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Study Deconstructs Canadian Copyright Lobby Deception
An anonymous reader writes "A new Canadian study deconstructs how copyright lobby groups manipulate public opinion by laundering proposals through seemingly independent groups. The study started after the Conference Board of Canada was shown to have plagiarized several of its IP reports and now shows the connections that all lead through the MPAA and RIAA. Michael Geist writes, 'It is not just that these reports all receive financial support from the same organizations and say largely the same thing. It is also that the reports each build on one another, creating the false impression of growing momentum and consensus on the state of Canadian law and the need for specific reforms.'"
Exactly. It's been done since time immemorial, a few cases of which are documented in Chomsky's Manufacturing Consent. (Nice tag, whoever did it.)
The difference between now and when Chomsky wrote his book is the web, of course. Kudos to this blogger Michael Geist for helping expose a farcical consensus. Hopefully we'll see more of this kind of analysis for other lobby groups as well.
I agree with what you are saying there. There's one difference that I consider to be of the utmost importance, however. I would be fine with such groups if they openly stated "We are created and sponsored by the RIAA (or whomever) for the sole purpose of representing their interests." That's not what happened here. They wanted to maintain the illusion of some kind of neutral, dispassionate, unbiased consensus based on facts. That's something that a lot of people want to see badly enough that they are a bit too eager to believe it.
This really should be a crime. It should be a crime, the laws against which are vigorously enforced. I do not exaggerate in the slightest when I say that this is the very sort of thing that, left unchecked, can eventually destroy the freedom and well-being that we currently enjoy. Our governments and legal systems are greatly threatened when they can be gamed like this. Because of that, I personally consider this to be not unlike treason.
It is a miracle that curiosity survives formal education. - Einstein
It is also that the reports each build on one another, creating the false impression of growing momentum and consensus...
So it's pretty much like Global Warming Theology, then?
yea, don't you just hate it how the rising global temperatures, rising CO2 in the air and water, shrining ice caps, disappearing glaciers, increase in natural disasters, and Al Gore are all conspiring together to make us believe in global warming.
it's so frustrating...today is 21 degrees, while yesterday was 23 degrees. obviously, global warming is wrong.
I won't comment on whether global warming is caused by mankind or not. I have my opinions but I don't consider it something that I can unambiguously prove or anything like that, so to make such a statement here would be needlessly controversial and would take away from the real point I want to make. It would be about as useful as taking a position on abortion. So, I will stick to what I have no doubts about.
The politics of this issue are increasingly leading towards the taxation of carbon, typically in the form of CO2. Make no mistake about one thing: a tax on carbon is a tax on life. Whether that is the best way to handle the issue of global warming or whether alternatives are being ignored is probably the subject of much lively debate. There is one thing of which I am certain, however. That is, based on their track record with lesser powers, I do not trust the governments of the world to handle such a sweeping power that directly or indirectly affects so many things in any way that is actually in our best interests.
It is a miracle that curiosity survives formal education. - Einstein
You mean the commercial entities with a revenue stream to protect are funding lobby groups to manipulate public opinion and corrupt the political process?
I'm shocked! Shocked I tell ya!
Well, OK. I'm not that shocked. In fact I'm pretty sure this has happened before.
Exxon is pretty good at this sort of thing:-
http://www.exxonsecrets.org/
http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2009/jul/01/exxon-mobil-climate-change-sceptics-funding
And groups like the Heartland Institute ( http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Heartland_Institute ) are whoring for so many masters I fully expect to see them expand into the "intellectual property" debate any day now.
Its pretty important for citizens to hone their bullshit detectors to try and figure out when they are the target of a snow job.
Here are a few tools I use to pretty good effect when employing my bullshit detector:
"Who benefits" - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cui_bono
"You can't get something for nothing" - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conservation_law
"The simpler theory is often correct" - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Occams_razor
( be careful with that last one - it can be a slippery sucker)
Your post is typical of a significant minority of slashdotters who are being mislead by a looby group that make the MAFIAA look like amatures, the urban ledgends you are repeating in your post were created by the heartland institute who are associated with the CEI and other anti-science front groups via the Cooler heads coalition.
Their associated web sites are too numerous to list but two of them that are quoted with depressing regularity on slashdot are icecap (owned and operated by HI) and WUWT, (Watts is a regular attraction at the HI's "climate confrences").
And did you exchange a walk on part in the war for a lead role in a cage? - Pink Floyd.
In my own case, I wrote to every Opposition and Cabinet Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) in Alberta challenging the logic of electricity deregulation a few years ago. Since Alberta is a one-party state in effect, I got replies from all Opposition MLAs, but only one from the Government, directly from the Minister in charge. At first I had to admit it was a well-written reply and seemed to have some "weight" in that it referred to Alberta's achievements in electricity deregulation and promoting free markets. However, a quick Internet search revealed that the whole letter was just a cut and paste job of speeches delivered to various groups in Canada and the US. Moreover, some of the groups were pure sham. One named in the letter purported to be a Marketing Association or something based in Washington and they lauded Alberta as leading the way in a group of five or so "progressive" provinces and states. Other than the minister's speeches, I couldn't find any evidence that they actually existed!!!
The most egregious claim in the letter was that since some point in time in 2000 or 2001 (I forget the exact date selected) Alberta's electricity rates had declined by a significant amount. WTF? They chose a date that was the highest point in terms of price. Prices are still not close to pre-2000 levels, especially when you factor in tacked-on transmission and delivery charges (money grabs).
The final kicker was that despite the Alberta Government's new rules about patronage appointments, several years later, after the damage was done, the Minister got a plush posting in Washington.
My final comment is that it was embarrassing how simplistic their "deception" was. I guess given that since the late 70s Alberta's government has been run by leaders and ministers that average, probably, no better than a high school education and have that eroded by populist, short-term focused politics I shouldn't be surprised.
I can't wait for copyright taxes to be challenged in the courts here in Canada, and hope to be able to watch, if not support, an educated and articulate public battle the real interests behind all this...