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Media Government The Almighty Buck Politics

Piracy Setup Discovered in WV Capitol Building 352

Posted by ScuttleMonkey from the making-a-little-on-the-side dept.
arakis writes "Someone in West Virginia has apparently spent tens of thousands in state funds to acquire computers and video gear to copy movies and music. From the article: 'Ferguson confirmed Tuesday that his staff found the makeshift audio-video studio amid his widening probe into spending and other abuses at the state General Services Division.' Looks like some employees are getting the axe for everything from purchasing abuse to time fraud."
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Piracy Setup Discovered in WV Capitol Building More

Piracy Setup Discovered in WV Capitol Building

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  • Time Fraud? (Score:5, Funny)

    by GuruBuckaroo ( 833982 ) on Wednesday January 18, 2006 @03:38PM (#14503428) Homepage
    What a great phrase! Makes me nostalgic for Doctor Who...

  • Oh, no! (Score:5, Interesting)

    by PornMaster ( 749461 ) on Wednesday January 18, 2006 @03:39PM (#14503439) Homepage
    14GB of MP3s? I'd bet that one in three Slashdotters has at least that much. Anyone know what the "crack the headers" bit refers to for CDs?

    • Re:Oh, no! (Score:5, Informative)

      by tulmad ( 25666 ) on Wednesday January 18, 2006 @03:41PM (#14503463)
      Anyone know what the "crack the headers" bit refers to for CDs?

      It means "I'm a journalist and really have no clue what I'm talking about, so I'll make up words that sound dramatic".

      • Re:Oh, no! (Score:5, Informative)

        by omeomi ( 675045 ) on Wednesday January 18, 2006 @04:12PM (#14503855) Homepage
        Anyone know what the "crack the headers" bit refers to for CDs?

        It means "I'm a journalist and really have no clue what I'm talking about, so I'll make up words that sound dramatic".

        Actually, the author of the article never refers to "cracking" the headers of CDs. The article states "software 'commonly used to crack header codes on copyrighted materials such as movies and music to allow duplication,' Schafer's memo said.". Regular redbook audio CDs don't have any sort of DRM to crack, but many DVDs do, and so do DRM'd music tracks downloaded from services such as iTunes or Napster. So, while it may certainly be true that many journalists don't know what they're talking about, this journalist has said nothing incorrect with respect to cracking.

        • Re: Oh, no! (Score:3, Informative)

          by Baricom ( 763970 )
          Additionally, the reporter was quoting a memo written by a third party verbatim. In that context, the statement seems perfectly reasonable to me.
    • They had a PC with linux installed?

    • Re:Oh, no! (Score:3, Funny)

      by rylin ( 688457 )
      Sharpies.
      Lots of them.
    • I'd have more than 14GB if I ripped all of my audio cds, but then I am a bit of a music junky...
    • renaming..or filling out the ID3 tags
    • Hundreds of blank DVDs, CDs and jacket covers were also found, as was software "commonly used to crack header codes on copyrighted materials such as movies and music to allow duplication," Schafer's memo said.

      Plus, software to "crack" DVDs is free [mrbass.org] anyway. Didn't look like that was hurting their budget! ;)

    • Re:Oh, no! (Score:5, Funny)

      by Stan Vassilev ( 939229 ) on Wednesday January 18, 2006 @04:29PM (#14504056)
      "14GB of MP3s? I'd bet that one in three Slashdotters has at least that much."

      When translated from DontSueMe to English this goes like: "14GB of MP3s? I have at least as much." ;)
  • so the question is will the MPAA and RIAA go after the state government? Will the state turn the individuals responsible over to these private companies.

    • Currently, the government is in the *AA's back pocket. Why sue an ally?

      • Re:I seriously doubt it (Score:5, Insightful)

        by SatanicPuppy ( 611928 ) <Satanicpuppy@nosPAm.gmail.com> on Wednesday January 18, 2006 @04:54PM (#14504307) Journal
        Carrot and the Stick.

        RIAA: "See the nice juicy carrot, you know you want the carrot"
        Congress: "Mmmmmm, carrot"
        RIAA: "Now we want you to pass a law making it legal for our representatives to hunt iPod users, because piracy supports terrorism, and all iPod users are pirates."
        Congress: "Welll, I don't know...there are a lot of iPods out there..."
        RIAA: "This is a stick. This is what you get when you don't get the carrot. Wouldn't you rather have the carrot?"
        Congress: "Well, yea, but we can't just..."
        RIAA: "BAD CONGRESS! *WHACK* *WHACK* *WHACK* BAD LEGISLATORS MAKE THE BABY JESUS CRY! *WHACK* *WHACK*"
        Congress: "Owwwww...okay, okay"

    • I would expect the 11th Amendment's sovereign immunity would apply to the state of West Virginia itself. The individual(s) who setup the lab, though, are up a certain creek.

  • Obviously, they were fighting terrorism (Score:5, Funny)

    by Dark Paladin ( 116525 ) * <jhummel&johnhummel,net> on Wednesday January 18, 2006 @03:39PM (#14503446) Homepage
    We know that the MPAA has claimed that buying pirated movies supports terrorism [arstechnica.com].

    Therefore, these proud patroits in West Virginia (death to all tyrants!) were simply providing a means for Americans to purchase pirated movies without supporting Al Queada (or however they spell thier name). After all, we've learned that breaking the law is perfectly legal as long as you put the words "fighting the war on terrorism" in front of it.

    Now, if we can just get them to take care of that whole "get money from oil revenues to finance terrorism" thing, and we've got it licked!
    • get your mottos straight:

      West Virginia: Montani semper liberi - Mountaineers are always free
      Virginia: Sic semper tyrannis - Thus always to tyrants (meaning death from the slain king in the state seal)
  • You think they would have figured out how to get the equipment off-site.

  • Heh (Score:5, Funny)

    by grub ( 11606 ) <slashdot@grub.net> on Wednesday January 18, 2006 @03:40PM (#14503458) Homepage Journal

    "Capitol Records"

    Thank you, I'll be here all week.

  • "Studio"? I think not. (Score:5, Insightful)

    by Kayamon ( 926543 ) on Wednesday January 18, 2006 @03:41PM (#14503461) Homepage
    Pff... That's not a audio/video studio... that's just a guy downloading and burning some DivX movies.

    I think "tens of thousands in state funds" is possibly a bit of an exaggeration.
    • The government always over spends. The whole operation could be done much cheaper. Most readers on /. probably have the equipment to rip and burn cd/DVDs and have not spent as much as they claim to have spent.

      But maybe they are using numbers provided by RIAA or MPAA. Those always seem to be inflated.

      • Ask Slashdot (Score:5, Funny)

        by mjpaci ( 33725 ) * on Wednesday January 18, 2006 @04:23PM (#14503984) Homepage Journal
        {jesting}"I have access to almost unlimited funds through a closed-source purchasing system. I have identified a number of holes in the system that would allow me to syphon off funds to purchase a "pirate studio" and install it in the basement of the capitol building. Since I'd rather not pay the Microsoft tax, could you recommend a "free" (as in beer) solution for my embezzlement?"
      • Accurate accounting.

        Equipment includes Shipping, cost of someone to recieves the goods, cost of set up, bandwidth used, etc. . .
        Plus if he got any non-standard equipment.
        So 10Gs is probably a good estimate of real costs.

        Accounts for the government are the most accurate and anal I have ever had the pleasure of working with.

        Much more accurate then any Corp I have worked with.

  • This suffice it to say reinforces the image of public sector workers abusing their state privaliges. I remember an interview with Wanda Sykes where she talked about her other job at her job while working at the state. I am a very strong supporter of teh privitization of many Government agencies. I'm sick and tired of seeing my tax dollars being wasted by over payed gum chewing counter people who have no clue.
    • egregious spelling, I'm thinking you're just jealous they passed the civil service exam.
    • This suffice it to say reinforces the image of public sector workers abusing their state privaliges. I remember an interview with Wanda Sykes where she talked about her other job at her job while working at the state. I am a very strong supporter of teh privitization of many Government agencies. I'm sick and tired of seeing my tax dollars being wasted by over payed gum chewing counter people who have no clue.

      Yeah, like private sector employees any more competent; and the CEOs are obviously less corrupt t

    • Reminds me of a call to Infocus (Score:5, Informative)

      by QuantumRiff ( 120817 ) on Wednesday January 18, 2006 @04:26PM (#14504019)
      I am a government employee. (work at a small college). Had a broken Digital Projector. Called them up, described the problem, was told that $PART was broken, and it would be $2400 to fix. I kind of went silent for a few minutes, and pointed out that their new projectors of the same Lumens cost $1500. Do customers really do this? His response was that sometimes, especially with government accounts, there is no budget for new equipment, but money in the repair budget. I remember saying, "So instead of spending $1500 on a new projector with a warranty, they spend $2400 on repairing a 3 year old projector? Don't you feel good about where your tax dollars are going?" I have seen this far too many times in government. Rules are so strict and rigid (often because of abuses) that it is easier to spend twice as much money than to get approval to move the amount from one budget account to another..
      • Take that righteous indignation. Now spread it around about.

        These sorts of beaurocratic shenanigans aren't merely limited to governments. They occur WHEN EVER any organization becomes large enough that a single leader can't just walk around and get a handle on everything.

        Your description of the small college could easily have been the last retailer I worked for.
    • Exactly which of these agencies are you willing to privatize? Do you even realize that privatization means that *you must pay for it*? When the government does it, it's taxed. That means everyone pays a little for each service, whether they use it or not.

      That means toll roads. And pricy, because those interstates aren't going to be getting money from the people who don't like to drive on them anymore. There will be no more children's services because the children don't pay for them, so no complaining w

    • I am a very strong supporter of teh privitization of many Government agencies. I'm sick and tired of seeing my tax dollars being wasted by over payed gum chewing counter people who have no clue.

      What a brilliant idea! Then you'll have all of the waste, fraud and corruption, and none of the oversight!

      Simply brilliant!

      *rolls eyes"

      Having worked in corporate America for many years, let me assure you that such spending abuses are quite common there, too. Probably much, much more common, given that the

    • Sorry, I seen privatization of the government in action. It doesn't work. They ahve less controlls, and don't look at things IN THE LONG RUN.
      When you are a buearu, you need to look at impact 25-100 years into the future. You don't save 25% of the price of a pipes that will only last 10 years. A corporation would.

      Most people have no idea why things cost more, they just say "yep, me cuda done dat meself fir the screw in ma garage and 2 doller spens at da hardware store."
    • I remember an interview with Wanda Sykes where she talked about her other job at her job while working at the state.

      I'm baffled as to why this is relevant. First off, comedians are known to exaggerate things for comedic effect. Second, there's nothing that says you can't hold a 2nd job if you're in government (assuming the 2nd job is unrelated to your duties and you're not double clocking the time). Third, how does privatization fix this?

      Privatization of New Jersey's DMV inspections was a complete disast

  • I bet the CIO/IS Director is a MBA (Score:5, Funny)

    by Kylere ( 846597 ) on Wednesday January 18, 2006 @03:42PM (#14503473)
    1. Take one college educated idiot (Usually a MBA)
    2. Place in charge of a group of geeks who actually know their jobs
    3. Pay Fines!
  • his staff found the makeshift audio-video studio amid his widening probe into spending and other abuses at the state General Services Division.

    Look on the bright side, maybe the person(s) behind the purchases were filming some amateur porn and the state can sue their earnings to recoup some extra cash.
    • If big boobed women work at Hooters do one legged women work at IHOP?

      There is an IHOP in Gastonia, NC that is located on Cox Road [know-where.com]. Urban legend has is that they used to answer the phone "IHOP on Cox". Say it out loud for the full effect.

  • Did Anyone Check The Content? (Score:5, Funny)

    by Black-Man ( 198831 ) on Wednesday January 18, 2006 @03:43PM (#14503490)
    Was it gigabytes of "Take Me Home Country Roads" on mp3 and the movie "Deliverence"?

  • 21st Century underground (Score:4, Funny)

    by digitaldc ( 879047 ) on Wednesday January 18, 2006 @03:43PM (#14503496)
    "As we continue to peel back the onion, every time we turn a corner we find something else that doesn't look right," Ferguson said.

    And I remember when covertly distilling Moonshine was a problem!

  • "Motion video?" (Score:3, Funny)

    by nathan s ( 719490 ) on Wednesday January 18, 2006 @03:43PM (#14503499) Homepage
    From the article: "...one hard drive contained approximately 40 full-length motion videos..."

    As opposed to what? Videos of still images? Someone sitting there with a photo album and a camcorder, I guess...goes to show you what people will do when they don't have a scanner...

  • Fired for overtime! (Score:5, Insightful)

    by LiquidCoooled ( 634315 ) on Wednesday January 18, 2006 @03:44PM (#14503519) Homepage Journal
    Ferguson recently fired two division staffers, Gary McClanahan and Gary Bryant, after they claimed they had worked 18-hour days 119 times over the course of 2 1/2 years. Ferguson said a $466, 24-inch flat-screen computer monitor was found in Bryant's office but that no evidence suggests either man orchestrated the computer purchases.

    Sometimes, an 18hour work day is exactly that.
    Some places allow practically all the overtime you can log - simply because its cheaper to let you work greater hours than to hire/train somebody up to your role.

    Firing them because they were hard workers is wrong.
    Firing them because they made fraudulant claims is right.

    (they do sound like the BOFH and PFY though don't they)

    • Re:Fired for overtime! (Score:4, Interesting)

      by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday January 18, 2006 @04:06PM (#14503795)
      I once met a group of government IT workers who, by applying the union rules, were able to stretch their hours considerably. It had something to do with the fact that the minimum claimable overtime period was 4 hours, but they were permitted to claim overtime even if they only worked 15 minutes. So by staying 15 minutes past the end of the day, they were able (were required to, in fact) to claim an additional 4 hours of overtime.

      This group was actually working hard, and doing legitimate 12 hour days, but by doing strategic 15 minute increments they were all able to charge 24 hours a day. This lasted for about a 2 week period.

      They appeared to be quite proud of themselves.
    • That guy got a good price on a 24inch monitor! Then, he DARED to work ONE 18 hour day every three weeks! FIRE THE BASTARD!!

        Erm, doesn't sound crooked at all, actually, does it?

    • Legal advice (Score:2, Funny)

      by yEvb0 ( 904248 )
      My boss bought himself a 30-inch monitor (for way more than $466), but he's salaried. Should I tell him to be careful? ;)
  • "As we continue to peel back the onion, every time we turn a corner we find something else that doesn't look right," Ferguson said.

    I didn't know onions had corners. But you can bet that onions with corners wouldn't look right.

    On another note, hahahahahahaha. Awesome.^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H--I mean...how awful.

    Only 40 movies and 3,500 mp3s?
    Whatcha wanna bet that the gear that hasn't been located yet has a lot more? And a nice CD and DVD archive nearby?

  • Gotta love that headline. (Score:5, Insightful)

    by plasmacutter ( 901737 ) on Wednesday January 18, 2006 @03:46PM (#14503539)
    Are we back into the days of yellow journalism here?

    tens of thousands in "piracy equipment"? "computers and video gear"?!

    last time i checked my 3 towers and 9 hard disks didn't cost tens of thousands (and two of them are macs!)

    piracy setup? come on now! a tower with dvd decryptor and a couple hundred gigs of avis and mp3's is now a vast piracy setup. that's funny. If this is the headline for such a pitifully small collection, i wander if the headline for the arrest of someone on my res hall would read "international organized piracy syndicate taken down".

    • Go for a drive sometime. (Score:5, Interesting)

      by ScentCone ( 795499 ) on Wednesday January 18, 2006 @04:14PM (#14503878)
      a tower with dvd decryptor and a couple hundred gigs of avis and mp3's is now a vast piracy setup. that's funny.

      You've never actually been on a drive through West Virginia, have you? Mind you, it's beautiful (the part that isn't up on blocks). For a state that's got a lot of territory just a short drive from the nation's capital, it's a funny mix of demographics. But yes, a rig set up (however modestly) to crank out physical copies of pirated media probably is a big deal to a lot of the locals.

    • Re:Gotta love that headline. (Score:5, Informative)

      by kimvette ( 919543 ) on Wednesday January 18, 2006 @04:27PM (#14504033) Homepage Journal
      {
      last time i checked my 3 towers and 9 hard disks didn't cost tens of thousands (and two of them are macs!)
      }

      You didn't buy them from state-approved vendors who are on the official bidding lists.

      State bidding lists work like this: when the contract is about to end, the state invites vendors to bid (more actually they obfuscate the process to make it more difficult to newcomers to get in on the process, so the system is weighted toward favored vendors), in a superficial effort to meet state law in controlling budgets.

      In reality, the bidding process is made as difficult as humanly possible. The regulatiosn are hard to find, each responsible person tells you to call someone else, and the folks who succeed in getting in on it invariably are the ones who wine and dine the officials.

      ANYWAY the bidding process usually gives you two optios:

        - bid cost + percentage (which practically no one does because it would reveal the markup)
        - bid MSRP/List Price minus a percentage (and as you know on most products list price may be as low as 30% over cost, or as much as 300% to 400% over cost on average for different products and brands)

      Once you win the contract, you now have the "right" to sell directly to state and municipal agencies, completely bypassing any further bidding processes. This is intended to reduce the budget by being able to plan cost of operations up front, and to eliminate paperwork and delays introduced by conventional bidding processes. Unfortunately it's all to common for vendors to get in on the list bidding a PITTANCE of a discount (example: Dell, 2% off of list price, which is an inflated work of fiction) knowing that the process to get IN on the bidding is painful at best.

      Even worse, the lowest bid does NOT always win on the bid lists (this goes for both state and GSA lists) and in fact the officials/agencies overseeing the bidding process can choose to ignore the bids and pick whomever the heck they want to win. They can cite support reasons (Yeah. Dell support is just WONDERFUL compared to local Dell vendors), size of the company, or any other contrived reason that sounds remotely plausible.
    • > ...i wander if the headline for the arrest of someone on my res
      > hall would read "international organized piracy syndicate taken
      > down".

      Yes, of course it would, and if anyone in the building is from the Middle East there would be allegations that the operation was "financing terrorism".

  • The Hand in the Face (Score:4, Insightful)

    by Jim in Buffalo ( 939861 ) on Wednesday January 18, 2006 @03:46PM (#14503549)
    I think that this case underscores how little government bureaucrats understand about the technology being used in their own buildings right under their very noses. Far too often when someone tries to bring a technical matter to the attention of someone with the authority to do something about it, they get The Hand in the Face... 'uhp, uhp, uhp, I don't want to hear about it... if it's not about a massive campaign contribution I don't want to know.' Well, when the suits from the media companies come knocking, well, The Hand in the Face tactic isn't going to work.
    • I think that this case underscores how little government bureaucrats understand about the technology being used in their own buildings right under their very noses.

      The technology thing is a red herring. What the case really underscores is the lack of oversight of employees using government purchasing cards. A $1000 limit to trigger review of a purchase may be too low, depending on the level of the employee.

      In the next city over from me, this happened last year. Some city employees were using the cards li

  • The RIAA Could Sue (Score:5, Insightful)

    by Saint37 ( 932002 ) on Wednesday January 18, 2006 @03:46PM (#14503553)
    The RIAA's argument is that a computer owner should know what their children or other users are doing with their computers and are thus responsible for any piracy that occurs using said computer. By this same logic the RIAA could sue the State of West Virginaia, but of course, the RIAA wouldn't do that. They only go after individuals.

    http://www.stockmarketgarden.com/ [stockmarketgarden.com]

  • Piracy in the workplace is common (Score:5, Funny)

    by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday January 18, 2006 @03:49PM (#14503580)
    Ask anyone in tech support who has had to work in a bloated bureaucratic building overpopulated with secretaries. My favorite encounter was cleaning a couple thousand pieces of spyware off some secretary's computer. While I was doing that, she and another secretary were copying DVD movies on their computers, as well as their boss's computer. Apparently the boss was gone for the day. So basically, I was helping her burn DVDs faster.

    Thank you Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine.

  • Overstated? (Score:5, Insightful)

    by rnelsonee ( 98732 ) on Wednesday January 18, 2006 @03:54PM (#14503639)
    The review found that someone in General Services sidestepped state purchasing rules to buy more than $88,000 worth of computers and related equipment over the last three years, including the items discovered in the basement office. Not all the purchased computers and gear can be located, Ferguson said.

    Is it possible that most of that $88K went to legit computer purchases? 40 movies, 3,500 MP3s, and oh-so-common DeCSS software is all easily fit into one normal PC. And hundreds of blank DVDs/CDs isn't all that much - it's $100 worth of merchandise found on newegg. Sure, this guy was copying movies, but wouldn't bet that this is one of those "zero patient" cases.

    • If these guys were spending their days ripping DVDs and CDs rather than doing something productive (like, you know, reading Slashdot), chances are not all of the $88,000 in equipment was used for that purpose. Wonder how much they've got sitting at home, or what their eBay IDs are.

    • Re:Overstated? (Score:3, Interesting)

      by Unordained ( 262962 )
      Waste, fraud, corruption -- they don't always happen in lump sums. So admittedly, we can't expect every find (nor very many of them) to be in the hundreds of millions of dollars. But considering how much it probably cost them to just run the audit, and compared to the general budget, I'd have to guess this wasn't that great of a find (in terms of ROI and/or % originally wasted.) Yes, it's naughty, yes, it's great to find it ... but ... just considering I've watched local government workers use grants for bi
    • Is it possible that most of that $88K went to legit computer purchases?
      It's possible but not likely, the article notes this:
      General Services maintains the Capitol Complex grounds and buildings, among other duties. Yet Schafer's memo shows that it purchased $51,000 worth of computers during the 2005 budget year alone, compared to the $45,726 worth bought by the state auditor's office.

      Doesn't sound like they really need more computer equipment than the state auditor's office would given the departm

      • "Doesn't sound like they really need more computer equipment than the state auditor's office would given the department's duties."

        I'd like to see figures for desk staff for each of the departments -- auditor's office employs 140-150, plus outsources if any (from a rough tally I did from their website). General Services has no website, so I couldn't get a count.

        Also, more food for thought: The auditor's office is going to be more cost-effective in their purchasing. In any organization, the bean-counte
    • "items discovered in the basement office. Not all the purchased computers and gear can be located, Ferguson said."

      So it could be done with one computer, but this person(s) had more then one system.

      Dollar to donuts they got away with the first purchase...just enough to rationalize as a mistake if they got caught, and then got greedy. Oreder lots of addons and low end PCs. You can get to 88K really fast.

  • I'll bet a couple of nerds in WV are shitting themselves right now.
    • I'll bet a couple of nerds in WV are shitting themselves right now.

      Think you mean "both of the nerds in WV." Sometimes there are three, though (for less than an hour), depending on if I'm driving through on my way from the skinny part of Maryland south on 81.

  • some employees are getting the axe (Score:3, Funny)

    by timster121 ( 820967 ) on Wednesday January 18, 2006 @04:00PM (#14503711)
    Well, what are they getting axed?

  • The $25,000 question (Score:3)

    by Guppy06 ( 410832 ) on Wednesday January 18, 2006 @04:00PM (#14503719)
    How many Slashdotters actually know what the capital of West Virginia is without having to look it up?

  • Best use of government funds (Score:4, Funny)

    by bobcat7677 ( 561727 ) on Wednesday January 18, 2006 @04:04PM (#14503762) Homepage
    ...I have heard in a long time!

  • Misleading headlines... (Score:5, Informative)

    by happyfish ( 67661 ) on Wednesday January 18, 2006 @04:04PM (#14503768) Homepage
    The real issue here is not that someone had 14GB of mp3s or 40 movies; that simply makes for a better headline. The real issue is that someone in the capital was abusing the purchasing system and bilking the state for all they could. Buying barebones PCs on one purchase and then purchasing the remaining components on a separate order is a big no-no. It means that the PCs appear to be far less expensive, and exempts them from inventory control systems. The purchases basically fly under the radar, and the goods could be anywhere now; some other office, somebody's house, or sold on eBay.

  • "Piracy" (Score:2, Interesting)

    by Bobke ( 653185 )
    /. should know better than to use the word "piracy". It is a demonisation term.
  • Shiver me timbers!!! They've caught Peg-Leg Pete, the most famous pirate on the Appalacian Main!!!

    Blow the man down!
  • Should be a good severance pay, everybody knows those are worth 25K.

  • Almost a WHOLE iPod Video!!! (Score:3, Insightful)

    by valhallaprime ( 749304 ) on Wednesday January 18, 2006 @04:40PM (#14504167)
    40 Movies and 14 Gigs of Mp3s? You would almost need a WHOLE ipod Video just to hold all that stuff! And what IT worker has 14 gigs at his disposal?

    Sheesh, next he'll want more than 640KB of RAM.

    Hundreds of blank DVD's? Oh wow, that's absolutely insane, considering they only sell them in spools of 50-100. I mean, i wouldn't even know where to put 2 or 3 WHOLE spools of DVD'rs, let alone hide them from satellite imagery.
  • Being landlocked, I doubt W.VA has a pirate problem to speak of.
    Now, here is some info on REAL pirates and piracy:
    "Modern Pirates Thrive on Global Trade" ( http://globalization.about.com/library/weekly/aa0 31203a.htm [about.com])
    "Pirate attacks against ships increase, ICC report finds" (http://globalization.about.com/gi/dynamic/offsite .htm?site=http://www.iccwbo.org/home/news_archives /2002/stories/piracy%2520report%2520Oct2002.asp [about.com])
    and last but not least:
    "Weekly Piracy Report" (http://globalization.about.com/gi/dynamic [about.com]

  • Small operation (Score:3, Insightful)

    by fatboy ( 6851 ) on Wednesday January 18, 2006 @06:18PM (#14504958)
    "Specifically, one hard drive contained approximately 40 full-length motion videos," state Chief Technology Officer Kyle Schafer said in the Jan. 5 memo to Administration Secretary Robert Ferguson. "Two other hard drives contained over 3,500 MP3 music files consuming more than 14 [gigabytes] of hard drive space."

    That sounds more like my iPod than a big time piracy operation.

    Still, I hope they fire them all.

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