[muglo] Re: music downloads

On 15/07/06, Gerhard Kuhn <gerhardk@xxxxxxx> wrote:
> Eric I suppose buying shoes at Wal-Mart  made in factories employing child 
> labour, or the slave labour used to make your Nike trainers, the 
> environmental damage done by the factory producing the CD-Rs you bought last 
> week, speeding in your car to go buy a pack of cigarettes, mowing your lawn 
> on a smog day while your neighbour dies from respiratory disease makes you a 
> morally superior being.  So be it, on the other hand if you think about this 
> you may not be so smug next time you look at that hypocrite in your bathroom 
> mirror.

I don't shop at Wal-Mart because of their illegal and unethical
treatment of unionized workers and the distortion in supplier markets
caused by their business practices. Whenever I do have a lawn I only
use a push-mower. Whenever I drive I make sure it is in the smallest
car possible (you'd be surprised how difficult it is to get rental
agencies NOT to give you "free" upgrades to an effing SUV or minivan)
and I steadfastly refuse to drive above 100 km/h because of the
environmental impact cause by driving above 90 km/h (fuel efficiency
drops precipitously over 90 km/h... at 110 km/h you're wasting upwards
of 25% over 80-90 km/h... (and, it only gets worse, the faster you go)
 (plus, I don't smoke ;-).

That said, I am sure that I am quite the hypocrite. I do use coal and
nuclear generated electricity for my computers. I do purchase
pre-packaged foods (extremely energy inefficient) and I participate in
many other energy and resource consuming activities. I do however
strive to keep my energy footprint low (it's 1/4-1/6 of someone who
drives an SUV and keeps the AC running in the summer).

As for the issue at hand, I am not passing judgement on your lifestyle
(I know nothing about it).

I am passing judgement on the discussion which took place here which
was about how to use a site which is doing something COMPLETELY
illegal and indefensible, even if you're a strict anti-copy protection
or music distributors are evil sort of person.

AllofMp3 is a site which profits from artists and the infrastructure
supporting artists without their permission, without giving back to
the artist, and, the kicker is that the profits of these illegal sales
often end up in the hands of _ORGANISED_ crime in Russia, a country
where organised crime needs no foreign subsidies.

File swapping is a very different kettle of fish and I'm not about to
get into the ethics of "trading" files except to point out that no
money, goods or services are traded (you could make the argument
people won't put their songs up if others don't reciprocate but the
ethical and legal issues are quite a bit less sticky than when you're
profiting from the distribution/sale of pirated intellectual
property).

I am disappointed that you perceived this as an attack on your
character (which, rest assured this is not an attack, nor is it an
attack on your character -- I am taking issue with what you wrote).

I'd be quite happy to "cop" to being a hypocrite in this issue if I
were buying pirated movies or brand-name knock-offs but I don't and am
quite annoyed that the police aren't doing more to crack down on the
pirates that set up shop in Toronto's China town/Kensington Market.

I am well aware of the arguments surrounding copy-protection, the
evils of the DCMA and the horrible way copyright has been implemented
(and agree with many of the criticisms of copy-protection, the DMCA,
and bad copy-right legislation). But, I suspect that even the most
ardent and principled anti-copyright/DCMA/copy-protection crusader
could never advocate for or condone the activities of AllofMp3.com.

> I think in Western society it is virtually impossible not to benefit from the 
> exploitation
> of those less fortunate than us.  We can choose to be small minded and have 
> tunnel
> vision about our own affairs and pass judgement on others or we can live our 
> lives
> and let others live theirs and try to get along.

Huh? "...or we can live our lives and let others live theirs". Re-read
what you wrote and think about the contrast between the conclusion of
that paragraph and "it is virtually impossible not to benefit from the
exploitation of those less fortunate than us".

If it "is virtually impossible not to benefit from exploitation of
those less fortunate then us" then it is also INCUMBENT upon us to
HALT the exploitation when we become aware of it!!! By supporting
activities which rely on exploitation when you're aware of it you are
in effect perpetrating that exploitation YOURSELF.

Does this mean we should turn a blind eye when "big tobacco" tries to
generate new smokers? Especially in the impressionable and desirable
12-18 age group?

To use your argument, we should be "letting [tobacco companies] live
their [lives]" and allowing them to profit like any business whilst
selling a DEADLY product?

Likewise, I should stand by while we discuss on MUGLO how to
participate in illegal activities which support criminal organisations
in a country that can ill-afford to fight organised crime? I should
"live and let live"?

I do believe that no one involved was aware that this company was
acting outside of the law and is a criminal enterprise and I suspect I
wasn't clear enough in expressing myself in my initial posts. If so, I
apologise -- I do not think people here are into criminal activities
and I don't for one minute think _you_, Gerhard are either!

Anyway, I (and I'm sure many others) would rather see a discussion of
the merits of using iTunes, "ripping" your own CDs or converting LPs
to MP3s, alternate sources of legal MP3s for Macs now that we're aware
of the criminal nature of AllofMP3 and similar sites (there was a
Spanish one that tried something similar).
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