The MPAA and EFF Cross Sabers

wigwamus writes "Motion Picture Association President Dan Glickman and Electronic Freedom Foundation co-founder Johh Perry Barlow lock horns, then knock lumps off each other over the movie business' attitude to the Internet. From the article: 'These are aging industries run by aging men, and they're up against 17-year-olds who have turned themselves into electronic Hezbollah because they resent the content industry for its proprietary practices.'"

that's right, we're escalating

[Surt]

No longer will copiers of electronic media be referred to as 'pirates'. They are now to be escalated to terrorists. That way, the MPAA & RIAA can get federal anti terrorism money to help in their fight against these evil people.

Hezbollah?

[remembertomorrow]

I'm pretty sure that comparing teenagers to Lebanese 'terrorists' (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hezbollah [wikipedia.org]) isn't going to help win the hearts of the unwashed masses.

/tongue in cheek

Video of the coming war

[Caste11an]

I suspect it'll look (and sound!) something like this [youtube.com].

on the contrary

[Anonymous Coward]

It is ridiculous to believe that you can give product away for free and be more successful. I mean it defies the laws of nature. Would a clothing store give all their clothes for free? Would a car dealership give all its cars for free? Of course not. If they don't make a profit in this world they're out of business. That's just the laws of human nature.

I think Glickman makes a really good point here. I'll roll with the obligatory car analogy since everyones already familiar with the laws of 'human nature' as applied to cars. Suppose you left your Subaru parked outside your house on a public street.. Now suppose i had a replicator machine which could replicate any solid object and I came along in the night and replicated your Subaru and then got into the new Subaru and drove off into the night. The next day you might get into your car, and start driving along. But all the bonds between the atoms would have worked loose as a result of the replication, and also Heisenbergs Uncertainty Principle. Your car would just evaporate into a pile of chrome dust on the highway. You would be screwed.

I know this analogy doesn't apply to digital media, but it might.

Re:sooner or later the industry will give in...

[GoatMonkey2112]

Eventually people who are not computer geeks posting on /. will realize that DRM is a pain in the ass. It could even be the downfall of Blue ray and HD-DVD. Eventually there will be a music/media player that is cooler than the iPod and people will realize why DRM sucks. All of the time spent in courts will eventually be a waste on both sides of the issue. Just wait and things will work themselves out naturally.

My new band name!

[mpathetiq]

Electronic Hezbollah is my new band name. TM and (c) and all that.

Sabers

[Billosaur]

Glickman: You are powerful, as the Emperor expected. But you are not a Jedi yet.

Barlow: You'll find I'm full of surprises!

Clash of lightsabers, sparks

Glickman: You don't know the power of the DRM Side! Join me!

Barlow: Never! I'll never join you!

Glickman: It is pointless to resist!

Re:deaf ears

[Billosaur]

"Look, this works. I have proof."
"I refuse to believe it can work."

Or put another way... "I'll see it when I believe it."

If they can't listen to reason, we'll have to wait for them to die, it seems.

Who said anything about waiting? Perhaps we can facilitate their demise, as it were. [NOTE to NSA -- that's a joke, son!]

Respect your elders...

[Joebert]

... soon enough, you'll be able to stick them in nursing homes & tell them they're not allowed to borrow the movies that the lady in the next room has.

Re:Yep

[Anonymous Coward]

Evil Will Always Triumph, because Good is Dumb - Lord Helmet

-- Spaceballs

Re:Aw geez.

[mcmonkey]

Barlow views it as a flattering bit of analogy and it never occurred to him that anyone else wouldn't.

Then perhaps it is time for him to stop speaking publicly.

It's as flattering an analogy as saying a DVD is like a child, and someone who wants to play that DVD on a computer running linux is like a pedophile who wants to have sex with that child.

In Mexico, we have a word for obsolete groups.

[Spy der Mann]

In Mexico, we have a word for obsolete groups ruled by grumpy old men.

"Dinosaurs".

Allow me to explain.

It's part of common culture, the oldest political party (PRI) is run by 60-year-old (or older) men who belong to established groups (freemasons) and unions (CTM) ruled by them, with union leaders imposed by the government in turn. Political cartoons in mexico often use this image to depict the PRI, which had been in power for more than 70 years, and their government model is more than obsolete. It's *extint*. Hence the name, "dinosaurs". Here's a pair [nyud.net] of cartoons [nyud.net] drawn in 2000, before the elections where the opposing party (PAN) won for the first time in history. Note that in the first cartoon the dinosaur represents the party, and in the second, the worker union which gives its support to the party, threatening the voters.

Knowing this, the term "dinosaur" is more than adequate to describe the RIAA and MPAA.

Re:on the contrary

[Anonymous Coward]

well I can tell you've obviously never used a vehicle replication device.

   

Re:Yep

[ThatsNotFunny]

and the opposite goes for teeth, I guess.

Re:Great analogy

[one-eye-johnson]

"But if you go carrying pictures of chairman Mao You ain't going to make it with anyone anyhow"

Ahem-- I doubt you paid the royalties to use those copyrighted lyrics. You terrorist.

Re:Sabers

[Umbral Blot]

Glickman: Obi Wan never told you what happened to your father.
Barlow: He told me enough, he told me you killed him.
Glickman: I am your father! Search your feelings, you know it to be true.
Barlow: Nooooooooo! That doesn't even make sense in the context of this analogy.

Re:that's right, we're escalating

[suv4x4]

No longer will copiers of electronic media be referred to as 'pirates'. They are now to be escalated to terrorists. That way, the MPAA & RIAA can get federal anti terrorism money to help in their fight against these evil people.

George W. Bush held a speech regarding the progress of negotiations with little Suzy, a 12-year old girl which continues it's malicious practise of enriching her hard drive with music downloaded from P2P.

George W. Bush said "we really want to do this by peaceful means, but I'm afraid that we don't have a positive development soon, I might have to drop nucular shtuff over her house."

Skip the article, here's the real summary

[autophile]

EFF: You old bastards!
MPAA: You young whippersnappers!
EFF: STFU!
MPAA: No, you STFU!
EFF: No, you STFU!
MPAA: No, you STFU!
EFF: Last word! Psyyyyyyche!

--Rob

And, in other news.

[expro]

Disney has announced the renaming of its well-known theme park ride: Terrorists of the Carribean.