Support for anti-piracy bills wanes/USA Today

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

A win for the little people and whines from the bigshots.

http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/story/2012-01-18/SOPA-PIPA-Internet-protest-power/52653356/1

Bowing to the power of the Internet, several key lawmakers withdrew support for anti-piracy legislation after a 24-hour blackout by thousands of websites Wednesday, likely quashing any chance the bills would pass in their current form.Members of Congress faced a barrage of concerned and sometimes angry calls and e-mails from constituents made aware of the protests when they sat down at their computers.

Supporters, including publishers, media companies, movie studios and pharmaceutical manufacturers, say the legislation would save jobs and generate more revenue for business.

It was a hectic day also for congressional staffers manning the phones and maintaining websites. The home page of Sen. Mark Begich, D-Alaska, failed to load for parts of the day. Gizmodo, a tech blog, also reported that the sites of Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., and Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., were slow to load or down at times during the day.

Chris Dodd, CEO of the Motion Picture Association of America, called the protest a "gimmick, albeit a dangerous one, designed to punish elected and administration officials who are working diligently." Hollywood's lobbyist is the former Democratic senator from Connecticut.

[proverbialwisdom]

1. And when Dodd championed the HAVA (Help America Vote Act), did he ever envision this?

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/scytl-acquires-soe-software-becoming-the-leading-election-software-provider-2012-01-11

Jan. 11, 2012, 7:30 a.m. EST

SCYTL Acquires SOE Software, Becoming the Leading Election Software Provider

BALTIMORE & TAMPA, Fla., Jan 11, 2012 (BUSINESS WIRE) --

-- SCYTL is the global leader in online voting solutions with a presence in over twenty countries
-- SOE Software is the leading software company for election management solutions in the United States

-- The combination of the two companies creates the industry leader in election software with a strong market presence worldwide

SCYTL, the global leader in secure electronic voting technologies, announced today the acquisition of 100% of SOE Software, the leading software provider of election management solutions in the United States. The integration of these two software companies creates the industry leader in the election software market with a full range of solutions covering from Internet voting to election night reporting and online pollworker training, and a strong market presence worldwide.

SCYTL is currently the worldwide leader in the Internet voting space and the acquisition of SOE Software, with its Clarity election management software suite, significantly expands SCYTL's product portfolio beyond electronic voting. Furthermore, SOE Software's strong US presence with 900 jurisdictions as customers in 26 states, including 14 state-wide customers, complements very effectively SCYTL's customer base in the United States and internationally with customers in over 20 different countries across 5 continents, including France, Spain, Canada, Norway, Switzerland, South Africa, United Arab Emirates, Mexico, India and Australia.

More at link...