Response to Legal threats against The Pirate Bay from EA games

From anakata_anakata.hack.se Mon Sep 13 07:20:31 2004
Date: Mon, 13 Sep 2004 07:19:36 -0100 (GMT)
From: anakata
To: Piracy - Online
Subject: Re: Copyright Infringement

On Tue, 14 Sep 2004, Piracy - Online wrote:

> September 14, 2004
>
> SENT VIA E-MAIL
>
> Fredrik Neij
> PRQ
> Box 1206
> Stockholm, Sweden 11479
> Re: Electronic Arts Trademark and Copyright
> Infringement Notice
>
> Dear Mr. Neij:
>
> It has been brought to the attention of Electronic Arts Inc. ("EA") that
> the website http://www.piratebay.org with the IP addresses of
> 217.75.120.115, 217.75.120.116, 217.75.120.118 is conducting
> unauthorized activities with respect to EA's copyrighted software, The
> Sims 2. The aforementioned website is offering and distributing
> bittorrent seeds for an unauthorized downloadable version of this EA
> game
> The infringing material may be found at:
> http://www.piratebay.org/download.php/3238103/Sims%202.torrent
>
> http://www.piratebay.org/download.php/3238222/The_Sims2_AlcoholClone-CLO
> NEGAME_Full.Release_%28exclusive_for_trackerwww.prq.to%29.torrent
_____________________________________________________________________________Hello and thank you for contacting us. We have shut down the website in
question.
Oh wait, just kidding. We haven't, since the site in question is fully
legal. Unlike certain other countries, such as the one you're in, we have
sane copyright laws here. But we also have polar bears roaming the
streets and attacking people :-(.
______________________________________________________________________________

This unauthorized activity with respect to the distribution of EA's
> software products constitutes infringement of EA's intellectual property
> rights. EA enforces its intellectual property rights very aggressively
> by using every legal option available.
____________________________________________________________________________
Please don't sue us right now, our lawyer is passed out in an alley from
too much moonshine, so please atleast wait until he's found and doesn't
have a huge hangover...
___________________________________________________________________________
> As you are listed as the registrant for this website, EA demands that
> you immediately and permanently disable access to the aforementioned
> bittorrent seeds for The Sims 2 and any in the future.
___________________________________________________________________________
You're free to demand anything you want. So are we. We demand that you
cease and desist sending letters like this, since they're frivolous and
meaningless. Where should I send the bill for the consumed diskspace and
bandwidth?
__________________________________________________________________________
> Thank you for your cooperation. If you have any questions concerning
> this matter, please contact us via e-mail at:
> piracy-online@ea.com.
>
> Regards,
> EA Law - IP Enforcement
> Electronic Arts Inc.
> piracy-online@ea.com
____________________________________________________________________________
Thank you for your entertainment. As with all other threats, we will
publish this one on http://static.thepiratebay.org/legal/

//anakata

An excerpt from a book about a young muslim girl who started to wear hijab

I'm walking around the stores as if I'm in combat mode, avoiding eye contact with other people and waiting for something to happen. But as I browse through the stores I realize how uncomforable and irrational I'm acting because it feels like most people really couldn't care less. I mean, sure there's staring, but it's not enough to rate in my fears list. There are the occasional goggle-eyes but most people give me the once-over top to bottom, which I can deal with. I'm just one more late-night shopper, one more person to bump shoulders with, negotiate a crowded line with. My mother gets this. She walks and talks as though she doesn't even realize she's wearing the hijab. It makes me feel kind of protected because she's so confident and dignified. I wonder how long it will take me to feel and act this way.

While I'm walking through the food court I pass three women who are all wearing the hijab. They're huddled around a table, talking and eating ice cream. One of them catches my eye and smiles.
"Assalamu Alaykom," she says, greeting me with the universal Islamic greeting, peace be upon you.
"Walaykom Wassalam," I reply, smiling back at her. The other two girls also greet me and I reply and they all smile warmly at me. They go back to their conversation and I walk off with a big grin because it is now that I think I begin to understand that there's more to this hijab than the whole modesty thing. These girls are strangers to me but I know that we all felt an amazing connection, a sense that this cloth binds us in some kind of universal sisterhood.

I lie in bed that night and replay the scene over and over in my head. I'm experiencing a new identity, a new expression of who I am on the inside, but I know that I'm not alone. I'm not breaking new ground. I'm sharing something with millions of other women around the world and it feels so exciting. I know some people might find it hard to believe but walking around the mall tonight I'd never felt so free and sure of who I am. I felt safe from people judging me and making assumptions about my character from the length of my skirt or the size of my bra. I felt protected from all the crap about beauty and image. As scared as I was walking around the stores in the hijab, I was also experiencing a feeling of empowerment and freedom. I know I have a long ways to go. I still dressed to impressed and I took ages to get my makeup, clothes, and hijab just right. But I didn't feel I was compromising myself by wanting to make an impression. I was looking and feeling good on my own terms, and boy did that feel awesome.

US Chineese relations : it just had to b said