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MPAA, Microsoft Testify Piracy Funds Terrorism
GuyMannDude writes "[Yesterday's] Oversight Hearing on "International Copyright Piracy: Links to Organized Crime and Terrorism" featured the MPAA and Microsoft testifying that software and movie DVD counterfeiting is an acute problem, with criminal gangs operating factories in Russia, Malaysia and other countries that have weak copyright laws. They further claim that intellectual property piracy is a vehicle for financing or supporting acts of terror." There's another article about the hearing at Infoworld.
Doesn't this sound like the MPAA, Microsoft a la RIAA trying to make piracy sound like terrorism, and get the public all jumpy and hate piracy?
..
Next, they will be saying that filesharing funds terrorism too.
i certainly have never paid for any pirate software, i thought that was generally the point. even the ppl that sell cd's at markets and online, i highly doubt any of that goes towards terrorism. unless of course pirate's are now branded terrorists.
And for those who ask why we here on slashdot bash the utter shit out of microsoft, this is JUST why. They're full of shit. They use all means they can do strengthen their position. They'll take advantage of anything they can to grab a little more legal strength as a monopoly.
...and they'll just keep doing it.
They've claimed silly things in the past to aid themselves
They've screwed over other companies to aid themselves
They've screwed over their own users to aid themselves
Wait a minute. We need tougher laws in the United States, because organized crime gangs in Russia and Malaysia are counterfitting Windows CDs (including the hologram, so people can't tell it's not official) and selling them, which is already illegal? What exactly can the USDOJ do to stop this?
$x='S24;r)>63/* h@<5+oZ)32"5cz';$me='phroggy'x$];
$x=~y+ -xz+\0-Tx+;print$_^chop$me for split'',$x;
my favorite is that Marijuana use funds terrorism. Funny, most of the Marijuana sold in the US is from farms in KY and TN... Unless Terrorists like to reside in the hills of KY and TN I doubt this is true...
+5 Funny for Microsoft and the MPAA!
Seriously,..remember the Muslim Charity that was nailed funneling money to al Qaeda? Well here's the news story.. (Google Cache)
In case you don't have time to read the story, MS admitted to giving Benevolence International, the Muslim charity that funnled money to al-qaeda, around $20,000. You can buy a lot of box cutters with that money.
MS had better not throw stones in their glass house. And if you're going to start giving money to charities, it's a good idea to research them and make sure they are legit. Say what you will but MS is SUPER guilty of not doing research on this "charity".
I don't think terrorism is a good thing, but I'm getting sick of all the reports:
"Sometimes, _________ is used to fund terrorism, so _________ is evil."
Drugs are bad because buying them funds terrorism. Yep, that's right. Even when it's homegrown. :P
I know that all those media conglomerates are the true source of funding for these things. So I'm going to buy my movies from Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and friends from now on.
I'm sure I could find just as sketchy of a connection between the media companies and terrorism as they can find between [insert comman activity here] and terrorism.
Trees everywhere, and not a forest in sight.
And if GM gave thier cars away, auto thefts would be wiped out immediately.
VHS movies in Australia already have an extremely lengthy copyright notice that is specifically designed to be played at fast forward and still impart it's propaganda. I had not rented a new release in awhile so was I in for a surprise. The old copyright notice was still there, plus a new one from the "Federation Against Copyright Theft". It featured a glowing-red eyed psychotic making frenzied movements with a branding iron from a blacksmith's oven stamping CD's and other paraphenlia. His movements were similiar to the way a mentally retarded person acts when they are confused or upset, scattering CD's everywhere, etc. The voice over claimed 'pirates' fund terrorism AND drugs and that THEY MUST BE STOPPED.
More hysteria for soccer moms everywhere. I've seen mainstream media pick up on this meme too. As the wise George Castanza once said: "Remember Jerry, It's not a lie if you believe it".
A) so does money laundering, organised extortion, illegal dealing with weapons, and so on - only more so.
B) and they would know, wouldn't they. Yes, software & media companies are the best judges on funding of international terrorism, I'm sure.
C) one more excellent reason to use open source, live concerts, local talent etc. etc. and open source. Did I mention open source? Good.
yes, we have no bananas
Of course religon can be a positive influence also, what about Dr. Martin Luther King? He had strong religous beliefs which were a big factor in his message.
Generalizing that all religon is bad all the time and hence should be gotten rid of is a bit discriminatory wouldn't you say?
I don't know about selling Marijuana but members of the Hezbollah have been known to smuggle cigarettes from low tax states to high tax states. Cells like these pretty much deal in whatever trade they can (illegal or not) to earn money for their cause. I wouldn't doubt that they grow and sell marijuana, too.
BULLLLLLLLLLLLSHIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIT!
This is nothing more than a power grab. Plain and simple. That's the only explaination.
You want to know who's funding Osama bin Laden? Osama himself is. That wacky guy has almost $300 million dollars, and it's all his. He's bankrolling his own operation. We've already proven that his buddies have also been funding him, too. Hardcore militant Arabs are all about one thing: sticking to their guns and ousting technology in favor of hardline Muslim rule. That means oppressing women, forcing their will on people, and keeping things in the stone age. The only two uses they have for technology is A) Keeping Osama alive (he's on kidney dialasys) and B) using it against us to further his agenda.
Microsoft and the MPAA/RIAA are only concerned about two things: losing money, and keeping control over their respective industries.
I have only two words for them: Fuck 'em.
Blog Prophyts - Right On, Man
I was also under the impression that the major piracy houses in places like Malaysia were actually semi-legitimate companies - that they operated openly, since it's not illegal there. They might very well still have ties to organized crime, which might in turn have ties to various terrorist groups, but it's not any different than a Mafia boss owning a nice resturaunt.
Technically the Koran bans alcohol produced from fermented grains and fruits. That rules out beer and most wines as well as most distilled liquors. There is one major exception though. Mead, which is made from honey.
Galium Arsenide is the material of the future, and always will be.
On the lower end of the scale there's no doubt that someone, somewhere will hand over some cash to someone who is in a terrorist group, but while the various lobby groups try to demonise file sharing by saying that it magically 'funds' terrorism is sorta avoiding the more obvious problem that large scale money laundering or investment banking is where the real terrorist money comes from.
So far everyone's just looked a bit embarrassed when it's been pointed out that that bank accounts all over the world hold terrorist money.
As for funding terrorism, I believe that the US has handed out cash to 'rogue nations' for as long as memory stretches.
Now, it might be possible to point out that Microsoft supports terrorism by selling legitimate copies of windows to terrorists and is therefore funded by them...
The argument is only as spurious as theirs.
OD
Oddly Draconis
Too cynical to live, too stubborn to die.
LOL! Seriously, home piracy must contribute to the wider economy in a big way, because personally I've been able to spend about 3000UKP on Other Stuff - some of which creates local jobs rather than profits in Redmond - because my MS software is knocked off. Charging 430UKP a go for Office doesn't create wealth, it just sucks it in. When billg has so much cash he has to give half of it to charity, surely his pricing structure is a bit awry?
When I am king, you will be first against the wall.
Likewise, DRM technologies generally work by making it inconvenient or expensive to make copies. As a result, the only people who do make copies are professional pirates--those who can make money off of the copies to pay for the equipment and, presumably, use the excess to fund terrorism.
Therefore, Hollywood and the music industry must immediately stop using any sort of copy protection at all and lower their prices worldwide. Furthermore, all file-sharing networks must immediately be legalized and legitimized worldwide. Only in this way can they undercut the pirates and dry up this source of funds for terrorists.
I realize that it's a big sacrifice for the content industries, but it's one that must be made and I, for one, salute them for it.
Bin Ladden's money came from his family that does construction work for the Oil industry in Saudi Arabia.
So does this mean that Oil use funds terrorism??
Science is the Real TRUTH!
Well, I think that Stalin tried that. Didn't work very well; he could rightfully be ranked as one of the worst terrorists of all time given the sheer number of people he cowed into submission for fear of his purges :/
... prone to such beliefs what with the 'slay them [infidels] wherever you find them' type verses and they DO sincerely believe Islam however misguidedly, but I honestly think they'd still hate us just about as much even if there was no Islam.
It's funny, he was as atheist as you can get and did more terrible things than any other of our time, but people still talk as though "religion" was at the root of these conflicts. Guys--it's used as an EXCUSE, it's not actually a cause. Even these terrorists hate us already, they're just using Islam to cloak it. Of course, it IS true that Islam is very
Where Do Terrorists Get Their Money? (Real format embedded)
If you can't view Real format video directly in your browser, here is a complete URL that you can cut 'n' paste into the "Open Location" menu item of Real Player, or use "Open With":
http://www.adbusters.org/abtv/movies/spotlight/Thi nkTank3/real_high.rpm
Thanks go to Adbusters.org.
--
Simon
This is the political version of FUD.
...."
Pick something that people hate and use the hatred of as a vechicle to drive all kinds of crap under the nose of joe public
"Uh huh, we'd like clean air too buddy, but you know it's them damn terrorists"
"Drilling for oil in the rain forest, before we sell it to the corporate burger guys to raise cattle in inhumane conditions, we'd love to stop it too but you know it's them damn terrorists"
"we'd love to stop bugging your phone but you know
repeat until the next election, kiss baby, smile, wave at camera.
I am taking suggestions, on what will take over from Terrorism, open source anyone?
--My sig is bigger than your sig--
You forget 2 more arguments that are commonly used to push agendas:
- Child pornography
- Antisemitism (at least here in Europe)
It's so easy and done so often...
It's been amply demonstrated that terrorist funding is not just from illegal trade.
Snopes had an interesting article on this. Can't link directly to it, but it's in the Rumors of War subsection, do a search for "shorted".
I'll cut and paste a small section:
On 10 September, another uneventful news day, American Airlines' option volume was 4,516 puts and 748 calls, a ratio of 6:1 on yet another day when by rights these options should have been trading even. No other airline stocks were affected -- only United and American were shorted in this fashion. Accelerated investments speculating a downturn in the value of Morgan Stanley and Merrill Lynch (two New York investment firms severely damaged by the World Trade Center attack) were also observed. The Chicago Board Options Exchange is investigating each of these trades and at this time is declining to offer comment on its progress. The volume traded and the one-sidedness of the trades, however, make it clear that those who had knowledge of the details of the attacks (which airlines would be involved and that the World Trade Center was a target) were behind them and stood to profit mightily from them.
Just like the US is far from a "Christian" nation Iraq is far from being a "Muslim" nation.
Not that I think that war is a good idea, just thought I'd point out that its not a religious conflict. In fact I think now its mostly about re-electing Bush, and power hungry military officials trying not to look like idiots. Sort of the "We couldn't find illegal weapons but they're still there because we're never wrong!"
The Anti-Blog
Representative Robert Wexler, a Florida Democrat, praised the hearing for highlighting the "disastrous connection" between copyright piracy and organized crime. "I can't help but sit here and wonder ... if parents fully understand the ramifications of what it is to steal a movie or pirate a song," he said. "If more American parents understood the connection between the pirating of
intellectual property and organized crime, I think then there'd be a much more effective public relations response in our own country to better appreciate the disastrous ramifications."
Intended implication being "If your kids illegally download music, they will grow up to be Mafia shills or even terrorists!!"
The truly scary thing is that some people will actually believe this!! One has to pity their kids. :(
~REZ~ #43301. Who'd fake being me anyway?
Something to actually worry about from this article is that it is the DOJ which is trying to expand the definition of 'Terrorism' to include software and music piracy. Under the twin brother to Patriot Act (currently waiting for Congress to have the living shit scared out of them again) they will be able to expatriate (that is, revoke citizenship) those who 'support terrorism', a term which is not defined.
Therefor, if the Bush administration gets what they want, if you have a single illegal mp3 on you're computer, you can be shipped off to Guantanamo Bay to be tried by a kangaroo court ^H^H^H^H^H military tribunal, and shot.
Isn't it great to be an American?
Mod parent up. This is the gaping, Mack Truck-sized hole in the argument.
The only rational way to argue that piracy funds terrorism is that organized pirates sell pirated copies and transfer the funds to terrorist organizations in order to buy weapons, supplies, Swiss-Army Knives, Freedom Fries and other terroristy things like that.
If all piracy takes place on P2P networks, there's no cash, and thus no profit for Al-Qaida or Iraq.
There are real activities that fund terrorism, such as the illegal sale of oil from sanctioned countries and diamond and gold mining. Trading the latest Britney Spears track, the latest Hollywood movie DVD rip, or the latest Microsoft OS ISO rip is so far removed from terrorism that it's laughable to try to associate them. This is an ad hominem attack of the most blatant kind.
The next Slashdot story will be ready soon, but subscribers can beat the rush and slashdot the links early!
The direct link would be to http://www.snopes.com/rumors/putcall.htm.
Terrycloth Lobster
Let's face it, Microsoft has time and time again (explorer can't be removed from windows anyone?) proven in the past that their testimonies aren't worth anything.
Curiously I was under the impression that lying in these circumstances was against US laws. Then again, I'm not from the US, are they required to tell the truth in these testimonies?
You've probably already seen this, but this group has ads that say just that.
Of course, SUV's fund terrorism only to the degree that oil producing countries support terrorism... hence the (possible) war.
Note that I did not say if I was against or for the war, just the motive for it.
"There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
Read that again - federal felony for
- You don't know how to maintain a station wagon either!
Wait... we're talking about P2P... oh yeah...
The problem with the RIAA and the MPAA is by trying to stomp out P2P they are only making themselves look bad. P2P cannot die. If they use their own little P2P service that you have to pay for to its fullest extent and make it look good, all while leaving underground P2P alone, then they might be able to solve their problem. But trying to end P2P is like trying to kill Ben Kenobi. "I shall only grow stronger."
Remember Napster!
The other posts have got you on your 50% statistic, for my part I'd like to remind you that the original poster talked about "supporting" terrorism - I buy gas so I can take my children to school, and myself to work so I can provide for them. Does this mean I "support" terrorism, I think NOT!
One might argue that if even a few pennies of each of my fuel purchases goes to support blowing up innocents, that is too much - and in a total vacuum of other information, I would agree.
But who's to say which country my 12 galons comes from on any trip to the pump? In addition, I pay taxes to a government that ostensibly is charged with handling such things (OK, OK, I agree that's a stretch, but I do pay taxes!) So either I should be given the choice to purchase alternative fuel vehicles, or recieve protection from accidentally funding terrorsim with oil purchases, or be absolved of paying any taxes at all, and be all on my own for such things.
One can only do so much, my priorities have to be:
The truth is that nothing any moral, law-abiding US citizen does supports terrorism. Trickle-down economics will put some small portion of my purchases into the pockets of terrorists, and I'll do my best to minimize the effect, but it is also up to each of us to demand that our government, which we pay for, take immediate action to stop the flow of oil money by climbing out of the hip-pocket of the American auto and oil industries and start doing what is right for the long-term health of our country.1. My family
2. My extended family and friends
3. My community
4. My country
5. My planet
"That naive cube! How long must I suffer this!" --Sheldon J. Plankton
from detroitproject.com in real format(sorry):
I like my suv
The gas that george bought.
We have the best government that money can buy.
I hate to tell you, but this is entirely untrue. Neuropsychologists are still unsure about the method of action of THC, but believe it lies in its similarity to the neurotransmitter anandamide. Pot has never been shown to cause any sort of brain damage in the short or the long term (discounting the fact that smoking any plant releases noxious fumes, this can be bypassed by vaporizing the drug). Pot can indeed cause paranoia, but this is akin to saying that alcohol can cause recklessness and poor driving abilities--it just comes along with the positive effects of the drug. About the reference to schizophrenia, current research does indeed show a small correlation with extremely heavy pot youth pot use and depression/schizophrenia in later life, but none of these links are causal, and many of the researchers performing the experiments indicated that the data may be skewed, as the individuals could have been self-medicating for preexisting depression or mental illness. One has to face the fact that marijuana is orders of magnitude safer than alcohol or tobacco.