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G8 Summit Aims To Kill International Piracy

arcticstoat writes "Next week, the G8 summit will discuss proposals for new international piracy laws, which include border controls and cooperation from ISPs to identify pirates. The laws will also prevent ISPs from being liable for copyright infringement. If the G8 summit were to agree on these measures and enforce them through international cooperation, could they really cut down piracy, or would they be impractical to enforce?"

65 of 340 comments (clear)

  1. Huh?! by c0l0 · · Score: 5, Funny

    What the ....?! I thought G8 were working actively _AGAINST_ global warming, and now THIS?!

    Outrageous!

    --
    :%s/Open Source/Free Software/g

    YTARY!
    1. Re:Huh?! by Mordok-DestroyerOfWo · · Score: 4, Funny

      Actually every time you download a song not only are you contributing to terrorism, communism, and kitten killing, the Earth actually heats up by a fraction of a degree. By fighting piracy the G8 are actually fighting global warming.

      --
      "Never let your sense of morals prevent you from doing what is right" - Salvor Hardin
    2. Re:Huh?! by gstoddart · · Score: 4, Funny

      Actually every time you download a song not only are you contributing to terrorism, communism, and kitten killing

      As a socially conscious person, is there a way I can download songs which only causes kitten killing? :-P

      Cheers

      --
      Lost at C:>. Found at C.
    3. Re:Huh?! by kdemetter · · Score: 2, Interesting

      Actually every time you download a song not only are you contributing to terrorism, communism, and kitten killing, the Earth actually heats up by a fraction of a degree. By fighting piracy the G8 are actually fighting global warming.

      Next we will see a video of Bin Laden , threathening to share copies of some unreleased popular movie ( some bad cam version). That would surely disrupt the American economy

  2. What kind of pirates? by GameboyRMH · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Data pirates or ship-hijacking pirates? Oh data pirates. You'd think they'd deal with the other type first.

    --
    "When information is power, privacy is freedom" - Jah-Wren Ryel
    1. Re:What kind of pirates? by spun · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Seriously. A lot of people don't realize just how many actual ship-hijacking pirates their really are. Parts of Africa, especially near Somalia, are rife with them, as are the Straits of Malacca.

      --
      - None can love freedom heartily, but good men; the rest love not freedom, but license. -- John Milton
    2. Re:What kind of pirates? by Red+Flayer · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Why is that?

      Which "costs" more to the economies (read: businesses and campaign contributions) of the participating nations?

      If this were a summit of PacRim & SE Asian countries, you might have a point.

      --
      "Trolls they were, but filled with the evil will of their master: a fell race..." -- J.R.R. Tolkien on Olog-hai
    3. Re:What kind of pirates? by sm62704 · · Score: 4, Insightful

      I don't know about your country's WTO members, but as an American I want all American WTO people tried for treason and put in front of a firing squad. And I want their companies' buildings leveled in the most hostile manner possible and their business licenses revoked.

      The WTO is anti-human. They need to be stopped by fair means or foul.

      It's disgusting that this comes before my country's Independance Day. My country's government is owned by foreigners and American traitors.

      Sorry for the ran but this really pisses me off.

      --
      mcgrew's razor: Never attribute to stupidity that which can be explained by greedy self-interest
    4. Re:What kind of pirates? by Roger+W+Moore · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Sadly there are far more Data pirates than "Board ye ship" pirates.

      True, but data pirates don't kill people.

    5. Re:What kind of pirates? by sumdumass · · Score: 2, Informative

      You do realize that Treason in america is a specifically defined offense and there isn't anything that G8 members are doing that would meet that definition. It would also take a constitutional amendment to redefine Treason to include their actions that you find offensive.

      That being said, I think you will carry more legitimacy and perhaps convincing weight if you can show a real criminal statute that was actually broke that the rest of Americans could believe was broke. You may be correct in that they are bad people (even though they are mostly country leaders at this level) but people who are in the know will likely ignore your comments as another ignorant and mislead person who it disgruntled. This is important because if you ever expect something substantive to be done, it is the people in the know who will have to do it.

    6. Re:What kind of pirates? by sconeu · · Score: 2, Informative

      <PEDANTIC>
      Polonium (Po), not Plutonium (Pu).
      </PEDANTIC>

      --
      General Relativity: Space-time tells matter where to go; Matter tells space-time what shape to be.
    7. Re:What kind of pirates? by DaedalusHKX · · Score: 2, Interesting

      There's a difference between foreign nationals, and foreign citizens. See, most of the "patriot" types, while they have a fairly good point (as the other reply said "not unwelcome", "nor uncommon" they get the "foreigner" term because their language has been dumbed down. Most do not understand how the game of words is played out there, to their detriment.

      Anyways, its one thing to be a foreign national on American soil... its another to be a US citizen or a foreign citizen. Both of those directly imply that the individual has willingly sworn fealty to the almighty government of (insert country name here). What the GP was attempting to say is simple. Foreign CITIZENS own those companies... banks, central banks, etc. Its one thing for foreign nationals to come HERE... its another for them to be doing the bidding of a government.

      We won't argue the validity of the idea of coercive government in the first place, since such ideas are far too forward thinking for the average slashdotter, but lets at least look at it as it is. Foreign nationals owning property in America, AOK... those can also be first generation immigrants who know that citizenship is fealty... thus, while their children will be American nationals, they will retain their nationality and swear fealty to NO government... or they can play the citizenship game to be able to travel through conventional means.

      Frankly, I would have expected the dissolution of governments in general to be viewed as a positive thing... but most people prefer to cling to tyrants rather than trek into that "brave new world" that might be so easily accomplished through mere and massive civil disobedience to the tyrants. But when neighbors would rather rat out neighbors than stand together and clean house, the price for freedom of any kind becomes such that most cattle are unwilling to pay it. Such is life.

      --
      " What luck for rulers that men do not think" - Adolf Hitler
    8. Re:What kind of pirates? by sm62704 · · Score: 2, Insightful

      I am a foreigner in your country. If I visit your country I will show you and your countrymen respect. I will try to learn your language if I don't already speak it. I will NOT try to change your laws. I will NOT try to take over your industries. I will NOT try to subvert your customs.

      Sadly, most people are not like that, especially those with the money to be world-travellers; those sort think they are owed anything they wish because they have always gotten everything they wanted.

      "Foreigner" is not a put-down.

      --
      mcgrew's razor: Never attribute to stupidity that which can be explained by greedy self-interest
    9. Re:What kind of pirates? by someone1234 · · Score: 2, Insightful

      That would be dangerous. Soldiers would get hurt, you know. It is easier to cuff some music loving geeks.

      --
      Patents Drive Free Software as Hurricanes Drive Construction Industry
    10. Re:What kind of pirates? by Stellian · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Ignoring for a moment you parenthesis, I fail to see how piracy impacts the economies of other-than-US states.
      When most of your software is produced abroad, and your indigenous culture sells much less than Hollywood to your own people, then why should you protect the mostly-US copyrights ?
      Take for example the new French anti-piracy, 3 strikes law. It's obvious that most movies and most software (Games, Windows, Office) transferred by the pirates is of US origin. I would go even further, and say that if the pirates would no longer pay for American bits, and Americans themselves won't pay for french bits, the result would be a net win for France, lowering the import/export deficit - more money left to develop France, and less in Ballmer's account.
      In this perspective, the initiative of Sarkozy strikes me as very treacherous towards the French people - why should the French government protect the US copyright more aggressive than US themselves ? Hey, I can understand a little tap on the back from the US, but Sarkozy should protect his voters from US, not herd them like cattle into paying for imports.

    11. Re:What kind of pirates? by Stellian · · Score: 4, Interesting

      France needs the US's help (just as the US needs France's help) in ensuring that the IP of their companies is respected worldwide.

      Well, you can't have the cake and eat it too - it's either you have a net income or a net deficit when you substract the IP you buy from what you sell. Import/export is a zero-sum game, someone sells more and someone buys more, it's impossible that all economies sell more than they buy.
      It just so happens that most economies in the world have a financial deficit, and US has an enormous excess, when it comes to the type of bits pirates swap for free (movies, popular software etc). So it makes sense to say that US should lead the "global fight against piracy", and not a smaller country.
      Would enforcing foreign copyrights on the French people increase the respect other nations have for French IP ? No, the amount of enforcing a country is expected to do is regulated with bilateral trade agreements. Ideally (egotistically), a country should have no respect for other IP, while claim 100% respect for it's own IP, if only anyone would agree to such an asymmetric deal.
      Making an example of your own people is anti-national , you should enforce as little as possible, without breaking the agreements, and thus have the maximum gain - your exports are respected and your imports are minimal. Even more so when you have, as explained above, a net financial deficit from IP.

      Note that I'm not trying to imply that intellectual property is bad for the society as a whole, and that we would be better off without it; I make no claim on that issue. It's strictly an economical/diplomatic approach, what's the best course of action an economy should take.

    12. Re:What kind of pirates? by a_real_bast... · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Foreign citizens owning property/companies/stuff in OUR country? Surely not!
      'Course, it's not my country.
      It's been the reality all over the world for years. The rest of the world has just started earning enough to be able to buy bits of you, now.

      Massive civil disobedience might topple a government. It might topple several. It takes rather more to actually change the mode of government (see "Zapatistas" at your nearest search engine for evidence).


      Offtopic: I've sworn fealty to nothing and no-one. I pay the government, and take advantage of the services they provide. Unfortunately, that seems to go to their heads.

      --
      You're making me think. You won't like me when I'm thinking.
    13. Re:What kind of pirates? by Red+Flayer · · Score: 2, Informative

      I see your point, but I think there are a couple things that might make you question the logic.

      One is that IP is not standalone; that is, you can't look only at the gains and losses re: IP wrt international trade. If a country violates a trade treaty with another country, pretty much all trade treaties with the respective country are void (to the extent of the damage caused by the first violation). See Antigua vs US, WTO decision made in 2007. Unfair trade practices re: gambling by the US means that Antigua can seek redress by violating their trade treaties with the US (such as their IP recognition treaty).

      Second is that individual organisations (businesses, etc) can easily be negatively affected by decisions that seem to make sense for the economy. It is hard to say whether France, for instance, would take action re: IP that would effectively kill certain industries, in exchange for free access to US IP. This is especially important because if France-US IP relations deteriorate, anyone wanting French IP will simply buy it from US companies for much cheaper.

      The idea is to increase the size of the pie -- make sure IP is honored everywhere, so everyone can partake (hopefully profitably).

      As for import/export being zero-sum, that is false. If it were zero-sum, we wouldn't have nearly so much currency fluctuation. Valuation of currency is not fixed. E.G. the importer of a product may value the product at $x USD, while the exporter may value it at $y USD... and in their native currencies, the amounts may be different once again.

      No trade is zero-sum; this includes import-export balances.

      --
      "Trolls they were, but filled with the evil will of their master: a fell race..." -- J.R.R. Tolkien on Olog-hai
    14. Re:What kind of pirates? by Von+Helmet · · Score: 3, Funny

      No, but piracy does fund terrorism.

    15. Re:What kind of pirates? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny

      Sadly there are far more Data pirates than "Board ye ship" pirates.

      True, but data pirates don't kill people.

      "Data pirates don't kill people, data kills people."

    16. Re:What kind of pirates? by Opportunist · · Score: 2, Informative

      Sarkozy's wife is a singer, songwriter and model.

      Any questions remaining?

      --
      We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
    17. Re:What kind of pirates? by Eivind · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Are you saying that foreign investments are somehow bad ? Even if the investor very carefully follows all the rules-of-play setup by that nations government ? That makes zero sense, infact most countries (including the USA) WELCOMES investments. I have several, for example.

      And I also most definitely try to change your laws. I would like you to cancel the DMCA, adopt a less agressive foreign policy, agressively push science forward on renewable energies, adopt universal healthcare, and tons and tons of other changes, small and large. I openly argue my opinion, in the hope that someone will listen. Are you saying that foreigners should refrain from having an opinion on US law, or refrain from discussing it openly ?

      I, both openly and secretly work to undermine and indeed utterly destroy "customs" which I consider wrong. These include the sexual mutilation of young females, the refusal to allow adult, consenting human beings to have sex with whomever they damn well please, punishment or inacceptance of people with the wrong beliefs, and a large collection of other bullshit.

      Are you saying we should refrain from having an opinion, or refrain from stating it, or refrain from DOING something when we see injustice, if that injustice is on the other side of an imaginary object named a "border" ?

      What's so magical about a "border" anyway ? A "country" is a human construct. I don't see a border as carrying any moral or ethical weight. I don't see that the right thing to do if my neighbour is suffering is any different if there's a border between us or not.

      I'm all with you in respecting people, though. And the learning part, not only the language, but a lot more too. It's easy to critizise what you do not understand. One should always strive to *understand* what's really going on, rather than resort to knee-jerk reactions.

    18. Re:What kind of pirates? by Von+Helmet · · Score: 2, Funny

      Whew, close call, I wasn't sure whether I'd wake up to "troll" or "funny".

  3. Only way to kill piracy .... by Archangel+Michael · · Score: 4, Funny

    ... is to hire NINJAS!

    --
    Agent K: A *person* is smart. People are dumb, stupid, panicky animals, and you know it.
    1. Re:Only way to kill piracy .... by aliquis · · Score: 2, Insightful

      And then what? Ninjas can't beat pirates.

      1. Decide to put an end to piracy.
      2. Hire ninjas.
      3. ???
      4. FAIL!

    2. Re:Only way to kill piracy .... by sumdumass · · Score: 2, Funny

      I think you got it wrong,

      1: convince people to become nijas.
      2: convince government's they can defeat pirates and lease the nijas to them.
      3: ??? *&@(*@(@*))
      4: profit!

  4. Arrr.... by Illbay · · Score: 3, Funny
    ...ya been sayin' that for nigh on four hunner' years, matey, and ya ain't rid o' us yet, ya lily-livered, wine-bibbin' landlubbers!

    Th' day ya sees th' last o' the jolly roger'll be the end o' yer own civilization, ya pack o' milquetoast swabbies!

    Arrr...!

    --
    Any technology distinguishable from magic is insufficiently advanced.
  5. I'm so happy that by Dunbal · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Piracy is taking precedence over energy conservation, alternative energy, weapons proliferation, violent crime, inflation, commodity prices and a couple permanent wars. Hooray. Let's choose an IMPORTANT topic for this year's G8 meeting. After all, quadrillions of dollars are being lost and billions of people are put out of work every day/starve to death because little Johnny watched a Britney Spears video on Youtube!

    To the world's politicians: WHAT THE FUCK??? SERIOUSLY!

    --
    Seven puppies were harmed during the making of this post.
    1. Re:I'm so happy that by dwiget001 · · Score: 5, Informative

      Well, from the G8 viewpoint, you are missing the bigger picture. By keeping "the masses" entertained *and* making them pay through the nose for that entertainment, "the masses* could not possibly have the time or wherewithal to do something effective to counter the outright wholesale removal and denial of their rights. So, from the G8 point of view, all of this will help keep society stable running as the G8 intends.

    2. Re:I'm so happy that by hibji · · Score: 2, Insightful

      I honestly thought that the story was about real piracy, you know, the kind that captures other boats and stuff. I would think real piracy would be at least a big a problem as the other piracy.

    3. Re:I'm so happy that by russ1337 · · Score: 2, Interesting

      but how about the G8 ease other side of Copyright by allowing the old stuff into public domain within a reasonable timeframe.

    4. Re:I'm so happy that by russ1337 · · Score: 4, Insightful

      To get to the voters they need money.

      To get money they need donations

      Large Corporations donate money. Lots of it.

      Once in office, the allegiance is to the Corporation, as they provide the money to attract more votes.

    5. Re:I'm so happy that by Red+Flayer · · Score: 4, Informative

      Do a little background reading, please.

      The G8 is focused on economic activity, so discussion of the wars is pretty much right out.

      Inflation is not a global problem, so why should countries not having inflation problems make it a primary matter on the agenda?

      The agenda for the summit is defined by the host country (whose representative is the president for the year).

      Also note that global climate change is being addressed by the G8+5, and was a major topic last year.

      Finally, the G8 is not meeting for a week just to discuss IP and piracy. There are many other items on the agenda.

      You should proceed to get your panties unbunched, and then bother to find out what the complete agenda is.

      I agree that there are items of far bigger concern, but you should note that the G8 summit typically focuses on economic issues, not on things like war or violent crime -- though they are often linked to economics.

      --
      "Trolls they were, but filled with the evil will of their master: a fell race..." -- J.R.R. Tolkien on Olog-hai
    6. Re:I'm so happy that by oldhack · · Score: 3, Interesting

      G8 is now a club of wealthy Western countries, no more the club of major economic powers (i.e. economic equivalent of UN Security Council). No China, no India, no Brazil, no OPEC, and Russia only grudgingly. It would naturally represent the narrower interests of its members (or, you know, the parties that bought out the governments of the member countries). Sorry for stating the obvious. It's remarkable to see the world order changing before our own eyes.

      --
      Fuck systemd. Fuck Redhat. Fuck Soylent, too. Wait, scratch the last one.
    7. Re:I'm so happy that by fyoder · · Score: 2, Funny

      To the world's politicians: WHAT THE FUCK??? SERIOUSLY!

      World's politicians to Dunbal: SHOW US THE MONEY!

      --
      Loose lips lose spit.
    8. Re:I'm so happy that by TheLink · · Score: 3, Insightful

      But in event of nonDiebolded elections, voters still can vote for whoever they want.

      They don't have to vote for the most well-financed candidates.

      My conclusion is that most voters either
      a) don't really care that much
      b) actually support the status quo

      Of course the "first past the post" voting system does make things tend to "two party", but if people are that pissed off they could try to get more organized and then really vote for someone different.

      Are they that upset? The fact that Bush actually got reelected should give you an indication about the reality despite all the loud complainers.

      The reality is as long as there's Bread and Circuses most voters don't care, the Emperors and their Senate can do whatever they want.

      Now with the increasing oil prices and recession there might be a bit of a problem with the Bread and Circuses supply.

      --
    9. Re:I'm so happy that by Danse · · Score: 4, Insightful

      but how about the G8 ease other side of Copyright by allowing the old stuff into public domain within a reasonable timeframe.

      How would that help facilitate the continued transfer of wealth from the middle and lower classes to the amazingly wealthy ruling class? See, you haven't thought through what you're asking for.

      --
      It's not enough to bash in heads, you've got to bash in minds. - Captain Hammer
  6. Best of luck, fellas! by mmell · · Score: 5, Funny
    Given the technical literacy of the US government, they'll be lucky if they can even find the internet.

    Don't tell 'em it's hiding in my basement. I downloaded it last week, and had a plummer come and remove the pipes afterward just to keep its location secret.

    1. Re:Best of luck, fellas! by conark · · Score: 2, Insightful

      the government is absolutely useless. in fact, governments in general are useless these days. the only thing governments have are military power. they don't serve anyone except the special interest that keep them in power. the saddest part is that people continue to obey an invisible force dictated through fear rather than reasoning. besides, i don't see what this G8 is going to accomplish. more politicians holding hands, publicly agreeing on some non-issues and then spreading more fear and getting money from their butt buddies hiding in the shareholders' rooms. corporations are the only institutions that have any real power these days. it just depends on what side of the corporation you're on that matters.

  7. Typo in Title by dynamo · · Score: 4, Insightful

    The title of this story should read: "G8 Summit Aims To Kill International Privacy".

    1. Re:Typo in Title by sm62704 · · Score: 4, Insightful

      I think it should read "G8 Summit Aims To Kill independant music labels and film studios". I guess Star Wreck really rattled Hollywood. Star Wreck: In the Pirkinning was incrediby well done and hilarious.

      "My" representatives don't even represent my country, let alone me. They represent the foreigners who own the entertainment industries.

      --
      mcgrew's razor: Never attribute to stupidity that which can be explained by greedy self-interest
    2. Re:Typo in Title by locallyunscene · · Score: 2, Insightful

      That's good, I would also accept: "G8 Summit Aims to Stop International Copyright Infringement" since they're not actually talking about piracy.

  8. Arrh! by Quiet_Desperation · · Score: 2, Funny

    Avast! By the Neptune's testicles! Man the torrents, me mateys! From Fiddlers Green to Davey Jone's Locker, we'll do battle with these scurvy land lubbers! Climb the mizzen masts and get the black flag a flappin' in the Nor'Easter and WE BE IN DERE INTERTOOBS STEALIN' DERE COPYRITES!

    Whoops. Lapsed from Pirate to LOLCAT there. Me heartys. KTHX!

  9. The G8 is antiquated and increasingly irrelevant by brunes69 · · Score: 3, Insightful

    The G8 used to consist of the 8 largest economies in the world. Now it is mostly just a group of good-old-boys who wish they were still relevant on the world economic stage.

    The fact that none of China, India, or Brazil are included in the G8 and yet Italy and France are illustrate this perfectly.

  10. Apples and oranges by pla · · Score: 4, Interesting

    If the G8 summit were to agree on these measures and enforce them through international cooperation, could they really cut down piracy, or would they be impractical to enforce?

    Not a matter of impractical... You have a stegosaurus trying to step on all those pesky little rats that recently appeared on the scene.

    The stegosaurus can do whatever it wants, and the rats can't stop it. The rats, however, will last far longer than the dinosaurs.

    1. Re:Apples and oranges by Quiet_Desperation · · Score: 4, Funny

      The stegosaurus can do whatever it wants, and the rats can't stop it. The rats, however, will last far longer than the dinosaurs.

      Ah, I see! So what you are saying is that we should be free of annoying DRM in about 200 to 300 million years? Cool!

  11. Religious Persecution! Mod parent FUNNY by querist · · Score: 5, Informative

    The parent post neglected to clarify the reference.

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flying_Spaghetti_Monster#Pirates_and_global_warming

    For those who believe in the Flying Spaghetti Monster, Pirates are considered divine beings and the decrease in the number of pirates in the word (acording to followers of the FSM) id the true cause of global warming. Ergo, this can be seen as religious persecution!

    This, of course, is a religious view which I will neither refute nor defend in this forum.

    1. Re:Religious Persecution! Mod parent FUNNY by Dunbal · · Score: 4, Funny

      This, of course, is a religious view which I will neither refute nor defend in this forum.

            Hah! Unbeliever. As a true FSMer I would gladly give your life for my religion!

            RAmen.

      --
      Seven puppies were harmed during the making of this post.
    2. Re:Religious Persecution! Mod parent FUNNY by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny

      RAmen.

      RAmen? Apostate! Spahgetti is wheat pasta, not an egg noodle!

      I chop your head off!

    3. Re:Religious Persecution! Mod parent FUNNY by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Informative

      Pastafarianism fail. Ramen is traditionally said at the end of prayers, as an equivalent to Amen.

    4. Re:Religious Persecution! Mod parent FUNNY by gomiam · · Score: 4, Funny
      But, aren't they both noodly? Don't they get rolled on a fork for eating? Aren't they tasty with a serving of tomato and meat sauce?

      (With excuses to William Shakespeare)

  12. Thought it was going to be about high seas piracy by RichMan · · Score: 4, Informative

    Something that causes the loss of actual lives and goods. But nope the lords of IP must be served.

    http://www.voanews.com/uspolicy/2008-05-15-voa5.cfm
    "The United States is very concerned about the increasing number of acts of piracy and armed robbery at sea, especially off the Somali coast," according to the U.S. Department of State. Piracy and armed robbery have disrupted trade in east Africa and threatened the delivery of humanitarian assistance to the Somali people.

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piracy

  13. Re:Where there's a will.. by CastrTroy · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Doesn't the other side believe the same thing? If they have a will to get rid of piracy (copyright infringement), then there is a way to get rid of it. Even if it means locking everybody in cage, and throwing away the key. There's two outcomes to this. People will eventually decide that copyright infringement isn't worth the likelihood and cost of getting caught, or there will be a revolution.

    --

    Anthropic principle: We see the universe the way it is because if it were different we would not be here to see it.
  14. I wonder... by clang_jangle · · Score: 2, Insightful

    ...what will Big Media do if they do manage to "conquer piracy" and they still don't sell more crappy content than they do now? I know I rarely bother to "pirate" any of the crap they think is so hot, there is so much niche, antique, and "unavailable" stuff that I prefer now. Lots of it really is free on the archive, among other places.

    --
    Caveat Utilitor
  15. the internet explained to bureacrats: by circletimessquare · · Score: 4, Interesting

    the internet is useful because it provides two way communication. if you make the internet a one way system, you basically have nothing more than a fancy form of television. you also therefore strip the internet of all meaning and value that you can think up examples of yourself: email, chat, interactive content, forms, etc.

    so as soon as you accept the fact that the internet remains a two way medium, you begin to understand that the gig is up. policing the traffic that flows from one node to the next is an arms race. every single thing that those who wish to police traffic can do, can be routed around, obfuscated through, etc.

    in other words, the gig is up, the effort is futile. piracy is permanent. all you can hope to do with your efforts is breed more hardy pirating applications. hardly what you seek to do

    so the thing for a proper world leader to do is accept the inevitable, and recreate the legal structre surrounding intellectual property to accomodate the new technological reality we find ourselves in. the new technological reality we find ourselves in has simply antiquated copyright and other aspects of intellectual property as we know it, circa 1985

    or wage war against technological progress. your choice

    --
    intellectual property law is philosophically incoherent. it is your moral duty to ignore it or sabotage it
  16. Governments have worked so well against drugs by faloi · · Score: 4, Insightful

    There's no way they can fail to stop piracy!

    --
    "It is a miracle that curiosity survives formal education." -Albert Einstein
  17. *blinks* by dreamchaser · · Score: 4, Funny

    My first glance at the page saw 'G8 Summons Ants to kill International Piracy'.

    It would be about as effective as anything else they are going to do. I for one welcome our International Ant Overlords.

  18. Re:Where there's a will.. by Spy+der+Mann · · Score: 2, Informative

    People will eventually decide that copyright infringement isn't worth the likelihood and cost of getting caught, or there will be a revolution.

    There WILL be a revolution. I guarantee it. Darknets, Encryption everywhere, media erasable with the click of a button, boycotts, cheaper end-to-end privacy services... maybe the govts are idiots, but most IT companies realize there's a huge business opportunity for this. And people will use it. Sooner or later, encryption will beat intelligence agencies and then they'll be forced to either reverse their decisions or to become a totalitarian police state.

    The US govt needs to be careful where it steps - they might release a monster they're unable to contain.

    And the RIAA and MPAA will die anyway.

  19. Speeding vs. Piracy by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Speeding is one of the easiest crimes in the world to prosecute. Find a hiding spot and pull the trigger - POW the speeder is fined. Lets see exactly how well is that working. Same thing for drugs, prostitution, gambling etc. Now I know that no one here speeds, does drugs, hires prostitutes or gambles. Funny how effective those laws are. This one would be just as blazingly effective.

    PS My image (carder) made me think of another one - underage drinking

  20. Re:The G8 is antiquated and increasingly irrelevan by Xest · · Score: 4, Informative

    You don't seem to particularly understand the importance of nations like Italy and France. As with Britain they're nations with extremely long histories that leave them to this day with a footing in many parts of the world. Their influence is incredibly strong internationally and it's this influence that keeps them strong economically, they're nations that simply wont sink in power because there's always nations willing to support them, trade with them and hold them up, often because of strong historical ties.

    France particularly is strong in many other ways also, it's a member of the UN security council for one, has a lot of sway in the EU as does Italy- the EU is by far the worlds largest economy by GDP and many other measures.

    These just aren't nations that are irrelevant, nor will they likely ever will be for decades or probably even centuries to come. I'm not saying this as a European with some arrogant feeling of self-importance (in fact, I'm British so I'm actually legally obliged to hate the French anyway ;)) but because these nations have so much power over international organisations and systems. They have the power to persuade the UN to push sanctions upon nations that dare consider trying to move away from the laws these nations produce for example and hence there's little that can topple them. Hell, a sizeable portion of the world depends on France and Italy for their defence, sure they could source equipment elsewhere but it'd take years and in the meantime they'd have zero support or ammo for their existing hardware.

    It's probably worth also noting that France and Britain have been working to get China, India, Mexico, Brazil and South Africa in on the act for a little while now too, so as with most organisations irrelevance isn't relevant when change is possible as it is with the G8. China has been in on the G8 meets for a few years now anyway, there are only a few issues covered by the G8 from which it's excluded.

  21. How many torrent peers do you have? by ClarisseMcClellan · · Score: 4, Interesting

    I am glad that the war against the G8 is now in the front cyber-lawn and so many people are saying WTF? Seems that a lot of folks here don't think *they* have a chance. Let's see if attitudes change when the storm-troopers kick down doors of student dorms to search and destroy the wifi routers...

    This has been on the go in secret for a while. At the G8 they just rubber stamp the done deal. The wikileaks article is quite scary (RTFA) but what is weird is that you have to go to Wikileaks and download dodgy TIFF files to find out about it. Where's the democracy in that?

    Bring on the stormtroopers. I am going to see how many peers, seeds and leeches drop off over the next month. Just fear alone might shut down P2P viability. Let's see... Virgin media subscribers are going to tidy up their act, Google/Youtube is going to get cleared up and now this. All the news is in cyber-space today, shame the real economy has fallen off of a very large cliff...

    How do we setup a P2P network that goes wi-fi to wi-fi with no need for ISP's, governments and snitches? It's time for web 3.0...

  22. News Flash by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Rich people come together to discuss ways of solving problems that annoy rich people, while ignoring those problems that are genuinely harmful to most people.

    The very questionable belief that anything that is problematic for a rich person ultimately winds up harming the poor is once again offered as justification.

    The more things change, the more they stay the same.

  23. Re:Decided to pirate more. by corbettw · · Score: 2, Insightful

    im making a nice living

    If you're a programmer, you make a nice living thanks to the IP laws you state you despise. Just sayin'.

    --
    God invented whiskey so the Irish would not rule the world.
  24. Re:The G8 is antiquated and increasingly irrelevan by laura20 · · Score: 4, Informative

    The G8 used to consist of the 8 largest economies in the world. Now it is mostly just a group of good-old-boys who wish they were still relevant on the world economic stage.

    Members of the G8: US, Japan, Germany, UK, France, Italy, Canada, Russia.

    Respective ranks in world GDP: 1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 7, 9, 11. Total GDP: two thirds of the world.

    Some has-beens.

  25. Should kill international identity theft first. by Ungrounded+Lightning · · Score: 2, Insightful

    If G8 wants to get involved in something financial and internet related they should start by killing off international identity theft rings.

    This is a MUCH larger dollar amount than even the claims of the content conglomerates. It also hits a broader range of businesses - primarily the financial institutions, which are already in enough trouble from the housing bubble bust.

    Taking down a handfull of the biggest identity theft rings would drastically cut these losses. This would do a lot to stabilize the world economy - without appreciably shifting the world power balance or hurting any particular country (unless it was acting as a safe haven for one of the rings and participating in its ill-gotten gains).

    --
    Bantam Dominique roosters crow a four-note song. Once you've heard it as "Happy BIRTHday" you can't NOT hear it that way