“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.--That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, --That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.”
— The Continental Congress, July 4, 1776
“The task of statesmanship has always been the re-definition of these rights in terms of a changing and growing social order.”
— Franklin D. Roosevelt (Commonwealth Club Address, 1932)
“Roosevelt was wrong! The principles laid down in the Declaration of Independence are the principles of individual liberty. Our unalienable rights, given to us by God are given to us as individuals. Our rights do not come from society or the government, and they cannot be redefined by politicians. The nature of these rights carries with it the implication of individual responsibility, without which we surrender them.”
— Perri Nelson, November 6, 2008
Peer-to-peer charges net prison term
Published Mon, Oct 30 2006 12:14 PM
Technorati Tags: Computers and Internet, Music, News and Politics
I've never used one of these file-sharing systems (unless you count Usenet), or Napster. I've always considered it wrong to post materials that are under copyright to these kind of services, or to download it from them. I guess that makes me out of touch with today's kids, but that's the way it is. Anyway, now it looks like if you help run one of these you can go to jail. And, it might get you grounded too.
ABINGDON, Va. - A network administrator for a peer-to-peer Internet file-sharing system has been sentenced to five months in prison for copyright infringement.
Grant T. Stanley, 23, was also given five months of home detention, three years of supervised probation and a $3,000 fine for his role in the Elite Torrents service, which used a sharing technology known as BitTorrent. Stanley, who had pleaded guilty to copyright-related charges, was sentenced Oct. 17.
Source: AP Wire | 10/27/2006 | Peer-to-peer charges net prison term
"Weird Al" Yankovic wrote a song about all of this some time ago. It's called "Don't Download This Song". You can download it here. Honestly. He encourages you to do it!
"Once in a while maybe you will feel the urge
To break international copyright law
By downloading mp3s from file-sharing sites
Like Morpheus or Grokster or Limewire or KaZaA
But deep in your heart you know the guilt would drive you mad
And the shame would leave a permanent scar
'Cause you start out stealing songs, and then you're robbing liquor stores
And selling crack and running over school kids with your car"
We wouldn't want that now, would we.
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