Um, RIAA is not law enforcement, though maybe they think that Junior Detective badge they got from a Wheaties box, makes them so.
If I sent Verizon a letter requesting personal information, because of an alleged infraction, they would tell me to, in so many words, to fold it till its all corners, and shove it up my coal chute.
So how is it any different, just because RIAA has a well organized lobby, and represents multi-million dollar corporations? They are still not a governmental body, of any sort.
And, oh yeah, might does not make right. At least in a country I want to call home.
Jeez, does IBM have so many lawyers that they have to catapult them in?
To paint the picture of just one of them: arms and legs wrapped around his briefcase, white-knuckled, bug-eyed from terror, suit flapping behind him, waiting for the meaty thud.
That cartoonist R. Crumb could really do it justice.
How is it that when the Hulk changes back to his "normal" self, all his clothes have been ripped to shreds by his transformation... except his pants.
I'm guessing... Fruit of the Loom plus Spandex???
And he's gotta have a hell of a budget for clothing, unless he just swipes alot of them off clotheslines. After all, you'd think people would catch on, and start using driers.
Isn't the accused company innocent until proven guilty?
Ok, um, IANAL, but I seem to recall from Matlock or Perry Mason (the extent of my legal training) that the whole "innocent until proven guilty" thing is for criminal court, not civil. In any case, the "bar" for convicting the defendant is set higher in criminal court. This is why OJ Simpson didn't go to jail (criminal), but did cough up nearly $30 mil (civil).
If someone patents a string of human DNA - am I not Prior Art?
Seems silly to patent human DNA, since it's like patenting a benzene molecule... After all, patents are about what we invent, not about what occurs naturally, and we just discovered.
On the other hand, if I use a molecular gene compiler to develop a polka-dotted three-toed whatsis with an appetite for toxic waste, then OK, I can patent THAT.
How braindead simple would it be to come up with a radio Tivo? Let's see... at 1 Mb/min audio compression, even a little ol' 1Gb hard disk would give you gobs of pause and rewind...
And I'm not talking satellite radio either, at least not specifically. Just radio + Tivo.
I've got it bad. Now I find myself reaching for the live rewind button (that does not exist) on the car radio, when I miss something or do a "double-take."
Or pass a honey in short-shorts, and just catch a quick glance. Let's go to the replay, Jim!
And throughout history, groupings of human beings, whether you call them monarchies, governments, corporations, or whatever, tend to push the limits of human endurance, until a backlash occurs.
Humans have a certain tolerance for taking shit from these groups, but once it is reached and exceeded, inevitably, glass breaks, buildings burn, and certain accused parties get dragged into the streets. Hilarity ensues.
IANAH, but the Romanov's and Louis XIV come to mind.
Of course, this sort of thing will never happen over outlawing NAT boxes, or DMCA-like laws, but the trend towards corporate tyranny will eventually become evident even to Joe Sixpack, and inevitably lead to a popular uprising.
As the saying goes, those who do not learn from the past, are doomed to repeat it.
Imagine asking the computer for directions to a particular location. Instead of it telling you "take a left, right, etc.", it could paint a (virtual) yellow line on the road ahead.
When my phone company tries to sell it, I tell them that the only people I want it to work for (telemarketers), it doesn't. You want to sell it (I tell them), make it so I can target the dirtbag trying to sell me a Bahamas vacation or vinyl siding.
Slashdot Mirror
If I sent Verizon a letter requesting personal information, because of an alleged infraction, they would tell me to, in so many words, to fold it till its all corners, and shove it up my coal chute.
So how is it any different, just because RIAA has a well organized lobby, and represents multi-million dollar corporations? They are still not a governmental body, of any sort.
And, oh yeah, might does not make right. At least in a country I want to call home.
Just because you are a hero in one situation, does not mean you can't be a villain in another.
So there is no two-faced-ness here, at all.
All this talk of "beefs" and "cash cows" is making me hungry.
To paint the picture of just one of them: arms and legs wrapped around his briefcase, white-knuckled, bug-eyed from terror, suit flapping behind him, waiting for the meaty thud.
That cartoonist R. Crumb could really do it justice.
What we need is a nice safe secure police state, and nightly bed checks by the secret police. And no slouching!
Sure we will have given up all our freedoms, but at least we'll be SAFE!
Hot steaming panther piles.
I'm guessing... Fruit of the Loom plus Spandex???
And he's gotta have a hell of a budget for clothing, unless he just swipes alot of them off clotheslines. After all, you'd think people would catch on, and start using driers.
Ok, um, IANAL, but I seem to recall from Matlock or Perry Mason (the extent of my legal training) that the whole "innocent until proven guilty" thing is for criminal court, not civil. In any case, the "bar" for convicting the defendant is set higher in criminal court. This is why OJ Simpson didn't go to jail (criminal), but did cough up nearly $30 mil (civil).
If someone patents a string of human DNA - am I not Prior Art?
Seems silly to patent human DNA, since it's like patenting a benzene molecule... After all, patents are about what we invent, not about what occurs naturally, and we just discovered.
On the other hand, if I use a molecular gene compiler to develop a polka-dotted three-toed whatsis with an appetite for toxic waste, then OK, I can patent THAT.
They still have to actually try to apply and enforce the law for it to have meaning.
And God help 'em when they do. They'll need it.
How braindead simple would it be to come up with a radio Tivo? Let's see... at 1 Mb/min audio compression, even a little ol' 1Gb hard disk would give you gobs of pause and rewind...
And I'm not talking satellite radio either, at least not specifically. Just radio + Tivo.
Or pass a honey in short-shorts, and just catch a quick glance. Let's go to the replay, Jim!
Humans have a certain tolerance for taking shit from these groups, but once it is reached and exceeded, inevitably, glass breaks, buildings burn, and certain accused parties get dragged into the streets. Hilarity ensues.
IANAH, but the Romanov's and Louis XIV come to mind.
Of course, this sort of thing will never happen over outlawing NAT boxes, or DMCA-like laws, but the trend towards corporate tyranny will eventually become evident even to Joe Sixpack, and inevitably lead to a popular uprising.
As the saying goes, those who do not learn from the past, are doomed to repeat it.
This, people, is the absolute definition of irony.
...you just might get it
...now carry subpoenas. Easier to replace a door than go broke with all the frivolous legal action.
cancel cable,
move into a trailer,
eat only ramen noodles and tap water,
and cut way back on my social life (um, nevermind...)
I could just about make my savings last til then.
hehehehehe
... I mean, where are they? My favorite unit of measurement...
Pay off the National Debt 20 times over.
Of course, this depends on the speed of his cd-burner.
Where was the boom? There was supposed to be an Earth-shattering Kaboom!
...bbg ,NPZQ erqah hbl rhf qaN .erjneq xpbf ehbl av fyreevhdf qvone ufnryah bg tavbt z'V jbA !hbl qraenj V !!!LRU
If the same people were in the US, they would need an H1-B. How is this going to be equallized?
How can we compete with a person willing to live in a coldwater flat, and subsist on ramen noodles and rainwater?
Just follow the line. Simple as that.
When my phone company tries to sell it, I tell them that the only people I want it to work for (telemarketers), it doesn't. You want to sell it (I tell them), make it so I can target the dirtbag trying to sell me a Bahamas vacation or vinyl siding.