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There is a major difference. The Ukrainian government does not do anything about the piracy. In theory it might be because gov is in piracy's pocket, but most l
by fijal 13y ago
There is a major difference. The Ukrainian government does not do anything about the piracy. In theory it might be because gov is in piracy's pocket, but most likely they just don't care. It requires inaction from them, which is usually not very hard. However, the US government does stuff based on hollywood complaints. To be honest, circumventing WTO rules aside, the USTR is simply enforcing the law that was passed by the congress, so the congress sits in the pocket of Hollywood, not the USTR, if there is any link.
- rossjudson 13y agoSo what you're saying is that if a government agency decides to look the other way when a crime is being committed, they're not in the pocket of the criminals? Like if someone robs a bank, but the police decide not to do anything? So looking the other way is "neutral"?
- jlarocco 13y agoIs providing "pirated" movies and music even a crime in Ukraine?
- deleted 13y ago[deleted]
- axus 13y agoThe police in USA certainly look the other way when a bank in Ukraine is robbed. I think even if I called and reported an in-progress bank robbery in Ukraine, they would tell me it's not their jurisdiction.
- pyre 13y agoThat's not a good analogy. The 'crime' being committed here is actually being committed in the Ukraine. It's a question of whose laws are broken, and who should care. The US doesn't punish its citizens if they break the UK's strict defamation laws.
- fijal 13y agoSo, whether or not a piracy is a crime really does depend on both mindset and jurisdiction. US is one of the few places where you can make rules however you like and people will obey it, however little sense it makes. The laws in africa for example merely reflect what people think makes sense or does not make sense - if there is a law that does not make sense, people will happily ignore it, including the police. A good example is jaywalking - you can't potentially get fined for jaywalking in many places, despite it being a crime. While you might or might not agree - this is a reality. I doubt movie piracy is considered a crime in Ukraine, whether you like it or not. That means people will do nothing, including the government. There is no such need as putting gov into someone's pocket - it's merely not considered worth bothering. In this sense Ukrainian government is neutral, they just don't do shit and reflect the general view on piracy expressed by the majority of the population. Whether it's an actual crime, is really very very irrelevant.
- youngerdryas 13y agoUkraine is extremely corrupt and plenty of people pirate in the US. The only issue is who is profiting from other peoples work. If you make money from other peoples work you will be rightly smacked down in non-disfunctional states, that is not controversial.
- pyre 13y agoSo... If I jaywalk, and a LE officer doesn't give me a ticket, he's in "jaywalking's pocket?" That doesn't make sense.