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Stop Being Poor: U.S. Piracy Watch List Hits a New Low With 2012 Report

An anonymous reader writes "The U.S. Trade Representative released its annual Special 301 Report yesterday, unsurprisingly including Canada on the Priority Watch list. While inclusion on the list is designed to generate embarrassment on target countries, Michael Geist explains why this year's report should elicit outrage. Not only is the report lacking in objective analysis, it targets some of the world's poorest countries with no evidence of legal inadequacies and picks fights with any country that dare adopt a contrary view on intellectual property issues."

14 of 310 comments (clear)

  1. A Band by Das+Auge · · Score: 5, Funny

    You're right, CDs are crappy. That's why I always bring a live band with me when I drive to and from work.

    1. Re:A Band by Whalou · · Score: 5, Funny

      This also allows you to drive in the carpool lane.

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      English is not this .sig mother tongue...
    2. Re:A Band by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Funny

      I already drive in the carpool lane, because I count all the voices in my head as passengers.

    3. Re:A Band by ZeroSumHappiness · · Score: 4, Funny

      No, those were just guys he picked up at Home Depot to redo his deck.

  2. Re:US, nobody gives a shit by TWX · · Score: 4, Funny

    But then if they turned down the music, you'd realize how little people actually have to say.

    Sounds like it's time to build the B Ark. We just have to make sure that we sanitize our own telephones.

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    Do not look into laser with remaining eye.
  3. Re:US, nobody gives a shit by Hatta · · Score: 5, Funny

    I live in Asia. Our entertainment is going out with people and socializing.

    That sounds too much like socialism for the US.

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    Give me Classic Slashdot or give me death!
  4. finally an excuse to bomb canada by alen · · Score: 5, Funny

    we tried to conquer your worthless country twice before, but you finally gave us an excuse for a third time

    1. Re:finally an excuse to bomb canada by LeadSongDog · · Score: 3, Funny

      You know, Canada never did get the thank-you note for that.

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      Oh, I'm sorry sir, I thought you were referring to me, Mr. Wensleydale.
  5. Re:Canada should be embarrassed by Beardo+the+Bearded · · Score: 5, Funny

    They're lying, again. They've lied about every. single. point. they made during the election, and there's strong evidence that even the election results themselves are a lie.

    They want to have it on the books so that if Beardo is at a protest or starts to make trouble, they can see what Beardo's been doing online and put him in jail or bankrupt him or hell, just embarrass him. Ripping a DVD is a $20k fine and 5 years in prison. Unlocking your nook? Same thing. Installing Ubuntu? Yep, prison. (Okay, you deserve that last one.) Any digital lock on any media cannot be bypassed or that's the penalty. That's not fear-mongering, that's what is in the law. If you buy a DVD and rip it to play on your unlocked iPhone, you're looking at 10+ years in jail. If you burned down Parliament with everyone inside, you'd get out on parole sooner than that.

    "We're not going to do this!" means "We don't want you to complain until this is the law."

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    ECHELON is a government program to find words like bomb, jihad, plutonium, assassinate, and anarchy.
  6. Re:Canada should be embarrassed by squiggleslash · · Score: 4, Funny

    I'm not going to worry. When I smuggle in crazy ideas about privacy and civil rights, I always use stenography to hide them in PowerPoint presentations describing terrorist plots, and hide them in my underpants.

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    You are not alone. This is not normal. None of this is normal.
  7. Re:Canada should be embarrassed by Penguinisto · · Score: 4, Funny

    When Unity came out as the enforced default UI.

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    Quo usque tandem abutere, Nimbus, patientia nostra?
  8. Re:US, nobody gives a shit by AngryDeuce · · Score: 3, Funny

    I don't think that post means what you think it WOOOOOOOOOOSH...

  9. We did that ages ago by SmallFurryCreature · · Score: 4, Funny

    The B-Ark idea was done centuries ago, however it was decided two were needed to get rid of all the undesirables. One was named Australia, the other America.

    There they would die an agonizing dead, removed from all culture essential to any human. Who knew the dregs would adapt to do without culture?

    --

    MMO Quests are like orgasms:

    You may solo them, I prefer them in a group.

  10. Re:US, nobody gives a shit by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny

    As a consumer, fuck you right back. You're here to entertain me, monkey.

    Now clap those cymbals in time so I can syncopate my chewing.