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Warez Leader Is Chairman Of San Diego Republican Party

torrentfreak.com — This week, a 30 year old man was sentenced to 30 months in prison for his involvement in the so-called pirate ‘warez scene’. In what appears to be some sort of bizarre parallel universe, it’s been revealed that another notorious pirate has an interesting job - he’s chairman of the San Diego Republican Party.

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  • trujillonorte, on 05/03/2008, -6/+246HOLY *****! I REMEMBER HIM! HIS NAME WAS STRIDER! His famous saying was kill a commie for mommie! I was active in the commodore 64 scene back in the day in the late eighties
    • elipabst, on 05/03/2008, -23/+45"His famous saying was kill a commie for mommie!"

      Wow, that's ironic.
      • mattes5, on 05/03/2008, -10/+42how is that ironic?
        • Jeffler, on 05/03/2008, -10/+23You see, its like ray-ee-ayynn....
        • elipabst, on 05/03/2008, -7/+37The guy is a Republican leader who talks about killing commies online, but at the same time is the head of a group that facilitates the distribution of copyrighted material for free to the masses.

          /Plus he has flies in his Chardonnay or something....
        • blagoaw, on 05/03/2008, -3/+13I'd argue that his issue with communism may be that the government determines distribution of limited resources that he may believe that individuals have more of a right to determine. His cracking and distribution of software in violation of copyright freely distributed an unlimited resource and was done without any government involvement. He could possibly be a freedom-focused capitalist in some way, who might not agree with the court's protection of copyright. (reposted because elipabst posted twice :))
          • elipabst, on 05/03/2008, -2/+8Frankly that sounds more like a Libertarian stance than a Republican one. The Republican party has tried to pass some of the most draconian IP legislation this country has ever seen (The Intellectual Property Protection Act of 2007 for example). Sure you can speculate that he's the exception to the rule, but he could equally likely be a gay, gun control supporter who wants amnesty for illegal aliens as well.
          • blagoaw, on 05/03/2008, -2/+3I wasn't meaning to make reference to the Republican party, since the rationale for it being irony doesn't require that. Unfortunately the Democratic party has a track record of going too far when it comes to copyright as well. There is nothing even remotely close to political representation available to me when it comes to matters of science and technology.
          • execute85, on 05/04/2008, -1/+3@elipabst- yes, but democrats passed the most draconian IP legislation (DMCA). So, generally, passing is worse than attempting to pass.
          • elipabst, on 05/04/2008, -0/+1Yes, both Democrats and Republicans are in the Music and Movie lobbyists pockets, that's not anything new. But I would disagree with you that passing is worse than attempting to pass. In both cases their motives are the same, the only difference is that in one case someone else decided that you were going overboard.

            His point was that Republican's are for limited gov't so something like gov't enforcement of IP rights is an inherantly "unRepublican" measure. Which is absurd. Republicans want limited gov't in terms of size and bureaucratic bloat, not limited enforcement of laws.

            In fact this is taken from the official Republican party platform available on the RNC website:

            "At the same time, we recognize the magnitude and pace of change require vigilance by government to make the most of the opportunities, mitigate the possible downsides of rapid technological advancement, and protect the technology industry from modern day pirates at home and abroad – both those who violate copyrights and those who loot by litigation"


          • blagoaw, on 05/04/2008, -0/+1Again, I didn't say anything about the Republican party. You did. I was merely explaining how a person might reconcile being a pirate and anti-communist at the same time. I'm not American and I've never given a ***** about the Democrat/Republican nonsense (though if you care, I'm generally a lot more upset about the republicans, while just disappointed about the democrats).
          • execute85, on 05/05/2008, -0/+1@elipabst (2nd) Would you rather be punched in the face? Or would you rather someone attempt to punch you in the face? While attempting to pass terrible legislation is a bad thing (tm), succeeding in your attempt is a much worse thing (tm). Therefore in the grand scheme of things, doing bad things is worse than suggesting that bad things be done.
        • pedo, on 05/04/2008, -1/+1because communists don't believe in "intellectual property"
      • remlap, on 05/03/2008, -0/+41In the former soviet union software was freely distributed, legally.
        • mattes5, on 05/03/2008, -29/+5regardless, that is such a simplistic narrow view of parallels that are very short. There is a difference in advocating communism (central economic planning) which killed 100 million people and advocating doing away with intellectual property which some republicans do. Just because a country with state ran economies gave people free software doesn't mean that system is desirable or that everyone that "pirates" software wants a system like that
          • remlap, on 05/03/2008, -2/+25You read to far into it matey.
          • mattes5, on 05/03/2008, -21/+1No I just can't stand that people spew crap they they aren't even on the brink of understanding
          • mattes5, on 05/03/2008, -19/+6@Sovietamerica
            LOL you make alot of assumptions. I hate fox news.... But the facts are the facts sadly you live in a world devoid of rational thought and facts are scary monsters that make all your political ideologies irrational
          • mattes5, on 05/03/2008, -15/+9Oh btw I just checked my facts and its really about 149 million
            http://www.digitalsurvivors.com/archives/communist ...
          • sovietninja, on 05/03/2008, -0/+6In Soviet Russia, numbers count you.
          • blackjack75, on 05/03/2008, -0/+4Huh.. sure communist regimes killed millions of people in the 70 years they ruled Russia,China and Eastern Europe but as far as I remember it's not the "centralized economic planning" that did it.

          • elipabst, on 05/03/2008, -1/+4Communism isn't strictly about central planning, that's just the most common implementation of it. Communism at its core, is about a classless society where there is no such thing as individual ownership. To assign individual ownership rights to anything, let alone something as intangible as an idea, is the antithesis of communism. Christ, the most common claim against people who fight against software patents and intellectual property is that they're a bunch of communists.
          • Bith8654, on 05/03/2008, -1/+3Yeah but honestly thinking that communism would work in a society, especially a capitalist society filled with greed and corruption, is blindly idealistic and stupid.
        • JettaMan, on 05/03/2008, -0/+2Yeah, their software sucked so bad no one would buy it. I think the best hardware they came up with was a cheap Apple rip off.
        • GeneralFailure0, on 05/03/2008, -0/+8@JettaMan

          What about Tetris?
        • dinostabOMG, on 05/04/2008, -0/+2In the former soviet union software was freely distributed, legally... you!

          *fixed
      • superkendall, on 05/03/2008, -13/+2Whatever, Avril.
      • elipabst, on 05/03/2008, -6/+8The guy is a Republican leader who talks about killing commies online, but at the same time is the head of a group that facilitates the distribution of copyrighted material for free to the masses.

        /Plus he has flies in his Chardonnay or something....
        • elipabst, on 05/03/2008, -4/+3Sorry for the dup, should have been posted one comment deeper.
        • blagoaw, on 05/03/2008, -6/+1I'd argue that his issue with communism may be that the government determines distribution of limited resources that he may believe that individuals have more of a right to determine. His cracking and distribution of software in violation of copyright freely distributed an unlimited resource and was done without any government involvement. He could possibly be a freedom-focused capitalist in some way, who might not agree with the court's protection of copyright. (reposted because elipabst posted twice :))
    • CatsAreGods, on 05/03/2008, -1/+21So he was, what, 10 years old at the time?
      • DisposableRob, on 05/03/2008, -1/+15I read it that way first, but the "30-year-old pirate" and San Diego RP chairman are two different people. Tony Krvaric is about 36-37.
    • StillAnonymous, on 05/03/2008, -1/+4Quite an impressive resume as well. Good job!
    • bratterscain, on 05/03/2008, -0/+33Strider, as listed by the C64 Scene Database: http://noname.c64.org/csdb/scener/?id=974&sort=ach ...
      Knowing this, I think I'd be more likely to elect him. What cities actually have what we could probably define as an 'leet' official?
      • JettaMan, on 05/03/2008, -0/+4That's definitely him. The only thing different is that his hair disappeared.
      • darkamster07, on 05/05/2008, -0/+1it's spelled 1337 IDIOT LOLOLOLOLOL !!!!!!!!!111!!1!11one
    • scarwars, on 05/03/2008, -7/+3that's not strider..
      this is strider: http://www.slengpung.com/?id=2787&eventid=111
    • KazamaSmokers, on 05/03/2008, -1/+3I remember Strider. Wow. That was a long time ago.
      • spacemonster, on 05/04/2008, -2/+1He was and probably still is an *****, I for one am glad to see him nailed!
    • Genma, on 05/03/2008, -0/+6fairlight is legend and they still do good work to this day. the only thing I've seen them fail at cracking was bioshock (twice) but that's probably because they insisted on doing it right.

      also people seem to be confused below, krvaric/strider isn't the one facing any charges, tf is just comparing him to the fish case, rtfa.
    • JettaMan, on 05/03/2008, -0/+6I remember Fairlight from way back in the C64 days. They were an awesome cracker group. So many good releases from that outfit. It's funny reading about where some of these guys ended up these days. Usually they are doing something in the video games industry.
  • eldust, on 05/03/2008, -21/+8Well, if you can't beat them girls just want to have fun.
    • webcrumb, on 05/03/2008, -5/+1Pah, you just want to be big. Shoot that poison arrow to put out that red light, dancing on the sand.
  • synystar, on 05/03/2008, -2/+126"BTW, I also heard a rumor that another fellow committee member (who shall remain unnamed) once made a tape copy of his friend’s favorite vinyl record."

    Good point. They sentence an otherwise law-abiding citizen to thirty months in prison for something that nearly everyone has done at some point in their lives and it was something he did when he was much younger. Yes, he was actively cracking copyrighted works, and I know that at some point you must make an example of someone or the law is ineffective. But the punishment seems to be way harsh for the crime in this case. Prison?
    • MurphyMac, on 05/03/2008, -2/+42Obviously there's a huge difference between stealing a song and helping development a *network* for stealing songs and software. Anything more than a month in prison is way harsh. And I agree to an extent, any prison time is pretty harsh.
      • Drizzit, on 05/03/2008, -1/+2Hell prison can be a death sentence now with all the prisoner rape going on and the high risk of Aids from that. There are a few dozen people now who went to prison for relatively minor crimes and left with AIDS.
      • unreg, on 05/03/2008, -0/+2Hows this scenario compare / contrast with the recent story about the fugitive mommie?

        Wasn't the overwhelming sentiment in that thread that it was a victimless crime?

        And would this post even be here if it weren't for the fact that he's a Republican?

        • schtick01101, on 05/04/2008, -0/+0Yes the post would be here if he wasn't even politically aligned. Digg is (or at least used to be) littered with tech news. Therefore a story about a cracker from the 80's getting jail time would most definitely make it on Digg.
    • synystar, on 05/03/2008, -4/+31Even a month in prison is harsh for the crime. He was a kid having fun. He helped people steal other peoples work. But you have to wonder how much damage was done. Were his "victims" really harmed? Did they really lose money? How many people who downloaded his "warez" would have purchased the product if it wasn't so easy to steal? Did he profit? The punishment does not fit the crime.
      • PFinn, on 05/03/2008, -0/+1that is the same argument today though (and i am in no way against warez...just sayin)
    • Suricou, on 05/03/2008, -0/+11It's lottery enforcement. Giving every violator an appropriate length sentence would be impractical - just imagine the logistics of jailing somewhere around half the population of the US for even a week, not to mention the political consequences. So instead, just give a ridiculously over-the-top punishment to a very few violators, and hope to scare all the others away.
      • dmadzak, on 05/03/2008, -0/+4Then maybe jail isn't the proper punishment. Why the constant pleading from the public for jail time for non-violent crimes. Can't we find more appropriate punishments to meet the needs.
    • subterfuge, on 05/03/2008, -1/+7police states love it when they can arrest someone and find the crime later. so i'm sure they love copy protection.
      • dmadzak, on 05/03/2008, -0/+4Bingo, that is the big problem with all the laws, we are all guilty at something.
      • a6n28f, on 05/04/2008, -0/+1"Did you really think we want those laws observed?" said Dr. Ferris. "We want them to be broken. You'd better get it straight that it's not a bunch of boy scouts you're up against... We're after power and we mean it... There's no way to rule innocent men. The only power any government has is the power to crack down on criminals. Well, when there aren't enough criminals one makes them. One declares so many things to be a crime that it becomes impossible for men to live without breaking laws. Who wants a nation of law-abiding citizens? What's there in that for anyone? But just pass the kind of laws that can neither be observed nor enforced or objectively interpreted – and you create a nation of law-breakers – and then you cash in on guilt. Now that's the system, Mr. Reardon, that's the game, and once you understand it, you'll be much easier to deal with." Atlas Shrugged - Ayn Rand
  • prophetpimp, on 05/03/2008, -4/+32Where is the Exploding Yellow Van?
  • LordEsoterica, on 05/03/2008, -25/+19"Having seen, first hand, the devastating effects of socialism in Sweden and the rest of Europe, he was determined to stand up for the traditional, conservative values that helped make America great."
    Yes, because of those values the United States economy is doing great. Oh, wait a second, it isn't doing well because of those values because they put money into the hands of the rich and take from the hands of the poor. Jerk.
    • thrallie, on 05/03/2008, -10/+16It's cool to bash capitalism even though we live in a corporatist government, not even close to capitalism. But ***** capitalistic pigs! o_O
      • BabyWookie, on 05/04/2008, -0/+1***** was a lot worse when we had a more "libertarian" economic system back in the 1800's... robber barons, sweat shops,child labor, terrible working conditions, blatant exploitation, etc.
    • richardpryor, on 05/03/2008, -22/+23Traditional conservative values are something we should all have. They mean lowering taxes for everybody so the government doesn't take so much of what you earn. It means not giving money to people who didn't earn it. If I have a million dollars, it's not fair that it gets to go to a family who doesn't work and who lives off the government. I worked hard so they didn't have to? That's theft.

      Jerk.
      • dupems, on 05/03/2008, -14/+19All the socialists on Digg don't take too kindly to that kind of anti-wealth-redistribution talk.
        • AmnioticEntity, on 05/03/2008, -2/+8god dam canadians, with their beedy eyes and flapping heads...
      • Rodalli, on 05/03/2008, -4/+15That's what I like to hear. People need to realize that 99% of the people that call themselves "conservatives" today are not. They're corporatists and thieves. A true conservative would be fiscally responsible (you know, conserving money?) and as we've all seen the GOP hasn't been fiscally responsible since my dad was in grade school.
        • Onyxblaze, on 05/03/2008, -9/+3A conservative only likes things to stay the way they are. Liberals want radical change. Moderates are in the middle.
        • strabes, on 05/03/2008, -3/+7Onyxblaze: That's only one definition. (The third one from M-W: http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/conserva ... What we mean when we say "conservative" here is adhering to traditional conservative values like limited government, fiscal responsibility/constraint, low taxes, etc. Not the values the so-called "conservative" GOP has.
        • PURPLEDRINK, on 05/03/2008, -3/+2No, strabes. that is a good definition given by onyxblaze. Maybe you should do some non-wiki research on what conservatism is...? Just a quick y/n question out of curiosity, have you ever done that... or do you have any sort of higher education degree?
          • Rodalli, on 05/04/2008, -1/+1Does purpledrink happen to be a reference to Kool-Aid, by any chance? As in the stuff you're drinking? Onyx's definition is extremely simplistic and is based on the face value of the word "conservative". In the field of politics, conservative has a quite different meaning than "only liking things to stay the same".

            If Bush and Cheney "only liked things to stay the same" then we wouldn't be in Iraq, have a warrantless wiretapping program, a huge deficit in the budget, a folundering military and Bush and Dickie now eyeballing Iran, now would we?

            This country has changed more radically in the last 8 years than at any other time since World War II. And it has much less to do with the events of 9/11 than it does with the choices and programs instituted by your "conservative" administration. Doesn't like change, indeed.
          • PURPLEDRINK, on 05/05/2008, -1/+1so because its "simplistic" it must be wrong? that makes sense. Oh wait, that not not not not makes sense cause u know, it can't be simple or straight forward that would make it wrong (just applying your logic h0h0)
            "conservative has a quite different meaning than "only liking things to stay the same"", by that you mean rush limbaugh? as opposed to idk, academics for one?
        • Onyxblaze, on 05/04/2008, -0/+1Go back to high school.
      • blagoaw, on 05/03/2008, -0/+2There's a lot of room for disagreement about how wealth should be distributed. A person can receive a certain amount of wealth through following the rules of the market, but is that how it "should" be? It's probably good to respect personal property and be careful to keep the government's paws off things that are important to you, but the market has its problems. History shows that no system is perfect and things have a tendency to run out of balance until a point of fairly drastic reset is reached. The markets do make corrections, but if there are strictly no compromise in terms of personal property, I believe this may quicken our problems. Estate taxes are one example, and are often accepted.
        • pyronik, on 05/03/2008, -0/+2Estate taxes make it harder for families to build and protect their future generations wealth and security. By earning money, you earn the right to ensure the health and wealth of your offspring, I am pretty sure you didn't go to work so that the government can take it and pay for illegal immigrants c-sections in American hospitals or for foodstamps for people who don't care to work.
          • blagoaw, on 05/04/2008, -0/+0As I said, no system is perfect. I just don't want it to get further out of balance. Picture starting a game of Monopoly when some of the other players start off with ten times as much money as you and several properties. That's reality, and the rules are set such that it becomes more that way with each successive generation, I believe that eventually a correction will happen whether it is legally sanctioned or not. I'm not saying it's fair or unfair, right or wrong.. it's just something to consider.
          • blagoaw, on 05/04/2008, -0/+0By the way, I'm disgusted that your "illegal immigrants c-sections in American hospitals or for foodstamps" is getting dugg up. What the hell people.
      • BabyWookie, on 05/04/2008, -0/+1Theft is when some ***** heards all the money, while not paying the people who work for him what their labor is worth.
    • PotatoSalad, on 05/03/2008, -5/+7"...take from the hands of the poor"

      Wow, our government is really counter productive. Obviously the *poor* are their main target for huge profits.
    • casuallyevil, on 05/03/2008, -15/+10Actually... the government takes from the rich and gives to the poor. The rich have drastically higher tax rates (the top 5% of earners pay 60% of the total income tax receipts) while the poor are the beneficiaries of welfare, medicaid, etc. Try again.
      • JoeVet, on 05/03/2008, -11/+10Sounds fair since the top 5% make 99% of all income leaving mere scrapes for working men nd women.
        • twomeyw23334, on 05/03/2008, -7/+7I'd say there is a 98.7632% chance you just pulled that statistic out of your ass.
          And make sure you put band aids on your scrapes.
        • strabes, on 05/03/2008, -5/+9And 50% of all statistics are made up on the spot. Your statistic is blatantly false; look it up. The State taking money from one group of people and giving it to another group of people is undeniably legalized theft. If it were done by a private group it would be illegal. What makes the Government so special that it can do things which if done by ordinary citizens would be illegal?
        • casuallyevil, on 05/03/2008, -3/+5It's a real stat: http://www.ntu.org/main/page.php?PageID=6
          Unlike "top 5% make 99%" which is false - they make 18%.
          http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/15/business/15rich. ...
        • CodeCobalt, on 05/03/2008, -5/+7The governement isn't stealing your money. They are forcing you to take your head out of your ass and realize theres other people around who could use some help. The point of a currency is to circulate it, if the government let bill gates keep every penny he earned he would horde it as he is doing. Yea he's spending but he's saving much more than he's spending. IF the government takes a few billion, Bill Gates isn't affected at all, however that few billion could be live changing to an entire city.

          Yes I'm poor, but no I've never been on welfare and don't believe I will. My family has been very strapped at times but thankfully we have been educated (thanks largely to your taxes yes (pell grants, tuition waivers, scholarships) and therefore have been able to find careers and take care of ourselves without relying on the government to support us (other than helping with school.)

          That wouldn't have been possible if it wasn't for everyones tax dollars. Hell I was eligible for free lunch in all of grade school and I didn't take it because I knew I didn't need it. but maybe I'm more socialist than I thought because I for one think its fine for the top 5% of the wealthiest people to pay a larger percentage of taxes, they'll still have more money than they could ever dream of spending and you can't take it with you up above.
          • twomeyw23334, on 05/03/2008, -3/+3"The government isn't stealing your money. They are forcing you to take your head out of your ass..."
            Nice word game. You can call it whatever you want but they're still taking money.

            "if the government let bill gates keep every penny he earned he would horde it as he is doing"
            Do you have any idea how much he gives to charity
            http://www3.sympatico.ca/truegrowth/gates1.html
            or how many people he employees both directly and indirectly. He is obsessed with growing his company, which means more jobs. The company has 79,000 full time employees, and has largely made the personal computer popular, leading to hundreds of thousands of jobs in the hardware industry.

            Generally, the poor and middle class are better off in a good economy where they can get jobs, and punishing rich people (who hire them), or taking their heads out of their ass or however you want to phrase it, usually isn't the best way to do that. But hey, don't you just get butterflies in your stomach by punishing the pig rich, even if it leads to lower tax revenues?

            Tax revenue, which (other than punishing those spoiled rich brats) is actually the point of taxes, and cutting taxes on the rich is historically much more effective at raising revenue than increasing them.
          • casuallyevil, on 05/04/2008, -1/+1For one thing, it's pretty clear that taxing the rich disproportionately just drags down the most productive members of society. Secondly, to tell a man that the product of his own effort is not his own is one of the greatest violations of rights - a man isn't born to serve society, he's born to live his life. You have the absolute right to "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness," which was not coincidentally originally termed "the pursuit of property."

            Bill Gates created more global wealth than anybody in history. Stop trying to convince yourself he owes you even more.
        • pyronik, on 05/03/2008, -1/+5"The government isn't stealing your money. They are forcing you to take your head out of your ass and realize theres other people around who could use some help."

          how can you write those 2 sentences back to back and not see the hypocrisy... however you want to rationalize or justify it if your not freely giving up your money and someone takes it its... dumm dumm dumm.. theft

          As far as you taking pell grants and all that *****.. thats fine, take advantage of every resource available to you, I sure do to pay for my education cause im sure as hell going to end up paying back that and more in my life... thats one of the arguments for those types of grants is because they eventually pay back a net benefit to society and it doesn't end up in a leech relationship.

          As for the top 5% getting most of the wealth.. big ***** deal... they obviously risked large sums of money and created value in the economy for other people if they made that much money. Good for them.. enjoy your mansion, nice cars, etc.... if you want .. and you should.. give to charity but hey nobody should be busting down your door and taking your big screen tv visa vi a 1040
          • Rodalli, on 05/04/2008, -0/+2Acutally, you ARE freely giving away your money. No one's forcing anyone to live in the country. You can just leave and give up your citizenship, not pay taxes and keep all your ***** money. Of course, then you wouldn't be living in one of the most powerful and comfortable nations in the world anymore, now would you? Jackass.

            The only reason societies work is because people pool resources. The only reason we're sitting here today having this conversation is because a long time ago a couple of h uneducated lots with spears and bearskins got together and said, "Hey, we'd have a much easier time of things if we worked together."

            But you people still don't get it. Everything we have today we owe to cooperation and people sharing with other people.

            And still you sing,

            Take what is mine,
            Hold what is mine,
            Suffocate what is mine,
            Bury what's mine
            Till the waters will come and claim what is mine
            I must leave it behind and climb to a new place now.

            Gimme, gimme, gimme, gimme
            I need more, I need more
            Gimme, gimme, gimme, gimme
            Don't ask what for, don't ask what for.
    • SquigglyP, on 05/03/2008, -4/+2dude, 9 times out of ten the poor are poor because they're ***** stupid with money. I'm not exactly poor but I'm not ***** rich either. I would probably border between poor and lower middle class. I work with a lot of people who make more money than I, and all of them are in worse economic shape than me. ALL of them. But then, they are always talking about buying new clothes, new shoes, new games, new this, new that. But they all drive beat-to ***** cars they got for $300 from some friend of a friend and they don't take care of them. They all live in rat-hole houses they never take care of. And yet they complain when their money problems get worse and blame the government.

      ***** those people. The only people who owe them something are themselves. I owe them nothing. The government owes them nothing. You want to 'fix' this country, the first thing you have to do is educate people about how exactly money works (among many MANY other things... like math, reading and history). The vast majority of people out there in the real world are seriously ***** stupid. If you're on the net discussing this crap on Digg, chances are good that you're at least of what would be considered an average IQ. unfortunately, i think the averages are off, because most of the people I witness and deal with offline are hopelessly dumb. Just plain dumb. Ignorant and they either don't care or ENJOY it.

      This guy at work the other day said we should invade Iran and then march from there into China. I said "that would be one hell of a long march" and he replied "they're right next to each other, aren't they?". I informed him of the vast distance which separates the two countries and he laughed and said (as literally as possible, here...) "shi... how da ***** m'eye s'post ta no that shi?". no, he didn't mis-spell the words as he spoke them aloud, but I imagine that was pretty close to how he'd have written it. This dude supposedly has a highschool diploma.

      THAT, my friend, is the reason poor people exist. I'll give you 100 to 1 odds that any really poor person you pick at random in the US will be unable to pass simple math, writing, geography, science or history tests... the sort of tests elementary students take. I'll also wager that they will know their bible inside and out, will be able to tell you who got kicked off American Idol last week, and could recite you the plot to every big blockbuster action-packed CGI-ridden film to be released in teh past decade or so.

      Poor people are poor because they give all their money away - to make a long story short. Rich people are rich because they entice poor people to give them their money. There's really nothing wrong with that, it's human nature. But rich people - the ones who BECOME rich, not the ones born that way (tho most of those, as well) are generally much more well educated. it has les to do with money and more to do with the fact that their children are raised in an environment where intelligence is held in greater regard than TV, Movies and religion.
      • sliksta, on 05/05/2008, -0/+1Not everyone.
        What you say is only partly true. Yes many people are poor because they are bad with money. Wasteful fools. But others are poor because of circumstance.
        I happen to belong to the 2nd group. Have worked overtime and 2nd jobs for years but am poor because of a failed marriage, child support, and medical expenses. Many people live paycheck to paycheck because it takes every dime they have to pay overpriced medical costs(racket), car insurance(racket), home insurance(racket), dental care(racket), taxes(racket), gas, car repairs, and don't forget the utility monopolies. Some poor just don't get a break.
        • SquigglyP, on 05/06/2008, -0/+1no offence, but I've observed that most of the time those circumstances are self-inflicted. Stupid with money is only one part of it. Just plain stupid people doing stupid things without thinking about the consequences. Driving drunk. Doing heavy drugs / abusing alcohol. Not getting an education. Driving like retards, talking on their cell phones while driving, not wearing seatbelts, etc, etc, etc. A lot of people will not do these things because they enjoy breaking the law / enjoy taking risks.

          My car insurance is cheap, because I have a good record and I have a car that is cheap to insure. A lot of this I touched on... The idea is that if you take some initiative and act to prevent things like out of control medical expenses, expensive vehicle repairs, your teeth being all ***** up, etc, then you don't have to worry about these expenses. Of course, some retard doing 100 mph drunk in a car can give you a lot of problems, but barring some sort of horrible accident or freak occurence, most people could easily avoid most of their huge bills by being more thoughtful in planning for the future.
  • mattes5, on 05/03/2008, -23/+6Well he is probably an old school conservative. Most of them don't believe in intellectual property...
  • gdagreat, on 05/03/2008, -37/+13all republicans are pirates...ive known this all along. go obama!
    • SenorGeltabz, on 05/03/2008, -5/+2republicans dont get to have all the fun! Viva la resistance!!!!
    • subterfuge, on 05/03/2008, -2/+1sweeping generalizations make everything easier!

      i think it's likely that there are actually a fewer percentage of republicans who are pirates than democrats who are pirates because republicans tend to be older, and older means less electronically-adept.
      • oldhick, on 05/03/2008, -0/+3How ignorant do you have to be to follow one sweeping generalization with another?
    • OrangeSoda31, on 05/03/2008, -1/+1Gobama?
  • Chad9994, on 05/03/2008, -20/+2lol
  • MrESaulved, on 05/03/2008, -13/+6Jumping Jehosophat! Pick a side, guy.
    • superkendall, on 05/03/2008, -11/+19Don't you get it? Democrats ARE the music/movie industry. He was for individual freedom and the Republicans are the closest thing there is to a libertarian party. He did pick a side, and he stuck with it.


      • Lyph5, on 05/03/2008, -3/+15The republicans are the closest thing to a Libertarian party? What about... the Libertarian party?
        • oldhick, on 05/03/2008, -5/+3Libertarians are liberatarians. To be "close" to libertarian implies that you are NOT a libertarian. Thus, between Democrats and Republicans, superkendall believes Republicans are close to being Libertarians. I would personally disagree and don't think either are remotely close, but thats just me.
    • lolwutpear, on 05/03/2008, -6/+2He's not your guy, buddy.
    • blagoaw, on 05/03/2008, -1/+4Actually, no. Please don't pick a side. I value that this guy has values that challenge our preconceptions of political alignment.
  • dusingaz, on 05/03/2008, -7/+48Warez a great word.
  • gplpark92, on 05/03/2008, -7/+106see? not all warez hakzors are 25-yr-old deadbeats living in their parents' basements...
    • MrPig, on 05/03/2008, -10/+52No, but you are.
    • ThrstForKnwldge, on 05/03/2008, -20/+11buried for use of word "hakzors"
    • vat0r, on 05/03/2008, -0/+6Creepy how you pegged me like that.
    • danconia, on 05/03/2008, -1/+2Right, some are deadbeat politicians instead!
    • breezytrees, on 05/04/2008, -2/+2***** yea we aren't. We have people. We are more organized than you think. We have operatives in many sectors of government, this is just one small example. This chairman and his discovery, though sad, is just a grunt. I could say more but too much is at stake. This is just a notification. Just know that we're here and infiltrating all aspects of government.
  • YamiJim, on 05/03/2008, -13/+22this kind of legal ***** is exactly why other countries laugh at us.
    • actorboy, on 05/03/2008, -2/+12No, I think they have other reasons to laugh at us that pretty much trump this.
    • CatcherInTheWhy, on 05/03/2008, -9/+1They do the same, and in some cases even more ridiculous, stuff! At least in America we have SOME fundamental rights. In Europe, they have zero fundamental rights. Stop being so down on your country, just because it's not perfect. Try making it better, and not being concerned with which other countries are "laughing at us", because that frankly doesn't matter.
      • karolisonline, on 05/03/2008, -0/+3yeah right, piratebay has no rights and they are shutdown... as I remember last time government was defending them... oh and pot is legal in Holland, oh and prostitution.. oh and it is +/- normal in france (and most other countries) to have another sex partner than Your wife. of course tazers are illegal, also segways in some places.. and microsoft also gets kicked in the as of being monopolistic and unfriendly to open source...
        • CatcherInTheWhy, on 05/03/2008, -2/+1All this is irrelevant to the question of fundamental constitutional rights. Everything in Europe could swing tomorrow and completely change, and there is very little that would prevent the tyranny of the majority. I'm not talking about liberties, I'm talking about Liberty. You can be locked up in Germany for even suggesting that the Holocaust didn't happen. That is obviously not a view I agree with, but I think people shouldn't be imprisoned for their views.
          • karolisonline, on 05/03/2008, -0/+2sorry, but I think Your view about Europe is kind a distorted. maybe you confuse EU with Russia? And how can everything swing tomorrow? By the way, haven't You seen recent protest in germany or denmark? people are free to protest (they even burned some vehicles and other stuff and no one was charged because of their opinion). we don't have masterminds who want to bring "democracy" to the world. also we are not scared of "terrorism", police and europolice has no increased rights against citizens...

            i think it is useless to continue this discussion. if You want to compare US with some worse country, compare it with russia, china or some other countrie. I think EU is not the place to search for something bad about freedom.
  • DaDrake, on 05/03/2008, -15/+196Diggers have a real dilemma here. On one side, they want to defend piracy and want to defend this man. On the other side, they want to crucify anything republican.
    • CaptainJapan, on 05/03/2008, -17/+9What happened to the good ol' days when Republicans got in trouble for having sex with pages and whores in airport bathrooms, now there just getting in trouble for pirating copies of Transformers, 'tis a sad day.
      • rodgerse, on 05/03/2008, -12/+5but how can they hold themselves to higher morals and family values when they're married and secretly having gay sex in a mens room..its the same thing hear, it wouldn't be the same if it was from libs/dems.
        • strabes, on 05/03/2008, -5/+9You say "they" like it's all of them. Several miscreants do not represent the practices of the entire party.
          • rodgerse, on 05/03/2008, -7/+2idiot, my point is would a dem doing the same thing be just as bad?.
          • dancercotillion, on 05/03/2008, -3/+4Actually, they do. People hate the Republicans right now because of Bush. His failings taint his entire party by association.
            And in 4-8 years, when the Democratic President is about to leave office, all their failings will transfer to that party as well.

            So yes. If you ***** up, everyone associated with you immediately is as bad as you are, possibly worse.
    • rodgerse, on 05/03/2008, -13/+1but how can they hold themselves to higher morals and family values when they're married and secretly having gay sex in a mens room..its the same thing hear, it wouldn't be the same if it was from libs/dems who believe in freedom/privacy.
      • superkendall, on 05/03/2008, -2/+6Hint: Singular anecdotes do not widespread cases make.
    • Neoanarchist, on 05/03/2008, -14/+20Flaw in your theory. Ron Paul and before you say he's not a true republican read up on true republican/conservative ideals and you'll see he's one of the only true republicans. Regardless of my political bias, he is one of the few true republicans left.
      • superkendall, on 05/03/2008, -2/+6He's pretty close but he has some ideas that veer off. You may be right about him being the most theoretical Republican left though (although the reality is, he's not really left).
      • Kingmichael, on 05/03/2008, -6/+9Ron Paul is very different from almost every other member of the Republican Party (even if he is one of only old-school Republicans left in Congress), and Digg loves Obama more than him now anyway. Diggers generally hate Republicans and love Democrats. Kinda funny because they support Obama, who goes on and on about being non-partisan, uniting Republicans and Democrats, and whatnot.
        • rodgerse, on 05/03/2008, -6/+1..as opposed to hillary who is as close to republican as a dem can get..
          • Kingmichael, on 05/03/2008, -1/+5Some people say Hillary is really a Republican at heart, and others say she is a communist. You guys are idiots. Just because she's evil doesn't mean she's a Republican.
        • rodgerse, on 05/03/2008, -3/+0Well let me ask you, what dem votes for war(iraq), and regrets it only after public opinion is against it then votes for war again(iran)?, then will probably regret it again, and so on and so on... http://firstread.msnbc.msn.com/archive/2007/10/15/ ...
          • Kingmichael, on 05/03/2008, -1/+3A LOT of democrats voted for the war in Iraq, started regretting it after public opinion went against it, and now want to invade Iran. EVEN OBAMA wants to invade Iran.

            Hillary is far from Republican. A lot of her positions are almost exactly like Obama's, and even Obama has admitted that they don't differ much on most issues. Nader even said that they are so close on the issues that it's almost like Obama is mimicking Hillary. Almost the same positions on gun control, abortion, gay marriage, etc. and you think she's a Republican because she wants to continue policing the Middle East? MOST DEMOCRATS WANT TO CONTINUE FIGHTING IN THE MIDDLE EAST. They aren't benign freedom fighters who really care about Americans. Almost everyone in government is bought and paid for by the companies that profit from these wars-- Republicans and Democrats alike. Look it up online. See if you can find even one representative or senator who has NOT accepted any money from oil companies before.
        • cronian, on 05/03/2008, -1/+2Digg users don't like the Iraq war, and supports civil liberties. Overall, Digg users seem less concerned with partisan issues.
        • BabyWookie, on 05/04/2008, -0/+2A lot of us only support Obama because Kucinich and Gravel are out. He is too conservative for me, but he's a lot better than the alternative.
    • malex, on 05/03/2008, -4/+37Tiebreaker: People who pluralize words with a "z" should be tied in a sack and beaten.
    • blagoaw, on 05/03/2008, -0/+5I was about to say the same thing. He's being dragged through the mud for something that I don't have any issue with. I actually think it's pretty cool that a C-64 coder has found a place in politics, and am impressed that he founded Fairlight. Yes, I think that I probably wouldn't get along with this guy due to his political leanings.. but I'd let this go because it's bringing him down for the wrong reasons, and am somewhat disappointed that Diggers have stooped as low as the mainstream media in this respect.
    • oldhick, on 05/03/2008, -1/+7Wouldn't it be funny if you could just respect or digg someone for who they were and not worry about their political preference... Not a chance in hell on Digg, but it'd be nice.
    • inkswamp, on 05/03/2008, -7/+1Curious that you paint Digg users with such a wide brush. I'm betting that most Digg users don't pirate software and don't condone it either. It's likely a lot of Digg users work in technology fields where they understand firsthand the destructive consequences of pirating software. And I'm betting most of us make enough money to where paying for software isn't a big financial issue.

      There will always be vocal minorities in any group. Usually that outspoken behavior is an overreaction, a way to elicit sympathetic responses from the group to back up one's questionable ethics. To assume those people somehow represent everyone is foolish.
      • rodgerse, on 05/03/2008, -3/+4Yeah right..your the minority pal, wether on dig or not, anyone who's even HEARD of the interent pirates software..and the only ppl who don't condone ir support it have a vested interest not to...regardless of how bad it actually is...

        • dancercotillion, on 05/04/2008, -0/+1My grandmother doesn't pirate software, and she's heard of the internet.
      • blagoaw, on 05/03/2008, -1/+7It's interesting that you mention Digg users working in technology fields. I found some of the most confident opposition to copyright in the games industry. Many of the developers consider it an art and are more than happy to have a wider audience. The same phenomenon exists in the music industry. It comes down to the leanings of individual people.
        • rodgerse, on 05/03/2008, -3/+1Well, he's right though...it hurts they're bottom line wether or not the morally support it, so they infact don't..
          • blagoaw, on 05/03/2008, -1/+1Are you saying that game developers are watching the bottom line? If I were ever the type or had the stomach for that sort of thinking, I'd have gone into business or law perhaps.. or even business software development.. not games.
    • thewump, on 05/03/2008, -2/+5.. except Ron Paul.
    • mrraven200, on 05/03/2008, -3/+6No dilemma at all it just shows the hypocrisy of conservatives who all claim to be all so moral and who all have skeletons in their closets. They should just come clean and become tolerant liberals.
      • CrunchyDeluxe, on 05/04/2008, -1/+3But where is your oft-touted tolerance regarding conservatives? Nowhere to be found, I dare say.
        • mrraven200, on 05/23/2008, -0/+1Lets say there was a room with ten different types of people one of whome who was the type to say we shouldn't have tolerance for anyone except his type. I could

          a) Tolerate him and allow the other people to thus be discrimated against due to his overshadowing intolerance,

          or

          b) Tell him to get ***** thus not totlerating him and allowing the other 9 people to shine in the sun and not have to bear his overbearing intolerance.

          Tolerating racists and haters and other Conservative types does NOT help the cause of tolerance. Logic much?
    • JettaMan, on 05/03/2008, -0/+4I don't feel any dilemma as long as he's supporting actual conservatism that emphasizes free markets and private property rights. If he's one of these neo-Con types then I have no use for him. Go Ron Paul!
      • CrunchyDeluxe, on 05/04/2008, -1/+1Do you even know what a Neo-con is?
    • VitriolAndAngst, on 05/04/2008, -1/+2I'd have the same dilemma if I met a Republican with the cure for cancer. Sure, he has useful knowledge -- but he is a damn Republican, after all.

      This is kind of small potatoes crime for the usual Republican fund manager.
    • salinemist, on 05/04/2008, -2/+3No irony here. Despite what digger's believe Conservatives stand for freedom and personal responsibility.
    • Yeknom, on 05/04/2008, -1/+1I am a Republican and a pirate. Win
  • mcrules, on 05/03/2008, -10/+48Kind of ironic as wasnt this the same party that introduced the DMCA?
    • justz00t, on 05/03/2008, -3/+33Hey was it not Bill Clinton that signed it into freaking law?!!?

      Both party's suck for letting this one pass.
      • ruddy, on 05/03/2008, -0/+2i just want you to know, i plugged my ears for that one!
      • inkswamp, on 05/03/2008, -9/+4After 8 years of Republicans screaming about how unethical and immoral and just flat-out evil Bill Clinton was, it amuses me to see his behavior used as the ethical yardstick by that same group. If your defense of Republicans starts with "But Clinton..." then your argument fails.
        • SwedishNinja, on 05/03/2008, -1/+4Please. Had this guy been the poster child for the DMCA, you guys would hate him too.
      • BabyWookie, on 05/04/2008, -3/+1Bill Clinton was the best Republican president since Lincoln.
      • randumbusername, on 05/04/2008, -0/+1yeah really. both parties find a way to weaken the power of people. it had to get good support from both democrats and republicans to make it to the president's desk.
  • h3llscaper, on 05/03/2008, -7/+29I would vote for him for anything after knowing this.
    • s1mph0ny, on 05/04/2008, -0/+2Yeah, it's just too bad that he isn't a natural born citizen, and therefor ineligible for the presidency.
    • fluxion, on 05/04/2008, -0/+1srsly

      "I don’t know who is spreading this but just wanted to let you know what’s going on out there. Likely it’s someone who wants us to take our eye off the ball in 2008, be it the democrats, labor or someone else. Either way, we’re not going to let them get away with it. Thanks for your leadership."

      c'mon dude, we just think that's a hell of a coincidence is all. software piracy claims about some dude in san diego arent gonna change national elections.
  • CaptainJapan, on 05/03/2008, -2/+14He steals and then he sues himself, win win.
  • mCanada, on 05/03/2008, -1/+79I know the republicans aren't in everyone's good books right now, but putting that aside; the so called "crimes" were committed are identical in fashion to what DVD jon did. He essentially broke copyright. And he's going to jail for that? I'm not going to laugh at him simply because he's a republican, or because he may have different views than me. I totally support him, this is a witch hunt that will deprive his family from their father for 30 months for a ridiculous reason.
  • fr3ddie, on 05/03/2008, -13/+1leader of the warez scene?... well isnt most warez on bit torrents now a day? which means theres really no "leader" just a community.
  • SystemError51, on 05/03/2008, -1/+115It seems that you've been living two lives. One life, you're chairman of the San Diego Republican Party. You have a social security number, pay your taxes. The other life is lived in computers, where you go by the hacker alias "Strider" and are guilty of virtually every computer crime we have a law for.

    One of these lives has a future, and one of them does not.
    • mattes5, on 05/03/2008, -37/+4Why is digg full of progressive morons? Your understanding of political philosophy is weak. Alot of Republicans are advocates of free markets some think that intellectual property is not legitamate property.... it was advocated by Hayek and Rothbard ... they had alot of influence on free market thinkers. Reason I am sure this guy is from the same strain is because he was influenced by Reagan... and Reagan was influenced by Hayek.
      • superkendall, on 05/03/2008, -0/+32Matrix ref. You can get off the horse now.
        • mattes5, on 05/03/2008, -27/+2LOLZ REPUBLICANS AND BUSH ARE DUMB CRISTIANS AND THEY SHOULDNT DO BAD THINGS LIKE STEAL MUSIC HAHA IRONIC THIS GUY IS SO DUMB LOLSZZZZZZ

          is that any better?
        • malex, on 05/03/2008, -0/+13Are you even paying attention to yourself?
        • arjie, on 05/03/2008, -0/+10mattes5: Tomorrow, if you do stuff like this in real life too, you must often wake up with a hangover, embarrassed at what happened the previous night. Relax. Sometimes things are just funny, not a conspiracy to persecute your pet ideology.
        • blagoaw, on 05/03/2008, -0/+3In case you're reading mattes5, I think the main reason you got dugg down is that your opening line was a pointless insult. The rest may check out, but you're not being personable.
        • blagoaw, on 05/03/2008, -0/+1.. actually, your comment has no connection to the original post.. and you came out screaming at him and going on about something else that you felt the need to get out. It may be good information, but you can make a calm post on the main board, or as a reply to a relevant post, instead.
      • goldenratiophi, on 05/03/2008, -0/+24*whoosh*
      • SquigglyP, on 05/03/2008, -0/+7The matrix was one of the first big movies on DVD... you've had a ***** decade to see it at your leisure. That you didn't get that this was just a joke (wtf, it's nonsensical if you don't know where it's coming from...), then you've missed one of the better sci-fi movies of the past 20 years or so. Go watch the matrix - the sequels are interesting if you're into the whole masochistic thing, too.
    • Neoanarchist, on 05/03/2008, -16/+2I know thats from a movie, I'm thinking either Hackers or the Matrix and I'm sad that I'm not sure which one :/
      NEVERMIND! it just hit me, its definitely from the matrix. Nicely done reference.
    • sporg, on 05/03/2008, -0/+17***** you I want my phone call!
    • Louis11, on 05/03/2008, -0/+15What good is a phone call . . . if you are, unable to speak?

      *Silly putties Strider's mouth"
    • SquigglyP, on 05/03/2008, -0/+5"my name..... is Strider!"
    • samy26, on 05/03/2008, -9/+2I see what you've done there. (Hint: The Matrix)
    • gootecks, on 05/04/2008, -0/+1Brilliant!
  • wkcrazyhorse, on 05/03/2008, -11/+3San Diego has a Republican Party?
  • anchorman, on 05/03/2008, -13/+26And I thought they only stole elections...
  • gullydwarf, on 05/03/2008, -3/+41They're sending a man to 30 months in prison for uploading some software and scripting a site. The RIAA/MPAA have a pretty firm grip on our legal system.
    • jwk4heels, on 05/04/2008, -0/+4Yeah, a pretty firm grip on the balls of our legal system.
    • s1mph0ny, on 05/04/2008, -0/+3Yeah, something he did while a minor no less.
  • rodgerse, on 05/03/2008, -11/+2Wouldn't it be easier to defend this guy if he wasn't from the party with the leader that believes in cracking down on piracy as much as possible

    http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/04/25/tech/mai ...

    Can ppl see why a dem who believes in freedom/privacy would be different?.
    • superkendall, on 05/03/2008, -1/+9And the Democrats are so different how again? Remember they have CLOSER ties to the music/movie industry!
      • rodgerse, on 05/03/2008, -6/+1well I provided proof, can you elaborate on that..is it just your point of guilt b association that they MUST be against piracy just for knowing the buiseness?.
  • RavagesOfTime, on 05/03/2008, -16/+9He wants to do what he wants, when he wants, and doesn't give a ***** about any kind of consequence, because he sees himself as above the law.

    Pirates and Republicans aren't as far apart as you may think.
    • PFinn, on 05/03/2008, -4/+1[comment system error...meant to post elsewhere]
  • jonpotz, on 05/03/2008, -2/+17FLT has my vote.
  • rodgerse, on 05/03/2008, -6/+11..and from the same party that passed the DMCA while in control of congress

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DMCA

    and who now firmly is aginst piracy

    http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/04/25/tech/mai ...

    Certainly would be easier to defend him withought the contradictions..
    • blagoaw, on 05/03/2008, -0/+6I don't know the guy, but I highly doubt he would have favored the DMCA. It's not fair to blame him for an action his party took without him, especially in a matter where there is no reason to believe that the democratic party is any better. This is a guy who could have made things better.
      • rodgerse, on 05/03/2008, -1/+0First of all if thats true then he should be outspoken about his support for piracy, proof of that?.

        And do you have any other proof of his voting/support record on the matter?.

        Otherwise he's just hypocritical by association by just keeping quiet.
        • blagoaw, on 05/03/2008, -0/+1Politicians get called out for being hypocrites all the time, but I think that's a little off the mark. Politicians as people are not really hypocritical - they've just been carefully projecting an incomplete and effectively dishonest image for so long that you get to know them as having a personality that they never really had. Like any public figure who we've never known in person, we have a warped view of who they are. So, I'd say he's either changed his views or is perhaps an unprincipled, scheming, or malleable man. I would like to think that he would be more outspoken once he rises up the ranks.. but that's once in a blue moon I suppose.
        • blagoaw, on 05/03/2008, -0/+1Actually, excuse me.. I seem to have been retarded and temporarily forgotten what hypocrite means. What I explained above is technically hypocrisy, but isn't what I would consider to be hypocrisy in spirit because I don't believe that what they state as their beliefs is genuine.
        • fluxion, on 05/04/2008, -0/+1is this the "you're either with us or against us" strategy?

          just because he didnt feel compelled to vote for the DMCA, means he must have either: a) voted against it or b) spoken out against it, else he automatically supports it and is thus a hypocrite?

          i agree with you somewhat, we cant assume he was against the DMCA without a voting record. but we also cant assume he's a hypocrite just because members of his party support it. the republican party isnt based around support for the DMCA, it's just a side issue in the grand scheme things and opinions on it are gonna be widely varied (unless you're in the senate getting blowjobs from corporate lobbyists, at which point republican support >at that level< does tend to favor the DMCA, just as it seems to favor every other corporate interest out there)
    • ShagratOfMordor, on 05/03/2008, -1/+2Glad to hear you agree totally with every one of your parties positions! With that kind of total agreement in a party it must be easy to pick presidential nominees. ;)
  • Anteros, on 05/03/2008, -0/+17Aside from the warez they released some great legal demo productions over the years, just found a many of them on youtube :
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4L40Iy8QbIY
  • nouse66, on 05/03/2008, -9/+19so conservatives aren't all law abiding citizens? i so confused! who's gonna spoon feed me morals now???
    • sphigel, on 05/03/2008, -2/+4I love how one individual case can completely validate all your pet notions of how the world works. I wish I could do the same. Life would be easier then.
      • VitriolAndAngst, on 05/04/2008, -2/+1OK, first one this week.
        Nope, sorry, that would be the First crooked Republican mentioned TODAY.
    • econofast, on 05/04/2008, -0/+1I'm sure the liberals will be more than happy to take care of it. :-)
  • iamorlando, on 05/03/2008, -3/+13a real life Emperor Palpatine?
  • cheese06, on 05/03/2008, -7/+28my respect for the Republican party has gone up a notch
    • blackjack75, on 05/03/2008, -1/+8Same here. It has reached the upper side of the bottom now.
    • VitriolAndAngst, on 05/04/2008, -3/+2He has raised the bar; For instance, this Republican was not trafficking in stolen children for the purpose of drinking their blood.

      /couldn't help it.
  • joshmaker, on 05/03/2008, -15/+5A Republican? I guess file sharing is evil after all.
  • shanesemler, on 05/03/2008, -13/+15"Having seen, first hand, the devastating effects of socialism in Sweden and the rest of Europe, he was determined to stand up for the traditional, conservative values that helped make America great."

    Meanwhile, in the real world, the euro is kicking the dollar's ass, people in the EU have universal health care, low crime and homicide rate and people are living reasonably good lives.
    • vuoto, on 05/03/2008, -9/+6"the devastating effects of socialism in Sweden and the rest of Europe"
      Are you friggin' kidding me? Have you been to Sweden or Finland recently? Their lives are so much better than the life of the average American. Free health care, education, and as shanesemler has pointed out, low crime rates.
      And before you say "well, if you like it so much, why don't you move there?", let me tell you, it's hard as hell for an American to get an EU passport, or I'd be on my way right now. I have a great love for America, and I've seen it through the eyes of my grandparents who were immigrants from Italy. But the last eight years, and the fact that the GOP owned congress since 1994, has done so much irreparable damage to the United States that I'm not sure we're ever again going to be the country we once were. But maybe a few presidential terms of someone decent like Obama might be a good start towards changing things for the better. Bush has put us into a deep and enormous hole, however, and there's going to be a lot of suffering here in the USA in the coming decades thanks to GWB.
      • oldhick, on 05/03/2008, -2/+6Yes, I've been to both and that is a ridiculous generalization you just made. Every country has problems. Its tougher to compare homogeneous nations like Sweden and Finland to a country as diverse as ours.
      • blagoaw, on 05/03/2008, -0/+4You're quoting his quote, which I first read in an article about Strider and came from some Republican piece about him I believe. He proceeded to mock the quote.. and then you seem to have come out blazing against a guy you agree with... unless you were just adding to it.
      • NonLeftistDiggr, on 05/03/2008, -2/+3name 1 country with 300,000,000 people that executes all the social crap you just mentioned. Add another 150,000,000 people to any country you mentioned and their "system" will take a drastic turn for the worse.

        And if you follow economic news, a lot of foreign banks have taken catastrophich losses recently as well, and that will have an effect.
        • BabyWookie, on 05/04/2008, -2/+1I'll name one that's almost a country. It's called the E.U. About half a billion people.
          • NonLeftistDiggr, on 05/05/2008, -1/+1Fail, there is no EU univeral healthcare, and if there was, holy *****
      • ryesmall, on 05/04/2008, -1/+1So you do like to solve society's problems with centralistic taxes that link totally independent events to a central cause? The welfare looks great. You apparently don't know that welfare exists in America.
    • zacmccormick, on 05/03/2008, -5/+6Generally speaking, taking money from people who know how to manage it and giving it to people who don't know how to manage it is a bad idea. Universal (AKA equal) everything isn't all that great, it breeds a lowest common denominator mentality. Of course it seems so righteous on paper...

      People in the US live excellent lives, and in reality the dollar is doing fine. My life and most americans lives simply aren't affected. So what if I pay a dollar or 2 more for gas, it's still cheaper than your gas! And I like the idea of being able to choose my healthcare options, so I'm not interested in universal healthcare. I already pay enough money to the government.

      And what exactly do you mean by "Meanwhile, in the real world"

      haha, sorry that's just funny, yeah you guys have it all figured out over there in the EU don't ya
      • shanesemler, on 05/03/2008, -2/+3Unless you can't afford those "options."
    • cronian, on 05/03/2008, -1/+4They don't just give out money for people to invest. They give people things. In the US people waste their money chasing the next bubble.
    • VitriolAndAngst, on 05/04/2008, -2/+4Oh yes, the bogie man that is Socialism. Like Iceland and Sweden, where a real Democracy keeps the government in the hands of the people and business in check to help society. It's only called "socialism" when you aren't using a darwinian approach to the free market.
    • OriginalLucid1, on 05/04/2008, -2/+4Don't let the door hit you on the ass as you leave America for Paradise.
      • shanesemler, on 05/09/2008, -0/+1Don't trip when you're trying to walk and chew gum at the same time.
  • BradMajors, on 05/03/2008, -3/+8I don't see being a Republican Party Chairman and a distributor of Warez as in anyway incompatiable.
    • vuoto, on 05/03/2008, -5/+1I don't see being a Republican Party Chairman and a murderer of children as in any way incompatible, for that matter.
      • sphigel, on 05/03/2008, -1/+4Do you honestly think you can have that much hate in your heart and still be objective about anything?
      • oldhick, on 05/03/2008, -0/+1Right, because a Democrat has never done anything wrong. All parties include all kinds of people, both good and bad.
    • ryesmall, on 05/04/2008, -0/+0Dug of for the spirit, but in reality the Repub leadership is very antagonistic about his views.
  • lateralus, on 05/03/2008, -0/+26You can't see it in the cropped photo, but he does have an American flag pin on his right side. In case you were wondering if he really is patriotic or not.
  • getatmedigg, on 05/03/2008, -3/+1Honey Pot
  • vuoto, on 05/03/2008, -9/+1I don't have a problem supporting piracy generally and still celebrating the fact that this POS is going to jail. After the damage the GOP has done to this country, anything bad that happens to them, for whatever reason, is OK in my book.
    When you follow the Way of Tao, you learn to accept this type of cognitive dissonance. And when you're a crooked Republican, you learn to relax your sphincter in prison.
    • lolwutpear, on 05/03/2008, -1/+2So you support punishing people for things you agree with simply because they're bad people? That doesn't sound like a good direction for the legal system.
    • oldhick, on 05/03/2008, -0/+1Based on your comment, you have much to learn about the Taoism. People should be judged on who they are and what they do as individuals, not on their political affiliations.
  • novenator, on 05/03/2008, -8/+6From the San Diego Republican party, another jewel of a man was Darrell Issa, who used a part of his personal fortune (amassed by selling those uber-annoying "viper" car alarms) to fund a recall of CA governor Gray Davis, hoping to buy his way into the office himself (until that girly-man Arnord stepped in). He also had dubious connects to Blackwater, ridiculed giving money to 911 victims, and was a former car thief. San Diego: land of the most idiotic Republicans in the west!
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Darrell_Issa
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gray_Davis#Recall
    • blagoaw, on 05/03/2008, -0/+1I wouldn't link those guys to this guy. This guy's just a former C-64 cracker who founded and organized Fairlight (which imho, is pretty awesome more than anything).
    • k28921, on 05/03/2008, -1/+3Except he didn't even run. Good point overall though! He ridiculed giving federal money to New York for anti-terrorism, which he regards as the states responsibility, not for victims. Really good effort novenator! And his alleged are crimes are just that, alleged, and the car thief charge is over 20 years old.
    • ryesmall, on 05/04/2008, -0/+0This Issa sounds like the epitomy of political hypocrite and scum, but don't lop in him with all Repubs unless you have some fantastic details about the SD party as a whole.
  • roennow, on 05/03/2008, -4/+9"Having seen, first hand, the devastating effects of socialism in Sweden and the rest of Europe" What the hell o_O?
  • shark72, on 05/03/2008, -2/+11Remember, this all happened 15 years ago, when he was in high school.

    I know that many high school and college age people reading this have the "piracy forever!!!!111!!cos(0)!" mindset. If you make this your lifelong creed, then God bless you. But for many people, it's not the case. They grow up, they learn a little more about how the world works, and they change their values.

    I pirated my share of Apple // software back in the day. I was also big in the hacking scene and wrote for Phrack (ask your parents). But today, I would not do that. Time changes some people.

    That being said, the guy's still a tool. This has nothing to do with the fact that he was once a warez kiddy.
    • toaplan, on 05/03/2008, -0/+8I strongly disagree with Strider being described as _A_ warez kiddy. He was _THE_ warez MAN of his day. Respect! There is bound to be a list somewhere of all the cracks that this guy managed to reverse engineer first, and it is far more involved than inserting a CD into iTunes and copying the .m4p file to your friends. Also he was working at the time so the high school prank relevance is a bit stretched.
    • Louis11, on 05/03/2008, -0/+3"Phrack (ask your parents)"

      Wha? Phrack is still around man . . . mind you, it sucks compared to its former state, but we all know what Phrack is ;-)
    • keyme, on 05/03/2008, -0/+5Dugg for cos(0). Couldn't resist.
  • vpcletus, on 05/03/2008, -9/+2Gimme a H, Gimme a Y, Gimme a P, Gimme a O, Gimme a C, Gimme a R, Gimme a I, Gimme a T, Gimme a E..

    Whats that spell??
    HYPOCRITE
    • blagoaw, on 05/03/2008, -0/+0If someone can be called a hypocrite here, it is the party who brought him in rather than the man himself.. and even that is a muddled stretch. I found no indication here that this guy did anything opposed to his values. Bear in mind that the democratic party is generally supportive of the riaa/mpaa and copyright in general -- So even his involvement with the party doesn't indicate a violation of his ethics.
    • philz, on 05/03/2008, -0/+0You're not a hypocrite when you're convicted..
    • MaceSoul, on 05/03/2008, -0/+1Could someone explain how this makes him a hypocrite? (Or maybe more people than I realized don't actually know what that means)
    • Amadeus2490, on 05/03/2008, -0/+1vpcletus: That was possibly the lamest comment i've ever seen on Digg. Did you at least have fun typing all of that out?
  • markdall, on 05/03/2008, -3/+1San Diego NPD (Back in the day it was called NPD or Non-Public Domain) scene represent!
  • Half-Fast, on 05/03/2008, -1/+4Dugg for the FLT email address alone!
  • lazerflesh, on 05/03/2008, -6/+2ITS A TRAP
  • ImpactedColon, on 05/03/2008, -2/+6If you read the article, there are indications that he was actively involved in piracy as recently as a few years ago and still maintains connections to that network. It's not all about his C64 days--that's just his spin to try and make the accusations seem unreasonable. From what I am reading above, it looks like it worked.
    • blagoaw, on 05/03/2008, -0/+3Lately, Fairlight has had a thriving demo creation division. Even if he maintains an active role with Fairlight, that's not necessarily an indication that he's involved in cracking and/or distribution anymore.
  • kurtwinter, on 05/03/2008, -7/+3It seems you lead two lives, Mr. Fish. In one, you a respected member of the community, you have a job and you run a political party. In the other, you are Strider, and you are guilty of just about every computer law on the books.
    • vermax, on 05/03/2008, -2/+1I'd guess in his repug job he's guilty of a fair amount of crappy ***** as well...probably a very safe guess
  • futureisours, on 05/03/2008, -4/+1haha a VP at a major game published whom I used to know in high school was a major C64/Amiga pirate back in the day. I'm happily pirating their games!
  • baconz, on 05/03/2008, -4/+3Where's the beef?
  • RedHerringHack, on 05/03/2008, -2/+12Face it, if the authorities knew everything we have done our entire life, we would all be in jail for the rest of it. I don't care who you are, or how lilly white you think you are, you have committed felonies. You just haven't been caught. Think about it.
    • UnlikelyHero, on 05/03/2008, -0/+9When it's impossible to live your life without being a felon then perhaps its time to get rid of most of the laws.
    • UltraDavid, on 05/03/2008, -0/+2Dugg for great truth.
      • drinklord, on 05/04/2008, -0/+1Launch all Diggs for great justice.
  • xombiefarts, on 05/03/2008, -3/+5probly just the tip of the iceberg of the party that is going to crash this ship.
  • blackjack75, on 05/03/2008, -3/+1FTA "t Having seen, first hand, the devastating effects of socialism in Sweden and the rest of Europe, he was determined to stand up for the traditional, conservative values that helped make America great."

    That is so true. I have been to Sweden. It's terrible! Worse than Stalin's Russia an hell altogether. All those friendly, well-educated, socially-responsible people just made me sick .

    Why can't they be retards dreaming of becoming the next American Idol like everyone else ?
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