Hollywood Howard moves in
p2pnet.net News:- The Democrat’s congressional and senate wins over the Republicans will mean a terrific early Christmas present for the entertainment cartels!
Hollywood Howard Berman will be “wielding the chairman’s gavel” at the Judiciary Committee’s panel on the Internet and intellectual property after his party takes control of Congress, as the Los Angeles Times puts it.
Berman, infamous for his blatant support of just about anything Hollywood and the Big 4 Organized Music cartel want in the way of self-interest legislation, “is likely to give a splitting headache to consumer electronics makers and public interest groups advocating unfettered use of digital content,” says the story.
Berman and Lamar Smith, another cartel favourite, waded in against the i2hub on behalf of Warner Music, EMI, Vivendi Universal and Sony BMG.
This year the corporate music, movie and tv industries have so far pumped $166,450 into Berman’s coffers. For 2004 it was $144,000, for 2002, $222,791, and for 2000, $148,048.
According to further OpenSecrets data, ‘TV/Movies/Music’ have been Berman’s top contributors since 1994.
There are two problems with Howard Berman, the LA Times has John Palafoutas, chief lobbyist for AeA, a high-tech trade group that wants fewer government restrictions on digital information, saying. “One, he’s really smart. And two, he knows how to represent his constituents, which in this case is Hollywood.”
As for Berman, he’s quoted as stating, “I want to protect fair use, but sometimes I hear some of these arguments about digital freedom meaning freedom to make permanent copies to spread around to everyone for free.
“Sometimes I look at that as stealing.”
If your Net access is blocked by government restrictions, try Psiphon from the Citizen Lab at the University of Toronto’s Munk Centre for International Studies. Go here for the official download, here for the p2pnet download, and here for details. And if you’re Chinese and you’re looking for a way to access independent Internet news sources, try Freegate, the DIT program written to help Chinese citizens circumvent web site blocking outside of China. Download it here.
Also See:
Los Angeles Times – Berman, copyright fan, to run key panel, December 11, 2006
against the i2hub – RIAA kills university p2p i2hub, November 16, 2005
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December 16th, 2006 at 2:14 pm
“Hollywood Howard Berman will be “wielding the chairman’s gavel” at the Judiciary Committee’s panel on the Internet and intellectual property after his party takes control of Congress, as the Los Angeles Times puts it.”
Well, the judicairy should have his hands full with the judiciary and the article published in the New York Times on Dec.12 which the story line:
“How special interests are buying up the nation’s justice system.”
The problem with Berman is that he was put where he is by the same special interests. A little vicious circle we have here. A minor problem in Hllywood.