Former Leader of Film Piracy Group Sentenced To Five Years In Prison
colinneagle writes "The acknowledged leader of once prolific movie piracy group IMAGiNE was sent to prison this week for five years, one of the longest sentences ever handed down for criminal copyright infringement. In addition to his prison term, Jeramiah Perkins, 40, of Portsmouth, Va., was sentenced to serve three years of supervised release and ordered to pay $15,000 in restitution. On Aug. 29, 2012, Perkins pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit criminal copyright infringement. According to the Department of Justice, Perkins was indicted along with three other defendants on April 18, 2012, for their roles in the IMAGiNE Group, an organized online piracy ring that sought to become the premier group to first release Internet copies of movies only showing in theaters. According to court documents, Perkins directed and participated in using receivers and recording devices in movie theaters to secretly capture the audio sound tracks of copyrighted movies. They then synchronized the audio files with illegally recorded video files to create completed movie files suitable for sharing over the Internet via BitTorrent file sharing technology."
"pleaded guilty"...
Somebody cut a deal.
No sig today...
So you hate China so much that you would prefer to live in a US prison? Being poor in the US is also quite unpleasant even if you are not one of the unlucky ones snared by the ubiquitous prison system.
Quite an experience to live in fear, isn't it? That's what it is to be a slave.
The guy didn't harm anyone and we're locking him up in a cage for 5 years. Well I guess it serves him right for living in this stupid country. Being born here was the dumbest thing I've ever done and remaining here when I could leave is even dumber.
Quite an experience to live in fear, isn't it? That's what it is to be a slave.
Prison time for copyright infringement? Really?
Just another sign of how completely out of control the copyright system has become.
Palm trees and 8
Yeah, the fine is surprisingly sensible compared to the prison sentence and the usual monetary penalties sought by the copyright industry. I can only assume that the terrible prison sentence was intended to be the bulk of the penalty and without that the fine would have been much much higher.
I am so glad our Justice Department is busy locking up such horrible and dangerous criminals. Thank goodness the Department of Justice is hard at work locking up these criminal masterminds. Now we can all feel safer.
They go to great lengths to ensure the content industry fat cats don't lose any money, because how else could they afford their eight figure salaries if a few people get their disgusting hands on their content without paying? They might have to go down to ... *gasp* seven figure salaries, ugh just saying it brings chill to my spine. That's unimaginable cruelty! Thank you Department of Justice for using my money to protect the interests of a select few that I don't give a crap about. Thank you, very much.
In the mean while, identity theft is at an all time high. Bravo, Department of Justice! Bravo!
Being poor in the US is also quite unpleasant...
Compared to what?
People like you have no damn clue what being poor means. Subsistence farming. Look it up.
"His name was James Damore."
Noo! They had quality rips!
Most rapists are convicted at the state level, not the federal level, where this conviction occurred.
The best thing about a boolean is even if you are wrong, you are only off by a bit.
Then I assure you that you didn't glance at prison populations. The United States has more prisoners than China, both per-capita and in raw numbers.
Just like in Amurica. If you are rich, and especially if you're a rich banker or defense contractor, the rule of law simply doesn't apply to you. That's for us plebes....
Unless that was just the criminal legal system and the studios have yet to file civil lawsuit for a couple hundred billions. I think this guy can forget about owning anything ever again.
Live today, because you never know what tomorrow brings
In many parts of the World, a US prison would be living like a prince: 3 meals, shelter, clothing, TV and other recreation.
Which makes it quite sad, actually. To think that a US prison is better living than what over a billion people in this World have.
As long as they don't start locking up Ohio State football players just because they like to rape young women.
I am sure he would rather live in the US and follow our very straight forward laws. And from my conversations with people from China, I would much rather be poor in the US than live like 99% of Chinese citizens.
-- All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing. -- Edmund Burke
I assure you that isn't the case
I'm sorry, but one of the rules of /. is that no poster may state that somewhere in the world is worse than the USA. Starving children in a North Korean Stalinist gulag are way better off than any American child eating Doritos and watching Honey Boo Boo. Oddly enough, it seems like none of the Slashdotters who have this opinion seem willing to move away from the USA to somewhere 'better' like China.
...and no, I'm not an American and I don't live in the USA.
The fine would be in the billions no doubt.
BlameBillCosby.com
I agree, they broke the law and should be dealt with. Five years though? Seems to be something that really should be dealt with through financial punishments, and perhaps a pretty light custodial/supervisory sentence. Five years in prison, followed by three years of supervision, seems way over the top for even wilful copyright infringement of the kind they were engaged in.
Any idea what the motive was here? Were they making money out of this, or was it just for bragging rights?
-- Using the preview button since 2005
But it isn't like many people in prison are there for crimes they didn't know they were committing. It is pretty easy to stay out of prison. Even of you don't agree with the laws, it isn't hard to follow them.
-- All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing. -- Edmund Burke
You have got to be trolling at this point. Using homeless people to represent what life is like for most people in the US. Get a clue.
-- All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing. -- Edmund Burke
being poor in the US is also quite unpleasant
"Daddy bought me the wrong BMW. Life is Pain!"
âoeI have to get dressed so that I donâ(TM)t look too lazy when I go out to pay the gardener. Woe is me!â
"There's nothing to drink at home except an unlimited supply of clean water from the tap. Pity me!"
I grew up poor in the US. I didn't know a single person who starved to death. I didn't know a single person who was "disappeared" by the government. I didn't know a single person who died from parasites, or lost a limb in the factory they worked in as a child.
Your "White Whine" is appalling.
Socialism: a lie told by totalitarians and believed by fools.
"My favorite blog still doen't have UTF8 support after all these years. My life sucks!"
Socialism: a lie told by totalitarians and believed by fools.
Would you listen to yourself for a minute? You're seriously comparing the minor corruption we have here in the States with life in a Communist Dictatorship?
Think for just a moment why china might not have so many people in prison!
Specially equipped âoeexecution trucksâ should be used nationwide by courts to execute criminals immediately after sentencing, the countryâ(TM)s highest court has recommended, according to a report by Agence France-Presse.
The Beijing News daily said the high court of China's Liaoning province had recently bought such a vehicle for 400,000 yuan (48,300 dollars). "Many large cities have permanent execution grounds, but in smaller cities it is difficult to carry out death sentences, so this is why we have these mobile execution units,â a government official was quoted.
A non-wikipedia cite, even, though you can find it there too.
Socialism: a lie told by totalitarians and believed by fools.
Some bankers are in jail.
http://www.heraldtribune.com/article/20120612/ARTICLE/120619859
http://www.ocregister.com/articles/walker-365061-theft-farmers.html
http://www.fbi.gov/tampa/press-releases/2012/tampa-man-and-maryland-banker-sentenced-for-bank-fraud-and-other-offenses
It isn't that unusual.
You have got to be trolling at this point. Using homeless people to represent what life is like for most people in the US. Get a clue.
Not only that, he cited panhandling, an activity that when conducted in the western world nets more in a week than many in the 3rd and 2nd world earn in an entire year.
These people really have no clue what its like outside the western world.
India, population 1.2 billion.
32.7% of Indians live on less than $1.25 per day.
68.7% of Indians live on less than $2.00 per day.
Thats more than 2.6 times the entire population of the United States, in one single country, that lives on less than $2 per day.
Poor is relative. On a global scale, nobody at all in the United States is poor.
"His name was James Damore."
If your idea of growing up poor is having a BMW and a gardener, I think our definitions of poor are very different.
I don't know anyone who's starving to death you're quite right. I do however know people who can't afford much more than bread and processed 'ham' when they also have to pay for the bus to get to work to afford that bread.
I also don't know anyone who has starved to death in the third world, where i have spent several years overall. I do know plenty of people in the third world and in the first world who get sick through the poor diet they have, which is all they can afford or find.
The difference is, in the third world you don't always need to buy food as the undeveloped nature of the environment often means there is still food growing naturally. Not so much in the urban centers of the US.
My local food bank doesn't have any caviar. Life sucks hard!
I remember getting quite a few releases from IMAGiNE back in the days where I still had lots of FTP accounts. Nowadays I don't really know/care who releases it as I just grab it from usenet.
He made 6 figure profit is most likely the reason. Big money usually means big time.
IMAGiNE made telesync cam copies. If that wasn't bad enough they then encoded the already shitty video using xvid thus guaranteeing it would be soft and blocky with muddy colours.
I'd give them another couple of months.
Over compensating? 1. He broke the law 2. He knew he was doing it 3. He got caught How do acknowledging and agreeing with the facts become over compensation, and what do my machines have to do with Perkins getting caught and sent to jail. You're trying to somehow redirect this idiots criminal activity and subsequent punishment on to me? lol, grow up. There's no debate going on here.
The fact that you have mail, cards, ids and reports contradicts "needed to eat". You could maybe use that with a single stolen card you got caught using at mcdonalds. But the fact that you had all these different types of material for multiple people...that consequently are all used for identity theft And no stealing from people or stealing their identities isn't better than mooching of your mother. Maybe you need to spend some more time in jail so you understand that.
And I, I walked over to the, to the bench there, and there is, Group W's
where they put you if you may not be moral enough to join the army after
committing your special crime, and there was all kinds of mean nasty ugly
looking people on the bench there. Mother rapers. Father stabbers. Father
rapers! Father rapers sitting right there on the bench next to me! And
they was mean and nasty and ugly and horrible crime-type guys sitting on the
bench next to me. And the meanest, ugliest, nastiest one, the meanest
father raper of them all, was coming over to me and he was mean 'n' ugly
'n' nasty 'n' horrible and all kind of things and he sat down next to me
and said, "Kid, whad'ya get?" I said, "I didn't get nothing, I had to pay
$50 and pick up the garbage." He said, "What were you arrested for, kid?"
And I said, "Littering." And they all moved away from me on the bench
there, and the hairy eyeball and all kinds of mean nasty things, till I
said, "And creating a nuisance." And they all came back, shook my hand,
and we had a great time on the bench, talkin about crime, mother stabbing,
father raping, all kinds of groovy things that we was talking about on the
bench...
Faster! Faster! Faster would be better!
http://thechive.com/2011/07/21/wtf-mate-30-photos/wtf-funny-18-5/
Don't fight for your country, if your country does not fight for you.
Yes, and blacks in the US in the 1800s knew it was illegal to be black *and* free. They deserved the penalties they got when they tried to vote. Jim Crow FTW!
That is what I find missing from the story, what I remember from the group name is that they were into cams and telesyncs, not proper DVD/Blu-Ray copies. Beyond the novelty value these things are only salable in the most primitive regions of the world where people still have CRT's.
AND if he made such a huge amount of money out of it, why isn't the fine hire? The criminal justice system (this is NOT a civil case like most other cases we hear about) doesn't have high fines BUT it does like to strip criminals of their illgotten gaines since it has long become clear that doing a few years in jail while keeping your millions isn't always such a bad deal. So... where is the confescation of his fortune?
He also admitted he registered domain names for use by the IMAGiNE, and opened e-mail and PayPal accounts to receive donations and payments from persons downloading or buying IMAGiNE releases of pirated copies of motion pictures and other copyrighted works.
That doesn't sound like a pure for financial gain job to me but most groups stay well clear of any financial arrangement whatsoever precisely to avoid being seen as career criminals.
5 years with good behavior really isn't all that long, depending on what he actually did. For profit stealing to me is a whole other kettle of fish then people ripping movies and it costing them money. But I see no evidence that this guy made 6 figure profit. I know lots of companies that don't run 6 figure PROFIT. That is a LOT of money the OP claims that apparently the police missed out on on figured that the guy they are sending to jail for half a decade deserves to keep his ill-gotten gains.
Questions, questions, questions. If only there was a sort of job for which we could employ people that would make them research stories for more details and then share them through some means or another with others.
MMO Quests are like orgasms:
You may solo them, I prefer them in a group.
AHAHAHAHAHA, OMG. Did you just compare selling copyrighted goods to slavery. FFS give your head a shake. And P.S. that was the 1800's welcome to 2013. Take your time and come up with an analogy that involves dinosaurs next time.
There are a reasonable number of subsistence farmers in the US. Visit Appalachia or the Mississippi valley along the MS/AL border sometime.
10 PRINT CHR$(205.5+RND(1)); : GOTO 10
I didn't hear the "WHOOSH". Maybe one of Perkins associates stole it and is planning on releasing it on the net ;). - See what I did there. The ;) implies a joke or sarcasm. If you want people to understand your subtle sarcasm I suggest using it. I'm not at all a person that believes "Once a criminal..." and haven't had my identity stolen. But when someone admits getting caught with all that and then tries to feed me some BS about "needing to eat" (Which who knows if it was a joke or not) I don't give there words much credit thereafter.
Poor is relative. On a global scale, nobody at all in the United States is poor.
It's not clear what point you're trying to make, because you seem to be contradicting yourself. Poverty is always relative. If you want to compare levels of poverty you cannot take into account values like "32.7% of Indians live on less then $1.25 per day" but need to consider the goods people can actually buy for the given amount of money in their country.
People who are about to starve to death in the US might fare well with the same amount of money in some rural part of India and, vice versa, an amount of money that might allow you to survive without problems in some part of the world would not allow you to survive at all in the US without the help of some charity. Such comparisons are completely pointless, because people have to survive where they are living, of course.
It's not clear what point you're trying to make, because you seem to be contradicting yourself. Poverty is always relative. If you want to compare levels of poverty you cannot take into account values like "32.7% of Indians live on less then $1.25 per day" but need to consider the goods people can actually buy for the given amount of money in their country.
That $1.25 is adjusted for purchasing power.
In other words, other people arent the idiots you think that they are just because what they are telling you doesnt jive with the shit that you yourself cannot back up with facts. Its your view of the world that is wrong.
"His name was James Damore."
...one of the rules of /. is that no poster may state that somewhere in the world is worse than the USA.
The other rule seems to be:no poster may state that somewhere in the world is better than the USA:)
Great minds think alike; fools seldom differ.
breaking and entering
Nobody is accused of that.
intellectual property
Propaganda term.
criminal theft
No such thing happened here.
he set up PayPal accounts
So?
accept payment for IMAGINE's releases
Did a judge decide that IMAGiNE was not engaged in fair use? See, long before our copyright system was hijacked and turned into a weapon aimed at the Internet, we relied on judges to decide if an act of copying was legal or not. You know, back when copyrights were meant to encourage industries that helped bring knowledge and entertainment to the masses, which is the only thing copyright was ever meant to do.
Why should he feel free to profit off the expenses paid by the movie theater for retail space, electricity, equipment, and movie fees?
Maybe because the movie theater is profiting from the work of the MPAA, which profited from the work of the artists who created the movie? What makes one of these enterprises more legitimate than another? He used technology in a way that allowed him to bring entertainment to people at much lower prices than movie theaters can.
even if the theater still has the item that is claimed to have been stolen, the defendant is stealing his for-profit content from the movie theater.
You must have spent a long time rewiring your brain to think that makes any sense.
Palm trees and 8
Do you honestly think everyone in prison is guilty?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inverted_totalitarianism
These guys will be in a low security prison with people who committed fraud and tax evasion, rather than the violent criminals such as rapists and armed robbers.
Buy something from McDonalds? Are you fucked in the head?
He'll be some alcoholic cunt who stinks like shit and drinks away all his money - then spits and swears at you, and starts masturbating in public.
Which is somewhat ironic, because that pretty much defines a large amount of our millionaire celebrities.
This "it could be worse" school of thought is currently being used by the Powers That Be / Monied Interests as an excuse for a large decline in overall standard of living. I guess what I'm saying is, sure, it could be worse. But why isn't it better?
Hi! I make Firefox Plug-ins. Check 'em out @ https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/youtube-mp3-podcaster/
this entire thread is an example of how much of a joke slashdot moderation has become..... who the f* are you people anyways....OFFTOPIC
He compared a notoriously unjust law to another unjust law. I don't see the difference here.
Well I've never been to Africa, but I've spent quite a bit of time in Cuba and Laos. The average Cuban made around $10-$15 per month. The average Lao made around $70-$100 per month for working 60-100 hours per week. So, yes, I do think I have some understanding of what third world poverty is like.
Quite an experience to live in fear, isn't it? That's what it is to be a slave.
When you mention these third world maladies are you speaking from personal experience? I have actually lived in poor third world countries for years. I speak from personal experience. Have you lived in poor third world countries?
Quite an experience to live in fear, isn't it? That's what it is to be a slave.
So you hate China so much that you would prefer to live in a US prison? Being poor in the US is also quite unpleasant even if you are not one of the unlucky ones snared by the ubiquitous prison system.
WTF? I am poor. I live on $10k a year. I live check to check. I have no savings. I do have a place to live, I do have enough food to survive decently.
I am living decently. I can't complain. If i don't have enough food, there is food banks, places I can get meals. If I need clothes and don't want to use any of my own money on them, I can go to various places to get clothes free, or cheap.
I am poor and it is not unpleasant. Sure, sometimes it sucks, like i wish i could upgrade my video card, love to get a Wii U. Sheesh, even a Raspberry Pi is a big decision for me to buy (I'm planning on getting one), since I have to cut something out to put the money together.
I have never been in prison, but i have spend a little time in the local jail and I would rather be homeless on the streets then in jail/prison. I bet you'll find that over 90% of the people in prison would agree with me on that. (Yes, I am making that stat up, but it's based on that fact that jail sucks and no one really wants to be there.)
Be seeing you...
Agreed. I have lived in some very poor countries even by world standards and I never personally met or even heard of anyone locally actually starving to death. Being poor is unpleasant no matter what country you are in. By "poor" I mean that you only make enough money to just barely survive in whatever country you are living in. In the US that might mean $5000/year, even though that would be the equivalent of about 28 years of income for the average Cuban when I lived there. The cost of living varies by country. In the third world countries where I have lived the cost of living was very, very low compared to most first world countries.
Quite an experience to live in fear, isn't it? That's what it is to be a slave.
Nicer? I'm guessing you've never actually left your cushy first world paradise to discover that life in other countries is actually quite nice, and it can require less hours as a wage slave worker drone to survive. Immigrants who come here are often very surprised at how depressing life here actually is. Some are willing to grin and bare it because they have dollar signs in their eyes. Some work here for a year in very unpleasant conditions and then go back to their home country with great relief to get out of here. Others cannot take it even that long and return in just a month or two. Not everyone cares only about money. The ones who think life is mostly about how much money you make. Those are the immigrants who stay. If you have been very poor for most of your life it is an understandable attitude, but greed is still greed.
Quite an experience to live in fear, isn't it? That's what it is to be a slave.
They weren't selling the movies. They were putting them onto Bittorrent. This was more a political act than anything; certainly not a for-profit crime.
My blog
you confuse "analysis" with "speculation". i think you need to stop watching the news.
There's plenty of free software and media out there... no need to rip people off.
I'm glad to not live in USA. Prison is meant to prevent individuals from physically harming others; someone arguably causing profit loss to some corporation belongs to a civil (not criminal) court.
Unlike theft, with copyright infringement there is no loss of the source, its someone taking a photograph of a painting without permission, not someone taking it away from its owner.
Besides copyright in USA was meant to put a limit to hereditary rights from the English printer guilds, not preserve them. That is why the original term was 14 years + 14 max; so after 28 years everything would go public domain and thus promote the arts, science, etc, which under colonial rule were forever restricted to few.
It seems you get shorter terms there by shoplifting several dvds than downloading a movie over there. absolute nonsense.
This is another proof that people there has no value, only corporation interests count. Unfortunately they are a bad influence to others, often using dirty persuasion to force their alien rule of law into other countries. Those who don't openly defy them are at their mercy; look at the 301 black list and you'll find spots of freedom from US corporate tyranny.
Notice how they hate pharmaceutic patent infringement. Sure, as if poorer countries should put the lives of their citizens below the interests of foreign corporations; lose profits or lose lives... Great. And you wonder where the people stands in their power hierarchy. Not to mention this stupid movie/music studios/labels "losing profits" crap.
Its no wonder people there are pushed out of their homes instead of putting the executives who caused the bubble burst into jail. And this is the country whose government dares to speak of others freedoms? Are the people living in Iraq, Afghanistan and Libya living in paradise today? And this is what they want for Syria and others? Millions to military funds, and nothing to homeless? Bail corporations but kick homeowners? Is that power for the people?
My respects to the 99% movement and similar, the few with courage to defy the rotted system.
Artix
Your Linux, your init.
32.7% of Indians live on less than $1.25 per day.
68.7% of Indians live on less than $2.00 per day.
That's meaningless without knowing the cost of living there. If rent is $1 per week and food is likewise cheap, that's good money. See, I was in a third world country in 1974 and saw how it works.
Poor is indeed relative. If you can't afford to not be hungry, cold, and/or sick, you're poor. Meaning that people who work in WalMart and McDonalds are poor.
Free Martian Whores!
That $1.25 is adjusted for purchasing power.
I doubt that, but anyway you should have said so from the start. Giving us the source of your figures wouldn't have harmed either.
In other words, other people arent the idiots you think that they are just because what they are telling you doesnt jive with the shit that you yourself cannot back up with facts.
I generally don't think other people are idiots but regarding you I am willing to make an exception.
By the way, measures of poverty have nothing to do with ones world view.
If our government supplied crack, heroin, and firearms there'd be no deficit. If the government was a drug dealer, you'd certainly know it. Peddle your conspiracy theories to someone else. The government of the United States is many things... incompetent, lazy, self-serving, pedantic, and misguided... but it's not a criminal organization that sells illegal substances to people.
It's the Stay-Puft Marshmallow Man.
I think it depends on what time of day you're reading /. :) heheh.
It's the Stay-Puft Marshmallow Man.
For general interest, here are the figures:
poverty under purchase power parity
So do you truly believe that 5 years prison are fair for what that poor peon did?
:wq!
He made more than $400,000 in profits from his illegal wiretapping.
I don't see that figure, or any figure, in TFA.
Otherwise you use the words "Illegal wiretapping", "criminal theft". Makes him sound really evil. But I didn't see those words in TFA either. Though I don't doubt the *AAs would use them. Did you just make them up?
I don't see how anyone could make more than pocket change distributing movies online. Who'd pay? You can get them free in a minute if you want. Especially since it sounds like he was making cam rips in cinemas. I wouldn't watch a cam rip if you paid me, let alone pay for the privilege. Cam rips are basically free advertising for the film, they can't substitute for it to anyone. Especially now, in the age of hi res big screens, they look like complete crap.
Earnings and value of money is also relative, 2$ in India buys hell of a lot more than in the US, nevermind in Finland you can't even get a decent cup of coffee with 2$
So living on less than 2$ per day doesn't tell anything if not put into context of the local economy. For example how much does carton of milk cost? What's the cost of rice per kilo in those areas?
I'm quite sure that 2$ buys at least a kilo of rice in that area and some soybeans to go with it. But how about in US?
I know here in Finland you can barely get a kilo of rice with that.
Pulsed Media Seedboxes
I doubt that, but anyway you should have said so from the start.
You doubt it, but then provide a citation to it being adjusted in another post.
Also, you should have assumed that it was adjusted because you shouldnt assume that people are idiots just because what they are telling you doesnt jive with the shit that you yourself cannot back up with facts.
Note that this is the second time that I am telling you the boldfaced part.
The problem isnt that I didnt provide a citation. The problem is that you were never in a position to stand firm on your beliefs because that sort of thing requires examining the data, something that you had not done.
Why do you stand firm on beliefs that cannot be supported, where there isnt even contradictory data that might have confused you?
You are the problem with America. You act like you know what you are talking about when even you yourself knows that you don't. You are harmful to society.
"His name was James Damore."
That $1.25 is adjusted for purchasing power.
Then they are dead. $1.25 will absolutely not buy you enough water to stay alive in America. Food? ROFLMAO.
Lies. Adjusted purchasing power my ass.
"Someone needs to talk to the tree of liberty about its ghoulish drinking problem." by ohnocitizen
Your "White Whine" is appalling.
Your characterization of the average American is appalling. Most families can not afford a BMW for a parent, much less a kid. Just about the wealthiest person in the world lives in India. Why not make the same claim about Indians whining about their parents not buying them a BMW?
Get a sense of perspective. Try living amongst the people you criticize before you criticize them. Just because YOU happen to be surrounded by very healthy economic circumstances, that does not mean most are.
"Someone needs to talk to the tree of liberty about its ghoulish drinking problem." by ohnocitizen
I grew up about as poor as it gets in America. I have frieds who grew up poor in less developed parts of the world. We had it great here compared to most of the world! And most of the whiners on /. are suburbanites who have never known any kind of poverty, and are so ill-informed that they weigh stuff-they've-read about poverty in America against stuff-they've-read about other places and come up with this sort of BS.
Socialism: a lie told by totalitarians and believed by fools.