Certainly. Anytime we cave in to "threats" by implementing evermore draconian laws on our own otherwise law-abiding citizens, the terrorists have successfully instilled terror in the citizenry (of which of course government officials will take advantage).
Furthermore, as someone born to Indian parents, I also fear for this new rule because of the recent spate of violence against people of Indian descent in Australia that has often been willfully ignored by the officials; as a lot of Indian people probably look like "terrorists", this sort of harassment (often violent) will now effectively be officially condoned. Truly sickening.
For that matter, even if the movie really did suck, Warner Brothers would still be demanding protection from the government and somehow throttling customers by their necks for money because of course `filmmakers have a divine right to make money from their movies`.
Do companies not get that unless your name is RyanAir/you thrive on controversial statements, you're not going to win over any new customers by calling them crap?
Is it really any surprise that they would do this? Also, isn't it a neat (or not) coincidence that the RIAA does the exact same thing - talk a lot about how they are being threatened at every turn yet occasionally admit that they are doing better than ever?
I remember rereading a few years ago Roald Dahl's publication of the story about Gordon Butcher and the Mildenhall Treasure. Basically, a man named Gordon Butcher accidentally stumbled upon ancient Roman silverware when plowing another man's field for-hire. Due to English law at that time, despite the fact that the silverware was found on private property, it (all gold and silver items) had to go to the Crown's museum. This is certainly pathetic, but it isn't the first such occurrence of a British national entity claiming ownership over things that clearly aren't theirs.
Please understand, the following statement is not meant at all to call Boy Scouts neo-Nazis. I remember my English teacher in high school telling us about these two daughters of a neo-Nazi couple who were indoctrinated into that awful crap and even made to perform songs in public extolling the virtues of the movement. Since then, they have realized that what they did then was horrible and they are trying to distance themselves from their past and their family in public. The relation here is that I feel like as the MPAA and RIAA are presenting these "facts" as moral issues as well (thus catering to the Boy Scouts), these Boy Scouts don't really know any better (at least the younger ones) and are just mindlessly mouthing what's being fed to them. I hope that in a few years, their eyes are opened to the reality of online content distribution and how musicians are actually making more money than ever thanks to these alternative business models.
Give the blogger credit too; he's perfectly willing to let the politician use the photo so long as the politician is honest about the source and is more honest about his position on copyright in the future. Wait, did I really wish for a politician to be honest? Can I have my unicorn now?
Wasn't that actually the original purpose of copyright laws in England? To legally justify government censorship of certain authors and publishers? Here, of course, the Framers wanted to make sure that copyright was used (if at all) only to the extent of "promoting the progress", so it looks like the MPAA wants to get back to the "good old days" i.e. the status quo in England.
In my mind, this won't work out quite the way many people here might predict, because changing the price from $0 to $0.01 automatically turns away a lot of potential buyers. If the minimum price is zero, people can try it out risk-free and then decide to pay for it, but if the minimum price is $0.01, there's already a (maybe it's just psychological) barrier to entry. Do keep this in mind.
Here's a something to show Mr. Escalante: this video will show him for sure that other people do in fact play music just for the sheer pleasure of it, and not just for money. It's an interesting video for readers of this site to see as well.
On the post: 81% Of Americans Support Naked Airport Scans... If You Leave Out The Naked Part In Asking The Question
Kilts
On the post: Australia Says No Warrants Necessary If Law Enforcement Thinks You're A Terrorist
Re: The Terrorists Win
Furthermore, as someone born to Indian parents, I also fear for this new rule because of the recent spate of violence against people of Indian descent in Australia that has often been willfully ignored by the officials; as a lot of Indian people probably look like "terrorists", this sort of harassment (often violent) will now effectively be officially condoned. Truly sickening.
On the post: How Warner Bros. Should Have Responded To Harry Potter Leak
On the post: Surprise: Justice Department Says Isolated Genes Should Not Be Patentable
Re: "...which makes perfect sense..."
On the post: Reminder: Despite What You May Have Heard, Happy Birthday Should Be In The Public Domain
Re: Re:
May WMG sue you!
Please do become poor, and
May WMG sue you!
How poor are you now?
How poor are you now?
Have we sued you enough?
How poor are you now?
Are you [all of the following in millions of dollars in debt] 1, are you 2, are you 3, ... [ad infinitum]?
On the post: New Cable Talking Point Against Cord Cutters: They May Be Cutting, But They're Poor Nobodies
Do they not get it?
On the post: For All The Cyberwar Talk, Turns Out There Have Been Fewer Attacks On The Pentagon's Network
Doublespeak/RIAA = Coincidence?
On the post: English Heritage Organization Claiming It Holds Effective Copyright On Any And All Photos Of Stonehenge
It isn't the first time
On the post: Boy Scout Magazine Says Don't Listen To Legally Burned CDs, As They're Too Similar To Piracy
On the post: French Culture Minister Caught 'Pirating' Photo Off Of Website
The Blogger's Kindness
On the post: MPAA Wants To Know If ACTA Can Be Used To Block Wikileaks?
On Censorship
On the post: Freakonomics Does 'Pay What You Want' Screening
$0.01 or Free?
On the post: Vandals' Bass Player Not A Fan Of The Public Domain, Thinks PD Recordings Will 'Destroy' Classical Music
Re: I stopped right here
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