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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.
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.
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.
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.
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!
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.
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?
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
Read that again - federal felony for
- You don't know how to maintain a station wagon either!