SOPA not dead or shelved but surging back

 Some news reports sound as if the SOPA, legislation designed to stop on-line piracy, was in effect killed by the House of  Representatives in the U.S. However, the act is simply delayed.
   Lamar Smith, a Republican from Texas and author of the bill said “To enact legislation that protects consumers, businesses and jobs from foreign thieves who steal America’s intellectual property, we will continue to bring together industry representatives and Members to find ways to combat online piracy. “Due to the Republican and Democratic retreats taking place over the next two weeks, markup of the Stop Online Piracy Act is expected to resume in February. “I am committed to continuing to work with my colleagues in the House and Senate to send a bipartisan bill to the White House that saves American jobs and protects intellectual property.”
  In other words the bill is simply delayed. As soon as a consensus is reached it  will return. No doubt the hope is that the huge surge in opposition will subside and the legislators can quietly pass the bill without much fuss. Of course it will be a new and improved version!'
   Wikipedia and other sites are going dark for a whole day today and Google has announced that it will insert a link to a page that details their opposition to the bill.