(with apologies to Louis Prima, et al.)

In their latest round of shoving their long-standing agenda of disenfranchisement, disempowerment, usurpation, subjugation and collective guilt down everyone's throats -- or a "digital/broadband Tiananmen" if you will -- the RIAA has initiated a policy of malicious persecution of college students. One of whom, Dan Peng, has particularly been targeted by the recording wing of the multinational entertainment-media complex and their phalanx of rabid, mad-dog shyster lawyers, as noted in an article presented in Boycott-RIAA. He will most likely be tried in the equivalent of a "kangaroo court" so as to enable the RIAA to "succeed" in its never-ending efforts to force the digital genie back into the bottle, with armed guards surrounding the bottle at all times so the genie would never get back out.

At about this same period, in another part of the globe known as Cuba, eighty political dissidents, activists, and independent journalists are facing a "show" trial in a "kangaroo" court on charges of working with U.S. diplomats to subvert Fidel Castro's Stalinist regime, with twelve facing possible life sentences. This has been called the "harshest crackdown on dissent in years" (Associated Press article, April 4, 2003). As one syndicated columnist put it recently, what other court besides that of the kangaroo variety exists in Cuba?

Also, on March 19 (as reported in Billboard's March 29 issue), soon-to-be-outgoing RIAA chief Hilary Rosen testified before a House subcommittee, claiming that "lack of market access in China to foreign markets" (wording from the article, not Ms. Rosen) somehow bears relation to that country's perpetuation of music piracy. The article also cited other countries in the Far East as piracy culprits as well. One cannot forget or ignore (as noted by this writer) China's long-standing campaign of political repression against cyber-dissidents who organize on the Web and file-trade certain political ideas, with the penalty being death in many cases. Not to mention their constant monitoring of all computers (including, but not limited to, hacking) for any "objectionable" political activity. (Also note that college students were among those purged in the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre.) And the other countries cited, in most cases, are likewise repressive dictatorships and/or closed societies in the extreme (i.e. Singapore and Malaysia, the latter of which is notorious for caning lawbreakers) -- at the same time the RIAA and other similar entities (i.e. the MPAA) are seeking, through their actions, to engineer this country towards a closed society and away from the traditions of freedom and openness on which the U.S. was founded and based. In that context, there could be considered a certain hypocrisy to the RIAA's geopolitical focus.

While all these may or may not be related as depending on your point of view, there is a common thread; namely the RIAA's treatment not being all that dissimilar to Cuba's (and China's) treatment of political dissidents. While the differences are obvious (i.e. repressive governmental regimes pushing the concept of strong government ruling over the people at all times vs. the RIAA's quest for/obsession with absolute profit$$), so are the similarities; namely, that all the above entities rule on irrational paranoia, extreme distrust of the populace, and a quest for absolute power and total domination. To say nothing of brooking no tolerance of dissent from the "party line" (think of the retaliatory hatchet jobs against recording artists, most notably Courtney Love, who'd blown the whistle on the RIAA's ulterior motives; one can't help but think that the RIAA either directed, coordinated, sanctioned, approved -- or a combination of any or all of the above -- such hatchet-job articles); only "useful idiots" (think Metallica) need apply. Or, to paraphrase an oft-quoted cliche, "I've always wondered where the RIAA gets their ideas."

Something to think about . . .

So why don't we just start a new party? We've got tunes. We can surely get a better lawyer than the ones the labels use. And better accountants. Maybe a little more democratic "party line"? A little more honest, a little more ethical. A little more respectful to the fans?

Come on. Look at what we've got now for a "music industry."

Where are those college students? Most of you haven't had to deal with the real business world yet. But even with slightly outdated textbooks and accounting 101, you guys can certainly figure out something better than what's going on now.

WE won't arrest you for listening to us.

So there's something else to think about...

Finally, someone who can see that althrough the methods are similar the motives are not . I was getting sick of oversimplified variations on "The RIAA is as bad as china / cuba/ iraq/ nazis/ insert-oppressor-here" posts

They are just as difficult to remove through. Historicially, most oppressive governments lasted until they were removed by another country. Revolutions happen, but usually someone has to fan the flames a lot to get it going.

*starts fanning the flames* Quick, somoene, help me!

I started fanning yesterday at an FCC hearing. I may get to speak at a DMCA hearing next week. Confidence is high.

Don't worry kneo, I've already called for a fresh load of kindling. I think leflaw's busy chopping it up for us.

In the meantime, everyone should write to Senator Hollings and point him toward some of that content he can't seem to find. I've written twice already and I don't even live in his state.

And I've given a lot of thought to this part, too. I didn't want to do my usual snap-off-a-quick-answer.

The oversimplified variations of "The RIAA is as bad as..."

If the consumer, no, even a college student using a computer owned by a non-profit institution created for the purpose of higher education, is labeled as a pirate, dragged through the press and the courts, does not the source of this persecution qualify as a tyrant?

The myth being perpetrated requires a total denial of the truth, much like some of the foreign broadcasts I've seen lately.

So when does it begin to qualify? When a student accidentally gets killed in a raid by the music police? Fining them or sending them to jail is not enough?

If the majority of the public is considered to be a criminal by default, the only difference is a matter of degree and consequences.

and not some people not having enough money to fight back *cough* college students *cough* yup,next thing you know, "cyber patrol" is gonna bust through your door.....

No one believed for a minute that the National Guard would actually shoot live ammunition at college students.

Until the day they shot four of them.

Yes... and it was made into a song, Ohio, put out days after it happened on a 45rpm single. In today's world or music, how in the world could that happen? It can't, because the music industry had made it impossible to happen. Except for file sharing.

Yes... and it was made into a song, Ohio, put out days after it happened on a 45rpm single. In today's world or music, how in the world could that happen? It can't, because the music industry had made it impossible to happen. Except for file sharing.

the students have always been a very organized society. Some of you probably remember the student protests against war in Vietnam personally? And others have seen them on TV or heard from their parents??

Now RIAA thinks that it can attack this group and get unpunished? Bullshit. It's not students who will pay; it's RIAA. And it will be very soon ... Could students organize a wide boycott action? Anyway, one person knows avg. 10 other, both stud's and non-stud's. Why not rally all students around the banner of boycott-riaa.com ?? Maybe those RIAAite idiots are giving us the weapon they couldn't even imagine ...

i propose the student-wide boycott of RIAA's products! All students, come join it! I'm no more a student, but I know many. What about putting the boycott-riaa links on students' websites, and info about boycott (and call to it) in the intranet shared directories ?? It shouldn't be hard to put another directory in AD, "Boycott_RIAA-Details", should it?

i propose the student-wide boycott of RIAA's products! All students, come join it! I'm no more a student, but I know many. What about putting the boycott-riaa links on students' websites, and info about boycott (and call to it) in the intranet shared directories ?? It shouldn't be hard to put another directory in AD, "Boycott_RIAA-Details", should it?

INeedALover -- Which is all the more disturbing to find Neil Young on the list of artists at MusicUnited.org who say that downloading is theft.

"List of artists"? Sounds to me more like a list of "useful idiots" doing the bidding (and slavishly serving the purposes) of the militantly anti-consumer, anti-technology RIAA.