File Sharing Leads To A Life Of Crime
from the it's-a-starter-drug dept
Pulling a page from anti-drug advocates who claim that some drugs lead to harder drug usage, the recording industry up in Canada has now released a study (which they paid for, of course) that says that kids who download unauthorized files online are more likely to cheat on exams and to shoplift. Also, because what's the recording industry without some hyperbole, they want you to know that it "threatens the economy." What they really mean, of course, is that it threatens their particular industry and their particular business model -- which (despite their own beliefs) does not equal "the economy." Still, it seems like at least some in the press are getting fed up with the recording industry constantly making these kinds of claims. One reporter, who challenges the bias of the company that did the study, jokes that it's like "old joke about the puritan minister who condemns sex standing up because it might lead to dancing." If only it were that funny.
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They paid for nothing...
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Re: They paid for nothing...
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Re: They paid for nothing...
http://www.freelamps.com/
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Lemme get this straight
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Re: Lemme get this straight
I know that still doesn't make it right but if they would make software cheaper for the average consumer they would make more money in the long run and have more supporters for their products, and still make the big buck from enterprise sized companies.
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Re: Lemme get this straight
You don't need Windows or Office to resume. You can use Wordpad to make a decent Resume.
You could use a Mac or just use the version of Windows that comes with your computer or try Linux.
Or, God forbid a Typewriter.
You don't need to use Office at all - There are plenty of free Office Suites available (Open Office, etc) that you could use.
Saying you need to steal Office or Windows is a pointless argument.
You NEED FOOD, WATER, and CLOTHING. You don't need a computer.
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Next they will be telling us
And we'll go to fiery hell.
Uh. Or something like that.
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File Sharing Leads To A Life Of Crime
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Re: File Sharing Leads To A Life Of Crime
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Re: File Sharing Leads To A Life Of Crime
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Well duh....
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Young Person Crime
Ah, but are these youngsters more willing to:
* Lie on their tax returns
* Claim medical benefits they're not entitled to
* Mistreat their own teenaged-children
Different types of people commit different types of crime and this ridiculous survey concentrates on "young person" crime without making this clear.
How many middle-aged people even do exams, let alone cheat on them?
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Correlation does not imply causation
Without trying to get into a holy war about whether grass is dangerous or file-sharing is stealing, for the sake of argument assume that neither is the case.
Kid smokes grass, hangs out with other kids who do. Grass is illegal and requires access to a black market distribution network of some sort, and good business folks of any ilk are always on the lookout to market new products. I have no doubt that marijuana is a "gateway drug" but I have always strongly suspected that it's because the users are already involved in the criminal market rather than that they're looking for different and more dangerous chemical recreation. "The Man" says "drugs will kill you." Grass doesn't, so he lied. If you're going to lie to a kid about the small stuff, why should he believe you on the big?
I can see how filesharing would similarly serve as a gateway to theft and cheating. It's not that big a leap from the realization that downloading a song doesn't actually hurt anyone to the realization that the record company loses only a dollar or so (and the artist virtually nothing). Cheating on an exam is essentially lying, but the record companies lie to protect their own interests when they say you're stealing by downloading, so lying on a test should be okay, right?
Small steps, unintended consequences, and all that.
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