Recently, there have been articles relating to the RIAA’s merciless persecution of college students, and how at least some students have folded like a cheap fan and “settled” with the behemoth Goliath, paying so-called “undisclosed sums” (read: extortion money) to halt any legal fights against them.

Alas, such a path (can you spell “surrender,” anybody?) does not appease anyone, least of all a determined enemy (the RIAA) hell-bent (sorry about that) on absolute power and total domination and enslavement of the masses. On the contrary; such capitulation on the part of these students only further emboldens these thugs with gold-record awards on their walls to become even more merciless, unscrupulous, overbearing and aggressive in their war against consumers, and makes it that much more difficult, if not outright impossible, for other future “targets” to fight these big bullies. In short, because those students thought they had everything to lose, now we as a society, really do have everything to lose, what with the “final solution” being plotted for new technologies in the Orwellian-Bolshevik “New World Order” FTAA proposal up now, the Stalinist “broadcast flag,” and so on.

Of course, there are those who will say that they took the proverbial “easy way out,” ponying up rather than sticking it out and risking losing everything, for whatever reason (stress of taking tests, aiming for degrees and diplomas, etc.). But as history is my guide, besides the points raised above, there is another nefarious undercurrent to think about; that is, in relation to the battle for Western civilization that was necessitated by radical Islam’s war on America, Israel and other “civilized” nations as accelerated on Sept. 11, 2001. Rightly or wrongly, it is not hard to imagine the likes of Al-Qaeda or the Taliban reading about these cases and thinking that, if another 9/11-style attack were to be mounted in, say, the neighborhoods that these RIAA victims lived in, the people in question would opt to convert to Islam or submit to second-class dhemmi (inferior) status rather than fight to defend themselves (and our freedoms) and therefore risk having their throats cut (or other brutal punishments) as decreed by Islamic law.

And of course, again and again when talking about the so-called “easy” route, the lessons of World War II get regurgitated over and over. It’s not all that difficult to see why. British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain, in 1938, taking the “easy” route in handing over the Sudetenland to Adolf Hitler in exchange for “peace in our time” — and yet, as we saw, not only was the German dictator not appeased, his appetite was further whetted, and six months into that treaty, he annexed the entire land of Czechoslovakia. And then he invaded Poland, and the rest is history. In short, Chamberlain’s “path of least resistance” was largely what led to World War II.

And in 1940, we saw this kind of behavior from the French, who readily surrendered to the Nazis rather than risk being destroyed in a fight that certainly would have come. Indeed, the conquest of much of Europe up to that point made it all that much harder for Great Britain to defend herself from the invading Nazi hordes come time for the Battle of Britain. But by that time, the country was being led by Winston Churchill, who truly understood the importance of standing by one’s principles and sticking it out, no matter what the cost for the moment, because what one does at the time has great (and sometimes grave) implications for the future of society and the freedom of man – and certainly such was the case in early 1940’s England. And in the end, Churchill (and the allies) prevailed, although much of London was in shambles from all the bombings.

In short, capitulation to bullies for momentary “peace” and supposed avoidance of even bloodier battles has led time and again to enslavement of entire peoples, outright conquest by hostile foreign powers, and in extreme cases, death by starvation, mass murder, and other methods. Whether these college students, whatever their situation or circumstance, are aware of the consequences for the future that their actions at the moment bring, one cannot tell. But the effects are as clear as the day is short in winter and long in summer.

One Final Observation: Over the weekend, there were so-called “anti-war” protests in several cities which some would call “anti-American” because of the various groups involved – one of which, the Workers World Party, is a known Communist front group that has supported the brutal regimes of Fidel Castro in Cuba, Kim Jong Il in North Korea, the Butchers of Beijing, and the old Soviet regime in Russia, and has called for violent overthrow of our government (faulty and special interest–driven though it is) and replacement with a Soviet–style dictatorship. The tie-in to this situation has to do with an article published in the summer of 2000 in their Workers World newspaper called “Napster and the Right to Free Music.” The headline, and indeed the article, has struck this writer as exactly the type of writing that could, and would, play right into the hands of those in the multinational entertainment-media complex (especially the RIAA, MPAA and other pertinent alphabet-soup lobbies) that have sought to link P2P and file-sharing to Communism.

But one question: Did anyone notice if any college students were part of these demonstrations? And if so, were they from any colleges that have become de facto RIAA stooges? I’d like to know . . .

I completely agree with you.
However, a word of advice - why not put your money where your mouth is.
Stop taking the easy way out:
Say less, DO more
Instead of condemning those who are being sued, how about you support them instead? You want them to take the battle to the RIAA; to personally take the burdens of the world upon their shoulders - then why don't you volunteer to pay for the lawsuit. Since it is the RIGHT thing to do - the STEADFAST thing to do.
Never Give up! Never SURRENDER!
On a side note, the money spent on your internet connection and computer, the items that enabled you to compose this document, could have been better spent by paying for the lawyer fees of all those opposing the RIAA. While we're at it, sell your house, car, pick up another job, forget your family and your friends. Work more. Destroy the RIAA! Be steadfast, my friend. Don't fold "like a cheap fan" (oh my, those words aren't copyright, are they?).
When you have done this, then you may criticize the actions of others, Mother Theresa.

~ a disgruntled college student.

"In short, because those students thought they had everything to lose, now we as a society, really do have everything to lose..."

Although your intentions are good in your points in the article, that quote speaks for itself and it bothers me quite a bit.

By pitting it on the students, and then stating their inability to combat the RIAA results in what "we" lost as a society, you assume that students are the only culprits and the only ones responsible for this mess.

As a student myself in college, I find that grotesquely offensive. By not buying any RIAA-affliated products and by spreading the word around is (in my humble opinion) in itself, what students are doing to fight the RIAA. Everything else in this god-forsaken society requires money to accomplish, and that, for the most part, is something that the great majority of college students do not have.

What of the artists? They have the power to leave the RIAA anytime they do, especially the big-name stars who have garnered fortunes already and whom do not have woes with money, yet reality shows that for the most part, making music videos for MTV is a greater priority than hearing what fans want.

What of the government? They have the power, EASILY, to stop this incessant madness, yet they do not. Money speaks louder in this country than its citizens (it's no surprise as the core of this country is capitalism, not democracy.) by no fewer than a million decibels.

What of the executives of the RIAA themselves? They ULTIMATELY have the power to end the ridiculous lawsuits and propaganda, but apparently, greed's hold is not shaken so easily.

To pit the bulk of the "blame," so to speak, on college students is a great offense to college students everywhere.

It's easy to make allusions to the prelude of World War II, but you must remember that Chamberlain was a man of POWER, something that students being sued or subpoenaed do not have too much of. There is no doubt in my mind that if those students that were subpoenaed/sued had the time and money (which equates to power in this country, unfortunately) to battle the RIAA, not a single one of them would have settled.

So please, do not say that because "those college students thought they had everything to lose," which they really did if they decided to fight, that "we as a society, really do have everything to lose." We as a society isn't comprised merely of college students. We as a society have the responsibility to support these students and any victims of the RIAA if we even remotely value our rights at all.

they are still kids (even the 20 somethings) and they see the short term.... cant fault their decisions thats why we have to take the fight to the RIAA in defense of those who cant....or wont

For the most part, I think this article conveys a strong message which we should all consider. I especially liked the references to WWII, being a student of WWII myself.

However, there is a very important difference between the students being sued by the RIAA today and the France & England of the late 1930s.

Most military historians reckon that France and England could have held their own against Hitler if they had stood firm before the blitzkrieg was unleashed. Even after the invasion of France had begun in 1940, the Wehrmacht might have been stopped if France fought harder and if both the French and British made better use of their tanks.

But these college students are not like France or Britain; they are more like Denmark. Hitler had no problem picking off the Danes, for they were such a small country with no friendly nations bordering them and no hope of stopping the Wehrmacht given their tiny army.

If any of these college students are to be expected to put up a decent fight, they need a power ally(ies). In theory, this should be possible if even 10% of the estimated 60 million file sharers contributed a few bucks for a legal defense fund. But until this happens, I don't think it is really fair to expect these students to fight against the RIAA.

I don't think we can blame the students. Having been through financial castophy it's not as big a deal for me however when you have your whole life ahead of you that's a different story.

I like the autors refference to "the final solution"

I don't know who wrote that incredible piece of ****, but instead of lining up the college students who folded like fans, go stand in their shoes, buddy! First of all, none of those college students came from wealthy families, or they would not have needed to download their music, they simply would go out and spend some more of daddy's bucks on whatever CD's their hearts' desire. The poorer the student, the more downloading is done.
College costs are up more than ever. I have two daughters in college, and it is a never ending battle to keep them there. They both have jobs, car payments, and a full load of classes. They are learning life's lessons about finances, on the job, so to speak.
If any college student has folded like a fan...ironic term there, fan...then we as boycotters are not doing our job...there needs to be more information available to them about the sources available to fight the wicked RIAA.

First off, I think that the author of this needs to educate himself, and step a little away from the far-right wing.

I am what you would call a communist (actually an evolutionary socialist). You need to educate yourself regarding the groups you speak against.

Another thing, this isn't the McCarthy era. You aren't going to lose your job or be seen as a threat for being a Marxist. Read the Communist Manifesto. I think you'll learn something.

I don't see how you can fight the RIAA when you're attacking groups around you that you don't even understand.

Workers Unite!

You can't blame them, 150,000$ possible PER SONG. Would you risk your whole life over this?

Instead of condemning those who are being sued, how about you support them instead

This bothers me as well also. If you will not stand up for your selves then why do you expect some one else to? To simply lay down and let this oerganization walk all over you is a travest. When will you stand up, I am willing to stand up for all the ppl on the internet using p2p I do so by coming here every day. If the generation that is in college know will not stand up then we as a country may be lost in the future, for it is you who will take over some day. I agree with thios article 100%.

And it also comes down to this, ifthe RIAA does bring a suit against you fight them and tell them to pove it, we habve seen how acurate thier methods are, so since there is doubt you would probably win.

we have to take the fight to the RIAA in defense of those who cant....or wont

Good point I am with ya on this.

That was supposed to be the point of this article -- to show the long-term consequences of NOT standing up for oneself, whatever the situation -- notice the operative word "unwitting" in the description for this article. In a way, I'd agree wholeheartedly with some of the comments here. However, whether this is fair or accurate or not, the fact is that how the world is ruled, and decisions and policies made, is based largely on perception and appearances (think the whole going to war in Iraq, for example), and have little, if anything, to do with reality. Thus, the APPEARANCE and PERCEPTION that those who took RIAA "settlements" are week-kneed individuals who'd have no stomach for any fight whatsoever. This may or may not be true in reality, mind you, as I must emphasize, but some people out there may well come to that conclusion. And the most glaring case of policies being based on appearances and perception, of course, is the RIAA's own reckless, ruthless, crypto-imperialistic agenda. The RIAA and their ilk may or may not be outright racist (viz those like Brianna LaHara), but based on their attitude towards new technologies and so on, they certainly are bigots.

And I do tip my hat to those individuals who have indicated that they'll go the distance in fighting the RIAA junta. But they do have a long, hard road ahead and I wish them all the best of luck.

I've been out of college for a while now, doing the whole adult responsibility thing with wife, kids mortgage and etc.

Lets say I had 1000 songs, the RIAA subpeonas me. Do I go to court facing a possible $150,000,000 judgement against me?

I don't know what I would do. Regardless of what is right or wrong, or whats at stake in the larger picture of rights of individuals in our society, I don't know that I would put up a fight. The thought that there is so much more to lose (you know, my kids being able to eat and having a place to live) would far outweigh the desire to stand up to the RIAA in court.

Lets say I make $50k per year. If RIAA took everything I made to pay the $150,000,000 I would never be allowed to die, cause the debt would be too large, I could never in my lifetime, my kid's, or grandkid's, or great grandkid's pay that off.

$2000-$5000 doesn't sound so bad if you look at it that way.

If any of you "fight 'em cause I would" and "come on RIAA, I dare you to sue me!" people would stop with the knee jerk reactions and do something constructive like establish a defense fund, I would be glad to do my part and contribute $20-50 a month to help people.

OK, now that everyone on the board is pissed off at me, I have a question for leflaw. How do we establish a fund, and who will administer it.

If this site were to establish a fund, would be duplicating efforts of other organizations?

tasadar if i got sued, whether it be $5,000 or 5,000 billion it wouldnt matter id just have to declare bankruptcy and laugh at the RIAA for spending 100s of thousands of dollars to not get one cent

cant take money from those who have none in the eyes of the govt lol

Dark nite9 no one is mad at you, I am one ofthose that feel that we should stand up to these tyrants, but after some thought some are not, and will not. BUt for me yes I would fight it. Come on the RIAA does not want to go to court simply for the fact that in court their case would be week. Can they prove that you have Mp3 on your machine? and that you downloaded them? No they can not they can show that at on ip address some one down loaded but can not prove that it was you. It is a simple as installing a new hard drive, and well they cant prove that you ever had them. And I would donate to a fund as well for the ones who will fight, but not the ones who settle. My opinion and only mine.

hell yea, buy an old 2 gig hard drive install linux on it and buy a wireless router turn off encryption and any security features it has. goto court and tell them they smoking crack i cant use kazaa or any gnutella network i use linux.
then if they just wont accept that, you can claim a rogue "pirate" used their pirate ship to commandeer my wifi signal.

-darkened

Idealism is so wonderful to READ about. Or should I say talk is cheap? Obviously we need this author to set an example. It should be no trick for you to set up and share 2000+ high profile songs that are high up on the RIAA hit list (we all know what they are). Set up your system as a supernode on Kazaa and leave your system on for 24-7. When you get your subpoena, keep us posted as to how an individual pulling in perhaps $50,000/year with a mortgage and a family goes head to head against the multi-billion dollar recording industry. I wish you the best of luck and I await the dance with great anticipation.

woodhead, I'm with you, I would gladly make monthly contributions to a fund for the people who would be willing to stand up and fight the RIAA.

Is there a fund that we can contribute to? If not, how can we start one for this site? If everyone would contribute in equal proportion to their anger against the RIAA we should be able to put together a great war chest to fight with.

Combine that with any other funds that exist, and we can make a difference.

So, just some fantasy math, but Leflaw, what is an approximate $$ amount that it would/ could take to finance a high profile case, through the initial trial and 2 appeals? This would give us a base goal to shoot for.

Is anyone else interested in getting a fund going?

Hey darkened03, I'm not sure, but I don't think a judgement against you would be dismissed by declaring bankruptcy.