Slashdot Mirror
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.
Wait.......since when did Microsoft become the ANTI-terrorists?
Give it a look
Yeah and Osama Bin Laden is sittin in a cave in Afghanistan with a buncha cds and a burner!
I mean, sure, I can buy drugs, or pirate music/movies/games. But, I can also drive an SUV, or use oil in other ways. I can also support terror by being critical of the government, or being supportive of the use of encryption and privacy. I mean, so many options, so much terror. Where does one start?
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.
"Terrorism" is just the keyword of the past 18 months or so. Everything you hate gets labelled as promoting terrorism and everything you like is an anti-terrorist measure.
If it works for little Bush, why not for little Bill?
There's really nothing unusual going on there. Just the usual stupidity and simple-mindedness.
Assorted stuff I do sometimes: Lemuria.org
Oooookkkkkeeeey... So I'm supposed to believe that religous extremists, in thier war against the West and the Western culture, are financing operations by pirating and spreading the very thing that they are against.
It's kind of like hardcore Vegans raising money for a campaign by holding a sausage sizzle.
Complete bullshit.
--
Simon
Want to demonize something but have now real information to back it up? Just say it fund terrorism, works every time!
Nan
God is real unless declared integer.
How does stealing something for free FUND terrorism? It can't. Lesson here kiddies, it's okay to steal for free. Don't be stupid and buy things.
Are they sure they ought to be jumping on it like that?
The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing. --Edmund Burke
Wait.......since when did Microsoft become the ANTI-terrorists?
since Bush let them off the hook.....
We're like rats, in some experiment! -- George Costanza
How about we get rid of religion?
Sounds like a plan to me.
This just in:
Breathing supports terrorism. Scientists have just discovered that if you breath oxygen, you are in fact taking away necessary, life giving resources, namely oxygen from those who fight the terrorists.
The public is now being asked to refrain from breathing so that the counter-terrorists do not run out of oxygen (although is was also recommended that if you are around any terrorist you should try to use as much oxygen as possible, because we believe that terrorists also use oxygen to live).
sin(6cos(r)+5A)
This was out of hand before, but now it's getting really out of hand.
When most people say "what, do you want to support the terrorists?" they're joking.
I think these two monopolists have just showed their true selves as far as I'm concerned.
Anyone who can say something so ridiculous is a joke themselves.
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.
I dont know about the economics of international IP piracy, but I imagine that the piracy is more prevalent in areas where there is not enough money to pay for legitimate software. In this case, there still won't be enough money brought in to make a dent in the terrorists' pocketbooks.
To make big money, you have to sell things to people with money. This means the west (especially western Europe and the U.S.) The best way to get lots of money from the west is to sell them oil, drugs, or Pr0n.
OK...
I can do this. I am, after all,
a superhero!
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;
...everyone uses terrorism to push their agenda. I'm so sick of that phrase. Don't like something that people are doing? Tell them that it funds terrorists, and they'll stop. I suppose it works -- the average person probably believes this crap.
I was so pissed the first time I saw the commercial with the teenagers saying "I helped terrorists because I bought a dime bag" (or whatever). 9/11 was a *terrible* event, yes, but to try to make people think they're partly responsible because they commit some petty crime? Total BS.
NGWave - Fast Sound Editor for Windows
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".
Upon thought & inspection, this sounds more like they're throwing more fodder on the fire which is quickly razing the USA's foreign policy & relations.
i'm amazed that i survived - an airbag saved my life.
The way people seem to avoid it today, you'd think shame funded terrorism too.
But not oil companies, oh no.
microsoftword.mp3 - it doesn't care that they're not words...
The more small minded corporate shills and their bought and paid for politicians keep this up, the more weakened and desensitized people will become to words like terrorism and war. Soon, they will be hiring PR firms to craft new words to symbolize people worse than "terrorists" and armed conflict will no longer be called war but something else. The current administration would no doubt prefer "liberation". This is absolutely ridiculous. The rest of the world must think we are the biggest bunch of un-educated sheep.
Who are you? The new #2 Who is #1? You are #617565. I am not a number, I am a free man! Muhahaha.
For the love of the DMCA-Bush-MPAA-alliance, how long does it actually /take/ to equate everything under the sun to an act of terrorism!?!
Come on people, we need to start whipping out these unfounded defacements quicker!
We've already renamed 'French fries' in the capital, but that may not be enough, we actually have to stand up in a court of Bush^H^H^H^Law and accuse anyone that still refers to them as 'French' as being a TERRORIST!
Ha! That'll teach them! Now I must go formulate my plan to charge all McDonalds franchises as terrorist havens thanks to their newly proposed WiFi!
-VolVE
Because, with all the money saved on a pirated copy of MS Office, you can afford to go on vacation.
If Microsoft and the MPAA were to release everything under the public domain, there would be nothing to pirate. Ergo, terrorism would end.
Seems like a good solution for everyone. Microsoft and the MPAA, I implore you to end terrorism! Only you can do it!
If you could be told what you can see or read, then it follows that you could be told what to say or think - BoC
I like to listen to mp3's and watch SVCD's in my SUV while I am high.
Now, can Microsoft truthfully claim that they are not terrorists? They use force in getting OEMs to only distribute machines with Microsoft tax. They threaten companies who have decided to support Linux or other operating systems. They strive to demoralize and intimidate everything and everyone. They use Microsoft as a political weapon and have changed laws with their money. Microsoft has fit the definition of terrorism perfectly.
Microsoft is a terrorist organization and they know it. I would not be suprised to see Osama Bin Laden hiding out at the Gates getaway.
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 why you wouldn't believe that...after all, the Taliban had agreements with the opium producers in Northern Afghanistan. Why should a religious extremist care if you, an infidel, violate God's laws? And if your stupid enough to fund your own destruction, what delicious irony for them.
While I don't like the scare tactics and I'd like to see proof of the cash flow, it should be neither surprising nor controversial that illegal activity feeds on itself to society's detriment.
"... but you can love completely without complete understanding." - Norman Maclean, "A River Runs Through It"
Here comes the DMCTA ... The Digital Millenium Copyright Terrorist Act.
We all knew Napster was domestic terrorism.
Yes, I agree! They can raise their prices, once the war is won - i.e. we will have lower prices forever, yay!
but undemocratic countries around the world are using exactly the same trick to get rid of everybody who talks about free elections too loudly. Let's shoot the suckers, we're fighting terrorism! It has been 1 1/2 year since 9/11 and the Bush administration still has no exact definition of the word "terrorist". That is good for US foreign policy, but non-US citizens pay for this with their lives.
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
If purchasing pirated music promotes terrorism and you can't tell what's a pirate and what's not, your only choice is not to pay for it. Buying music may promote terrorism. Sharing it however does not.
And how is that different that buying M|cro$oft products that fund the BSA?
I wish people would read the articles before summarizing them *incorrectly*.
Yes, Microsoft & MPAA stated that pirating is rampant and bad.
They did *NOT* state that pirating=terrorism. That statement was made only by the Justice Department (which is not necessarily better, IMHO, but significantly different to the slant that the article lends).
From the article:
John Malcolm, a Justice Department official who oversees the computer crime division, warned the panel about the connections between copyright piracy and terrorism.
"Organized crime syndicates are frequently engaged in many types of illicit enterprises, including supporting terrorist activities," Malcolm said. "All components of the Justice Department...will do everything within their power to make sure that intellectual property piracy does not become a vehicle for financing or supporting acts of terror."
www.christopherlewis.com
How stock fraud doesn't fund terrorism? Funny how that works...
I'm trying to teach myself to set people on fire with my mind... Is it hot in here?
Microsoft software "indirectly" funding terrorism? Well there is an easy solution! Just GPL all MS software. The price would drop to $0 and the terrorists would be deprived of a source of revenue.
Come on, Bill. Do your part.
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.
Burning a mix CD of Moog Cookbook supports terrorism, but a "Christian" country unilaterally declaring war on a Muslim nation doesn't?
The requested URL
If the current big evil was pollution, I'm sure they'd be coming up with some way to say that piracy was causing pollution... surely all those poorly run pirate factories are big polluters, right?
I would guess that a lot of the anti-civil-liberties laws that got shoved through recently were not created recently. I bet they were just waiting around for a good enough excuse that the public would accept it.
I hope you're not pretending to be evil while secretly being good. That would be dishonest.
Conversely, we could say that Free Software and Open Source are not helping terrorists because they cannot be pirated...
So, we could say that proprietary software is evil.
And there's a War on Evil!
Do they really think these things through?
So, driving to work in my Lincoln Navigator while smoking dope and listening to my pirated copy of Rage Against the Machine was probably not the best way to start the day?
Milo
What they are basicly saying is that some people sold some stuff, then MAYBE gave the money to the bad guys. This is like saying that capitalism fund terror.
This is like the really awful adds they have been running in the states where they talk about drug money funding terrorists.
What this means is that the US "War on drugs" fund s terrorism, as it is the current laws that artificially inflate the prices of narcotics to the point where it is highly profitable to sell them. You would think the US would have learned this lesson during Prohibition when the banning of alcohol pushed usage through the roof and funded the growth of organized crime.
Artificial scarcity has created the whole drug economy. Remove that factor and it will no longer have the huge profit margin. Remove the profit margin and incentive to produce and distribute will be reduced, as well as the money available to be spent on weapons, bribes, and other criminal/terrorist groups.
Will it end drug traffic? No. Will it make it a heck of a lot harder for the organized groups involved to pay for weapons, transport, and bribes? Yes. You have to ask yourself which is more dangerous. People screwing themselves over of their own free will as they already do, or large well funded, armed, influencial groups that are activly working to increase their sales and protect their profit.
Enough of this. The "x funds terrorism" crap is getting just stupid. In fact, now I'm thinking of making a Six-Degrees-of-Kevin-Bacon type game: "Everything Funds Terrorism".
Basically, the user searches on an industry or activity, and -ideally in six steps or less- it's put into a chain of other industries or activities, leading back to terrorism.
I'm only half-joking; this would make an interesting project, and I hope it would get the point across: that terrorism must not be allowed to significantly impact our lives. Because that really is how they win, by dominating us through fear.
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.
At the same time, don't trivialize a claim. For example, the recent convictions on cigerette smuggling used to fund terrorism. The smuggling was done right here in the old U.S. of A. So it is plausible that other avenues of crime are being used, including sales of drugs.
What I am trying to say is be skeptical, but don't dismiss outright.
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
All children will be confiscated and raised in state-run facilities in a standard ISO Certified Environment. Care takers will work in pairs and those pairs rotated on a regular basis. Any hint of subversion (IE: Mentioning any form of religion, attempting to molest or otherwise mishandle the children, etc) will be reported and punished appropriately. Secret police agents will be rotated into the caretaker list from time to time to insure that caretakers are reporting suspecious behavior on the part of their co-workers. Any form of religion will not be mentioned and critical thinking skill development will be encouraged.
Forcing the interbreeding of the diverse races will also be a long term goal of the regime. At some point the state would probably find it necessary to require citizens to breed across racial lines, until everyone is a single ISO Certified color of Tan. Personally I think this is the only way to resolve the Israel/Palestinian problem too, but I have yet to find a way to a position to force the issue in those populations.
I'm trying to teach myself to set people on fire with my mind... Is it hot in here?
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--
Sticking feathers up your butt does not make you a chicken - Tyler Durden
is that you should create your own pirate copies at home, rather than chance buying a pirate copy that could fund terrorism.
Serving your airship needs since 1995.
For instance, both Timothy McVeigh and Terry Nichols received their training in the U.S. army, does that make the U.S. army a terrorist organization? The U.S. trained most of the high level participant of the mass murders in central and south America, particularly during the Reagan/Bush administration. Does that make Reagan a terrorist? There are several countries that would love to see Kissinger brought up on crimes against humanity charges.
In this country and in this world we love to buy diamonds and emeralds. Both come from parts of the world where so-called terrorist operate. The sale of both, but particularly diamonds, likely directly benefit organizations that commit act of terror, not because they receive donations, but because they control the supply chain.
Of course we buy oil directly from the people that we accuse of being the terrorists.
Of course some people might say all the examples are for legal trade, and it is ok to support terrorism if the product is legal. For instance it is perfectly ok to support your local church even if your local church terrorizes children, doctors, minorities, or expectant mothers. This may be true.
OTOH, it is still clear we pick and choose those things we wish to link with terrorism. For instance, in the U.S. Cuba is certainly considered a terrorist county. Whether we agree with it or not, it is the one country we seriously boycott. When left wing fanatics go to visit, the right wing fanatics call them supporters of terrorism. So why is it, then, that Cuban cigars are not linked to support of terrorism, even though they are illegal in the U.S? Why is it that Cigar Aficionado can run articles praising the cigars? Why is it that we do not have hearing in Washington to include Cuban Cigars in our war on drugs, and punish the possessors of such illegal drugs as we would any other addict? Why isn't Cigar Aficionado labeled a supporter of terrorism in hearing on the hill?
Why is it that we are so jaded that we are more concerned with using death and destruction as a political tool rather than trying to stop death and destruction?
"She's a scientist and a lesbian. She's not going to let it slide." Orphan Black
yeah! and dont forget that open source software is supportive of terrorism too! in fact, anything that causes big business to lose money is supportive of terrorism! im not being sarcastic at all right now! not one bit!
Gyrate Dot Org - "Where high-tech meets low-life"
Here is an english version of a recent article in Pravda (influential russian newspaper) that uncovers where Microsoft donations were going for years.
"It's more dangerous than we thought"... What a bunch a shit...
Sticking feathers up your butt does not make you a chicken - Tyler Durden
You nailed it. I get the feeling a new McCarthyism is creeping into American society, and if it is allowed to continue, people will be ostracized for not believing anything the Nazional Republikan regime in Washington wants them to. There is a hidden agenda among these people to destroy freedom, to co-opt individual rights in favor of the corporation, and to create what amounts to an American empire in the world. It is this arrogant, corrupting agenda that the rest of the world opposes, and this proclamation by MS and the MPAA is another example of the absurd lengths they will go to get their way on what matters most to them-- the almighty dollar. In their eyes:
When will it end?
Always look on the briight side of life! (whistle, whistle)
No wonder I always get stomped by the arabs while playing my pirated copy of C&C generals, al quaeda musta funded it.....
If more talk like this get's to the people in congress and the government, this could soon encompass the 'you're either with us, or against us' attitude the infects the current administration.
Why is this not good?. For quite a few reasons. Many in the free software and open source community face various uphill battles when trying to use or get others to use non-commercial, specifically, non-m$ products. Linking piracy of IP to terrorism starts sending the message that anyone interested in not buying software could be deemed a non-patriotic (think France and the Florida Freedom Fries and Liberty dressing if you don't follow me) and someone helping anyone that doesn't necessairly fall in line with the accepted point of view of what's legal and what isn't, is gonna soon be in trouble.
I'm all for supporting the software industry and making money selling software. However, the price barrier for purchasing software in other countries is sometimes so high, that the only alternative is to get a pirated copy. This monolithic view of buy our software at the price we set, period!, can only play well in economies that can support the cost. If m$ would instead take this as maybe their customers outside of wealthy countries cannot afford $199 for a version of XP and we will then adjust accordingly and fairly, then I think there would actually be less piracy. However, Bill did not become the worlds richest man being fair.
That said, when a proven monopoly, who got off scott free, links these circumstances to terrorism, it basically opens the door for the U.S. govt to now start not only being the morality police of the world, but the information police. This is not far fetched. When a company pushes the way m$ has for Palladium, Digital Restrication Management, and product activation, closed 'standards', they basically start controlling how you can and cannot access information. As time rolls on this will become more and more critical as more and more of the world hits the net and connects with other. This is textbook civics/government high school class stuff.
These issues are well documented through many writers on many sites. The connection of information, freedom to own what you buy (not a license to use it), intellectual property, and the linking of piracy to terrorism makes for a dim future for everyone who does not want to, cannot follow along (land of the free?) or cannot afford ot license every idea and process under the sun. The America for the individual will be fine as long as you play within the boundries set by the few like Valenti, Gates, Ashcroft (remember how he said the latest m$ court 'ruling' was a victory for the consumer??) - their vision of morality and what constitutes fairness.
Frankly, this persuades me more and more to let friends and family know that their use of products that these companies crank out, will restrict their freedom more and more as time rolls on. As technologies like Palladium and DRM mature and are used more widely throughout the world, these issues will be harder, if not impossible to dodge and the way the net and our machines work now, will not exist. It is up to everyone who sees this to do their part, however small. Support the FSF, Non-M$ anything, your local/fav Linux distro, contribute some code or time to a os/gpl/free project, or purchase hardware from alternate non-M$ only hardware manufacturer (are there any?). Along with our voices, our dollars will be the most significant in making sure that we will have a choice in the future.
You know, that Jack Valenti.
"I say to you that the VCR is to the American film producer and the American public as the Boston strangler is to the woman home alone."
"What is fair use? Fair use is not a law. There's nothing in law."
And my fave,
"I sleep each night a little better, a little more confidently, because Lyndon Johnson is my president. "
That's an old one, but sort of illustrates the point. Jack Valenti is a ridiculous dinosaur from the Johnson administration, and he still thinks like a military guy from that era. He's not an idiot, but he is massively self-deluding, and you can count on him to not concede anything he doesn't absolutely have to. Like many old-school execs, Valenti will never totally grasp the fact that scarcity of media is history. He'd rather fight than adapt. Which is a shame - as these types of organizations (MPAA studios, etc.) essentially have a first-shot opportunity when situations like P2P arise, through startup capital and established contracts.
It's rhetoric. He does it to get a rise out of people. It's the Bigger Hammer approach. You can try and yell louder, or you can ignore him.
If Jesus wants me it knows where to find me.
Education is the silver bullet.
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?
For now, at least, the corporations are not exactly synonymous with the government.... even if they do pull the strings.
The Mongrel Dogs Who Teach
There are three possibilities:
- They are pulling this speculation out of their asses.
- They have personal ties to terrorists and were able to witness it first hand.
- It is just common sense that everything eventually funds a bad guy somewhere, since when you get down to it, there's just one big world economy.
So which one is it, Jack?BTW, Microsoft people, what's it like to have your company's name spoken in the same breath as MPAA? What charming company you keep.
As copyright owner of this comment, I authorize everyone to defeat any technological measure which limits access to it.
Does anyone remember the rules about statistics? Or specifically about correlations and cause-effects?
"These groups will not hesitate to threaten or injure those who tend to interfere with their operations,"
Wait, are we talking about P2P users, or M$ themselves? "Illegally copied materials can have markups of 900 percent"
Get real. That is what the LEGAL versions do. I used to work at a major retail chain. The MOST expensive DVD we bought was $1.69. Most were less. The cheapest we sold was $40. Some, like Caligula, we bought for $1 and sold for $100! P2P users, on the other hand, usually get 0% markup, as it is shared free. Sometimes, it even COSTS them (time, energy, hard drive space).
"For too long, people engaged in piracy believed that if they were outside the borders of the United States , they could violate our intellectual property laws with impunity," Malcolm added. "They were wrong. This indictment and the extradition sends a clear and unequivocal message to everybody involved in illegal piracy that regardless of where you are, the Justice Department will find you, investigate you, arrest you, prosecute you, and incarcerate you."
BS. If this were true, big companies (like M$) couldn't get patents on things that are in common usage. People like AOL couldn't force pengaol to loose their domain. You only get persecuted (yes, persecuted) if you are the one with lower-paid lawyers. Not to mention, even if NO ONE made illegal copies of M$ software, they could STILL claim a 20% loss - due to the law assuming pirating is taking place.
"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,"
Why don't we ask the recording label? I am sure that many artists feel like they have no rights over what they created. An artist (musical artist, author, whatever) is not ALLOWED to give you permission to use their work -- because they don't own it. They loose all rights to it to get it published.
"Jack Valenti, president and chief executive officer of the MPAA, described a couple examples of copying operations that had been raided outside the U.S. , and he said 26 copying factories in Russia can copy 300 million DVDs and CDs a year. He claimed his industry is losing billions of dollars a year to piracy,"
The MPAA's entire industry is based off doing exactly that! You think the artist gets full price per DVD/CD? Many artists claim (in interviews) that they receive NO MONEY from cd sales, just from gigs and memorabilia. Sounds like the MPAA is pissed off that the people are fighting back against their piracy.
"I think it'd be a good idea to go out and actually bust a couple of these college kids," Carter said. "If you want to see college kids duck and run, you let them read the papers and somebody's got a 33-month sentence in the federal penitentiary for downloading copyrighted materials."
If that was true, no one in college would do drugs now, would they?
All in all, my solution? Don't let the government take advice from M$ or the MPAA -- everyone knows they are bigger crooks than the people they complain about.
http://www.google.com/profiles/malachid
Linux O Muerte!
They further claim that intellectual property piracy is a vehicle for financing or supporting acts of terror.
what about selling flight simulator software with accurate depictions of major u.s. cities, as well as national land marks?
This doesn't surprise me one bit.
In the early 1980s, I tried a similar tactic with my parents. I was hooked on video games, and attempted to explain that if I didn't get an Atari 2600, they'd be funding terrorism.
I also explained the lack of quarters for the Aladdin's Castle in the mall was probably funding terrorism. When I wanted a TRS-80 Model I Level II computer and my parents refused, I urged them to rethink their stance. "Not buying the computer probably means you're funding terrorism."
My dad looked at me, told me to go to my room and not come out for a while. From behind my bedroom door, I yelled out that by grounding me, they were supporting the Soviets in Afghanistan. By not purchasing the Mattel 'Big Trak' remote control car I coveted, they were essentially supporting the Argentinians in the Falkland Island dispute. But they held firm.
When, many years later, my parents refused to fund the purchase of my first automoble (a little Buick Opel), I wondered whether or not their recalcitrance wasn't actually helping Manuel Noreiga in Panama. I explained that by refusing to do what I asked was probably assisting rogue regimes across the globe.
And now, take a look around. The North Koreans are threatening to rain missiles down on America's cities. Sadaam Hussein is sitting in his bunker with some sweet tea, watching Tony Blair struggle for his political life. General Idi Amin Dada is still exiled in Saudi Arabia, but I'm betting he's got a funding pipeline that comes directly from all those times my parents refused to give me five dollar bills so that I could go to Aladdin's Castle and get the five extra tokens when you stuck a five dollar bill in the cash machine.
The rise of rogue regimes is the direct results of doing things I didn't want done. Microsoft is absolutely right.
Oil? Being critical? Driving a van? Copying a CD?
Bullshit, lets start with the basics: weapons and explosives. Which person provides the most support: the one who sells them an 5 Kgs of C4 or the one who turns on their heat during winter? How come you are willing to boycot the people who sell oil and not say a word against the people who the very means terrorists use? Is it because the people who sell weapons are not arabs? Or is it because selling weapons to foreign countries is a major source of income to US business?
And guess what, neither of the two measures (boycotting oil or weapons) will probably serve in the long run. To solve this problem you need to attack its source, which has been for the last 50 years, US foreign policies.
My other OS is the MCP!
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
This is not funny, its downright scary. This fascistoid picture completes, democracy in the US has ended. Truth is dead. You are being derived of your civil rights, and the american people stand aside and either dont care, dont know or are being silenced by the stupid mob. In terms of civil-rights, justice, arrogance and moral, your country is reaching new extremes every new day.
Sad.
Read that again - federal felony for
- You don't know how to maintain a station wagon either!
Unless you're actually a member of a terrorist organization using piracy to directly fund your group, NO professional pirates would give their funds away to terrorists, for one simple reason: profit.
Professional pirates are businessmen. (Also see: professional drug dealers). If they invest money in anything, they want to see some sort of return on it - giving the money to terrorist groups is about as financially effective as setting it in a pile and lighting it on fire. Why would anyone trying to maximise their profits give their money to people who can't make it into more money, when sound investment opportunities are right there for the taking?
Having terrorists blow things up and wreck the economy is also not exactly something that someone who wants to make good investments would probably be very interested in. So, now you have two great reasons not to give your money to these people. So, seriously, NO ONE is doing this, and the entire concept is bullshit.
If someone gives me a copy of a game, I fail to see where the money is for the terrorist.
A far greater tool to be used by terrorists are Operating Systems the consistantly fail any real security scrutiny.
So what they are saying is everybody should use free software whenever it is available. not a whole lot of money selling something thats free. Unless you have a value add, like support. Some how I don't think I will be able to call Bin Laden to ask him how I can get AQLinux to read my win2k partition.
Now as far the industry of creating illegal copies is concerned, I could see where that could fund terrorist. If you needed money, didn't care where it came from, and had fanatical followers, wouldn't you make money from any revenu stream possible.
The Kruger Dunning explains most post on
In SOVIET RUSSIA, Terrorism funds piracy!
after all, it seems that companies are so fucking terrified by copyright violation that they resort to stupidity, such as calling other countries' copyright laws 'weak' when in fact american copyright law is simply too strong. So if the companies are to be believed, anyone who buys bootleg copies of something is a terrorist, and is therefore funding piracy out of russia, china, and so forth as stated by many a post. And you know what? if companies are terrified of this inappropriately-labelled "piracy", then I'll speak out in its favor. I for one am sick of companies, especially ones that screw the little guy both during production and at the cash register, getting away with it. Now these alleged 'pirates' need to figure out a way to make the companies either simply die to be replaced with more ethical versions, or to change their ways...seems pretty hopeless actually.
In SOVIET RUSSIA... erm...NSA AMERICA, the Internet logs onto YOU!
Prohibition is the sole reason why "drug violence" exists. Think about it. Do people kill each other over market share for beer, tobacco, or coffee? Of course not. Those products are bought and sold in a legitimate market -- a market where the buyers and sellers are responsible for their own actions. In the black market (under prohibition), the buyers and sellers are criminals. They are not obligated to play by the rules.
Sorry to bust your bubble, but your own government is 100% responsible for all "drug-related" violence. Perhaps you should read up on the US government's attempt to prohibit alcohol early last century -- which, surprisingly enough, failed miserably and created organized crime in one shot.
We shouldn't dismiss outright, but assertions require proof, and extraordinary assertions require extraordinary proof. Without proof a claim must be considered mere speculation.
/. whenever a story about the DMCA or Microsoft is posted? Such arguments are no more valid when they are presented by a corporation to a Congressional committee than they are when presented by one of us in this forum. They just have a larger and more influential audience.
Minds certainly should remain open, but if the claimant provides no facts to support the claim and instead depends on an appeal to a pre-existing emotion for validation (in this case justified outrage over the results of terrorism) then the claim trivializes itself.
Don't we see similar "appeals to outrage" here on
"terrorism" has been a catch all since 9-11 for most anything people want to get rid of.
Get it to fall under the patriot act and let the feds help you stamp it out..
Regardless if its a crime, or just something ( or someone ) you don't agree with..
Its use is spreading like wild fire.. Much as the overuse of the DMCA to sue people into non existence on a whim..
This path we are on scares the hell out of me.
---- Booth was a patriot ----
...if only our elected officials had the cojones to say it out loud.
The black market in software and pirated DVDs only exists because there is a profit to be made by selling those pirated items.
If you make it possible to obtain those items without paying for them (i.e. P2P networks), then there's no profit to be made by selling individual discs!
Thus: Napster, Kazaa, and Gnutella are fighting the war on terror!
Do you?
Hlack market economies create violence. All of them. They have no real choice. The reason is simple: no recourse to the law.
What do you do if you buy a bottle rum at a liqour store and find out it's nothing but water? You call the police and have that jackass arrested for selling bogus merchandice.
What do you do if you buy some weed from a dealer and it turns out to be catnip and oregano? Call the cops? Last person I heard about that did that was arrested. No. You either live with the fact that you got ripped off or you shoot the sonofabitch.
Because the sale, puirchase and distribution of pot, or any other illegal drug, requires that the manufacturers/growers, distributors, sellers and end consumers all operate outside the law. This leaves them only one recourse when things go bad. This also leaves them no choice in how to deal with conflicts of any kind.
If legalized and sold through normal sales channels, drugstores (hey, that's a catchy name) drug-related violence will drop like a stone. If you can call the cops because that jackass at the corner pharmacy cuts his stock of Vantage Ultra Gold Columbian with catnip then you don't have to shoot him for it. If he knows that he can call the coips because you passed a bad check he knows he dowsn't have to shoot you for trying not to pay.
It's like the liqour business durring prohibition, or the porn industry when it was illegal to make blue movies, or like prostitution is right now. When you make something that people want illegal, you create a lawless subculture that is infested with violence.
Boobies never hurt anyone. - Sherry Glaser.
One of the big successes of the anti-drug propaganda war is what you have pointed out, the way the authorities have been able to blame the problems of prohibition on the drug itself.
Now, just because prohibition causes problems is not necessarily an argument against prohibition; it is simply part of the cost-benefit analysis. Alcohol prohibition worked to some extent, it cut alcohol consumption in half. However, the general public decided that the costs of prohibition outweighed the benefits of reducing alcohol use.
When it comes to pot, all the scientific evidence shows that it is less harmful than alcohol; it isn't possible to overdose (unlike alcohol "poisoning"), there are no serious diseases proven to be caused by it (unlike cirrhosis of the liver), and it is not nearly as addictive (read up on delirium tremens, then find any description of pot addiction). Since pot is even less harmful than alcohol, there is even less reason to accept the cost of prohibiting it, as compared to alcohol.
Now with other drugs, like heroin, the benefits of reducing consumption may outweigh the costs of enforcement. Unfortunately, governments rarely bother to even admit the costs of prohibition, preferring to blame everything on the drug. The result is that people are forced to choose the more dangerous mind-altering substance, Alcohol. They must risk arrest in order to make the more responsible and intelligent choice of using pot, the least harmful mind-altering drug.
-- Pot is safer than Beer
Just ban Microsoft, since it supplies the software being pirated.
Coal power stations provide energy for electric trains / trams / trolley buses / light rail. Lots of that in Europe and other places. Not great carbon emissions though.
Gas (propane or butane) powers many vans and cars (e.g. my dad's van). Lots of it in Russia, though elsewhere it is being got through quite quickly. Gas cars were very common in New Zealand in the 1980s.
But more environmentally sustainable fuels would be nice.
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.
because i had normal mod points when i saw this, but unfortuneately the story submitter is an IDIOT, and michael is also an IDIOT, and many of the people posting responses haven't read ANYTHING related to the article except the posted blurb by the first IDIOT, and thus look like IDIOTS themselves.
f
The slashdot submissions clearly says that microsoft and the MPAA are both testifying that piracy supports terrorism.
"[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."
BULLSHIT
http://www.house.gov/judiciary/lamagna031303.pd
Here is the exact testimony of the microsoft lawyer. Terrorism is not mentioned a single time.
Microsoft's only contention here is that the majority of large scale piracy is done by very well funded operations with links to organized crime, primarily backed by and operating in countries with less strict or non-existant IP laws. It then goes on to say that much of the profit (and its nearly ALL profit) of these operations goes to funding other activity within those crime organizations, some of which is violent crime. There is PROOF of this cited in the comments. The only part of it that is conjecture is the estimated revenue and job losses due to piracy, the arguments against which are well known and do not need to be repeated here.
Nowhere in the microsoft testimony, nor in the ZDNET article is there any link between MS testimony and terrorism _at all_. Nowhere is MS claiming that piracy causes terrorism. Nowhere is there anything to indicate that MS and the MPAA are best friends in crushing your inner child.
This website might as well change its name to "microsoft_enquierer" or "microsoftdailysun" or some similar such tabloid name.
Oh wait! we already have theregister (which nearly every MS related article on slashdot invariably links to as an authoritative or credible source of "journalism")
If slashdot is going to try and act as a political or any other kind of entity, stick to the facts, clearly differentiate conjecture from reality, and at least make a half hearted attempt at being accurate.
My opinions are my own, and do not necessarily represent those of my employer.
Uerm... there's is no god.
If you define God as being all-mighty then look at this:
If god can do anything it could create a stone it can't lift. But then, it can't lift the rock, meaning it can't do everything. Or, it could lift the rock, but then the first thing won't happen.
^_^