Former Senator Chris Dodd Set To Head MPAA 181
Hugh Pickens writes writes "The Hill reports that former Democratic Senator Chris Dodd of Connecticut is set to become the new chairman of the Motion Picture Association of America, taking over the $1.2 million position and the job of coordinating the policy goals of the various member studios. Interim CEO and president Bob Pisano says the organization's unwavering focus on its top priority will remain: increasing the federal government's efforts to stop online film piracy. The MPAA is optimistic about its legislative prospects this Congress, thanks to the Combating Online Infringement and Counterfeits Act, which passed the Senate Judiciary Committee (headed by Dodd's close friend Senator Patrick Leahy) last year before stalling in the full Senate. The bipartisan bill would make it easier for the Justice Department to shut down websites that traffic pirated music, movies and counterfeit goods. While a member of the Senate, Dodd was an adamant opponent of the FISA bill that granted retroactive immunity to telecoms who engaged in warrantless wiretapping."
Re:oh look, it's that method again (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:Help me out, people... (Score:5, Insightful)
The Revolving Door is always bad. It's a major tool for vested interests to bribe law makers and regulators to be nice to them. Play nice while you're in office and you get a lucrative gig afterwards. This is why Wall St. isn't in jail, because SEC regulators know they will get million dollar jobs later on. It's why Europe's regulators kowtow to large foreign businesses, over the heads of the economic majority of small-to-medium European firms, because it's how they get lucrative consultancy work afterwards.
So it's bad, yes. Even if this particular appointment isn't worse than any other, it's the signal it sends. "$1.2 per year, be nice and you too could get this".
That pays for a whole lot of college fees for the kids or grandkids.
Re:What is Dodd guilty of? (Score:2, Insightful)
He was one of the ones that created the rules leading to the collapse of the housing market. THEN he came in and began making the rules to FIX the housing market, blaming the problem on someone else.
I say he's a perfect fit at the MPAA.
Re:Help me out, people... (Score:5, Insightful)
"Corporatism" for short. Government leaders and Corporate leaders working together. (whispers) It's also what Mussolini created in his country. (normal voice). Anyway this comes as no surprise to me. Democrats are just like Republicans, but instead of military they work with Hollywood, recording studios, and celebrities.
Democrats have sold-out to the Authors Guild, SAG, MPAA, and RIAA.
And this is why I feel no guilt taking product from these corporations. They bought special privileges from government that they don't deserve to get, rarely pay any taxes on their profit ("what profit? Avatar lost money"), screw the writers/actors that work for them by not paying residuals, and eat-out at the substance of our citizens in onerous life-destroying lawsuits. If they produce a DVD or CD that's good, I'll buy it, but I feel no qualms about downloading everything else for free.
If it were up to me, every corporate license would be immediately revoked. Let them operate as regular companies without the immunity (aka golden parachutes) afforded by limited liability.
Re:Feel the love (Score:2, Insightful)
"that inane FBI warning I have to sit through before the movie starts"
This was the first thing that *really* turned me on to HandBrake -- I rent a dvd from netflix and I have no choice over which portions of the disk will be played for me? Really?? There must be another option... Oh, look, shiny happy freedom-of-speech software! Take that, corporate-government directorate!
Sure i like previews, but I hate that someone somewhere thought they could *force* me to watch them. You know when the disk has a smudge? When you take it out and have to wipe it off and then must re-watch those 20 minutes of previews _again_? Please remind me who died and made them god...
Rip it good.
Re:Help me out, people... (Score:4, Insightful)
Look, this is just a way for the film industry to reward an old man for his many decades of service to their bottom lines^H^H^Hhis country.
Formally, it's democracy (Score:5, Insightful)
At what point, exactly, did it become lawful for all of the largest corporations of an industry to organize in their collective best interests
At the same time the democracy became merely formal, and not real. We have a democracy mostly as a formality. The campaign, elections, and changes in government are carried out. Nobody cares because the results matter little, change little. The parties, candidates, proposals and the policies are fixed outside of elections, in various channels. Real decisions, of things that matter, are made in these various "associations", some publicly known, some secretive, some open meetings that are limited or manipulated, some closed meetings, and so on. The more you want real democratic decisions in a merely formal democracy, the more you will find yourself being pushed towards the side of powerless, parallel, unofficial, or underground organizations. There is really only one principle - whatever the goal, to get real democracy, you *must* get millions of participants. Otherwise you have some small, formal or unrepresentative group. If we'd have a "day of copyright rage", getting millions of civil-disobedience copyright-breakers in public squares, with (logically) police trying to break them up, we'd get real policy debate.
Great Rolling Stone article on this subject (Score:5, Insightful)
http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/news/why-isnt-wall-street-in-jail-20110216 [rollingstone.com]
It just goes to show, those who make the rules benefit the most by them and every administration is in the pocket of Wall Street.
Re:Help me out, people... (Score:4, Insightful)
"Also, if you boycott the bad guys, you are more likely to fill the void with products from the good guys. Its not just about tearing down the bad guys, its about building up the good guys."
Does not work. build up the good guys, and they junp to the bad guys side the second the bad guys offer them a pile of money. Want examples? Metallica, Green Day, Ramones, etc....
They were all anti-establishment and against the RIAA and their evil practices until a big pile of money was shoved at them. Suddently you have lars wiggling his uneducated mouth all over the place whining about piracy, something they ENCOURAGED when they were a real band, I have several tapes of their early performances that were what CREATED Them.
Re:Help me out, people... (Score:4, Insightful)
Bad. Chris "Countrywide" Dodd was one of the most corrupt members of the Senate, which is why he quit rather than be defeated last November. He took sweetheart loan deals from Countrywide in exchange for NOT regulating their out of control bogus mortgages, helping create the housing bubble which led to the Great Recession.
But then I guess a corrupt cartel like the MPAA needs someone who knows corruption to lead it.
Re:Genuinely surprised (Score:5, Insightful)
Why should anyone be surprised that a whore has more than one john?
Re:Chris Dodd: Ten Most Corrupt Politicians (Score:5, Insightful)
Judicial Watch, Inc., a conservative, non-partisan educational foundation,
Somehow the words conservative and non-partisan do not go well together. I took a look at the web site and was willing to give some believe that they had no agenda, even though nine of the ten most wanted are democrats. When I saw they were representing "Joe the Plumber" they lost the credibility for non-partisan. With all the lucre flying around, it would stand to reason that more then one republican would have the same level of corruption as these top ten.
If Judicial Watch has all this evidence then please, work to get indictments, bring these people to justice and stop wasting time on Joe the plumber. However, if all you have is innuendo, conspiracy theories, rumors, and circumstantial evidence then please Shut The Fuck Up. Accusing my neighbor of being an extraterrestrial means nothing unless I got a picture of him or her climbing into a spaceship. Barring evidence I would be considered a loon and crazy. Currently, the conservative, non-partisan education foundation looks like the crazy neighbor...prove it, in court.
(God I am so sick of this shit. From Rush, to Glenn, to who on the left...making shit up and spewing it out makes for bad entertainment and clouds any chance to attempts to find out the real truth)
Guns or lies, rulers do the same- use people (Score:5, Insightful)
People in western-aligned countries feel inspired by Egypt, by rebelling. They feel oppressed too, but they don't know where or who to rebel against. It's simple, the rulers everywhere have big outdoor signs with fake faces, fake logos, fake slogans - propaganda. They lie to people, have them work for little, and give them false dreams and trash in return. Some rule with guns, some rule with lies, but the result is the same. People are used. Their life feels empty. Future prospects of real change seem small. Eating from garbage or colorful paper McDonalds food changes nothing important in your hopes and aspirations. Some feel trapped by the body, some feel trapped by the mind. All are trapped and used. We are ruled by money, guns, and lies, whether hidden or visible, pretty or ugly, manipulative or grotesque.