[Leaplist] HD-DVD AACS hacked

[John Simpson]

On 2006-12-29, at 2259, Chris wrote:
>
> This iteration of the battle will only be won when consumers
> are a little more educated about the rights they have yielded
> to voracious content providers and sold-out legislators ...

it's funny that you draw the parallel between "voracious content  
providers" (i like that word, "voracious"... you don't hear it often  
enough in conversation) and "sold-out legislators"... because there  
are a lot of similarities between the "rock and a hard place" where  
the media moguls are trying to put us, and the "rock and a hard  
place" where the federal government has largely succeeded in putting us.

and you're right, it all comes down to rights being yielded (or at  
least not used), because many people don't seem to realize that they  
HAVE rights in the first place, or what those rights are... and  
that's exactly how the federal government wants it. an un-informed  
"citizen" who doesn't believe they have any rights is much easier to  
control than a fully informed sovereign human being who knows his  
rights and is willing to assert and defend them.

for those who aren't sure what i'm talking about, this video does a  
MUCH better job of explaining it than i could. the speaker is michael  
badnarik, who was the libertarian party's candidate for president in  
2004 and is a computer geek by trade (that's right, he's "one of  
us".) he teaches an all-day course about the constitution, and this  
is part 1 of that course. fair warning, you will probably end up  
wanting to watch all seven parts, and they're all just under an hour  
apiece.

	http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=8321747074978323622

and now that i think about it, there is a similar situation... just  
as the federal government really needs to be reminded that "we the  
people" are really the ones in charge, so do the media companies need  
to be reminded that we are the ones in charge of them as well-  
because THEY NEED OUR MONEY MORE THAN WE NEED THEIR MEDIA.

when it comes to the media companies, vote with your wallets. stop  
buying music, movies, and other media produced by RIAA/MPAA  
members... or at least stop buying the ones which include DRM  
technology, whatever YOU feel is appropriate. and whatever you decide  
to do or not do, make sure you TELL people what you're doing or not  
doing, and why. (i think the employees at the borders at 436/434 are  
probably sick of me telling them over and over why i won't buy most  
music or movies there...)

and when it comes to the government, vote with your brain and your  
conscience. don't allow yourself to be lulled into the "two party"  
myth- in the 2004 presidential election there were over 30  
candidates. don't feel like you're "wasting" your vote if you vote  
for somebody who the elephants or asses didn't nominate- even though  
your guy may not win, every vote for him is a signal to the elephants  
and asses that there is a body of people out there who care enough to  
vote with their brains and conscience, and that maybe they should  
start paying attention to "we the people" more than "they the  
corporations".

and don't forget that the presidential election isn't the only one  
that you're voting in... probably even more important than choosing  
which monkey sits in the white house is choosing who your  
congressional reps and senators will be. THESE are the guys who MAKE  
the laws, so THESE are the guys who REALLY need to believe in the  
same things you do (or at least as close as you can get.) i'm as  
guilty of this as most of us, but have you ever actually met your rep  
or your senator? have you had a chance to sit down with him, face-to- 
face, and tell him what you believe in and what you want him to vote  
for or against in washington? the rich business owners all certainly  
have... if you have the time and the money, you (alone, or with a  
group of friends who are also his constituents) may want to call his  
office and offer to take the guy to lunch- just so you can have his  
ear all to yourself for an hour. if nothing else you'll be able to  
say you've met the guy, and who knows- you may actually do some good.

and remember that the networks (most of which are owned by the same  
media companies who want you to pay every time you watch a DVD or  
listen to a music CD) aren't going to say much of anything about  
anybody other than the elephants and the asses, so it's up to YOU to  
find out who the other candidates are and what their positions are in  
regards to the issues you care about... and then on election day,  
it's up to you to VOTE for the person who YOU THINK is the best man  
for the job, rather than just voting for who you think is going to  
win. the only wasted votes are the ones never cast, or the ones cast  
in violation of the voter's conscience.

don't be a media stooge- in either fight.

(it's funny, i didn't realize this would turn into a political  
diatribe when i started the message... sorry. i'm also posting this  
to leapbs, if you want to respond to the political aspect of the  
message please do so over there instead of turning the main LEAP list  
into a political forum.)

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| John M. Simpson    ---   KG4ZOW   ---    Programmer At Large |
| http://www.jms1.net/                         <jms1 at jms1.net> |
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| http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-4312730277175242198 |
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