href="http://www.forbes.com/sites/larrymagid/2012/01/18/what-are-sopa-and-pipa-and-why-all-the-fuss/" title="What are SOPA & PIPA and why all the fuss?" target="_blank">What are SOPA & PIPA and why all the fuss?</a></p> <p><em>PC World</em> - <a href="http://www.pcworld.com/article/248298/sopa_and_pipa_just_the_facts.html" title="SOPA & PIPA: Just the Facts" target="_blank">SOPA & PIPA: Just the Facts</a></p> <p><em>CNN </em>- <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2012/01/18/tech/sopa-blackouts/index.html" title="Wikipedia, other websites go dark in anti-piracy bill protest " target="_blank">Wikipedia, other websites go dark in anti-piracy bill protest </a></p> <p><em>CNET </em>- <a href="http://news.cnet.com/8301-31921_3-57329001-281/how-sopa-would-affect-you-faq/" title="How SOPA would affect you: FAQ" target="_blank">How SOPA would affect you: FAQ</a></p> <p><em>GIZMODO </em>- <a href="http://gizmodo.com/5877000/what-is-sopa" title="What is SOPA?" target="_blank">What is SOPA?</a></p> <p><em>Picture Credit: <a href="https://www.google.com/landing/takeaction/" target="_blank"><a href="https://www.google.com/landing/takeaction/" target="_blank">https://www.google.com/landing/takeaction/</a></a></em></p>http://lizallbright.tumblr.com/post/16066425357http://lizallbright.tumblr.com/post/16066425357Wed, 18 Jan 2012 12:10:00 -0500