It is all about control. It is happening all over the world. As more and more countries join the democratic bandwagon so they seek to control the average Joe more and more. And the scarey thing is, they are winning.
The paranoid antics of the American presidency and his underlings that everyone bar them themselves is a criminal is seeping into the minds of the European powers that be. As that bandwagon rolls on we are seeing more and more organisations with vested interests in various things cow towing to their masters by bringing in more and more draconian messures designed to stop you, the average Joe, from doing what you want to do.
Witness the crazy antics of the RIAA and MPAA in the United States of America. Witness the IFPA's antics in the European Union. Witness the lawmakers antics in any arbitry 'Western style' country. The music and movie industry is seeking to control what you, the average Joe, can and cannot do on the Internet. What you can and cannot show on the Internet. They are acting as feeders for lawmakers who themselves will bring into Law those very same ideals. In the U.S.A. they have something called 'fair use' but they are seeking to break that down. In Europe most countries have no 'fair use' policy but it has been accepted in most countries that copying once is acceptable. Actually, it was long ago deemed unpolicable. However, fast forward to today and we have the Internet which is policable and they are seeking to police what you, the average Joe can and cannot do on the Internet.
A potted version of my views from my Internet days goes something like this: I have been 'on' the Internet since the time before it was labled the Internet. Back then I used a dialup modem to connect to the local university. All text mode only, jumping from machine to machine via telnet. While the whole thing was good and exciting no-one had any idea how much nor how fast it would grow. But it did grow and fast. The Internet was born. Even then, in the early days, no-one cared (much?) what ordinary, your average Joe, was creating or doing on the Internet. Then along came WWW and with it a sense of something great. Still no-one cared (much?) what anyone was doing on it. Technical people built web sites. Some great, some decidedly average, others were rubbish. But, the whole point of it was not lost on technophiles. It grew and grew and grew. Until it grew too large for governments to ignore. Now we are at the stage were governments want to stifle innovation from your average Joe and at the same time lable them criminals.
Behind the government we have organisations who have vested interests in various things so they too much seek to kill off various parts on the wider internet. Enter stage left all the arms of the music and movie industries. Enter stage right all the patent holders who are seeking nothing less than to strangle anyone or anything within their sights.
Today we have an Internet that is open to all. From the all powerful governments to little Miss Mayweather who sat in her bedroom with a computer, an ADSL connection to her ISP and some software to create web sites, creating web sites that within 5 years will see her captured in the dragnet and hauled off to jail for doing nothing more nor less than various organisations and ordinary people have been doing for the last 7 to 8 years and that is creating a web site that pays homage to her favourite music and movie stars.
It is all about control and control you they will.
The paranoid antics of the American presidency and his underlings that everyone bar them themselves is a criminal is seeping into the minds of the European powers that be. As that bandwagon rolls on we are seeing more and more organisations with vested interests in various things cow towing to their masters by bringing in more and more draconian messures designed to stop you, the average Joe, from doing what you want to do.
Witness the crazy antics of the RIAA and MPAA in the United States of America. Witness the IFPA's antics in the European Union. Witness the lawmakers antics in any arbitry 'Western style' country. The music and movie industry is seeking to control what you, the average Joe, can and cannot do on the Internet. What you can and cannot show on the Internet. They are acting as feeders for lawmakers who themselves will bring into Law those very same ideals. In the U.S.A. they have something called 'fair use' but they are seeking to break that down. In Europe most countries have no 'fair use' policy but it has been accepted in most countries that copying once is acceptable. Actually, it was long ago deemed unpolicable. However, fast forward to today and we have the Internet which is policable and they are seeking to police what you, the average Joe can and cannot do on the Internet.
A potted version of my views from my Internet days goes something like this: I have been 'on' the Internet since the time before it was labled the Internet. Back then I used a dialup modem to connect to the local university. All text mode only, jumping from machine to machine via telnet. While the whole thing was good and exciting no-one had any idea how much nor how fast it would grow. But it did grow and fast. The Internet was born. Even then, in the early days, no-one cared (much?) what ordinary, your average Joe, was creating or doing on the Internet. Then along came WWW and with it a sense of something great. Still no-one cared (much?) what anyone was doing on it. Technical people built web sites. Some great, some decidedly average, others were rubbish. But, the whole point of it was not lost on technophiles. It grew and grew and grew. Until it grew too large for governments to ignore. Now we are at the stage were governments want to stifle innovation from your average Joe and at the same time lable them criminals.
Behind the government we have organisations who have vested interests in various things so they too much seek to kill off various parts on the wider internet. Enter stage left all the arms of the music and movie industries. Enter stage right all the patent holders who are seeking nothing less than to strangle anyone or anything within their sights.
Today we have an Internet that is open to all. From the all powerful governments to little Miss Mayweather who sat in her bedroom with a computer, an ADSL connection to her ISP and some software to create web sites, creating web sites that within 5 years will see her captured in the dragnet and hauled off to jail for doing nothing more nor less than various organisations and ordinary people have been doing for the last 7 to 8 years and that is creating a web site that pays homage to her favourite music and movie stars.
It is all about control and control you they will.
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