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Proof that U.S. Gov't Involved in Pirate Bay Shutdown

washingtonpost.com — "...the Pirate Bay (shutdown) can be traced to an April meeting in Washington between the Swedes and the U.S. government... A little more than a month later, Swedish police hit the headquarters of the Pirate Bay and closed the site...(PB) was back up and running three days later, sporting a logo of a pirate ship sinking the word "Hollywood."

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  • Quash, on 10/12/2007, -1/+66And Proof that U.S. Gov't Involved in AllofMP3.com attacks: (couldn't fit this in my submission, above)
    * note this article about Pirate Bay and AllofMP.com made the front page of the Washington Post!

    "Moscow began an investigation of Allofmp3.com, dropped it, then picked it back up again after U.S. pressure was applied, said RIAA Executive Vice President Neil Turkowitz, who has traveled several times to Russia and filed criminal complaints with prosecutors there about the site.

    "The Russian government is aware of all really existing problems in the [intellectual property] sphere and makes active efforts to solve them step-by-step," the Russian Ministry of Economic Development and Trade wrote in an April paper translated into English. "We will undertake a complex of additional measures in [the intellectual property] sphere in the nearest future with the intention to speed up the work in this sphere."

    Two e-mails to the site administrator of Allofmp3.com went unanswered.

    Assistant U.S. Trade Representative Espinel said shutting down Allofmp3.com "is right at the top of the agenda. This is a top-priority issue in terms of our discussion with Russia and the WTO."" -WP

    • maiku00, on 10/12/2007, -6/+130I wish these countries would tell us to shove it up our asses, instead of bending over and taking it in theirs.
    • Atreiu, on 10/12/2007, -56/+4Old news. It was said back when it first happened that the US was involved.
    • nblsavage, on 10/12/2007, -6/+61To those who think the U.S. is justified in their actions..keep in mind that both AllOfMP3 and PB are LEGAL in their respective countries. I know there are a lot of things that are legal in the U.S. that are illegal in other countries. Right now the U.S. can get away with it because we have "the bigger guns" but you'd better hope we're not doing anything that China gets too pissed about.
    • elnerdo, on 10/12/2007, -7/+48Maiku wins the "best metaphor of the day" award.
    • DigeratiPrime, on 10/12/2007, -26/+10maiku00 you mean like Iran?
    • aristofeles, on 10/12/2007, -1/+21" * note this article about Pirate Bay and AllofMP.com made the front page of the Washington Post!"

      So in the end, one site is laughing on them, and the other just doesn't care. And now every Joe User knows the address.
      Makes me wonder who the hell works on the MPAA/RIAA marketing...
    • hackwrench, on 10/12/2007, -0/+14The RIAA is actually making it worse for themselves by declaring openly that the U.S. got involved. On the one hand, it's easier to allow your sovereignty to be messed with if it isn't out in the public, on the other hand, it's easier for things to continue to go your way if there's the appearance that others actually believe what you do as opposed to having to be force to go your way.
    • hackwrench, on 10/12/2007, -17/+2Because the United States in its actions is demanding of the world nations if they understand justice and the consequences of their actions.
    • bebop717, on 10/12/2007, -1/+17July 4th celebrate your independence and download music.
    • williamdyer, on 10/12/2007, -2/+19Is there some fund we can contribute to reward a civic-minded member of the Russian mafia who decided to rid the world of the next MPAA/RIAA scum that sets foot in Moscow?
    • OBKenobi, on 10/12/2007, -1/+12I agree completely. So much so that I posted this story eight days ago. From the original Swedish source.

      http://digg.com/movies/US_government_behind_Pirate_Bay_raid

      Oh shut up.
    • Ryland, on 10/12/2007, -2/+9Proof? Was there ever any doubt that the U.S. government was involved?
  • puffarthur, on 10/12/2007, -2/+51I like how on their homepage, they have a little image link saying "The Pirate Shop: Now shipping to the White House"
    • ozydingo, on 10/12/2007, -0/+26Even better....do a tracert on piratebay.org. Actually I'll save you the trouble, the final hop reveals the servername to be hey.mpaa.and.apb.bite.my.shiny.metal.ass.thepiratebay.org
    • oepapel, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2...ok, I'll bite. I know what MPAA stands for but APB? Anyone?
    • kurtergad87, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1APB is probably AntiPiratByrån (anti-pirate group).
  • akinder, on 10/12/2007, -60/+7Man you guys just can't get enough of this can you? OMG Pirate Bay v/s THE MAN!!111
    I can't wait until their little ***** scheme of making fun of those trying to protect their rights gets thrown back in their face.
    • DDRSkata, on 10/12/2007, -4/+58Trying to protect their rights by illegally conspiring to seize their servers and shut down their website? Yeah, if that's protecting my rights, I think I can handle myself, thanks.
    • yttrx, on 10/12/2007, -3/+39@akinder: like it or not, ethically the only rights which may reasonably be valid across international borders are the inalienable human ones---not the righteous capitalistic ones.

      This is of course not to say that there's anything inherently wrong with capitalism. It is to say rather that there is something very, very wrong with the United States attempting to control what is and is not legal within any country but itself. This is not about protecting anyone's rights--this is about domination, period.
    • Lyph4, on 10/12/2007, -6/+31You don't have the "right" to make a profit. You don't have the "right" to have copyright protection. It exists, but it is not a right. Much like vehicles and driving.
    • Boondoggle, on 10/12/2007, -16/+3@lyph4: You could say that about ALL rights. Any legal rights are only granted by a government. All so-called inalienable (legal or otherwise) rights are just based on the average subjective judgement within a population at any given point in time.
    • macemoneta, on 10/12/2007, -2/+31Rights are NOT granted by a government; they are CLAIMED/DEMANDED by the people.
    • williamdyer, on 10/12/2007, -1/+14macemoneta is correct. Under the U.S. system, the government is granted specified powers by the people. Any government action outside those specified powers is illegitimate.

      The U.S. government has become an uncoltrolled leviathan. It needs to be cut to at least half the present size, and the number of armed federal police should be sharply reduced, too. When the Founders invented the U.S., they created no authority at all for federal police outside of federal reservations and custom houses.
    • Boondoggle, on 10/12/2007, -5/+2So I make a general statement that legal rights are those granted by a government and get dugg down? Did I say anything about the U.S.? I was speaking in GENERAL TERMS. The people may define what authority a government has, if they are LUCKY, but that is NOT ALWAYS THE CASE.

      Also, it sounds really cool and inspirational to say that "rights are CLAIMED/DEMANDED by the people" but that is just pure rhetoric to impress dumb chicks, incite bad behavior in crowds and to make up for the inability to think or read.

      The irony is that it is completely in agreement with my statement that "rights are just based on the average subjective judgement within a population at any given point in time" The difference is I wasn't trying to sound like I was standing on an overturned garbage truck with a megaphone in my hand.

  • aaryn, on 10/12/2007, -6/+15Off topic but can anyone link me to the search plugin for TPB for Firefox?
  • Munionhunter, on 10/12/2007, -10/+39And hence the reason why pirates will always be better than ninjaz!!!!!!

    *mod me down mofo's
  • Lyph4, on 10/12/2007, -3/+32I'd love to see them shut down allofmp3.com, and open allofflac.com, allofwav.com, allofogg.com..
  • dw2005, on 10/12/2007, -7/+36The US Govt should invest in MYOB
    • sammykrupa, on 10/12/2007, -8/+18Why are you guys modding this guy down? Because you don't agree with him? Great reason, really.

      He isn't spamming, trolling, being offensive, being abusive, and his comment is short and sweet.

      Just because you don't agree with someone doesn't mean you don't listen.
    • hackwrench, on 10/12/2007, -18/+4The United States decides for itself what is and isn't it's business thank you very much.
    • konspence, on 10/12/2007, -9/+3Why is the new fad on digg to say, "Why mod the parent down?!"

      Just because you post a comment that isn't spam, trolling, offensive, or abusive, doesn't mean it contributes to Digg, is witty/humorous, insightful, etc.

      Not all comments are necessary, thus they get dugg down like they deserve.
    • imdwalrus, on 10/12/2007, -0/+5"Not all comments are necessary, thus they get dugg down like they deserve."

      Like yours? ;)

      You know, Slashdot has a "Funny" modifier for a reason - something doesn't have to be serious, verbose, or even intelligent to contribute to the conversation. Considering that the commment's got 26 positive diggs, I'd have to say that it DOES contribute.
  • geekee, on 10/12/2007, -39/+8The US should be on Sweden's case. Much of the material stolen with the aid of The Pirate Bay is created in the US. The WTO should be fining Sweden heavily for unfair trade practices since their laws apparently are ineffective against people aiding copyright infringement for profit.
    • eridius, on 10/12/2007, -5/+42The WTO should be fining the US for being so bloody stupid and listening to the RIAA and MPAA desperately trying to protect their outdated business model by screwing the consumer.
    • MatttK, on 10/12/2007, -31/+8I'm going to have to agree here. I don't know why anyone is surprised at this.

      Don't give me any of this"The Pirate Bay is just a search site" nonsense. I think we all know that The Pirate Bay's reason to be is to facilitate the sharing of files, many of which are copyrighted.

      The US government has every right to go after a site that exists to profit off of damaging the US economy.
    • puffarthur, on 10/12/2007, -2/+26they may have the right to do so, but we don't have to like it.
    • Lyph4, on 10/12/2007, -4/+27I use TPB to find older torrents.. And I've never "stolen" anything using that website. I've violated copyright by making unauthorized copies, but I've never stolen a damn thing.
    • yttrx, on 10/12/2007, -1/+32@geekee: exactly who is profiting from the copyright infringement which is helped along by Pirate Bay? It seems to me that lots and lots of people are getting to watch movies for nothing (rather than pay 14 dollars in NYC per person to see a first run)---but that's not the same thing as copyright infringement for profit. And neither the RIAA nor the MPAA has been able to supply proof that bit-torrent downloads are in any way affecting their profits. I'm sure someone is going to come up with the example of all of the crappy-quality physical DVD's being sold on the streets of large cities all over the world for a profit....but note that these DVDs are almost exclusively NOT made from bittorrent downloads. They're made from first-tier recordings of the movies in question; recordings that generally do not themselves ever make it to bittorrent sites.

      Not to say of course that their profits actually are unaffected, merely to say that among all the yelling and screaming about money being lost, not one drop of solid, objective evidence has been supplied showing this to be the case.

      It kind of reminds me of what microsoft said in the early 90s about people pirating their software. About 80% of the cost of windows at the time, they said, was inflationary to cover their cost of pirating. We're all paying the price for stolen copies of windows, they said. Then just a few years ago when they claimed to have cut windows pirating by more than 70% with their nifty anti-pirating schemes, they neglected to reduce the cost of their software to account for it.

      Huh. Its almost like they were lying.
    • MatttK, on 10/12/2007, -20/+12@eridius - Yes, the RIAA and MPAA are trying to protect an outdated and stupid business model but that does not excuse taking their products and services FOR FREE. Everybody knows convenience stores exist to rip you off but nobody believes it is okay to steal things from them. Granted, copyright infringement isn't stealing but I still think the comparison is valid.

      The Pirate Bay provides a way for people to get movies for free.
      The MPAA wants people to pay several times over for the same movie, while paying too much for the first copy to begin with, etc.

      So while The Pirate Bay DOES help out those people who already own the movie, it also allows those who DO NOT own the movie to get the movie for free.

      And you have even less of a case for something like games. There is almost no valid reason for downloading a game, unless you lost your CD (which I suspect is quite rare).

      Again, we all know why The Pirate Bay exists and it isn't to lead the battle of media rights.
    • MatttK, on 10/12/2007, -24/+4@yttrx: ... The Pirate Bay is profiting from the copyright infringement helped along by themselves...
    • MatttK, on 10/12/2007, -23/+4@Lyph4: That's great but if there was a shop selling both child porn and the greatest hot dogs in the world, I would be all for shutting that store down, even if all I ever bought were hot dogs. You can't ignore what the site provides to others. (sorry, a bug prevented me from editing my above comment, so I had to reply multiple times. :/)
    • Falconwing, on 10/12/2007, -1/+19Wow, a troll if I ever saw one. Wtf, I'll bite.

      Lemme put it this way: If the values pitted against each other are copyrights of foreign works vs. the civil rights and privacy of our own citizens, then the copyrights lose out. Big time. Just like it should be.

      At least, that's what we're making happen.

      Not that it matters if the copyrights are foreign, btw. But just to respond to your specific point.
    • yttrx, on 10/12/2007, -3/+18@MatttK: And Digg is profiting from the discussion of the alleged profit of Pirate Bay from the copyright infringement helped along by themselves---AND Digg is actively sending even more people to Pirate Bay, which will in turn increase their alleged profit from the copyright infringement helped along by themselves.

      Damn, I just helped Digg do that. And so did you.
    • MatttK, on 10/12/2007, -13/+7yttrx, you've got to draw the line somewhere. Did you know that oxygen is keeping Osama bin Laden alive? Let's get rid of oxygen!

      Oxygen doesn't exist to keep bin Laden alive. Digg doesn't exist to help The Pirate Bay. But The Pirate Bay DOES exist to share files, most of which are copyrighted. I mean, come on, do you REALLY think they'd be anywhere near as popular as they are if they didn't share "illegal" torrents?
    • Sirocco, on 10/12/2007, -2/+5They weren't lying, they just found that people would buy their ***** OS for an inflated price, and decided to keep it inflated and pocket the extra profit. But as unpopular is it is, their argument is valid: the 10% who pay for Microsoft's OS indeed get ***** over by the 90% who don't.
    • yttrx, on 10/12/2007, -3/+16MatttK: I draw the line here: The torrents themselves are not illegal. Downloading the files that the torrents point to is often illegal in many countries, but not in all of them. The Pirate Bay is not engaging in copyright infringement of any kind---they're simply enabling other people to do so if they wish.

      And thats the key: if they wish. Everyone is bound only by the laws of the country in which they live. If a person knowingly breaks a copyright by watching a movie for free that they downloaded from a torrent they got off of Pirate Bay, then thats THEIR issue and THEIR "crime".

      Should Anheuser Busch be held responsible because their beer makes people stupid and dangerous?
    • f777, on 10/12/2007, -9/+7Shut down the whole f***ing internet!! The pirates have taken over.
    • MatttK, on 10/12/2007, -14/+5If they made a brand of beer that was specifically targetted at making people do stupid things then yes.

      The Pirate Bay hosts torrents that are specifically created to share copyrighted files. They openly mock those who try to protect their copyrights. They KNOW what they're doing and they KNOW that what they're doing is wrong.

      Beer companies provide a product that most people can use responsibly and legally.
      The Pirate Bay provides a service that most people use for illegal purposes.

      One exists for a good reason but cannot help the bad, while the other exists for a bad reason with some good coming from it.
    • twinklyJesus, on 10/12/2007, -14/+4@yttrx:

      Yes, it's called "aiding and abetting" a criminal act. It is still wrong.

      I personally can see that it might be a stretch to say that people in foreign countries are potential customers that would buy if they had no choice. However, this is not just being served to Swedes or Europeans. This is affecting their sales in the US. (they claim) Based on that, they petitioned the US Governement to request that Sweden take action. None of this is illegal, immoral or unjust. How the Swedish governement handled it may or may not be, I don't know. I am not that familiar with their legal system and its requirements.

      I don't think anyone is "entitled" to profit, but, I am certain that no one is entitled to take a marketed product for free if the seller doesn't wish it.
    • Aquinas315, on 10/12/2007, -1/+8@Matttk
      "I think we all know that The Pirate Bay's reason to be is to facilitate the sharing of files, many of which are copyrighted."
      The Pirate Bay is a tracker, while they may be facilitating the sharing of copyrighted files, wouldn't every DNS server between the torrent user and the pirate bay also be facilitating that infringment... and AT&T or Verizon or whatever company whose lines the internet traffic travels through between said client and TPB's servers...

      They want to fight, but they can't win unless they put such companies out of business as well.
    • daofma, on 10/12/2007, -0/+5MatttK: "There is almost no valid reason for downloading a game, unless you lost your CD (which I suspect is quite rare)."

      You must be pretty neat. I lose CDs constantly. I lost my Oblivion DVD just recently, don't know where it went to! Not that I'd download it, it's too big! But if I was able to without that hassle, I would, and I don't think that's wrong. (What I do think is wrong, not morally, but just pisses me off, is the fact that games require their CD to be in the drive. Pirates usually have CD emulators, they just leave the thing "in the drive" no problem, but it hurts ME because I have to go fishing for my CDs, which I lose all the time. Makes no damn sense.)
    • Protoss, on 10/12/2007, -1/+4daofma - Get Alcohol 120%, and make images of your discs, then just mount them. I do it with all the games I've got so I just install, make an image, and never have to worry about my disc again. Also helps if you have to reinstall Windows.
    • nogami, on 10/12/2007, -1/+5I suspect that more and more foreign governments will simply tell the US to go f**k themselves. I'm all for it...

      N.
    • OBKenobi, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4The movies I download I'd just wait to watch on cable anyway, I wouldn't go see them in the theater. I'm already paying for cable access, so what's the problem? Oh, they want us to pay 10x for the same damn thing, plus the director's cut, and the DRM'd HD version.

      I go to the theater to see good movies, which are rarely released.
  • sourbrew, on 10/12/2007, -23/+4This washington post piece is one of the shrillest most malinformed pieces of "journalism" I have ever read. That said what do you expect from a newspaper that has hired numerous "conservative" mouth pieces to "balance" their news that have turned out to be nothing more than rampant plagarism experts and shrill mouthpieces for the political establishment.
    • puffarthur, on 10/12/2007, -7/+8plagarism and shrill mouthpieces? I think you're talking about the NYTimes.
  • tuxvix, on 10/12/2007, -9/+0No surprise there =) That reminds me os of 06/16/2006 GMT-7, http://www.newtorrents.info/ is down, for no apparent reason. Hopefully it would be up again.
  • wlloydda, on 10/12/2007, -5/+16The article is full of incorrect nonsense. DVD sales are falling because they are running out of quality content to sell, so watch for this "war against sharing" to really heat up.

    Meanwhile, sharing is increasing at an ever increasing rate.

    Share - Share - Share - Share - Share - Share - Share - Share

    Long live all Pirates everywhere!
  • doomgoat, on 10/12/2007, -4/+6why are people so boisterous about their pirating of music, isnt not getting got kinda the point?
  • shawnz, on 10/12/2007, -10/+3In other news, america seems to have the bombs.
  • CUBApete, on 10/12/2007, -0/+31"Kazaa -- once the most popular of them and a hard target of the music industry -- has half as many users as it did at its peak three years ago, thanks in part to the music industry's lawsuit and education campaign."

    I think they meant to say that people wised-up and realized it was full of crapware, and then switched to other networks.
    • jjesusfreak01, on 10/12/2007, -3/+9Actually, more like...people found out it was full of adware and that it was easy to get sued using it, while if you are a leech or are using anonymous software, torrents are great and safe.
    • klaymen, on 10/12/2007, -2/+13don't be a leech

      it would be one thing if we were stealing physical product. but this is the equivelant of photocopying a book at the library. no one is losing anything. sharing information (yes, that's what mp3's are) should never be banned.
  • Filozzi, on 10/12/2007, -5/+10I knew it! The U.S. Govt had to be involved somehow, especially with their paranoia over pirating!
  • Sirocco, on 10/12/2007, -14/+4This isn't news at all. When did Digg turn into the "Captain Obvious" of the tech scene?
    • GuyHitByTruck, on 10/12/2007, -9/+2I thought it was already posted in the "Captan Obvious" section.
    • bash, on 10/12/2007, -0/+14It IS news. All we had was the Pirate Party's word for it that the U.S. shut 'em down, and for the record it was a good theory but no proof backing it up. NOW we have the smoking gun.
  • Presentlight, on 10/12/2007, -16/+3The U.S. government helped to put a stop to pirating...isn't enforcing the law and the rights of content providers their prerogative?
    • nblsavage, on 10/12/2007, -1/+16Maybe...in the U.S. We have no business telling other countries to enforce OUR laws.
  • moebis, on 10/12/2007, -17/+4Will you dumb ***** stop worrying about thepiratebay. Jesus. Yeah, yeah, I get it, Phoenix rising from the ashes, the site is pure ***** anyways.. L E T I T G O.

    K? Good, ciao.
  • Atomic1fire, on 10/12/2007, -16/+1heres food for thoght with all the pro pirates in digg isnt digg next to get shutdown even if its mostly just half people who love free stuff even if its illeagle and half legal followers
    • simonl, on 10/12/2007, -0/+9please, just..... think before you speak.
  • dotcom101010, on 10/12/2007, -3/+8All I have to say is long live The Pirate Bay.
  • V1ncent, on 10/12/2007, -9/+3Even if I didn't have morales, after seeing Johnny Depp's portrayal of Cpt. Jack Sparrow, it turned me off on the whole idea of pirates... but it did turn me on to drinking rum *hic* and taking cruises. *hic*
  • MrObjectional, on 10/12/2007, -2/+13Bah. The Pirate Bay wasn't doing anything illegally, and have only made the Swedish Police and the MPAA like like idiots. It's time some of these industry-lobbied representatives got a taste of the humiliation.
  • finke67, on 10/12/2007, -8/+2any of you ever heard of a "hadji mart"... in Iraq they sell all kinds of pirated movies and games on the FOB's. I'm talking obvious video camera in movie theater for the new releases, later ones are better quality... But they aren't discouraged AT ALL, and what's worse is that most likely the profits are going back into the insurgency somewhere. I think that if the Gov't really wanted to put their foot down on piracy this would be a place they could, simply by not letting the vendors on base.
  • chess007, on 10/12/2007, -1/+20
    Laws are different in different countries. We shouldn't mettle in another country for business as trival as this. In Russia, allofmp3 is legal. In sweden thepiratebay is legal.

    In Canada marijuana is legal. In the u.s.a. it is not. Should the U.S.A. send drug enforcement agents to Canada and arrest people?? Or compel Canada to arrest people for doing something that is LEGAL in Canada??

    This is how much "sense" it makes for the u.s.a to mess with allofmp3.com and thepiratebay.org
    • ZennZero, on 10/12/2007, -9/+3Exactly. I understand the desire to protect US intellectual property and the income that generates, but respecting the sovereignty of other states should be a higher priority (especially our "allies" like Sweden). If the US govt. has a problem with US residents accessing the site, they should take action here by persecuting those who are hosting the torrents domestically and/or blocking access to the site at the ISP level.

      Blocking sites might be a slippery slope, of course, but better that than actively working to undermine the laws in our democratic allies.
    • JeffD, on 10/12/2007, -0/+9Marijuanna is not (yet) legal in Canada.

      Sigh.
    • BGOATdoughnut, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2JeffD, It is in Denver, Colorado! (where I live)
  • swoosh_bnd, on 10/12/2007, -1/+10I hate it when they overestimate the effect that piracy has on the market. Like in the article they say that some "U.S. companies lose as much as $250 billion per year to Internet pirates". That isn't even close to being true. It seems like they always assume that every download is a missed sale. Most people only watch some things because they are free and would never purchase the product if they had to pay for it.
  • misfit410, on 10/12/2007, -5/+4Since when is busting piracy a BAD thing?
    yes lots of us do it, but it's illegal, and we know that.
    • hackwrench, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2Busting piracy has not been a good thing since the time that something being illegal was not a primary reason for something to be considered morally wrong in various systems of morality.
    • JeffD, on 10/12/2007, -0/+9Breaking the law is not always a bad thing. Unjust laws SHOULD be broken as often and as openly as possible by all responsibal citizens in order to highlight how obsurd they really are.
    • RocketMike, on 10/12/2007, -1/+4Busting piracy is fine.
      This is wrong, because the US is enforcing its laws in other countries.
    • madtinkerer, on 10/12/2007, -3/+0You are right in saying that breaking unjust laws is not always a bad thing. However, I think that breaking a law without first working exhaustively to have that law changed or repealed is not necessarily a good thing. Of course it is not always so simple, especially these days, when individuals seem to have so little lobbying power in the government. However, I do think that people use the argument "unjust laws should be broken" to justify their own actions a little too often.
    • ddmagnas, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1@RocketMike:

      The US government has a responsibility to protect the rights, lives, and industries of its citizens, here or abroad. A Swedish guy living in Sweden pirating Swedish music protected under Swedish copyrights can do that to his heart's content because it's none of the US government's business. However, everyone knows what's being pirated. American movies and (mostly) American music, and a whole bunch of games. Those are lost profits for American businesses and those businesses are entitled to get the US government to try and solve the problem.

      I pirate more than my fair share of games and I know it's illegal. I don't blame the government for busting some heads. And for the whiners claiming civil rights abuses, in most governments you are only protected by those rights as long as you follow the laws of that government. That's why we don't put up criminals in four-star hotels.
  • baijubawra, on 10/12/2007, -5/+0aside: did anyone try pinging www.piratebay.org as was mentioned in Boing Boing the other day? Really funny!
    If not try it out for a good laugh:
    Linux:
    $ ping www.piratebay.org
    Windows:
    C:> ping -a 83.140.176.146

    The IP resolves to an amazing host name!
    bb
  • thespace, on 10/12/2007, -2/+3duh
  • ericeman, on 10/12/2007, -7/+1The thing is, are you who are saying "the United States aren't justified in their actions" defending the law and the necessity to uphold it or are you condoning the sites?

    Like many people say above me: piracy is illegal even if these sites are 'legal.'
    • simonl, on 10/12/2007, -0/+5I think most people have a problem with the idea that the US is using its influence to prod Sewden into taking action against the site, where they otherwise wouldn't have.
      I think the really important issues here are:
      Is it cause for concern that an industry in the US is powerful enough to affect the law in a seperate country?
      If piracy is illegal, why is it illegal? Who does it hurt, and is this quantifiable?

      Before you flame me about the last point, consider a parallel with spam. If hundreds of people are reciving a message at virtually no cost to the distributor, and even a tiny percentage of them go on to buy a product, then the distributor wins.
      Believe it or not, people like owning original copies of albums and films. Piracy could be seen as free viral advertising for the recording industries.
  • cyberghost232, on 10/12/2007, -8/+2still cant find anything worth a ***** on PB now either. just because its online dont mean *****. whatever the swedes and u.s. did it scared the ***** out of them. I dont care what anyone says. search for any new movie tell me how many hits you get. zip.nothing. nada. thanks for nothing PB. *****. You Guys didnt stand up for *****!
    • simonl, on 10/12/2007, -1/+6Watch your language.
      Maybe if you can't find anything it's because you have no imagination :)
    • sulaco, on 10/12/2007, -1/+6Turn on the profanity filter if you want the language watched.
  • NiNJ4gamer, on 10/12/2007, -2/+4Just hit 666 diggs.

    Coincidence?

    Probably.
    • hackwrench, on 10/12/2007, -2/+4If you've been seeing 666 pop up a lot lately, it could mean that you're the anti-Christ. It could however just mean that he's looking at possibly recruiting you.
    • ylikone, on 10/12/2007, -5/+0Oh, you're wrong, it's at 749.
    • cayle, on 10/12/2007, -2/+2Oh, you're wrong, it's at 979.
  • fatdog789, on 10/12/2007, -13/+1The US had every right to shut down the PB. The vast majority of the ***** traded there was and still is American. The whole world loves American stuff, but doesn't want to pay for any of it.

    You can thank Americans for your cheap pharmaceuticals and entertainment. It's on us.
    • simonl, on 10/12/2007, -1/+5That is the single most depressing thing I've read today.

      I don't even know where to begin.
    • bebop717, on 10/12/2007, -1/+10Cheap pharmaceuticals? Americans pay more for medication than almost anyone in the world.

      PB did nothing wrong they simply told people where to find the files they did not house them, unlike napster. It's like suing a phone book maker because they are advertising where to find guns.

      Besides American laws about file trading do not apply to Sweden. And no Swedish laws are being violated.

      Glad they are back.
    • fatdog789, on 10/12/2007, -6/+4American IP laws do apply to Sweden, courtesy of various trade treaties.

      And my point about Americans providing the world with cheap pharmaceuticals was spot on. The world gets it cheap because we pay for it.
    • The_Decryptor, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2"The world gets it cheap because we pay for it."

      Cheap ehh? then why does my grandmother have to pay $60 for 4 pills? (it's a months course, 1 pill a week)
    • simonl, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Could you explain what you mean when you say that americans pay for pharmaceuticals for the rest of the world?

      I can only assume that you're complaining about drugs given freely or cheaply to developing countries, and subsidised by wealthier countries. This isn't just an American issue, it's global. I, for one, think it's an excellent idea.

      Please try to keep your misplaced self-satisfaction in check.
  • cambrown99, on 10/12/2007, -0/+8Because shutting down torrent sites is the most important issue facing the United States these days...
  • fragileabsolute, on 10/12/2007, -4/+3I don't why people are so surprised or outraged (well I can see the outrage).
    In neo-liberal politics, the governments 'job' is support business. The mantra goes: good business environment=good social environment...

    The new deal is dead and its been replaced by privatization, which means more government action for private interest. Not saying I agree, but this isn't something that's exceptional.
  • imp22b, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1"sporting a logo of a pirate ship sinking the word "Hollywood."

    uhh... i think thats the other way around. Hollywood is trying to skink TPB. Have you seen the logo?
  • BGOATdoughnut, on 10/12/2007, -0/+5God knows the U.S. has no homeless problem. So lets go after one of a thousand torrents sites.

    P.S. I am happy to say I haven't watched a movie for the last 3 years, legal or illegally. Sequels and re-makes suck.
  • Night, on 10/12/2007, -1/+3Im sorry but I have read articles form the washington post before that are total bullox. So I don't know how much I can trust them on this...
  • WaltFrench, on 10/12/2007, -2/+3The US Govt may well be representing the interests of US firms -- they do it all the time, after all.

    But calling the existence of a meeting a "proof" is the shallowest thought process I can imagine. Post hoc, ergo prompter hoc, we learned -- because the Swedes acted after a meeting, therefore they only acted because of the meeting? So how many US/Swedish meetings took place without PB being shut down?

    Why does Digg so often seem to sensationalize, trump up and/or flame stories? Won't anybody care if the facts are presented straight? The headline could've been, "Hand of US Govt seen in PB Shutdown."
    • williamdyer, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Because this is a case of the U.S. DoJ being hijacked by an industry cartel and inducing a foriegn government to violate their own laws. Those are crimes. They ought to be capital crimes.
  • ThisIsJames, on 10/12/2007, -1/+4The US government has a right to protect copyrights overseas, but they don't have the right to pressure other governments like that. It could of easily been done diplomatically.
  • perseon, on 10/12/2007, -0/+6Dan Glickman, president of the MPAA, confirmed that his group had asked Sweden to toughen its laws on intellectual property theft.

    "What we do is look around the world to look if laws need to be improved, then we make suggestions," Glickman said....As for the backlash, Glickman said, "Yes, I'm sure the pirates in Sweden are upset."

    I just thought the second paragraph sounded... interesting.
    • OBKenobi, on 10/12/2007, -3/+2There's a difference between Dan Dickman saying something, and the US government threatening you on his behalf.
  • Qtip42, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4It figures the only way to do it is to threaten taking away something else from a nation to get them to comply with our own ***** laws.

    Maybe EVERY country that piracy can be expoited in, should be. The RIAA will be at work for the next 100 years getting rid of it.
  • Sacky, on 10/12/2007, -0/+5All these sites should move to Vladviostok, a sovereign nation to the east of moscow which is controlled by the mafia, would be interesting to see the mafia vs the MAFIAA
  • vx69, on 10/12/2007, -0/+6***** the US Government, why the hell should they decide who enters the WTO, it should be a ***** 'world' decision.

    If they tried dealing with the 'problem' (I don't see it as one, but what the hell I'm pirating software as we speak!) in a decent way the overpriced entertainment industry might start seeing some revenue again
  • digitallysick, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3Someone needs to tell RIAA Executive Vice President Neil Turkowitz, that , all his base are belong to us!
  • m15t3R, on 10/12/2007, -3/+0the tracert result is kinda funny.
  • zimm, on 10/12/2007, -0/+5the us goverment better start sucking up to the pirates now.

    since its getting very likely they will win in swedens next elections.

  • phreakout, on 10/12/2007, -1/+5Sharing is a natural right.
    Copyright was a limited government granted monopoly to encourage publication - now it is unlimited the original deal is broken. It is generally used to control the market rather than encourage art.
    A shared culture binds societies together - exclusive culture is divisive it drives the poor, young and dissafected to find other youth cults such as martyrdom.
    The **AA represent cartels of rights squatters, their utility to artists and culture is almost entirely negative.
    Therefore I submit that:
    Copyright is theft.
    Piracy is right.
    Sharing things like culture and ideas increases their value, in this time of information plenty it is evil to hoard the grain.
    A download is a new fan not a lost sale.
    Fans love art and artists they realise however that giving money to the cartels just supports extortion and luddites rather than any portion getting back to the real creatives.
    These young pirate fellers are heroes the **AA are scum.
    • jasqwerty, on 10/12/2007, -3/+1And what do you do exactly?

      Cut hair?
      Flip burgers?
      Live in mommy's basement?
  • lowesch, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4From the article
    "An ongoing battle between Swedish authorities and an illegal file-sharing service called the Pirate Bay can be traced to an April meeting in Washington between the Swedes and the U.S. government."

    One important thing to point out here is that thepiratebay.org is not an illegal filesharing service. There has been no conviction. (
  • jasqwerty, on 10/12/2007, -2/+1So, the ***PROOF*** being put forth is that nations talk to each other?

    OH SHI-!!!!11
  • misfit410, on 10/12/2007, -2/+1:"Unjust laws SHOULD be broken"

    We are STEALING, stop trying to church it up.. Piracy is stealing..Laws against it are far from unjust..
    we are just lucky they don't enforce it more than they do.
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