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All Hail the New RIAA Copyright Czar
RIAA, MPAA pop the bubbly with passage of PRO IP Act

The fine folks at the MPAA and RIAA are celebrating this morning after President Bush signed The Prioritizing Resources and Organization for Intellectual Property Act of 2008, or PRO IP Act. The Act would strengthen already controversial (and in some cases utterly dysfunctional) US copyright laws, create the government position of "Copyright Czar," and perhaps most controversially, grant authorities broad new forfeiture rights, including the ability to seize ISP or consumer equipment in piracy raids.

There has been ample criticism about how completely bogus data was created by lobbyists and passed among government agencies as fact in order to pave the way for the bill. Specifically controversial has been debunked claims that the bill's passage would create some 750,000 new jobs. The White House, in a prepared statement, appears to keep that theme going -- suggesting that a bill passed largely to protect the dying business models of the nation's largest entertainment conglomerates, is really about protecting American consumers and innovation:
quote:
President Bush has worked to ensure that there is a level playing field worldwide for American businesses and innovators, free of counterfeiting and piracy. . . This legislation helps protect the rights of America's consumers, workers, and entrepreneurs by strengthening both our civil and criminal laws against counterfeiting and piracy.
As you might guess, actual consumer advocacy groups don't quite see things that way. "The bill only adds more imbalance to a copyright law that favors large media companies," says Public Knowledge President Gigi Sohn. "At a time when the entire digital world is going to less restrictive distribution models, and when the courts are aghast at the outlandish damages being inflicted on consumers in copyright cases, this bill goes entirely in the wrong direction," she says.
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SSX4life
Hello World
Premium Member
join:2004-02-13

SSX4life

Premium Member

What a total joke

I can't wait to see some upright and standing ISP / Company sue the government in court when they wrongfully accuse someone of facilitating piracy. Because we all know how well the government does background checks on intelligence in matters of national security /sarcasam

Mark my words, this one ends up in the Supreme Court in the next 5 years.

DrModem
Trust Your Doctor
Premium Member
join:2006-10-19
USA

DrModem

Premium Member

Re: What a total joke

Probably more like the next year.
nutcr0cker
join:2003-04-02
Chandler, AZ

nutcr0cker

Member

Change as promised by Barrack Obomba

Change as promised by Barrack Obomba.....we have the new change democrats will from now one vote republican and procorporations. Obomba will be the new riaa messiah. Now Obomba should work for immunity to all gitmo residents.
jarthur31
join:2006-04-14
Carlsbad, NM

jarthur31

Member

Re: Change as promised by Barrack Obomba

I'm no fan of Obama but let's be fair here. Regardless of the party running the country now or in the future, we, the consumer, gets screwed regardless.

Corporate welfare and greed has caused the debacle we are currently mired in and yet we, the consumer, allow these mega corps to outsource millions of American jobs w/o so much as a whimper.

It's time to call them traitors for sending jobs overseas only to make a few more pennies on the dollar.

fireflier
Coffee. . .Need Coffee
Premium Member
join:2001-05-25
Limbo

fireflier

Premium Member

Re: Change as promised by Barrack Obomba

Speaking of corporate welfare:

Ever wonder why soft drinks in the U.S. are made with HFCS and many other countries use sugar?

»www.cato.org/pubs/pas/pa ··· 241.html

classconscious
@tor.digineo.de

classconscious

Anon

Re: Change as promised by Barrack Obomba

uh.. yeah we on the Left are actually the most meaningful haters of Corporate Welfare. By talking about it re B Obama are you indicating that he should lose and the Repugs are not equally despicable as re Pork et al? »www.corpwatch.org »www.prwatch.org »www.commondreams.org »www.truthout.org
Get with a party that's censored by the corporate press, precisely because it would expose the crapped food supply and so many other corporate excesses:
»www.peaceandfreedom.org

fireflier
Coffee. . .Need Coffee
Premium Member
join:2001-05-25
Limbo

1 edit

fireflier

Premium Member

Re: Change as promised by Barrack Obomba

No, that was not what I was implying.

You'll note the article I linked to indicated the CEO lobbied to both parties.

Chiyo
Save Me Konata-Chan
Premium Member
join:2003-02-20
Salisbury, NC

Chiyo to SSX4life

Premium Member

to SSX4life
Why does using the word Czar sound so wrong to me? it sounds so dictatorship like.

SSX4life
Hello World
Premium Member
join:2004-02-13

SSX4life

Premium Member

Re: What a total joke

said by Chiyo:

Why does using the word Czar sound so wrong to me? it sounds so dictatorship like.
because it is???

Grail Knight

Premium Member
join:2003-05-31
Valhalla

Grail Knight to Chiyo

Premium Member

to Chiyo
Will the Bolsheviks take down this Czar or sit on the armchairs playing warrior?
Expand your moderator at work

mod_wastrel
anonome
join:2008-03-28

mod_wastrel to Grail Knight

Member

to Grail Knight

Re: What a total joke

Only nine [candidate] shopping days till October 25th!

Grail Knight

Premium Member
join:2003-05-31
Valhalla

1 edit

Grail Knight

Premium Member

Re: What a total joke

I am still shopping for the lesser of the two evils.
I thought the election was 19 days away Nov 4 or are you referring to something else?

See IM.

mod_wastrel
anonome
join:2008-03-28

mod_wastrel

Member

Re: What a total joke

Bolsheviks... Red October... October 25, 1917 (I hardly expect the election to be "revolutionary"... just more of the same, whichever way it goes... more's the pity.)

Grail Knight

Premium Member
join:2003-05-31
Valhalla

Grail Knight

Premium Member

Re: What a total joke

Thanks

StreetSpirit
This spot reserved for Xenu.
Premium Member
join:2002-08-13
Roslyn, NY

StreetSpirit to SSX4life

Premium Member

to SSX4life
Would some country, please air lift a shit load of valium and drop it onto DC, because those suckers need to go rest for a while.. A long while.

WTF?!

Are we trying to be last? This is no longer funny. I'm sad, sad sad, and so are everyone I know who has an ounce of thought process left.

Is America now incorporated? YOU BETCHA, cept it's a limited parternship. For tax purposes.
Kearnstd
Space Elf
Premium Member
join:2002-01-22
Mullica Hill, NJ

Kearnstd

Premium Member

more waste of dollars.

yet another waste of money on a "war" that cannot be won. however the MAFIAA wants to kill piracy not so they stop "loosing" money to it but so that they can jack up prices on their products without fear of competing with free. music legal downloads arent 99 cents and sometimes cheaper because the MAFIAA wants them to be, its because they want people who would pirate to buy them. without piracy we would likely be paying 5 dollars a track on itunes and similar services.

supergirl
join:2007-03-20
Pensacola, FL

supergirl

Member

Re: more waste of dollars.

said by Kearnstd:

yet another waste of money on a "war" that cannot be won. however the MAFIAA wants to kill piracy not so they stop "loosing" money to it but so that they can jack up prices on their products without fear of competing with free. music legal downloads arent 99 cents and sometimes cheaper because the MAFIAA wants them to be, its because they want people who would pirate to buy them. without piracy we would likely be paying 5 dollars a track on itunes and similar services.
I wonder when some state AGs are going to get off their rearends and end the RIAA's "court" and court abuse with all their filings? Love to see their lawyers get disbarred for unlicensed law practice.

DataRiker
Premium Member
join:2002-05-19
00000

DataRiker

Premium Member

Its coming

We must win this race to become completely 3rd World.

mot
@ncshealth.com

mot

Anon

are we shocked?? Sadly.. no..

We watch as 850 billion are allocated to protect big business.

We watch as another new Czar and Political office is created.

We watch government for the Business, by the business.

Yes, it has become..

The Constitution of the United States of America

We the Corporations of the United States, in order to form a more perfect union, establish justice, insure domestic profitability, provide for the corporate defense, promote the general balance sheet, and remove the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United Corporations of America.

John Galt6
Forward, March
Premium Member
join:2004-09-30
Happy Camp

1 recommendation

John Galt6

Premium Member

Re: are we shocked?? Sadly.. no..

said by mot :

We, the Corporations of the United States, in order to form a more perfect union merger, establish justice fascism, insure domestic profitability, provide for the corporate defense, promote the general balance sheet, and remove the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our for all posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United Corporations of America.
Fixed it for you...

No Unions allowed!

jester121
Premium Member
join:2003-08-09
Lake Zurich, IL

1 recommendation

jester121

Premium Member

Re: are we shocked?? Sadly.. no..

Except all the ones working on movies for the giant media conglomerates -- as in, everybody whose name scrolls past in the end credits.
zephalis
join:2008-11-20
Berkley, MI

zephalis to John Galt6

Member

to John Galt6
I just have to ass these two quotes (both from former CIA directors):

"The Central Intelligence Agency owns everyone of any significance in the major media." --William Colby

and the next was at the beginning of the director's time...
"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." --William Casey

Welcome the the DSNA (Divided States of North America)...or more accurately the DSNAMC (the Divided States of North America Minus Canada). And in the fine print...a Subsidiary of Halliburton.
jarthur31
join:2006-04-14
Carlsbad, NM

jarthur31 to mot

Member

to mot
We the Corporations of the United States, in order to form collusion, establish greed, insure domestic profitability, provide for the corporate golden parachutes, promote the general balance sheet, and remove the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United Corporations of America

Fixed yet again.
sphinxguy18
Premium Member
join:2008-01-13
Dallas, TX

sphinxguy18

Premium Member

BS

Oh look the government running more and more things, so much for having a free country anymore. We might as well be puppets to the government and eat, sleep and drink when they say it's ok.

uid1307457
Premium Member
join:2005-12-30
Tempe, AZ

uid1307457

Premium Member

Re: BS

said by sphinxguy18:

Oh look the government running more and more things, so much for having a free country anymore. We might as well be puppets to the government and eat, sleep and drink when they say it's ok.
stop complaining, do something about it.
Driscollw
join:2003-01-11
Virginia Beach, VA

Driscollw

Member

Re: BS

Like what ?

1. Vote - vote for the lesser of two evils.
2. Don't buy music from companies supporting the RIAA
3. Write your officials. Doesn't matter they vote anyway they want to. If you vote someone else in at the next election they do the same thing.

I read post were people say do something about it but, don't offer solutions. I fight the system every way I can and I still get it in the %@%$%@#. I vote every time I can. I know what bills my congressman and senator vote on. It doesn't matter, we will continuing get $%@#%$@ until change (revolution) comes.

If voting changed anything the government would make it illegal.

Madcoyote
@cox.net

Madcoyote

Anon

Re: BS

This Is a long one:

From the Declaration of Independence:
"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. — That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, — laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness."

Followed by the second amendment, I say we have a way of speaking up.

Now this may seem harsh, but almost everyone in society is a Sheeple. ( »www.urbandictionary.com/ ··· =sheeple ) Basically, we let this happen to ourselves. More rights are violated everyday and will worsen until we successfully become a communist country. There are a hell of a lot more people in the working class combined, than all government agency's, congressman, politicians, military, etc.
Like you said, voting wont accomplish anything these days, but the people could band together and exercise our rights. The 2nd amendment is there for a reason, and if lets say 20 million people did in fact bare arms, they could march down to the Capitol demanding changes within reason. Now I know what some will say, "wont this start a civil war, or cause massive chaos", and no it will not. Simply put, if everyone participating were to 1) Have intelligence and refrain from acting in an uncivilized manner 2) Keep their guns on a holster and not loaded. Looks alone will intimate. All that is left is to have the selected individuals speak up and demand (rights violated here ) to be changed. Until that day happens, we can continue being herded like sheep.
bluedyedvd
join:2007-04-15
Overland Park, KS

bluedyedvd

Member

Does this law overrule the dmca as reguards to isp libaity

The dmca says that isp's are not liable civil or criminally for the actions of it's users, so seize of ISP equipment would not apply unless this new law states it does. Could someone post the text of the bill please Individuals would have to worry about that. I wish people would stop voting for these dicks!!

cdru
Go Colts
MVM
join:2003-05-14
Fort Wayne, IN

cdru

MVM

Re: Does this law overrule the dmca as reguards to isp libaity

said by bluedyedvd:

The dmca says that isp's are not liable civil or criminally for the actions of it's users, so seize of ISP equipment would not apply unless this new law states it does.
Just because they are not liable doesn't mean that their equipment can't be seized as evidence. An ISPs unrelated equipment can't (or at least shouldn't) be seized, nor should an ISP's equipment be seized to be auctioned off a la a drug dealer's assets.
Could someone post the text of the bill please Individuals would have to worry about that.
Google is your friend
Kearnstd
Space Elf
Premium Member
join:2002-01-22
Mullica Hill, NJ

Kearnstd to bluedyedvd

Premium Member

to bluedyedvd
ISPs should not ever be the piracy police, this is like telling the guy collecting money in a toll booth he has to spot drug runners and stop them.

David
Premium Member
join:2002-05-30
Granite City, IL

David

Premium Member

Score one for the RIAA

score one for them.

I guess jammie thomas is going to be stuck for that 200k now.

DaMaGeINC
The Lan Man
Premium Member
join:2002-06-08
Greenville, SC

DaMaGeINC

Premium Member

Bush

This is President Bush screwing over Americans citizens yet again over big corp X.

•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••
Sammer
join:2005-12-22
Canonsburg, PA

1 edit

Sammer

Member

New Declaration of Independence is Needed.

"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security." Abraham Lincoln did not say government of the corporation, by the corporation, and for the corporation but corporate tyranny is what we now have and the government that Lincoln referred to may have already perished from the earth.

•••••••••

Grail Knight

Premium Member
join:2003-05-31
Valhalla

Grail Knight

Premium Member

It is easy to see that...

Bush will not go quietly into the night and continue his ruination of this country right until the very end.

If the new president has half a brain he would IMO spend the first two years undoing what Bush did his last 8 years.

••••••••••••
nasadude
join:2001-10-05
Rockville, MD

nasadude

Member

like the rest of the country

quote:
"At a time when the entire digital world is going to less restrictive distribution models, and when the courts are aghast at the outlandish damages being inflicted on consumers in copyright cases, this bill goes entirely in the wrong direction," she says.
no surprises here, move along now.
cornelius785
join:2006-10-26
Worcester, MA

1 recommendation

cornelius785

Member

what a surprise

the government has failed for the vast majority of the people. it hasn't completely failed since it didn't fail for the entertainment industry. the more and more forced bending over for the entertainment industry instructed by the government, the more hatred for the entertainment industry i get (and to a somewhat lesser extent, the government) and the desire to take an active roll in cracking drm.

maybe i should just abstain from voting in this election and make sure politicians know I am and why i am abstaining. i've always wondered by when a lowly citizen doesn't vote they get labeled as: a no voter, dumb, lazy, and other derogatory terms, but when a politician doesn't vote, they call it 'abstaining' and no one really cares.

i should look up the history of the MAFIAA to see why they were formed and how their roll has changed. i have a feeling that they have out lived their usefulness and are no longer doing what they were created to do.

Socialist Czar
@charter.com

Socialist Czar

Anon

This is becoming more and more a socialist country

The last days of Bush administration (the houses too) are looking more and more like a "fill the pockets" last days...
700B$ is the heist of the millennium, this so called law, is yet another step towards the capitalist socialism...when is this country going to wake up !?

ultracooldave
@verizon.net

ultracooldave

Anon

The internet"our last freedom"

Don't let the govt touch the internet in any way no matter how noble or "necessary"- they will seek further control then tax it!
I really don't care how much child porn, terrorist activity, fraud or copyright violating is conducted on the internet- its the only way for people to interact and communicate freely and get their information without outside interference- let the people choose what they want to do on the internet not the govt.!

kamm
join:2001-02-14
Brooklyn, NY

kamm

Member

Pres Obama must...

...change this whole shebang - though VP Biden is a well-known RIAA/MPAA shill, mostly due to his utter ignorance on the subject.

••••

Megladon1
@comcast.net

Megladon1

Anon

Sad

Whats sad is if you copy 1 movie it carrys the same punishment as if you sold national secrets to the chinese. Both carry a max 5 year prison sentence, and upto 250k fine. With this new stuff going into effect, it might be cheaper to commit treason then copy a movie.
averagedude
join:2002-01-30
San Diego, CA

averagedude

Member

Re: Sad

said by Megladon1 :

Whats sad is if you copy 1 movie it carrys the same punishment as if you sold national secrets to the chinese. Both carry a max 5 year prison sentence, and upto 250k fine. With this new stuff going into effect, it might be cheaper to commit treason then copy a movie.
I think you mean it will be more profitable to commit treason - remember this is a capitalist country
MTU
Premium Member
join:2005-02-15
San Luis Obispo, CA

MTU

Premium Member

Read The Bill

Read it.

»www.govtrack.us/congress ··· =summary

guhuna
5149.5
Premium Member
join:2001-03-31
Benicia, CA

guhuna

Premium Member

HAHA

Well, lets all not forget who signed the DMCA act of 1998.
Ahem.
»www.copyright.gov/legisl ··· dmca.pdf

kamm
join:2001-02-14
Brooklyn, NY

kamm

Member

Re: HAHA

said by guhuna:

Well, lets all not forget who signed the DMCA act of 1998.
Ahem.
»www.copyright.gov/legisl ··· dmca.pdf
I will never forget that...
Emiya
join:2006-03-30
Southington, OH

Emiya

Member

Bipartisan bullcrap!

God, this blame game is really making me sick. By my count the cosponsors of this bull were 11 Republicans and 10 Democrats so it's about as bipartisan as you'll get. The grass isn't greener on the left or the right side of the fence despite the amount of manure they might pile on it.

buzz_4_20
join:2003-09-20
Dover, NH
(Software) Sophos UTM Home Edition
Ruckus R310

1 recommendation

buzz_4_20

Member

OMGWTFBBQ

What the hell is wrong with our country?

the **AA is always comparing stealing a DVD/CD from a store to downloading.

The punishment for stealing a physical DVD/CD is less than downloading.
WTF.

They are both wrong, but why are the punishments different?

cchheett
Lamb Of God
Premium Member
join:2001-04-02
Eagle Creek, OR

cchheett

Premium Member

Re: OMGWTFBBQ

said by buzz_4_20:

What the hell is wrong with our country?

the **AA is always comparing stealing a DVD/CD from a store to downloading.

The punishment for stealing a physical DVD/CD is less than downloading.
WTF.

They are both wrong, but why are the punishments different?
I never thought of it that way. Interesting.
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