As most of you know, I certainly am emphatic that the RIAA must go, disappear, before
real progress can occur. I recently had a discussion with the moving force behind Tinfoil.net and he believes that there is value in trying to talk to the RIAA. Although I disagree at this point that anything will come of it, I am posting a message from the webmaster of Tinfoil.Net in which he calls for a unified effort from the major sites and groups involved in trying to bring a change to the current state of affairs. It was originally in Microsoft Word format, but for cross platform reliability, I am uploading it as a web page. The article he wrote is here.

One of the big 5 of the RIAA, Time Warner, has financial and legal problems.
Read more at http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/story/0,3604,1068880,00.html

SAMANTHA LADD of  www.HowtoCopyDVDs.com
lost in Court to media giants 20th Century Fox and others. The court issued
an order that serves as a "permanent injunction" against Ms. Ladd providing
any information or software to anyone, on how to make backup copies of
your own, legally purchased, DVD movies. Read more.
http://www.yourdvdrights.com/laddstoryhome.htm

SIGN THE PETITION TO OPPOSE GLOBAL TYRANNY
CLICK HERE
(Big thank you to those already signing the petition!)
RIAA wins online royalty battle
Bill Bergstrom
OCTOBER 21, 2003
Vimax-Irlanda

SENATOR NORM COLEMAN TALKS TO THE POST ABOUT FILE SHARING DEBATE
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A5486-2003Oct9.html

CodeWarrior is named as Information Director at boycott-riaa.
Great things are happening at www.boycott-riaa.com
http://www.boycott-riaa.com/article/8538 <---read more.

"IP Justice has published a White Paper that analyzes key section of the
Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA) Treaty chapter on intellectual
property rights.  According the IP Justice report "FTAA: A Threat to
Freedom and Free Trade," the Treaty would require all 34 FTAA countries
in the Western Hemisphere to send P2P file-sharers to prison.  The FTAA
Treaty also contains 'DMCA-like' anti-circumvention laws.  IP Justice
sponsored a petition calling upon the FTAA Treaty negotiators to delete
the entire chapter on intellectual property rights from the FTAA Treaty.
FTAA Treaty negotiators meet in Miami from Nov. 16-21, 2003, and if
passed, the treaty will take effect in 2005 and govern the lives of 800
million citizens of the Americas.  Sign the petition!

Oct. 20, 2003 Media Release on FTAA
http://ipjustice.org/FTAA/release20031020.shtml"

Europe imposes its thumb on England.
" http://www.reuters.co.uk/newsArticle.jhtml?type=internetNews&storyID=3629344&section=news

LONDON (Reuters) - Britain is poised to adopt a European Union
copyright law designed to stop music, film and software piracy, which
could carry heavy penalties for people who download pirated files.

The EU Copyright Directive, a broad set of laws designed to protect
content makers, is similar to the controversial U.S. Digital
Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA). Parliament is expected to pass the
law some time this month, about 10 months after the deadline for EU
members to enact the legislation.

The law was opposed at various times by civil liberty advocates, who
argued it went too far and infringed on consumer freedoms, and by the
music industry, which did not think it went far enough to crack down
on piracy.

"It's all but done and dusted, and at this point very little can stop
it," said Julian Midgley on Thursday, a spokesman for the UK-based
Foundation for Information Policy Research, which opposes the law.

One provision would make it illegal to "communicate" a copyrighted
work to the public "to such an extent as to affect prejudicially the
owner of the copyright," and carries a maximum penalty of a fine and
two years in jail."

Ways to protect your privacy :
1)  http://www.eprivacysoft.com/ interesting page describing BlackCatMp3Guard
" Download Black Cat MP3 Guard (332kB) and stop the RIAA's scans
dead in their tracks. Black Cat runs in the background and monitors
queries sent to your computer via Kazaa and other file sharing apps;
If Black Cat determines that a given query is suspicious or came from
known RIAA computers, it will block it."

2)  PeerGuardian
http://xs.tech.nu/ The current version is 199b. Great Program!

They're BAAAACK...
http://msnbc-cnet.com.com/2100-1027_3-5093078.html?part=msnbc-cnet&tag=alert&form=feed&subj=cnetnews

http://www.msnbc.com/news/980955.asp
 A RULE being considered by the Federal Communications Commission is one of a series of proposals pushed by the entertainment industry to help thwart copying and online trading of movies and television shows that increasingly are being broadcast in digital form with high-quality picture and sound.

‘BROADCAST FLAG’
But the new rule also would force consumers to purchase new equipment if they wanted to record enhanced digital-quality television programs and replay them on other machines.
Opponents of the proposed rule, including many technology companies and consumer groups, say it won’t work. They are especially concerned that the plan might lead to government regulation of how personal computers and other devices are built, particularly if hackers crack the system and further changes are deemed necessary.

Officials at the FCC, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said they expect the agency to settle on details of the “broadcast flag” rule by the end of the month. The broadcast flag takes its name from the bit of computer code that would be embedded in digital television signals and would be read by “compliant” devices such as a television set or a digital video recorder.
The rule would not affect consumers who record shows the old-fashioned way, with VCRs. Nor would it affect programming received on a cable or satellite system, in part because consumers pay for that content.
MORE GLOBALIST ATTACKS ON FILE SHARERS

http://msnbc-cnet.com.com/2110-1039-5092915.html?tag=nefd_hed

1)  http://www.eprivacysoft.com/ interesting page describing BlackCatMp3Guard
" Download Black Cat MP3 Guard (332kB) and stop the RIAA's scans
dead in their tracks. Black Cat runs in the background and monitors
queries sent to your computer via Kazaa and other file sharing apps;
If Black Cat determines that a given query is suspicious or came from
known RIAA computers, it will block it."

2)  PeerGuardian
http://xs.tech.nu/ The current version is 199b. Great Program!

They're BAAAACK...
http://msnbc-cnet.com.com/2100-1027_3-5093078.html?part=msnbc-cnet&tag=alert&form=feed&subj=cnetnews

TAKE NOTE - An important statement by congressman Rick Boucher.
If you live in his district, please support Representative Rick Boucher!
http://www.tombarger.com/copyrightreform/index4.html

See the "celebrants" who cheered the passage of the DMCA ?
Check this out. http://www.mccullagh.org/theme/dmca-celebration-may02.html

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2003/10/16/BAG6F2CD8L1.DTL

A Primer on Copyright Laws by ~CodeWarrior

EVER NEED TO DELETE DATA ON YOUR DRIVE?
HERE'S SOME DOWN AND DIRTY METHODS TO
GET RID OF THOSE ONES AND ZEROS FOR GOOD.

RIAA to Charter: Give up file-swapper names

"eDonkey pulls ahead in European P2P race"

Rocker Ozzy Scraps Gigs for Tremor Treatment

MICROSOFT SUED OVER MUSIC DOWNLOADS

AN ESSAY ON P2P ISSUES FROM cookymonzta

BREAKING NEWS-MUSICIANS PROTEST
"http://www.afm.org/public/press/press_10-10-03.php
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE October 10th, 2003
Contact: Honore Stockley (315) 422-4488 ext. 104
>From the Office of Thomas F. Lee, President, American Federation of
Musicians:

Musicians to Demonstrate in front of Record Label
 The artists, who irreverently refer to themselves as "The Green Linnet
Five," are planning to do a "sing-in" protest at the record label's
headquarters in Danbury, Connecticut. This will be the first protest
demonstration by recording artists against a label since the 1960's.
"This protest is not just about the five of us - it's also about the
countless other Irish artists who have also been stiffed but who can't
afford to sue a company with the financial resources of Green Linnet,"
said Mick Moloney, who is a professional musician, as well as a
professor of Irish music at New York University. "We will sing some
great old labor movement songs that were well known to the first
generation of Irish immigrants in America," Moloney added. "It will be a
great concert with an important message," Moloney said.

"It would probably shock most Irish music fans to know that the artists
who recorded their favorite Green Linnet albums have not been paid a
dime for many years," said famed fiddle player Eileen Ivers. The Green
Linnet Five hopes that their protest will cause the company to account
and pay all of their artists the royalties, which are long overdue.
Cherish the Ladies lead musician Joanie Madden said, "Green Linnet has
gotten away with this outrageous behavior because Irish artists sat back
and did nothing … well those days are officially over!"
 

http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/031009/nyth137_1.html

"Two Out of Three American Teens Oppose Fines for Music File Sharers, Says Harris Interactive Youth Survey
Thursday October 9, 3:40 pm ET

Almost Eight in Ten Teens Feel Sharing of Copyrighted Music Files Should be Legal

http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2003/10/09/1065676097116.html
"Kazaa backs plan that could spell an end to the days of free music
By Sue Lowe
October 10, 2003

The world's most popular song-swapping network, Kazaa, has thrown its weight behind a plan to start billing song swappers for their music downloads.
     The proposal, which could finally end the days of the free lunch for millions of music fans, has been put to big US record labels at the same time as a new legitimate version of the former file-swapping giant Napster is launched in the US. 
     The idea is to phase in a billing mechanism for peer to peer networks, such as Kazaa and Morpheus, that allow users to copy music directly from each other's hard drives.
     Initially payments would be by credit card, but in the future downloads would be automatically detected and a charge added to the monthly internet service provider bill." - BAD NEWS FOR P2Pers

http://news.com.com/2100-1028_3-5088349.html
"Eolas Technologies on Monday filed a motion to permanently enjoin
Microsoft's distribution of its Internet Explorer browser amid a flurry of
court filings by both sides in the pivotal patent infringement case.

Eolas, the sole licensee and sublicensor of a browser plug-in patent owned
by the University of California, asked the U.S. District Court in Chicago
for an injunction against distributing copies of IE capable of running
plug-in applications in a way the Eolas patent covers."

NAPSTER IS BACK- BUT THIS TIME, YA GOTTA PAY. WHO CARES...IT CAN GO BACK TO OBLIVION!

"Web-based music pirate gets jail time" (This is SO Wrong, he's not a "Pirate", since piracy is defined under Title 18, Chapter 81, Sect. 1652)

" A New York man the FBI arrested for using the Internet to sell hundreds of CDs loaded with unauthorized copies of songs was found guilty in a federal district court and sentenced to six months in jail.

Alvin A. Davis, 42, of Brooklyn, was incarcerated and ordered to pay $3,329.50 for selling pirated music via his Web site. Judge Reggie B. Walton of the U.S. District Court of Washington, D.C., last week sentenced Davis to one year of supervised parole, to be served upon his release from jail, and barred him from using a computer for one year.

Earlier this year, Davis admitted in court to using his site, EmpireRecords.com, to market more than 100 different CDs and cassette tapes featuring compilations of copyrighted materials from various musical artists. Davis was arrested by an undercover FBI agent who purchased more than 200 of the illegal CDs and had them shipped from New York to Washington. The Web site has since been shut down. "

New website being announced.
"Boycott-RIAA.com, p2pnet.net and DMusic.com have joined DownhillBattle.com to create www.stopRIAAlawsuits.com, designed specifically to organize a one week boycott of RIAA music starting with the next round of lawsuits against music fans."
Since the http://www.stopRIAAlawsuits.com site is going to be involved in helping the movement against the RIAA, this site is joining with others as part of the network linking to the new site.
I believe the site is not up yet, but should be online tomorrow.
 

THE GLOBALISTS ARE SEEKING TO BRING MORE COUNTRIES
INTO SUBMISSION USING COPYRIGHT/INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS
LAWS. http://www.legislation.hmso.gov.uk/si/si2003/20032498.htm

HERE'S A PLEA FROM THE CODEWARRIOR :

Here's a sample letter to your representative in Congress.
Please contact your congressional representative,  and make it clear that you are opposed to HR2517.  This legislation is backed by such horrors as John Conyers, Lamar Smith, Howard "I got my money from the RIA" Berman, and others. It would allow, among other things, the FBI to prosecute p2p file sharers. It is worded that its function is to " To enhance criminal enforcement of the copyright laws, educate the public about the application of copyright law to the Internet, and clarify the authority to seize unauthorized copyrighted works." For those wanting to delve deeper into this devilish deployment of degradation,
check out :
http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/z?c108:H.R.2517

" Politicians and Diapers should be changed with regularity, and for the same reasons. "

IT WOULD APPEAR THE MEDIA ARE BEGINNING TO TAKE NOTE OF WHAT WE ARE SAYING
http://www.portlandphoenix.com/supplements/online_music/documents/03191130.asp

In an article that appears in the 5 October edition, we find:

" The young and the board
With little sympathy for the record industry, the P2P generation is takin’ it to the screen
BY MIKE MILIARD

"...These sites have been around for several years, but since the RIAA’s announcement in June that it planned to subpoena individual P2P users, and especially since the first volley of 261 lawsuits, the tone of their discussion boards has taken on an added urgency. Hiding behind aliases like CodeWarrior and AverageConsumer — screen names that, unlike those on file-sharing services these days, are still able to protect their identities — posters hold forth. Back and forth they ask and offer advice, debate each other on issues of fair use and intellectual property, thumb their noses and vent their spleens. Mostly, they howl for the downfall of the major labels. On the day the lawsuits were filed, September 8, the P2Pnet.net was aflame."

In more rhetoric that to this author, seems like direct and intentional misuse of the legal term "pirate" DirecTV is going after people it calls "Hackers". There have been more than 11,800 lawsuits filed against people across the country (out of what DirecTV alleges are around 70,000 violators).  One such person sued is Vang Phromphanh, who alleges he did NOT steal any cable signal.  The reason I am reporting it on this site, is that the DirecTV people are using the same, incorrect terms and analogies that the RIAA is using, such as "pirates" and, "It's the same as shoplifting".  If they really believe this is "piracy", they should NOT be filing civil tort actions. The government should be the ones filing under Title 18, Chapter 81, Section 1652, which provides for a life in prison penalty.
"Sec. 1652. Citizens as pirates
Whoever, being a citizen of the United States, commits any murder
or robbery, or any act of hostility against the United States, or
against any citizen thereof, on the high seas, under color of any
commission from any foreign prince, or state, or on pretense of
authority from any person, is a pirate, and shall be imprisoned for
life."
My point is that if you are going to be accusing someone of "piracy", the federal prosecutors,  should darn sure be filing charges of a criminal nature under Title 18, Chapter 18, Section 1652, or they should QUIT misrepresenting the law ! Also,
if you are going to say "this is the same as shoplifting"...let's see the criminal misdemeanor charges for shoplifting you are filing. If NOT, quit using the term
"shoplifting" !

Here's the link on the article from central Texas.
http://www.statesman.com/metrostate/content/auto/epaper/editions/sunday/metro_state_f3f72c16809a12be0094.html

THE PICTURE AT THE LEFT IS A PARODY AND AS A PARODY, ALL PARTS OF THE PICTURE ARE USED UNDER A FAIR USE PROVISION OF THE COPYRIGHT LAW AND ARE NOT MEANT TO REPRESENT ANY PERSON LIVING OR DEAD. ANY SIMILARITY TO ANY PERSON LIVING OR DEAD IS MERELY COINCIDENTAL. THE IRONY OF OUR ECONOMY IS THAT EVEN ATTORNEYS MAY FIND THEMSELVES AS BEGGARS.