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| From | "bob" <segarini@sympatico.ca> |
| Subject | Fw: Don't Believe What You Read |
| Date | Wed, 5 Nov 2003 09:45:33 -0500 |
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This morning's Lefsetz...
bib
> "The tide of music piracy has been stemmed, said Mr. Stringer, who added
that
> there has been a drop in music downloads from the Kazaa Web site."
>
> "Wall Street Journal"-11/5/03, page D4
>
> I used to be a believer.
>
> I thought the President was interested in the well-being of Americans
instead
> of corporations.
>
> I thought these same corporations bore a responsibility to the public.
>
> I thought news organizations kept both of them honest.
>
> But something happened in the last two decades. The bottom line became
> everything.
>
> A new elite of rich businessmen eviscerated the jobs of the working man,
and
> those that were left...had their pay and benefits cut. As these same fat
cats
> increased both of theirs. Meanwhile, the government said this was somehow
> GOOD for the people. That by letting corporations do what they wanted,
> unfettered by oversight, the working man would pay less taxes, and be
wealthier.
> We've got Paul Krugman, esteemed Princeton economist, railing against this
in the
> "New York Times", but the right wing has labeled him a quack. Bring up
his
> name, and people laugh and stop listening.
>
> Meanwhile, the numbers of those that can understand have been reduced.
> Since, despite all the rhetoric of "no child left behind", monies for
education
> have been stripped to the bone. And, instead of worrying about advancing
the
> plight of the black man, he's been incarcerated, where he won't cause
those with
> the money any trouble.
>
> This used to be a great country. Admired around the world.
>
> Now, with a President that got us into a war under false pretenses,
without
> the support of most other countries, the U.S. is seen as the land of
bullies.
> And, if you study George W. Bush, you can truly see he's the head bully.
Born
> with a silver spoon in his mouth, if he wasn't President he could star as
a
> fraternity hazer in a prep school or college flick.
>
> But things are going to turn around. Because those in power have taken it
> TOO FAR!
>
> I mean look at today's FCC decision. You're gonna have to buy new TV
> equipment. Just so the networks can be sure you won't redistribute their
product.
> Even their public domain content, like news footage.
>
> The public?
>
> The public was left out of this decision. The media didn't cover it, the
> same way they didn't cover the new rules re concentration in media
> ownership...because these new regulations BENEFIT THEM!
>
> Yup, the Tribune Company that owns the L.A. "Times"...they're a TV
powerhouse
> too.
>
> Things have gone too far. Our only savior is technology.
>
> File-trading for music? A JOKE compared to file-trading documents about
> defective voting machines. Yup, Diebold is suing to stop this. How does
this
> help our democracy?
>
> The tech revolution is gonna save us. Because the nerds in tech are off
the
> radar of the fat cats, they don't UNDERSTAND TECH!
>
> But tech is where the power is. And the young people know how to use it.
>
> At this very moment, 3,001,924 people are using KaZaA. That number is UP!
> Usually nighttime usage is in the two million range.
>
> And during the day...just shy of four million people are trading. Exactly
> the same number as were taking part in this activity PRIOR to the
lawsuits.
>
> And then there's that other story in the WSJ. About 1.4 million
households
> wiping their hard drives of music in the wake of the RIAA lawsuits
(600,000
> wiped them prior to the lawsuits).
>
> But this statistic is worthless. It's based on an estimate from 10,000
> people who AGREED to have their hard drives monitored. Now, THAT'S a
select group.
> Probably in favor of John Ashcroft's Patriot Act. And, they had fewer
than
> fifty files each. To extrapolate this small sample into ANYTHING is
> essentially MEANINGLESS!
>
> But we've got this propaganda in the newspaper.
>
> It's the sixties all over again. We're in Vietnam. Not only over in
Iraq,
> but here. The government and businessmen are out of touch with the
public.
> There's a generation gap so wide the oldsters LITERALLY can't understand
the
> kids, since they don't really know how to use computers!
>
> We've seen this movie before. Johnson had to take his name off the
ballot.
> The war ended. America was liberalized.
>
> Yup, all those Republican voters are gonna wake up. Hell, they've woken
up
> about the war already.
>
> But maybe a better Vietnam analogy isn't comparing today's kids with
> yesterday's kids, but the NORTH VIETNAMESE!
>
> The North Vietnamese couldn't be beaten. They'd fight to the bitter end.
> They BELIEVED!
>
> File traders don't believe in Universal Music. Or the RIAA.
>
> And Universal Music and the RIAA don't even understand the game. They
can't
> even understand that these by track sales companies are their ruin.
>
> Howard Stringer's still talking about the CD. How he's gonna REDUCE THE
> NUMBER OF TRACKS TO SAVE MONEY!
>
> Hell, CDs are too long. But most of these acts are laboring under
> controlled-composition clauses. And, unless you're a superstar, how much
are you gonna
> save in studio time by cutting off a couple of tracks?
>
> This must be one of Andy Lack's brilliant ideas. Artistry, integrity, OUT
> THE WINDOW! Just make the numbers work in your favor.
>
> Well, we're all laughing. Because with antics like this, with the
spreading
> of disinformation, you're just solidifying the trader, the CONSUMER in his
> resolve to beat the record industry at every turn. And, the last time I
checked,
> the consumer was winning. And, the REAL statistics say he still is.
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