Oh I know, this is why.

From the AP regarding last nights group beat up of Hillary at the Democrats 475th Debate:

“In the City of Brotherly Love, there wasn’t much for a sister.”

(full story)

I have been going back and forth with BloginDm via email over the last 24 hours. The only thing we can agree on is that we can’t agree on this issue. I have enjoyed debating him. it’s an interesting topic. Here is where we are at right now. BloginDm maintains that the producer wouldn’t lose any money if I made a copy, because I already paid for the CD once and no harm is done. If the person hadn’t lost or damaged the CD they’d still own it and the producer wouldn’t see more money for it either way.

I see his point, I get it, but I just don’t agree with it. I maintain that there is a loss when a person copies it if he lost or damaged an old CD. There is a loss that up until recently he had to buy it again. This is the process with any other type of product you purchase and break or lose. I think that by using his logic your devaluing the original disc itself. Which gives way for people who think that no one loses if I copy my friends disc because there was no “PHYSICAL” item being stolen.

If I walk into a store and steal an CD, I stole an CD. If I “copy” an immaterial thing nothing material has been stolen. I don’t agree with that logic, but I do think that thinking the immaterial object doesn’t have the same monetary value of a material item allows someone to come to a conclusion that justifies all forms of copying.

I think that once you lose physical possession of an item, you lose ownership of it. If the original item ceases to exist. If I buy a lamp and my kid knocks it over and it falls and breaks and needs to be thrown out, my ownership of the lamp ceases because the actual item ceases to exist. I’d have to go and buy a new lamp. Either a CD is like any other physical item or it’s not. You can’t mix and match the benefits or drawbacks of the digital aspect of music.

Furthermore, regarding the original case that sparked this debate.

The fact that you can’t tell if a person is honest or not without some sort of physical proof (past receipts maybe, credit card statements) then you have no way of knowing of the person asking you for those mp3’s is telling the truth. It’s nice to be dan lekav zchus, but not at your own expense. If that person is not telling the truth, then they just made you a ganif. (I’m not saying the original poster on the Yahoo board is not telling the truth, I’m saying ANYONE can make this claim.)

That’s why, as I said in the very beginning. The best answer is to go to the source and ask them. The person who created the item, and who owns the copyright.

Incidentally, while I was writing this post I received an email from Sameach stating that they do have an unofficial policy of replacing CD’s if they broke or were stolen. In fact the specific case stated by them was someone losing their CD’s to a car break in. All though they did say it depends on the case, the circumstances and it helps if you can prove it was damaged or stolen.

This further frustrates me because here is another company that has a wishy washy policy with regards to replacing lost, damaged or stolen music. Why is it unofficial? Why is Apple’s policy unofficial? Shouldn’t there be more of a yes or no to this question?

I’ve sent out an e-mail to Aderet asking their policy, as soon as they respond, assuming the do, I will let you know.

UPDATE: BloginDM emails me, and he’s right, I am being a little harsh on Sameach/Apple. I think they should both be complimented, it’s a very consumer friendly approach. My only complaint is that I’d like to see a more defined “official” response.

Very very interesting.

This morning I posted about someone who had lost or damaged 30 of his CD’s and asked people to email him mp3’s so he could have them replaced. I personally disagree with this and think it’s wrong. BloginDm this morning disagreed with me. So far most of the other people who have responded seem to agree with what I am saying. In the comment section, at the message board and through email from a couple music insiders who frequently email me.

One insider e-mailed me that Apple will not replace your missing or damaged MP3 files. If the logic is that since you paid for it once you can get it back forever, even if you don’t have it anymore, then why does Apple not replace any music you ever bought from them?

I researched it and it seems that Apple’s “official” policy is not to replace it but they will do it as a one time thing. Most posters and commenters claim that if you “ask nicely” and get a friendly costumer support representative on the phone they will do it “just this once.” But blogs and message board on the internet are filled with individual stories varying from “apple let me do this 3 times” to “apple wouldn’t even let me do it once and told me tough luck.”

Making matters even more complicated is the introduction of Apple’s Itunes Plus which allows you to “upgrade” the songs you have bought in the past. Itunes Plus is the DRM version of Itunes. So apparently, even if you don’t have the pre-purchased song in your library it will re download the upgraded DRM free version for an additional 30 cents (Itunes plus cost 30 cents more a song)

This is just goes to show that Apple has no actual uniformed response to this question either. Unofficially they seem to agree with what I’m saying, but if you ask nicely they might do it anyway.

Incidentally, Lifehacker has a great article on Downloads Vs. Hard CD’s. A great read.

As far as BloginDm’s post, I will respond to those a little later, as I’m pressed for time right now. I can see where he is coming from, but I don’t think it’s a simple black and white matter. As you can tell from Apples approach, even they don’t know forsure.

I’m not the manager of this site, so no, this isn’t me.

(ht Dovie)

There is a good discussion going on at the Jewish Music Yahoo Board about what is considered stealing. A poster asked if anyone can help him refill his music collection because he once owned them but they became lost or damaged. He includes a list of 30 CD’s.

Right afterward a debate broke out about if you are allowed to do that. The poster claims he has asked a Rav and one of cd’s producers (sheya mendlowitz) and they both said as long as long as you once owned it you can copy it.

I wish I could tell you how many CD’s I once owned over the last 20 years but have become lost or damaged. I’d love to just go and recollect all of them by burning copies from people I know.

I think thats a flawed logic though, as another on the board also says and I don’t think its correct. If you currently own it then you should be able to copy it, but if you lost it or it got damaged then thats on you. To me it’s like anything else you buy and it breaks. If I buy a car and it gets stolen, can I go into the dealership and just take a new one? Of course most people have insurance for these sorts of things so if something big gets stolen they can have it replaced.

Which led me to a suggestion that music stores start selling music insurance for a few dollars extra. Then if your CD gets damaged or lost you can have it replaced.

The poster came back later and claimed:

“Say what you want. A Rav knows more about halacha than SOME of the artists in the buisness. People can make up their own rules about what is considered “ganeiva”, just because that’s what it FEELS like, but it’s not necessarily so.”

to which I responded:

You can ask 5 rabeieim and get 5 different answers. The Rabonim have not ironed out universal halachas regarding these things. There are rabanim in Eretz Yisroel who say you can copy a cd if if you didnt own it. The honorable thing to do is to go by the law of the land, deena dmalchus, and if you want to worry about yashrus ask the producer or artist directly. When it comes to something like this don’t you want to make sure?

Wasn’t the reason that Aderet started that leasing mishegas because there were highly respected Rabonim in Eretz Yisroel saying that you could copy any CD without limit? Thats why they went to a “leasing” agreement, because then you don’t keep any rights to the CD so its not your to copy. Of course THAT logic makes even less sense, but it was still done as a response to “a rav who knows more about halacha then SOME artists” and many of those same Rebbeim paskuned that there is no such thing as intellectual property with regards to cd’s so they can be copied.

Like I wrote in my response, I think you should follow the law of the land in this case because it’s very clear that Rabanim don’t have a unified answer to this question. I myself have asked more then one Rav and heard different answers. If one thing is certain its that Halacha doesn’t have a firm universal answer to digital technology with regards to whats considered stealing and what isn’t.

That’s why I say you need to go with the individual rights holders and Deena D’Malchus. When it comes to something like this I think we need to go the extra step. What says you the readers?

Join Rabbi Herschel Schacter, a prominent student of the Rav, Rabbi Yosef Ber Soloveitchik, as he retells his moving experience of visiting the Rebbe at a Farbrengen, together with the Rav, on the 10th of Shevat, 1980. From the My Encounter with the Rebbe oral history project, this excerpt is from the renowned JEM film, The Early Years, Volume One; the first in a series of documentary films exploring the youth and childhood of the Lubavitcher Rebbe.

First, in honor of Monday, Jacob has a “Bad Day at Work” video.

Shmais has more on Chabad in Malibu helping out the effort there.

IsraelBeat has a new show up, with Lipa, Reva Leshava and more.

Jack at Teruah ask about Jewish Emo?

I’ve had the new MOChassid CD now for a week and I have been loving it. It’s a really great CD. I should have a review up later this week.

Sameach has released the CD cover of HASC 20, and I’m looking forward to it. For a in depth review of that show click here. (Part 1, Part 2 and Part 3/Fried)

Last but not least, for your viewing pleasure, here is Avraham Fried singing Rak Tefilah Esah (via Gruntig)

What a disappointment, I had heard they were making a music video and they were spending a lot of money. I hope somehow this wasn’t it, because if so, there may be no hope for the Jewish music video genre. It’s still a great song though, so I don’t mind it. I was just hoping there would be something to the video other then him in a field and random shots of things like shtremielach.

All the details at Orthomom’s.

This is truly a win for free speech in this country. Once again our constitution has won out! This goes to prove that no elected official can attempt top use thie position and wealth to scare a critic into being silenced.

Here is the press release.

School Board Member Gets a Lesson in First Amendment Rights

Petition to Identify Anonymous Blogger Dismissed in Public Citizen Victory

WASHINGTON, D.C. – In a big win for the First Amendment rights of bloggers, New York Supreme Court Justice Marcy Friedman late yesterday upheld the right to speak anonymously and dismissed a petition by a Lawrence, N.Y. school board member to identify an anonymous blogger.

Upholding arguments made by Public Citizen, which represented the blogger, the court decided that the statements on the “Orthomom” blog were not actionable, in some respects because statements were opinion and in others because the statements were true. The ruling applied a balancing test that protects the right to speak anonymously online so long as the speech does not violate the plaintiff’s rights. Public Citizen established the test in a landmark 2001 New Jersey appellate decision, Dendrite International v. Doe.

The plaintiff, Pamela Greenbaum of Lawrence, N.Y., sought a court order requiring Google, which hosts the blog, to reveal Orthomom’s identity. The petition asserts that the blogger Orthomom, and others who posted comments on her blog, had accused Greenbaum of being a bigot and implied that she was anti-Semitic because of her position against using public school facilities and teachers for educational services that benefit children attending private religious schools.

Friedman, however, ruled that Orthomon’s discussion of Greenbaum’s votes were not implicit accusations of anti-Semitism, and that the comments posted by others who did use those words were only expressing their opinions, which cannot be the basis for a libel suit. The court agreed that an accusation of perjury can be defamatory but rejected the petition based on evidence that Orthomom’s claim that Greenbaum was making false statements was “incontrovertibly true.”

Because Greenbaum’s petition was so clearly lacking in merit, Friedman found it unnecessary to decide whether to adopt the Dendrite approach in its entirety, but described it as “persuasive authority.”

“This decision echoes the emerging national consensus approach to protecting anonymous speech online,” said Paul Alan Levy, lead counsel for Orthomom.

Local counsel for Orthomom is Donald Rosenthal of Hartman and Craven in New York.

READ the decision.

At a bipartisan Ways and Means caucus last night, Chairman Rangel outlined his long-awaited “Mother of All Tax Hikes” legislation. The basics of the package are simple: This is the largest individual income tax increase in history.

The bill will add a 4% surtax on Americans earning more than $150,000 a year ($200,000 for couples). That is on top of the scheduled expiration of the 2001 and 2003 tax cuts. So, under Democrats’ plan, over the next few years, the individual income top tax rate in the United States will rise from 35% to 44%. (link)

I think this is awesome, just super duper cool. In fact, I think I’m switching my party loyalties. I wanna vote Democrat on every single election from local school board to President. I mean I LOVE paying taxes, and especially since all Jews are rich too, I think we should be happy to pay more taxes. Taxes are fun! I love taxes, I think we should add another 9 percent to this tax hike.Why wouldn’t you want to pay more taxes, I mean Democrats are awesome!

I hope they repeal every single one of Bush’s tax cuts, because we all know that it’s Democrats that get the economy going by making you and I and companies pay more in taxes. That way we could spend more money on building Museums where legendary rock concerts happened with our tax money. I mean, no? Woodstock was cool man. Let’s pay more taxes, hooray for taxes!! Whichever Democrat promises to raise taxers the most will get my vote in ‘08!!

(Of course if you read the NY Times this is great for “poor” people and just deserts for those “rich” people (aka Republicans). Allthough $200,000 a yr is not by any means rich in this country anymore. Especially if you are frum, or want to send your children to a private school, since you know, our government funded/government run public schools suck royal eggs. As does anything else fully funded and fully run by the Government (U.S. Mail, Medicare, etc…) Plus if “poor” people pay less taxes, and “rich” people pay more taxes then there will be more money for the Government to keep giving out free everything to those “poor” people or as intelligent people call it “redistribution of the wealth” and then those people can keep voting Democrats because only Democrats take care of “poor” people.)

This is really nice. A girl who was mugged a little while ago at the Kingston Avenue Subway station writes a thank you letter to Shomrim.

I was mugged at the Kingston Avenue subway station, just steps away from 770 and the Jewish Children’s Museum. While paying for a MetroCard two black teenagers approached me, tried to divert my attention and ran off with my wallet and the money in my hand.

I ran after them screaming “Chaptzem! Chatzem!” and people in the area began to chase them, including my brother who happened to be there just then. Immediately, I called Shomrim (it’s the first number listed on my cell phone - thanks to a tip from CrownHeights.info) and members responded within seconds. The Shomrim members were immediately recognizable with their caps and ID tags. They took the information from me and stayed with me the entire time to help me out. They came with me in the police car so I could try to ID the perpetrator at the scene and followed me and the cops to the station to fill out a report.

Instead of leaving me at the station, located on Carroll St. And Franklin Ave., the Shomrim members remained with me for over two hours while I completed the paperwork. They then drove me back in their personal car and dropped me off in front of my house.

Thank you Shomrim for your dedicated and professional work.