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Jack Valenti, Dead at 85
saforrest writes "Jack Valenti, a man whose influence in both Washington and Hollywood was profound, died today at age 85. He first became famous as special assistant to Lyndon Johnson: he can even be seen in the famous photo aboard Air Force One. In 1966, he quit this job to become president of the MPAA, from 1966 to 2004."
I say to you that a stroke is to Jack Valenti as the Boston strangler is to the woman home alone.
RIP, Jack!
I won't believe until it's confirmed!
-Nick
pwned
...right on his grave.
Rot in hell, you son of a bitch.
Or, at least, it's a good start.
How we know is more important than what we know.
May Satan put you in a screening room with nothing but heavily blocked and poorly encoded DivX movies playing 24x7xInfinity.
Rest in Peace, sweet prince.
He will be missed... better the enemy you know, than the unknown that will rise to take his place.
I think that's about all my Karma will allow me to say.
Why, yes, I AM a Pagan Libertarian.
"If you want to have a backup of a movie you should go out and purchase another copy of that movie." "The VCR is akin to the Boston Strangler." - Jack Valenti
There's no point in acting like most of us liked him, even a little. We don't have to celebrate his death, but we also don't have to pretend he wasn't a douche.
Why did the media leave out the part about someone driving a wooden stake through his heart?
Until I see that footage, I'm not going to believe tha...
(Hold on - someone's at the door.)
AAAAAAAAARRRRRRRGGGGGHHHHHHH.....
Ahh, poor Jack. A nice guy who liked movies but didn't have a clue about how other people enjoyed them in the 21st century.
Rest in peace Jack.
(In heaven, there's no copyright law to violate. Everything is P2P. For reals!)
Truly an American icon.
To share your memories or express condolences, there is an online guestbook.
Ding dong, the witch is dead..
Hmmm. I wonder if I can get QuantumG to give the eulogy at my funeral?
---
Funny that my captcha is "forgive".
Jack's coffin will have some soil from his native Transylvania in it.
Trolling is a art,
Jack Valenti may have been a pro-copyright lobbyists that we all despise, but he was still a human being that had done more in his life for his beliefs than we can only hope to achieve. I send condolences to his friends and family.
He should have been hung as an enemy of our rights as Americans.
I know some people that were sued by the MPAA under his regime, who didn't have any pirated movies, and who were nearly ruined by legal expenses.
I don't care about angry MPAA fans and their mod points, he deserves a long line of people waiting to piss on his grave for the laws he and the RIAA have inflicted upon an unwilling majority of citizens in this country.
It's been ages since I've been to a movie because of him.
It's all anime for me now.
Not a dime to the MPAA-affiliated studios until the DMCA is shot down and buried for good.
--- Grow a pair, liberals... stop letting the Republicans bully you!
While Jack was quite the luddite in his waning years, he was instrumental in replacing the movie industry's repressive http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Production_Code">Hays Code [no sex, nudity, excessive violence, etc.] with the less-evil MPAA classification system. He also opposed the "clean DVD" proposal which would've seen sanitised versions of films -- a dangerous idea, if there ever was one.
Not all of us are pure evil, and Jack has to be applauded for moving the industry in the right direction. I only hope his successor is a forward-thinking visionary.
"The problem with our economy is that our budget is balanced by people who aren't" - A.E.N.
I know this man wasn't exactly our mascot, but can we please not celebrate the death of another human being?
I'm not asking for a moment of silence or anything. I'm just saying that the man deserves some dignity. He was misguided, at least, but he was a human being.
Valenti WAS the Emperor.
.torrent?
I'll be sending your wife and children burned copies of my DVD collection to include in your casket. May you be infuriated by them for eternity.
Ads? What ads?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Production_Code
"The problem with our economy is that our budget is balanced by people who aren't" - A.E.N.
Even though he lobbied for the the DMCA and is a proponent of DRM, he did however start the rating system which replaced the much more militant Hays Code, allowing movies to be less censored.
I just glanced over the topic title really quickly and saw "Jack" and "dead" and was really hoping that it was Jack Thompson.
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If you are a part of the RIAA and/or MPAA copyright regimes. Do you want to end like Hitler, Castro, or Valenti with large numbers of people celebrating your death? I don't mean in a HAHA way either. I wanted to be respectful and not to spit on the graves of the dead but I couldn't help but smile when I saw this headline.
Can we try to maintain a sense of perspective in the comments on this event? He might not have been the nicest man in the world, and he might have been misguided in many ways. But there is no excuse for reveling in his death.
In the grand scheme of things, even horribly misguided and abused copyright law pales in significance next to issues of life and death.
The world where everyone wishes death on everyone who has wronged them is an uncivilized and barbaric world that none of us truly would want to live in.
Can we keep that in mind and can we try to maintain some civility about this man's death?
Thank you.
I'm not interested in what our reaction says about him. But more about what it says about us. Jack is beyond living with our words, but we're not.
I was worried that the /. community would go overboard in their artificial hate for a man they never met or knew.
I'm glad we save our energy to tackle real problems like world hunger, war, government encroachment, etc...
Jack Valenti, why
so soon? Your apartment in
hell must be ready.
now selecting the next target ...
A human being died. Show some compassion.
Oh who am I kidding. He was an asshole.
Are you seriously lumping Hitler, Castro and Valenti together?
REALLY?
Will the textbooks five hundred years from now speak of the great 20th century tyrants and mention Hitler, Stalin, Castro and Jack "PG-13" Valenti?
How would that work? Hitler murdered his millions....Stalin murdered his tens of millions....Valenti was a tool of the MAFIAA....
The man's dead, show some respect. Let's have a moment of silence in his honor. Oh... wait, my moment of silence is actually encrypted using DRM that I lost the license key for. I'd reverse engineer it but I don't want to get in trouble...
This sig has been temporarily disconnected or is no longer in service
"During World War II, he was a pilot in the United States Army Air Corps, where he obtained the rank of lieutenant, flew 51 combat missions as the pilot-commander of a B-25 attack bomber and received four decorations."
"Valenti accepted a new job in 2004 as president of Friends of the Global Fight, a non-profit organization dedicated to raising money for the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria."
Yeah, sounds like a complete ass-hat.
Let's hope someone judges your life on one issue and one issue alone.
Let alone an issue that relates to something as earth shattering as fucking entertainment.
"put anyone working for the MPAA especially this guy as an evil bastard that need to die. "
No, no one deserves to die. Not especially for something as trivial as what they are doing.
But hey, go back to your little self-involved world where someone who disagrees with you on an issue deserves to die. Me, I'll be out in the real world where that shit doesn't matter. Go dance around your living room with your burned copy of whatever piece of trash DVD you want to watch claiming such a great victory for humanity; riding the world of such "evil" as you put it.
But let it be known that YOU are the real problem. Yes, you. Using the word "evil" to describe something like this trivializes things that are truly evil, like your attitude, where entertainment is more valuable than someone's life.
Fuck off.
"Anyways, just my 2 cents."
And that's just about what your comments are worth -- nothing.
At times like these, I wish there was a hell so people like Jack Valenti could be sent to it.
one down
Listening to an endless pirated loop of OAR for eternity.
Seriously, I promised myself I wouldn't get a DVD player until Valenti was dead. My wife went out and bought one anyway (about the time he retired, fair enough) so I guess I should go buy a DVD burner instead to celebrate.
I was planning to use up some of my mod points on this thread, but all the "piss on his grave" comments are already at +5. So much love for the man...
455fe10422ca29c4933f95052b792ab2
because Jesus said to "love your enemies."
You can't prove a nonexistence except by exhaustion.
Fag.Cigarette? What in the article linked the stroke that took Mr. Valenti's life to smoking?
Right. Because making it illegal to copy a fucking movie is really worthy of hell.
I mean, rapists, murderers, wife beaters, child abusers, people who don't let you watch movies... they're all the same.
Sure, the guy was a douche, and I'll be first in line to agree he deserved a swift kick in the ass, but that doesn't equate to deserving eternal torment in hell.
I'm not saying Happy Jack's death should be celebrated, but "he was misguided, at least, but he was a human being" isn't sufficient cause to not celebrate. There are some deaths that are simply good for humanity in general. Don't make me Godwin you to prove the point.
Weaselmancer
rediculous.
...you decided to go AC on that one. It's probably the funniest post in this thread. Bravo, sir. I'm still wiping away tears.
Weaselmancer
rediculous.
"Sometimes /. comments manage to give me the creeps..."
Creeps me out too, but not for the same reason it does you. Take a note of all the "ding dong" comments and add up the moderation then think "there's more like them out there". A lot are in postions of trust of some kind of resource (paperclips?), or they're going to grow up and become adults in the same position. Worried? Some are going or already have children and they're going to be taught the same ways as their parents. Worried more? Throw in a society that has thrown away any boundaries because they all come from some "magic" guy and it gets worse. Slashdot is just the tip of a very large iceberg and it's not melting.
In the end, hate is nothing more than a few chemicals swirling around in a brain. It has no meaning, it has no value, and most people who are in any way successful will have plenty of people who hate them. So will many who will never know success at all. Hate is commonplace.
What he had was money, power and influence - three things far more valuable than any mere emotion, and three things that protesters at the MPAA's excesses are unlikely to achieve to anything like the same degree.
I detest what this one man did, I detest what he stood for, but there's no use denying the fact that his was a story of success on a grandiose scale and that many people will try to emulate him for that very reason.
It's a small world and it smells funny; I'd buy another if it wasn't for the money; Take back what I paid (SoM)
I wish his family solace at this time.
Speaking to those of you who have expressed distasteful feelings here, try to remember that there is such a thing as "winning gracefully," "being a good sport" or whatever you wish to call it.
I don't like Valenti on the balance. He did some good things, but his last actions in life were, in my opinion, bad. This isn't the time to debate them.
One of the great measures of a person throughout our history is how they treat their fallen enemies. Take care how you treat yours now. Don't debase yourself, the community or "the cause" with your immature comments.
Don't post innacurate information
If you do, I swear by my pretty floral bonnet I will end you.
that someday I would piss on his grave. Someday I will keep it.
The race isn't always to the swift... but that's the way to bet!
It wasn't until he got into politics that he turned evil, and after all, didn't we forgive Darth Vader at the end?
... "
"He's more politician than man now, twisted and evil
"Ladies and gentlemen, my killbot features Lotus Notes and a machine gun. It is the finest available."
You have no clue how the system works. People DO NOT GET FREE ATTORNEYS FOR CIVIL SUITES.
The race isn't always to the swift... but that's the way to bet!
I just heard some sad news on talk radio - asshole and excessively litigating prick Jack Valenti was found dead in his Washington mansion this morning. There weren't any more details. I'm sure everyone in the Slashdot community will miss him - even if you didn't enjoy his approach to suing anything that moved, there's no denying his contributions to the fat wallet of MPAA members everywhere. Truly an American icon.
. . . are roasting together in the ninth circle of Hell.
I too have felt the cold finger of injustice.
"We don't have to celebrate his death..."
Okay, that's it... You're out of the club!
The race isn't always to the swift... but that's the way to bet!
And in other news, Satan has relocated to Arizona. When asked to comment on the change of venue,
he stated : "There's only enough room for one of us down there, and though I invented Lawyers this guy owns them all."
Service guarantees Citizenship! Questions Guarantee GITMO.... Amerika Uber Alles!
I was always taught that if you didn't have anything good to say about the dead not to say anything....
He's dead and that's good!
The race isn't always to the swift... but that's the way to bet!
For only the third time, the theme of the day is "Encouraging Creativity". Let's all show Jack how creative we can be.
"this is the same place where the murder of millions for such high crimes as being of a particular religious sect* is equated with the damnable offence of wanting video games that are rated "m" to not be sold to minors (because that's censorship, you know, the reason the founding fathers took up arms?)"
Exactly, and it mirrors to a larger extent where a portion of society is headed -- to the looney sections of the extremes; bored and stupid looking for a "problem" to solve.
Everything becomes "evil", the same kind of "evil" as genocide, etc.
Now you can no longer define what evil really is.
Murder is no longer of consequence because "we can't watch our entertainment".
Everything you want to do becomes a "right", as in a "constitutional right".
Now you can no longer define what a right is.
Your right to enjoy a DVD is now more/as important than my right to life.
Your right not to be offended is now more/as important than my right to free speech.
Have we become so bored / stupid that we must take these problems and fill them with such vile rhetoric so that we can placate our egos when we "solve" them?
Stop it, damn it, just stop.
I mean, are there even enough available mod points floating around to tag 99% of the replies here as "Redundant"?
Funny that I ran into this quote today: In heaven all the interesting people are missing. - Friedrich Nietzsche
"I didn't attend the funeral, but I sent a nice letter saying I approved of it."
Good riddance to bad rubbish
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the thank-you card, I mean.
I work for the Department of Redundancy Department.
...when I say, "I just hope he died of ass cancer."
Shiny. Let's be bad guys.
"...that had done more in his life for his beliefs than we can only hope to achieve."
He believed in taking away our rights to enrich himself. I for one do not celebrate his life. Someday I will find his grave and piss on it. I'll take toilet paper too, just in case...
The race isn't always to the swift... but that's the way to bet!
I haven no points, or I would.
Warning: Apple/Nintendo fangirl. Likes her electronics cute & cuddly. May be rabid.
I see both these links were removed. Did that really need to happen? Yes, we all hate Valenti, etc., etc., etc. Does this article really need to be nothing other than a collective bitchfest? The man was a big fat jerk, but do we really need to talk about nothing more than that?
In that case, here is Lord Byron's poem on Lord Castlereagh:
he was at one time a valuable member of the human race, and flew 51 combat missions as the pilot of a B-25 during WWII.
He did his duty and that is admirable, but his record for oppressing others afterwards leads me to believe that his choice of sides was an accident of birth. Good and evil involve more than bravery and sacrifice.
Friends don't help friends install M$ junk.
May he go to that special hell reserved for child molesters and people that talk at the theater...stocked with a shiny new Blu-Ray player and a stack of Sony discs that just won't play.
It must have been something you assimilated. . . .
Of all the people who were part of the Kennedy motorcade, few if any derived more influence and power afterward, than Jack Valenti.
He had an amazing, long life and career, and had a vast influence on the media in the US and the world. I wish I could say I was as sad to see him go as Bob McNamara. Only Henry Kissinger remains, among men for whom I have equal esteem.
-fb Everything not expressly forbidden is now mandatory.
Look at how despised this man was.
Lets start the countdown for GW Bush to sing his praises.
better the enemy you know, than the unknown that will rise to take his place.
Still afraid of the dark, are we? Tacitus derided this attitude 1900 years ago. Your imagination should lead you to do things, not cower in fear.
Do you think they could have picked a creepier picture of him? I mean, most people have to work hard to look like this.
Friends don't help friends install M$ junk.
"I say we take off, nuke the coffin from orbit. It's the only way to be sure."
Looks like in the early days of his MPAA presidency, he was fairly reasonable (as reasonable as anybody can be in that job). But he seems to have had a complete inability to comprehend and deal with the realities of 21st century technology. He should probably have stepped down from that job 20 years ago. The fact that the MPAA didn't make him step down 20 years ago tells you how troubled and outdated that organization is itself.
You know, in recent years, I had been feeling that the quality of discourse on /. has been going up. People usually have been taking things in perspective, even when the topic is Microsoft.
/. I've always known and loved! It's back, baby! :) :P
But now there are suggestions of celebrating a person's DEATH, and desecrating his grave, just because he didn't want you to watch some movies for free. Now, I'm a big advocate of copyright reform--I even donate to the EFF--but to show such hatred that you're happy about the end of a human life? Just because you disagree with him about copyright law? Wow.
Just, wow. Now there's the
All the comments expressing joy seriously make me sick. The man disagreed with you on essentially political matters. If you want to make it a "rights" question, the right he was trying to take away wasn't even a constitutional one! It was an esoteric statutory right that few really know anything about.
Were he Stalin, or Hitler, then yes, perhaps this would be warranted. But really, no-one here knows a damn thing about Jack Valenti other than the fact that he advocated for a different IP scheme than you. If you are happy for the death of someone who opposed you on such a ridiculously insignificant aspect of life, then you are fifteen times worse than you imagine Valenti to be.
Absolutely sickening. Save the moral outrage for something worth your outrage.
I can see it now: Every week Satan, who is inexplicably dressed in a green labcoat and assisted by a guy named Frank, will send Jack a bad movie that slipped through the cracks of the rating system. Of course, Jack will be kept company by some wise-cracking friends made out of brimstone.
This sig is false.
Okay, we all hate the guy, or at least what the guy stood for: money. But really, all he was doing was trying to keep himself employed. His tactics sucked ass, and his technique was a little bit... sub-par, but what I've seen of this story so far, the reader-base response has been pretty ugly.
The guy is dead. No need to be disrespectful of a dead guy. Don't send flowers, that's fine. But no need to piss yourself over it.
just my opinion, feel free to disagree.. it's your right. Someone out there probably liked the guy..
-CRUDE HUMOR ON-
Ding Dong! The Witch is dead.
Which old Witch? The Wicked Witch!
Ding Dong! The Wicked Witch is dead.
Wake up - sleepy head, rub your eyes, get out of bed.
Wake up, the Wicked Witch is dead.
She's gone where the goblins go,
Below - below - below.
Yo-ho, let's open up and sing and ring the bells out.
Ding Dong' the merry-oh, sing it high, sing it low.
Let them know The Wicked Witch is dead!
-CRUDE HUMOR OFF-
Rest in peace, Jack. You made a lot of people happy and gave us the wonderful GMRX rating system! Many thanks for the Hollywood Blacklist too!
signature pending slashdot approval
...for the person who can smuggle a bunch of copied DVDs into the casket, preferably into his suit pockets.
(Some time later)
Devil: Welcome to Hell, Jack. Glad to have you aboard
Jack: B...b...but I've been good. I've been brave, loyal and true to my industry masters this past 38 years! Why am I here?
Devil: Check your pockets. Now, will it be the burning spear up the clacker, or eternity watching Waterworld?
You Fucking Bastard. Yaknow Jack, I'll put in a good word for you to the man upstairs if you'll take Mitch Bainwol and his crew with you. maybe you'll get some furlough time or something.
Enjoy Every Sandwich
Valenti enters: "Hey, whose in charge here, there's been a mistake! I'm Jack Valenti, President of the MPAA!"
Bored demon: "Bend over, spread your cheeks, and SHUT THE FUCK UP, you depraved scumsucker."
If you want your life to be different, live it differently.
...to everyone at the MPAA / RIAA: We are younger than you, you will die before us. After that, we will change the laws you purchased.
Every time these organizations cycle out officers, there will be younger, 'hipper', more intelligent people taking their places.
Sometimes you just have to let a few generations die off to make progress.
-- lol pwned
Speaking to those of you who have expressed distasteful feelings here, try to remember that there is such a thing as "winning gracefully," "being a good sport" or whatever you wish to call it.
The most disrespectful sentiment is that his death is some sort of victory. It's not because the bad policies and laws he fostered and believed in are still here. His passing brings some hope of change and that is what we celebrate.
This isn't the time to debate them [unAmerican laws].
On the contrary, now is the perfect time to reflect on the man and his beliefs and what he accomplished. What better time will there ever be?
He believed in digital restrictions until at least 2004 and probably went to his grave without understanding the real social cost of such control. To this day, I'm forced to chose between digital freedom and participation in popular culture. There is no middle ground because people like him considered you and me an insignificant minority who should use other options. Rights don't work like that. You can't violate people's rights because few people would bother to exercise them. While many of the things he said have been repudiated for 20 years, the logic he used never changed and he continued to say things we all hate. Those things hurt all of us every day.
The passing of generations is often the only way real change happens. Mr. Valenti was a product of a different time. His loyalties reflect those times but his intransigence is timeless. The run away success of the VCR was helpful to those he professed loyalty toward, and his opposition was harmful to them. It is surprising that he never learned the lesson. We can all feel sad for his family but we can also look at the world as a place that's a little less hostile.
Friends don't help friends install M$ junk.
The French, back in the day, had a better way of handling people like that.
It was called the Guillotine.
America's problem is we hate the French and did not learn to emulate them in this case.
--- Grow a pair, liberals... stop letting the Republicans bully you!
Let me ask you one question
Is your money that good
Will it buy you forgiveness
Do you think that it could
I think you will find
When your death takes its toll
All the money you made
Will never buy back your soul
And I hope that you die
And your death'll come soon
I will follow your casket
In the pale afternoon
And I'll watch while you're lowered
Down to your deathbed
And I'll stand o'er your grave
'Til I'm sure that you're dead
you have made this statement in multiple places in this discussion. I have tried to verify the veracity of your claims, however google finds nothing, and the ny court law server is throwing errors when i query it, but the ny court system web site specifically has a "how to defend myself when i cannot afford a lawyer" pdf, which might indicate you are incorrect (..if a lawyer is free to anybody in any court, why would you even need a pdf guide to defending yourself pro se.. EVERYONE would just take the free lawyer). Unfortunately it crashes both firefox and ie, so i'll never know what it contains.
;) ..(redneck places like.. you know.. CA.. WA..) ...so if you can find a cite (or a new england lawyer can reply and confirm/deny), because this sounds somewhat implausible to me. in my experience, even in CRIMINAL court, getting access to a free lawyer is very difficult unless you are up on very serious charges or completely indigent. for instance, in WA, one must show bank records to the court (etc) to prove one has no means of income, etc.. and even then they provide you with an attorney, you must agree to pay something like $350-500 to their firm for representing you.
and you have the gall (in another post) to call other states "redneck" ? tell your 'redneck state' to hire some better sysadmins from the "crazy redneck" states i've lived in where one is NOT provided an attorney by the civil courts
so, since everyone here seems to disagree with you, I would respectfully ask for you to cite your source.. I am quite interested to find out if this is true. As of yet, I am under the impression that nothing is free in the US legal system.
I am Jack's complete lack of surprise.
Well hello Mister Fancypants. Well, I've got news for you pal, you ain't leadin' but two things right now: Jack and shit... and Jack left town.
No sig for now.
"I'm tired of Hollywood pretty-boys like you and Jack Valenti thinking you can have any woman you want." -Homer Simpson, speaking to Mel Gibson
That is the nicest thing that I can say for him. The worst would put the rest of these comments to shame. And there's no point in beating a dead Jack. May he be less of a tool when he reigns in hell.
Yay! Skipping commercials is no longer theft!
They say dancing on someone's grave is in poor taste.
Then color me plaids with stripes.
Any ladies care to join me for a tango? Watch your step. The soil is still a bit loose.
If it wasn't for an ocean between me and your grave, I'd enjoy leaving a big european shit on it.
The famous photo-series mentioned in the initial post has one where Congressman Albert Thomas winks back at a LBJ.
http://www.rense.com/general41/wew.htm
"One owes respect to the living. To the dead, one owes only truth." - some dead Frenchman
and good riddance, you stupid fuck.
Here's a little photoshop job I did awhile ago with Jack Valenti as Devil (131KB gif).
Every DVD ever published. No region code for heaven. :-)
RIP Mr Valenti. May you make it though because you tried to do good.
.. when ridiculing someone's death nets you +5 insightful. I'm sure many of you have spent a lot of time sitting alone and clenching your fists at people, but no matter how much you disagree with someone's opinions, you just don't marginalise and ridicule his death because of it.
Get a sense of decency.
Good riddance. The world is better off without him. If only he carried some incurable disease that was passed on to executives at Disney, Sony, and the RIAA, perhaps we might see the dying spark fair use fanned into a fire once again.
When I first heard this I felt joy. Then I felt a little guilty at having that joy - after all, this was a human life. Then again, he is in a fairly elite club - there are few people outside of elected office that have done more to trample on the constitution than he. To the great moderator in the sky, I hope you give him all he has coming to him.
~Religion is O.K., as long as it gets you laid.
'I found the most convincing part to be the working stiffs,' said Valenti of the PSA, 'the guys who have a modest home and kids who go to public schools. They make $75,000 to $100,000 a year. That's not much to live on.
Truly we are bereft of a visionary. Rest In Peace, Jack, 'cause we sure don't want another stiff to join the workforce.
He is struck down, does that mean his power from beyond the grave will be more then we can imagine?
Bye, Jack.
Ding dong, the witch is dead. Good riddance, Jack.
butter the donkey
Of all of the postings that I have seen since I started reading /. in the 90s, those in response to Mr. Valenti's death have been some of the most disturbing. I was expecting--and even appreciated, some of the comedic posts. And I don't mind most of the disrespectful posts: Most of you thought he was an asshole. Congratulations. He's dead. Good for you.
But the level of hatred that is showing up is disturbing. And it makes me wonder how many of you people would have shot and killed him if you knew that you could have gotten away with it.
To a good number of you: Show some class--if only out of respect to those who did care for him.
To the creeps: See a therapist.
To those of you can only now, after his death, vigorously express your hatred for Mr. Valenti, well, I bet we'll be seeing some of you on CNN in the future.
I find it as funny and satisfying as the next guy, but what's really accomplished? Jack was just a stick figure in the game, take him out and put the next crook, erh, rook in, and the game's on again. It's not like anything changes just 'cause one finally croaked.
... umm... Yes. That's about the best one can say about him: He was.
Yes, it's refreshing to piss on the grave of people we really, really, really hate. Too bad that they don't care about it, or they might stop doing what they are doing. I mean, I for one wouldn't like to have a funeral with a ton of people coming just to check personally if I'm REALLY dead and it isn't just wishful thinking.
But I doubt that Jack cared, or that his successor will. They know we hate them. They know we'd at best offer them a glass of water if they were drowning. Still they continue. If we want them to stop, we gotta make their life miserable, not their death. They don't care about us as long as they're living, how much less do they care once they're dead?
But, you know, nothing but good about the deceased and all that, so I want to end this with something good about Jack: He was
We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
I'm sure he'll make an absolutely splendid slime mould.
I mean, after all that practice...
Don't let THEM immanentize the Eschaton!
Everything I needed to know about life, I learnt from Blake's Seven
Beta is broken and the link to classic doesn't work. Stop wasting our time or there won't be anybody left here.
I am ashamed that no one shot this fool before he died of old age. An armed populace? What's it good for if this jackass can live to be 85?
the GPS coordinated of his grave.
An appropriate epitaph would be "Too rotten to be forgotten".
I hope Hollywood never recovers from the damage they have paid him to do to the general public, consumer technology companies, and to themselves.
He was one of the chief spokesdroids for the Hollywood "screw the customer, let's use Congress to make it easier to extract money from the public" business model.
Tech Public Policy stuff
and I don't have any need to apologize over it.
He's worked for an organization that uses lawbots to harass innocent people and extort money from them. The laws it bought are an attack on American competitiveness and the creativity of technological entepreneurs The evil which he helped do will live on after his death.
It distresses you that people want to piss on his grave? It distresses you that people think this something to celebrate?
Here, have a virtual kleenex to weep into.
Millions of people die every day, some of which have made contributions to humanity to be proud of. Valenti's just a piece of vermin working for an industry infested with them..
Tech Public Policy stuff
"we can only hope to achieve"
So did the Vtech shooter.When are you going to celebrate his life?
SINCERITY IN BELIEFS DOES NOT NECESSARILY MAKE WHAT IS BELIEVED IN A GOOD IDEA.
Tech Public Policy stuff
Or it'll become a regular 'rest stop' for geeks! :-)
nuff said
I will NOT feel sorry for him. Most people here wanted him to rot in hell for all eternity, and I don't think they should be apologizing for that view now that he actually is.
What he did was evil, vicious, callous, cold-hearted and affected billions of people. And his legacy will continue to do that for decades more.
I don't care if he was nice to his friends and family or if he was a real stand-up guy you could trust to pick up your kids from school. That still doesn't change the fact that his entire job for four decades was to rape, pillage and burn down the rights of other people. And it is certainly no excuse.
His company's persecutions of fair use and consumer rights were despicable and he is directly to blame for it.
I'm sure his family and friends are sad, but tens of thousands of people die every single day on this planet and my heart bleeds infinitely more for them than it ever will for this douche bag.
I didn't know him. I have nothing invested in this, the next lawyer prick is just going to jump out on stage right behind him and it will be business as usual at the MPAA. His death won't change a single policy he made. But that's still one down, plenty to go.
They say a man's success in life can be measured by how many people show up at his funeral. I say, how about subtracting the amount of people willing to piss on your grave after you're gone because of the way you've treated them?
So that would be, what? 1.5 seconds?
And when it's been DRM'd, there's no legal way to get at your silence for fair useage...
Woo yeah, another money grubbing millionaire manipulistic thieving bastard is dead.
google "32 trillion offshore needs IRS attention"
The Witch Is Dead... or so I would sing, but it would be an insult to witches/wiccans everywhere.
Is there any reason to be this disrespectful to the guy? He may have been a highly disliked human being - but he was still a human being. No one deserves the crap you guys have been laying on him the DAY AFTER HIS DEATH.
This is the first time I've been ashamed to have a Slashdot account.
Oh my God ... I love slashdot.
I find it exceptionally cruel. Worst world's criminals don't deserve such end, and he didn't even partially meet the...
oh wait...
he wasn't executed?
Pity.
45 5F E1 04 22 CA 29 C4 93 3F 95 05 2B 79 2A B2
"Equating Jack to the great monsters of the 20th century is simply a retort to those that claim he was simply a man."
No, it's hyperbolic bullshit that taints the argument completely. Its the same type of SHIT that is killing / has killed real political discussion in this country.
"You my friend, don't know what freedom is when it is staring you in the face."
No one is saying you can't say those things, moron.
Don't expect to say incredibly stupid things and not be called out on them.
Don't think that my calling you a sick bastard for celebrating someone's death is taking away your "freedom".
Funny how I asked to stop they hyperbole yet your post is completly full of it.
I ask that you call a spade a spade and stop dragging public discourse into the gutter.
Rhetoric like yours gets people nowhere.
You talk of Valenti as if you know him. Funny thing is, I bet you don't beyond what he did regarding the MPAA and your "precious" entertainment.
John Steinbeck wrote in "East of Eden" that when Andrew Carnegie died,
all he heard people say was "Thank God that S.O.B. is dead".
Remember the future...
no seriously
Mommy, can I dance on that man's grave? Can I? Can I? Pweeease!
"'I pass the test,' she said. 'I will diminish, and go into the West, and remain Galadriel.'"
- JRR Tolkien.
He was my second-favorite Freakazoid guest star, after Norm Abram. (No, really. Look it up.)
Slashdot Burying Stories About Slashdot Media Owned
Most of us are Christians. We are forgiven our sins against our creator for no reason at all.
Actually there is a very BIG reason. It's because the Son of God Himself paid for our sins for us, out of love.
Ding Dong the Jack is Dead
Which Jack?
The Wicked Jack!
Ding Dong the Wicked Jack is Dead
Ding Dong the Jack is Dead
Which Jack?
The Wicked Jack!
Ding Dong the Wicked Jack is Dead
One jerk down, several million employees and shareholders to go. If we did have a blood bath that would be unrivaled, even in the Soviet purges, we would finally be able to start creating IP without worrying about the IP maffia. We would finally be able to create the future, instead of living in the feudalism of the past. Of course, that would mean the deaths of every employee (current and former) and every stock holder (current and former) of every member company in the RIAA, MPAA, and BSA. I don't think we have the balls to do it.
Andy Out!
... in Boston?
Hope its hot where you are docuhebag
Jack Valenti: The VCR finally killed me. You bastards.
I totally agree, all I can think when I read most of these comments is HOLY SHIT. I mean most of these people on here commenting don't even know who Jack Valenti is. The ones that do shouldn't be talking smack about him either. Not because hes dead but for the fact that they didn't know the person. When someone dies you pay your respects, ALWAYS. You will see the hero, or villian in a story will always pay respects to his apponent. The way people on here are commenting it seems as though everyone is a 10 year old. I've seen a few posts where people have been honest. The guy isn't well liked among those on slashdot. I will conceed to that, but for some of these posts to say evil died today, blah blah blah piss on him blah blah blah hes going to hell. Its just rude and uncalled for.
You can say you don't like the guy, that you never agreed with his opinions and say your glad his influence is no longer there. But follow it up with RIP or condolences to his family, because even if we don't like him someone else probably did. It makes us look like assholes to them if we don't show the respect that everyone deserves when they pass, especially someone who was so influential.
Oh, say does that Star-Spangled Banner entwine / The myrtle of Venus with Bacchus's vine?
sounds like an excellent poll, I'd be interested in the results
"but I respect human life even more."
Great, because if you respect human life, you respect that Jack lived to a ripe old age and died of natural causes.
No one caused it, and you can respect "life" all you want, but Jack is dead. He did no good for the average person (quite the opposite), and so the fact that people are glad he's dead? So what. That didn't shorten his stay on this mortal coil for even a minute.
Get over yourself, really.
You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means.
Showing compassion for the death of another is hardly sociopathic, nor antisocial. Some of the things Valenti lobbied for, on the other hand...
Spielberg - In a sometimes unreasonable business, Jack Valenti was a giant voice of reason
Iger - A man of great intelligence, integrity and humor
More tributes
Do these gazillionaires know of an entirely different Jack Valenti ? Someone genuinely benign, kind, funny ? I wonder.
...smothered in hot grits.
$%*&^*^#^!@!# (CONNECTION LOST)
If you don't want to repeat the past, stop living in it.
I'd bet that he'd have been the first to make an illegal copy of himself
Regards, Ian
I know this man wasn't exactly our mascot, but can we please not celebrate the death of another human being? I'm not asking for a moment of silence or anything. I'm just saying that the man deserves some dignity. He was misguided, at least, but he was a human being.
I'm sorry if this comes as a surprise to you, but many of us on Slashdot are assholes, and honest enough to admit it to ourselves. Furthermore, to paraphrase Ecclesiastes, there is a time and place for everything. I trust no-one here would disturb the mourners at the funeral, but for geeks everywhere, the end of his life merits at least a sigh of relief, and Slashdot is as ideal a forum for such as may be found.
Yes, a human being is dead. He doubtless had personal friends and family, and I feel some pity for the sense of loss they now experience. Losing someone is never easy. On the other hand, I never encountered the man in person. Instead, I encounter the DMCA he championed, the copyright extensions he supported, and the diminishing recognition of the "fair use" he disbelieved in. For those who interacted him as human being, feel free to mourn. For those who love humanity for its own sake, his life was long and rich, and with less to mourn in its ending than thousands who die each day across the face of the world. But for those of us who have only interacted with his legacy as a tool of corporate power, some may choose to celebrate, for having outlived the man, we have a better hope of outliving his ideas.
On the other hand, his ideas are thriving, so there's not all that much to celebrate. Ding, dong, the witch is dead... now, get back to work . There's still a DMCA.
//Information does not want to be free; it wants to breed.
In 1982, Valenti said, "I say to you that the VCR is to the American film producer and the American public as the Boston strangler is to the woman home alone." And then the home video market the VCR created ultimately came to be the mainstay of movie studio revenues throughout the 80s and 90s. In spite of his earlier evil that proved to be baseless, he lobbied for the DMCA in 1998 stealing our freedom. Good riddance!
"You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can, and will, be used against you in a court of law. You have the right to legal representation and if you can not afford legal representation, an attorney will be provided for you."
Seems pretty clear cut to me.
And I know, at least in Okla, this is true. Many of my friends do pro-bono work for the indigent that are accused of crimes. I suspect it is the same everywhere and I don't think I understand what you are saying when you claim that "nothing is free in the US legal system". If you, truly, can not pay for an attorney, then you have one assigned to you from the public defenders office. This is SOP for any criminal court in the land.
Now, civil trials are a whole different matter. There is no such right to representation in civil cases so perhaps that is what you are speaking of.
Some people might think he died because he was 85. Rather it was his association with the MPAA / RIAA. Wicked living will do it to you every time.
Fuck him.
Yes, he's a person and a human being. But that does not account for his deeds while he was living.
Fuck him and the horse he rode in on. I hope he rots in hell. (and yes, I know this is mean-spirited, but hey Jack - tit for tat)
We all die, dying shouldn't be treated with such stupid reverence.
A person like this individual, whose life's work was to destroy the US cultural heritage, and by extension, the cultural heritage of the rest of humanity, only deserves our utter contempt and a sigh of relief knowing he is not around with us anymore to continue spreading his venom.
IANAL but write like a drunk one.
Otherwise record labels and movie companies would not invest the amounts of money they do in order to try to control it.
In such an important issue it is to be celebrated that such a hated figure goes away. Good riddance, shame there is no god that would punish him for his unethical, quasi criminal, activities.
IANAL but write like a drunk one.
What about if the system is broken pal?
Should we celebrate the lifes of those that perpetuate it?
This guy clearly was no mass murderer, but frankly I feel nothing but contempt for him, you have no right to dictate to others how they feel about such a despicable character's demise.
IANAL but write like a drunk one.
If the technologically inclined can't differentiate the real issue, what hope is there for the common people or even the well intentioned politician?
This individual, and the industry he represents, subverted by means of political lobbying and support of dubious technology, the intention and spirit of US law in regards to copyright.
And before you dismiss copyright issues as minor in the great scheme of things you should reflect that the US founders considered of such high importance that they worked on legislation to regulate it.
They understood copyright is the basis of an elnightened society, unfortunately they reached the worn conclussions, but Valenti and his ilk do not respect even that flawed version of copyright.
IANAL but write like a drunk one.
> the famous photo aboard Air Force One
Its interesting to note Johnson didn't need to take the oath -- he was already president. Upon the president's death, the vp shall become president. End of story.
However, Johnson felt it was important for national continuity to do it anyway.
(-1: Post disagrees with my already-settled worldview) is not a valid mod option.
Where not in all cultures it is considered bad manners to celebrate the departure of an unethical individual.
IANAL but write like a drunk one.
"One may complain that we demonize the man because he took away something as trivial as movies. This is not true. We demonize the man because, for something as trivial as movies, he was willing to take away our freedom."
Sounds nice except for the fact that in slashdot's case most of those freedoms aren't based on facts but some quasi-fantasy world which was demonstrated in the first interview we had with NewYorkLawyer. Demonizing a person based on ignorance is nothing to be proud about.
Lets celebrate people with beliefs, no matter how misguided and harmful they are.
You must be joking.
IANAL but write like a drunk one.
"If we want them to stop, we gotta make their life miserable, not their death."
I recommend cranking up our geo-content-hiding P2P clients to maximumn from the safety of our basements, because we all know that'll hurt them. No sir none of that "But I'm not hurting anyone, but" or "free advertising", or even "try then buy" nonsense. Hurt 'em while we can. Jumping up and down and yelling a lot on slashdot will certainly bend the world to our whims and have the MPAA/RIAA/Book publishers/Steam/etc, etc, etc cringing in fear.
One thing is to celebrate the departure of some person that has made so much damage (and you should pause to think how much damage has been inflicted by the amount and strength of dislike for this man) and another one is to be a potential murderer.
Your jump of logic is so idiotic and monumental that begs belief.
Asking to the victims of this individual's actions to show some class is frankly too much to ask, and frankly it is not up to you, who was obviously not affected by this man's actions, to do the asking.
IANAL but write like a drunk one.
He's dead now, he did bad things when he was alive; some guys really think trolling on him will change those facts?
.. but just think about that?
NO
If he'd be alive; ok; you can hammer on him because it -might- change something, but will it change something now?
NO
He's still human; is it human to be judge, jury and executioner on someone who should be resting in peace by now?
NO!
Maybe show some decency for the deceased and their family?
Pretty please sugar on top?
It's easier to hate someone than loving and caring (okok, I don't expect you to love him)
--- I am known for the ones who want to find me on the net. Is that a privacy risk or a privilege? One might wonder..
Hitler fought in the 1st World War, I think he even won a medal or something...
IANAL but write like a drunk one.
Too bad this rule of "Respecting the life of others as you expect them to respect yours" is not so common among people (anymore) (trampling on the lives of others for the sake of their own good) ....
...
It's a standard I live by; do not harm any, do not hurt intentionally, do not bring any in danger and respect anyone as much as you would expect yourself; which is not really seen as a "good value" anymore but rather as a nuisance for most. Which bothers me the most is that some people think they are perfect while they make that error day by day...
Still it feels good to meet/see people who think (and surely FEEL) similar with such dignity and respect;
it makes me not feel alone on this world where money is the A-factor instead of humanity
--- I am known for the ones who want to find me on the net. Is that a privacy risk or a privilege? One might wonder..
RIP Jack.
"A microprocessor... is a terrible thing to waste." --
GeneralEmergency
Don't you know that admission to heaven has nothing to do with your actions during your life? One need only believe and worship to be admitted.
Hilary Rosen, for MSNBC's Hardblogger http://hardblogger.msnbc.msn.com/ site, covering the recent debate, and inserts her "Ode to Jack Valenti" http://hardblogger.msnbc.msn.com/archive/2007/04/2 6/170130.aspx. "Clown following the lion tamer," indeed.
Really, I mean "I have not won anything but hope."?? Give me a break...
Web2.0: I love when people Flickr my cuil and digg my boingboing until my google is reddit and I start to yahoo
Roast In Purgatory
Again, the point is that I disagree with him, but I certainly don't think the issues at stake are serious enough to CELEBRATE HIS DEATH over.
Selling out our basic rights for coporate profits? I'd say that is pretty scummy. People have fought, bled and died for the past several hundred years for the rights and liberties that you and I enjoy. Then along comes a corporate whore who works to undercut those rights from within, all in the name of insuring the all mighty dollar for coporate profits.
Burn in hell, Valenti.
Some relate stories of his actions with Italian partisan fighters, doing "black op" type off-the-books absolutely anything goes guerrilla actions during World War 2, with him working with the OSS.
Of course, it was the OSS that (blending with forgiven Nazi elements) became the CIA after the War.
He also was said to have ridden just a few cars behind JFK in Dallas on the day he was shot. Given his position there as an observer, and the admitted use of Italian hitters in the triangulated fire, there's quite a solid chance (seriously) that Valenti was the coordinator of JFK's killing.
Then, from this, LBJ creates a never-exited-before nothing job as reward.
> Do you actually know of a single case anywhere of a murder committed by an atheist because the victim believed in god?
Stalin's purges killed more than a few such people. You can find similar examples in China, especially modern China, where an unregistered house church will get you disappeared.
It isn't about Britney Spears.
It's about the police state that Jack Valenti helped sire upon this country - "trusted" computing where your computer isn't yours to control; copy protections that prevent you from backing up your DVDs which leaves you vulnerable to your kid turning your precious movie into a PEANUT BUTTER JELLY TIME! coaster; higher punishments for copying a DVD than stealing a car; ill fated legislation to let the MPAA crash your hard drive if they think you're pirating stuff... and so on.
Yes, historically, people have been hung... hanged... guillotined... shot... made to walk the plank... for waging this kind of police state war on our freedoms.
It's a shame this man grew old and fell into his grave and left behind a legacy of nothing short of pure corporate statist tyranny for the rest of us to get out from under.
May your chains set lightly.
--- Grow a pair, liberals... stop letting the Republicans bully you!
Valenti may have just fallen in with the wrong people after his service; he may have been raised by parents who chided him for "stealing ideas", etc.
It impossible to find the phrase "stealing ideas" in print before 30 years ago. This is a concept created and propagated by people like Valenti. I can only hope that bad idea goes with him.
Friends don't help friends install M$ junk.
For the Germans, or for the Japanese? Odd, I would have figured that the only job he'd be able to hold down in a military would be concentration camp guard.
Tech Public Policy stuff
"Now, civil trials are a whole different matter. There is no such right to representation in civil cases so perhaps that is what you are speaking of."
While true, one can still get an attorney on contingency. I've done it twice in civil court, and I believe NewYorkLawyer does MPAA/RIAA cases as well.
I don't think anyone will see this post, as this news item is off the front page, but i think it's important for history that it be noted that Jack Valenti did embrace Laurence Lessig's Creative Commons and the idea that people who expressly wanted their creative output to be freely shared should have the right to do so.
Looks like old Jack didn't last forever + a day.
I do not know this man personally, but from his actions I can pretty much guess the type of person he was. Obviously he does not have a good rapport with the common people, especially those whom his company has sued over alleged copyright violations or the heavy handed tactics in which he crafted by coercing the justice system to go against the citizens individual rights and privacy. These actions alone tell me that Jack Valenti is a man who will do anything in his power to get his way. A Characteristic that is similar to a megalomaniac. If more people like him were to just disappear and not exist, this world would be a nirvana, but unfortunately there are people like Jack Valenti and many of his ilks are in power and still alive today.
John Wesley (7th paragraph from linked location) and Emmanuel Swedenborg beg to differ. Also: James chapter 20 is all about that.
how are you so well acquainted with Valenti's personal bio?
Tech Public Policy stuff
I really find it too bad almost the entire thread is modded troll because of another perspective on society.
/. as social-interacting factor. Atleast mod them parents off-topic but trolling??
To my opinion this wasn't trolling but rather honesty being discussed; which is for sure one of the most valuable things which -can- happen to
Such topic could be opened more to see how people -do really- think and react about such matters instead of just ignoring them; it's a rather interesting topic which others feel "bad" about while it's the most normal reaction or thing to do at that moment for some...
end of rant..
--- I am known for the ones who want to find me on the net. Is that a privacy risk or a privilege? One might wonder..
As per his last wishes, Jack's soul was encoded with DRM. Unfortunately, he failed to realise that there is no DRM in Heaven...