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MPAA Names Dan Glickman To Replace Jack Valenti
Zordak writes "Fox News is reporting that the MPAA has chosen a new chief to replace Jack Valenti. Dan Glickman is an avid Linux user, a well-known consumer advocate, vehemently critical of the DMCA and a member of the EFF. Ha ha. Just kidding, Dave Barry style. Dan Glickman is actually a seasoned Washington politician, having served as a Kansas representative and agriculture secretary under President Clinton. He has previously been a lobbyist for the Walt Disney Corporation, and his son is the producer of such quality fare as 'Shanghai Knights' and 'Rush Hour.' Don't be looking for that 'approved' Linux DVD player soon."
same as the old boss.
The MPAA and RIAA need to realize that they make many billions of dollars each year, even though they charge non-optimal prices for their content. If they charged less, I think they'd actually make more money. I hope this new guy realizes that the cost of the litigation against your average file-sharer is likely more than the gains against piracy. The key here is simple economics: more people would be able and willing to pay if music and movies cost less.
You know, paying lip-service to the demands of your 'enemies' (hey! they're not going to see us as friends) is a time-honoured "solution" to a sticky problem. So if the MPAA comes out with 'Linux users can be legitimate users if they do X, Y, and Z", even if this only applies to Linux *vendors* , they could claim a certain amount of brownie points in a courtroom.
"They refused the compromise we offered", "They steal (sic) our IP", "We demand the death penalty", (with the exception of the latter, at least I hope) these are reasonable "court" arguments. Consider the case of the clueless judge (sorry your honour, but it's a fact that most of your kin aren't technically aware), the "industry expert" (read: paid shill), the "compromise offer", and the cold hard law.The 'rock and a hard place' doesn't come into it. Yes I'm aware I'm mixing my metaphors, it's late
Let's hope they continue to deny us a 'reasonable' way of doing what we want - at least then we have a reasonable argument that they're being unreasonable. This is more important than most realise, I think....
Simon.
Physicists get Hadrons!
It looks like this guy knows how to lobby very effectively. The MPAA is an organization whose primary purpose is to lobby for the interests of the motion picture industry. Were you really expecting someone who would take things in a new direction? (he was probably hired based on his ability to keep things the way they are!)
The only thing that's surprising to me is that he doesn't seem to have much connection to the industry. I would have expected an insider to be promoted instead of someone being hired in.
Am I part of the core demographic for Swedish Fish?
Doesn't this seem like a huge conflict of interest? I realize that there's no laws against it, but wouldn't the other MPAA members worry that this guy's kid works for only one of the member companies?
Anybody think we can get an interview/Q&A session with this guy? If we can let him know a little more about our position (was it the journalist from MIT that interviewed Valenti?), maybe we can avoid an out-and-out war, and let him know we really care about this stuff...
I [may] disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it.
Because it will be even harder to justify the use of any other player.
In Soviet Washington the swamp drains you.
The playstation II runs linux AND plays DVDs... Most people know this but I felt like pointing it out anyway. Also I am pretty sure the M$ XBox that also plays dvds runs linux as well.
411 Y0UR 8453 4R3 8310NG 70 U5!! -NSA
Since we pay former congresscritters a fortune to do nothing after they get fired or quit, is there a reason we can't tie their pension into their future income? Once someone leaves congress, they should be given a choice, never work again and collect the cash or never collect the cash and work for whoever but the tax payer isn't going to be giving any handouts.
There must be something good about him. The Republicans are furious that a Democrat got the job. Billy Tauzin, the thouroughly corrupt Republican who rammed through the Medicare "reform" bill had the first offer but declined. Last I heard he was taking a lucrative job with the drug/health lobby that are the huge beneficiaries of his Medicare "reform" bill. Another revolving door corrupting government and costing tax payers billions. This is the bill that was sold to everyone at $400 billion because the head of Medicare was concealing the $500 plus price tag to get it passed. He was also negotiating a multimillion dollar private sector job, with White approval, while he was working on a tax payer bonanza for his future employers. More revolving door corruption. This bill also precludes Medicare from negotiating for fair prices on drugs like every other country in the world does.
Glickman is in trouble because he is a lobbyist and the party in power, the Republican's, decided it was their god given right to have a good Republican in this job, so he may finds doors closed to him. Valenti was a Johnson Democrat. If they get a good Republican in this job they can dominate one more part of American life, and put an end to all the un-christian and anti-American movies(like Fahrenheit 911). OK, I may be exaggerating a little but only a little.
I wager the MPAA will cave to pressure from the right and a extremist Republican will replace him.
@de_machina
Every government program every written into law in Washington has cost more than it was "supposed" to. Is there anyone out there that doesn't already realize this fact?
The party of stupid and the party of evil get together and do something both stupid and evil, then call it bipartisan.
Valenti was an advocate of public debate. I hope this guy is too, but Valenti's openness was unusual. Here's an mp3 of a debate between Lessig and Valenti (although I side with Lessig on the issue, I'd score Valenti as the winner of that debate). And here's the interview of Valenti by the MIT student.
But what's "our position"? I see a lot of posts about getting an "approved Linux DVD player". I think these posts miss the big point.
Someone will, eventually (or already?) make a proprietary DVD player for GNU/Linux, and then people can install it, and then where will we be? We'll be as good/bad as Microsoft Windows.
GNU/Linux is a nicer OS to use because everyone's free to share it and collaborate in it's development. Free software DVD players can't be produced because they are prohibited by the DMCA.
The goal was freedom and we've come too far to give up on that. We don't need an "approved" player, we need permission for the public to write DVD players.
Expert in software patents or patent law? Contribute to the ESP wiki!
Yea, but the Republicans will only be in power for four more months, and you can help make sure that happens.
The Finnish alliance with Germany during Continuation War was practically the only alternative to avoid Soviet invasion; there weren't any strong Nazi symphaties in Finland. Consider the following questions:
- How many Nazi allies were able to maintain democratic constitution through the war?
- How many Nazi allies had field synagogas for their Jew soldiers during the war?
- How many Nazi allies had Jew soldiers on the line, who were granted German iron crosses for their bravery (although unsurprisingly, they all refused to receive them)?
Finland has EU's longest ground border with Russia. Nazi allies or not, we fought practically for our existence. Without alliance with Germany, we had likely became Finland's Soviet Socialist Republic, or remained "independent" only under communist puppet government.“Wait for Hurd if you want something real” –Linus
If the presidency WERE to change hands, it would STILL not occur until January.
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