"Surely it was not Congress’ intent when it passed the Digital Millennium Copyright Act to short-circuit due process protections, relegate a U.S. District Court to providing 'rubber-stamp' subpoenas, enable the music industry to collect information about consumers with little or no restrictions, and place numerous average consumers at risk of bankruptcy."

That's the bottom line in a steely July 31 letter from senator Norm Coleman, chairman of the Senate's permanent subcommittee on investigations, giving RIAA president Cary Sherman two weeks to produce:

Copies of all subpoenas issued to Internet Service Providers (ISP) requesting information about subscribers;

A description of the standard the RIAA is using when filing an application for a subpoena against an ISP with a US District Court;

A description of the methodology it's using to secure evidence of potentially illegal file sharing by computer users;

A description of the privacy safeguards the RIAA uses when securing this information in an effort to prevent unfair targeting of de minimus users; and,

A description of how it's, "protecting the rights of individuals from erroneous subpoenas".

"Coleman expressed concern that the RIAA may be in danger of abusing the broad-based subpoena authority it was granted to determine the extent of illegal file sharing in the United States and that its tactics may be creating anxiety and concern among many Americans who are innocent or unknowingly guilty of violating copyright infringement laws," says a subcommittee statement.

In a letter to Sherman, Coleman wrote:

"On June 25, 2003, the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) announced plans to file "thousands of lawsuits charging individual peer-to-peer music distributors with copyright infringement."

"According to press reports, the RIAA has won at least 911 subpoenas since June 26, 2003 in order to garner information for the civil lawsuits that could be filed against consumers who are alleged to have illegally used file-sharing programs. These lawsuits would seek civil penalties from $750 to $150,000 per song. The RIAA asserts that only those who traffic in 'substantial' numbers of files will be targeted.

"However, when filing an application for a subpoena, the RIAA does not differentiate between nominal file sharers and those who trade dozens or hundreds of files. Subpoenas have been won for computer users who shared as few as five songs.

"The RIAA subpoenas have snared unsuspecting grandparents whose grandchildren have used their personal computers, individuals whose roommates have shared their computers, as well as colleges and universities across the United States like Boston College, DePaul University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Individuals like Bob Barnes, a grandfather from Fresno, California, are not immune from devastating financial loses. Mr. Barnes is facing $45 million in penalties for downloading some of his 'oldie' favorites.

"This barrage of RIAA subpoenas is creating such a backlog at the U.S. District Court in the District of Columbia, that the Court has been forced to reassign clerks to process the paperwork. According to the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts, the D.C. District Courthouse is 'functioning more like a clearing house, issuing subpoenas for all over the country.'

"Surely it was not Congress’ intent when it passed the Digital Millennium Copyright Act to short-circuit due process protections, relegate a U.S. District Court to providing 'rubber-stamp' subpoenas, enable the music industry to collect information about consumers with little or no restrictions, and place numerous average consumers at risk of bankruptcy.

"The industry has legitimate concerns about copyright infringement. It is imperative to note that we are dealing with stealing artists’ songs and the industry’s profits. The industry has every right to develop practical remedies for protecting its rights. Yet, the industry seems to have adopted a 'shotgun' approach that could potentially cause injury and harm to innocent people who may simply have been victims of circumstance, or possessed a lack of knowledge of the rules related to digital sharing of files. I am sure it is not the industry’s intent to needlessly cause harm in its efforts to legally protect its rights. Yet, the law of unintended consequences may be at work in this matter.

"As you may know, I have an abiding interest in protecting the privacy rights of individuals. Clearly, I do not condone illegal activity, however I am confident that there may be a more circumspect and narrowly tailored method that RIAA could utilize to prevent substantial illegal file sharing. As a former prosecutor, I know first hand the power of a subpoena and I am concerned about the potential for abuse in the current system.

"Given these concerns, please provide the following documents [see top] and narrative responses to the Subcommittee no later than Thursday, August 14, 2003."

Just more bullcrap! Everyone should check out this link that I got from the RIAA website. Show's how full of crap all these recording artists and what not are!!!http://www.riaa.com/news/newsletter/062503.asp

it really made me sick to read the comments by the artists in that link. This is why music is dead. Creativity is lost and the RIAA is turning our youth into Conditioned monkeys for there own well-being!!!!

At least this gives us a starting point of artists to boycott. We don't need any of them.

If we stop listening or buying all 7,000 of the major acts' music, that still leaves, oh, at least 93,000 other CDs.

The artists already got paid when they signed their slavery contracts. They won't get another dime from the labels no matter how many CDs are sold.

If you want to support the artists, go to www.musiclink.com and give your favorites $5 each but don't buy their CD. They'll make more money.

This was a sign of a tide turning...
I am again making my assertion that before this is over, the RIAA, labels,toadies, and "artists" will wish to God they never started this~

Hey...high fiving everyone...
whatever you do tomorrow to protest this...whether you are in front of Tower records, writing letters to congress, talking on the tv about this, writing a letter to the editor, smashing CDs, or just refusing to contribute any more money to these bastards...you are part of the army and you are contributing to the winning of the war..
if you have a website, feel free to follow CodeWarrior's lead and black it out, and with red letters..put Boycott the Riaa/ Bankrupt the Bastards!

Love and luck to all freedom fighters here, and in other countries!!!
We're gonna win this one!
-BulkEraser

This is not related to this article at all, but if you haven't already heard the PGP database of all the banned IP addresses at PeerGuardian's website is down, so where is another website I can use that continues to be updated? If I remember there was something called "Bluetack" in the url or something, he had a lots of lists for downloading. Can anyone help me?

hey, not all the artists on that link were bullshitting assfucks. I think the Canadian said it best:

Sam Roberts, singer/songwriter: “As a musician and songwriter, there is no thought more satisfying than that of your songs and ideas being easily shared with people everywhere. Although I'm fairly new to the business side of things, there are a few realities that cannot be ignored. One is that artists should be compensated, like anyone else, for their hard work. I don¹t think that real music fans seek to knowingly short-change the people they respect and admire. These same fans, given a viable alternative to free downloading, would most certainly take it. So what this takes is a compromise on both sides between the labels and the fans. A CD shouldn't cost an arm and a leg. The music HAS to be the focus. Record labels have to be more conscientious and democratic when dealing with the people (music fans) who allow them to exist. To change this will take patience on everyone's part. In the meantime, the artists themselves cannot and should not be discouraged to take the risk in making music their main focus in life.”

I'm not sure about you, but I think this is what boycott-riaa and dmusic is all about.

It looks like someone else is copying the RIAA sue everybody model. Check this link, they are after the porno industry:
http://www.techtv.com/news/culture/story/0,24195,3490399,00.html

good post surfside6...yeah, the piranha smell blood...remember when some assholes in England claimed they alone owned the patent over hyperlinking and tried to scare into paying for hyperlinking?
When's it gonna end bro?

good post surfside6...yeah, the piranha smell blood...remember when some assholes in England claimed they alone owned the patent over hyperlinking and tried to scare into paying for hyperlinking?
When's it gonna end bro?

From what I understand there is a C-change coming in connections to the internet. WI-FI is a way that your computer is mobile and you connect to a WI-FI island.
From what I have read it is virtually impossible to trace anyone to a WI-FI network.
Is this true???

so what surfside. Fuck the porno industry. Its bad anyway.

"Surely it was not Congress’ intent when it passed the Digital Millennium Copyright Act to short-circuit due process protections, relegate a U.S. District Court to providing 'rubber-stamp' subpoenas, enable the music industry to collect information about consumers with little or no restrictions, and place numerous average consumers at risk of bankruptcy."

Yes, this was their intent. They wrote the damned thing, they knew what it said. Don't be giving me any of your B.S. excuses for congress. I vote, not that it matters, as the same bastards keep getting back in anyway.>(

POLITICAL RANT HERE..
I dunno about you...and no disrespect to NE1 who does not share my view, but as long as I have free speech (or reasonably priced speech), here goes.
Settle in, cause this is gonna be a
CodeWarrior length post...
I'm sick and tired of the following:
I'm tired of paying a buck fifty for gas, that went up a few days ago for no reason, when we went to war in a country that has oil flowing like water, continue to losing our soldiers (who I give a big thank you to every time I see one for their service to me and my country) and know that before the war, Iraqis were filling up, FILLING UP their cars for 39 cents. Does NE1 remember the term "spoils of war"?
I am sick and tired of this weird little "president" that the majority DID NOT vote for, getting us into wars and talking like he thinks he's John Friggin' Wayne (remember the "bring em on" comment?) with a hit list of 63 countries...we would be in wars for centuries with this guy at the helm. They have their eyes on Iran and North Korea next. We have to vote this guy out....we are diving headfirst in more shit than we will know what to do with...people losing their jobs, national debt growing like a giant tumor on our necks, and more and more, like sharks in a feeding frenzy, we have the Atty General, Rummy, and that convicted felon John Poindexter,head of the Total Information Awareness program, wanting to put trojans and worms like Magic Lantern and log all our keystrokes and everything we do on the computer..Carnivore to watch our e-mails, and Echelon to track what we say on cell phones, and watch us through every other way they can. I honestly feel like every day, we are waking in a country which is closer to 1984 and Big Brother. You have the government peaking at you, you have the music industry suing you, you have Wal-Mart trying to sneak RFID chips (radio frequency ID...see www.nocards.org) into everything you buy so they can track you...
You have your signature captured electonically at Best Buy, thumb scans at driver's license bureaus, and the biggest operating system seller in the world, is building the next version of their OS around the Digital Rights Management, and the ability to keep you from loading and running anything but what THEY approve of on your machine. I am tired of oppression. I am tired of getting treated like crap when you go buy things at Wal-Mart...the checkers act like they are doing you a favor to take your money...
I am tired of branching, robotic answering systems...never being able hardly to get a human, and when you do, they are hateful and incompetent...

I am tired of companies that want to sell their crap to us...outsourcing jobs so they can pay the poor bastards less and get bigger profit margins, and in the end, laying off great numbers of our populations. I am tired of these multinationals having their first allegiance to the board room and profit graphs and their neat little golden parachutes, and not giving a damn about America.

This country is slowly but surely changing. Our precious rights are one by one being taken away, and although the paper still exists that supposedly
preserves our inborn rights, the Patriot Act is able to take them away just by calling you a terrorist. It's like constant martial law, with a color code about how scared they want you to be today. I say there are not enough colors...they should have a bright pink level which means the swat team has their guns aimed at you, and a purplish blue that means Bin Laden is behind you with a knife and looks really pissed at you!

I know a lot might be looking at this and saying...Dude, Chill out...but see, that's how we got here. People for the last 30 years have tried to keep their eyes low, head down, and make as much money as they can...and buy as much shit as possible.

I heard today that if the economy gets bad...and if people were to lose their jobs...that 90 per cent of the population would lose everything they have. And I was watching that government woman, Chiao, or Chao or whatever, her and another talking head from the government, and they were saying the economy is great and getter better all the time!!!! WTF...where do these people live????? States are on the verge of bankruptcy...look at California...it's like they are operating with Hitler's theory of "the big lie"...he said that you say something loud enough and long enough and people will start to believe it...
Did you know that the FEDERAL RESERVE is not federal...it's privately owned, and yet they are in charge of all our money?????

Apathy has been eating away at us for too long...the metal that used to be the backbone of the usa, is now rusted...people, and I say that I understand it...say, please, do what you want...just leave ME alone, and let me watch some tv, eat supper, and buy my kids something for christmas...WTF!!!!! Freedom is like a bar of soap...it can be worn down to nothing if you just take away a time bit every day, day after day...before you know it...that tiny sliver is gone!

America is full of strong, courageous, wonderful people. I am proud of our ingenuity, I am proud that we want to help others...but folks...I have the fear that once these terrible, freedom robbing laws are passed...they will be almost impossible to rid ourselves of..and these laws WILL be used against American citizens. The easiest way to deal with an intolerable law is to kill it in committee before it is born...this is vital...we must get politically active, and I see many are getting there....and that is a gleam of hope in this dark despair!

Some of us are getting old...most on this board are young...and the younger you are, the less you can relate to the kind of freedom that people felt even 40 years ago...geez...i sound like a curmudgeon...you know, like the old guy on the porch that hollers at the kids to turn that carnsarned music down . I guess some of this angst comes from listening to the news...it just seems to get darker and more foreboding. I want to believe that things are going to turn around and that we will have some reason for optimism. Right now, it seems a bit Pollyannaish to think so...It seems to me that everything is about power and control these days...and, if you begin to lose power...you just sue the shit out of people...or pass draconian laws making everyone felons and terrorist....

You have our OWN government, not too long ago, trying to make us into a national of little snitches with the TIPS program. They wanted your cable isntaller, your doctor, your apartment manager..watching you, ready to rat on you if they see anything "suspicious"...and I can envision the AMBER alert billboards...ala the Minority Report, being giant tracking devices if you were suddenly deemed to be a "terrorist"...I talked recently with an airplane mechanic..many people don't know that the airlines are outsourcing the maintenance of the big planes to arabic and african countries.

I'm sorry to use this place to rant, and if I am the only one...then...lemme go get a reservation at the rubber room...but if others feel that way..you can express that as well.

Since most of us are arguably online a lot...does it ever get to you that if you have a good firewall...you see logs that literally show people from all over the world are trying to hack into your machine...and that's in addition to the RIAA, BayTSP, mediaforce,and everyone else...

It just seems that we have given up caring about each others as neigbors...you hear tales of women getting raped in public in front of crowds of people who don't help....

I just had to say something...this whole week, this has been on my mind...I've been reading everyone's post..and felt like there are some thoughtful, articulate, brave people here who might just like to hear what is on the mind of one of the wacky brains behind these 1s and zeros.

Thanks for listening.
Good luck on Friday and Saturday...
Peace and Prosperity and Crazy Props to all....

I remain...
-the BulkEraser

sorry for all the typos (e.g. national should have read "nation of")...hope you can make some sense out of what i said in spite of the way i said it !
:0)

YAAAYYY!!!!!Let's go get 'em!

Jefferystube..your vote alone may not matter, but it's a start. DON'T GIVE UP! Just add to your power by dragging some friends down to vote as well. This is the only way to counteract the money..Remember folks, democracy,if true, is hard work. Corruption is easy money..and silence. Boycott, organize, educate, VOTE!!

ARE YOU REGISTERED AND READY?

Jazz...we're lucky to have you....
you're a breath of fresh air
whatever you do for the protest...good luck...have fun!

Yea, I do agree with Sam Roberts comments, at least he has the right idea!

I'm not sure voting will help, I mean which corrupt politician to vote for? Can't trust anyone these days! too much on the agenda!

Look, this is good news. The Chairman of the Senate's Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations is trying to rein in the RIAA. Companies and universites are suing or standing up to the RIAA (SBC, Verizon, MIT, Boston College). I read that at least one of the individuals who's being sued has a lawyer and is planning on fighting the RIAA lawsuit. Public opinion is turning against the RIAA. Artists are unhappy with them. And now a boycott is being organized. The tide is turning. The RIAA is toast!

This is VEDDDDDY interesting

The RIAA Hit List - A Pattern Emerges?
July 29, 2003
Thomas Mennecke

The RIAA's witch-hunt has been mostly shrouded in mystery, with many not knowing who or what would bring about a lawsuit. We've sifted through approximately half the users displayed on TechTV.com's website, then examined the songs those individuals were being violated on, using the EFF's database.

It seems the RIAA is targeting a wide reach of music, including Hip Hop, R&B, Rap, Rock, Pop and Country songs. Artists such as Ludacris, Michael Jackson, NAS, Busta Rhymes, Keith Sweat and Musiq were very common throughout the subpoenas.

Even more interesting was the fact that Busta Rhymes song; "Pass the Courvoisier" appears in over 12 subpoenas. In addition, Avril Lavigne appears in over 20 subpoenas, with Ludacris reaching over 15. Remeber, we've only sifted through about 50 of the total subpoenas. Since there are over 1,000 potential subpoenas out there, a quick proportion of Busta would tell us nearly 30% of all violations include his work.

After looking at 50 or so subpoenas, the suspicion of a pattern grew more confident. While an individual wouldn't necessarily get subpoenaed for just having a Busta Rhymes song, it was the combination of Busta and additional artists that triggered the bot. Slyck hopes to obtain the entire database to more conclusively examine and reveal this potential pattern.

It seems the RIAA's search is not random, as certain songs and artists are used as triggers. We have been logging the artists and songs associated with the subpoena available in HTML format.

Oh, and I forgot...the RIAA is being sued - again - for price fixing!

Bulk- Great rant. It's exactly what I've been feeling...screw Micro$oft and their Palladium, I keep my oldschool Windows 98 comps for a reason . Screw the gas companies, with their insane price gouging. Screw the RIAA and their scare tactics and crappy CDs/cd prices...

(off-topic)

Ya know, with the boycott and everything, this kinda reminds me of plot fragments from Final Fantasy 7 and 8...I wonder if the ShinRIAA has any reactors we can nuke We may not be AVALANCHE or the Forest Owls, we may not be fighting for the planet's future or a country's independence (well, if you look at it, we're trying to preserce our individual independence...) but the idea is the same...we are the oppressed, the everyday people, up against the high, mighty, and corrupt. We must fight! We must fight for what we love! We must fight for what is right!!

(pant, wheeze)

Now if only I had some decent Limit Breakers. lol

-For love of music, and for true justice for all...
Sailor Arcana

Nice post there bulk! You tooketh the wordeths out of me head. For the RIAA to use these brute tactics is a sign someone else pointed out that their is serious trouble. I guess if ones gonna go out why not take a few hundred thousand or a million people with you right? Any mention of the Telecommunications Act of 1996? Or how bout the revised version in 1999 by Al Gore? Same kind of situation someones making a quick buck and it isn't you or I. Perhaps these businessmen should look to their heritage or more bluntly the Nazi escapades to learn that even with all these nasty and back biting sue you/me tactics aren't in the best interest of the country. What are the citizens needed for now? Sue the shit out of em because your utopia wasn't fullfilled when you where a kid?

In a nutshell...they ain't gettin laid.

Ok. Thnks for reading.

hey bulk, igot a funny comment about customer service at places like walmart and not getting a compentant friendly human.

i work at loblaws, it's gonna be canadas walmart eventually, it started as a grocery store now it's growing into a mess of walmart crap.

so yea, my comment:

We just got these "discover a star" comment card things, where customers can fill them out when an employee "exceeds your expectations" or some other bullshit.

This bitch filled one out saying the cashiers were "too friendly, I don't come to the grocery store to make friends, I want in and out as fast as possible and I don't have the time to chitchat with your cashiers" and apparently trailed on like that for a page or so.


Oh, and some lady filled one out about me saying I was a very friendly cashier

Sailor Arcana, I agree. (and holy crap this thing DOES sound like something out of FF7/. I had -almost- planned to skip the boycott, but damn it, not now! The music will still be there when/if I decide to buy (or download) it. We have to fight. :/ Yeah Bulk, that rant was excellent.

Ya know...what you guys say is the REAL music to my ears...you rock!!!!
and smelv1n ...keep it real...keep being yourself and keep being friendly...
NOW...LET'S KICK SOME RIAA ASS TOMORROW

LOVE,PEACE, AND LUCK TO ALL...
WHEN THE DUST SETTLES...THE CDS WILL BE ON SALE

"Mr. Barnes is facing $45 million in penalties "

WHAT the HELL is going on? Are these people completely INSANE? Is this the fccking TALIBAN? What country is this?

I sure hope to see some fellow protesters in Atlanta tomorrow.

To the RIAA, Eat shit Muthafuckas!!

Of all those artists' comments listed in jugheadfl's post, it seemed to me those were all people who already have their career set, or jumped start, or whatever.

I'd like to hear from indie artists still struggling that may never get exposure because they won't play nicely by RIAA rules. Then *maybe* I'll listen to what's being said. As it stands, I'm sure everyone listed could afford a 20+ CD Easily, which I cannot.

"A description of how it's, "protecting the rights of individuals from erroneous subpoenas".

That Usher guy was warned for copyright infringement because his last name was Usher. That was classic. If he wouldn't have responded angrily, they would have served him. Conclusion: They are taking no precautions to protect anyone. But we already knew that.

bulkeraser, you post a lot.

"Oh, and some lady filled one out about me saying I was a very friendly cashier "

I think it's best we stay on topic here. There's a lot of serious people here trying to accomplish something that's more important than most people understand. And it's more important than just wanting free music (which I don't care about, and I am more against it than for it). I apologize if I'm rude. That can actually be to a couple of people on this page.

Let's see if you know what's wrong with this picture:
The RIAA is more than happy to give away music (theirs, and they see anyone who plays indy stuff as a threat) to the public over the radio, but go completely apeshit when the public demands that they be allowed to hear the same song (again) for free (again).

On Saturday, the reckoning begins. Flood the lines of every talk radio station in your town and inform the people. Tell them about the price fixing, the targeting of teens and college students, the efforts to bankrupt the families of those teens and college students, their hyopcrisy in general....basically everything the media has tried to Jedi Mind Trick the public into forgetting.
Do it all day, and all night. Do it to the point that they stop taking calls, then start back up when they start picking up the phone again.

Go to a mega-chain and stand on the sidewalk (PUBLIC PROPERTY LAST TIME I CHECKED) and pass out flyers telling consumers to buy used, indy, or both.
When their douche manager comes out and starts giving you static, have a copy of the Bill of Rights ready, and show them the part about freedom of assembly. Watch them either shut the fark up or call the cops. Guess which one they'll do.

Make the cops show you exactly how you were being "unruly", or whatever catchprase they use to deny you your rights.

Call up an FM station and request some indy music, and if he refuses, call him a fascist RIAA pig. This works best if you're on the air.

If there's a RIAA artist performing live near you, do the same as you would at a chain. IF you're inside, yell "The RIAA is ripping you off" at every break in the music.

Maybe my ideas are unoriginal and corny, but we all have to do our part. Every last one of us.

Support your local used CD and DVD store!

"From what I have read it is virtually impossible to trace anyone to a WI-FI network."

It can be, simply because you can claim somebody was using your signal. And that person doesn't have to be anywhere near you.

Keep in mind, that's only for now. It will change, and people will be identifiable. I promise.

"WHEN THE DUST SETTLES...THE CDS WILL BE ON SALE "

Yeah. They're on sale now. I don't plan on supporting the RIAA after this either. The whole point is to fuck them by not buying. If you give them money via buying overpriced cd's when the dust settles, you're just funding another onslaught of idiocy.

Hopefully the only cd's that will be for sale will be blank ones which I can burn my favorite songs to after painlessly paying a 25-50 cents a piece for them online.

Don't forget to be well mannered, but strong and forceful in your letters. If you aren't educated when you speak, you won't educate anyone, and things will get much, much worse.

And this is not the Taliban. This is a United States government that makes laws to govern technology which it understands nothing of. It's primary concern is pleasing it's biggest contributors and controlling the one thing it can't seem to get it's hands on: the Internet. Likewise for the RIAA and MPAA.

We seem to have a lot of new posters. If you want a good start on what is at work, and what the problem behind of all of this is then first realize that our government loves power much more than we should feel comfortable with. Secondly, look up the word "plutocracy."

Good luck to everyone today.

This whole RIAA is hilarious, I live in england and have been following the articles carfully on every web site, what the RIAA is saying is going to do is what the sweet companies should do. Let me elaborate, imagine you buy a packet of sweets, and you give one or two to your mates, then the sweet companies (The RIAA) hear that you've been sharing sweets even though you bought the sweets in the first place (buying a CD and sharing) the sweet company lets sat cadbury's sue you because you unlawfuly shared a product even though you paid for it. It's ridiculous isn't it? well that is exactly what's going on, and it really gets to me how the musicians who make the music aren't even educated in file sharing themselves and make bold facist statements like this, from that link:

Brad Paisley, Gold and Platinum award-winning country music artist said, "My producer, my co-writers, my musicians have a big part in my albums. When you download music illegally, those folks don't get paid."

Absolute rubbish, as someone pointed out, they get a fee and don't get anything else, and good if they really want us to believe that they get more money from every CD bought, then i'll continue to download thanks, until the greedy cats in this world like sherman will show concern over artists and lower CD prices, then that way the crisis on singles would be solved and a bigger percentage will purchase CD's. People will still share, you'll never, ever win over the file sharing networks even by sueing as the RIAA will find out very soon.

In my opinion if the music industry was a job like any other, than CD's wouldnt be as expensive as they are, and music swapping wouldnt have got as bad as it has, if Musicians did as they always say "My dream to write music, perform etc" and got a resonable wage for it, as CD's would be fairly priced, then it would be a normal career in the same line as journalism, or a retail worker (any competetive industry basically) then would you have people making music then? maybe as the genuine people love what they do, for instance I love editing, i may not get paid millions as an editor, but i will edit in small companies for a normal wage because I love it. So all these popstars wannabes heading for a glamore celebrity lifestyle wouldn't want it as much as its labelled now, as it would be a job like any other. Not multi-miilion pound money making machine. Thank you.

Well said theSherminator..
my statement about the cds being on sale was humorously said...all along I have believed that even after this is over, we should continue the boycott...
..great post my friend!
-bulk

but...to answer your earlier comment...yes, I post a lot, I feel passionate about freedom as do we all.
And this is about freedom, and there are broader themes to this fight. Freedom is the topic and I am staying on topic. I feel that, if you were not happy with my post, you are in the minority, since you will see others , the majority addressing my post, who clearly do not agree with you. I did most certainly touch on the topic of the RIAA issue. If Bill Evans does not want me to post,since it is his page, I will stop and my posts will stop at that time, however; the gov would love us to be reactive and proactive, and not look at the broader picture.
I would like to get feedback from others if they agree. I will always address our right at hand, and am doing things in my area, in additition to blacking my website today in solidarity. I think we need not to fight or squabble amongst ourselves, but provide a united front of opposition to private industry, and governmental repression.
TO everyone else...peace,love,luck, and freedom!
-I remain-
the bulkeraser....

Quote from the RIAA article.
Missy Elliott, writer, producer, rapper, and singer: "Hip Hop has always been about the attainable dream - about running your own business, your own club, your own fanzine. Turning your back on the bootleggers helps us pave the way for the next generation of entrepreneurs. We do our best to bring you the latest, hottest beats, and we appreciate it when our fans show their love and respect by going in that record store and buying the finished product."

this is the bi@#h that i am suing for using my 'm' symbal in earings without my consent. The symbal is actually a copyrighted work of me and is is currently owned by my company. There is almost no way that she could win.

'good' old Norm Coleman is actually doing something. Well he did replace the world renoun democrat who did nothing (Welfarestoned (Welstone)) I'm not shure how to take this news, wether to think he is just another stupid senator, or if i should convince him to sway toward the (good) anti-RIAA side.

DJSnuggles great post..I like the analogy about candies...and welcome to our brothers and sisters from across the Pond.
-bulk

and ps..Sherminator...I hope you were not meaning to insinuate that I am not a serious fighter in this war...
I don't believe anyone else here thinks that, and certainly, my impassioned posts are not only on purpose and on target in this thread, but my posts in every other thread...
again, we should discuss things in comity (not comedy...comity, a respectful and friendly discussion) and be united...not say what one person or another should or should not post...free speech is free speech. I have several websites which address corporate wrongdoings...and boards like this...but I don't go in and tell people they should or should not say something, even when people post off topic...i do go in and remove posts that are just business ads that are meant to drum up business...i don't run a free advertising service.
so, i respectfully state that what this board is about, is opposition to draconian efforts of big money and big government to interfere with our lives, and the RIAA is certainly a subset of that larger concern...and i do post on topic. thus, i shall contine to use my right to free speech, and try to make people smile once and while since I believe levity keeps us from getting tooooooo down.
but my posts are heartfelt, serious, and are meant to be informative and motivational. if most people object to my posts on this thread or the others, and express that herein...the bulkeraser will move on...see, i do believe in not hanging out where one is unwanted.
love and luck to all those who oppose the RIAA..
-the bulkeraser

Great posts DJ and bulk. I'm all for giving artists money. IMO, this isn't about not giving the artists their fair share. Believe me, when I shelled $90 a ticket to see Tool this winter, I was supporting them and hoped they received a good portion of that money.

Also, when will the RIAA learn. I download music, yes. BUT, have you seen what bands like Phish and Pearl Jam are doing? You can go to the concert then BUY that concert's MP3's within the next couple of days ONLINE! Amazing service and awesome value. It's anywhere from $11 to $20 for the show...depends on how long the setlist is and you Phish fans know how long the setlist can get. CD's that scratch after a month and can't be fixed have no value to me, hence I will not pay you $18 for another one! GET IT THROUGH your heads! I will pay but for something of VALUE. When will you learn?

And Phish, I will be downloading some of your shows from this tour. Keep up the great work.

No, you are most certainly not alone in those feelings, Bulk.

Quite a few of my younger friends are out there on the front line, while the folks who sent em kick back in nice, safe, air conditioned offices, as far from reality as they can get...

The RIAA, and it's current actions are but one facet of a much, much deeper social, moral, and ethical set of problems facing americans in general - yet it can be summed up in one word.

Ego.

This me-first-me-me-me-only-I-matter garbage is the root cause of 90% of the crap you mentioned.. you trace it back far enough, you'll see what I mean.

THAT shit has to stop, before anything else does.

The reason you feel so isolated in feeling what you feel, is that it's damn near criminal, and supposedly "antipatriotic" to utter such sentiments these days, but no, it ain't just you, it's damned near everybody, your average usually-apathetic joe-on-the-street is darkly muttering to himself these days, which is a rarity, and this bullshit has gone about as far as it can without the inevitable explosion.

Creeping up on our freedoms has always worked, due to the apathy of the many, but as McCarthy learned, too big a bite causes a backlash effect, and Asshead(Ashcroft) has bitten off more than he can chew for sure.

Look on the bright side though, this technological "dark age" is likely to be followed by a rennisance (damned if I can spell it) period of freedom, innovation, and vitality.

We just gotta keep the course, and put our boots to the right asses, and THAT, my friend, starts right here.

Free the music, and let the music free the people.

-user

thank you user...i really appreciate everything you said..and i agree wholeheartedly with it all.
have a great weekend User...you're the best!
-bulk

Keep your eye on the tiger.

In most upsets of a media gathering nature in the past, the "grey people" in the House, and Senate have gained ground in other agendas.

Unless we are grounded in facts, and seriously watching the whole process, some other blight on the constitution will sneak through.

It is a neccesary civic duty of everyone in America to visit:

http://thomas.loc.gov/

everyday. Also to learn how to use it, and find there way to their neighbors, and representatives doors when we are compelled to do so.

It is my opinion that everyone in this thread, and in this board is compelled to do so.

Remember, it's the draconian copyright laws, specifically the DMCA, that have given the RIAA the authority to do what they are doing. These laws must be changed before we can hope to reign in the RIAA. Pending court fights with PacBell, Verizon, MIT + Boston College, etc. may cause changes but our speaking out will help.