Author Topic: Obama Hires 5th EX-RIAA Lawyer - Democracy Compromised ? (Read 1209 times)

GhostShip · « **on:** April 14, 2009, 11:55:51 am »

Just when you thought a new broom had entered the white house it seems the road to reach the oval office is one of insider deals and paybacks for support.

http://blog.wired.com/27bstroke6/2009/04/obama-taps-fift.html

Quote

President Barack Obama is tapping another RIAA attorney into the Justice Department.

Monday's naming of Ian Gershengorn, to become the department's deputy assistant attorney of the Civil Division, comes more than a week after nearly two-dozen public interest groups, trade pacts and library coalitions urged the new president to quit filling his administration with lawyers plucked from the Recording Industry Association of America.

The move makes it five RIAA lawyers Obama has appointed to the Justice Department.

Gershengorn, a partner with RIAA-firm Jenner & Block, represented the labels against Grokster and will be in charge of the DOJ Federal Programs Branch. That's the unit that just told a federal judge the Obama administration supports monetary damages as high as $150,000 per purloined music track on a peer-to-peer file sharing program.

Conflict of interest springs to mind in all of theses appointments, this is a sad day for those who believed Obama was going to make important changes to the old traditions and shake up the US making it ready for the future, it seems we have the same old style of government and the same old methods of rewarding support.

Daniel · « **Reply #1 on:** April 14, 2009, 08:05:37 pm »

I want more information on this. I thought Obama was supposed to be for Internet Neutrality, so what's he doing hiring RIAA lawyers? And there are 5 RIAA lawyers but out of how many others lawyer positions?

GhostShip · « **Reply #2 on:** April 14, 2009, 08:44:30 pm »

This link when they hired number 4 has some more information regarding the important top positions these people now hold and the threat hiring such ex riaa officials who sanctioned mass extortion of innocent citizens brings to honest governance.

http://blog.wired.com/27bstroke6/2009/04/obama-stop-fill.html

Obama should seriously open his eyes before his support base evaporates, this currently looks like old-style back room dealing and it stinks.

White Stripes · « **Reply #3 on:** April 14, 2009, 09:02:39 pm »

who was it that said "if it looks too good to be true it probably is" ..... ?

* Silver Stripes is crushed.... "we cant win for winning and cant win for loosing"

Forested665 · « **Reply #4 on:** April 14, 2009, 09:29:07 pm »

He also said he was going to cut back on spending.
Maybe hes holding that bargain up by hiring people out of government agencies?

Trestor · « **Reply #5 on:** April 15, 2009, 03:45:09 am »

It looks like the crooks have taken over the running of the shop.

White Stripes · « **Reply #6 on:** April 15, 2009, 04:30:12 am »

did they ever stop running the shop?

Trestor · « **Reply #7 on:** April 15, 2009, 07:24:40 am »

True enough.

Cobra · « **Reply #8 on:** April 15, 2009, 11:02:38 pm »

Regardless of all the propaganda/dictatorial concerns that people have, and even though I did not vote for him, I still take Obama as the kind of person who truly does want to help the country but also wants to be on everyone's good side. Unfortunately, that is often impossible.

If you have two sides where one says "black" and the other says "white", you as the person trying to get the groups to meet in the middle would naturally say "grey". The trouble here is that each side will only reply with either "No. BLACK!/WHITE! Grey is out of the question!" or "What shade of grey? I will agree only if it's 90% black grey/white grey."

While some are thinking this hiring is a bad idea with a plot, Obama is probably thinking that if he talks enough he can come to a compromise that will make both the RIAA as file sharers happy. I, on the other hand, just don't see that happening.