More or less, yeah. Even if Demonoid, The Pirate Bay, Kick-Ass Torrents and most of the other big-name file-sharing services got taken down all at once, we'd still have a fuckton of options to choose from. The one downside is that the increased traffic to fake or virus-riddled public trackers would turn these into festering pits - or schmuck heaven, if you're a hacker or scammer looking for a few easy credit card numbers.Fawxy said:
BTJunkie "Voluntarily" Shuts Down
- Thread starter Andy Chalk
- Start date
They mean this.The_root_of_all_evil said:
http://www.styggforden.se/coppermine/albums/kul/20090914/Google_-_Can_I_get_aids_from_swimming.jpg
If you go to Google.ca, and type, for instance, "how do I", it'll make a bunch of suggestions like above (potentially hilarious thanks to Googlebombing). If you type "fuck" or "btjunkie", for instance, nothing will be suggested.
(Theoretically... it makes suggestions for "btjunkie" to me.)
Well, a torrent site is not something just anyone can set up and run. It does apparently take some skill.Screamarie said:
That said, you are dealing with people being cowards, but it's to be expected, and it's kind of what the people on the offensive here are relying on.
I think BTJunkie are especially cowardly, because there is an important point that is being overlooked here... which I've mentioned before:
Megaupload is being promoted as a copyrights case by those with such interest, but there is a VERY big charge called "money laundering" in there which is probably the actual gist of the attack, with the rest just being filler attached as a rider to make the charges carry more weight.
See, piracy of the type at the center of the debate is a situation where the pirates do not make anything off their work. They "crack" and release media to the public for free, without charging anything themselves for their services. Thus while the company does not make money off of the stolen product, the pirates are nor profiting off of it either... in the case of MegaUpload, obviously someone was making money off this site somehow and using it to pass dirty money from criminal activities through it to clean it. Also the guys at the top of the food chain were apparently making money off of the "warez" somehow.
Until the case goes to court we won't know, but I find it very likely we're going to see this case being about things only tangentially connected to the actual issue of piracy. At the very least you'll find out that people were charging for the pirated products somehow, and that right there makes it into a differant kind of issue that lacks a lot of the ambigiouity of piracy where one of the big legal problems with pursueing it was that the guys doing it were not making anything.
So yeah, someone who sees SOPA, and a case like this, and then runs for the hills is kind of a coward. Not to mention something of a traitor to those who believe in such things because now would be the time for solidarity.... me, I'm not exactly pro-pirate so I'm simply calling this as I see it from the outside.
Of course then again it's always possible BTJunkie was making money off of this somehow as well, and/or also involved on money laundering (however the heck it's supposed to work here, maybe we'll find out when the Megaupload case goes to court, if enough public info is released)... which would make this something else entirely.
I absolutely did NOT say the emails were a forgery. Nor did I claim megaupload was a good guy for what they did. Please do not put words in my mouth.Awexsome said:
As for credit where credit is due. The damage done by mega not being fast enough in removing copywritten material that SOME of their users uploaded, that within two years time would be essentially be given away for free, or was already given away for free via advertising revenues is a drop in the bucket compared to the damage of standing idly by as a branch of the US government performs illegal search and seizure techniques simply because the laws against IS&S do not apply to citizens outside of the US. Last I checked, a a government spying on foreign citizens using techniques that it would not even use on its own is the kind of stuff that has started wars.
Simply put, two wrongs do not make a right. However,Supporting the DoJ in this is literally like telling the US government "Hey, I do not care if you trample on my rights, Go ahead, monitor my calls." and invite them to do the same here. By inaction that is in essence what your telling them. The government is supposed to act in the interest and protection of the people. Not of corporate profit margins. That is exactly the sort of thing the government is supposed to be protecting the people from. Threats domestic. As in threats to our liberties created by corporations utilizing the obscene profits they are given, to subvert the freedom of the people. Corporations are not people.
That is exactly why unionization had to become a major issue that resulted in much bloodshed in the early part of the last century. Its why Bell Labs had to be broken up to protect the people from the same sort of dangerous monopolistic practices that lead to the great depression.
No conspiracy is involved.. It is clearly documented US history that you have been taught as a US citizen. It has happened before, and it is happening again now regardless of which propaganda you would like to get behind.
Ill answer the question I asked that was not addressed. The ONLY difference between MegaUpload and Youtube is that being a US corporation, youtube is protected from Illegal search and seizure, and thus the "proof" that was acquired could have never been obtained from youtube.
Megaupload has tons of ads, and they also offer a monthly subscription with less ads and better download speeds. The money laundering charge is there because the prosecutor will argue that they knowingly engaged in a financial transaction involving the proceeds of an unlawful activity. For example poker websites that break gambling laws are also charged with money laundering, in essence because they reported illegal revenue as corporate profits. Money laundering doesn't have to mean sneaking money from drug or weapons sales into the corporate ledger, profits derived from copyright violations count just the same.Therumancer said:
Federal laws on money laundering:
http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/18/1956.html
http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/18/1957.html
Sad day indeed. BTJunkie was one of my favorite sites to get my stuff from. Not even going to bother jumping in this argument anymore. Too much stupidity and high moral horsed people to even bother trying to argue.
I think both you and Isometry bring up good points. However what I see with the problems of the issue is it does have to do with piracy. I do charge that the racketeering charge is completely invalid and only tacked on so as to make applicable RICO law which gives extended powers in prosecution. The money laundering charge is there to provide the appearance that this isnt just about piracy, except you can only really claim money laundering if you first prove and validate that the money originates from illegal activity. Thats a hard point to prove considering that large portions of the funding mega had was from offering what was in essence lifetime (as long as the service is alive)Locker style webhosting for the equivalent exchange rate of roughly 350 USD. Or people could pay monthly service equivalents to 10$ a month or less.kiri2tsubasa said:
Mega picked up vast swaths of cash simply because they offered something no one else does. Show me anyone else that gives you no restriction on speed, no advertising, no capacity limit, lifetime Locker web hosting in exchange for a 1 time charge of 350$.
No, Seriously, please show me because now thanks to this, I need a new webhost and honestly megaUpload was the only price that reasonably fit what I was able to afford.
Anyway back on track, you simply cant claim money laundering unless you have proven that the money does in fact originate from illegal activity and at best that is questionable, because most of their steady stream of capital came from not ness. from up loaders trying to make a profit thru mega because that money was practically on a take a penny leave a penny model (IE Uploaders get paid by the revenues generated from the advertisement, advertisers pay for the traffic generated by uploaders) but the down loaders who hosted no infringing material and pay service charges to avoid inconv.
Honestly, its times like this I regret not finishing what I started in pursuing law.
R.I.P. BTJunkie
You were very good ;_;
I don't think you should have down this though because you let the FBI accomplish what they wanted by scaring you.
You were very good ;_;
I don't think you should have down this though because you let the FBI accomplish what they wanted by scaring you.
Internet debating skills:Awexsome said:
1) When given a list, classify one as positive and ignore the rest.
2) Accuse opponent of logical inconsistencies while not defining where.
3) Insinuate claims not made by opponent.
Season with snark. Post.
But continue with your posts about how the Government are trying to protect us from Pirates. Just consider who makes more money this way: Corporations or Pirates?
You tell me what you know, and I'll confirm. I'll keep you in the right direction if I can, but that's all. Just... follow the money.
You seem a bit too smart to flip burgers for the rest of your life though.PS3Aussie said:
See what I did there?
Yes, but if you play the song without the lyrics, they can't touch you. Unlike "Happy Birthday", which is a derivative work, the original song "Good Morning To All" was public domain within the lifetime of the songwriter, and he actually enjoyed "Happy Birthday".The_root_of_all_evil said:
Well in that case the record companies involved had better post a boost in earnings next quarter of at least $500 million or their whole "stealing our profits" argument goes up a certain effluent-laden waterway without a certain means of manual propulsion.Andy Chalk said:
The people who should also be blamed are the ones who put the illegal copyrighted content on Megaupload in the first place. If they had not of done that Megaupload would most likely still be up. I agree I think the feds went to far in taking it down but the people that broke the law are also to blame, not just the feds.Freezy_Breezy said:
Well, better they get shut down by their own accord and not get slammed with lawsuit after lawsuit.