Valenti backs away from P2P hack bill

House Hollywood sock puppet Howard Berman (Democrat, California) may have gone too far in licking the boots of his benevolent patrons. Indeed, he's gone and licked the shine clear off Motion Picture Ass. of America President Jack Valenti's boots, as this article from Reuters indicates.

"We're pleased that a bipartisan group of lawmakers ... want to curb the explosion of Internet piracy," the wire service quotes the previously-supportive Valenti as saying. "However, there are aspects of the bill we believe need changing as it moves through the legislative process. We look forward to working with Congress in this regard."

The bee in Valenti's bonnet is most likely the loose language in Berman's bill.

"A copyright owner shall not be liable in any criminal or civil action for disabling, interfering with, blocking, diverting, or otherwise impairing the unauthorized distribution, display, performance, or reproduction of his or her copyrighted work on a publicly accessible peer-to-peer file trading network, if such impairment does not, without authorization, alter, delete, or otherwise impair the integrity of any computer file or data residing on the computer of a file trader."

That can't be good. It means that anyone with a copyright will be allowed to hack the daylights out of anyone, including MPAA Headquarters, so long as they have a 'reasonable suspicion' of infringement and notify the DoJ of their intent at least seven days before commencing the attack.

Somehow, Valenti failed to impress on the over-eager Berman's mind that this legislation is for media giants only.

The second part of the problem is in Berman's extending protections to the victims of such attacks for damages exceeding $50. Again, he's gone over the top in his eagerness to delight his masters. Or, said another way, if anyone attacked can claim $50 or more in harm, the attacker loses his legal protection. Good grief; has Berman gone mad? Everyone and his brother will be able to claim that.

So, while Recording Industry Ass. of America (RIAA) President Hillary Rosen still welcomes the Berman Gift; Hollywood Honcho Valenti is stepping back until his team of Ass. lawyers and lobbyists can draft a proper bill for Berman, and send him to the House floor armed with the right stuff. ®

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[Free Republic post of "Congress to turn hacks into hackers"]

Jack Valenti is one of the most two-faced lying basturds to ever show his face in public.

So what that he and LBJ were good buddies at one time?

Valenti is the man who continues to tell the mothers of dead children that the ratings systems "work in their best interest"...

It's been said here and it should be repeated, the Convoluted Accounting Practices of the Hollywood elite would make Worldcom, Enron, Global Crossing, and all the rest look like picnics.

The drug input in cash to the Hollywood financial system is enormous and it funds many movies that otherwise would never be made.

Ever seen one of the most stupid pieces of celluloid lately and asked yourself, "How could this even be made"?

Also ask your self why are the California elite from Hollywood and surrounds so damned "out of bounds" for any Federal investigations?

When was the last time anyone got busted big time from the Left Coast on real Federal charges that made any headline?

Valenti and Rosen are the poster children for fascism. If the two of them have their way, their pockets will get lined at the expense of the technology.

Neither one care about the future or the technology, as long as they get "their" cut. They are no better than mobsters extorting protection money out of small business owners - the only difference is that they are using the federal government to do their bidding.

Ideally, Rosen and Valenti should have to open their books so we can see how little they have actually contributed to the motion picture and recording industry landscapes.

Keep in mind these people are protectors of the BIG CORPORATIONS that are the movie studios and record companies. If anyone should hate corporations, it should be these two groups. If a price of a 100 pack of CD's can be purchased for less than 30 bucks even at Wal-Mart. Why can't they make their products cheaper as well. It's absolutely ridiculous that they expect people to pay 20 bucks for a CD that could be made and sold for half that price. Whether you agree with Peer To Peer sharing, it's the journey and evolution of consumer revolt against the hypocrisy of tv, movie, and music execs and their artists.

Also, keep in mind that if they are going to hack into people's computers to get the information they need to be wary that some little 14 year old kid will screw them in a second. Everything they've tried to do has ended up backfiring. This will be no different. Instead of P2P, people will hit the Newsgroups, FTP's, and IRC channels. They are in a lose-lose situation. They've only themselves to blame for this matter.

It sucks playing catch up, huh Jack?

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