A true gentleman is one who is never unintentionally rude - Oscar Wilde
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US goverment goes after filesharers
THE US GOVERNMENT has apparently declared legal war on those who infringe movie and video copyrights.
In an attempt to rouse support for its plans to give federal agencies more powers, the US government has claimed that "motion picture and video piracy" costs the US economy $20.5 billion every year. To gain grass-roots support it said US workers lost $5.5 billion in earnings thanks to counterfeit copies of films and videos.
As the US government is so happy to divulge figures, perhaps it should take into consideration the billions saved by its citizens by not putting up with the extortionate demands of the movie and television studios.
These claims were made to justify the hiring of 15 assistant US Attorneys and 20 FBI Special Agents whose sole jobs will be to track down copyright infringements both in the US and abroad. Support for this came right from the top, with Vice President Joe Biden saying, "It hurts our economy, our health and our safety." Safety? Perhaps Biden was confusing copyright infringement with what Somali terrorists do on the high seas.
Unsurprisingly, the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA), which has been lobbying for such action, has come out in support of another nail in the coffin of US civil liberties, saying that the plan is "an important step in combating intellectual property theft".
While the MPAA might love Biden's rhetoric, quite how US law enforcement authorities will be able to obtain jurisdiction in far-flung corners of the globe, where local governments don't care much what the US thinks, will likely turn out to be another matter entirely. µ
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... Hate to tell ya but O.J. is in prison, M.J. is a dead drug addict, Woody and Roman are close to prison. But thanks for playing. ;-)
yes denial does work in america - if you have loadsa money!
(o.j. simpson, michael jackson, woody allen, roman polanski etc etc...)
the us govt cannot justify this on the ground of 'costing the economy' becuae people will just spend the money elsewhere - but on goods with better value for money
not the 3rd rate crap turned out by hollywood
stop paying the primadonna actors millions! they just behave like spoilt brats or religious maniacs...
i think they just use the word 'economy' to scare the paranoid politicians into supporting the draconian law
The MPAA, RIAA, are running the US government. What a comforting thought...they can now use pain-rays on people to heard them into lines at the theaters and into music shops to buy CDs.
Anyone who shares anything with anybody is now labelled a "pirate". Soon we will have to charge admittance fees to friends who pop over to watch a movie and send it to the MPAA or go to jail. And, if you dare to try and compete with the movie studios and use a H.264 codec during production, their buddy MPEG-LA can sue you into oblivion.
What a brainwashed joke the US government has become. First it was the oil-fired mirage of "weapons of mass destruction" (which appeared on the scene soon enough, but wielded by US hands). Now the whole world's population apparently has nothing better to do with their lives than "consume media" costing many times its weight in gold while being held hostage by the US government (AKA the MPAA/RIAA).
Give it a break...just do whatever it takes to stop feeding the monster. No more watching professional liars on the big screen, no more listening to artists bought and paid for by the RIAA. Produce and share free (or reasonably priced) media that is not associated with the media cartels. Your freedom depends on it.
I didn't think so.
For lawyers, because we can't get one for anyone else.
As for the riaa and mpaa not getting with the program, I'm still waiting for the cell phone services and cable tv companies to realize that they are Internet service providers first and foremost. I suppose they will get that after they have missed their opportunity, which they seem to be trying to do so badly.
I wonder how many billions the life sucking lawyer scum has cost society.
probably quite a lot more than any pirates.
unfortunately Obama is one of those before a democrat or republican. they look after their own.
lets just switch to growing and smoking pot. Thats clearly not a priority for the big brother.
I will stop illegally downloading movies/music/TV when the Movies/Music/TV industry wakes up and realises that the game has changed and legally delivers content globally and universally at the same time/quality/value.
When a movie is released, release it worldwide, I don't want to be hearing form friends in other countries about a movie, before I can even see it.
Hurt Locker is the biggest example of this BS, AUS release is 9 months after release in the US and that is with them bringing the Aus release FORWARD A MONTH!
The web is a great, make content available and stop trying to protect outdated businesses, those businesses will adapt or die. Such is life.
Hilarious, comments from commenter using nicknames like 'bob' and 'bill' and 'jane' and 'joe' and 'john'
You know you got us all fooled, we now believe there's a lot of support for the MPAA/RIAA and this nonsense from common folks, folks such as 'Mr Bob Sony' and Mr 'Bill Warnerbrothers', thanks for sharing.
people will stop caring enough to even bother downloading the crappy movies/music.
Eventually the pirates will figure out this is a no win situation.
There's infringing content all over youtube. Then we go after businesses like Microsoft and Apple, since their software allows for file sharing. Then we go after the ISPs since their networks enable file sharing. Then we go after millions of people who unwittingly share files by monitoring their home networks for infringing behaviors. It's really quite simple...just like the minds of those who think this who publicity exercise will do anything productive for anybody.
Joe Biden is a one term punk and so is that little girly Jason. Methinks they need to be scalped.
Dave, you've been brainwashed. These files are nothing more than ones and zeroes.
Where I live, I have the right to greet govt dufases at the door with a gun and if my land is posted, I have the right to blow their bleeming gray matter out.
come git sum
MPAA is a cartel. There is no competition in the money-gouging film/music industry. The so-called "illegal filesharing" is the only competition that mpaa/riaa cartels have, of course they want to eliminate it! If I cannot get a refund for an item I bought which I don't like, I won't buy an item, plain and simple. Stop whining about "theft", which involves a lost sale of a physical item, there is no such thing with filesharing. Bits are easily replicated. True theft is charging $15 for a CD, which costs 50 cents to make and ship and where the performer gets $1.50. If US of A were so concerned about their IP, they should stop offshoring production to China, not go after their tax-paying citizens.
The more the USA government does the more I believe they wish they were like the Chinese, and are doing everything possible to getting to that state. To be able to pass any laws without worrying about Joe Public is every politicians wet dream. The US of A of yesteryear is not the US of today and is becoming merely a memory. Morality is gone, money will buy you anything in the US of A.
I believe file sharing of movies, music, or really any digital item that normally costs money is just as illegal as any other act prohibited by law. It seems in our time illegal acts like coming across the border, downloading movies still in the theaters, and smoking the weed in public(CA) are becoming the norm. So we either need to change these laws or start enforcing them(possibly in different ways). I don't believe that it's my right to take what I want when I want like so many other file sharers, but I'm still sharing files... Probably because you can get away with it too easily.
Whine me a river as they cart your arse off to prison. The rationale for piracy is such a joke only someone on crack would believe the foolishness. The only good pirate is dead or in prison. Eventually they'll get a clue.
If file sharers bee shut down evenly, NO Internet would exist. Most of Public Isn't aware that Every Internet site, Including Original Start page, ALL Are File Sharing. To Get Whom Dew U Rai, isp has telco routing number, TELEPHONE NUMBER of destinaation. That computer shares files with isp & you. Only Add on is that isp watches Users file sharing, while file sharing.
To get to isp provider ethier dedicated connection to address point, actual telephone number, even if cable or wireless, in dial up, clearly see dial up, link then file share of opening page.
If want to hear Knockitee' Knock, hello, Heavens door, isp looks up www address, converts to telephone number & rings up that server, then sprews out goods, with changes at isp, often More than mere Pop Ups..
Your right to choose whom to communicate with IS FUNDUMENTALLY BEING VIOLATED.
drashek