Man Gets Year in Prison for Uploading a Movie

Piracy laws in the United States are completely absurd. It's the perfect example of everything that's wrong with this government. Those who can afford lobbyists and huge, anonymous campaign contributions get whatever legislation they want.

Gilberto Sanchez uploaded X-Men Origins: Wolverine online. However, he did draw attention to himself by uploading the video an entire month before the theater release of the actual movie. He bought the leaked copy from a street vendor in the Bronx, and then uploaded it for everyone to see.

It probably wasn't a bright idea to upload an unreleased movie, but it seems the real criminal here is the one who leaked the pre-production copy of the movie. That, or the street vendor who made a profit off of it. But certainly not the one who made it available for free. Sending a man to prison for an entire year over a single movie? That's absurd. Anti-piracy laws are only going to get worse in this country, proving that it takes money to influence law.
via Gizmodo

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Apple Paying Fair Share in Corporate Taxes

According to a report done by Citizens for Tax Justice and nonpartisan Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, Apple paid a 31% tax rate, just shy of the 35% corporate rate. Intel was also among the few tech companies paying a 31% tax rate.

The study examined 280 corporations on the Fortune 500 list. Of those 280 companies, 30 paid nothing in federal taxes over the past 3 years. These companies received over $223 billion in tax subsidies. That's money that could have gone to measures like health care reform, job creation, or simply to combat the deficit.

Other tech companies on the list, such as HP, Yahoo, and Amazon paid far less than 30% in taxes. Amazon, for example, paid only 7.9% in taxes on 1.8 billion dollars of yearly profit between 2008 and 2010. If Amazon paid the same tax rate that Apple had paid, they would have paid over 400 million more in taxes over the two year period.

The Occupy movement has brought more attention to corporate greed, corruption, and questioning corporation involvement in politics. Corporations, through lobbying and campaign contributions, have managed to ensure that laws and policies benefit their businesses. They've gotten away with scamming the government and American people out of billions of dollars. With these things in mind, consumers may want to avoid buying products or services from companies that dodge taxes. It's good to know that Apple is on the right side of the fence here.
via CultOfMac

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