Max Divergent

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Posts by Max Divergent

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  125

  Watchtower purchases CoC copyright for undisclosed amount!

  by the girl next door in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  now what is your stance?

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  Max Divergent

  If you're going to cite a legal precedent you must provide a link and an explication

  'Must' is a bit much in a forum like this.
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  125

  Watchtower purchases CoC copyright for undisclosed amount!

  by the girl next door in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  now what is your stance?

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  Max Divergent

  May I just note that, whatever the rights and wrongs of this or that, that the level of debate has risen from name calling and cheerleading for/against to expositing some fundamentals.

  For me, I think the fundamental of most import here is consistency.
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  125

  Watchtower purchases CoC copyright for undisclosed amount!

  by the girl next door in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  now what is your stance?

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  Max Divergent

  Here, here, GND and cappytan.

  Relativism is one thing, inconsistency is quite different.

  (And consistent absolutism often results in uncomfortable outcomes).
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  125

  Watchtower purchases CoC copyright for undisclosed amount!

  by the girl next door in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  now what is your stance?

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  Max Divergent

  That's because there is a clear difference... and one recognised in law too.

  Yep. The black letter of the law is only one approach courts take. Courts in liberal democracies are usually keen to be more relativist than absolutist.

  Hence the PMs letter might not be held back from publication under copyright law in the face of overriding public interest.

  GND - only called brilliant twice? Dear, let's make it three times! Brilliant! :-)
  
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  125

  Watchtower purchases CoC copyright for undisclosed amount!

  by the girl next door in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  now what is your stance?

  1. 
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  Max Divergent

  I think the core issue brilliantly uncovered by the OP is that the ethical issues around copyright keeping are relative not absolute.

  Here, the dominant ethical norm seems that the Watchtower's copyright is relatively less worthy of protection because they use copyright to do bad things, and the copyright owner's rights are relatively worthy of protection because Ray and Cynthia Franz chose her to carry the copyright forward.
  

  But...

  The ethical argument supporting 'bootlegging' is that the copyright owner was ineffectual in making Franz' works available.

  One counter argument to that position is that the copyright owner was in fact a highly effective steward of the copyright in self-interest (and the purpose of copyright, the law being so vigorously upheld here, is the self-interest of owners, not consumer's access to material).

  The scarcity of authorized copies and moral chatter about the unauthorized copies has generated high levels of interest in an old book and sympathy for the copyright owner is sky high.

  On the back of that sympathy, some have even redistributed her general appeal for money, like here: http://www.jehovahs-witness.com/topic/5688224294895616/friends-you-concerned-about-future-ray-franz-books

  All this just before a mooted re-release of the book: high publicity in a niche audience, high sympathy, moral labeling of unauthorized distributors.

  For me, it's all relative.
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  21

  Hello again friends...

  by alamb in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i haven't been on here for so long.

  peeking in to say hello.

  any old friends here?

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  Max Divergent

  Welcome back. There are a few still here from the early days.
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  18

  Very Sad ... Another Terrorist Attack here in the USA ... and not enough guns to defend us

  by RubaDub in

  1. social
  2. current

  if only there were more people with guns perhaps some lives would have been saved.. it's a sad state of affairs here in the us when enough people aren't armed when there is an attack.. if someone simply had a gun or was wearing a suicide vest to take the perpetrators out, other lives could have been saved.. rub a dub .

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  Max Divergent

  Great New York Times editorial here, that I expect would apply to bomb vests too. And, to be clear, my earlier post was satirical, if that could be missed.

  
  It is not necessary to debate the peculiar wording of the Second Amendment. No right is unlimited and immune from reasonable regulation.

  
  Certain kinds of weapons, like the slightly modified combat rifles used in California, and certain kinds of ammunition, must be outlawed for civilian ownership. It is possible to define those guns in a clear and effective way and, yes, it would require Americans who own those kinds of weapons to give them up for the good of their fellow citizens.
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  18

  Very Sad ... Another Terrorist Attack here in the USA ... and not enough guns to defend us

  by RubaDub in

  1. social
  2. current

  if only there were more people with guns perhaps some lives would have been saved.. it's a sad state of affairs here in the us when enough people aren't armed when there is an attack.. if someone simply had a gun or was wearing a suicide vest to take the perpetrators out, other lives could have been saved.. rub a dub .

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  Max Divergent

  And there's an urgent need for more guns in mental hospitals, prisons and airports to defend against government oppression of the people in those locations, including Congress' specific abrogation of inmates' and passengers' right to bear arms.
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  64

  Canada may get a new government today

  by Simon in

  1. social
  2. current

  the us elections suck up all the attention (and it's not even at the candidate selection stage!

  ) but canada actually has a national election today.. first results are starting to come in and so far it's all liberal party.. i think it's time harper and the conservatives got the boot.

  last premiere from the bush era.

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  Max Divergent

  As I see it, there are a some fundamental differences that make the Westminster parliamentary system more flexible and probably more effective (less ineffective?) than the US congressional system.

  One is that there is a quick, painful way to resolve deadlocks: if the government can't get legislation though the parliament, it can call an immediate election. So, anyone causing a deadlock needs to do a calculation about their prospects at an election that might be called today for, say, six weeks time. Deadlocks for no good reason are rare.

  Another is that the only mandate is for parliamentarians. The person signing legislation into law as the Head of State has no political mandate, so in practical terms bills that pass the parliament cannot be vetoed. They are signed into law on the advice of the government of the day.

  Also, every office barer can be dismissed from their office (but not from the parliament) by someone else quickly. That tends to keep people on their toes too.

  Further, any of those generalisations can be broken or varied or adapted to local preferences / conditions if it seems the right thing to do since the system is mostly governed by well entrenched 'conventions' rather than codified into rigid rules.

  The ultimate arbiter of right and wrong is an immediate election.
  
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  7

  Had an interesting weekend

  by iwasblind in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  what an interesting weekend.. went to a "worldly" conference for work.

  i met the most amazing people with so many different beliefs.

  even so i shared and spoke about god freely and without being judged.

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  Max Divergent

  I can't say God and religion or conversation about such have featured much in my work conferences... spirits may have been amongst us, mostly Scottish. And miracles may have been performed with wine that matched Jesus'. While that exhibits ongoing practical adherence to Proverbs 31:6-7, nothing has gotten remotely close to talking God or gifting bibles.

  Do you work in a religious sector, is is that just how folks are in your industry / neck of the woods?
  

  But, yep, the world is a much,much more accepting and helpful place that the JW's 'paradise on earth' with the 'gifts in men'.