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Norwegian Court Rules ISP Doesn't Have To Block The Pirate Bay

C4st13v4n14 writes "In a sudden outbreak of uncommon sense yesterday, a Norwegian District Court handed down the decision that Telenor, Norway's largest ISP, will not have to block access to The Pirate Bay. Telenor was sued earlier this year by the IFPI after being threatened and not backing down. 'The court ruled that Telenor is not contributing to any infringements of copyright law when its subscribers use The Pirate Bay, and therefore there is no legal basis for forcing the ISP to block access to the site. ... In making its decision, the court also had to examine the repercussions if it ruled that Telenor and other ISPs had to block access to certain websites.'"

118 of 154 comments (clear)

  1. I'm thinking about moving to Norway by MrLeap · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Why is norway always ahead of the curve in nearly everything?

    1. Re:I'm thinking about moving to Norway by Nuno+Sa · · Score: 4, Insightful

      It's cold there... Anyway it's nice to see that some countries have not fallen for the global brainwashing taking place today around the world.

      Congrats to them!
      (It's here, the dark ages began: we have to congratulate common sense)

    2. Re:I'm thinking about moving to Norway by haruchai · · Score: 4, Funny

      Cold weather, hot women, health care, and common sense. If their food is any good, maybe I'll move also

      --
      Pain is merely failure leaving the body
    3. Re:I'm thinking about moving to Norway by dgatwood · · Score: 4, Funny

      Four out of five isn't bad, I suppose. *sigh*

      --

      Check out my sci-fi/humor trilogy at PatriotsBooks.

    4. Re:I'm thinking about moving to Norway by saladpuncher · · Score: 3, Informative
    5. Re:I'm thinking about moving to Norway by mark_hill97 · · Score: 4, Funny
    6. Re:I'm thinking about moving to Norway by Narpak · · Score: 4, Interesting

      In a sudden outbreak of uncommon sense yesterday..

      I shall be a bit pedantic that this isn't the first time the Norwegian courts actually use reason and rational assessment before issuing a verdict.

      A man was taken to court for uploading a pirated version of the Norwegian movie "Falne Engler" and was let go with a warning. This and the fact that Kripos (special investigation unit) refused to "waste resources" investigating illegal file sharing (though also because of the current Norwegian law makes it difficult to prosecute anyone for file sharing); has members of the Norwegian movie/music/whatever lobby fuming.
      Rudimentary translated quote from Ketil Haukaas, assistant chief of Kripos
      We have dedicated investigators in some areas, like war crimes and internet related abuse of children. File sharing doesn't not warrant that kind of priority

      Vi har dedikerte etterforskere på noen områder, som krigsforbrytelser og internettrelaterte overgrep mot barn. Problemområdet fildeling tilsier ikke en slik prioritet at det er en fornuftig vei å gå


      Up to the point that article was written (in 2008) 182 reports of illegal file sharing had been delivered by IFPI; four were investigated and the only case "solved" was the one I mentioned earlier where the perpetrator was let go with a warning.

      So this "out break of common sense" wasn't exactly sudden.

    7. Re:I'm thinking about moving to Norway by roguetrick · · Score: 1

      Now to learn norwegian. Du lukter dritgodt.

      --
      -The world would be a better place if everyone had a hoverboard
    8. Re:I'm thinking about moving to Norway by Narpak · · Score: 5, Interesting

      From the Huffingtonpost article "Norway's consistently high rating for desirable living standards, is, in large part, the result of the discovery of offshore oil and gas deposits in the late 1960s."

      What isn't mentioned is that when oil and gas were discovered the Norwegian government decided to nationalize those resources (meaning state owned and operated) as the profit from such industry should benefit all the citizens of Norway. They then proceeded to borrow tons of money from various other nations with security in future revenue and spent that money (and the mentioned future revenue; now past and present revenue) to invest heavily in infrastructure (schools, hospitals, roads and etc). Also they offered public scholarships and decent student loans to everyone with the grades to get into a University; as a highly educated population was, and is, seen as beneficial to Norwegian society.

      Norway, as the other nations of Scandinavia (to a varying degree); are Social democracies (as in Socialist Democracies); which is held, at least by the center->left side of politics (and to be fair some on the right in Norway are to the left of those on the left in nations like the US) as the reason for our high standard of living up to this point.

    9. Re:I'm thinking about moving to Norway by Narpak · · Score: 1

      Forgot to add that Norway is today a so called mixed economical system as we use democratic reforms and reason to mix socialistic and capitalistic ideas to achieve balance.

    10. Re:I'm thinking about moving to Norway by sopssa · · Score: 1

      What does "local food" mean anyway? If you mean traditional foods, they're pretty weird everywhere for outsiders (and well I dont even like some of my country's ones and think they're just weird). Now a days you can pretty much get any kind of food anywhere you like, so it doesn't really matter.

      That being said, the bread that parent linked (Lefse) is really good. These are similar, really really good bread.

    11. Re:I'm thinking about moving to Norway by u38cg · · Score: 3, Informative

      Check out the price of beer first though. They didn't get everything *quite* right...

      --
      [FUCK BETA]
    12. Re:I'm thinking about moving to Norway by sopssa · · Score: 2, Interesting

      Exactly, and it's the same in all scandinavian countries (for all alcohol). Majority comes from the insane taxation of alcohol, which is supposed to increase general health.

    13. Re:I'm thinking about moving to Norway by Logopop · · Score: 1

      Today, though, public spending in Norway is a bit out of control, while revenue from oil and gas is likely to dwindle over the next decades. Unless, og course, we do as we have already started - to invest heavily in oil and gas exploration in poorer countries where the resources are not nationalized to the benefit of the people. The system is rapidly getting less sustainable. Add to this the ethical side of basing your welfare on having to supply massive amounts of CO2 to the atmosphere. It's a great place to live right now, but I am not sure about the long term prospects...
      Ant then, of course, there is the beer prices!

    14. Re:I'm thinking about moving to Norway by C4st13v4n14 · · Score: 4, Informative

      Hi, I just wanted to clarify a couple of things about Norway here. I've done this before, you can see a rather lengthy post about Norway here. I hope you find it useful in your immigration plans or at least interesting. I wrote uncommon sense when I posted the article because Norway has the habit of banning everything and making life really boring. Some things do make sense, and I really think my home country, the good old USA, could learn a lot from them. If you've been following the Norwegian news at all, you'll find that Norwegian judges and politicians try to do what they think is best for the people. They're not by any means pro-pirate, but they refuse to give into pressure from big business to make decisions that will compromise the freedom of the people. This is one thing I like about my new home.

      I moved to Norway a little more than two years ago. I'm a doctor here, working as a GP/family doctor, I'm originally from the United States. I meet hundreds of Norwegians every week, a new one about every 20 minutes for 9-10 hours a day, so I feel if there's one thing I can comment on, it's the people. In submitting the article, I called it uncommon sense. This is because Norway generally bans everything and brainwashes its people to become suspicious little watch dogs. The fines are so stiff that it scares people into even trying something new or foreign. Take driving, for instance, they are so afraid of going over the speed limit that they drive under it. Norwegian speed limits are notoriously low for the conditions. A straight divided highway in the middle of nowhere will have a speed limit of 80 kph (about 49 mph) and people will drive 70. It drives me insane, especially because I've just switched jobs and have to commute 130 km a day. Turns a 30 min drive into almost an hour. In areas where it's safe and legal to pass, people freak out and call the police because it's something people don't really have the balls to do. I've gotten pulled over a few times for "impolite driving". I know, it sounds ridiculous.

      Norway is quite isolated both geographically and socially. This has created a national suspicious and xenophobic attitude towards foreigners and new things. They were also in "unions" with Denmark and Sweden for hundreds of years, which is why they are very nationalistic and haven't joined the European Union. Up until around the 1970s, which is when they found oil, they were little more than farmers without any higher education or purpose. There weren't even roads connecting all the different parts of Norway until the mid 20th century, which is why more than 100 dialects of the Norwegian language survive until today and make learning the Norwegian language difficult. They didn't know a thing about oil so they enlisted an American company to help them find the reserves under the sea and develop the industry. Now they're the richest country in the world. They've avoided the mistakes of other countries and invested the money. Now they're the richest country in the world in terms of money in the bank. They invested a lot of money in socialism, which is why Norwegians don't really worry about anything and have a pretty relaxed attitude towards everything because they're always taken care of.

      Health care is also something I can comment on due to my profession, and I believe I've done so here.

      Norwegian women are typically not hot. They also suffer from what I call Norway's form of "Westernism". Many of them don't really watch their weight or what they eat. The hot ones know they're hot. Contemporary Norwegian women have also a peculiar trait I'd never seen before moving here, they are much stronger than the Norwegian men and have most of the power in a relationship. This isn't true of the older generation. I lived in Eastern Europe for several years between the US and Norway and those women are the hottest in t

    15. Re:I'm thinking about moving to Norway by Dachannien · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Actually, I thought the dominant /. dogma was that artists actually should be fairly compensated for what they do, but also that million-dollar judgments in favor of record companies against Joe Schmoe Filesharer doesn't have anything to do with that.

    16. Re:I'm thinking about moving to Norway by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Interesting

      Us Norwegians really come out in full on slashdot whenever we're mentioned, don't we.

      Anyway, we have to realize that much of our "success" has been pure luck, in the form of the above mentioned oil. I for one am not so sure how well our social democracy will fare once the oil runs out. It's a fantastic place to live while it lasts, but when it ends there's no substantial source of income to replace it with.

    17. Re:I'm thinking about moving to Norway by Mascot · · Score: 3, Informative

      It should be added, that since then we have barely spent any money on roads (cars are evil, we should all be waiting for trains that never run instead).

      Which means we're juddering along on roads with 1960s standards much of the time.

    18. Re:I'm thinking about moving to Norway by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Informative

      It sounds like you live somewhere out in the sticks and have not been able to fit in. You almost sound a little bitter.

      I have lived in Oslo for the past ten years and what you are describing is unfamiliar to me. It's like I should move to Arkansas and write a generalization of the US based on my experiences there.

      Specifically;
      - The women are often very hot and generally take good care of themselves. But they can be quite stuck up and demanding.
      - It is not true that they were just uneducated farmers before the oil. They had one of the worlds largest fleets long before that.
      - It is true that the prices are high, but not compared to their income. Their PPP is one of the highest in the world.
      - Most people dont want the EU because the country is so wealthy there is very little the EU can offer. I dont think Xenophoby comes into it
      - "They invested a lot of money in socialism" .. What does that even mean? Are you talking about the welfare state?
      - "This is because Norway generally bans everything and brainwashes its people to become suspicious little watch dogs." - I cant think what you mean with this. Norwat is pretty liberal compared to the country you come from. (Except for alcohol and speed limits)

      Mod parent down

    19. Re:I'm thinking about moving to Norway by Sheen · · Score: 3, Informative

      I do not know where in norway you live, but what you describe...doesnt sound like the same country i live in, here in western norway ( bergen ) people push the speedlimit, average speed on a 80 kph highway is about 85, police wont bother you until you're over 90-95. The same city in question, has historicly been a major trading city, even before americas was discovered ( Hanseatic League 1200 AD->), and is still one of the most visited ports in the world, in trade and in tourism. There has also been allot of cultural trade ever since the vikings headed over to England to have some fun. The food. You can basicly get the exact same food here, that you can get in every other european country, and the food is -cheaper- in norway, then in any other country in europe, if you compare it with the wages we get here. ( you make about 23us$ an hour working at Mcdonalds.) So offcourse food has to be expencive, people who work at slaughterhouses and shops needs to get payed too. If you dont like that you can make 60 000 us$ a year working at McDonalds, while you as a MD make about 100 000us$ a year , too bad, move back to US where there are more social differences, and therefore, crime. Cant even understand why you would live here, if it bothers you that much.

    20. Re:I'm thinking about moving to Norway by Esteanil · · Score: 1

      Yummiest thing you can have only* in Norway
      (* = So probably not in your country, except if you're japanese or from iceland/greenland )

      --
      I'm a dreamer, the world is my playpen. But hey, I'm a serious person, I can't dream all the time.
    21. Re:I'm thinking about moving to Norway by hasdikarlsam · · Score: 2, Interesting

      As studies show (and yes, I've read the studies; they make sense), it does.

    22. Re:I'm thinking about moving to Norway by Have+Brain+Will+Rent · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Bacon makes everything good.

      --
      The tyrant will always find a pretext for his tyranny - Aesop
    23. Re:I'm thinking about moving to Norway by sopssa · · Score: 1, Troll

      It also makes the drinking culture different. Instead of socially drinking a few drinks/beers, people get mad drunk on weekends "because it costs so much, so we drink all we can when we do". That also leads to all kinds of other kind of problems.

      Alcohol results in much worse results when you have to go for the full price at single times instead of spreading it around, like how the drinking culture is in germany and france.

    24. Re:I'm thinking about moving to Norway by sopssa · · Score: 1

      And their land and economy is also different. Even if its all throw in "Scandinavia", the countries are still quite different, especially on economy.

    25. Re:I'm thinking about moving to Norway by sopssa · · Score: 1

      You also forgot that Opera comes from Norway.

    26. Re:I'm thinking about moving to Norway by juletre · · Score: 1

      Smalahove. How could you not mention the smalahove?

      Actually I am trying this for the first time in a couple of weeks. I really really want to eat the eye for the bragging rights, but somehow I don't think I am going to do it. It might depend on this little fellow

      --
      "he, who has quotes in his signature, is a douche" - unknown.
    27. Re:I'm thinking about moving to Norway by bogjobber · · Score: 4, Informative

      That's not really as constant as you make it seem. In many countries that have cheap booze and very tolerant attitudes toward alcohol people get drunk like crazy (Spain, UK being examples) while others do not. I'm sure if alcohol prices dropped in Scandinavian countries there would be more drinking, but cultural factors are probably more important.

    28. Re:I'm thinking about moving to Norway by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Funny

      Its the perfect country, the problem is that its infested by smug norwegians.. /love from sweden

    29. Re:I'm thinking about moving to Norway by hitmark · · Score: 1

      Tho lately it seems reason is heading out the door, thanks to at least one political party importing their style from USA...

      --
      comment first, facts later. http://chem.tufts.edu/AnswersInScience/RelativityofWrong.htm
    30. Re:I'm thinking about moving to Norway by juletre · · Score: 1

      We are beginning to catch up. The words "terrorist" and "pedophile" are used as often as possible to get what you want politically.

      --
      "he, who has quotes in his signature, is a douche" - unknown.
    31. Re:I'm thinking about moving to Norway by Khenke · · Score: 3, Interesting

      I'm from Sweden and have on and off for 20 years been thinking of moving to Norway
      A move for me would be easy, as we are close neighbors and a lot like each others. I understand them speaking and they me (almost like US and UK english).

      Why have I been thinking about a move?
      Several reasons.
      Easier to get a job than i Sweden (I been in IT for my whole life) is one reason.
      They actually go in the right direction in the development of their country. Sweden implements more and more stupid laws, so soon we have zero freedom here.
      The people a very nice and pleasant, like the northern Sweden.
      It's really expensive in Norway, but the salary are higher. It's a chock for us in Sweden to have foreigners come here and buy cheep, as we tend to go to Denmark or Germany for our shopping (not only alcohol).

      For me Norway is what Sweden SHOULD be. We are going down in the top list of most educated, best welfare, healthcare and so on while they go the other way. They have always been our "small" brother and they have been looking up to us, but that have changed and we are now looking up to them.
      Our politicians are almost as corrupt as in the US, when they in Norway somehow has been able to resist getting sick with power.

      If only illegal file sharing was my only concern, there a cheep 100% secure solutions for $10/month that fixes that for me. But I'm soon living in something worse than a police state, a corporation state where Hollywood companies have more rights that I do.
      I like my Fon hotspot, but soon I risk going to jail for what others do on it. Soon the state will know where I am 100% of the time (tracking my credit card, mobile phone, SMS, email and so on), and soon there after all the Hollywood companies will have the same information. One of our courts has already broken our constitution with no reprimand what so ever (forcing ISP to dissconnect the Pirate Bay site is not legal in Sweden due to Mere Conduit).

      We in the western world are going for a second Dark Ages very fast, but most people are blind to what are happening or just don't care. I guess that in 20 years china will have to take on our political refugees...
      One of the few country's resisting is Norway, that is the reason I'm very much thinking about moving there now. And that almost every Norwegian girl I have met has been lovely and sweet don't make it worse.

    32. Re:I'm thinking about moving to Norway by juletre · · Score: 1

      Good wine is cheap, bad wine expensive.

      Because vinmonopolet ("the wine monopoly", the only place to get wine) is stately driven its prices are regulated by law. Everything gets a tax depending on the alcohol content and then a flat fee is added on top of that. The trick is that noting of this is connected to what polet (or "the pole" as it is know) actually paid for the wine.
      When they have a really good wine they cannot point to demand and raise the prices as a private store owner would do. This makes cheap high-end wine. I have heard tales of Frenchmen coming up here to buy expensive wine and sell with a profit back home, but have not been able to confirm this.

      Sadly, I cannot afford the high-end stuff. I am stuck with the pricey low-end.

      --
      "he, who has quotes in his signature, is a douche" - unknown.
    33. Re:I'm thinking about moving to Norway by Khenke · · Score: 1

      I can tell a little story of a Norwegian girl I once meet.

      I had just started studying Computer Engineering in Linköping in Sweden when I meet a very lovely girl from Trondheim in Norway visiting a party over the weekend.
      To say the least I was a happy geek for 36 hours and doing non-geek stuff (illegally in public and legally in every other place we could find). ;)

      I/we fell in love but after she left I decided to focus on my studies instead of a girlfriend (I got her address and phone number) in another country. Some time later I got a mail (you know the old kind based on a dead tree) addressed to the university with my first name and a picture on it (she had a camera) with me, drunk as a skunk. It must have been a fun travel around the university people before they found out it was for me. :)

      If I have one regret in my life it was to ignore my feelings and focus on my studies instead, who know, I might have been Norwegian now if not...

    34. Re:I'm thinking about moving to Norway by C4st13v4n14 · · Score: 4, Interesting

      It's interesting to me that every single person I've ever met in Norway who lives in Oslo regards the rest of Norway as "the sticks". I have lived in three different parts of Norway, Oslo being one of them. I'm from a large city and Oslo was more like a village than city. I didn't even know how to describe it before a Norwegian called it that. Oslo is okay, there are things happening there and interesting people, there are good restaurants, shops, bars, clubs, cinemas. People outside of Oslo tell me "Oslo is not Norway" whilst people from Oslo tell me "Norway is Oslo". It's all your point of view. I'm reporting on my experiences alone. I have quite a few friends here, but they're all foreigners. I am not intellectually stimulated by Norwegians at the least. The conversations doctors have at lunch revolve around one or two topics. At this time of year, it's cross country skiing. I work with four other doctors in a practice and all we can talk about at lunch is that or swineflu. It was the same when I was working at a major hospital.

      The women, in perfect honesty, beat out most American women almost every single time. But I've travelled extensively and I have lived in many places, not just here and in Eastern Europe. The women here pale in comparison to most other European women. Take another country I've lived in, a small one called Iceland. The people there are spectacular. I love them to death. The women? Absolutely fabulous. They refer to Norwegian women as "burger butts". They are a very open and warm people who speak English very well. I felt very accepted there. The bad? Well, they're broke for one. Also, it's impossible to get a job there.

      One pet peeve of mine here in Norway is that about 90% of Norwegians don't even try to pronounce my typical English name correctly. When I introduce myself, many of them look down and say "ja vel" (translation: um, okay). It often seems like a put down a lot of the time because many people I have daily dealings with repeatedly mispronounce it. Please. It's a very easy name to pronounce. I've been told that the reason for this is that Norwegians don't like to make mistakes, so they won't try to pronounce my name right for fear of that. When I take a patient into my office for a consultation, about 50% react in the stereotypical xenophobic way when I shake their hands and introduce myself as their doctor and tell them my name. About 30% are embarrassed and try to say it. 10% are just happy I'm there and enthusiastic about getting seen. 10% get it right and become interested in me as a person and ask me where I'm from. I'm of course not here to be asked where I'm from, but it's nice once in a while when someone takes an interest in you. That's a major issue in this culture. I haven't figured out if it's egotism or what, but no one seems interested in each other. I feel like I have good contact with and form a bond with a very small percentage of my patients. There's a good book that describes the people here exactly. I read it in German, the title was Pferden stehlen (Stealing Horses). It might be that in English. Anyway, at one point in the story it's summer and a guy moves into a house out in the country. He looks out his window and sees his neighbour's house and says to himself "hmmm, I think I'll drop by and say hello after Christmas." Haha. To me, that's unbelievable. It takes people here a very long time to warm up to you and people are very happy to stay in the same job in the same place for 30 years. It's almost admired. Someone like me who likes to see the world, experience different cultures, and meet different people are seen with suspicion. I think that having an understand or at least experience with many different cultures is an asset. People here don't see it like that. Since people here travel very little aside from countries like Turkey, Greece, and Spain, they really have nothing to talk about with me.

      The other thing that gets me about this first 50% of people who see me with suspicion or loo

    35. Re:I'm thinking about moving to Norway by blind+biker · · Score: 1

      Take driving, for instance, they are so afraid of going over the speed limit that they drive under it.

      It's a speed limit, isn't it? Isn't it common sense to drive below a limit? I've lived for many years in a country where drivers are too often killers. The courts are lenient towards drivers that cause accidents. Drivers drive too fast too often, but nothing changes.

      Norway sounds like heaven, from your description. The fact that you think breaking the law by driving over the limit is "common sense", speaks volumes about yourself.

      --
      "The agriculture ministry is not in charge of Gundam" - Japanese ministry official.
    36. Re:I'm thinking about moving to Norway by IrquiM · · Score: 1

      Yes, we have bacon in Norway!

      --
      This is blinging
    37. Re:I'm thinking about moving to Norway by IrquiM · · Score: 1

      Compare it to the wages. A McDonald's worker gets at least as much beer as in US for his paycheck.

      --
      This is blinging
    38. Re:I'm thinking about moving to Norway by IrquiM · · Score: 1

      Well - it's better than the one importing their style from good, old USSR, which actually has got something to say

      --
      This is blinging
    39. Re:I'm thinking about moving to Norway by IrquiM · · Score: 2, Informative

      I'm sorry, but you're not describing the Norway I live in. I work with a lot of foreign people from all over the world, and their opinion is quite the opposite of what you're saying.

      The only part you got correct is the fear of EU, which is mostly just people that doesn't know what they're arguing against.

      --
      This is blinging
    40. Re:I'm thinking about moving to Norway by hitmark · · Score: 1

      i would wait some years, as right now the EØS agreement with EU makes norwegian politicians introduce more and more laws based on EU decisions, even tho said agreement has a veto clause.

      the reason for said clause not being used more is that said politicians are afraid that doing so will make EU declare the agreement void, and close the EU market for norwegian exports.

      to that i would glady say "fuck 'em, lets look for other markets!", like say how a furniture brand is selling their products to chinese customers. Usually its the other way, where norwegian store shelfs are stuffed with "made in china" products.

      not that i think EU would close the market access. Norwegian petroleum exports are to important, at least as long as russia tries to use theirs as political leverage...

      --
      comment first, facts later. http://chem.tufts.edu/AnswersInScience/RelativityofWrong.htm
    41. Re:I'm thinking about moving to Norway by hitmark · · Score: 1

      if your referring to the workers party (arbeiderpartiet) its far from worker focused these days, what with a doctor and a economist being the last couple of party leaders.

      --
      comment first, facts later. http://chem.tufts.edu/AnswersInScience/RelativityofWrong.htm
    42. Re:I'm thinking about moving to Norway by Eivind+Eklund · · Score: 1

      Cold weather, hot women, health care, and common sense. If their food is any good, maybe I'll move also

      Whether the food is good depends on where you are. There's a quite good selection in the cities in the southern part of the country (most of the ones you'll hear about), both in terms of quality and availability in shops and restaurants (ethnic or french inspired, for the most part). There's more remote parts that have a horrid selection.

      Norway does not really have that much of a classic food culture; we used to be poor. The present day food culture is to a large degree imported; lots of Italian and a bit of indian/mexican/etc. Going back a while, it was more germanic, so you'll find germanic inspired dishes as the more "old school" dishes. E.g, first fry and then cook meat, and serve with root vegetables and gravy.

      Eivind.

      --
      Doubting the existence of evolution is like doubting the existence of China: It just shows that you're uninformed.
    43. Re:I'm thinking about moving to Norway by S1ngularity · · Score: 1

      Depends on the /.-er for the most part. But the more radical anti-copyright stances are still very reasonable sounding. Something along the lines of, creating art doesn't imbue you with a supreme power of censorship. Also, the point of copyright isn't to make an artist's money (that's the mechanism, not the purpose) but to make sure that there is a wide variety of art for the public to enjoy. Once law starts handing out monopoly rights basic economics says that supply will be restricted to enhance profits. For copyright to even make sense on its own grounds, it is necessary to prove that the monopoly power fueled restriction in product does not exceed the art spurring promise of a specific business model for art monetization. With the recent crackdown on re-mixing culture and the like, it seems quite possible that more art is actually prevented from reaching people than is encouraged into existence.

    44. Re:I'm thinking about moving to Norway by hitmark · · Score: 1

      another thing to consider is that the seasons do not allow for much fresh food year round, unless one imports, so a lot of the traditional foods are stuff that's salted/pickled, dried, or that basically keeps over the winter.

      --
      comment first, facts later. http://chem.tufts.edu/AnswersInScience/RelativityofWrong.htm
    45. Re:I'm thinking about moving to Norway by Omestes · · Score: 1

      They have decent pastry, at least.

      --
      A patriot must always be ready to defend his country against his government. -edward abbey
    46. Re:I'm thinking about moving to Norway by Omestes · · Score: 1

      When I take a patient into my office for a consultation, about 50% react in the stereotypical xenophobic way when I shake their hands and introduce myself as their doctor and tell them my name. About 30% are embarrassed and try to say it. 10% are just happy I'm there and enthusiastic about getting seen. 10% get it right and become interested in me as a person and ask me where I'm from. I'm of course not here to be asked where I'm from, but it's nice once in a while when someone takes an interest in you.

      You realize your describing much of the world. Here in the US (or at least my neck of it), these numbers would be even worse. How many Americans care to pronounce the "strange" names of foreigners correctly? How many people in the US actually care about anyone outside of immediate friends and family? People are people.

      How many people in America, when finding out that their GP is Indian (or such), roll their eye, and aren't happy?

      Hell, I live in Arizona, a state with a large Mexican population, and pretty deep Mexican cultural roots, and how many people care to pronounce such every-day words like "saguaro" or "coyote" correctly?

      Also, I'm sorry the women aren't lithe and submissive enough for your tastes. This hardly says anything about the country that matters, except you don't like the women. You do realize that this makes you sound a bit... vapid and shallow... right? It really doesn't help people take anything your saying seriously. Some people don't like their women submissive, and some people find harping at a whole nation because some of their women have "big butts" rather silly.

      --
      A patriot must always be ready to defend his country against his government. -edward abbey
    47. Re:I'm thinking about moving to Norway by maggern · · Score: 1

      Try reading the excellent book "riding the waves of culture". Then make a new effort of trying to understand Norwegians.

      The comment about your patients not pronouncing your name correct seems faulty. You say the name is easy to say correctly, but surely you must understand that if the patentis are not getting it right, then they find it hard to pronounce.

      Perhaps you expected to come to Norway and be admired and have a high status because you're a doctor? It's not like that, we're all equal here. Right? ;)

    48. Re:I'm thinking about moving to Norway by Khenke · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Lucky us non english speaking people you american's would never insult us if we spell of pronounce anything wrong. And we really look up to how you treat Mexican/Indian/Chinese/Black/European/Arab/Poor/African people.
      And we are really thankful for everything you push on us since we don't understand better.

      I wish we was so open and understanding as you are. I'm really trying as you can see, but forgive me if I'm not good enough.
       

    49. Re:I'm thinking about moving to Norway by t_ban · · Score: 1

      if you can cook or have an Eastern European partner

      Myself, I very much prefer having my partners to cooking them, but I guess tastes will vary...

      --
      First they ignore you. Then they laugh at you. Then they fight you. Then you win. -Gandhi
    50. Re:I'm thinking about moving to Norway by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Insightful

      Personally I think it has a lot to do with your attitude when it comes to getting "integrated" into the Norwegian community.

      That people look at you as different is because you -are- different. Deal with it.

      When it comes to your pet peeve of not getting your name pronounecd right.. Try saying "Kjetil", if you get it right, even on the 25th try I'll give you a bottle of scotch...
      My bloody name was dubbed "Dobby, the house geek" by most of the americans and canadians that installed stuff where I worked a few years ago... I found it amusing, but still... They could not at all say my name. And it is a very simple name to pronounce (if you're Norwegian that is :-p)

      So.. If your largest pet peeve is that your name isnt pronounced right perhaps you dont have all that many peeves to worry about.

      I have several foreign coworkers working alongside me in the current project I'm assigned to. One Canadian (project lead), one indian (project engineer), one american (specialist, developer) and a Finnish person (project lead on a related project).....
      All are treated the same.

      As you say your croatian friends are not treated as well as they should. Well, unfortunately there is a reason people are so reluctant to embrace eastern european people. There has been a shit-ton of crime 'imported' from the areas. We had tons of people coming here to work illegally, doing horribly bad quality work I might add, every year. That impression doesnt just disappear. The countries of eastern europe has gotten that 'stamp' so to speak and will have to live with that for a while. It fades over time but damnit it is only natural for some people to be distrusting.

      Look at the issues of mexican and cuban immigration in the southern US... Dont come here and tell -us- about how shitty -we- treat the immigrated workers. Fix your own shit first :-p

      So.. it depends on where you work, how you behave and for crying out loud, dont be so annoyed at small things. Deal with the greater issues and fuck the same things.

      Meh, I'm grumpy today.
      Very grumpy.

    51. Re:I'm thinking about moving to Norway by Narpak · · Score: 1

      On the subject of roads it can be added that a lot of different regions initiate road building projects that are abandoned by the next local administration before they are finished. Resulting in a not insignificant amount of roads leading to absolutely nowhere; or to a mountain wall where a tunnel was planned but never started, or finished.

    52. Re:I'm thinking about moving to Norway by Narpak · · Score: 1

      Could be mentioned that Norwegian Labour Party was founded in 1887 (before there was a USSR) and that it split in 1921 as the majority of the party did not want to join the Communist International.

    53. Re:I'm thinking about moving to Norway by Narpak · · Score: 2, Interesting

      Anyway, we have to realize that much of our "success" has been pure luck, in the form of the above mentioned oil. I for one am not so sure how well our social democracy will fare once the oil runs out. It's a fantastic place to live while it lasts, but when it ends there's no substantial source of income to replace it with.

      The presence of oil and gas and the benefit to the Norwegian economy could be said to be luck; how that profit was managed was not however. Though I do agree that the oil have made our nation somewhat more complacent than we should.

      However at this point oil export is about half the total exports of the country which is fairly substantial; but we are by no means without other "sources of income". Though I shall agree that some of our other industries have been neglected as our focus was on oil and gas. There are room for expansion and I do not fear our nations economical future as we have access to other resources and a large potential for growth in several sectors. And our most important asset is a very high average educational level (though it should be driven ever higher).

    54. Re:I'm thinking about moving to Norway by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Insightful

      I think maybe many Norwegians feel a need to be genuine, and don't feel comfortable with to much small talk. Scenario: I don't know you that well, why should I pretend that I'm your best friend? It seems a bit hypocrite. If I play the role of being your best friend. What should one do if you ask for a favour? And I don't want the bother. Then I will seem a hypocrite, and possibly hurt your feelings, being super friendly, but then not following it up.

      And I don't think that one should be to sensitive, and take things to personal. I think people are a bit shy, and vary of social commitments.
      Tip for Americans: Every Norwegian I know disdain any form of superficiality. ( I say Americans with reference to some of American TV which can contain quite superficial hosts. (e.g US ver. of Scrapie Challange on Discovery) ,and some of your politician. (Not Ron Paul, he rocks) )

      I worked at a gas station, with most people it's Hello. Hello *beep beep* Thank you. Thank you Good bye. Good bye. But some like to chat. (10-20%)

      If you live in Norway as a foreigner, try joining some social activities. Sports, churches, voluntary work e.g red cross or that type of activities or parties (vorspiel (pre-) / nachspiel (post-party) ). Then I think you would get to know more Norwegians. It seems to me that the only contact you have with Norwegians is through your job, and that isn't a optimal arena to get to know people.
      My friends and family like to invite each other home for dinner. And do activities in our homes. We don't hang out in pubs or cafés that much.

      So the rule of the game is: Get to know people in unformal social activities, after a while when you get to know people, you can invite them home for dinner.

      Just picture Norwegians as large Hobbits. :)

    55. Re:I'm thinking about moving to Norway by commodore64_love · · Score: 1

      I want to carry a gun as self-defense against pedophiles and terrorists. It's for the children.

      "No" - democrat

      See? That argument doesn't always work.

      --
      "I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it." - historian Evelyn Beatrice Hall
    56. Re:I'm thinking about moving to Norway by dangitman · · Score: 1

      Actually, I thought the dominant /. dogma was that artists actually should be fairly compensated for what they do, but also that million-dollar judgments in favor of record companies against Joe Schmoe Filesharer doesn't have anything to do with that.

      As you can see from one of your replies, no. Commodore_64_love appears to believe that royalties are immoral and artists should just be paid an hourly wage.

      And there are even more extreme positions than that - such as that as soon as a copyrighted work is sold once, then anybody else can make money from it, the copyright holder losing any exclusive right to it.

      One also occasionally sees even more extreme arguments, to the effect that being an "artist" is not a real job, and they don't deserve money at all, or that all artists should do it for the "love" of the work, and not expect compensation.

      --
      ... and then they built the supercollider.
    57. Re:I'm thinking about moving to Norway by TyFoN · · Score: 1

      How many Americans care to pronounce the "strange" names of foreigners correctly?

      Its funny that when i am in the US, i am usually greeted with "Hello minster... minster... welcome!".
      My name is a typical Norwegian one.

    58. Re:I'm thinking about moving to Norway by JesseMcDonald · · Score: 1

      Exactly. Also notice that "fairly compensated" doesn't have to have anything to do with copyright; it can instead consist of fair one-time compensation for the service of creating the work (e.g. work-for-hire, individual or mass patronage, etc.) with no exclusivity to follow. The assumption that "fair compensation" equals "copyright" is part of the problem.

      --
      "The state is that great fiction by which everyone tries to live at the expense of everyone else." - Bastiat
    59. Re:I'm thinking about moving to Norway by Lavene · · Score: 3, Informative

      When I take a patient into my office for a consultation, about 50% react in the stereotypical xenophobic way when I shake their hands and introduce myself as their doctor and tell them my name.

      This might be the reason: We hate foreign doctors. So when you introduce yourself they're going "Oh fuck... another one of those!" And the reason we hate foreign doctors is that they don't understand when they really need to.

      It is not racism, it has nothing to do with skin color or anything. If you had been a carpenter or a tram driver no one would care. But as a doctor we need to talk to you. Not only that; you need to understand us if we one day is really sick, in horrible pain and speak with a dialect that's almost incomprehensible even for the locals. So when we shake hands with a foreign doctor, either his name is Singh or Jhonny, we go "Fuck!" in our mind hoping there will be a Norwegian doctor available to save us at the hospital after you have failed to understand what we try to say.

      It doesn't matter how well you think you know Norwegians, or even how well you speak Norwegian. Because we have all met with the foreign doctor from hell. The doctor that pretend to understand everything, maybe he even think he does. But when you are at the pharmacy to pick up the prescription you get painkillers instead of birthcontrol pills. And you are that doctor... until you prove otherwise.

    60. Re:I'm thinking about moving to Norway by hkmwbz · · Score: 1
      So what you are saying is that Norway manages to be an awesome country because it can basically suck money straight out of the ground.

      What happens when the supply of money runs out?

      --
      Clever signature text goes here.
    61. Re:I'm thinking about moving to Norway by hkmwbz · · Score: 1

      The party you are probably referring to is closer to the Democrats than the Republicans, though. They want nationalized health care, in that even though they open up for private health care, the government still pays the bill. In US terms, that party is a left-leaning party.

      --
      Clever signature text goes here.
    62. Re:I'm thinking about moving to Norway by hkmwbz · · Score: 1

      average speed on a 80 kph highway is about 85, police wont bother you until you're over 90-95

      That's not true from what I hear. If you drive too fast, you drive too fast.

      --
      Clever signature text goes here.
    63. Re:I'm thinking about moving to Norway by Tubal-Cain · · Score: 2, Insightful

      That does NOT mean they are entitled to write a single book or song in their 20s, and then sit on their ass for the rest of their lives.

      Entitled? No. But if their work is good enough that they earn enough money to do so in only a few years of copyright protection (J. K. Rowling), so be it.

    64. Re:I'm thinking about moving to Norway by Tubal-Cain · · Score: 2, Funny

      Who cares about beer? I want to know the prices of caffeinated beverages.

    65. Re:I'm thinking about moving to Norway by hkmwbz · · Score: 1

      Norwegian speed limits are notoriously low for the conditions. A straight divided highway in the middle of nowhere will have a speed limit of 80 kph (about 49 mph) and people will drive 70.

      Huh? That's not my experience. Some roads have a 110 (or 120?) kph speed limit, and the traffic generally flows well above the limit.

      Up until around the 1970s, which is when they found oil, they were little more than farmers without any higher education or purpose.

      Actually, Norway was more of a fishing/shipping nation than a farming nation, and has had some of the world's best and most advanced fleets.

      Typical Norwegian food is poisonous

      Huh?

      --
      Clever signature text goes here.
    66. Re:I'm thinking about moving to Norway by Djupblue · · Score: 1

      Exactly, the rest of Scandinavia has no oil and the standard of living is very comparable to Norway. Of course the oil helps but all about politics. Norway prioritizes the common good before private profit. That is why you are likely to have courts that doesn't look upon copyright infringement as to be so serious as to need special treatment. That's why they have free health care, nice prisons (criminals are also people) and strict laws on alcohol. /Swede

    67. Re:I'm thinking about moving to Norway by hkmwbz · · Score: 2, Interesting

      I am not intellectually stimulated by Norwegians at the least. The conversations doctors have at lunch revolve around one or two topics.

      Maybe you are just hanging around with the wrong crowd. It seems odd to describe 4-5 million Norwegian based on a bunch of rich dudes around a table.

      Take another country I've lived in, a small one called Iceland. The people there are spectacular. I love them to death. The women? Absolutely fabulous. They refer to Norwegian women as "burger butts".

      Burger butts? Sounds like you are making stuff up as you go along.

      They are a very open and warm people who speak English very well.

      That's odd, because Norwegians are well known for their English skills. I don't have the same experience with people from Iceland.

      One pet peeve of mine here in Norway is that about 90% of Norwegians don't even try to pronounce my typical English name correctly. ... I've been told that the reason for this is that Norwegians don't like to make mistakes, so they won't try to pronounce my name right for fear of that. When I take a patient into my office for a consultation, about 50% react in the stereotypical xenophobic way when I shake their hands and introduce myself as their doctor and tell them my name.

      Ok, so because they are afraid to make a mistake when pronouncing your name, they are xenophobic?

      10% get it right and become interested in me as a person and ask me where I'm from. I'm of course not here to be asked where I'm from, but it's nice once in a while when someone takes an interest in you.

      As an American, you should know that Americans are among the most superficial people on the planet. Americans don't ask because they really care. Seriously. You of all people should know that. Norwegians seem to be less happy about superficial small-talk.

      That's a major issue in this culture. I haven't figured out if it's egotism or what, but no one seems interested in each other.

      Or maybe they just aren't as superficial as Americans generally are?

      The other thing that gets me about this first 50% of people who see me with suspicion or look down on me is that no matter what I do, they will always think that they're better than me and I will never be accepted.

      How do you know that they look down on you? And how are these people who look down on you anyway?

      they don't get much exposure to the outside world

      Apart from their media being completely dominated by foreign productions, you mean? Especially American movies and music.

      All of the foreigners I've met here have the same things to say about it, especially my American countrymen.

      Funny, I have the opposite experience. One has to wonder why you feel the need to invent these things.

      --
      Clever signature text goes here.
    68. Re:I'm thinking about moving to Norway by skeffstone · · Score: 1

      I'm not going to comment much on this, I think everyone can see that this is bombastic and narrow. I'm norwegian myself and I don't recognize myself or my friends in this. But alas, this is not forum for discussing nations and the people there. But seriously man, you should get out more, locally but also globally.

    69. Re:I'm thinking about moving to Norway by maggern · · Score: 1

      Don't forget the fårikål! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/F%C3%A5rik%C3%A5l

      In the 1970s, fårikål was elected national dish of Norway by a popular radio programme.

      I eat fårikål every year and it is both very easy to make and extremely good to eat. Recommended!

    70. Re:I'm thinking about moving to Norway by maggern · · Score: 1

      Then we use the return from the Oljefondet (National Oil fund), currently at 2500 billions NOK (439 billion dollar) to keep going :P

      Kidding, we actually use that money to pay of all the pensions of our aging population. I wonder how other countries, that are not filthy rich, will be able to pay off the babyboomers after WWII without severe social consequences...

    71. Re:I'm thinking about moving to Norway by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Insightful

      Wow, it's hard to know where to begin.. Your comments about the Norwegian tax system are preposterous, and you either have a very poor understanding of it, or you are being being intentionally misleading in order to bring across a point. "Everyone" does most certainly not pay 36%, in fact the average rate seems to be 27-28%, which is on par with most western european countries. People earning half the average wage or less are taxed perhaps 15-20%, depending on their deductions. Also "most" people don't pay 50%, although about a quarter of the taxed population pay a "toppskatt", which could lead to a calculated tax above 40%. Additionally, the 50% overtime tax you mention when discussing vacation time is obviously not actual tax, but an additional payment intended to exceed your marginal tax as your earnings for the year presumably will be higher than originally estimated. Any amount exceeding your actual calculated tax will be refunded, with interest, the following year. The intention, which I'm frankly not sure if you understand or not, is to protect you from getting a penalty tax due to having a too low amount deducted by your employer. I emphasize; the number on your government issued "skattekort" is NOT the amount of tax you will end up paying. Your dismissal of Norwegian health care as "not free" is also misleading. While it is true that there is a co-pay on each visit, it should also be mentioned that there is a roof applied to these payments, after which an exemption is given so that noone has to pay more than 0.5-1% of the national average income. This generates income while protecting against snowballing costs of repeated treatments. I'm also fairly certain the government will pay your bill if you really don't have any money. Now, for some of your more recent opinions.. It appears that your preference in women favour those of the naturally very slim or surgically enhanced persuasion. I won't comment on that save to say that not everyone agrees. I do find your constant inclusion of women and their beauty as a characteristic of a place fairly juvenile and off-putting. It doesn't exactly leave a favorable impression on your other arguments. Going on, you make a lot of blanket statements and quote some quite obviously made up statistics about Norwegian behavior. A lot of them, it seems, would be true if spoken about nearly any country. It's interesting, for instance, that you don't mention xenophobia in your tales of eastern Europe. And.. pronouncing your name correctly..? Really..!? Maybe being a native English speaker instills these kinds of completely unrealistic expectations, I don't know. Other statements are fairly well statistically proven, such as your claims that Norwegians are non-confrontational and not prone to emotional outbursts. More on this later. As to your claims that Norway treats it's residents of foreign origin poorly, I'm inclined to agree. I have to say I'm not that worried about you and your golf buddies, though. We have more pressing problems in dealing with our growing slave-caste of African descent washing every floor and dusting every desk at 6am every morning, and getting scammed on the pay while they're at it. But, to make my main point, most of your experiences seem heavily colored by the fact that the majority of your interactions aren't an anywhere near statistically random sample. As a GP, I think it is fair to assume that your patrons tend to be older rather than younger, and most likely slightly nervous rather than chatty and relaxed. While you assume the raw numbers make you somehow uniquely qualified to spout the absolute truths about "The Norwegian", I postulate that you are vastly more likely to get to see people's worst sides rather than their best. Hell, maybe apprehensiveness towards their GP is a uniquely Norwegian quality, and that is causing your impressions ;) Anyway, I don't think your views are as fair and balanced as you think they are. Also.. $50 for a kilo of beef? You sure have some extravagant shopping habits Jon

    72. Re:I'm thinking about moving to Norway by mjkjedi · · Score: 1

      Don't forget Norwegian black metal!

    73. Re:I'm thinking about moving to Norway by MacWiz · · Score: 1

      I couldn't tell if you were being sarcastic. If so, the judgments in favor of the record companies don't go to the artists. The artists are paid according to the terms of their contract. The lawsuits don't alter those contracts.

    74. Re:I'm thinking about moving to Norway by hitmark · · Score: 1

      the default speed for open roads with few intersections are 80kph, 90 used on "highway" classed roads.

      there are however one or more stretches of recent completion where they have allowed 100 as a test bed for future projects.

      do note however that research have shown that while higher speed means the individual vehicle gets to its destination faster, lower speed allows more vehicles to pass a stretch of road in the same amount of time, as they can drive closer together.

      so speed limits will be a balance between safety, infrastructure utilization and the individuals wish to get from a to b quickly.

      and i would say its better to get there a bit later, then risk not getting there at all...

      --
      comment first, facts later. http://chem.tufts.edu/AnswersInScience/RelativityofWrong.htm
    75. Re:I'm thinking about moving to Norway by DNS-and-BIND · · Score: 1

      Well! Finally someone has solved the "where will the neverending flow of new money come from" aspect of socialism that has bedeviled so many attempts to implement it.

      --
      Shutting down free speech with violence isn't fighting fascism. It IS fascism!
    76. Re:I'm thinking about moving to Norway by cheesecake23 · · Score: 1

      Cold weather, hot women, health care, and common sense. If their food is any good, maybe I'll move also

      My ex-girlfriend is Norwegian. Once when I visited her in Norway I was treated to a traditional family dinner, consisting of pig's head on a plate - one head per person. Does that answer your question?

    77. Re:I'm thinking about moving to Norway by haruchai · · Score: 1

      I knew that - Opera was my go-to browser from 1998 up until Firefox 1.5. I even paid for a license back when they still charged for it.

      --
      Pain is merely failure leaving the body
    78. Re:I'm thinking about moving to Norway by haruchai · · Score: 1

      I'm filing that under Too Much Information, but thanks.

      --
      Pain is merely failure leaving the body
    79. Re:I'm thinking about moving to Norway by jesset77 · · Score: 2, Insightful

      And there are even more extreme positions than that - such as that as soon as a copyrighted work is sold once, then anybody else can make money from it, the copyright holder losing any exclusive right to it.

      No, this point is about as extreme as you can get without first violating privacy rights. Artist can make money on first sale. How else would the work make it into the public to begin with? You cannot P2P what's physically not available to you.

      Once it is in the public however, then whomsoever chooses may share the data with the rest of the world at virtually zero cost and it takes the enforcement of global treaties and suspension of civil liberties to stop them.

      In any event, this is the hill I defend. Artists should make money *creating* things, not selling copies of them or saying who anywhere in the world can or cannot make money re-selling or re-mixing the work they have already released into the public. The entire corpus of human knowledge is presently copyrighted, and no new creative work can be constructed save from elements that already exist; virtually all of which are already copyrighted or trademarked. It's simply time for this to stop.

      Besides, how do artists make money from copy rights anyway? By selling their rights to litigious big media, of course, and becoming debt-bonded "celebrities".

      But I'll head back to your original point. Perhaps royalties aren't immoral, and hourly wages really are an insult. I'll bet McDonalds workers would love that, instead of buying the burger you pay royalties to everyone who helped make the burger: grill person, person who assembled the sandwhich, wrapped it, and person who presented it to you on a tray. Let's not forget the farmers who raised the cows and the wheat, the slaughterhouse that turned the cow into ground beef and the mill that processed the wheat and lord knows what else into a bun. Read off the big mac song to see who else you have to pay. And they all earn a percentage cut on everything you do with the underwhelming boost of energy you get after eating the burger.

      Suddenly, there is so much more incentive for these lowly employees to make better food; they profit directly from it! I'll bet the would all invest more TLC (and methamphetamines ;D) into your daily meal.

      --
      People willing to trade their freedom of expression for temporary entertainment deserve neither and will lose both.
    80. Re:I'm thinking about moving to Norway by jesset77 · · Score: 1
      --
      People willing to trade their freedom of expression for temporary entertainment deserve neither and will lose both.
    81. Re:I'm thinking about moving to Norway by jesset77 · · Score: 1

      Its the perfect country, the problem is that its infested by smug norwegians.. /love from sweden

      Wait, I thought Norway was the CAPITOL of Sweden? </confused>

      --
      People willing to trade their freedom of expression for temporary entertainment deserve neither and will lose both.
    82. Re:I'm thinking about moving to Norway by jesset77 · · Score: 1

      Fish und Potatoes! And lunch packet, with frozhen bread with Yellow Cheese on it. \o/

      --
      People willing to trade their freedom of expression for temporary entertainment deserve neither and will lose both.
  2. OO by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Funny

    Where's the link to send a donation to the judge?

    1. Re:OO by chibiace · · Score: 2, Insightful

      404 link not found.
      no wonder we won ;)
      id like to know how man judges are bribed to "fight" "piracy".

      --
      he who controls the spice controls the universe
    2. Re:OO by gzipped_tar · · Score: 4, Funny

      Finally, we've caught the infidel who has been bribing judges in all free countries in order harm the honest, starving capitalists! It's Anonymous Coward! Someone get him NOW! Think of the music industry!!1!

      --
      Colorless green Cthulhu waits dreaming furiously.
    3. Re:OO by drinkypoo · · Score: 1

      Think of the music industry!!1!

      I have been, but apparently I'm not the Lathe of Heaven, because they're still here.

      --
      "You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
  3. Pirate Bay? by boudie2 · · Score: 5, Funny

    Yesterday Pirate Bay was shut down never to return.
    Today they're back up.
    If there's one thing to admire about Pirates, it's
    there sticktoitiveness. Yarrr!

    1. Re:Pirate Bay? by girlintraining · · Score: 4, Funny

      My therapist used the word "sticktoitiveness" as well, mostly referencing my lack of it. There was a point to this post, but it has eluded the author. Oh look, a kitty!

      --
      #fuckbeta #iamslashdot #dicemustdie
    2. Re:Pirate Bay? by Dan541 · · Score: 3, Interesting

      The good guys always win, well not always but as a collective we pirates are holding our ground pretty darn well. Especially when you consider that we can't afford to buy any of our laws.

      --
      An SQL query goes to a bar, walks up to a table and asks, "Mind if I join you?"
    3. Re:Pirate Bay? by dangitman · · Score: 1

      That depends what happened 5 minutes ago.

      --
      ... and then they built the supercollider.
    4. Re:Pirate Bay? by c1t1z3nk41n3 · · Score: 1

      Which is kind of odd considering how much money we save by not paying for entertainment...

    5. Re:Pirate Bay? by TheRaven64 · · Score: 3, Interesting

      The good guys always win

      This is true, although largely because the winners who win retroactively define themselves as the good guys.

      --
      I am TheRaven on Soylent News
    6. Re:Pirate Bay? by IamTheRealMike · · Score: 1

      You don't have to buy laws if you choose not to respect them in the first place.

    7. Re:Pirate Bay? by Dan541 · · Score: 1

      Ok how do we introduce a law without paying congress?

      --
      An SQL query goes to a bar, walks up to a table and asks, "Mind if I join you?"
    8. Re:Pirate Bay? by Dan541 · · Score: 1

      So the good guys are the ones suing innocent people into bankruptcy, destroying lives, committing criminal activities and stomping human rights.

      --
      An SQL query goes to a bar, walks up to a table and asks, "Mind if I join you?"
  4. Good for them by Myrcutio · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Sounds like great news for everyone. A precedent that helps stand against widespread banning of websites can only be a good thing for net neutrality. Means liability for illegal actions can't be retroactively inherited.

    1. Re:Good for them by sopssa · · Score: 1

      Still this isn't a precedent and doesn't do much outside Norway.

  5. Hot women *and* weather soon enough.... by macraig · · Score: 2, Funny

    Have you forgotten about global warming? Soon enough Norway might be the new Costa Rica: hot weather AND women. The food will probably be hot and spicy, too. But will the women still be fair-skinned and blonde? Hope you like the Latin/Caribbean/Mediterranean look.

    1. Re:Hot women *and* weather soon enough.... by macraig · · Score: 1

      I'm investing in a sunscreen manufacturer right now!

    2. Re:Hot women *and* weather soon enough.... by commodore64_love · · Score: 1

      Global warming will not increase the amount of sunlight received in Norway. The people will still be light-skinned.

      --
      "I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it." - historian Evelyn Beatrice Hall
    3. Re:Hot women *and* weather soon enough.... by macraig · · Score: 1

      Sure it will! The mass migration of billions of people to the New Tropic of Cancer will tilt the earth over on its axis a bit so that Norway gets all the rays.

  6. Background info on Telenor by Sheen · · Score: 4, Interesting

    I would like to add some information about Telenor. Telenor is state owned, 54% of the shares belong to the people/Norwegian state. They have close to 200 million customers worldwide. So this is a big operator in the Telecom world. They have about 43 000 employees. Today, I am proud to be Norwegian.

    1. Re:Background info on Telenor by hitmark · · Score: 1

      well it used to be 100% state owned (televerket) and the only supplier of phone services.

      i would say that the state is a silent partner these days, only there to get some returns on the initial investment, rather then getting involved in the day to day running of the company.

      --
      comment first, facts later. http://chem.tufts.edu/AnswersInScience/RelativityofWrong.htm
  7. Re:I'm thinking about moving to Norway MOD UP! by SpzToid · · Score: 1

    Seriously, this is enlightenment from the Norwegian fjords!

    --
    You can't be ahead of the curve, if you're stuck in a loop.
  8. Re:I'm thinking about moving to Norway MOD UP! by amorsen · · Score: 2

    Not least about the author...

    --
    Finally! A year of moderation! Ready for 2019?
  9. Complementary info - MOD UP TOO by arielCo · · Score: 1

    Please mod this up TOO - it looks that (as usual) there is room in a whole country for more than one way of life, and this one is as worthy of being known as the one that got posted first. Together they're really useful - thanks.

    --
    This post contains no rudeness or derision of any kind. All arguments are friendly. Terms and exclusions may apply.
  10. Tracker down? by tcoady · · Score: 1
    1. Re:Tracker down? by icebraining · · Score: 2, Informative

      The tracker hasn't worked for a few months, they switched to openbittorrent.com (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/OpenBitTorrent).

      They said they wanted to separate the tracker from the website, so the tracker can't be liable (as it doesn't record the file names). Oh, and officially, no one knows who's the tracker owners :)

    2. Re:Tracker down? by Zontar+The+Mindless · · Score: 1

      The TPB's own trackers have been down since forever, and are not likely to come back up.

      Just de-select the TPB's trackers in your BT client and use one of the others; all torrents listed at TPB include alternative trackers.

      Or at least this is what I have heard somewhere... ;)

      --
      Il n'y a pas de Planet B.
  11. I don't understand ? by daveime · · Score: 3, Insightful

    What happened to the "safe harbour" provisions for ISPs ?

    It's okay to publish Scientology bullshit and bomb plans on the net, but woe betide any ISP who "assists in sharing" an mp3 ?

    1. Re:I don't understand ? by hitmark · · Score: 1

      did you not get the memo that the internet

      • is

      US jurisdiction? ;)

      --
      comment first, facts later. http://chem.tufts.edu/AnswersInScience/RelativityofWrong.htm
    2. Re:I don't understand ? by daveime · · Score: 1

      You mean they actually got something *right* for once ?

  12. mølje, øl og linjeakevitt by SgtChaireBourne · · Score: 1

    There's more remote parts that have a horrid selection.

    Speaking of horrid, what's that last item on the list below? I don't dare try it. It's all chopped up so as to be unrecognizable. ;)

    • biff - steak
    • selbiff - seal cutlets
    • kvalbiff - 'harpoon' special
    • kyllingbiff - chicken breasts
    • kalkunbiff - turkeybreasts
    • svinbiff - pork cutlets
    • sejbiff - saithe cutlets
    • sojabiff - tofu (or somesuch) cutlets
    • lammbiff - lamb cutlets
    • . . .
    • finnbiff - ??wtf??
    --
    Beta is broken and the link to classic doesn't work. Stop wasting our time or there won't be anybody left here.
    1. Re:mølje, øl og linjeakevitt by TyFoN · · Score: 1

      Finnbiff is rain deer meat :)

    2. Re:mølje, øl og linjeakevitt by Lavene · · Score: 1

      Speaking of horrid, what's that last item on the list below? I don't dare try it. It's all chopped up so as to be unrecognizable. ;)

      • ...
      • . . .
      • finnbiff - ??wtf??

      It's reindeer :)

    3. Re:mølje, øl og linjeakevitt by Eivind+Eklund · · Score: 1

      As others have told you, finnbiff is reindeer cut into small pieces. It's just pure, lean meat, often served with a sauce of sour cream, onion, mushrooms spiced with juniper berries and black pepper, usually with lingonberry (AKA cowberry, or in norwegian "tyttebær") jam and boiled potatoes on the side.

      Eivind.

      --
      Doubting the existence of evolution is like doubting the existence of China: It just shows that you're uninformed.
  13. Re:I'm thinking about moving to Norway MOD UP! by Tubal-Cain · · Score: 1

    ...enlightenment from the Norwegian fjords

    Not least about the author...

    Slartibartfast?