Ranting to /dev/null

Subpoena this!

The developers of the P2P client EarthStation 5 have received some kind of cease and desist letter from the MPAA and RIAA. EarthStation 5 is apparently engaged in streaming first run movies and music over the Internet for free. As in speech, not in beer. The thing is, EarthStation 5 is based in Palestine. So the developers have decided to flip the bird to the media industry. As they reside in a country that doesn't actually have an official organized government, getting at them is going to be difficult. And as the client apparently uses some kind of anonymity screen, getting at users is going to be hard too. This had to happen eventually, and as the war between content providers and consumers escalates, it's only going to get worse. This is what happens when an industry goes after its own customers. It ain't pretty.

A little research into the vital stats of EarthStation 5 reveals that they are based in the Jenin refugee camp in Palestine. As the creators say, it is unlikely that too many process servers will be going there, and if they do, they're probably more likely to get blown up in a bus than to find their targets. Still, some of the claims made sound a bit on the fantastic side. But we did get ICQ from that part of the world, so maybe they can do everything they say they can. All I know is that a strongly-anonymous P2P network that uses the DNS port for its UDP traffic is going to be pretty tough to stop.