House SOPA Debate Raises Specter of a “Lawless” Internet

 

The House Judiciary Committee spent hours on Thursday debating Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA), the bill that some call “piracy protection” and others say threatens the Internet as we know it.

If passed, SOPA would lead to the creation of a “blacklist” of websites that infringe on copyrights. Private companies who allege that a site is unlawfully publishing their copyrighted content could, with a judge’s signature, demand that ad networks and companies such as PayPal and Visa stop doing business with such sites. Internet service providers would need to prevent Americans from visiting them.

The bill has been widely supported by record and movie companies, which depend on copyright protection, and opposed by some of the largest Internet companies in the world, including Google, Facebook and Twitter.

During the debate, Rep. Lamar Smith, who introduced the bill in October, argued that “While the internet should be free, it should not be lawless” and that the proposed law “will make it more difficult for those who engage in criminal behavior to reach directly into the U.S. market to inflict harm on American consumers.”

Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-California) and others argued that the proposed law was too extreme. “We never tried to filter the telephone networks to block illegal content on the telephone network,” he said, according to Wired. “Yet that is precisely what this legislation would do relative to the internet.”

No vote was taken on the bill, but an amendment that would have excluded universities and research institutions from having to blacklist sites was defeated.

Clippers get Chris Paul but was it a good deal?

Left to right, superstar point guard Chris Paul, guard Eric Gordon, former All-Star center Chris Kaman, forward Al-Farouq Aminu.

(Credit: AP/GettyImages)

Tell me if this sounds familiar: An NBA star playing in a small market city is dealt to a mega-market team for three players and a first-round draft pick.



Yes, it happened Wednesday night when the L.A. Clippers landed Chris Paul from the New Orleans Hornets - but it also happened back in February when the Knicks corralled Carmelo Anthony from the Denver Nuggets.



Of course, the Carmelo trade was different in a lot of respects (it was a midseason, three-team trade involving multiple moving parts and draft picks). But the heart of the swap was this: Carmelo went to New York while Denver got Wilson Chandler, Raymond Felton, Danilo Gallinari and a 2014 first-round draft pick.



Last night, Paul was dealt for a similar 3-player, first-rounder package. The Hornets will get guard Eric Gordon, forward Al-Farouq Aminu, center Chris Kaman and a 2012 first-round draft choice.



The two trades' centerpieces are comparable. Paul, 26, is a four-time All-Star who has averaged nearly 19 points and 10 assists per game in his career. Anthony, 27, has averaged over 24 points and 6 rebounds in his career. Both are established stars with international appeal and now both are playing under the NBA's brightest lights.



But what about the other guys involved and how will the trades ultimately pan out? Well, the Nuggets actually thrived with their new-look lineup. Gallinari, Felton and Chandler all averaged over 15 points per game, and the Nuggets went an impressive 17-7 after the Feb. 22 trade.



As for the Knicks, they floundered. New York went 14-14 after the mega-swap and was destroyed by the Celtics in a first round playoff sweep. (Denver lost to the Thunder in the playoffs but they won a game and lost three of the games by fewer than four points.)



Which brings us back to last night's huge deal. The players that the Clippers sent packing to New Orleans may not have marquee names but they could very well make the Hornets a better team - much like the Nuggets new players did.



Gordon, who turns 23 on Christmas, averaged 22.3 points last season. The 6-foot-9 Aminu is a second-year pro who averaged 5.6 points and 3.3 rebounds as a rookie. The 7-foot Kaman, 29, is an eight-year veteran who averaged 12.4 points and seven rebounds last season.



All three players were among the top eight draft picks in their respective drafts. And, like Gallinari, Chandler and Felton, the trio is a combination of two big men and a guard, two young players and a veteran.



Said Hornets GM Dell Demps: "Aminu is a young talent with a bright future, Gordon is a big-time scorer and one of the best (shooting) guards in the league and Kaman is a proven center and former All-Star."



Furthermore the Hornets get a first round pick in next year's draft, which is shaping up to be one of the more talent-stocked drafts in years.



This isn't to suggest that the Clippers are not a much better team with Paul. The prospect of CP3 uniting with Blake Griffin and an exciting supporting cast could very well vault the long-downtrodden Clippers past their cross-town rival Lakers - maybe even this year.



But the Hornets, like the Nuggets last year, may end up surprising a few fans down the line.



Of course, this is the NBA and, as the Carmelo swap fallout shows, it's wise to keep your suitcase packed even after you're traded: Raymond Felton has since been dealt to Portland and Wilson Chandler bolted for China during the lockout.

Barbara Walters scoop: Herman Cain wants to be SecDef!

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.

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.

Doing his homework? What, he’s reading the atlas at night before he goes to bed? Doing those interactive tests on the Web where you get a blank map of Europe and then click on a list of names to fill it in? The response begged a follow-up, but there wasn’t time – Walters quickly segued into her request that Cain sing a gospel tune to wrap up the chinwag. Which he did. (It was “Amazing Grace.”)

Though that SecDef thing was kind of a scoop, we have to say that Walters went easy on Cain. She looked as if she just did not feel like grilling him, actually. She made a pass at getting some answers on the allegations of sexual misconduct (“Are they all false?”) but, again, did not follow up much on Cain’s denials. Perhaps more seriously, she left unchallenged Cain’s assertion that race played a part in the events that pushed him out of the presidential contest.

“Did this have anything to do with the fact that you are black?” asked Walters at the interview’s beginning.

Cain answered this way: “Yes. Because I believe that the Democrats do not want an accomplished, articulate, optimistic black man to face President Obama. I can’t prove that Barbara. But I do believe that.”

Again, Walters let that slide. (If only she had been as tough on Cain as she was on the Kardashians in another segment of the show. She basically pointed out that they can’t act, sing, or do anything remotely entertaining. They appeared unfazed.)

Oh, who was Walters’ pick as the most entertaining person of the year? Steve Jobs. R.I.P.