For and against essay: the SOPA law

Some time ago, a new law was presented in USA. It banned the free download of films, music or any other intelectual propiety. This law has caused a big discussion between people from differents societies.

On the one hand, it's true that free download can affect to the economy of the owners of the films or music. It also reduces the money earned by gobernments with taxes and it reduces the possibilities of some authors to continue producing.

On the other hand, most of the people who make music or films earn a lot of money, even when free downloading was "legal". Some people hasn't got so much money, but they want to listen to music or to watch a film, so the easiest way is free downloading.

In my opinion, free downloading shouldn't be banned. Artists earn a lot of money, and free downloading doesn't affect them that much. However, I think that, if you really like any film or music, and if you have the money, you must pay for it, above all if the artist is not so famous.

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle was a Scottish writer who became famous because of his literary character Sherlock Holmes. He also wrote many other types of books, as "The Lost World", some terror and supernatural novels, some medical ones and many historical novels. He lived between 1959 and 1930.

He studied medicine, and because of that in most of Holmes's stories appear any murder with poison or any chemical substance. Hractised some sports, as boxing and football. He liked more to write abot history than mistery novels, but those were the ones who made him famous. He also travelled to Africa, and in many Holmes's adventures criminals came from there.

When he "killed" Holmes in his story "The Final Problem", he received lots of letters adressed to Holmes, "living" in Bakerstreet 221B. Doyle's mother spoke him in a funny way when she knew it: "This happens to you because you have deceptioned Sir Holmes, so be careful not to do anything bad to him again".

In the final of his life, he dedicated most of his time to spiritism, and he wrote many novels about it. His last Holmes's story was written some time before the 1st World War, and in it Holmes and Watson had to catch a german spy, and talking about the future, Holmes predicts that some bad times are coming, making reference to the war.

Important passage from Study in Scarlet

This was a lofty chamber, lined and littered with countless bottles. Broad, low tables were scattered about, which bristled with retorts, test-tubes, and little Bunsen lamps, with their blue flickering flames. There was only one student in the room, who was bending over a distant table absorbed in his work. At the sound of our steps he glanced round and sprang to his feet with a cry of pleasure. "I've found it! I've found it," he shouted to my companion, running towards us with a test-tube in his hand. "I have found a re-agent which is precipitated by hoemoglobin, and by nothing else." Had he discovered a gold mine, greater delight could not have shone upon his features.

"Dr. Watson, Mr. Sherlock Holmes," said Stamford, introducing us.

"How are you?" he said cordially, gripping my hand with a strength for which I should hardly have given him credit. "You have been in Afghanistan, I perceive."

"How on earth did you know that?" I asked in astonishment.

"Never mind," said he, chuckling to himself. "The question now is about hoemoglobin. No doubt you see the significance of this discovery of mine?"

"It is interesting, chemically, no doubt," I answered, "but practically——"

"Why, man, it is the most practical medico-legal discovery for years. Don't you see that it gives us an infallible test for blood stains. Come over here now!" He seized me by the coat-sleeve in his eagerness, and drew me over to the table at which he had been working. "Let us have some fresh blood," he said, digging a long bodkin into his finger, and drawing off the resulting drop of blood in a chemical pipette. "Now, I add this small quantity of blood to a litre of water. You perceive that the resulting mixture has the appearance of pure water. The proportion of blood cannot be more than one in a million. I have no doubt, however, that we shall be able to obtain the characteristic reaction." As he spoke, he threw into the vessel a few white crystals, and then added some drops of a transparent fluid. In an instant the contents assumed a dull mahogany colour, and a brownish dust was precipitated to the bottom of the glass jar.

I really found it as one of the best passages in the story, because it explains how did Watson and Holmes meet each other, starting with this conversation one of the most famous mistery cases couples of all time. In this piece of text you can also imagine Holmes's personality, he's just interested in crimes and misteries, and he doesn't pay much attention to the two men that come to the lab.

Mágico

Siempre, siempre que preguntan cual ha sido el mejor futbolista de la historia, se escuchan los mismos nombres: que si Maradona, di Stefano, Pelé, Beckenbauer, Ronaldinho, Ronaldo O Gordo (en su epoca buena xD)... Pero siempre se olvidan de un hombre que no jugaba al fútbol, más bien hacía fútbol, este era el gran MÁGICO GONZÁLEZ.
Seguro que alguien piensa que un tío de El Salvador que jugó la mayor parte de su vida en el Cádiz no tenía nada de grande. Pues bien, esta máquina iba a ser fichada por la Fiorentina, que en aquella época era un equipo fuerte, y le iban a pagar 5 veces más de lo que le pagaba el Cádiz. El Cádiz no quería vender a su estrella, pero la oferta de la Fiore era increíble. Pero ocurió lo inimaginable, Mágico se negó a irse diciendo: "Allá en Italia no tienen pescaíto frito". Enorme. Que hagan eso Messi o Cristiano. Era famoso por sus fiestas y por quedarse dormido antes de los entrenamientos, pero se le perdonaba porque era magnífico.
Su mejor partido fueron las semifinales del Carranza, en las que el Cádiz se enfrentaba al poderoso Barcelona. Se quedó dormido y se presentó en el campo en el descanso, cuando el Cádiz perdía 0-3. El entrenador decidió ponerlo, ya que necesitaban hacer algo aunque solo sirviese para quedar bien ante la afición. Pues bien, el partido acabó 4-3, con dos goles y dos asistencias del gran Mágico. Maravilloso.
Además era un tío gracioso, y, sobre todo, sincero, siempre decía lo que pensaba. Una vez, cuando le preguntaron por qué salía tanto de fiesta en lugar de entrenar, respondió:
"Reconozco que no soy un santo, que me gusta la noche y que las ganas de juerga no me las quita ni mi madre. Sé que soy un irresponsable y un mal profesional, y puede que esté desaprovechando la oportunidad de mi vida. Lo sé, pero tengo una tontería en el coco: no me gusta tomarme el fútbol como un trabajo. Si lo hiciera no sería yo. Sólo juego por divertirme."
Por último, dejo un vídeo donde se pueden apreciar las maravillas de este genial futbolista. GRANDE MÁGICO.

Study in scarlet

Watson, a doctor who was injured in the war in Afghanistan, is now in London. There he needs a cheap house to live in, so he speaks with his friend Stamford, who introduces his friend Sherlock Holmes to Watson. As they both are looking for a place to live in, they rent an apartment, located in Bakerstreet, 221B.

When they finally go to live there, Watson discovers that Holmes is a private detective with peculiar investigation methods. One day he receives a letter telloing him about a murder. The man is american and there are no hints by the momente, so they go to investigate. The mistery is so weird that it lasts some days of investigations, and another man dies.

Finally, Holmes catches the murderer. He is called Jefferson Hope, and he tells them his story.

Some years ago, in America, he met a girl who was the adopted daughter of a man who traveled with her mother from England to America. They fell in love, but as she and her father were living with the mormons, she had to marry one of them. So they tried to escape, but the mormons killed the father and forced her to marry one of them. She died in a few days. Jefferson escaped from them, but he sweared to kill his love killers, so he travelled through Europe looking for them, and he finally kill them in London.

After that he dies because of an illness, and Sherlock Holmes can definetely say that he has solved the mistery.

Mom, I don't like the SOPA (opinion on a current issue)

We all know about that new law, SOPA (Stop Online Piracy Act) that had been proposed in the USA just some days ago. A law against piracy that have been supported by most of the most popular films, music and videogames companies, apart from other ones.
I consider that it could have been better to start a “war” against drug-sellers, kidnappers and other elements from our society than to start this “battle”, not only against piracy, but against any kind of freedom using the internet, as to remain nameless or to share multimedia with other people.
I also think that big companies earn so much money that they have to do that, but the smaller companies have never being considered by giants as Sony and Universal, unless for buying them by ridiculous prices and “eating” them.
In conclusion, I don’t think that this law is a good idea, as it will only limit our freedom, but won’t change anything for good, apart from giants benefits. But now our “good friends” from Anonymous, before had been considered “bad people by lots of us, will punish them as they deserve.

By the way, in the EU they aren’t happy at all with this law, as you can read here (sorry, it is in Spanish XD):
http://www.elfinanciero.com.mx/index.php?option=com_k2&view=item&id=1807&Itemid=26