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AllofMP3.com May Hinder Russia Joining WTO
gitana writes "The New York Times is reporting that American trade negotiators may demand the shutdown of AllofMP3.com as a condition of Russia joining the World Trade Organization." From the article: "Music industry officials say AllofMP3, which first came to their attention in 2004, is a large-scale commercial piracy site, and they dismiss its claims of legality. "It is totally unprecedented to have a pirate site operating so openly for so long," said Neil Turkewitz, executive vice president of the Recording Industry Association of America, who is based in Washington ... AllofMP3.com says on the site that it can legally sell to any user based in Russia and warns foreign users to verify the legality within their countries for themselves. The site features a wide selection of Russian music, but is written in English with prices listed in United States dollars."
we use us dollars in a big amount of places. So it is just called as "Standart Unit" in price lists (mostly in internet and computer hardware shops), in russian (Uslovnaya Edinitsa). So about piracing mp3's, not to much people use such sites (mostly called bydlosites). There are a lot of free sources and home networks
Reading you loud and clear!
It is certainly not as important as civil rights. It is certainly not worth bankrupting families with ridiculous lawsuits. And its certainly not worth making the whole world bend over backwards to the whims of a few fatcats with an aging business model in a relatively small industry; compare the content industry to the technology industries that build devices for viewing/listening content, and they're a drop in the bucket. Its like a Flea barking orders at the dog.
With all the real problems in the world, it pisses me TF off watching a bunch of greedy millionaires complaining that they aren't able to screw over their customers like in the old days, suing kids and old ladies, and somehow trying to argue that piracy is robbing them of "potential revenue" that is orders of magnitude more than the total revenue of the entire industry.
Allofmp3.com is the best online music store. If they want to shut it down, all they need to do is bring up a "licensed" site with at least as big a selection, no DRM, and a fair price.
Fuck the WTO. Fuck them right in the ear. The W stands for "World", not "America" (and it definitely does not stand for that misguided retard in Washington...).
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"American trade negotiators may demand the shutdown of AllofMP3.com as a condition of Russia joining the World Trade Organization"
WHAT THE F**K?!
I think America is getting too big for its boots lately, I won't mention Iraq, but they basically told the Swedes to shut down The Pirate Bay and now they think they can blackmail Russia too - and over such an important thing as the WTO?
OK then America, you shut down Microsoft or we'll kick you out of the UN.
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So wait - selling Cold War NBC leftovers doesn't even muster a UN slap on the wrist, but pirating trivial pop culture content is a showstopper?
Please explain to me how it is a recording industry group concerned about its monopoly could hold up a former world superpower, a nation of significant landmass, natural resources, goods, services and consumers, from joining the World Trade Organization?
While the WTO itself is a seperate subject of discussion, what part of reality did world leaders abandon to put such significance on any one single market as to exclude an entire nation's industry?
What a supereme coup these guys and their ilk have pulled off - the world now cow-tow to the notion owning and controlling ideas, instead of not just preserving and protecting, but fostering the creation of new ones. How shameful, and how disappointing, I see so little concern for this insane set of priorities.
Sorry for the bad spelling and words - I only started learning English 3-4 years ago. Ironically I started to learn so I could come to America, after reading my country man Alexis de Tocqueville and listening to my Dad's old college stories of how independant and voiceful Americans where - so why have not Americans been the first country to say no to what is clearly short sighted greed?