Of course it will work. Look at the shutting down of pirate bay. Piracy has dropped by 90% since.

 

The Pirate Bay is still around.  And even if it had been killed, no way piracy would drop by 90% ...

The Pirate Bay is still around.  And even if it had been killed, no way piracy would drop by 90% ...

 

Sarcasm...sarcasm

Sarcasm...sarcasm

This is where a well placed smile would have done wonders!!!:LOL:

This is where a well placed smile would have done wonders!!! :lol:

 

Its in the text not the pictures!

This is where a well placed smile would have done wonders!!! :lol:

 

Yep, the smile is your buddy, or a well placed wink.  I'm not keen on a place that calls itself "Pirate Bay" however.  It's a blatant call to piracy and it has the same effect on politicians that "Reefer Madness" had when it came out on film.  Politicians love slogans they can rally voters against.

 

I  watched a movie on Elvis Presley last night and I was amazed at how the politicians tried to wipe his music from existence when it came out.  They never saw his music for what it was--a uniting force of African American and other cultural influences.  I was never a huge Presley fan--I grew up on the likes of Elton John and the album rock bands of the early to late 70's, like Journey, Jefferson Starship, Boston, and so on.  And of course I grew up with the Beatles in the 60's.  Throughout it all, I remember politicians trying to stifle the arts.  Local politicians tried to block rock concerts in Napa, where I lived for many years.  But bands like Journey, Jefferson Starship, and Eddie Money's band made it into our town.  Why?  Because popular sentiment can win over politicians, or at least keep them in check.  I think that's the most important part of this discussion--making people aware of what politicians try to do when they get in league with big business or try to stifle ideas which threaten theirs.

 

My last comment--in the last decade, we had land speculators try to erect high density condos right in the middle of our single family home community.  When I got wind of this, I took to the newspapers and started sharing my thoughts.  I knew that the high density would cause problems--problems with traffic, problems with noise, problems with crime that comes when you try to cram a lot of people into a small space.  Not to mention that it was out of place in a sea of single family homes.  When public meetings were announced, I called the community to respond in my letters and come to meetings.  I was told later by a city planner that I orchestrated the largest gathering of local residents at such meetings in the city's history.  And we won.  The land developers brought in lawyers to try to sway us, and I was asked to take the stage and rebuke the lawyers.  Which I did, as politely as I could.  The lawyers were stunned speechless that they could be outargued by a non-lawyer.  But when you speak from your heart and speak from conviction, you can win against any politician or any lawyer. 

 

Thanks for letting me share--again, lots of thoughts.  Hope they help raise awareness.

 

Regards,

 

John