[FYI] http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/35/26154.html

["Axel H Horns" <horns@ipjur.com>]

http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/35/26154.html

------------------------------- CUT --------------------------------

Fighting the Pigopolists with bricks not bluster  

By Andrew Orlowski in London  

Posted: 11/07/2002 at 17:20 GMT  

An overwhelming response to our report on Rep. Rick Boucher's 
proposal to outlaw share-denial systems, beginning with copy-
protected CDs [see Congressman vows Pigopolist legislation]. In this 
report we resurrected a modest proposal of ours which is neither new 
nor entirely original, but which caught your attention nevertheless : 
that we legislate the entertainment complex off our PCs for good.  

It's pretty simple. You're allowed to own either a content creation 
empire - a studio or label - or a playback device empire (Walkmans, 
or PCs). But you can't have both.  

This idea is an anathema to today's libertarian techno orthodoxy: or 
at least in its West Coast version. Governments are bad, and can only 
do bad things. But this is now, post-Enron, post the DoJ's AntiTrust 
Seattlement, and with the perspective of the EFF - the best we've got 
- having failed in its noble crusades against the Pigopolists. The 
RIAA is stronger than ever, and not only have the forces of light 
failed to halt its advance, the geek world looks more isolated, and 
less able to transmit the imperatives to the rest of the world.  

[...]  

------------------------------- CUT --------------------------------



-- 
To unsubscribe, e-mail: debate-unsubscribe@lists.fitug.de
For additional commands, e-mail: debate-help@lists.fitug.de