I don't get it ?

[sfxwe]

Here is a cut and paste from some news on the RIAA suits:

The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is on a rampage, launching legal attacks against average Americans from coast to coast. Rather than working to create a rational, legal means by which its customers can take advantage of file-sharing technology and pay a fair price for the music they love, it has chosen to sue people like Brianna LaHara, a 12 year-old girl living in New York City public housing.

I am not for what the RIAA is doing by any means, BUT my question has more to do with the 12 year old girl!!!!!

She is living in public housing, but yet she is on the internet enough to get the RIAA's attention. So where is the money coming from for the internet and computer?!?!?!?! Sanata Clause? Esp, to file share, wouldn't ya need broadband?

I guess the reason why I ask is for this reason:

I worked with a lady who had 3 kids, one from a marriage that had failed and 2 from other people. This same person lived BUT did NOT marry a guy who also had kids from prior marriages etc..... now as her manager I would get calls from different gov agencies, regarding her employement and her monthly earnings. This person on a regular baisis received money from the state and gov! She went on vacations, had big screen TVs, new cars etc etc etc.......I don't get it?

A 12 year old girl in public housing on the internet long enough each day to attract the attention of the RIAA?!?!?!?!?! Am I missing something?

[g_shocker182]

Go sign the petition then:

https://www.videohelp.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=178373

[sfxwe]

Your missing my point! How can she afford a broadband internet connection and computer? Or should I say her parents?

[Solarjetman]

The complex may have broadband for all the tenents to share.

But it never said she had broadband (although she probably does). They are suing for the number of songs, not the spped of the connection.

But more than likely, the family is recieving some kind of welfare and the public's tax dollars are paying for it.

[sfxwe]

@ Solarjetman

EXACTLY!!!!!!!!!!!!

I know they are not sueing for the connection speed, I am wondering how she is even on the internet in the 1st place, and who is paying for it!!!!

[Conquest10]

@ Solarjetman

EXACTLY!!!!!!!!!!!!

I know they are not sueing for the connection speed, I am wondering how she is even on the internet in the 1st place, and who is paying for it!!!!

didn't you read his response? the government.

[gmatov]

Who in the hell cares?
They're on welfare? ( So you say, particularly the bluenose who started this post, the " manager ", so anyone who can't or shouldn't be able to afford a BB connection is automatically gypping the US gov, and by extension. you.)

We have a global internet, and a "No child left behind" and we're concerned that she may be wasting her Section 8 payments for a connection to the internet.

And, since the "manager" knows what her income is, and how many kids she has to how many men, only one, I might add, to her legitimate husband at the time, our Bluenose gets on his noble steed to do battle with these harlots who would gyp his gov, and by extension, him.

Get a life and get your blue nose out of these people's lives.

As a child of the 21st century, did you know that before BB, you could still DL an MP3, 4 megs or so, with a dial up connection? Did you know that, at one time, we connected at 300 BAUD, at that time, I think, a true 300 bits per second? And we did it!! And were you born with a BB connection, so anyone sharing MP3s must have a BB connection?

Hey, I, my own self, didn't have BB till last November.

Who the hell are you to condemn someone whom you think is wasting taxpayer's money?

This is the most asinine and spiteful post I think I have ever seen, here.

And I will sign off as,

George

You want to argue this, I will do my best to tear you a new a**hole!!

[Hatz]

Amen gmatov. I totally agree with you. Hell my first modem was a 14.4 and then I got the upgrade of my lifetime going to 56k........wow so much faster. But yes it is very possible to download on a 56K. Hell when Napster first came out most people on there had 56k.

How the hell do you not know she isnt on dialup. Isn't there free ISPs? Like that Juno stuff?

You will say but she has 1000s of mp3s. There is a thing called ripping. Possibly she ripped a bunch of cds and downloaded some music. They are after for sharing them with people. So they very well could have been her own. Highly unlikely but ya never know.

But don't be so ignorant to think she doesnt deserve a computer or connection. She didn't come from money, but that doesnt mean she doesnt have a right to it.

Ive given an old computer to St. Vincent De Paul (charity place). Maybe she got one there.

Just get off of your pedestal and don't worry about it.

Hatz

[Tommyknocker]

So, when the twelve-year old eventually graduates from high school and is lucky enough to go to college, or enters the job market, it warms my heart to know they are computer literate. It is a good chance she will not repeat the cycle of poverty. Too bad you do not get it, Sfxwe. I do: people in government housing can use computers, too. Even if she is on welfare, that is a feather in the cap for the system as well: The twelve year olds our tax dollars are supporting are compter savy. Way to go, George Bush!

[sfxwe]

@gmatov & Hatz

I was wrong looking at how I posted what I said. I am not saying she shouldn’t be entitled to get on the big WWW or have a computer and Hatz made a good point about the computer and donations, I stand corrected.

I also know that you can trade files with any type of connection, lol. I am trying to say that I would think in order to catch the attention of the RIAA you would have to be trading lots of files, not just a couple ripped from a few CDs.

I could see how a family could run into problems and need help; I shot off my mouth before thinking, and for that I apologize.

Now, you also don’t know me either so lets not make any assumptions either. Yes I do have BB and work very hard to pay for it, I have never been handed anything in my life.

PS. I did not grow up with BB, lol…I might be just a little older than you might think.

[gmatov]

SF,

Go look up the post that had the link to the girl being sued,

They did not go by the highest to the lowest in number of downloads.

They went by where she fell in the alphabet, or just where they placed her name on the list. "First 100, we're suing you, pay up."

And, if the reports are true, those SOBs got 3000 bucks from, what you are saying, is a welfare family.

This is the most spectacular f'in thing I have ever heard. We take 3 f'in months, or 6 f'in months of her supposed "welfare" checks to pay a f'in fine to one of the richest organizations in the entire country, with members making beaucoup millions per year from a bunch of jerks ( if the shoe fits ) who just gotta have the newest CD with "a" new song on it.

Jesus H. Christ!!! What a bunch of jerks!!

And, what do you do? You cry and piss and moan!! Or whinge!!

Not a hell of a lot of cheers to wish anyone,

George

[Hatz]

I accept your apology....heheh. Sorry I didn't mean to jump all over your back or anything but I thought you were trying to be a jerk.

With that being said, I think we can all agree that the RIAA are really the ones to blame. Sure she was doing something illegal but give the family a break.......come on. Like they need the 2000 dollars from her. Get a clue RIAA. If you keep on suing people, everyone is going to think you are ******** and then not buy any cds at all.

I really think they took the wrong approach at this music pirating thing. There is something else they could have done but instead they go out and try to get every dime out of everyone.

Hatz

[Tommyknocker]

You know, I have to agree with Gmatov: RIAA are a bunch of curmudgeons (my word). I think you may have a great idea, Hatz, referring to your prediction or advice that no one will be buying anything from them if they keep this up. Is the profit margin really that important? It seems to me if the RIAA found out this little girl was 12 years old, why did they not do what anyone with common decency would have done: call or write a firm polite note to the parent(s).

"Dear Sir or Ma'am:
Brianna has been caught stealing our intellectual property. If you do not stop her from doing this, we will do it litigiously."

Then if the parents disregards, then all bets are off. So I believe we should start compiling a list of everything RIAA is into, and boycott.

[flaninacupboard]

I can understand your frustration sfxwe,
I didn't get access to the web till i bought and built a computer, and paid for a connection. i did that in my teens by operating a paper round, and cleaning vans and car at weekends. no reason why this young girl wasn't doing some casual work too.

I do see your point though, when a family has government assistance and has a decent standard of living (assuming the computer wasn't surrounded by roaches and empty pizza boxes ) it makes you think "couldn't that money have gone to someone homeless? or someone who can't afford medical treatment? or someone in another country who can't even get enough food to live?"

But as tommyknocker eloquently points out, if the young girl is PC savvy and intelligent, her children should never end up in government housing.

In this country (not so much now, probably about 5 years ago, before sky digital) you could tell when you were in a council housing area, 90% of the houses had sky dishes, the roadside is littered with dog ends and empty beer cans. Kind of irritating "I work hard and i can't afford cigarettes and sky TV!" but this is the way things are......

[gmatov]

The most sorry thing about this whole sorry issue is that, no, we won't say you are a bunch of greedy jerks and we ain't agonna buy no more of your product.

The next time one of your favorite groups puts out 1 new tune on a compilation of their old stuff, that you have copies already containing, right to the store , gotta have it.

The only time any kind of boycott works is when some organization gets its membership to go along, such as labor unions, the NRA, etc.

They cry that sales are going down, and that it has to be the "pirates", can't possibly be the economic times. As for instance, yesterday's report that 400,000 filed for initial unemployment claims, and that does not include those last into the workforce who do not have sufficient earnings TO file.

Might be different in the UK. Here you must have earned enough in the last 5 quartes to be eligible, they toss out your last 1/4 worked, so anyone less than 3 months on the job, new school grads, etc., ineligible.

Oh, yes, one other boycott has worked, the one where the Dizie Chick told an English audience she was ashamed to be from the same state as our current pres. She was banished from radio, and, I do believe their sales crashed.

Cheers,

George

edit: hit the wrong key spelling Dixie Chick, decided not to correct, as it's appropriate. One should know better than to be politically incorrect in these times.

[sfxwe]

Like I said, I worded my intial post wrong, I guess I could have gone back and changed it but I chose not to.

Look, I am not trying to go after some innocent 12 year old, and I AGREE totally with you guys about the RIAA and declining CD sales. Ya gotta wonder if the RIAA understands that people aren't making the kinda money that they use to, lord knows I'm not.

I was going more after the point that flaninacupboard has made. Is the system being abused and could some money be going to someone who isn't making it and may not have food or someone who needs medical attention but isn't getting it.

There are people that are homeless, and choose to be that way AND there are people that are homeless that would not perfer to be homeless. I am not sticking my nose up and at the same time looking down at anyone. I have been envolved in many things that have help the less fortunate. I wasn't envolved in those things so I could look in the mirror and feel better about myself, I did it because I felt someone needed help and it was the right thing to do.

The person I mentioned in the begining of the post grossly abused the system, thats a FACT. I always wondered if the system wasn't being abused could someone else be getting help. I believe the answer is yes. I believe there are people in this country (USA) that are in need of help but are not getting it because people that are getting help from the gov are / or have worked the system. So my curiosity was raised when reading the artical about the new RIAA case and a 12 year old girl.

Look I am not trying to start a flame war, that was not my intent. So please lets not make it one.