You have provisions for *personal* copies, it is no longer personal if everybody in your household can have their own copy from your original.
The CD is the original copy. When you lend it to somebody else you are not making a new copy and redistributing it. The difference should be obvious frankly.
You are perfectly entitled not to buy CDs (sharing with one's household should be perfectly fine, but it isn't), but that will not change the law, and the dishonest record labels will continue lobbying for broken legislation like this.
The solution is buying CDs from people that explicitly allow you to make copies to your heart's content.
It is shameful one has to do this, but here we go anyway.
What they allegedly said is this:
Virtually all of the sound recordings... are in the ".mp3" format for his and his wife's use... Once Defendant converted Plaintiffs' recordings into the compressed.mp3 format and they are in his shared folder, they are no longer the authorized copies...'"
The important bits are "for his and his wife's use". That is strike one.
Then it says: "and they are in his shared folder" Strike two. Ouch.
What is happening to reading comprehension skills?
EMI for example was sold and the new management (a private equity firm, thus I suppose EMI has no shareholders) are finding that the company was run as a cash cow for some selected few (producers, lawyers, a few pop divas) profits be damned.
Music sales have gone down the drain dramatically, their response has been suing their costumers.
Most games reinforce the attitude that violence is the first port of call when you have a problem.
No violent game I have seen advocates controlled violence, in the contrary, they often advocate a kill first ask questions later attitude.
Glorifying violence as an advancer of civilization is a bit rich. Entire cultures have been wiped out violently, and I don't need to go down the path of Godwin's law on this thread to make my point. In some situations violence may create civilization as a byproduct, but it is never the major contributing factor. As a matter of fact civilization is mostly created during peacetime or relatively stable historical periods (think: when are people more likely to advance civilization: when they are under siege worrying about their next meal or their own lives or in a situation in which their own existence is not been threatened?).
Even if violence was a creative force, would civilization be worth the pain and suffering that violence carries with it? As a thinking animal, that can make moral judgments against my natural instincts, I believe it would not be worth it.
At the very least to make sure a youngster is fully conscious he is doing something illegal, this should make most sane people question themselves why they need the stuff in the first place.
Honestly. Take a trip down to Mexico some time, it is not that far.
Which exploding birthrates are you talking about? Birthrates in Mexico have been falling since the 70s, as well as life expectancy has been rising.
Lack of natural resources? We have oil, gas, coast, silver. I could go forever.
The only valid points you make are capital and health and sanitation (up to a point, all Mexicans have accesss to a lesat basic medical services now, provided by the state).
So now, pray tell me, who would want to invest in Mexico (the capital bit) if there is not an educated population to take those new jobs?
China and India are creating thousands of Engineering graduates, in Mexico out of 100 only 4 or 5 students get an University degree, forget about relevant disciplines to allow the country to grow its exports (sorry, but a degree in history or philosophy, although important, will not help much to bring the bread to the national table so to speak).
Medium to highly qualified jobs go vacant in Mexico for months, that is a problem that only education will solve, but education starts at the very bottom. Many people of my generation still find computers puzzling and technology threatening, having a new generation of kids comfortable with technology, independently of their economic situation (not all are in abject misery, and even those that are may benefit from this) is a huge plus.
Mexico has had a ministry for the environment for ages. Although it is far from perfect it has real teeth and promotes numerous environmental projects and is willing to listen to ecological organizations (several development projects in places where endangered species would have been put at risk have been stopped, this includes protecting whales in Baja California, Monarch butterflies in Michoacan and teporingo rabbits in Mexico City).
In recent years also unleaded gasoline was forbidden and the conversion of cars (in the government and public transport) in Mexico City has progressed as fast as possible. Mexico City was in a siuation similar to the one in Beijing now but people got of their asses and tried to do something about it.
As for human rights, you surely are joking. Although Mexico's record in human rights is not as good as the ones of some EU countries, we don't execute people like China (or the US), have a free press (unlike China), levels of censorship have been steadily falling (I don't think there has been a movie or book banned in Mexico for at least 20 years) and have an independent Human Rights commissioner ensuring that the governments respects them.
Mexico is signatory of all kind of treaties regarding the protection of Human Rights, unlike China (and in some cases, unlike the US).
So yeah, Mexico is not perfect, but it is ludicrous even to attempt to compare it with China in these two topics.
The Spanish speaking people will have enough muscle (cultural and political) to be able to keep their culture inside the US if so they wish.
At some point Hispanic culture will be so overwhelming than nobody will make a fuss about it. The US will become part of the Latin sphere of influence and that frankly would not be a bad thing (you know, we are tired of the US trashing our countries every time it feels like it).
Being now the biggest minority (at least in the derided way in which minorities are counted in the US, in which "Hispanic" related mostly to a shared common language is treated in a similar way to African-American, which is a racial stereotype), Hispanics should not trouble themselves much with integration. They have never been welcomed anyway, so they can as well get on with life on their own.
It is disgraceful that politicians literally handled it to him in a silver plate, but the guilty party is Mr Carlos Salinas and his corrupt government who were the people responsible to ensure proper privatization should have taken place (i.e. ensuring fair competition would arise at some point).
The EU has the strictest privacy laws in the world.
Nobody checks your passport while traveling in the EU (even if you are foreigner) and on arrival to the EU you are not fingerprinted and no mugshots are taken.
Citizens of many countries get generous visas (3 to 6 months) on arrival and you are not subjected to the indignities of going to a an embassy for hours to get a visa that may be denied at the whim of a petty bureaucrat stationed there, as happens when you want to go to the US (which I don't).
Some family of mine could not go to the US to claim the remains of a relative because the US embassy denied a visa in the flimsy grounds that the person could abscond (heck, to be unemployed is a crime in the US's eyes) no matter that this person has gone multiple times before and even worked legally there before, always respecting the limits of previous visas. That same person was allowed to visit Europe, no questions asked, thank you for visiting.
The only EU country going contrary to all this is unfortunately the UK, but even here the paranoid attitudes of the current government are being quickly disproved by simple facts, and the opposition parties have promised to dismantle many ot the repressive measures instated by the current US lackey of a government we have here.
But if you don't question how it comes the US government treats foreigners worst than countries like China, Vietnam or Iran (at least on arrival) then you are not thinking straight.
You are been conned by your political class, you live in the perfect dictatorship, where now noble families fight for power while giving you the illusion you have any input in the matter.
Your tourism industry is in the ropes, foreign students no longer want to go to US universities, Arab investors prefer to buy into companies that will open offices locally in the Gulf region instead of the US, a lot of countries are stacking reserves in both euros and dollars instead of dollars only and many high caliber CEOs must be thinking twice before working with US companies (google for Natwest 3 for further illumination).
Honestly, your country should give a fuck, the rest of the world has many options to shun the US in many ways that will be prejudicial to your interests.
In other countries with strict gun controls law abiding people normally have little to fear about gun crime, so the law does not really affect them in general terms.
So yes, gun laws in the US are actually killing law abiding people.
They are no longer interested in the razor thin margins obtained in hardware, all controlled by Microsoft from their dominant position in the OS market.
Once you take that into account, those moves make perfect bussines sense
EMI was spending 200000 GBP (That is US$400000. Yes 400 000 in case you think I got my numbers wrong) in flowers and fruit per year in their London office.
They spent millions in houses for executives that lived there 2 days a week and golden parachutes of 5 million GBP for executives leaving the firm
Sorry, but the history of the recording industry is one of greed and incompetence, they may be nice people but they are not playing niece (now that EMI is owned by a private equity firm, all the dirty laundry is coming out in the open, since this people actually make a living of being efficient and profitable, not of given perks to themsleves while the busines goes down the drain).
Slashdot Mirror
SO it is a pretty bad example of what you are trying to defend.
.... so I am clearly speculating, I very much doubt that iTunes makes the files available for them to grab them and do with them as they please.
If you are putting them in a drive that is already shared, you can't blame iTunes for this.
A CD in an unlocked cabinet is not a new copy of the media you purchased.
If you are going to make an analogy at least make an attempt to think it through.
You have provisions for *personal* copies, it is no longer personal if everybody in your household can have their own copy from your original.
The CD is the original copy. When you lend it to somebody else you are not making a new copy and redistributing it. The difference should be obvious frankly.
You are perfectly entitled not to buy CDs (sharing with one's household should be perfectly fine, but it isn't), but that will not change the law, and the dishonest record labels will continue lobbying for broken legislation like this.
The solution is buying CDs from people that explicitly allow you to make copies to your heart's content.
Theft and copyright infringement are not equivalents, that is why we have two completely different bodies of law to deal with each situation.
It is shameful one has to do this, but here we go anyway.
.mp3 format and they are in his shared folder, they are no longer the authorized copies...'"
What they allegedly said is this:
Virtually all of the sound recordings... are in the ".mp3" format for his and his wife's use... Once Defendant converted Plaintiffs' recordings into the compressed
The important bits are "for his and his wife's use". That is strike one.
Then it says: "and they are in his shared folder" Strike two. Ouch.
What is happening to reading comprehension skills?
... hardly qualifies as private.
I know perfectly that I am most likely breaking the law when I share music by electronic means.
If this is limited to people in your household does not change much.
You are entitled to *personal* copies (in most but not all jurisdictions BTW) for fair use reasons.
The moment somebody else can grab your copy with your full knowledge and acceptance, you become a distributor, any way you want to slice it.
Should it be so? No, certainly not, but wishful thinking will not make things legal, fixing the legislation will.
EMI for example was sold and the new management (a private equity firm, thus I suppose EMI has no shareholders) are finding that the company was run as a cash cow for some selected few (producers, lawyers, a few pop divas) profits be damned.
Music sales have gone down the drain dramatically, their response has been suing their costumers.
Shareholders are simply too stupid.
... because it is senseless.
Most games reinforce the attitude that violence is the first port of call when you have a problem.
No violent game I have seen advocates controlled violence, in the contrary, they often advocate a kill first ask questions later attitude.
Glorifying violence as an advancer of civilization is a bit rich. Entire cultures have been wiped out violently, and I don't need to go down the path of Godwin's law on this thread to make my point. In some situations violence may create civilization as a byproduct, but it is never the major contributing factor. As a matter of fact civilization is mostly created during peacetime or relatively stable historical periods (think: when are people more likely to advance civilization: when they are under siege worrying about their next meal or their own lives or in a situation in which their own existence is not been threatened?).
Even if violence was a creative force, would civilization be worth the pain and suffering that violence carries with it? As a thinking animal, that can make moral judgments against my natural instincts, I believe it would not be worth it.
At the very least to make sure a youngster is fully conscious he is doing something illegal, this should make most sane people question themselves why they need the stuff in the first place.
Honestly. Take a trip down to Mexico some time, it is not that far.
Which exploding birthrates are you talking about? Birthrates in Mexico have been falling since the 70s, as well as life expectancy has been rising.
Lack of natural resources? We have oil, gas, coast, silver. I could go forever.
The only valid points you make are capital and health and sanitation (up to a point, all Mexicans have accesss to a lesat basic medical services now, provided by the state).
So now, pray tell me, who would want to invest in Mexico (the capital bit) if there is not an educated population to take those new jobs?
China and India are creating thousands of Engineering graduates, in Mexico out of 100 only 4 or 5 students get an University degree, forget about relevant disciplines to allow the country to grow its exports (sorry, but a degree in history or philosophy, although important, will not help much to bring the bread to the national table so to speak).
Medium to highly qualified jobs go vacant in Mexico for months, that is a problem that only education will solve, but education starts at the very bottom. Many people of my generation still find computers puzzling and technology threatening, having a new generation of kids comfortable with technology, independently of their economic situation (not all are in abject misery, and even those that are may benefit from this) is a huge plus.
Mexico has had a ministry for the environment for ages. Although it is far from perfect it has real teeth and promotes numerous environmental projects and is willing to listen to ecological organizations (several development projects in places where endangered species would have been put at risk have been stopped, this includes protecting whales in Baja California, Monarch butterflies in Michoacan and teporingo rabbits in Mexico City).
In recent years also unleaded gasoline was forbidden and the conversion of cars (in the government and public transport) in Mexico City has progressed as fast as possible. Mexico City was in a siuation similar to the one in Beijing now but people got of their asses and tried to do something about it.
As for human rights, you surely are joking. Although Mexico's record in human rights is not as good as the ones of some EU countries, we don't execute people like China (or the US), have a free press (unlike China), levels of censorship have been steadily falling (I don't think there has been a movie or book banned in Mexico for at least 20 years) and have an independent Human Rights commissioner ensuring that the governments respects them.
Mexico is signatory of all kind of treaties regarding the protection of Human Rights, unlike China (and in some cases, unlike the US).
So yeah, Mexico is not perfect, but it is ludicrous even to attempt to compare it with China in these two topics.
The Spanish speaking people will have enough muscle (cultural and political) to be able to keep their culture inside the US if so they wish.
At some point Hispanic culture will be so overwhelming than nobody will make a fuss about it. The US will become part of the Latin sphere of influence and that frankly would not be a bad thing (you know, we are tired of the US trashing our countries every time it feels like it).
Being now the biggest minority (at least in the derided way in which minorities are counted in the US, in which "Hispanic" related mostly to a shared common language is treated in a similar way to African-American, which is a racial stereotype), Hispanics should not trouble themselves much with integration. They have never been welcomed anyway, so they can as well get on with life on their own.
You could have paid US$30/month for ADSL and then got yourself a calling card.
But I agree, that price is comparable to the ones paid in developed countries, a real rip-off in relative terms.
He got the company lawfully.
It is disgraceful that politicians literally handled it to him in a silver plate, but the guilty party is Mr Carlos Salinas and his corrupt government who were the people responsible to ensure proper privatization should have taken place (i.e. ensuring fair competition would arise at some point).
Some of them are immensely rich, but the balance of wealth as moved to entrepreneurs, oligarchs and a few pop and sport stars.
He is not just a Mexican billionaire, he became the richest man in the world this year.
Amongst many businesses, Mr Slim owns Telmex, the Mexican telecoms monopoly (bought from the government at a bargain price).
Most Mexicans pay the guy some dosh daily, depending of the goods and services you get, but anybody with a phone is paying him.
Makes the MS tax pale in comparison.
Some of them are even executed.
The EU has the strictest privacy laws in the world.
Nobody checks your passport while traveling in the EU (even if you are foreigner) and on arrival to the EU you are not fingerprinted and no mugshots are taken.
Citizens of many countries get generous visas (3 to 6 months) on arrival and you are not subjected to the indignities of going to a an embassy for hours to get a visa that may be denied at the whim of a petty bureaucrat stationed there, as happens when you want to go to the US (which I don't).
Some family of mine could not go to the US to claim the remains of a relative because the US embassy denied a visa in the flimsy grounds that the person could abscond (heck, to be unemployed is a crime in the US's eyes) no matter that this person has gone multiple times before and even worked legally there before, always respecting the limits of previous visas. That same person was allowed to visit Europe, no questions asked, thank you for visiting.
The only EU country going contrary to all this is unfortunately the UK, but even here the paranoid attitudes of the current government are being quickly disproved by simple facts, and the opposition parties have promised to dismantle many ot the repressive measures instated by the current US lackey of a government we have here.
But if you don't question how it comes the US government treats foreigners worst than countries like China, Vietnam or Iran (at least on arrival) then you are not thinking straight.
You are been conned by your political class, you live in the perfect dictatorship, where now noble families fight for power while giving you the illusion you have any input in the matter.
Cunning. Very cunning.
Your tourism industry is in the ropes, foreign students no longer want to go to US universities, Arab investors prefer to buy into companies that will open offices locally in the Gulf region instead of the US, a lot of countries are stacking reserves in both euros and dollars instead of dollars only and many high caliber CEOs must be thinking twice before working with US companies (google for Natwest 3 for further illumination).
Honestly, your country should give a fuck, the rest of the world has many options to shun the US in many ways that will be prejudicial to your interests.
In other countries with strict gun controls law abiding people normally have little to fear about gun crime, so the law does not really affect them in general terms.
So yes, gun laws in the US are actually killing law abiding people.
They are no longer interested in the razor thin margins obtained in hardware, all controlled by Microsoft from their dominant position in the OS market.
Once you take that into account, those moves make perfect bussines sense
EMI was spending 200000 GBP (That is US$400000. Yes 400 000 in case you think I got my numbers wrong) in flowers and fruit per year in their London office.
They spent millions in houses for executives that lived there 2 days a week and golden parachutes of 5 million GBP for executives leaving the firm
Sorry, but the history of the recording industry is one of greed and incompetence, they may be nice people but they are not playing niece (now that EMI is owned by a private equity firm, all the dirty laundry is coming out in the open, since this people actually make a living of being efficient and profitable, not of given perks to themsleves while the busines goes down the drain).