Friday, December 16, 2011
SOPA is China-style censorship say Google, Twitter, eBay
Nine Internet godfathers have taken out full-page ads in the New York Times, saying SOPA is an offer they will refuse. Founders of giants like Yahoo, eBay, Google and Netscape claim the bill will “undermine the framework” of free expression.
The bill is intended to crack down on websites operating outsidethe United States. If passed, the legislation would allow the US government to shut down any site illegally hosting copyrighted content. Lawmakers behind the Stop Online Piracy Act say it would deal a blow to online pirates and producers of counterfeit brand products like designer fashion items or medicine.
But the signatories, who include top men and women from services like Wikipedia, PayPal, Flickr, LinkedIn and YouTube, believe that online services would be required to monitor what users link to and upload, which would have a "chilling effect on innovation."
They also insist that the bill would give Washington Internet censorship rights similar to “China, Malaysia and Iran” and are urging Congress not to risk the “tremendous benefits the Internet has brought to hundreds of millions of Americans and people around the world.” And it seems their collective voice is being heard, as both Democrats and Republicans in the US have decided to oppose the bill. From Ron Paul to Nancy Pelosi, more and more politicians are adopting an anti-SOPA stance.
However, many support the act, with the US entertainment industry being the strongest lobbyist for SOPA. An unprecedented coalition of major entertainment unions, guilds, studios and networks want the government to act against what it labels “digital theft”. Giants like Viacom, Disney and TimeWarner have all pledged their support for SOPA – but many are very skeptical about this, with weblogs pointing out the almost-threatening tone of messages leaked from Viacom and NBC, urging partners to support SOPA in rather direct language.
An NBC email leaked by TechDirt claims that withholding support for this legislative act could “adversely affect our business relations” with their partners. Viacom has taken the idea even further, releasing an anti-piracy video with employees begging to keep their jobs. It gets to the point where someone actually claims that if you don’t buy Viacom product, Spongebob may cease to exist. And the video, of course, was NOT posted on YouTube (whom Viacom is suing for $1 billion), where it would be free, but on the company’s website, where it’s costing Viacom’s bandwidth. The main message: “free” is equated to “stealing”; piracy costs people money and jobs. Except for Viacom’s CEO, who made $84 million in 2010.
Barbara Walters scoop: Herman Cain wants to be SecDef!
Herman Cain could see himself as Defense secretary, the ex-GOP presidential candidate told Barbara Walters during an interview for her program, '10 Most Fascinating People of 2011.' He's been reading up. Barbara Walters' show, “The 10 Most Fascinating People of 2011,” aired Wednesday night, if you haven’t heard. One of her picks was Herman Cain, the ex-Godfather’s Pizza chief who flamed out of the GOP presidential race amid continued allegations of sexual misconduct. Though it started off slow, Ms. Walter’s interview produced something of a scoop: Asked which Cabinet post he’d like, Mr. Cain said he could see himself being secretary of Defense.
“If I could influence the rebuilding of our military in the way it should be, that would be a task I would consider,” said Cain.
RECOMMENDED: Herman Cain speaks out: His seven most memorable one-liners
Walters reacted with disbelief. This is the same Herman Cain, after all, who previously did not appear to know that China already possesses nuclear weapons. Then there was that time his tongue tied itself in knots when he was asked whether he approved of President Obama’s Libya policy.
Walters resurrected the Libya snafu, then pointed out that a SecDef is expected to know the names of the other countries in the world.
“Yes, but I have been doing my homework ever since that difficulty,” said a smiling Cain.
U.S. War in Iraq Declared Officially Over
BAGHDAD — The United States military officially declared an end to its mission in Iraq on Thursday even as violence continues to plague the country and the Muslim world remains distrustful of American power. In a fortified concrete courtyard at the airport in Baghdad, Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta thanked the more than one million American service members who have served in Iraq for “the remarkable progress” made over the past nine years but acknowledged the severe challenges that face the struggling democracy.
“Let me be clear: Iraq will be tested in the days ahead — by terrorism, and by those who would seek to divide, by economic and social issues, by the demands of democracy itself,” Mr. Panetta said. “Challenges remain, but the U.S. will be there to stand by the Iraqi people as they navigate those challenges to build a stronger and more prosperous nation.”
The muted ceremony stood in contrast to the start of the war in 2003 when an America both frightened and emboldened by the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, sent columns of tanks north from Kuwait to overthrow Saddam Hussein.
As of last Friday, the war in Iraq had claimed 4,487 American lives, with another 32,226 Americans wounded in action, according to Pentagon statistics.
The tenor of the hour-long farewell ceremony, officially called "Casing the Colors,” was likely to sound an uncertain trumpet for a war that was started to rid Iraq of weapons of mass destruction it did not have. It now ends without the sizable, enduring American military presence for which many military officers had hoped.
Although Thursday's ceremony marked the end of the war, the military still has two bases in Iraq and roughly 4,000 troops, including several hundred who attended the ceremony. At the height of the war in 2007, there were 505 bases and more than 170,000 troops.
According to military officials, the remaining troops are still being attacked on a daily basis, mainly by indirect fire attacks on the bases and road side bomb explosions against convoys heading south through Iraq to bases in Kuwait.
Even after the last two bases are closed and the final American combat troops withdraw from Iraq by Dec. 31, under rules of an agreement with the government in Baghdad, a few hundred military personnel and Pentagon civilians will remain, working within the American Embassy as part of an Office of Security Cooperation to assist in arms sales and training.
But negotiations could resume next year on whether additional American military personnel can return to further assist their Iraqi counterparts.
Senior American military officers have made no secret that they see crucial gaps in Iraq's ability to defend its sovereign soil and even to secure its oil platforms offshore in the Persian Gulf. Air defenses are seen as a critical gap in Iraqi capabilities, but American military officers also see significant shortcomings in Iraq's ability to sustain a military, whether moving food and fuel or servicing the armored vehicles it is inheriting from Americans or the fighter jets it is buying, and has shortfalls in military engineers, artillery and intelligence, as well.
"From a standpoint of being able to defend against an external threat, they have very limited to little capability, quite frankly," Gen. Lloyd J. Austin III, the outgoing American commander in Iraq, said in an interview after the ceremony. "In order to defend against a determined enemy, they will need to do some work."
The tenuous security atmosphere in Iraq was underscored by helicopters that hovered over the ceremony, scanning the ground for rocket attacks. Although there is far less violence across Iraq than at the height of the sectarian conflict in 2006 and 2007, there are bombings on a nearly daily basis and Americans remain a target of Shiite militants.
Mr. Panetta acknowledged that “the cost was high — in blood and treasure of the United States, and also for the Iraqi people. But those lives have not been lost in vain — they gave birth to an independent, free and sovereign Iraq.”
The war was started by the Bush administration in March 2003 on arguments that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction and had ties to Al Qaeda that might grow to an alliance threatening the United States with a mass-casualty terrorist attack.
Are the Clippers contenders for the 2012 NBA championship?
J.A. Adande, ESPN.com: No way. The Western Conference isn't going to get caught up watching those CP3-to-Griffin lobs. The Clippers need to experience the pain of a playoff loss -- or losses -- before they are ready to challenge for a title. That's the way it works in the NBA.
Marc Stein, ESPN.com: No. Not without a better bench and another quality big man. Not until they actually have some time to mesh and taste the experience of a deep playoff run, too. But they've already snagged the title of Most Watchable Team in the NBA on this scorecard ... before a single lob is thrown.
Tim Legler, ESPN: Yes. To me, "contender" means top four in your conference. The Clippers can get there this year if their core stays healthy. With a point guard like Paul leading them on the floor, a star scorer and rebounder like Griffin, a young dynamic center in Jordan, and veteran additions like Chauncey Billups and Caron Butler, the Clippers window of opportunity starts now!
Ric Bucher, ESPN The Magazine: No. Defense remains a vital component to playing for titles and the Clippers don't have a single player who can dominate his position defensively. They're going to be better, not among the best.
Beckley Mason, HoopSpeak: No. This team might have a championship level offense next year, but I still thing their young frontcourt has too far to come defensively for them to reach the Finals. Also, I simply can't fathom a world in which Vinny Del Negro coaches the best team in the league.
Daniel Nowell, Magic Basketball: Yes. They're not the best team in the West, and not a sure bet for a deep playoff run, but they have more than a puncher's chance against any team in the league with Paul's savvy and the talent around him. That's called contending.
Arash Markazi, ESPN Los Angeles: No. The Clippers are a good playoff team. They have four point guards and very little depth on the front line right now. When you take into account players like Chris Paul, Caron Butler and Blake Griffin have missed significant time due to injury during their careers you can't expect their starting lineup, as stacked as it looks, not to get hit during a condensed season.
VOICE OF THE FAN (via Google+)
Jose Roberto Zaracho Zarate: In my opinion they're not yet. Even the Miami Big 3 and the Knicks with Melo, Amare and Chauncey couldn't win a ring in the first season they got together. So I don't think the Clips could get it done this season. There's a high-risk on Butler getting injured for a long time again this season.
Scoop Jackson, ESPN.com: No. They have to figure out (the always omnipresent and obligatory): Who's team this is? They are still in need of a defensive specialist/stopper for series against Dallas, the Lakers and Thunder. As long as they play in those hideous scripted lettered unis, they can never be taken seriously.
Tom Haberstroh, Heat Index: Yes. Remember: the Clippers aren't done dealing. With a glut of point guards, they can upgrade at the 2 by the trade deadline (Eric Bledsoe for J.J. Redick?). Also: did anyone predict the Mavericks would win it all before playoffs started? No, but was it seen as possible? Same goes for Lob City.
Jeremy Schmidt, Bucksketball: No. If a team isn't jam packed with stars, and despite Paul's addition, the Clippers still only have two, they better have the chemistry of the Dallas Mavericks last season. The Clippers don't have enough experience playing together to make up for their lack of a third star. And a 66-game schedule won't give them enough time to gel.
Andrew Kamenetzky, ESPN Los Angeles: No. Too many good teams in the West and too many question marks, including how Blake Griffin will perform in his first postseason. But, I bet they'll be a scary draw.
Brian Kamenetzky, ESPN Los Angeles: Yes, but on the fringes and thanks to flexibility in acquiring more pieces. Right now they're a solid playoff team with potential for more. But think what it means to even ask the question for a feature not attached to an article in The Onion. Incredible moment for the Clippers.
VOICE OF THE FAN (via Google+)
Ethan Conway: The Clippers will be able to contend this year. I think they are comparable to the Bulls last year. You have a top-five point guard, an All-Star power forward in Griffin (who by the way is better than Boozer and still hasn't reached his ceiling), a good all-around center, a playmaking small forward, and veteran talent off of the bench. Not championship caliber yet, but a contender.
Keith M. Lipscomb, ESPN.com: Yes, because I define a contender as a team that's among the top three or four in its conference. The Clippers now have an elite point guard and power forward, an athletic defensive force in Jordan and strong veterans like Billups, Butler and even Foye (who I think is being somewhat forgotten) to help expedite the process of coming together as a team.
Colin McGowan, Cavs: The Blog: No. The Clips have the best point guard in the league (Paul), a great young forward (Griffin), a solid starting center (Jordan), and deficiencies everywhere else. The addition of CP3 is a start, but not nearly enough to overcome the Lakers, Thunder, Heat, Celtics, or Bulls come playoff time.
Henry Abbott, ESPN.com: Yes. Fear Chris Paul. (Bill Russell was undersized and banged up, too.) Last year's Hornets made noise, and these Clippers are better at every position except coach. Paul and Blake Griffin could -- like Steve Nash and Amare Stoudemire and the Wonder Twins before them -- combine to have magical powers.
John Hollinger, ESPN.com: Not serious ones, no. They're a Western Conference playoff team right now, and presuming they trade Mo Williams for a real shooting guard they will be in the heap of teams vying for seeds 3 through 8 in that conference, just like we have every year. But I don't think this has Miami or Oklahoma City quaking in their boots.
Golden Globes 2012: Boomers Dominate Nominations
While Hollywood tends to celebrate youth, the Golden Globe nominations announced today may signal a new era for older actors in film and television. The 69th Annual Golden Globe Awards nominees were announced this morning in Los Angeles by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, and the list is dominated by baby boomers.
Four of the five best actress nominees are in the boomer demographic, including Glenn Close for 'Albert Nobbs'; Viola Davis for 'The Help'; Meryl Streep for 'The Iron Lady'; and Tilda Swinton for 'We Need To Talk About Kevin.' In addition, Jodi Foster was nominated for best supporting actress in a comedy for 'Carnage.' While George Clooney was the only 50-year-old in the best actor category, four of the five best supporting actors are in the 50+ demo, including Kenneth Branagh for 'My Week With Marilyn'; Albert Brooks for 'Drive'; Viggo Mortensen for 'A Dangerous Method'; and Christopher Plummer for 'Beginners.'
Rodney Atkins Divorce It's UNSAFE for Us to Live In the Same House
Rodney Atkins and his wife agree ... they don't think it's safe to continue living under the same roof ... this according to the divorce docs obtained by TMZ.
We broke the story ... the country superstar filed for divorce after he was arrested last month for allegedly attacking his wife Tammy in a drunken bender in his Tennessee home. Rodney claims the allegations are completely false.
Now, we've obtained the divorce documents, in which both Rodney and Tammy agree they are "unable to live together successfully as husband and wife."
Both Rodney and Tammy also state that the other is "guilty of such inappropriate marital conduct as renders further cohabitation unsafe and improper."
According to the docs, Tammy is demanding sole custody of the couple's 10-year-old child -- plus she wants alimony, child support and Rodney to pay for her legal fees.
Rodney is demanding joint custody -- and claims he's willing to pay child support -- but he wants Tammy to pay for HIS legal fees.
For now, the judge has signed off on a restraining order -- barring both Rodney and Tammy from "harassing, threatening, assaulting or abusing the other party."
