Do Pirated Films Fund Terrorism?

Attorney General Mukasey Warns Intellectual Property Theft Crimes Are On The Rise

(AP)  Attorney General Michael Mukasey warned Friday that the huge profits generated from piracy and counterfeiting are fostering terrorism.

Terror groups are taking their cues from organized crime and funding their operations with money they make committing intellectual property crimes, he told a gathering of Silicon Valley executives.

"Criminal syndicates, and in some cases even terrorist groups, view IP crime as a lucrative business and see it as a low-risk way to fund other activities," Mukasey said. "A primary goal of our IP enforcement mission is to show these criminals that they're wrong."

Mukasey, who did not elaborate and did not take questions, said his department is devoting increasing resources to prosecuting such crimes and filed 7 percent more IP cases in 2007 than in 2006 and 33 percent more than in 2005.

Before Friday's speech, Mukasey met privately with representatives from companies including Apple Inc. and Adobe Systems Inc.

A day earlier, the attorney general also met with entertainment industry executives in Los Angeles during his three-day California trip.

[wwudiver]

Interesting, they finally caught on to it. On the orders of Al-Queda, on a North Korean server I was commanded to download ABBA songs and Kid-rock covers of Freebird to disrupt the capitalist pigs. It was such a brilliant plan until now.

Intellectual property laws demonstrate a lack of confidence in free market systems and must be stopped before we destroy our competitive advantage. We succeed as a nation due to the profit motive, now we are at risk of failing from a few attempting to keep their corporate fiefdoms. Intellectual property law only benefits the corporation and not the individual.

[feelfree1]

Now we will wage a War on Films.

This criminal crusade just gets dumber by the second.

[sevenveils]

What a bunch of bulloney. Another level of paranoia to promote an industry''s initatives into a law. The Russians, Chinese and many other third world countries watch pirated movies because they can''t afford to go to a theater or a theater isn''t near them.

[theOriginalGatekeeper]

More Hollywood Bulls**t! Take from someone who unfortunately lives in Los Angeles. "Hollywood" will say and do ANYTHING! They have ABSOLUTELY no respect for anybody or anything! They have been known to regularly prevent you from going to your house or to your place of employment by blocking off your street giving you no access. Their response is basically "screw you" we can do what we want! They sold off ALL of their backlots, pocketed the cash and use LA as their personal property that your not allowed on. I''m now ALL FOR PIRACY! Pirate at ALL COSTS! These idiots deserve it!

[haoli25]

What a crock! The truth is, donating money to the Republicans or Democrats are how you fund terrorism.

[thickredhair]

yes pirated movies fund terrorism, all of the film industry should shut down right now, stop production completely, newest part of the patriot act

lol is this article serious,

liberty and justice for all*
*see patriot act for details

[missingamerica]

I heard that Cuba is financing the construction of their own nuclear arsenal by selling pirated "Bazooka Joe" comics...apparently they''re being smuggled into other countries in condoms inserted up people''s...well, you know.

The DOJ''s allegation may very well be true - but the problem lies in having to swallow it after eight years of being force-fed this Administration''s lies.

[excoachken]

Perhaps Mukcrazy should be a little more concerned about the way Heroin production supports the Taliban fighters in Afghanistan. Since when is the Bush administration concerned about Hollywood profits OR how the war is financed? This is just another "dog and pony show" to cover for the failure of our "Bush economy." They will do anything it takes to have us take our eyes off the Cowardly Cowboy''s failures!

[jw218389]

FILLING YOUR CAR WITH GAS FUNDS TERRORISM TOO...

I think we should ban all driving and stop gasoline sales too...

THIS ARTICLE IS A JOKE.

[underdogus]

Attorney General Michael Mukasey ..you''re a fraud and a charlatan....floyd Zepp I agree with you on this issue.......

[grumpas]

And the right wing nuts wonder why this Administration has no credibility?????? I will tell you why in one simple answer nonsense like this story! Most of us have grown sick to death of the fear mongering. We don''t see a terrorist behind every bush like the right wing nuts do! We don''t lay awake at night worrying some terrorist is going to kidnap us! We don''t think every middle-eastern Muslim is a terrorist! We are tired of the whole Bush terror agenda!

[iknowbest-2009]

The good news is that the real effect of pirating is the relentless downward pressure of wages in the film and TV industries. Writers in particular - they finally caved on the strike when it became clear they were two years too late, and it was a viable option to replace them. Since the pirating activity is getting worse instead of better, eventually the film and tv industries will do the same thing that the record industry has done - collapse, and put a bunch of overpaid liberal pu**ies on the street where they belong.

[bobnjersey]

buying gas, or heating oil, or platics, or food, or nearly anything that involves oil ... funds the regions that fund terrorism.

money funds terrorism ... ban money!

[hypnotoad72]

I won''t argue the concept; it''s certainly plausible.

Trouble is, who is most likely TO invest in piracy for assisting terrorism by proxy? WHO are the biggest pirates; which countries? America isn''t, though our piracy rate isn''t pristine either (in 2005, ours was something like 20%, but others'' have piracy rates too grossly high to say without getting the shivers.) Worse, do some companies tolerate piracy in order to gain economic footholds in those countries? ALL these things need to be investigated, if this article is even remotely serious in scope.

[obama8years]

DOES OBAMA?

[obama8years]

The Jewish Telegraphic Agency today reports that the Reverend Jeremiah Wright, Jr., long-time pastor of Barak Obama, published an op-ed piece signed by a Hamas leader. The item appeared in the July 22, 2007 edition of his Trinity United Church newspaper on the "Pastor''''''''''''''''s Page." The op-ed piece justifies attacks on Israeli civilians, and carries a supporting introduction by Mr. Wright.

Barak Obama issued a statement strongly condemning these views of his pastor. "I certainly wasn%u2019t in church when that outrageously wrong [Hamas] piece was re-printed in the bulletin,%u201D Obama added.


Obama is a long-time member of Trinity United, and his financial contributions to his church are reported to be substantial ("All told, the [Obama] couple gave $27,500 to [Trinity United] in 2005 and 2006," according to the New York Times of March 26). His moral support to the church has been unwavering. As more and more and more details of the extremist political positions of the church are revealed, Obama''''''''''''''''s response has been to distance himself from these, but also to repeat, over and over, that he didn''''''''''''''''t know, that he wasn''''''''''''''''t there.

I find it very difficult to believe that an intelligent, energetic, and very political man like Obama is perpetually ignorant about what goes on in the church to which he devotes so many of his resources. If he does get to the White House, will he be in similar ignorance about the goings on of his administration ?

[ubrew12]

Do Pirated Films Fund Terrorism?

Yes, and so does drinking, drugs, and out of wedlock ***. Too bad they don''t have powerful industries ready to misuse Homeland Defense Dept funds to ''combat'' the problem.

[cdfoxtrot]

Wow! I thought I''d heard it all, with the Bush regime, but now this! 9/11 gets dragged into everything else, so I guess the Bush regime now wants to use "terrorism" as the justification for going after video piracy. What a crock.

[excoachken]

How many films would someone have to "pirate" to profit $400 billion that Mobil-Exxon has in cash reserves from the "pirating" of my local gas pump. Why doesn''t McCrazy investigate their profits instead.

[ubrew12]

''Do Pirated Films Fund Terrorism?''

Is Mukasey trying to make me miss Gonzales?

[DocD--2008]

Newsflash... Government rebate checks fund terrorism groups. Many terrorist cells are joining their rebate checks together to get more fire power, thanks to the US Government...

Everything funds terrorism if you want it to look that way.... but Bush funds them more than anyone else....

Funny he can figure this out but can%u2019t decide if water boarding is torture...... Another idiot for the dump...

[macusweil]

Oh really so buying a bootleg films is fostering terrorism?

Want to know what really fosters terrorism? How about invading and occupying another country and causing 2 million refugees and sending home a 500,000 person army for the whole nation without pay???

Jeeezz-la-wheezzz when will these necons learn!!??

[dylanxxv]

DOES OBAMA?


Posted by obama8years at 12:06 PM : Mar 29, 2008


No silly...He funds racism...

[dylanxxv]

I''ve bought over 300 movies legally and used a program to make my own personal copies of said movies and then I resell the original dvd''s on eBay...I''m not a terrorist, but I''d like to have just 1/5th. of their money...