Why We Should All Want Politicians Who Plagiarize

RIAA To Prosecutors: Use Piracy Charges To Round Up Drug Dealers And Terrorists

from the it's-a-starter-crime dept

Thu, Feb 21st 2008 3:49am — Mike Masnick

Back in the 1920s, the FBI was never able to get Al Capone on racketeering charges, but eventually got a conviction for tax evasion. It appears that the RIAA's message to federal prosecutors is now: think of music piracy as the new tax evasion! In a leaked "training video," put together by the RIAA for the National District Attorneys Association, RIAA representatives talk about how prosecutors can use music piracy charges to go after drug dealers and terrorists, noting that "it might allow you to have probable cause for a drug house." That's said by the RIAA's Deborah Robinson, who can barely stifle a laugh as she starts to say it. She then goes on to talk about how often they're supposedly seeing drug dealers and gun dealers selling counterfeit CDs with the drugs and guns. Oh really? Weren't we just hearing about how the counterfeit CD business was rapidly shrinking due to file sharing? There's also a great leading question from the NDAA person, asking if convicted murderers who were out on parole are "gravitating to this type of piracy." The response from the RIAA's Frank Walters: "More often than not..." It's no secret that the RIAA is eager to get federal prosecutors to take on piracy cases, but this seems a bit extreme.

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Filed Under: counterfeiters, drug dealers, riaa, terrorists
Companies: riaa

37 Comments

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ToldUso, 21 Feb 2008 @ 4:18am

But what about the children?
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mkam, 21 Feb 2008 @ 4:31am

Re:
A very good point ToldUso brings up here.

In addition, I love the part about buying CDs 'with' or 'without'. 'With' means you get some crack with your counterfeit CD. Has this ever happened in real life?

mkam
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k55f5r, 21 Feb 2008 @ 4:56am

Special Weapons and Tactics
The brownshirts are getting one more excuse to break down doors with their jackboots. How long until one of the many Dangerous Downloaders is shot dead on entry?
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Tek, 21 Feb 2008 @ 5:14am

fools
ridiculously pompous shortsightedness, they are so desperate clutching at straws to try any method, even those that are not likely to succeed, because they are in such a bad situation.

idiots - don't they see that this is all making it *worse* for them
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Anonymous Coward, 21 Feb 2008 @ 5:17am

Who here remembers the super-hero danger-dodging bootleg-sniffing dogs?

*raises hand*
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Killer_Tofu (profile), 21 Feb 2008 @ 5:34am

Uh oh
RIAA for the NDAA?
Looks like they are already prepped to fit right in and join the MAFIAA.
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grant, 21 Feb 2008 @ 5:37am

farming
We farm and the price of corn is going really high and so is the price of land around these parts.
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Iron Chef, 21 Feb 2008 @ 5:44am

You dont know your customer
Not one to cross-post, consider my thoughts here:

http://techdirt.com/article.php?sid=20080219/014250290#c1220
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chris (profile), 21 Feb 2008 @ 5:55am

Re:
But what about the children?

the riaa can round them up too. they have no problems doing that too.
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John, 21 Feb 2008 @ 6:00am

Turbins
everyone knows thats why terrorists wear masks and turbins, theyre hiding their mp3 player. jeez.
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Big Frankie, 21 Feb 2008 @ 6:06am

What Next.
RIAA = Real Idiots And Airheads

It is time for people to make an effort to get rid of those morons.
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Anonymous Coward, 21 Feb 2008 @ 6:08am

Sorry, Mike, I guess the RIAA hasn't had to time read you blogs. Don't worry I am sure they will be contacting you about getting a SWOT analysis for the decline in CD counterfeits.
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CMeeks, 21 Feb 2008 @ 6:16am

RIAA should get RICO
Prosecutors only dealing with the RIAA should be to file RICO charges against them. Why is the recording industry tiring to fix their failure to adapt by legal shakedown and extortion? Yes file sharing is stealing no problem with that one, but the "you were cought J-walking so now we will execute your whole family line and all branches back five generations" is not the rite approach. Digital music is cheap to deliver, millions of songs are sold online for a buck a shot, the CD is dieing like the LP did in the 80s it is change and civil courts can not stop sociatial evolution.

By the way Osoma Binlauden has a real crappy MP3 collection the highlight is the bootleg copy of the March 3rd call to morning prayers at the Hafa Masque

Can someone stop making a bigger joke out of our courts than they really are
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Joe Courson, 21 Feb 2008 @ 6:17am

I'm into the whole Bukkake thing and can suck good political ..uh..stuff... maybe i had a run in with mark foley or larry craig.

Would i have a chance? get me in!

Penis. there i said it.
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Robin, 21 Feb 2008 @ 6:19am

Laughable
..just laughable.

with any luck, a major news outlet will pick this up (a la bank julius baer) and the ridicule will shift into high gear.

i prefer "with" btw. michael, can your blogging software here do polls? could be loads of fun!
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Anonymous Coward, 21 Feb 2008 @ 6:24am

That's said by the RIAA's Deborah Robinson, who can barely stifle a laugh as she starts to say it.

Maybe someone was just having a little fun?
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Overcast, 21 Feb 2008 @ 6:25am

Just because the RIAA managed to pay congress enough to build them a bunch of 'protectionist' laws for their industry - doesn't mean law enforcement will take the actual enforcement of those laws seriously..

Of course, one must also consider that the US has more people in jail than even China in raw numbers! So, yes - perhaps they will find some that are more than happy to lock up 'pirates'.

haaaaaar
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Anonymous Coward, 21 Feb 2008 @ 6:26am

...who the hell would buy a CD from a crack dealer?

"Come on man I need some more"
"Ok here you go, and did I mention that I have U2's latest album?"
"Well, hey, stick it in the bag too."

Damn crack dealers will be selling groceries next.
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Joe, 21 Feb 2008 @ 6:32am

WTF is going on?
Isn't this the same fear mongering that the movie studio's put into people with "buying bootleg movies aide terrorists" or the government did with "Drug money aides terrorists"?

Seems to me one more big group is trying to shift the light of their inept war on whatever the market is they are against by bringing in groups that no one wants to side with.

Overall this will fail like the other movements...Since they are also a pack of lies.
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Heidi, 21 Feb 2008 @ 6:34am

Re:
I wish my crack dealer sold CDs .. life would be so much easier.
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James, 21 Feb 2008 @ 6:48am

Just Say No (to piracy)
Hilarious, they have obviously lost whatever sanity was left (sic).

Maybe we can update the "Just Say No" campaign for the modern age? Don't copy that CD kids, "Just Say No", we could even have ads with a thugish-looking guy passing out a 256MB USB-connecting MP3 player w/a song or two on it to "get 'em hooked". LOL
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Anonymous Coward, 21 Feb 2008 @ 8:10am

Civil Law Prosecuted by the DA
Can a DA pursue a civil case?
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Anonymous Coward, 21 Feb 2008 @ 8:14am

Here is the plan:

1) STOP buying from the RIAA and stop pirating their music (because it actually helps them advertise) -- the RIAA will be dry up, blow away, and be forgotten. If you have to have it buy it used off Amazon.com.

2) ONLY support independent musicians like those on sellaband.com or cdbaby.com.
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Anonymous Coward, 21 Feb 2008 @ 8:29am

Nice plan. If people stop pirating the music, there would be no need for the RIAA. That is kind of their point.
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Chronno S. Trigger, 21 Feb 2008 @ 8:40am

Re:
But if we add on not buying their crap then we really speak to them.

We can't download their music because that just give them a scape goat. Stop downloading and stop buying and they will only have one possible reason for the failure: Their tactics are detestable and their business model is outdated and needs to die.

-F**K July, Boycott RIAA/MPAA now.
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Anonymous Coward, 21 Feb 2008 @ 8:50am

The new rolling stop
This sounds like they're coming up with a "rolling stop" for houses.

Nobody comes to a full and complete stop at a stop sign, so when you want to bust someone, but your real reason isn't good enough (e.g. DWB) you stop them for making a rolling stop, then search the vehicle as a moving crime scene.

This is the same principle, but for houses. Let's see, the music coming out of that guy's window does not seem to meet the full recording quality standards that I've come to expect from GenuineRIAA (TM), so I have evidence of a crime in progress, justifying busting down the door, etc.
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Crack head, 21 Feb 2008 @ 9:10am

Would you like some weed with that Weezer
Forrest Gump says, Bubba always loved his Earth Wind and Fire with his marijuana!
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Anonymous Coward, 21 Feb 2008 @ 9:15am

Another desperate attempt by the RIAA to make themselves useful enough that the government will continue to support their interests...
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Ima Bigot, 21 Feb 2008 @ 9:22am

Not to really stereotype
Ok to really stereotype....

I didnt know that RIAA represented the "TREW GANGSTA RAP". Any of my crack dealers tended to "be of color" and mostly listened to underground HipHop
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Anonymous Coward, 21 Feb 2008 @ 9:23am

Re: Re:
I wish mine sold groceries...
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Call DA Police, 21 Feb 2008 @ 9:24am

Damn need the DEA
Marijuana is no longer the main precursor drug to narcotics it is now dloads....

Leads to crack houses

????????
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Ray Letts - BungHole inc, 21 Feb 2008 @ 9:34am

Amerikkkans are the real druggies
I can't believe the amount of illicit drugs Amerikkkans consume.
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reed, 21 Feb 2008 @ 10:00am

Children of Pirates
"But what about the children?"

They get to become the next generation of incarcerated inmates of course. We have a plan and it is called a bed for them in prison when they are ready to join their pirate parents.

This is of course ridiculous. There has never been and will never be a causal link between piracy and other crime. There is probably a correlation between the two, but there is also a correlation between eating ice cream and violent crime so that doesn't mean much.

We already have the statutes in the 70's that effectively turned hearsay statements into factual documents that then could be used to get search warrants. This law, originally intended for the mafia, has made it possible for the war on drugs to be conducted.

The war on drugs of course has only driven up prices and locked up over 2 million Americans when all they need is drug treatment. Nowadays 3 in every 100 children have parents behind bars. This is a staggering social cost that we will be feeling for years to come until major reforms are introduced to reduce this burden.
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Iron Chef, 21 Feb 2008 @ 10:21am

Grammys... Not So Much
So I have to agree. You see, the wife called Friday before the Grammys and she wanted to plan a "Sunday night in to watch The Grammy Awards." Partially distracted by the spreadsheets in my hands, I thought she only said "Sunday night in". So like the infallible person I am, I said the usual "Yeah, hon. Sure." A few moments later after I put down the spreadsheet down did I realize what I had volunteered for, and did a little searching online. I looked and found out it was the Grammys. My search continued to the nominees on Wikipedia and was dismayed.

The day continued until it was 5:00 and I all but forgot about the conversation earlier. On the way home, I stopped by Costco and got a few staples- (Motor Oil, a ratchet set, and other things on the Honeydew list. On the way to the front, I stopped by the televisions and was amazed at this Sony HD Projection, I started daydreaming about it being in the family room, what I would watch, then I wondered how my wife would use it... I then remembered the conversation I had earlier.

Panicked, I started searching for a 'Get out of Jail Free' card. I searched up and down, left and right, then there it was, with a glimmering golden halo around it... ,a href="http://www.costco.com/Browse/Product.aspx?Prodid=10205448&whse=BD_767&Mo=48&Nr=P_C atalogName:BD_767&Sp=C&topnav=bdoff#">Greek Pepperoncinis. I called my neighbor, a gastroenterologist and asked about the pretty yellow pepper's potency. After a short discussion, I was satisfied with my choice and preceded to the checkout line.

On the way home, I started planning my attack, and realized how much pain I would be in if I had to sit through the awards show, and I decided I needed to get started. There was no way I was going to be reeled into any awards ceremony this month. Before starting the car, I opened the jar and started eating them like they were candy. They really are okay! All throughout Saturday, I did the usual things- working on the car, and the jar. In preparation for the "Big Game" I started moving magazines I hadn't read and stuck them in the bathroom.

Sunday came and let's just I needed to go. It was quite possibly the best $4.97 I've ever spent.

I'm going to plan better for February 24th. There's another awards ceremony, but this time with actors. Even with Jon Stewart, I'm looking for volunteers that will need to be emergently driven to the hospital. (Let me know)

PS. Thanks, all you fine saints for maintaining the Wikipedia page and letting me know what I would have endured.

PPS. If for some reason this story gets forwarded thru the distribution list, I know where it started... Kathy.
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Rekrul, 21 Feb 2008 @ 10:50am

So wait, that scrawny asian guy selling bootleg CDs and DVDs at a local flea market is actually a member of the mob? Or a stone-cold murderer just out of prison? Wow, I guess it's a good thing my friend never went back to complain about the crummy bootleg he bought...
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Anonymous Coward, 21 Feb 2008 @ 1:03pm

...
them terrorists must be seriously well off, i mean if all them 'lost sales' go to osama i'm sure he'd have a better hide out than a cave.

and he wouldn't have knocked the WTC over, he'd have bought it.

as for cracking down on drug dealers.. where will all the 'poor artists' get their next fix from?
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