The Boy Scouts Now Have An MPAA Merit Badge In Misleading Arguments
from the lucky-them dept
Chris writes in to let us know that the MPAA's latest effort in brainwashing kids to their one sided argument is that they've convinced the Boy Scouts of America to offer a merit badge for "learning about the evils of downloading pirated movies and music." One has to assume this merit badge doesn't include learning about fair use, or the promotional value of content, though, it probably does teach them the latest gibberish, doublespeak, denial and bullying techniques favored by the industry. Over at Boing Boing, Cory Doctorow runs through all of the industry's double standards over the years on intellectual property, and wonders why the Boy Scouts would let such a biased party create the conditions for a merit badge. So, are the Boy Scouts willing to let the folks around here create a merit badge in understanding the economics of digital goods? I'm sure many of our readers would be willing to help create the curriculum. Update: As plenty of people have pointed out in the comments, this is not a "merit badge" but an "activity patch" that is only good for Boy Scouts in Los Angeles. Activity patches are apparently close to meaningless, though it's still not clear why the MPAA got to create the curriculum for this particular one.
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so crazy it might work
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Re: so crazy it might work
its been said lawyers can find ambiguity in a no smoking signs, and kids make great lawyers in matters like these.
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Pirating merit badge?
you can see the requirements here and as a leader of boy scouts I could say not one of the boys in my troop would sign up for this.
http://mpaa.org/press_releases/respect%20copyrights%20curriculum%20and%20patch.pdf
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For services rendered...
Seriously, what do you think it cost them?
$15,000?
$20,000?
$2.50 and some free John Denver downloads?
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For services rendered...
Seriously, what do you think it cost them?
$15,000?
$20,000?
$2.50 and some free John Denver downloads?
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For services rendered...
Seriously, what do you think it cost them?
$15,000?
$20,000?
$2.50 and some free John Denver downloads?
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doesn't matter the BSA is run by the LDS
Anyway, seeing as how the Mormons have special underwear that they're not supposed to tell anyone about who isn't a Mormon(this is TRUE, look it up, you will LAUGH), it doesn't surprise me that they would fall for any of the *AA's bullshit.
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Re: doesn't matter the BSA is run by the LDS
I guess your terminology is flawed. But since you managed to watch it once, you probably wouldn't mind watching that episode again. This time through, you'll find out that while %40 is larger than any other group who direct the BSA, it certainly is not completely or even primarily by LDS.
I watch and enjoy P&T as well, but to get facts from that show, you have to pay attention very closely to the way they phrase their arguments - aka, the words they use.
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As mentioned above, it's not a merit badge. It's a commerative patch. Anybody can offer one - it means nothing officially. It does not contribute to rank advancement and in fact can not be worn on the uniform.
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lets try and get it straight.
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RE: doesn't matter the BSA is run by the LDS
As far as the badge, I rather think that the only kids interested in getting this badge aren't real popular already. I new a few kids when I was that age who were that anal-retentive, and they didn't make friends easily. I don't see this being a major win for the MPAA/RIAA/etc.
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Re: RE: doesn't matter the BSA is run by the LDS
These days pointing to a site invokes some asshat stating it's got [blah] bias or an asshat like yourself stating one should provide a link. Find it yourself just like I had to.
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Re: RE: doesn't matter the BSA is run by the LDS
How about you follow your own rules and post evidence to the contrary? Otherwise I find it's incredibly simple for someone to google -mormons boy scouts- and find more information than I could ever post here. Sorry you're too lazy to find the truth on your own without someone linking to them, must have sucked when you were in school.
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The Lost One
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View from an Egale Scout
I wonder what the MPAA's take is on the Merit Badge of "Cinematography" started by Steven Spielberg?
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Get Your Facts Straight
This is nothing more than a sensationalist attempt at drawing support from the Tech community against MPAA, something I feel needs no additional support given we're all pretty pissed at what they're doing.
Good report is unbiased and truthful, this is neither.
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Re: Get Your Facts Straight
Merit Badge or patch, it does not matter. Is LAA BSA part of the evil group or simply being brain washed? If shouting at the evil group and the brain-washed victims is all that you can do, YOU LOSE. Evils is to be fought and victims to be saved. Killing the victims won't make you saint.
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Well said dwimmerlaik
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hmm, a little over blown headline?
I am mostly disappointed in Techdirt though. The headline is misleading and thus makes them more like traditional (stupid) media.
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Not a Merit Badge
I have good kids in my troop. This nonsense would probably enlighten them to what they could actually do.
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Broad Brush
I guess interns should be banned from the White House while Democrats control it? Stop painting an entire organization with a broad brush or that brush can be used to paint others.
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On my honor...
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Re: On my honor...
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Boy Scouts and MPAA
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Training to be bigots anyway...
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Is this what passes as news now?
Actually, if investigative reporters did their jobs and journalistic integrity had any meaning anymore, one would have to assume nothing. Why not contact the MPAA and BSA and get the actual details on the "badge merits" before "reporting" your opinion.
Sure, the MPAA is probably up to something sneaky. And perhaps the BSA has fallen victim to their propoganda. But we'll never actually know from this "article", will we?
I have no affiliation with the MPAA or Boy Scouts. Nor do I really care if you pirate movies all day long. Heck, I own a DVD burner and it's not for "storing my precious photos" on. It's not like I'm concerned whether the movie studio has to cut George Clooney's pay check from 20 million to 15 million dollars per picture. But for the love of Transformers, stop with the nonsensical articles.
And stop trying to hide behind the fair use act. Copying a DVD so you can "back it up" is a far cry from contacting the studio to get the rights to footage you want to use in your master thesis on "violence in film and it's long term effect over human nature in the 20th century".
Now, go buy some more blank DVD's and send off your monthly payment to Netflix. Just don't tell me it's fair use. And don't drag the Boy Scouts into it.
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So you've resorted to slinging mud now?
"but is becoming both extremely conservative and a wholly owned subsidiary of the Mormon Church and the Marriott Corporation."
on the conservative part... what do you expect from a group that teaches traditional morals and values? extreme liberalism, where they tell the kids to go screw around, and steal music?
As for it being owned by the mormon church and Marriot? where's your information on that?
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scout merit badge
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Twit with a Fogged Blog
BSA is a Honarable organization who has not suscummed to the GAY and Politically right agendas as nearly every other organziation.
Stop putting crap on the www to try and take away what other do not have.
Trustworty,Loyal,Helpful,Friendly,Courteous,Kind, Obedient,Cherful,Thrifty, Brave,Clean & Reverent
You can't say that about many organizations out there....
Sorry they are not owned by Mormons and Marriott......
The Mormons use the BSA to instill the above characteristics into their youth. As does every other organization that charters a Pack, Troop or Crew.
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Re: Twit with a Fogged Blog
The GAY "agenda" is to be treated as full members of society. To be treated just as Mormons are-with the right to go about their business without being discrimiated against, without worrying about getting the crap kicked out of them, without worrying about their lives being turned upside down because of who they are.
Of ALL people, the Mormons should know better.
It's a shame to see the teachings of Christ perverted into the politics of fear and hate. A crying shame.
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You have discredited yourself as a new source
2. BSA did not endourse anything about this issue.
3. Scouting is getting more socialistic and liberal not more conservative.
4. LDS church does not control scouting. Athiest and gay Eagle scouts are hatched every day.
When you post and leave posted just bad reporting about something I do know about, it discredits you as a new source to teach me about things I do not know about.
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And this proves....
If anything I think the next generation is already more cynical than we are (if that's possible).
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What do you expect
Same goes here, someone wanting to mud sling the BSA... Shame on you didn't your parents bring you up with any manners and morality?
The liberals want to control every thought and action that you do, thus you must maintain your liberties, something those on the liberals want to take away.
Soon, if certain organizations have there way it could be ILLEGAL to eat animals. And they allow abortion but fight to protect animals for human consumption. Go figure.....
Currently, we are in the fading days of the USA as a military power if the current tide does not get shifted and we do an about face..........
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Re: What do you expect
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Another Scout is heard from
Now the big joke is this, the award is only available at this time to the Scouts in the Los Angeles Area council. However most local scouts know that the Western Los Angeles Area council is the council which is home to media rich Los Angeles and that the LAA council picks up only the east side of LA.
In any case this is much about nothing. Scouts are already taught these basic prinicpals about not stealing and have been since Baden Powel first dreamed up the program.
Scouting is a very conservative program at its heart but there is room in the program for everyone and it is not controlled by the mormons or any other single religion.
That being said the leadership for national scouting is full of conservatives and unfortunately it has lead to a very conservative view of the world. That is changing and will continue to change.
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Ugh, bandwagoning
TechDirt links to articles from other sources, and the posters provide commentary. They aren't 'reporting' anything anymore than Hannity & Colmes 'report.' It's punditry. Relax.
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Re: Ugh, bandwagoning
That said, two big lessons here:
1) Linked articles suck as a reference because they link to dynamic content, not static content. However, I know of no easy way to take dynamic content and making it static other than by making a static copy that you will not update... and then putting it out there for public use. And you can guess how much copyright fun people would have with that. Unless of course Techdirt is already paying a copyright fee for things it links to by any chance? In which case it would be nice instead of links to dynamic content, Techdirt submitters would "print" the web page they're viewing to CutePDF or something and then offer PDFs of the dynamic content... so we can all make sure we are literally on the same page. And sure in that case if we wanted to also have the dynamic link just to compare the then-and-now versions, so be it.
2) Much like another recent article discussing Wikipedia and Citizendium (sp? - not going to the trouble of looking it up while I'm writing this now) .... one or two or even three good news articles does not constitute "research". Meaning, when I was in school, it was required that we get multiple sources when working on a term paper or whatever -- not only to ensure that we'd done the minimum required for what passed as scholastic "research", but also to teach us a principle -- you shouldn't believe everything you read from ONE SOURCE or even A FEW SOURCES. The best way to do research is to get your information from multiple sources, and then put together your report using facts that have been well-established from your myriad sources. Footnotes might reference quotations from especially well-worded bibliographic sources, for example, but the fact "spoken" to in the quotation should be well-established from myriad sources, not only supported by one source. And so it is that on the web, it is even more important to get multiple sources... since so many sources transparently feed off each other. Good examples are newspapers who get feeds from the Associated Press or Reuters. You might pull together the "facts" from twenty news stories around the world which all agree on the same ERRONEOUS "facts" --- simply because all twenty newspapers used AP or Reuters as their source. Meaning you don't really have 20 sources from these newspapers, you only have two sources.
Again, it has been said before in other comments to other abstracts, as well as above, but I think it should be emphasized. I think Mike and the folks at Techdirt do their best work when they are analyzing news in-depth, not when they are following breaking news or replying to some comment-bozo/troll off the cuff. The strength of Techdirt analysis is when it is well-thought-out, accurate and relevant.
What does this mean for Techdirt? I believe that Techdirt would do far better to do something that is unthinkable in most news organizations.
(And first off, Techdirt must realize -- it is NOT a news organization. It is an abstracting/analysis service which uses news as its source. Again, this is perhaps a valid reason why Techdirt SHOULD WANT to pay licensing so that it may make STATIC copies of stories, etc. [Yes, that means making copies of bad information before it gets updated -- but also being able to make copies of GOOD information once it's finally correct. Nope, I can't read an old Techdirt article in email, etc., and follow the link to a NY Times article right now because the Times article has expired to free users.])
The unthinkable of course, is to simply QUIT FOLLOWING THE NEWS. Because following the news is a REACTIVE course of action, not a proactive one.
What this would allow Techdirt to do is to simply FOCUS ON THE STORIES THAT MATTER. If they'd let the Boy Scout story sit for a while, maybe it would soon be apparent that all the other major media outlets had gotten it wrong -- it's not a merit badge. Then let the major outlets go through the process of performing their corrections.
Does that mean that the scout story might not be picked up by Techdirt? Perhaps. Or it might just make for a BETTER news story.
Because if I'm right and Mike was only abstracting what he INITIALLY read before it was "corrected" by the linked article.... then the news story is LESS about scouting and much more about the media. Perhaps this story is a great example of how screwed up the media has become. Perhaps this is a great example of how the "fourth estate" is being whittled down slowly but surely as the big media conglomerates are joining together and eating up all the small news outlets. About how the lack of diversity in media makes it impossible for anyone -- either scholarly researchers, news analysts/abstracters or god forbid, even the general public -- are able to really get anything that qualifies as "NEWS" anymore... simply because FOR ANY GIVEN NEWS STORY, THERE ARE NOT ENOUGH LEGITIMATE NEWS SOURCES.
Personally, I think Techdirt would be a better publication if it went from a DAILY to a WEEKLY format and had fewer news stories, and much more concise. And for me anyway, that would not reduce its value but INCREASE it.
Or, to follow my own advice... the concise point of all this is.... Techdirt has great reporting, but it is in dire need of an EDITOR.
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"When I was in and growing up there was clear cut right and wrong no grey areas. Teenagers can't learn right from wrong while dealing with grey areas."
Don't be a dumbshit. Don't you get it yet? How many more stupid decisions do you need to see before you realize 'right and wrong' just isn't clear cut, that's why there are so few easy solutions. Look what a disaster Iraq is! That's the result of people insisting something is either right, or it's wrong. People like you are unwilling or incapable of deep, rational, thought so you hide behind simplified, conjured categories. People follow because it seems easier. How do you expect teenagers to learn how to think if you hide the grey areas? if you restrict their reasoning to the few things you've stolen from other assholes afraid of their own cognitive abilites? It's the same problem the school system has: you can't expect people to learn how to think on their own if all you do is shove fact-memorization and neatly packaged labels at them. Good grief, you're fucking up entire generations with such an asinine mindset!
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Re: Muzz
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in denial
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I guess your view of how when they started running things they started on the anti-gay/atheist agenda is flawed because if it looks like a duck, walks like a duck and sounds like a duck you seem to think it's a Humvee or the like.
I didn't JUST watch that episode, I did my research as you apparently have not. P&T's premise is that you watch it and you verify for yourself but I guess you prefer to just "enjoy" it. Thanks for playing.
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What's Next?
Or maybe a bribery badge, because it's likely that the MPAA contributed heavily to the Boy Scouts in order to secure this cozy arrangement.
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Its not a Merit Badge
Just thought I would clear up the point.
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lol
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So many know-it-alls
My point, and I do have one, is that the values of people involved in Scouting are as diverse as any other cross-section of society. The troop in the article probably has a parent who is employed by the MPAA and thought it would be a good opportunity for that particular group. But they don't represent all Boy Scouts. In fact, I know an Eagle Scout who openly admits he smoked pot all through high school and now he is an attorney working to decriminalize marijuana. How conservative is that?
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So many know-it-alls
My point, and I do have one, is that the values of people involved in Scouting are as diverse as any other cross-section of society. The troop in the article probably has aparent who is employed by the MPAA and thought it would be a good opportunity for that particular group to explore. But they don't represent all Boy Scouts. In fact, I know an Eagle Scout who openly admits he smoked pot all through high school and now he is an attorney working to decriminalize marijuana. How conservative is that?
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Boy Scout MPAA Badge.
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Copyright Activity Patch
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What's so hard to understand?
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Re: What's so hard to understand?
That's right. Because the hallmark of "free society" is that you are not allowed to disagree with anyone, no matter how moronic their argument is (which, by the way, your argument is). But, in this free society, some random anonymous commenter on a message board is the final arbiter of what is right and is not. Doesn't seem like a very free society.
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Re: What's so hard to understand?
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QUITE ATTACKING THE BOY SCOUTS
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Submission Note
I would mostly like to note that no one announcing this marriage-of-publicity bothered to point out the distnction either-- the BSA/MPAA organizations both avoided mentioning the fact that it doesn't mean anything. It's their omissions you should be criticizing, not the fact that non-members aren't familiar with the sublties of Boy Scout award nomenclature.
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Re: Submission Note
The point isn't whether it's national or required to advance to Level 2 of Boy Scouts; it's that solely for publicity and/or financial gain, a local BSA chapter (or "state" or "division" or "den" or "hive" or "collective" or "commune" or whatever is your specific term for this) has approved a program whereby 52,000 kids will be versed in a one-sided, selective argument.
All you BSA-defenders should really be criticizing the local BSA leaders who are allowing your accomplishments to be diluted by new farcical and fanciful activities that add nothing to your organization, not attacking people who pointing out that fact.
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Re: Re: Submission Note
Scout (and leaders)->patrol->troop->distric->council-> (here's where it gets fuzzy)->region->national. (check wikipedia for more detailed answer)
but as it stands, each local troop/distric/council is allowed to hold events it believes fosters the education and growth of individuals of siad group. so yes, the council/district is right to have the "badge/patch" i know my distrit has done so. usually it's for district events such as weekend campings, religious retreats, or other activites. (all night bowl, bike rides, canoe trips...)
and as i mentioned, yeah, the BSA can do some "questionable" things, but it's not my place to completely say they are wrong. however, i believe it is my duty to teach all spects of situations arising from BSA practices. (i.e. why homosexuallity, atheism is wrong) so while i'm upset, they are able to do as they please. and if no one will join to "level" the table, BSA is gonna have free reign.
i'm not talking about a hostel take over, just a way of reaffirming beliefs while still letting the kids come up with questions and think for themselves.
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Re: Re: Re: Submission Note
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Just my thoughts
First, the boyscouts is a conservative/religious orginization. They banned gays and athiests. and it's their right. the orginization is private, so they may discriminate at will. (it bothers me, but hey what can i do?) and, yes, while all troops are sponsored by local organizations, mostly they are sporting clubs, churches, and schools (at least in my area) and yes, they do recruit from within their orginization. however, they do encourage others to join as well. (most often, it doesn't happen)
if you look at the BSA, it is very clear about the pro religious/pro conservative attitues of the orginization.
"On my honor, I will do my best to GOD and my country...I promise to keep myself physically fit, mentally awake, and MORALLY STRAIGHT" from the oath, and from the laws...A scout is...Reverant. so there, as the basis of the orginization, and the "rules" that one must abide by to stay in the orginization, it has the "right wing" ideas.
now, what would a liberal like me be doing in it? i like the orginization. i like camping. i enjoy the different events we can do. i don't believe in all of the "stuff" but i will teach what the BSA has taught me, and it's ideals.
With all that being said, i'd be willing to teach that "merit badge" hell, i'd make it manditory for my boys. Why? so i can teach them the "REAL" values of file sharing and copyright and fair use.
but hey that's me trying to edge my "evil liberal" ways into society.
(oh, and to the poster about wanting to kill babies, and not animals, remember, consevatives want to kill everyone except babies.... just food for thought)
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