Bush Cracks Down On Copyright Pirates

President Threatens Sanctions Against Countries That Allow Piracy

(AP)  The Bush administration is accusing China, Russia and seven other nations of failing to protect American producers of movies, computer software and other copyrighted material from widespread piracy.

The administration on Friday placed the nine countries on a "priority watch list" that will subject them to extra scrutiny and could eventually lead to economic sanctions - if the administration decides to pursue complaints before the World Trade Organization.

In addition to China and Russia, the other seven countries targeted were Argentina, Chile, India, Israel, Pakistan, Thailand and Venezuela.

The administration named another 31 countries to a lower-level watch list, indicating it has concerns about copyright violations in those nations but they don't warrant the highest level of scrutiny.

Because of improvements in their efforts to protect U.S. intellectual property rights, four countries - Egypt, Lebanon, Turkey and Ukraine - were taken off the "priority" list where they were last year and placed on the lower-level watch list.

In releasing the annual report, which is required by Congress, U.S. Trade Representative Susan Schwab said that copyright piracy is "one of the central challenges facing the global economy."

"Pirates and counterfeiters don't just steal ideas, they steal jobs and too often they threaten our health and safety," she said in a statement.

This year's report devoted attention to what it described as the growing problem of counterfeited pharmaceuticals and other products that threaten the health and safety of consumers around the world.

Stan McCoy, assistant U.S. trade representative for intellectual property, told reporters in a briefing that both China and Russia had made improvements in protecting intellectual property over the past year but that a number of issues remain.

The United States has a WTO case pending against China in which it has accused the country of doing too little to crack down on rampant piracy of American music, movies, computer programs and other products.

Discussions between the United States and Russia over improving copyright protections have been a key sticking point in negotiations over that country's bid to become a member of the WTO, the Geneva-based organization that regulates world trade.

[dredre2k]

Wow... bush is truly the Manchurian Candidate. He does whatever companies and corporate america want him to do... screw the world, and the US population.
Thankfully, the 8 year BUSH reign of terror will be coming to an end on Jan. 20, 2009!!!

[bobbyduck1]

Sure - protect copyrights because they affect ultra-big business the most! How about protecting American jobs, Bushit? Let''s take care of Average Joe for a change. Oh wait, that wouldn''t be Republican, now would it? Just American......

Sheesh!

[talkingham]

Bush cracks wimp, oh I mean whip on piracy. What a laugh. Maybe he should invade the moon or Mars, wasn''t he all big about that a fews years ago when the the docs changed his anti-acholhic meds or something?
Worst President ever.

[quetzal0666]

Carter Stole his mojo, now hes cracking down on everything to show hes the decider....

[ubrew12]

Article: "Bush Cracks Down On Copyright Pirates [from China/Russia/Pakistan/etc]."

He''ll be invading Indonesia because they have lots of oil, I mean, piracy.

[bookout2]

George don''t you know nobody listens to you anymore?

[nonayabiness]

Gee, China might not be able to sabotage our patents if it wasn''t making all our products. Its time for America to stand up together and decide that as a country, we can take care of ourselves without any assistance in the form of job or resource farming to other countries. It needs to stop NOW!

[nonayabiness]

dat1guysd

Thanks for apologizing for voting for Bush. I didn''t either time, but the fact that we bother to vote at all gives us much more right to complain than those that don''t bother.

Actually, didn''t Kerry actually win the last election by popular vote and the delegates overturned it??? I believe this is why most of the state representatives were replaced the last go-around.

[dronemonk]

Whenever the Bush League says they''re going to do something (like bring freedom and democracy to the Middle East, or fix our floundering Social Security system), you can pretty much bank on them not succeeding. Such an inept administration...

[cyberus-2009]

Cracks down?

With what a vicious tongue lashing?

oooooo I bet that scared them ROFL!

[marrofkane]

Let''s see: We want the end of the Iraq war, stop illegal immigration, and lower gas prices. Well, I guess the squeaky palm gets greased, and Bush is the one getting the grease. Politicians are puppets of the corporations, they don''t really work for John Q. Public. Yeah, go ahead ans police the world, Bush. But you cannot tell other countries what to do. You are a lame duck.

[marrofkane]

WHAT?? We owe China Billions of dollars?? Bush cannot sanction China!! I''d like to see him try. We also are so dependent on China for all our cheap junk at Wal-Mart, it won''t happen!!

[dat1guysd]

You''d think that the prez would be focusing on real issues besides the entertainment industry, what a waste of time. the whole planet will be on santions because of this idiot.
I want too apologize to the nation for voting for Bush, what a big mistake that was.

[rick40391]

You know if this full of *** pres.of ours was so concerned about losing jobs in the states why has he not done something about the business going to the very countries he has put on his so called watch list. It seems to me he has bigger problems here, with GAS PRICES,RISING PRICES ON FOOD, FORECLOSURES just to name a few of which there are many more..
Guess just not the people with the money....I guess...You know when I do get this to go thru which I have tried about a dozen times they keep disabling the publish button...IS BUSH CLEARING THIS TOOOO??

[rick40391]

You know if this full of *** pres.of ours was so concerned about losing jobs in the states why has he not done something about the business going to the very countries he has put on his so called watch list. It seems to me he has bigger problems here, with GAS PRICES,RISING PRICES ON FOOD, FORECLOSURES just to name a few of which there are many more..
Guess just not the people with the money....I guess...You know when I do get this to go thru which I have tried about a dozen times they keep disabling the publish button...IS BUSH CLEARING THIS TOOOO??

[rick40391]

You know if this full of *** pres.of ours was so concerned about losing jobs in the states why has he not done something about the business going to the very countries he has put on his so called watch list. It seems to me he has bigger problems here, with GAS PRICES,RISING PRICES ON FOOD, FORECLOSURES just to name a few of which there are many more..
Guess just not the people with the money....I guess...You know when I do get this to go thru which I have tried about a dozen times they keep disabling the publish button...IS BUSH CLEARING THIS TOOOO??

[rick40391]

You know if this full of *** pres.of ours was so concerned about losing jobs in the states why has he not done something about the business going to the very countries he has put on his so called watch list. It seems to me he has bigger problems here, with GAS PRICES,RISING PRICES ON FOOD, FORECLOSURES just to name a few of which there are many more..
Guess just not the people with the money....I guess...You know when I do get this to go thru which I have tried about a dozen times they keep disabling the publish button...IS BUSH CLEARING THIS TOOOO??

[rick40391]

You know if this full of *** pres.of ours was so concerned about losing jobs in the states why has he not done something about the business going to the very countries he has put on his so called watch list. It seems to me he has bigger problems here, with GAS PRICES,RISING PRICES ON FOOD, FORECLOSURES just to name a few of which there are many more..
Guess just not the people with the money....I guess...You know when I do get this to go thru which I have tried about a dozen times they keep disabling the publish button...IS BUSH CLEARING THIS TOOOO??

[rick40391]

You know if this full of *** pres.of ours was so concerned about losing jobs in the states why has he not done something about the business going to the very countries he has put on his so called watch list. It seems to me he has bigger problems here, with GAS PRICES,RISING PRICES ON FOOD, FORECLOSURES just to name a few of which there are many more..
Guess just not the people with the money....I guess...You know when I do get this to go thru which I have tried about a dozen times they keep disabling the publish button...IS BUSH CLEARING THIS TOOOO??

[rick40391]

You know if this full of *** pres.of ours was so concerned about losing jobs in the states why has he not done something about the business going to the very countries he has put on his so called watch list. It seems to me he has bigger problems here, with GAS PRICES,RISING PRICES ON FOOD, FORECLOSURES just to name a few of which there are many more..
Guess just not the people with the money....I guess...You know when I do get this to go thru which I have tried about a dozen times they keep disabling the publish button...IS BUSH CLEARING THIS TOOOO??