No, for those street vendors may have Mafia connections, and thus the money might go to organized crime. The movie theaters and "legitimate" resellers might have Mafia connections as well. So, the moral thing to do is download the movies from P2P (BitTorrent works best for such large files) and distribute them to others, therefore cutting the Mafia out completely.
When you download MP3's, you're downloading COMMUNISM ! When you buy CD's, you're buying MAFIA !
Stupid. Innovation is plusgood. We need to protect the innovation by preventing you from making something for youself. Remember, the Party will supply you with everything, including sitcoms, pop music and chocolate.
I thought iRate was a great idea but when I tried it I could only d/l one song at a time and I basically had to just sit at my computer to do it. Have they fixed that yet?
Students in philosophy classes might be asked, for example, to "write comparing Kantian ethics with a utilitarian system of your choice." They are rarely asked to "write an essay on why Kantian ethics is superior to alternate systems of ethics." Even in areas where everyone agrees this isn't done: A history class doesn't ask the students to write a paper on why Adolf Hitler was a bad man. The entire point of education is to critically think through ideas, not to have a conclusion assigned before you've e
Well, I'll admit it's no longer fashionable, but many people still at least try to keep up the pretenses of neutrality rather than blatantly admitting that they're trying to indoctrinate students with a particular opinion.
You are correct though that less overtly it happens a lot. Seems to happen in both "conservative" and "liberal" areas, though the "liberal" ones seem to be worse: lots of classes in Women's Studies departments on abortion, for example, start with the assumption that abortion is fully mor
...lots of classes in Women's Studies departments on abortion, for example, start with the assumption that abortion is fully moral and a right.
I can't confirm or deny this from experience, have you actually taken these courses? There are anti-abortion feminists too (just as there are both pro- and anti-pornography feminists). In fact I suspect most feminists who support "abortion on demand" still think it's an undesirable outcome, and would much prefer that unwanted pregnancies were easier to avoid in t
But but but, wouldn't they need to have people copy and distribute this essay in order to spread the word? Wouldn't their essays be copyrighted and wouldn't it be entertainment (when you know the law it would certainly be laughably entertaining)?
So will they charge for their essays in order to stay legal and ethical?
- Is everybody stealing FM radio and over-the-air TV broadcasts?
You raise a good point. I haven't paid for any of the TV and radio content I listen to every day. Also, let's not forget that the MPAA used to say that video recorders would destroy their business. Now they make a bundle on sales in that area. But of course they were against it at the start.
We're seeing this now with downloads. They were against it and now they are turning around and figuring it out.
You certainly did pay for your TV and radio content today. Through the nose in fact. In the process you also lined the pockets of a bunch of advertising middlemen who oughta have been sent off on a Golgafrinchan luxury liner eons ago. And the best part is that if you stopped watching inane TV shows and listening to droning disk jockeys and rancid pop on the radio entirely, you'd still get to pay for it every single day, conveniently bundled with most of the products and services you buy.
If somebody tries to get me to pay for sunshine or the air I breathe, I'll just steal the breath from their lungs. With some sort of sharp implement.
So where do you live? Out of a pick-ip truck in Idaho or the Dakatoas? Here, houising in clean-air zones with good natural lighting does not come cheap.
Given that the people teaching the classes are "volunteers" and they are at "primarily disadvantaged schools" (probably public schools for which the parents aren't paying tuition), then in a direct sense: no, the kids are not paying for this mpaa-sponsored class.
You ask a really good question: Have you stolen the contents of the harddrive on your Linux box?
I don't know: are you planning on redtristributing them in binary form without providing access to the source or in some other fashion violating the GPL under which you hold a license to copy and redistribute them? If so, then, yes, you have stolen them. If not, then no, you haven't.
Payment need not be in monetary form, after all; it can be in services rendered, or in services witheld from a third party.
right, but the dogma of the MPAA appears to have no ifs. it says "If you haven't paid for it, you're stealing." not"If you haven't paid for it, and you violate the TOS or EULA, you're stealing"
I didn't get that impression, though. They do talk about gifts or lending, after all, which are equally free of personal monetary expenditure. Beside, I think most people understand that there are things which have non-monetary prices: we talk about the price of freedom, and about the value of love.
Ironically they: GIVE away prizes such as DVDs and things. Doesn't that equate to stealing?
Offer downloads of videos on the Junior Achievement website. Technically if you watch those you've "stolen" them as well.
What a croc of crap. Theres a special place in hell for the people who thought this up. And in all honesty it is going to backfire. Instead of just a few kids knowing about p2p and downloading. EVERYONE is going to know about it. Kids that didnt know are going to go home and go 'god damned, I _
This is the kind of stuff that makes me want to just rant and rant. I will, however, try to restrain myself.
The most important question here, in my view, is this: Why the hell are corporations and 'business groups' teaching classes to kids anyway? Well, obviously because they see an advantage in it. So let me rephrase that: Why the hell are they allowed to do this? This is basically nothing more than advertising delivered directly at the kids, and hey, get this: They can't ignore it, because it's happening in their school, which they are legally required to attend!
There is something fundamentally wrong when publically funded, mandatory education is subsidized by private corporations in order to spread their own agendas. And 'best' of all, it's usually the poorest schools that end up simply needing to do something like this, just to afford basic necessities.
Allright, so this has probably been a rant. But it needed to be said. Just one more thing: Just how is this class learning? How can anything so biased, so value-laden, be classified as learning? I for one, am obviously a little to unimaginative to see that...
There is something fundamentally wrong when publically funded, mandatory education is subsidized by private corporations in order to spread their own agendas
I agree with everything you've said. I'd like to also add that this is very similar to what many of us have said for years about the DARE program, in which cops come to public schools to push their political agenda.
I'd like to also add that this is very similar to what many of us have said for years about the DARE program, in which cops come to public schools to push their political agenda.
Well, we all know how well DARE worked out [apa.org]. The similarity between DARE and this RIAA supported program makes me think that this will quite possibly result in no change in downloading behavior at all. Before DARE, kids already knew drugs were illegal, just like kids already know that downloading music usually (at least most musi
You gotta give the industry credit for its precision aiming, though.
Middle school is just the age where a kid absorbs unwritten rules (e.g., "don't be a squealer")...and, for better or worse, carries them forever as "conscience".
Instead of making the assertion that it will lead to a world without music, they could try asserting that it will make you ugly, make people not like you, and cause cancer.
I'm sure they already have the bribery-driven medical studies in hand.
As far as I know (IANAL), downloading music, or copying games, etc was not theft... it was copyright infringement.
Every time a story like this breaks, and it's called theft again, there are fewer and fewer people saying "hey wait a minute, it's NOT theft". Instead, we are now just griping about how the theft of music isn't so bad as it's made out and how it has little impact.
So which is it today -- copyright infringement, or theft?
"Students learn to repeat the program's motto: ''If you don't pay for it, you've stolen it."
That is so incredibly wrong I don't even know where to start.
Hold on guys, this isn't the argument to put forth. The response will simply be "we're talking about downloading of copyrighted content, not stuff that's given away."
Focus on this instead: The MPAA (or the RIAA for that matter) does not have the proper view of when something is paid for. For example, they equate the increase in CDRs sold as an inc
"Students learn to repeat the program's motto: ''If you don't pay for it, you've stolen it." That is so incredibly wrong I don't even know where to start."
Welcome to the American education system. Where are _you_ going to emigrate to when your children need a school?
The smell of misinformation in the morning (Score:4, Insightful)
That is so incredibly wrong I don't even know where to start.
Have I stolen the contents of the Harddrive on my linux box?
Have I stolen the concerts I downloaded from etree?
Have I stolen the toys I picked up at the last trade show I went to?
And the worst part is that young kids are really prone to being manipulated and indocternated.
Re:The smell of misinformation in the morning (Score:5, Funny)
> ''If you don't pay for it, you've stolen it."
Ahem, if I *tried* to pay my gf for sex she'd more more than a little P.O.ed.
Re:The smell of misinformation in the morning (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:The smell of misinformation in the morning (Score:1)
Re:The smell of misinformation in the morning (Score:2)
Re:The smell of misinformation in the morning (Score:2, Funny)
See didn't mind when I paid her.
Re:The smell of misinformation in the morning (Score:2)
"Yes dear!" -- You haven't paid for it?
Re:The smell of misinformation in the morning (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:The smell of misinformation in the morning (Score:2)
Re:The smell of misinformation in the morning (Score:2)
Re:The smell of misinformation in the morning (Score:2)
Quite. (Score:2)
Re:The smell of misinformation in the morning (Score:2)
No, for those street vendors may have Mafia connections, and thus the money might go to organized crime. The movie theaters and "legitimate" resellers might have Mafia connections as well. So, the moral thing to do is download the movies from P2P (BitTorrent works best for such large files) and distribute them to others, therefore cutting the Mafia out completely.
When you download MP3's, you're downloading COMMUNISM ! When you buy CD's, you're buying MAFIA !
Decide for yourself which is worse.
Re:The smell of misinformation in the morning (Score:2)
Re:The smell of misinformation in the morning (Score:2)
New MPAA campaign that finally has an answer to the ??? question:
1) Send out free CDs to people.
2) Enforce mantra: "If you didn't pay for it, you've stolen it."
3) Sue people.
4) Profit!
Re:The smell of misinformation in the morning (Score:5, Informative)
"Students learn to repeat the program's motto: ''If you don't pay for it, you've stolen it."
That is so incredibly wrong I don't even know where to start.
Don't forget: "...students are asked to write an essay 'to get the word out that downloading copyrighted entertainment is illegal and unethical,'"
Its so easy to find an example [machinaesupremacy.com] of copyrighted music free for download that isn't illegal.
If they had this program when I went to school, I'd probably have been suspended for subversion.
marginally offtopic sig reply (Score:2)
It's a bizarre request anyway (Score:2)
Re:It's a bizarre request anyway (Score:2)
You obviously haven't been in a school lately. "Education" is no longer fashionable.
Re:It's a bizarre request anyway (Score:3, Insightful)
You are correct though that less overtly it happens a lot. Seems to happen in both "conservative" and "liberal" areas, though the "liberal" ones seem to be worse: lots of classes in Women's Studies departments on abortion, for example, start with the assumption that abortion is fully mor
Re:It's a bizarre request anyway (Score:2)
I can't confirm or deny this from experience, have you actually taken these courses? There are anti-abortion feminists too (just as there are both pro- and anti-pornography feminists). In fact I suspect most feminists who support "abortion on demand" still think it's an undesirable outcome, and would much prefer that unwanted pregnancies were easier to avoid in t
Re:The smell of misinformation in the morning (Score:2)
"...students are asked to write an essay 'to get the word out that downloading copyrighted entertainment is illegal and unethical,'"
Re:The smell of misinformation in the morning (Score:2)
But but but, wouldn't they need to have people copy and distribute this essay in order to spread the word? Wouldn't their essays be copyrighted and wouldn't it be entertainment (when you know the law it would certainly be laughably entertaining)?
So will they charge for their essays in order to stay legal and ethical?
Re:The smell of misinformation in the morning (Score:5, Insightful)
- What if somebody gives you something?
- Are we stealing slashdot bandwidth and diskspace by posting here?
- Did anybody steal the sunshine on their faces, or the air they breathe?
- And, are the kids paying for this MPAA-sponsored class?
Re:The smell of misinformation in the morning (Score:1, Interesting)
You raise a good point. I haven't paid for any of the TV and radio content I listen to every day. Also, let's not forget that the MPAA used to say that video recorders would destroy their business. Now they make a bundle on sales in that area. But of course they were against it at the start.
We're seeing this now with downloads. They were against it and now they are turning around and figuring it out.
Re:The smell of misinformation in the morning (Score:2)
Ad-sponsored media
Re:The smell of misinformation in the morning (Score:1)
Nah.. don't buy that can of beans. It's 2 cents more expensive than this one. You're paying for advertising
Re:The smell of misinformation in the morning (Score:2)
So where do you live? Out of a pick-ip truck in Idaho or the Dakatoas? Here, houising in clean-air zones with good natural lighting does not come cheap.
Re:The smell of misinformation in the morning (Score:2)
Re:The smell of misinformation in the morning (Score:2)
Re:The smell of misinformation in the morning (Score:2)
Don't give them ideas! Next thing we know some corporation will try to charge for air and sunlight (cue Mr Burns "excellent" and hand-pose).
Re:The smell of misinformation in the morning (Score:2)
I don't know: are you planning on redtristributing them in binary form without providing access to the source or in some other fashion violating the GPL under which you hold a license to copy and redistribute them? If so, then, yes, you have stolen them. If not, then no, you haven't.
Payment need not be in monetary form, after all; it can be in services rendered, or in services witheld from a third party.
Re:The smell of misinformation in the morning (Score:2)
Re:The smell of misinformation in the morning (Score:2)
Re:The smell of misinformation in the morning (Score:2)
And the value of love? Billions. In fact, even gay love is worth $16.8 billion [forbes.com].
So fear not - our capitalist society can put a price on EVERYTHING!
Re:The smell of misinformation in the morning (Score:1)
GIVE away prizes such as DVDs and things. Doesn't that equate to stealing?
Offer downloads of videos on the Junior Achievement website. Technically if you watch those you've "stolen" them as well.
What a croc of crap. Theres a special place in hell for the people who thought this up. And in all honesty it is going to backfire. Instead of just a few kids knowing about p2p and downloading. EVERYONE is going to know about it. Kids that didnt know are going to go home and go 'god damned, I _
Re:The smell of misinformation in the morning (Score:5, Interesting)
This is the kind of stuff that makes me want to just rant and rant. I will, however, try to restrain myself.
The most important question here, in my view, is this: Why the hell are corporations and 'business groups' teaching classes to kids anyway? Well, obviously because they see an advantage in it. So let me rephrase that: Why the hell are they allowed to do this? This is basically nothing more than advertising delivered directly at the kids, and hey, get this: They can't ignore it, because it's happening in their school, which they are legally required to attend!
There is something fundamentally wrong when publically funded, mandatory education is subsidized by private corporations in order to spread their own agendas. And 'best' of all, it's usually the poorest schools that end up simply needing to do something like this, just to afford basic necessities.
Allright, so this has probably been a rant. But it needed to be said. Just one more thing: Just how is this class learning? How can anything so biased, so value-laden, be classified as learning? I for one, am obviously a little to unimaginative to see that ...
Re:The smell of misinformation in the morning (Score:2)
I agree with everything you've said. I'd like to also add that this is very similar to what many of us have said for years about the DARE program, in which cops come to public schools to push their political agenda.
Re:The smell of misinformation in the morning (Score:2)
Well, we all know how well DARE worked out [apa.org]. The similarity between DARE and this RIAA supported program makes me think that this will quite possibly result in no change in downloading behavior at all. Before DARE, kids already knew drugs were illegal, just like kids already know that downloading music usually (at least most musi
Re:The smell of misinformation in the morning (Score:2)
Fortunately, no one's agenda was burned into my brain when I came back from it. I usually just had a skinned knee or something.
Re:The smell of misinformation in the morning (Score:2)
Middle school is just the age where a kid absorbs unwritten rules (e.g., "don't be a squealer") ...and, for better or worse, carries them forever as "conscience".
The Three R's (Score:3, Insightful)
Wait isn't education suppose to be about teaching students the basic skills of living? I agree that the theft of music etc. is excessive.
Except...
a)there is evidence that theft of music has a minimal negative effect, and might even have a possitive effect.
b)companies should not have the right to engage in vigilanty justice.
c)companies should Not dictate to our education system.
d)the statement that theft of music will lead to a world w/out music is the most ridiculous lie I've ever heard.
What hap
Re:The Three R's (Score:2)
I'm sure they already have the bribery-driven medical studies in hand.
Re:The smell of misinformation in the morning (Score:1)
Every time a story like this breaks, and it's called theft again, there are fewer and fewer people saying "hey wait a minute, it's NOT theft". Instead, we are now just griping about how the theft of music isn't so bad as it's made out and how it has little impact.
So which is it today -- copyright infringement, or theft?
Re:The smell of misinformation in the morning (Score:3, Interesting)
Hold on guys, this isn't the argument to put forth. The response will simply be "we're talking about downloading of copyrighted content, not stuff that's given away."
Focus on this instead: The MPAA (or the RIAA for that matter) does not have the proper view of when something is paid for. For example, they equate the increase in CDRs sold as an inc
Re:The smell of misinformation in the morning (Score:2)
Have I stolen the concerts I downloaded from etree?
Have I stolen the toys I picked up at the last trade show I went to?
Yes. MPAA/RIAA henchmen are enroute now to take you into custody. Keep your hands flat on the desk, away from the mouse and keyboard.
You are being watched.
Re:The smell of misinformation in the morning (Score:2)
That is so incredibly wrong I don't even know where to start."
Welcome to the American education system. Where are _you_ going to emigrate to when your children need a school?
Re:The smell of misinformation in the morning (Score:1)
"If you don't pay me for my essay, you've stolen it!"