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U.S. Declares War on Intellectual Property Theft
bblazer writes "Reuters is running a story about a new US effort to stop intellectual property theft. From the article "The U.S. Justice Department on Tuesday outlined what it called its most sweeping crackdown on bootleg DVDs, fake designer goods, illegal music downloads and counterfeit drugs." It also goes on to say that media (movies and music) is highly affected, but so are products like batteries, baby food and Viagra."
Oh no! They aren't going to crack down on my favorite Duraking batteries. Or maybe Dinacell?!
(For those of you unfamiliar with cheap batteries, those are real, and they are all made to look like duracell batteries)
Monstar L
It's a fair point, but these headlines usually reflect the way it was spun by the government. You have to know how press teams work - they send out the press releases to Reuters etc, then they'll call the individual journalists and put their spin on it. Because they're then first to answer any questions the journalist might have they can influence the story.
Picture the conversation like this:
Journalist: so is this a real crackdown? WIll there be resources to back it up?
Apparatchik: Sure. Think of it like our war on IP theft.
Journalist: Thanks.
"The war on drugs to me is absolutely phoney, its so obviously phoney, ok? It's a war against our civil rights, that's all it is. They're using it to make us afraid to go out at night, afraid of each other, so that we lock ourselves in our homes and they get suspending our rights one by one."
Bill Hicks
I've had the theme tune to Quantum Leap going through my head all day... Now you have, too!
I can download and buy US Anime for $1.
This very very cheap. Yay! ^_^
http://www.animeclub.us
http://www.cybercrime.gov/iplaws.htm
This site brings up some good points hope you find it as informative as I did
Chris Williams clw7500nc@gmail.com
The labels only have these rights because the artists assign them, and I have no sympathy
Label: "If you don't assign your rights to us, we'll sue you for subconscious copyright infringement of songs that we control." Given Bright Tunes v. Harrisongs and the combinatorics of western music, one would think that songwriters face a situation almost like that of software patents.
You are buying into their propaganda by using their word "theft". Copying is not theft.
I've had enough abrasive sigs. Kittens are cute and fuzzy.
Afghanistan today: Most of the people are feeling optimistic about their future after decades of war and oppression. First person to vote in the first ever democratic elections was a 19 year old woman.
That's the official line. What I've heard is that people are afraid to vote, as they expect to be killed for cooperating with the americans, Opium production is something like 70% of the world supply, and the fundie religous types (like the Taliban) are gaining power again. Call me when they're sovereign and at least halfway friendly.
"We returned the General to El Salvador, or maybe Guatemala, it's difficult to tell from 10,000 feet"
You missed the news I guess, Halliburton got kicked out of a huge chunk of the Iraq contract since it was misbehaving too badly (refusing to audit itself, refusing to cooperate when the government ordered an audit). I guess Cheney was too embarrassed about his own company to keep the relationship going.
Hey Mr. Wanna-be History Major, wake up! The U.S. did not put the Taliban in power. In fact, the Taliban were not in power until 1996. Afghanistan had a democratic government after the Soviet Union left, and then in the 90s, the country went into a state of civil war, and when conditions were right - the Taliban sneaked in the door. As for U.S. support of the Taliban, there wasn't any. Carter and Reagan supported the mujahadeen in their war against the USSR. Most mujahadeen were not radicals - they were just defending their country from the threat of the Soviet Union. Yes, one of these mujahadeen was Usama bin Laden, but he's just one man among many.
The US don't attack France and Germany now, because it would just hurt too much for US people to bare with.
The US change at their will the governors of countries for people frienldy to them, and even CIA agents, as was the case with Noriega, who attained his power with US support, or most of LatinAmerica, where US troops trained in Panama the military death squads that killed civilians in Argentina, Uruguay, Chile, and most of South America in the 60's, the 70's and the 80's.
Those they can't control, they buy. Those that can't be bought, because they think they have enough power, like Saddam, are destroyed.
Destroying Iraqs government, and imposing one that is fond of the US is not called "leaving" in my book. It's called "delegation", and middle management.
I talk about murder by the US. Saddam is a murderer. At least he is mostly alone. Bush is not alone, and most of the people of the US support the murders he commits. That's something to be ashamed of.
I think that the US are the most dangerous contry in the world, because they have created the middle east conflict, as we know it. It was a conflictive area before, but "terrorism" as we know it, was not created before the opression supported mostly by the US gave an excuse for the jihad.
Add that to the fact that, although they are not the only country with nuclear weapons, they are the only ones that have actually used them against mankind.
So, they are ultra-powerful, known murderers, people supported, war mongers. Yes, they are the biggest threat to mankind that exists right now.