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Email sent from info@fightforthefuture.org

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Hi everyone!

A big hurrah to you!!!!! We’ve won for now -- SOPA and PIPA were dropped by Congress today -- the votes we’ve been scrambling to mobilize against have been cancelled.

The largest online protest in history has fundamentally changed the game.  You were heard.

On January 18th, 13 million of us took the time to tell Congress to protect free speech rights on the internet. Hundreds of millions, maybe a billion, people all around the world saw what we did on Wednesday.  See the amazing numbers here and tell everyone what you did.

This was unprecedented. Your activism may have changed the way people fight for the public interest and basic rights forever.


The MPAA (the lobby for big movie studios which created these terrible bills) was shocked and seemingly humbled.  “‘This was a whole new different game all of a sudden,’ MPAA Chairman and former Senator Chris Dodd told the New York Times. ‘[PIPA and SOPA were] considered by many to be a slam dunk.’”

“'This is altogether a new effect,' Mr. Dodd said, comparing the online movement to the Arab Spring. He could not remember seeing 'an effort that was moving with this degree of support change this dramatically' in the last four decades, he added." 

Tweet with us, shout on the internet with us, let's celebrate: Round of applause to the 13 million people who stood up  - #PIPA and #SOPA are tabled 4 now. #13millionapplause
Share on Twitter Share on FB
 

We're indebted to everyone who helped in the beginning of this movement -- you, and all the sites that went out on a limb to protest in November -- Boing Boing and Mozilla Foundation (and thank you Tumblr, 4chan)! And the grassroots groups -- Public Knowledge, Electronic Frontier Foundation, Demand Progress, CDT, and many more.

#SOPA and #PIPA will likely return in some form.  But when they do, we'll be ready.  Can you make a donation to Fight for the Future, to help us keep this fire going?

Donate

We changed the game this fall, and we're not gonna stop.  $8, $20, every little bit helps.

13 million strong,

Tiffiniy, Holmes, Joshua, Phil, CJ, Donny, Douglas, Nicholas, Dean, David S. and Moore... Fight for the Future!


P.S.  China's internet censorship system reminds us why the fight for democratic principles is so important:

In the New Yorker:  "Fittingly, perhaps, the discussion has unfolded on Weibo, the Twitter-like micro-blogging site that has a team of censors on staff to trim posts with sensitive political content. That is the arrangement that opponents of the bill have suggested would be required of American sites if they are compelled to police their users’ content for copyright violations. On Weibo, joking about SOPA’s similarities to Chinese censorship was sensitive enough that some posts on the subject were almost certainly deleted (though it can be hard to know).
...
After Chinese Web users got over the strangeness of hearing Americans debate the merits of screening the Web for objectionable content, they marvelled at the American response. Commentator Liu Qingyan wrote:

‘We should learn something from the way these American Internet companies protested against SOPA and PIPA. A free and democratic society depends on every one of us caring about politics and fighting for our rights. We will not achieve it by avoiding talk about politics.’"

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(press release is here: https://fightfortheftr.wordpress.com/press-releases/)

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After 20 search warrants had been executed in nine countries, and that approximately $50m in assets had been seized OUTSIDE OF THE UNITED STATES at the request of US officials

  Anonymous made its point

Anonymous has taken out the website of the Department of Justice.
EDIT:  Update 11: The Federal Bureau of Investigation has fallen and can't get up.

Anonymous has sure been quiet lately, but today's federal bust of Megaupload riled 'em up good: a retaliatory strike against DoJ.gov has left it completely dead.

DownForEveryoneOrJustMe.com is reporting the department's site as universally nuked, and an Anonymous-affiliated Twitter account is boasting success. This is almost certainly the result of a quickly-assembled DDoS attack—and easily the widest in scope we've seen in some time. If you had any doubts Anonymous is still a hacker wrecking ball, doubt no more.

The combination of the hacking nebula's SOPA animosity—they've been a vocal opponent of the bill since its inception—combined with today's sudden Megaupload news has made the group bubble over: hundreds upon hundreds of Anon operatives are in a plotting frenzy, chatting about which site will go down next. In Anon's eyes, the government and media interests are responsible for the undue destruction of Megaupload (and the arrest of four of its operators), so it'll be exactly those entities that're feeling the pain right now. Pretty much every company that makes movies, TV, or music, along with the entirety of the federal government, is in Anonymous' crosshairs.

Update: Anonymous says they've also knocked off the RIAA's site—looks down for us at the moment as well.

Update 2: Universal Music Group has also fallen off an e-cliff.

Update 3: Goodbye for now, MPAA.org.

Update 4: Affected sites are bouncing in and out of life, and are at the very least super slow to load. Anon agents are currently trying to coordinate their DDoS attacks in the same direction via IRC.

Update 5: The US Copyright Office joins the list.

Update 6: This Anon sums up the mood in their "official" chat room at the moment:
Danzu: STOP EVERYTHING, who are we DoSing right now?
Update 7: Russian news service RT claims this is the largest coordinated attack in Anonymous' history—over 5,600 DDoS zealots blasting at once.

http://youtu.be/uPSaEm6w0rw

EDIT:
Discussion here: http://www.resurrection-studios.net/smf/index.php?topic=8451.0 
This will now be Unstickied.

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Thanks for dealing with us guys.. Res-Studios joined thousands of sites,in a Blackout against SOPA..and we blacked out site w/ censored logo..linking to http://americancensorship.org/

it's still not over,if you haven't yet..please visit http://americancensorship.org/ ,and do your part.. The Internet is ours,lets keep it that way.. If you think this doesn't effect you because you're not in the States,think again..many sites such as this one will be @ risk..along with ones like youtube,facebook,etc..  If you're not in states,please start here. http://americancensorship.org/modal/state-dept-petition/index.html

PROTECT IP / SOPA Breaks The Internet

Be a HERO and Help STOP SOPA Now!! I'll tell you How! This Video that Must Be SHARED!

Thx again to all that helped..and sry for any confusion,or inconvenience..

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In The News..

http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/six-us-lawmakers-abandon-anti-piracy-bills-as-google-protests/2012/01/18/gIQAzBHz8P_story.html?tid=pm_business_pop

http://www.wltx.com/news/national/article/169059/142/SOPA-Protest-Gets-Intended-Effect

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/tech-junkies-protest-sopa-bill-designed-stop-internet-piracy-streets-york-city-article-1.1008161


http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2012/01/18/BUQO1MR5DR.DTL&type=tech