Steal an education if you can.

Teaching how to steal for dummies. PPP core class. Probably authored by Bharat Jagdeo.

 They ought to know they can negiotiate reprinting rights at minimal fees. Print on demand techniques can result in further cost cutting since they can produce exactly what they need when they need it and avoid ruining our name in the publishing world.

Doesn't China and other countries in Asia defy copyright laws and sell their pirated products in America? Who here on this board did not pirate any software for his/her personal use? Not that I condone piracy.

However, Minister Manickchand has a point here:

“How moral are we if  we cant provide our children with enough books that they can get an education and we can come out of this poverty that we are in and buy original books eventually?” she asked.

 Head of the Presidential Secretariat, Dr. Roger Luncheon, at his weekly post-cabinet briefing, emphasised the importance of acquiring high quality textbooks at the lowest cost, rather than opting for “lampy-pampy” (poor quality or deficient) versions of the originals.

I would have to agree with Storm as much as I disagree with him. We cannot support theft. Negotiate reprinting rights.

The government is sending the wrong signal and it makes us all look foolish as Guyanese.

 One is obliged to compensate the producers of these works for their effort. That is their means of earning a living. Governments ought not to be a part of ignoring the law.

China neglects to enforce the law and left the enforcement of counterfeit detection and prevention to the consumers of the products. Here we are facilitating those who refuse to acknowledge the authors requirement to be paid for work and intend to profit off that work.

I have no problem with that. The Distributors of School Books are THIEVES. Save the BLOODY Guyanese money!!!!

Nehru Bhai

There is something called copyright laws. Guyana must respect international laws. As Storm pointed out, they need to negotiate reprinting rights. It is a simple solution.

See Nehru's reply? That's exactly the PPP mentality. Thieve from the people and full up yuh pockets. Guarantee is a high ranking PPP member pirating the books. Just now Ramotar gan come out and say people pirating Jagan books. Like more than 2 people read them. one being Jagan himself.

There you have it. The PPP is a brazen criminal organization with no respect for the law.

Tell that to China.

What is worse, pay outlandish prices for books or get pirated copies just like most of you who have pirated software an music. hahhahaahah

well well the thief is at it again,what a way to go government,i though the government have to set example for the nation yesterday it was land and cocain ect ect ect now its books sanction by the government i guess the international community is not watching the US government should take away that lady visa for being a thief

The children will not be held hostage by developed nations publishing houses that charge outlandish prices for school books.  In fact it is common practice for 3rd world nations to use pirated copies of school books and software. Get off your high horse and get a dose of reality. ahhahahaha

When making accusations about "other govt's" show some evidence. I mean everdunce.

Defending the indefensible

Dear Editor,

I often wonder how Dr. Roger Luncheon deals with his conscience when in his quiet moments he recalls all the untruths and half truths that he spews out in defence of a government whose only use for him is to put him out there in the line of fire to try to confuse citizens with empty words while Ministers of the Government and other Government officials shelter in the safety of their offices.

I refer here specifically to his recent comments in both the Kaieteur News and the Stabroek News of September 13 in which in his usual circuitous manner he tried to justify the government’s stealing of other people’s intellectual property.

In trying to convince the citizens of Guyana that it was alright for the government to reproduce a large number of school texts for distribution to primary and secondary schools, Dr. Luncheon said that the laws of copyright would have to be ignored because Guyana could not afford to buy the original texts.

This leaves me to wonder why is Guyana the only one among all of our Caricom sisters, many of whom are just tiny islands, that is so impoverished.

Further, it worries me that our children are witnesses to this immoral behaviour at the very top, which makes Guyana a rogue state.

Dr. Luncheon, how would you advise the proprietor of one of the stores that sell pirated books to deal with a shoplifter whose excuse for stealing a pirated text is that she is a single mother with many children and cannot afford to buy all the books?

My response to such an incident would be to say, “tief from tief mek God laugh.”
Think on these things Doc. and encourage your colleagues to do the same, for beware. the time is surely coming when you will have to answer to an entity far greater than your political bosses.

And by the way Doc.

We at Austin’s did not “lose out” (to use your own words) because we were not invited to bid and would not have taken part in such a nefarious scheme.

Leila Austin.
Director
Austin’s Book Services

Damn! Nice tell off. Watch Luncheon go there secretly and say to her " Ah gat fuh say something or they gan throw me out and then no more soup fuh me"

I remember the days when my parents bought my text books and was suposed to last for the whole year(for those who remember the little red books West Indian Reader series). My parents could hardly afford these books.

After the first term the binding on the books were all split apart.

We had to take passie or flour(the passie you get from the tree to paste your kites) and put them back. We were left at the mercy of the one publisher with a monoply. I do not blame the government if this generic publisher is going to supply them with books(could be better quality). It's the government who now supply the childern's needs. If they have a choice to get the same product cheaper, go for it. 
Let the original publisher take the generic publisher to court to be compensated. Let them fight it out in a court of law.

.. Who here, given a choice to buy the identical product would choose the more expensive one? Would you care to investigate if it's pirated? 

Bhaiji,  “tief from tief mek God laugh.”

so what you is telling me its okay for smugglers to bring in cheaper fuel and sell it and if i buy i am not committing a crime

Bhai Warria,

Only when you get ketch you commit a crime. Tiefman na get morals. Dema tief from dem mattie tiefman. We live by our morals.

Mitwah:

why would the PPP do this?  Thief people brains with no payment?  How better is this than them "thiefman" who was prowling Agricola robbing them East Indians?

What did you your Dad seh about dis? He seems to be a very wise person.