Awesome article:
http://www.networkworld.com/community/node/58042?source=NWWNLE_nlt_daily_pm_2010-03-01Try to wrap your brain around this: thanks to Obama's adoption of open source to run the White House website, the U.S. should be on the U.S. Trade Representative's "Special 301 watchlist," according to the International Intellectual Property Alliance. The watchlist calls out nations that don't honor intellectual property protections.
OK, that's not technically true — the United States was nowhere to be seen on the IIPA's watchlist for 2010 — but given the organization's stance on open source, the fact that the Obama Administration announced last year that the WhiteHouse.gov website would be revamped on an open source platform (Drupal) means that it's against the free market and is evil. Or, at least, very very bad.
Sure, sure, there are plenty of people who would say they didn't need any old alliance to tell them the current administration is an evil socialist empire, but this isn't about the economy. Or healthcare. Or jobs. Or taxes.
The IIPA was formed in 1984, a coalition of trade associations that represent copyright-based U.S. industries: the Association of American Publishers (AAP), Business Software Alliance (BSA), Entertainment Software Association (ESA), Independent Film & Television Alliance (IFTA), Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA), National Music Publishers' Association (NMPA) and the Recording Industry Association of America.
In this case, the BSA's involvement would seem to have caused the IIPA to determine that any country even suggesting the use of open source software in government offices is an enemy of the state.
I'm sorry Mr. President. The BSA has placed you under house arrest
