Politics
Entries related to things political.
Why #SOPA Might not be so bad: The Law of Unintended Consequences.
Submitted by Aldon Hynes on Thu, 01/19/2012 - 18:55Yesterday, many websites, including this one, went black to protest the Stop Online Privacy Act, or SOPA. Today, I want to look at it from a different perspective, Why #SOPA Might not be so bad: The Law of Unintended Consequences.
One idea that had had been part of SOPA was DNS blocking. The idea being that if some site was violating copyright law, law enforcement officials could get the names block from DNS. Presumably, this would have been done through the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) and the registrars it accredits.
ICANN is a $60 million business headquartered in California. There have been lots of issues about how it is governed and whether it should be turned over to U.N. control.
One of the things about the Internet is that it was built to adapt to, and route around things that damage it. The DNS provision of SOPA would have encourage more people to find ways of bypassing ICANN. One alternative to ICANN is the OpenNIC project. It is actually pretty easy to change your computer to use OpenNIC.
To the extent the SOPA or related bills would block ports or IP addresses, projects like TOR could help people get around these blocks. TOR has been used when repressive regimes try to block Internet access. If the U.S. joined the community of repressive regimes trying to block Internet access, it would encourage greater innovation in the TOR project and related projects. Such efforts might also encourage people to start adopting IPv6 as another way of getting around blocking.
Then, there are the financial aspects. Blocking people from doing financial transactions with U.S. financial institutions won't stop people from doing financial transactions, it would only cause them to find new ways of doing them. For my friends that want a return to the gold standard, it might encourage people to move towards more forms on online, virtual gold.
The problem with so many of these systems ends up being how trust worthy they are. Can we trust OpenNIC or online gold traders? If the U.S. Government implements draconian measures to protect a small set of large corporations, more people may find they can trust others more than they can trust the U.S., and that might even lead towards the development of better trust models.
Ultimately, Congress' responsibility is "To promote the Progress of Science and useful Arts, by securing for limited Times to Authors and Inventors the exclusive Right to their respective Writings and Discoveries". SOPA and related anti-privacy acts may end up doing that through the law of unintended consequences, not by making sure that authors and inventors get paid, but by encouraging inventors to find ways of bypassing draconian laws.
SLAPP SOPA
Submitted by Aldon Hynes on Sat, 01/14/2012 - 09:42If you follow legal issues, you may have run across the acronym, SLAPP. SLAPP is an abbreviation of 'Strategic lawsuit against public participation'. Wikipedia describes them as lawsuits that are intended to censor, intimidate, and silence critics by burdening them with the cost of a legal defense until they abandon their criticism or opposition. If you have lots of money, you can tie up someone with little money in court and effectively shutdown their criticism or creativity.
To address this, people have sought anti-SLAPP legislation to balance the right of access to the courts and to justice.
What does this have to do with SOPA? SOPA , the Stop Online Privacy Act, and the related bill, PIPA, the Protect IP Act for copyright and other intellectual property holders to fight online privacy. Ideally, this makes a lot of sense. Article 8 of the Constitution grants Congress the power "To promote the Progress of Science and useful Arts, by securing for limited Times to Authors and Inventors the exclusive Right to their respective Writings and Discoveries;"
This brings up the first issue with SOPA. Will it really promote the progress of science and useful arts? One of the concerns with SOPA is that it benefits large corporate entities at the expense of individual creators. When an individual creates a new work of art, making fair use of existing art, will that individual have the same opportunity to shares and profit from their art as large corporations?
If SOPA/PIPA passes, those chances are likely to be diminished. The actions that could be taken against creators of derivative art are draconian and appear to provide major studios a new avenue to SLAPP creative individuals.
So, perhaps in the spirit of the Magna Carta, "To no one will we sell, to no one will we refuse or delay, right or justice", SOPA should be modified to make it a little closer to a level playing field. Perhaps, a penalty for falsely claiming copyright infringement should meet the same punishment as the penalty for infringing on a copyright. If Sony falsely accuses someone of infringing on a copyright, Sony's access to the Web should be blocked. No more Sony websites. If Time Warner falsely accuses someone of infringing on a copyright, they should be banned from selling any of their material. No more Time Warner on iTunes.
So, particularly to any Senators that have spent their careers fighting for consumer rights and for due process, they need to either defeat PIPA or make sure that it is amended so that the ideals of the Constitution and the Magna Carta are properly upheld and that large corporations are not given even more unfair advantages over individuals.
New Hampshire Primary Predictions
Submitted by Aldon Hynes on Mon, 01/09/2012 - 19:21Last week, I posted my Iowa Caucus Predictions, based on the 2004 Democratic Presidential results. So, I thought it would be interesting to take the same methodology and apply it to New Hampshire.
The rich politician with ties to Massachusetts, whom many voted for because of 'electability', Romney this time around and Kerry in 2004, should come in first. Kerry got 38%, so that is the number Romney needs to beat. On the other hand, Kerry got the same amount in New Hampshire as he did in Iowa, so this might be a little tougher for Romney if he does the same.
Coming in second in New Hampshire in 2004 was the populist, Howard Dean. He had an advantage of coming from the neighboring state of Vermont. This year's populist, Ron Paul comes from Texas, so he may have more of a challenge winning the second place slot with 26% of the vote.
In third was the young attractive ideologue, highlighting his working class roots; John Edwards. Like Edwards, Santorum came in second in Iowa and now, it is Santorum who is trying to get "son of a mill worker" cred and come in second. Yet if history is the guide, Santorum may be looking at third place, tied with a candidate who didn't compete in Iowa with strong experience in foreign affairs. In 2004, that was Wesley Clark, who tied Edwards. This time, it could be Jon Huntsman tying Santorum
In 2004, Richard Gephardt withdrew after Iowa after reports of a deal with Edwards. In my previous post, I compared Newt Gingrich with Dick Gephardt. Here, things change a little bit. Gingrich hasn't dropped out yet, and has been going after Santorum after earlier rumors of deals with Santorum. So, for the New Hampshire primary, I'll equate Newt Gingrich with Joe Lieberman, another politician that should have quit much earlier.
Again, I don't really have a parallel for Rick Perry, but perhaps that doesn't really matter. Today, I received a press release from Buddy Roemer who noted that in the latest poll, he was ahead of Rick Perry. It spoke about how with just $300,000 he has outperformed "a $17 million Texas powerhouse".
So, it looks like the Republican 2012 New Hampshire Primary may parallel the 2004 Democratic New Hampshire Primary as well as the two Iowa Caucuses have paralleled each other.
Iowa Caucus Projections
Submitted by Aldon Hynes on Tue, 01/03/2012 - 19:20This afternoon, I stumbled across the Red Barron's Iowa Caucus Predictions. They seemed pretty good, but as I looked at them, I could not help thinking about Iowa in 2004. Based on that, let me come up with my projections:
Romney - 38%
Santorum - 32%
Paul - 18%
Gingrich - 11%
Bachmann - 1%
Okay. It's not perfect. It leaves out Perry and Huntsman. But, for serious politicos, the numbers should look familiar. In 2004, another Massachusetts politician running in the opposition party's caucus got 38% of the vote.
This was followed by a young attractive ideologue whom you have to wonder a bit about. The two of them became the opposition party ticket, so perhaps we will see a Romney/Santorum ticket.
Coming in third was the populist. I have to wonder if Paul will give an enthusiastic speech about going on to New Hamphsire and South Carolina and Nevada and have the mainstream media go after him.
Former House Speaker Gingrich seems like a good stand in for former House Majority Leader Gephardt and Congresswoman Michelle Bachmann may be a good proxy for Congressman Denis Kuchinich.
To complete the parallel, we need to watch out for a State Senator running for U.S. Senate that gets endorsed by Ron Paul and delivers a stunning speech at the Republican Convention. He could become President in 2016 after Obama defeats a Romney/Santorum ticket.
R.I.P. Rich Sivel
Submitted by Aldon Hynes on Thu, 12/29/2011 - 21:36The last time I saw Richard was Detroit in '68
And he told me all romantics meet the same fate...
I sat on a wooden pew in the Hartford Quaker Meeting House. The windows were clear glass and the light illuminated a simple room with white walls and a white ceiling. A little wood work and some light grey curtains did not take away from the simplicity. A fire crackled in a fireplace at the front of the hall as people slowly trickled in.
By my guess, the room could probably hold around 125 people. The space would not be large enough to hold "eight hundred and sixty-two members of the Amalgamated Clothing Workers and Cloth, Hat and Cap Makers' Union", but it needed to find room for Friends from the Quaker Meeting House, Brothers and Sisters from the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Council 4, as well as assorted other friends, family and few progressives of Rich Sivel.
The participants were welcomed and the structure of the meeting was explained. People would speak, as they felt led, and time should be left between comments to ponder what had been said. Neither Kim nor I had been to a Quaker service before, so we sat quietly, waiting.
Yet one of my keen interests has been Group Relations, a school of psychoanalytic thought applied to organizations, growing out of the work of Wilfred Bion and John Rickman. Rickman had been born into a Quaker family, and I found the quite sitting of the memorial service strongly reminiscent of my experiences as Group Relations conferences.
Besides the crackle of the fire, there was assorted coughing, perhaps due in part to the respiratory ailments one often finds in New England winters and perhaps due in part to people sitting uncomfortably with silence at a memorial. This was compounded by the occasional rustling of papers and babies crying at one end or the room or another.
As I sat there, I thought about what I would write in my blog, and whether or not I would have anything to say. It seems strange to blog memorial services, but it seems like many good friends have died and that it is important for me to write my remembrances.
I didn't know Rich all that well, but we had many common interests, particularly around communications about progressive causes. Checking on Facebook, I find one message from Rich:
It was good to see you the other night at Common Cause!
Are you interested in doing some live blogging from the Wesleyan Anti-war conference on 4/12? And/or perhaps interviewing former Brig. General Janis Karpinski, who will be the keynote speaker, to generate some advance publicity?
With that, it only seems appropriate that I blog about his memorial service.
Eventually, close friends of Rich started speaking. They told stories of his great smile, his fierce pacifism, is intellectual brilliance, his love of his family, and his heart. It was his heart that failed him and took him too early from us.
The service ended with everyone signing "When I'm Gone" by Phil Ochs; "So I guess I'll have to do it while I'm here", and we headed downstairs.
It was the typical reception after a memorial service, though it reflected some of Rich's influence. I spoke with labor organizers and peace activists; friends I had met through various political campaigns. I spoke with a couple noted politicians about their current or potentially upcoming coming campaigns. Yeah, it seemed an appropriate homage to Rich, "So I guess I'll have to do it while I'm here".
Memorial services can be sad, dreary events, and everyone I know is deeply saddened by Rich's death. Yet there was an undercurrent of hope, as people spoke about troops leaving Iraq, the occupy movement, and social justice.
There was the story of Rich's new grandchild playing the role of the infant Jesus in the Christmas pageant and is eager awaiting for the arrival of the infant. There was the story of the close friend who saw a hawk the day Rich died and felt a sense of the closeness of Rich's spirit.
At the Christmas Eve service I attended, there was the story of the struggling monastery that became revitalized when they were told that the Messiah was amongst them, and they started looking for signs of the Messiah in the people around them. Whether we are looking for signs of The Prince of Peace amongst us, or signs of a great man who worked hard for peace, we would all be better off if we could find more signs of such spirits amongst us.
