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Boy Scouts Introduce Merit Badge For Not Pirating
The_Slaughter writes "The MPAA has recruited the boy scouts of America to do their dirty work. Scouts will now be able to learn a merit badge for anti-piracy related activities, including creating public service announcements urging others not to steal movies or music. No word yet on if that includes helping the MPAA file lawsuits against 80-year-old grandmothers."
"Scouts also must choose one activity from a list that includes visiting a movie studio to see how many people can be harmed by film piracy. They also can create public service announcements urging others not to steal movies or music." And complete a lobotomy.
Do they also have merit badges for not thinking independently? Or one for having your IQ reduced to a single digit and being converted to a near-mindless automaton?
"We are all geniuses when we dream"
- E.M. Cioran
Its not stealing, since you are not depriving anyone of the thing. Unless this merit badge is for going into record stores and lifting cds. Somehow I doubt it.
The editors should be more careful with their phraseology.
I'll just use my special getting high powers one more time...
I'm guessing that fair use won't be part of the learning experience.
This reminds me of the children in 1984 who were trained to turn anyone who may have comitted a thought-crime.
I realize the Boy Scouts like to try to teach morals and the like, but it doesn't sit well that the *AA's would be able to create a new merit badge and start indoctrinating them.
Errie.
Lost at C:>. Found at C.
Merit badges are typically awarded for the completion of a task (hiking, camping, good works, &c), not for passively NOT doing something. Is there a merit badge for not smoking? How about for not cheating on exams?
These qualities are important, sure, but to dangle a badge as a carrot for not doing something wrong seems a like it's missing the point. Boy Scouts have a code and moral values (including those that would keep you from pirating software, smoking, and cheating) are implicit therein; further bribery, especially in the form of badges, seems unwarranted.
I left my wallet in El Sigundo!
I think this is very inane.
God spoke to me.
Do you think the education provided by the MPAA will be even handed?
Right. You just turn all your kids over to us and we'll explain to them EXACTLY how copyright laws work. Of course, we'll also just tell you the parts that make our 'cause' look good, but that's how it should be right?
There is no -1 Disagree mod. Slashdot.org/faq defines mod options. USE IT.
Putting the fair use argument aside for a moment, who thinks it's a good idea to reward people for what they should be doing anyway. Should I expect to be rewarded because I didn't shoplift today or commit murder?
-Grey
Silver Clipboard: Time Management Tips
The patch shows a film reel, a music CD and the international copyright symbol, a "C" enclosed in a circle. The movie industry has developed the curriculum.
Shouldn't the boy scouts decide what their badges are? This is like McD's making the health curriculum for a school.
-Grey
Silver Clipboard: Time Management Tips
This is f'ing BS. They're making a merit badge for doing PR work for an industry that is completely incompetant at doing thier own PR work.
It's bad enough that MS hijacked the acronym "BSA".
If you think education is expensive, you should try ignorance -- Derek Bok, president of Harvard
This is pretty absurd. No doubt I have a new reason to write to the BSA.
Luckily, the people that make these decisions are not the people that are leading individual troops. My Assistant Scoutmaster was a liberal radio columnist, far from the socialist "join the army" stereotype portrayed by some, and my actual Scoutmaster was often heard saying "I don't care what the requirements say". He'd rather the kids learn the material than blindly worship the step-by-step process if it meant skipping the crap so as to learn the meaty stuff. Of the three weekends spent doing the Computers merit badge, we might of discussed the "Is it permissible to accept a free copy of a computer game or program from a friend? Why or why not?" requirement for a total of three minutes.
I'm strongly going to urge any sons I have in the future to join scouting, not only because it's where I met some of my best friends and was my first chance at taking a leadership position, but because it was just plain fun. However, I will also be the parent that attends the meeting, make sure that I agree with the way it's being run, and if not check out another troop. There are plenty around that one will "do it right", by my standards, and not by the book.
CowsAnonymous: We're here to help moo.
I don't have any statistics one way or the other on that. Certainly, I often hear that these people are married and have children. Who is gay or not is up to them. If some people have an agenda whereby they want to define as many people as possible (or as few) as gay, that's their problem.
My point is, this is not something which is representative of the community any more than the actions of a few priests are representative or Catholics, or the actions of Foley are representative of congress, or that blacks are more likely to commit crimes, or that Hispanics are probably illegal immigrants who are in gangs, or that all Muslims are terrorists, or that all Americans are gun toting fundamentalist rednecks. None of the preceding are fair generalizations to any of those communities.
You can't go about painting an entire group of people with the same brush. But, this is slashdot, where it's more expedient to do so.
Cheers
Lost at C:>. Found at C.
Que? Slashdot. News for nerds. Stuff that matters. This story does not match on both counts and neither do most of the responses to it. C'mon guys. NEWS for nerds. STUFF that matters.
My mother used to say (and I suspect many did) that if I put half the effort of getting out of doing something into getting it done, I'd be done with it. I think the MPAA needs to listen to moms everywhere and put some energy into creating a business model that actually works with the changing times, not against it.
The Scout oath states (emphasis added)...
On my honor I will do my best
To do my duty to God and my country
and to obey the Scout Law;
To help other people at all times;
To keep myself physically strong,
mentally awake, and morally straight
So does this not imply a scout's obedience to governing laws, including copyright laws? Isn't providing this kind of merit badge redundant by simply reinforcing what the scout already promises? As I recall, the merit badges I earned for my Eagle Scout rank were meant to be skill-related...
My mom always said, "Jim, you're 1 in a million." Given the current population, there are 7000 of me. God help us all!
...in misleading summary shocker! Keep watching for the latest developments! Seriously, you almost had me with that Battlefield 2142 "spyware" thing the other day, but this time I was more vigilant. Muahahahah!
Perhaps you missed my argument- my criticism was that, in his desire to combat the stereotype taht all gays are potential child molesters, the activist made an equally outrageous claim that homosexuals are almost NEVER child molesters. He seemed to be implying that a man who is sexually attracted to other men is somehow immune to being attracted to boys.
You can't fight stereotypes with equally outrageous claims to the contrary - it just makes the arguer look stupid and diminishes his real, legitimate point.
"As God is my witness, I thought turkeys could fly." A. Carlson
Those belt loops were called "Skill Awards." For those who weren't in Boy Scouts, skill awards are sort of lesser versions of merit badges and they are required for the lower ranks. Merit badges are much more involved. I suspect you're right, the article probably has it wrong and the anti-piracy thing isn't really a merit badge at all.
I think I'll substitute the "Make a Public Service Announcement" for a 200-word essay on Why the Digital Consumer's Bill of Rights is a good idea"
Since you are already a MBC, you understand that you may not add to, delete or change the requirements. If the requirement were to say "Make a public service announcement", that's exactly what the candidate should do, not write an essay. How you go about it is between the MBC and the scout, but one requirement cannot be substituted for another unless it is specifically allowed.
However, many of those allegations are fair to the leaders of their respective communities. The Catholic Church has covered up the actions of a few priests (all the way to the top - they swear an oath to protect the church, above an oath to protect children), the Republican leadership may have covered up the actions of Foley, and certainly leaders of several Islamic countries have said such things as "death to Israel! kill $PERSON_X!", and many of our own politicians have encouraged the gun-toting fundamentalist redneck in all of us so we will be easy to control.
Indeed, the MPAA-developed "curriculum" begins :
Intellectual dishonesty is no different than child abuse
My next sig will be ready soon, but subscribers can beat the rush
I'm not an Eagle Scout; more by choice than anything. Years ago, I took a honest interest in scouting, but was very disappointed in the whole scheme. While some might assert that scouting isn't supposed to be a focus on survival skills, why else for all the survivalist training such as cooking without stove, camping with minimal supplies, hunting etc.? OK, so there are much better clubs to join that can better teach you how to eat dirt, weeds and to build a sheltor out of leaves and bark... but I was still rather annoyed at how little the Boy Scouts prepared a young adult for if they did get lost in the woods and had to get by a few days.
Looking back on those days, I realize that the Boy Scouts is heavily capitalist, despite any hopes a young scout might have for actually learning something for outdoor life. I remember the joy of seeing the Boy Scout emblem on my new portable stove, knife, compas etc. It never really dawned on me till after the fact, the Boy Scouts were actually far more mainstream than what people might expect. For a real life comparison, they are like the Air Force with air conditioned, reinforced tents in "war" rather than the Marines left to cover up with whatever they might, their jackets, a rock... anything but no air conditioner. I also came to realize everything in the Scouts was geared towards making me think like a malible consumer. A consumer which even if he isn't "sold" by advertisement, will still buy whatever is in the advertisement. A consumer who thinks that name brand is everything (does it have the Boy Scout Emblem!?). The dangers in this, is also an intiment involvment with the authorities behind the hype, and I assert no organization, no company should be above either the People or the Government. It is often in Capitalist Nations that people tend to bag on the government and forgive the Company without considering the fact that all their horrors were becuase of the Company rather than the Government; America doesn't go to war becuase of public support, but becuase of entire industry wide consensus (A lot of private/public companies making money off of our campaign in the Gulf and that money is not going to expand Middle Class. This is fact.).
Yeah, I learned how to pitch a tent, tie a few knots, and clean a wound. But, honestly, I could have figured that out along the way anyways... the depth of how much they teach in the Boy Scouts I believe is a hidden agenda as well. "You're too stupid to do much else, and trust Big Business and it's ability to make sure you won't ever have to decide which flower or weed you can eat. If you do end up in the woods, your car broke down and left you stranded becuase of Government regulations. In the meantime buy this handy Boy Scout Portable Stove, Boy Scout Portable Water Purification Kit and Boy Scout Compas to help tide you over till Big Business will rescue you."
The Boy Scouts is really a political/economic condition course for a particular ideology. The fact is, most capitalists embracing nations have Youth Programs all, in some way, dubbed as "scouts". Communists, tend to go for "pioneers". They all expose simple survival aspects which more give an impression of the phenomenal attraction to "Tips'n'Tricks", while underneath the stage tricks and simple wood carving classes... there's a political, philosophical, economic lesson vehemently pushed and ingrained in the childs mind.
Sure you get a letter from the President for making Eagle Scout. Those that are trying to push their message are often proud of their efforts; yes, it's worth something to put on your resume, there are benefits adding to real life incentive to encourage parents to toss their children into these programs.
Bottom line. I didn't learn all that much while in the Boy Scouts. If you went against the grain you were punished for it. For example, most of the kids in my district ran around with State Fair, Stainless Steal, Rambo "Survival Knives"... it seemed the ONLY non-Boy Scout peace of gear authorized for use du
My first reaction was like that. It seems like Scouting, which I admire, is being misused for propaganda (other than the obsolete proto-militarism that it was created for).
But after thinking about it, this IS an interesting merit-badge subject because it involves both something relevant to today's kids (MP3s) AND an issue of ethics, which is a strong point of Scouting.
Ethics come most into play when the temptation is high and the risk seems low. Piracy is a great example. So it's a teachable moment for ethics, which aren't taught explicitly in many places these days.
Of course, if the whole thing comes packaged by the ??AA then it will suck, because it won't question the ethics of the laws themselves.
The original copyright laws were socialist in nature as the constitutional purpose was the promote science and art, by allowing limited publishing monopolies.
But, as the limits kept being extended/extinguished, the publishing monopolies became something that was treated more like property,
and something of a an artificial "capitalist" market did appear to form.
But note that after the point when the monopoly no longer serves any innovative purpose, this is a complete artificial government monopoly, with no more purpose/value than allowing someone to "own" the color red or allowing someone to patent the layout of the solor system.
Being a member of the scouts and an activist for the piracy movement all at once I don't welcome the decision of the BSA to join forces with the MPAA/RIAA/whatever. Scouting is ment to communicate, exchange and explore culture on an international level. The reason why the scouts could become such a huge movement was - and ever will be - cooperation and communication with other people in other regions/countries. Killing down ways to freely (and anonymously) share our culture is in no way compatible with even the most basic ideas of scouting, as I see them. Everyone can rest assured that we scouts are free human being who were taught to think for themselves. We believe in critical thinking, at least most of us do.
Just how, exactly, does an inquiry into a land deal end up with questions about sexual tendencies?
So you have a problem with him lying about something that the trial in question had absolutely nothing to do with? Even though you would have done EXACTLY THE SAME FUCKING THING AND SO WOULD EVERY OTHER MAN ON EARTH?
I've fucking had it with you hypocritical, uneducated Republican shitheels hamming it up on Slashdot, as if you had one fucking ounce of moral fiber in your being.
Ex nihilo nihil fit.
Person A buys a laptop:
- Dell gets $$$
- Person A gets a laptop
Person B wants a laptop. He steals it from Person A:
- Dell does not get any more money
- Person A loses the laptop they paid for
- Person B gets a laptop
Person A buys a CD:
- Artist gets $$$
- Person A gets music
Person A rips the CD and uploads the contents to a file-sharing service. Person B downloads it:
- Artist gets no money
- Person A still has the music
- Person B also has music
As you can see, the creator getting no money in both examples, but in the first example Person A loses his item, while in the second scenario it's Person A that's actually allowing Person B to download a copy. Person A is the pirate, not person B.
~CGameProgrammer( );
Boy Scouts are in troops. Cub Scouts are the one's that have packs.
Back when Napster was still an interesting thing, my mom (a lifelong scouter) asked me where I'd gotten a bunch of oldies music. Here's how I remember the conversation:
"It's called Napster. It's a place where you can download free music off the Internet."
"Is it legal?"
"Not really. They'll probably have it shut down in a month or two."
"Well, hurry and get what you can."
My mom is as honest a person as I know. I just don't see this merit badge winning a whole lot of hearts and minds.
You want the truthiness? You can't handle the truthiness!
Well you had me agreeing with you right up until the point you wrote this bullshit. You're a pretty sorry excuse for a human being if you really believe that. Did you ever think that those innocents you are wishing harm upon might not have agreed with the idea of the war either? Or do you just consider them "collateral damage" making you no better than the man you condemn?
You can only drink 30 or 40 glasses of beer a day, no matter how rich you are.
-- Colonel Adolphus Busch
As an Eagle scout, I can guarantee that the only reason anyone would get this badge is to make a joke about it. They wont be able to sell the book and it will drop into history.
(You really should read their books; they're much more interesting than you might believe, and you might even learn something! For example, that the various Open Source models - yes, even the ones that allow such attached "capitalist" trappings as Red Hat or MySQL - are much much closer to Marx & Engels' concepts than anything seen before.
The "dictatorship of the proletariat", the bit that everyone seems to get stuck on and hung up over, is itself merely one (Marx thought inevitable; Engels wasn't so sure...) stepping stone on the path to Communism
Read the books, and you might come away with the feeling that Linux itself is an expression of one of those stepping-stones...)
What part of "a well regulated militia" do you not understand?
Agreed. I didn't bring up being an Eagle because it was largely irrelevant, but the required badges are certainly more involved than Basketry (which I earned no less than five times in a single week of summer camp). Several of the badges require a minimum of ninety days involvement (personal fitness comes to mind, though I'm sure there were others).
I won't get concerned until the "Respect for Intellectual Property" badge becomes Eagle-required. At which point I'll personally go down to headquarters and find out what the hell's going on, and tell them to get back to their proper (ie, founding) values. Scout's Honor.
How are sites slashdotted when nobody reads TFAs?
The way I see it, copyright is "communist" in that it's supposed to primarily be a mechanism to control corporate greed, i.e., "you have a temporary limited control over your (or your company's) intellectual property, but note that it's only limited and only temporary - you cannot hold complete and utter control over your creation, and your exclusive rights will expire one day, liberating it for all to use."
Of course, the corporations don't exactly like this shiny outlook and are busy trying to erode whatever rights the consumer has and extending the terms toward perpetuity...