Stephen Kellett writes: | In message <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>, Geoffrey Loker | <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> writes | >> >If left up to Sonny Bono and the RIAA there would be no | >> >public domain. | | <Excellent rant about copyright> | | ...and of course you have to remember that this comes from the "Land of | the free".
Yeah, but the rest of the world should consider that the Bush administration's policies have been fairly clearly stated: 1. American law is the only significant law; all the rest is "irrelevant". 2. American citizens (especially US government employees) are exempt from the law outside US territory. This especially applies to such quaint relics as the Geneva Conventions. Not that this approach is at all unusual for a "superpower". I seem to recall reading in some history books about a few other governments that have had the same policies at various times in the past. Also, recall that one of George Bush's campaign slogans was that he wanted to be "America's CEO". He thinks the US government (and therefore the entire world) should be run as a business. This means, of course, that it exists solely for the financial benefit of its officers and shareholders, where "shareholder" is another term for "campaign contributor". The rest of us are at best employees; if not, we're irrelevant. One of the goals of the big entertainment corporations such as the RIAA and MPAA is that everything will be covered by copyright, and of course most copyrights will be held by the big corporations. This includes all that silly "folk" stuff, too, at least all of it that has ever been published anywhere. So if any of us want to play any folk music, we must first get a license from the appropriate publisher(s). If you haven't paid your license fees, possession of a fiddle or banjo will be primae-facie evidence of intent to commit a crime. (And God help anyone caught in possession of an accordion or bagpipe. ;-) To understand what is really intended, google for the terms: "Girl Scouts" copyright ASCAP (A lot of the readers here probably already know this story. Note that the Girl Scouts caved on this one; they are paying an annual license fee so that the girls can sing songs around a campfire.) To subscribe/unsubscribe, point your browser to: http://www.tullochgorm.com/lists.html
