US govt security advice site trashed by hackers Anonymous and LulzSec members have hacked US government security web site OnGuard Online and defaced it, forcing it offline, in retaliation for the recent MegaUpload takedown and the controversial Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA), the groups have announced. Anonymous has been ramping up its opposition to ACTA on …
More likely, the authora-tahs will make a big deal out of arresting some teen-aged LOIC-ers. Call the news get some black helicopters, play dress up in riot gear, Claim they've arrested "Anonymous" and of course, use this incident as an example of why due process of law, The Constitution and the Bill of Rights are so out of fashion.
Another pernicious and uncalled for piece of legislation that will soon be singed into law by the EU. I'll give them credit for one this, they've made no pretence about this being democratic with their closed meetings and lack of public scrutiny.
When the government turns against the people, what are the people meant to do?
Oh, I see, bend over over and take it. Eh, @AC at 20:48.
...the government has not turned against the people, just the pirates. 95% of the world don't pirate. It's only 5% that feels the entitlement. Courts prove to them daily that they are not entitled. If you chose to pirate it's a bad choice but Bubba will be glad to have you bend over for him.
I broadly agree with what you're saying, but be wary of using the industries own figures to support an argument against them. They are well known to vastly exaggerate the damage that piracy is causing to their business (They never say "their business", note, they always pretend its stuggling artists, cf "content creators" who suffer this terrible, terrible crime).
For example, take a look at the case brought against the reincarnation of Limewire, extrapolating from this particular instance it's not a huge leap to realise that the "recording industry", as a whole, are actually daring to claim that piracy, as a whole, is costing them MORE than all the money there is in the entire world.
http://news.slashdot.org/story/10/06/08/159217/riaa-says-limewire-owes-15-trillion
Good, solid figures there, eh?
The MegaUpload people were rolling out MegaBox which would have given artists a 90% cut.
Then they got shutdown. Coincidence? https://plus.google.com/u/0/111314089359991626869/posts/HQJxDRiwAWq
I do not for one second think that MegaUpload were swell people I'd want to chug a beer with, but whatever their ills does not mean the MAFIAA are swell people either or even right. These are the very same morons who tried to get home taping outlawed FFS!
They are also the people who claim that Harry Potter lost $165million. Does that make it seem like they are playing fair?
They simply cannot innovate and rather than let a free market decide which companies succeed or fail, the MAFIAA and have laws enacted to maintain the status quo. Our freedoms are being reduced and monetised for the bottom line. That cannot be right in any sane world.
Before that.
100 years ago they tried to get sheet music banned, until they got a cut, of course!
I wonder how many people realize that when they buy blank CDs they are paying a levy to the music business to make up for the illegal use they were obviously going to make of these blanks!
It's always been the same.
Do you read the drivel you write? I suggest you go read this: Jonathan Coulton. He makes very salient points about the inflated damage and so on.
There is a tension between the demands of culture and the wishes of the creator. We used to solve this by copyright. This gave the creator *a limited time* to make some money, after which culture got control and could do what it wanted. This is why Bach, Shakespeare et al are still so popular. Culture has keep them alive even in death.
Today we have mega-coproates making increasing land-grabs, restricting access and declaring any failure on their part to meet demand as theft. It isn't. They are simply going up against something much bigger than themselves and they must lose.
The balance is shifting too far. Corporate demand should not dictate law, only the will of the people. And if the people decide that some movie/artist/whatever is not worth millions....well that's just tough.
I regularly infringe on copyright and various laws on by-passing security measures. So does just about everyone reading this. For example: have you even ripped a CD to a HDD or MP3 player? That's am offence in the UK. When just about everyone has to break a law just to make use of the stuff they have bought then the law is wrong. The answer is not to make the law bigger, worse and global.
Take you corporate shilling and shove it. Maybe try to grow a pair and post under your usual moniker too.
Now don't get me wrong. Years ago I did my share of P2P downloading and did most certainly take content I wasn't paying for; but I do think that the filesharing crowd has been shrinking for years. Content has gotten so cheap that it is easier to buy it rather than steal it.
I think the 5% figure is probably fairly accurate. Only a few are still participating in "unauthorized" downloads of content. Losers who take more than they can ever watch/listen to. That's sad...
The recently proposed laws are stupid though.
....you just got older and can now afford to buy the music?
In fairness, almost everyone I know has pirated material in some form at some stage of their lives.
Personally I do not, as I like to have CD's in my hand as they look nice and I can afford it -
plus I lost my ipod a long time ago and cannot be arsed getting another.
As for video piracy, the "industry" needs to get with the program and offer decent content for a decent price, then everyone will pay for it. And no poxy DRM either. I will not pay for DRM'd content.
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