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11-Nation Raid on Net Pirates
Cobb writes "The US Justice Department announce a global crack-down on large scale internet pirates distributing first run movies. According to the article: "FBI agents and investigators in the other nations conducted 90 searches starting Wednesday, arresting four people and shutting down at least eight major online distribution servers for pirated works, a Justice official said. Authorities also seized hundreds of computers in raids in the United States, Australia, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, Israel, the Netherlands, Portugal and the United Kingdom.""
I still don't see why they don't go after the real pirates, who make and distribute these things commercially, and mostly in foreign countries. Seems to me that the non net pirates are probably a bigger threat. But they wouldn't need an international crack down force to find them (just walk through manhatten sometime), so I imagine they have to spend money on something. A shame.
This signature has Super Cow Powers
and only 4 people arrested? Man, industry seems to be able to buy a lot of "justice" nowadays...
Because Osama Bin Laden won't bring them money.
Perhaps Sweden had better things to do with their police force, like arrest murderes, rapists, and real criminals. Not to say Movie Piracy is legal (morals aside), but the amount of manpower and resources this takes is absolutely ludicrous for the overall payoff.
It would be interesting to see how much money this saved the movie industry - errr, I mean cost the rest of us (i.e. taxpayers) to fund this joint venture.
You know, it's interesting how the punishment relates to the crime... every time I watch a DVD, it reminds me that the penalty for the unauthorized reproduction or distribution of copyrighted works, including those not for commercial gain, are investigated by the FBI and punishable by up to 5 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. IIRC, that's the same penalty you get for the distribution of CP. Seems like our priorities are screwed up somewhere (one way or the other).
Proud neuron in the Slashdot hivemind since 2002.
... for the corporations to arbitrate and exploit (legally) with the backup of politicians and law enforcement agencies.
I knew it that my crazy uncle was right when he said that:
police is there to protect the rich from the poor. Nothing else.
Don't worry uncle I have faith in the system. For each pirate server they shut down, three more will spring out.
On other news today: Software piracy in its last throes. Exclusive interview with Joe Sixpack Pirate. Administrator officials have been regularly holding meetings with pirates...
Yam, yam, uga booga, yam, yam, yade, yade, uga booga, yam, yam, yade, yade
"It would be interesting to see how much money this saved the movie industry - errr, I mean cost the rest of us (i.e. taxpayers) to fund this joint venture."
...) then the govermnent would get their share in taxes.
Thats an interesting question, but your only looking at what it cost for the operations. It would be fair to hypothetically calculate the lost revenue the govermnent lost through taxation of legal sales.
What i mean is that you pirate a game, no one really makes any money.
If say 10% of those who pirate, actually went out and bought legal copies (went to theaters,
"Im drowning here, and you're describing the water!"
Also...
So the law signed by Pres. Howdy Doody says a file/movie pirate can spend ten YEARS in jail?? Yet, people who rape and murder often get less. I see now that our priorities are finally straight. How much faster can we go downhill?
Of course, the money saved by the copyright infringers probably goes to consume other products, and probably products from some more competetive industry. Those purchases would probably also be taxed, and even better, they would quite likely employ more local people per spent unit of currency and create more wealth as almost every production chain is more efficient than the intellectual monopoly industries.
So, as a whole, society quite probably gains from piracy.
Good thing you can get 10 years in prison for pirating a movie... and only 5 for raping a child. Our society sure has it priorities straight!
Well, at least we will be able to see the great effect this has on *AA's bottom line. If they don't report several billion dollar increase in revenue, I'd be shocked! Shocked, I'm tellin' ya'...
If you mod me down, I *will* introduce you to my sister!
They do. The Matrix Revolutions comes out, and lines and crowds at the theatre are ridiculous. Maybe some people want to see the movie before it's totally spoiled by people talking about it, but can't because they actually have jobs, so they pirate it. A large percentage of them in this case will still go see it in the theatre, because it's part of the "experience."
Computer games are similar, but for a different reason. You have no idea how many computer games I've bought that have just flat-out SUCKED, or wouldn't run, or were full of bugs. Because of that, I tend to pirate first, and if it's good, I buy it. Even if I didn't, the industry as a whole still got a lot of money it in no way deserved because I bought shitty products in the past.
I'm not condoning the behavior. It's just more complicated and nowhere near as damaging as the industry would like you to believe.
I kind of hope they're holding him in secret right now and torturing him....
References to torture aside (we're not supposed to be doing that...we're the good guys...aren't we?), if we did in fact have Osama in custody, do you honestly think the current administration would keep it a secret? Dubya would have hourly announcements going out about his latest 'victory' in his demented little 'war on terror'.
Sure, I'm bitter. You'd be too, if you knew what I know.
____
~ |rip/\/\aster /\/\onkey
As long as we're looking for Osama bin Laden, we have a valid pretext for continuing our agenda of social control. 'We need these extra powers to protect ourselves from terrorists. We mustn't be too squeamish about civil liberties. After all, Osama bin Laden is still out there.' Once we actually catch Osama bin Laden we suddenly have a problem. People will ask: 'Doesn't that mean the war is over?' That undermines the entire project.
Therefore it's better to have a token search for Osama that occasionally turns up a suitably lunatic Arab whom we can market to the press as The Al-Qaeda Nth-In-Command, and meanwhile go ahead with the police state project and the Middle Eastern Imperial Oil Hegemony plan.
Real Daleks don't climb stairs - they level the building.
Osama Bin Laden is pirating music
:) NO
NOW will you go catch the fucker?
Between you and me, strictly off the record of course
You see, Osama is our boy. He was funded and trained by the CIA. The master plan is to take away your rights and freedom, as well as to centralize power so only a few people have all the money and power. So the rich need a boogeyman, something to threaten the people with, a scapegoat. Some event will happen, "terrorist act", and immediately afterwards, they'll start pointing a finger at their scapegoat, no evidence... 9/11 (reichstag fire), blame the terrorists (blame the commies), what's the difference here?
You people better give up your rights, we're passing the the patriot act, real-id act, etc etc, until there is a full on police state, if you object, well something bad might just happen to your beautiful city here see? Oh watch out, that evil boogey man Osama Bin Laden is gonna get you. Aren't you glad that you have us, along with all these police, and surveillence technology to protect you?
I choose not to do evil things, because I am not evil, not because of some law that says I shouldn't.
Therefore, I do not believe in torturing anyone, regardless of who they are, because torture is evil, and I am not.