kuri wrote:
> "Kevin Wayne Williams" <kww.nihongo@verizon.nut> wrote in message
> 
> 
>>>Apparently, the most
>>>heinous crime in existence is downloading some bits to your computer.
>>>Perspective, anyone?
>>
>>Not quite the most heinous crime in existence, but I maintain that it
>>should entail long prison sentences. It is far from a victimless crime.
> 
> 
> Long prison sentences for millions of people ? That's very American.
Actually, Kuri, the idea is to *prevent* millions of people from 
downloading.

> I think ordinary piracy should not be considered as a crime but as a debt.
> Install systems to see who took what and make them pay what they owe.
I would couple them to cyanide tipped needles in the mousebuttons. That 
way, once Junior downloads his first copyrighted file, he's dead. No 
more downloading problem. It would probably be a good deterrent as well.

> A big motivation for pirating is that's often the only way to get certain
> things without paying much more than what's they are worth, or the only way
> to get them. I think paying 15 000 yen to see a movie (or just 10 minutes of
> it) is pure racket. And many stuff never arrive on the shelves in Japan. If
> there was a reasonable download or view online price, I'd be willing to pay.
How about simply being a decent human being, and not stealing things 
that you aren't willing to pay for? Believe me, I live in a place much 
more remote than you, and our selection of movies is much less than 
yours . We have one 40-seat movie theater, and it brings in one new 
movie  a week. The nearest alternative involves paying about $100 to fly 
to the neighboring island and their massive 6-screen cineplex. I have 
been able to survive without resorting to a life of crime. Why can't you?

KWW