Boo-Freaking-Hoo: RIAA Complains That 'The Deck Is Stacked' Against Them On CES Panels

from the like-the-kkk-complaining-about-discrimination-against-it dept

Thu, Jan 12th 2012 9:46am — Mike Masnick

Okay, this is just ridiculous. A few folks have sent over the latest edition of Politico's Morningtech report, in which RIAA representatives at CES bitch and moan that the "deck is stacked" against them in the conversation here:

There are far more SOPA/PIPA opponents than supporters on hand here, as one might expect. The RIAA, however, is also on scene this week at the show -- and a spokeswoman expressed concern about the conversation so far. "It sure seems like the deck is stacked to ensure no meaningful or balanced debate occurs on an issue that is very important to American jobs and our economy,” the spox said.

Are these guys serious? First of all, the attendees at the show are overwhelmingly against the bills from everything we've seen. Seeing Ron Wyden and Darrell Issa get standing ovations for opposing the bills should say something. And it's not that "the decks are stacked" against them through some nefarious means, but that the majority of people are against them because they don't like these bills. More SOPA supporters -- including RIAA/MPAA/US Chamber of Commerce folks (all of whom are here) -- could have come, but it appears not many did. And that's because not too many seem to support these bills.

But, more to the point, who the hell does the RIAA think it's kidding? "The deck is stacked"? At a trade show? How about back in Washington DC where this bill was written? In that case, the MPAA/RIAA folks were very, very active in the very creation of the bills in question. The tech sector? NOT ALLOWED at the table. The Judiciary Committee hearings? Stacked five-to-one in favor of the bill, and the "one" against the bill was Google -- who is Congress' punching bag, and was put there so that Congressional reps could grandstand against the company and pretend that only "evil Google" is against the bill. Plenty of us involved in the actual innovation economy -- the startup entrepreneurs and venture capitalists who create all this innovation offered to step up and meet about these bills -- and we were denied.

The deck is stacked? Hell yes, it's stacked. It's stacked almost 100% in favor of rushing through a bad bill that fundamentally alters both the legal and technical underpinnings of the internet, making the innovations we all want and need -- including the innovations that are already helping musicians and filmmakers and other artists -- much, much more difficult to get off the ground.

The deck is stacked? When Hollywood outspends all of those opposed on this issue with their lobbying dollars 10-to-1, and Congress simply ignores the widespread outrage and legitimate concerns of those opposed to the bill, you'd better freaking believe that the "deck is stacked." It's stacked in the other direction entirely.

So, boo-freaking-hoo to the ridiculous folks at the RIAA. So damn sorry that once you leave your DC bubble and come out to the real world where innovation actually takes place you find reality is against you. But if you want to talk about how "the deck is stacked," let's take a look back into the DC echo chamber where these bills have been crafted and are being pushed through. Yes, the deck is stacked -- and it's stacked completely against innovation and openness. So forgive us for not shedding a tear at the fact that your poor, overly-sensitive lobbyists have to hear some of the real world concerns about this bill.

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Filed Under: ces, pipa, politics, protect ip, sopa, stacked deck
Companies: riaa

88 Comments

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Tom Landry (profile), 12 Jan 2012 @ 9:52am

Mike has finally gone apoplectic.

About time. Let loose with some 4-letter words Mike. They deserve it.
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Robert (profile), 12 Jan 2012 @ 9:53am

stacked deck?
You mean just like the Net Neutrality Town Halls? Or the SOPA/PIPA Town Halls?

Sucks when someone does it back to you eh?
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Jay (profile), 12 Jan 2012 @ 9:53am

I would love to see any of them pull the same crap on the open floor of debate. I do so hope someone has a video of this debate and puts it on the internet. Then let's REALLY get creative with their recorded arguments!
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Anonymous Coward, 12 Jan 2012 @ 9:59am

It sounds like Mike finally snapped...
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Loki, 12 Jan 2012 @ 9:59am

Well, I can't really say I blame them. When you live in your own little fantasy castle where you get to handpick ingratiating toads who grovel at your feet, and then suddenly have to enter the real world and face the cold hard trust that everyone thinks you suck, it can be quite a shock.

The more I hear the RIAA talk, the more I wonder why in the bloody blue blazes I ever supported them/their position.
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Hephaestus (profile), 12 Jan 2012 @ 10:00am

Anyone have a picture of this woman? I want to do a wanted poster for Google+
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John Doe, 12 Jan 2012 @ 10:02am

Love this quote
It sure seems like the deck is stacked to ensure no meaningful or balanced debate occurs on an issue that is very important to American jobs and our economy

Love how they keep trotting out that somehow the entire US economy, or even a large percentage of it, is based on IP. Thus implying piracy and counterfeiting will single handedly doom the economy. Politicians sink economies, not piracy.
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deadzone (profile), 12 Jan 2012 @ 10:05am

The sheer irony of the RIAA statement caused me to blackout for a minute. Who do they think they are kidding?! The deck is stacked against them?! Wow. That takes balls to say given their history.
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Rich Fiscus (profile), 12 Jan 2012 @ 10:07am

Reality is known for it's frequent anti-RIAA bias.
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crade (profile), 12 Jan 2012 @ 10:07am

Does the RIAA actually have any workers left or just politicians?
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MPHinPgh (profile), 12 Jan 2012 @ 10:08am

In the tech world, such a situation is commonly called eating your own dog food. Eat up, assholes. There's more where that came from.
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btr1701 (profile), 12 Jan 2012 @ 10:10am

RIAA
So they've stacked every other forum and legislative committee hearing to date with their point of view, gleefully shutting out both the media and the public from participating, and the first time a major event occurs where they can't control who can say what, they start whining.

Apparently for them "meaningful or balanced debate" can only occur when they have complete control of what is said.

The sooner these asshats shrivel up and die, the better.
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Rich Kulawiec, 12 Jan 2012 @ 10:15am

Keep in mind what spokespeople are paid for
They're paid to lie.

Moreover, they're paid to lie repeatedly, convincingly, plausibly, vehemently.

Look, if it was just a matter of telling the truth, then CEOs and other people in similar positions could do that; they could just step up to the podium and speak for themselves. It's simple. It's easy. But it takes trained, practiced, savvy professionals -- spokesliars -- to craft and deliver the kind of quality untruths that we see from people like the one in this instance. I'm sure some of them even manage to convince themselves that they're telling the truth.

Never believe anything they say. It might be the truth -- after all, professional liars know that using the truth, when it suits their purposes, is an excellent strategy -- but that's sure not the way to bet.
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Chosen Reject (profile), 12 Jan 2012 @ 10:19am

Speaking of which...
Since we're on the topic of the deck being stacked, I'd also like to point out that the deck is stacked against me as well. I mean, North Korea wouldn't even consider my proposal that I be crowned the next Dear Leader.
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:Lobo Santo (profile), 12 Jan 2012 @ 10:19am

MAFIAA Rep:
"I only play games of chance with loaded dice or marked cards. No point risking losing..."
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Anonymous Coward, 12 Jan 2012 @ 10:24am

Re:
yeah, even the most level headed can only take so much whining before they pop.
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bshock, 12 Jan 2012 @ 10:25am

nothing bothers a cheat more than a level playing field
Reality isn't fair and balanced, and anything that claims to be so isn't real. Why should an issue be reduced to a 50/50 discussion if the odds are more like 20/80 against?
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Anonymous Coward, 12 Jan 2012 @ 10:28am

When the RIAA outnumbers their opponents in terms of supporters vs opponents speaking it's a reflection of grass roots support for the RIAA.

When the RIAA is outnumbered it's class warfare, it's pirates ganging up on the poor RIAA and the little guys they represent!
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crade (profile), 12 Jan 2012 @ 10:29am

The deck is about as stacked against them as it was against Mubarak or the titantic
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Capitalist Lion Tamer (profile), 12 Jan 2012 @ 10:30am

The RIAA is now realizing the sad fact that it has to pay people to like it.
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Ninja (profile), 12 Jan 2012 @ 10:32am

Aaawwwww... We hurt their feelings. This will certainly get more ppl to support SOPA/PIPA. Not.

Dear MAFIAA, reality hurts. Reality shows there is not enough money to support your lost sales delusions. No really, You can't claim you lost trillions when the world economy doesn't have that much money, stock markets virtual value included. If you want to trick some1 into believing your "OMG PIRACY!" whining at least try to make your numbers look real.
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Vincent Lowe, 12 Jan 2012 @ 10:36am

Who's Sorry Now?
We only complain about the deck being stacked when it is against us.

Who cried when major record labels routinely insisted on predatory contracts with their talent, and business conditions that favored their interests over those of consumers?

Who cried when movie distributors insisted on contracts with the exhibition industry that force artificial conditions which keep theater seats empty?

Oh, did I mention license and permit requirements that force small local businesses to reject or remove live music from their establishments to protect IP rights that have no benefit to the artists who (theoretically) hold them?

No babies, dry your eyes. This is called "consequence." We still love you and hope you grow up into responsible citizens. But you can't keep doing this.
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Anonymous Coward, 12 Jan 2012 @ 10:44am

Re: RIAA
Sounds like a President I know.
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Joe Publius (profile), 12 Jan 2012 @ 10:44am

Re:
Obviously the iceberg was an astroturf front for the deep-sea exploration industry.
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Chronno S. Trigger (profile), 12 Jan 2012 @ 10:46am

Re: MAFIAA Rep:
"What? There's a chance I could lose? That wasn't part of the deal."

-Bender
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Anonymous Coward, 12 Jan 2012 @ 10:50am

Pirate Mike, freetards, yadda, yadda, yadda, jobs, the economy, stealing . . .
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xenomancer (profile), 12 Jan 2012 @ 10:59am

Re:
Did you mean Sandra Aistars, Tony Romm, David Saleh Rauf, Eliza Krigman, or Jen Martinez?
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TEA-Time, 12 Jan 2012 @ 11:00am

Go Mike, go!!!

Unfortunately, the childish RIAA is still going (with hands over ears and eyes closed) "Lalala, I'm not listening!!"
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xenomancer (profile), 12 Jan 2012 @ 11:01am

Re:
You forget their cancerous legal department. Though I suppose they may as well have automated away most of the paper pushing involved and hired a single, very irate, law student.
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nasch (profile), 12 Jan 2012 @ 11:04am

Re: Who's Sorry Now?
We still love you

Speak for yourself.
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Eric Goldman (profile), 12 Jan 2012 @ 11:04am

Rule #106 of PR: people really hate hypocrisy. It's the same reason we laugh when Righthaven whines about unfair litigation tactics
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Overcast (profile), 12 Jan 2012 @ 11:13am

The RIAA has 'stacked the deck' against consumers and artists for years. This is only poetic justice.

Screw you RIAA - I boycotted buying CD's for 5 years over the Napster crap - but I've been buying them for a while now - if SOPA goes through, I'll quit buying them again - this time, maybe for 10 years.

No skin off my back; with Pandora/Radio + the CD's I have now, I really don't need to buy anymore ever. There is little good music coming out anymore anyway.
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Someantimalwareguy (profile), 12 Jan 2012 @ 11:15am

Re: Keep in mind what spokespeople are paid for
...Never believe anything they say. It might be the truth -- after all, professional liars know that using the truth, when it suits their purposes, is an excellent strategy -- but that's sure not the way to bet.
Spin 101: Ensure that whatever you say has a kernel of truth in such a way as to give credence to the entire narrative. If you can twist the actual facts, all the better for the success of your disinformation campaign...
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jupiterkansas (profile), 12 Jan 2012 @ 11:16am

Re: Re:
Actually James Cameron sent a Terminator back in time to sink it so he could make the movie.
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Violated (profile), 12 Jan 2012 @ 11:40am

Flame On
It is not often you can read a flame rant outside of the comments section. I can only imagine someone got in touch concerning his critical review of the knowledge of Sandra Aistars.

I guess the dinner date is now off.
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Anonymous Coward, 12 Jan 2012 @ 11:51am

Re: Re: RIAA
"Sounds like a President I know."

Bush, Bush, or Reagan?
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Machin Shin (profile), 12 Jan 2012 @ 11:53am

Re: Re: Re:
Now someone totally needs to make a movie of that. It would be a lot better than the Titanic movie that's for sure.
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Anonymous Coward, 12 Jan 2012 @ 11:54am

Re: RIAA
Bingo. Just like their desire to control the distribution of the media. As Mike said -- boo-freaking-hoo.
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Anonymous Coward, 12 Jan 2012 @ 11:54am

Re:
Clearly, we must pass new laws to change reality. I've heard about a certain "Law of Gravity" that's been keeping people down. Let's start by rewriting that one.
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Pickle Monger (profile), 12 Jan 2012 @ 11:56am

Long time coming
Great rant! Was Mike channeling Lewis Black on this one? :)
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AuntiFUD (profile), 12 Jan 2012 @ 11:57am

Boycott CES
This just goes to show that nothing good has come out of CES since Pong. The same Consumers Electronic Association who opposed the DMCA and recycling. Yet, supported Grokster, Napster and using camcorders in theatres. Surprise! Not!
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Anonymous Coward, 12 Jan 2012 @ 12:10pm

Sounds exactly like you boo hooing during the congressional hearings.
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Hephaestus (profile), 12 Jan 2012 @ 12:16pm

Re: Re:
The speed of light is not just a good idea, its the law.
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John Doe, 12 Jan 2012 @ 12:34pm

Re: Re: Re: RIAA
Nice try, but no. It would be the current president during the healthcare bill. The Repubs were shut out and we were told we would have to pass it to find out what is in it. Is that how you want your government spending $1 trillion of the taxpayer dollars? No debate, no public scrutiny and no involvement from the other party?

No? Me either. But our current president seems to think that non-partisan politics is when the Republicans do what he wants.
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kirillian (profile), 12 Jan 2012 @ 12:36pm

Re:
3/10 for trolling. Points awarded for content...including some of the important trolling parts - ad hominem attacks, "freetards", and calling mike a pirate. 2 Points awarded for style - not actually addressing anything remotely related to the subject at hand.

Troll Grade? FAIL.

Your boss needs to hire a new shill.
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Rachel @ Last Res0rt, 12 Jan 2012 @ 12:38pm

Actually...
Dogfood is a term for in-development software unfit for public distribution -- the idea of "eating your own dogfood" implying that you wouldn't unleash something to the public without testing it yourself.

In contrast, this is "shitting in the litterbox and then wondering why it stinks".
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Greevar (profile), 12 Jan 2012 @ 12:54pm

Re: Re:
You'll have to find the Higgs-Boson first and get a patent so you can lord it ever everyone that uses gravity.
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Greevar (profile), 12 Jan 2012 @ 12:56pm

Re: Re: Re: Re: RIAA
And yet the healthcare bill seems to have come out very HMO friendly... Go figure.
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Justin Olbrantz (Quantam), 12 Jan 2012 @ 1:00pm

Re:
Nice try. 1 out of 6 in favor of SOPA would be 17% for, 83% against. That's pretty close to representative of CES members. If you're looking for bias, you're gonna have to keep looking.

The congressional hearings, on the other hand had 83% of the speakers in the congressional hearings - SOPA supporters - from the low double digits of the economy (which SOPA is supposed to protect), and only a couple percent of the country (which congress is supposed to represent). In other words, the very definition of stacking the deck.

Troll harder, please.
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Anonymous Coward, 12 Jan 2012 @ 1:01pm

Re: Re:
Level headed? Have you read his posts today? Its all name calling and finger pointing. I think something is wrong in Massnickland today.
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Mike42 (profile), 12 Jan 2012 @ 1:01pm

Re: Love this quote
Politicians and corporations together. Any time we allow power to be exercised in private, something nasty will eventually come out.
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Anonymous Coward, 12 Jan 2012 @ 1:09pm

...overwhelmingly...

I daresay that the vast majority of companies exhibiting at CES could care less about the pending bills since the tech industry is a bit more diverse than comments here typically suggest.
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Justin Olbrantz (Quantam), 12 Jan 2012 @ 1:12pm

Re: Re: Re:
Question: are you absolutely incapable of even the most basic reading comprehension, or do you intentionally post idiocy as bait to distract from actual discussion?

Or I suppose there's option C: the above post is satire but too plausible to readily recognize as such.
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stompsfrogs (profile), 12 Jan 2012 @ 1:26pm

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: RIAA
Rule 14
>:|
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Anonymous Coward, 12 Jan 2012 @ 1:36pm

Re: Re: Re: Re: RIAA
Like the Republicans holding finance bills hostage and attaching unrelated matters like pipelines and refusing to vote until it could go thru unchanged?

Our current Speaker of the House seems to think that non-partisan politics is when the President does what he wants.

Glad we got that cleared up, boy!
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PrometheeFeu (profile), 12 Jan 2012 @ 1:57pm

Re:
It's because of people like you that the RIAA feels bad. You know... People! The kind of people who have brains and use oxygen. The RIAA spends time, money and effort violating your civil rights and if you don't show a little gratitude, that hurts their feelings! So stop being such a human being and encourage the violation of your rights for heaven's sake!
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Anonymous Coward, 12 Jan 2012 @ 2:07pm

They know they are unpopular and now they just can see how unpopular they are.

The deck is of course stacked against them how could it be any other way?

The thing to remember is that, this happens naturally, not by locking them out, they just don't have the resources to silence the opposition anymore.
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Jeffrey Nonken (profile), 12 Jan 2012 @ 2:14pm

C'mon, Mike. Stop holding back.

Tell how you really feel.

:)
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DH's Love Child (profile), 12 Jan 2012 @ 2:20pm

Re:
Ahem.. I believe the correct response to this would be:

CITATION NEEDED
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techflaws.org (profile), 12 Jan 2012 @ 3:05pm

Re:
The one he wasn't admitted to? Yeah, that makes sense.
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btr1701 (profile), 12 Jan 2012 @ 3:10pm

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: RIAA
> Like the Republicans holding finance bills
> hostage and attaching unrelated matters like
> pipelines and refusing to vote until it could
> go thru unchanged?

And don't forget Obama making recess appointments when the Senate isn't actually in recess-- a bright-line violation of the Constitution if there ever was one.

Seems like we've conclusively proved here that political shananigans aren't the sole province of either party and that the whole lot of them are pretty much corrupt to the core.
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Anonymous Coward, 12 Jan 2012 @ 3:40pm

Re: Re:
Go to website for CES 2012 and peruse the list of exhibitors.

BTW, I am not the one who made the original claim of overwhelming opposition to the bills. That claim was made in the above article.
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ah yes, 12 Jan 2012 @ 4:07pm

the RIAA.

so full of #### there eyes are brown
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The Groove Tiger (profile), 12 Jan 2012 @ 4:13pm

Re: Re:
I wonder if the RIAA has a case against Tom for cyber-bullying... you made RIAA cry, asshole!
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Digitari, 12 Jan 2012 @ 4:31pm

Re: Re: Re:
well, if that is the case, a human life on the Titanic is worth $269528.86* ** and counting (to Cameron)

*Using worldwide numbers and total of people on the ship, **wouldn't the families of the survivors own the IP?
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John Doe, 12 Jan 2012 @ 4:33pm

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: RIAA
Like the Republicans holding finance bills hostage and attaching unrelated matters like pipelines and refusing to vote until it could go thru unchanged?

Unfortunately, this is exactly how two party politics works and has nothing to do with my previous point. Bipartisanship requires compromise, not and end run around the other party when you have a super majority.
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TN, 12 Jan 2012 @ 4:47pm

Mike, I love these posts, when you're a bit angry; they're fun to read! :))
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Digitari, 12 Jan 2012 @ 4:49pm

Re: Boycott CES
[citation please]

Not saying you are wrong but....

"extraordinary claims need extraordinary evidence"

So...

[citation please]

pics, or it didn't happen
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Anonymous Coward, 12 Jan 2012 @ 5:09pm

Copy protection lengths last 95+ years and keep getting retroactively extended with no compensation from the public whom these people steal from. Yet infringement penalties are huge and penalties for filing bogus infringement claims are relatively small to non-existent by comparison. Yes, the deck is stacked against the public.
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Anonymous Coward, 12 Jan 2012 @ 5:10pm

no compensation to the public *
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That Anonymous Coward (profile), 12 Jan 2012 @ 8:05pm

But but but every other conference I get to attend everyone waits with baited breath for the next stream of lies to pour out of my mouth, why can't it be like that here?!
What do you mean we don't own them yet?
Get me ICE on the phone NOW, we will fix this oversight immediately!

At some point they are so delusional it would just be best to confine them somewhere for everyones sakes.
Can we just call Washington back into session and wall the damn thing off?
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Mike Masnick (profile), 12 Jan 2012 @ 11:43pm

Re:
I daresay that the vast majority of companies exhibiting at CES could care less about the pending bills since the tech industry is a bit more diverse than comments here typically suggest.

Are you here? I am. And I've been talking to lots of companies. I stand by overwhelmingly.

And you're wrong. They absolutely care about this issue. It's funny to watch you supporters of the bill continue to underestimate the movement against such a bill.
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Anonymous Coward, 13 Jan 2012 @ 12:34am

Re:
Why on earth are you buying CDs?
Honestly, who is still doing that?
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PaulT (profile), 13 Jan 2012 @ 2:24am

Re:
Citation, or is that just another opinion you pull from your ass and pretend it's the truth?
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Karl (profile), 13 Jan 2012 @ 4:20am

Citizen RIAA
Does anyone else here think the RIAA is acting like Charles Foster Kane?

"People will think... what I tell them to think."

If so, we're coming up on the two-hour mark:

"Whaddaya been doin' all this time?"

"Playing with a jigsaw puzzle."

"If you could've found out what 'CD' meant, I bet that would've explained everything."

"No, I don't think so; no. Mr. RIAA was a man who got everything they wanted and then lost it. Maybe 'CD' was something he couldn't get, or something he lost. Anyway, it wouldn't have explained anything... I don't think any word can explain a man's life. No, I guess 'CD' is just a... piece in a jigsaw puzzle... a missing piece."
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nasch (profile), 13 Jan 2012 @ 6:28am

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: RIAA
And don't forget Obama making recess appointments when the Senate isn't actually in recess-- a bright-line violation of the Constitution if there ever was one.

And of course the Congress staying in session solely so they'll be in session to block the appointment, and not to conduct any business. It's all just very yucky. That's a political science term.
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nasch (profile), 13 Jan 2012 @ 7:25am

Re: Re:
Why on earth are you buying CDs?
Honestly, who is still doing that?

Well I don't know about Overcast, it sounds like he's buying them for his own use. But I'm not sure there's a good way to give music as a gift yet other than as a CD. If there is, somebody point me to it.
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DannyB (profile), 13 Jan 2012 @ 7:35am

Re: nothing bothers a cheat more than a level playing field
You're right. Reality isn't fair and balanced. Here is a great quote I read from a sig somewhere.

Some people say the sun rises in the East. Others say it rises in the West. The truth lies probably somewhere in between.
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Rich Fiscus (profile), 13 Jan 2012 @ 9:09am

Re: Re: Re:
You don't need to find it. Just describe it the most general terms possible and the patent is yours.
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Anonymous Coward, 13 Jan 2012 @ 11:34am

Re: Re:
My original response was submitted, noted as having been accepted, and then never showed up.

Merely FYI, CES 2012 has 3338 exhibitors. For the overwhelming number of them to be against the legislation you would have had to talk with a whole bunch of people.

I wonder what the rep from Lowe's said.

As for being a supporter of the bills, please take note that I have never expressed either a pro or con opinion. All I have done is comment whenever some portion of the bill was said to call for "X" when in my opinion the terms of the bill call for "Y". This is not the same as being a supporter, but only pointing out interpretive inconsistencies.
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gary (profile), 13 Jan 2012 @ 11:55am

Re:
If you like free speech, then you hate these pending bills!
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nasch (profile), 13 Jan 2012 @ 2:31pm

Re: Re: Re:
Merely FYI, CES 2012 has 3338 exhibitors. For the overwhelming number of them to be against the legislation you would have had to talk with a whole bunch of people.

If the sample were random, it wouldn't really take that many people to get a statistically meaningful result. I think national surveys only talk to a few thousand people and get a margin of error of something like 4-5%. Of course Mike's sample is not going to be random, so it's not clear how conclusive the results would be, but perhaps better than you might think.
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PrometheeFeu (profile), 13 Jan 2012 @ 4:30pm

Re: Re: Re:
I sure hope so!
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PaulT (profile), 14 Jan 2012 @ 4:34am

Re: Re: Re:
"All I have done is comment whenever some portion of the bill was said to call for "X" when in my opinion the terms of the bill call for "Y""

No, all you've done (assuming you're the usual AC) is berate people for having a different interpretation of the bill, never admitting that your statements are simply your opinion, let alone being open to discussing it with others.

I suppose it's a start that you've admitted that it's opinion and not some unchangeable truth, I suppose. Maybe you'll be more civil and actually tell Mike why your opinion differs rather than attacking him?
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Antone Johnson (profile), 16 Jan 2012 @ 7:19pm

Stack THIS, madam spokeswoman
...the deck is stacked to ensure no meaningful or balanced debate occurs on an issue that is very important to American jobs and our economy."

What about the 30,000+ "American jobs" created by the hated Google alone, and $200 billion market value created and poured into "our economy" by Google alone, in just the past decade or so?

These guys deserve all the profanity that Mike was classy enough not to sprinkle liberally throughout the article. Having read about the outrageously stacked legislative process that the bill has been through so far, reading this had me bursting a few blood vessels as well. Mike, hats off to you for calling it as you see it.
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Anonymous Coward, 16 Jan 2012 @ 7:25pm

Re: Re: RIAA
Spoken like a true Anonymous Coward! Way to hijack the thread and be a spineless weasel at the same time. You win!
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Anonymous Coward, 19 Jan 2012 @ 3:15pm

Re: Re: Re: Re: RIAA
This is factually incorrect and fucking moronic.

Good Day Sir.
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Patio Brisbane, 30 Apr 2012 @ 3:59am

Patio Brisbane
Can you tell me reason of stacking the deck? I think information will be helpful for everyone.
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