The problem with this 20 page White paper is that it sets out the administrations policy in a very broad and unspecific way without even attempting to understand why people do what they do. This is a very clear example of "Every problem is a nail" if the only tools your willing to use is a hammer.
Whats disturbing on a life and death level regarding counterfeit drugs. Yeah, they are bad, but why does America have such a massive "Black" market on prescription drugs? For one thing Pharmas are constantly bombarding the public with messages promising to make you faster, better, stronger and hard enough to cut a diamond in order to sell drugs that people just don't need. Then they price everything from the life saving to sugar pills to a level that is unaffordable to the average person. Coupled with the broken healthcare system that is stuck in a tornado of increasing costs, an education system they doesn't teach you anything. It gets worse when they turn doctors into their sales reps instead of leaving them alone to be doctors.
Copyright infringement on a
Commerical scale has always been a felony, therefore a federal crime. However this paper seeks to elevate all copyright infringement to a felony. This a is a massive problem to to how broad it intends to cast the net. There is nothing regarding fair use or reverse engineering. Increasing penalties for repeat offenders is problematic as it has been shown before that, each time someone you upload, you are essentially repeating the offence, therefore it could be very possible that you could serve more time for it than much more serious crimes.
By shifting all IP infringements to felony level, it also not only shifts the burden of enforcement, it dumps it on to the government, with it's, shifting most importantly to the industry, the associated costs, but disturbingly also widens the tools usable.
So in the future it is quite possible that people are going to start getting no-knock warrants served and treatment that is so common in drug raids. Hell Americans even show the raids on TV and boast about getting a grand in cash and a bag of weed. I mean did that really require you to make a tactical entry over? I am not even getting into the issue of raiding the wrong house and the resulting cluster **** that results in.
Freedom is more open now that ever before. If anything, it's too open (see the morons in the Tea Party, the Westboro Church, Fox News, etc.). The government is embracing technology and trying to make it easier for people to access it, and trying to make it more open than ever before (and before anyone mentions Wikileaks, Wikileaks took STOLEN classified documents and posted them.)
Tea party and Westbro are an idiotic bunch, but I do defend their right to free speech as offensive or asinine as they are. To enjoy certain things you at times have to defend the indefensible.
However, Fox news and all American media outlets is given, but should not have such a level of defence given as they have the additional responsibility of providing factual information, but don't. They would fall under the same level of shouting fire in a theater. Back when American outlets were respected decades ago, this was an unspoken understanding.They reported the news like they were describing drying paint. If they didn't know what was happening, they would say so. No slant to the news besides whatever emotion the news reader or reporter couldn't hold in check. American news is a self parodying mess that have parodies that contain more journalism.
Wikileaks understands and prepares for the release of such documents. While there is no doubt both people and government needs secrets to function, there is a point where it is counter productive, a point the US government had passed a long time ago. Well pass the point anybody of reason people could agree to like "Losse lips sink ships".
Leonard H. CourtneyThere is an imperialism that deserves all honor and respect — an imperialism of service in the discharge of great duties. But with too many it is the sense of domination and aggrandisement, the glorification of power. The price of peace is eternal vigilance.
Or missed attributed to Thomas Jefferson,
"The price of freedom is eternal vigilance."