Saturday, April 12, 2008

"RENT-A-RASTA" PART TWO

"RENT-A-RASTA" PART TWO
DUBROOM IN-SITE PART 8




WWW, April 2008 - WWW, April 2008 - In september 2007, the Dubroom published a review of the video "Rent-A-Rasta". The aftermath of the Dubroom review uncovered some interesting background information surfacing on the Dubroom Message Boards as well as from the producer himself.

Messian Dread reports.


When you write someone an email, it's possible to add a subject to the mail. If the recipient decides to reply, usually an email program will add "Re:" to the subject line.

When you have an email in your in-box that says "Re: pirate rastas", it means that someone is responding to an email that originally had the subject "Pirate Rastas".

I got an email that had "Re: pirate rastas" as the topic. The fact that I couldn't remember to have written an email with that topic as well as the name of the sender, drew my interest.

The email informed me, that the Dubroom contact pages were not working. Still, the sender somehow knew my email address and he wasn't responding to an email I had send him.

The email turned out to be written by the producer of the video "Rent A Rasta". The video was reviewed in September 2007 and recently, some very interesting background information about the documentary surfaced on the Dubroom Message boards that added, let's say, extra dimensions to the whole thing and not very positively.

The guy wrote me to remove a page from the Dubroom website, claiming that it linked to a "pirated copy" of the video. Since the video was uploaded to Google Video, I wrote him back that if he thinks the video should not be on the Google Video servers, he should write to them.

This is where he became kind of nasty.

He wrote me back and more or less announced, after calling Google a "typical Babylonian corporation", how he would start to spread a rumor that the video was actually uploaded by the Dubroom or at least in cooperation with the Dubroom.

Strange...

I wondered why he would do such a thing. Would he be writing this to all the websites that may have his video embedded? After all, it's simple. If he thinks the video shouldn't be on Google Video, he should write to Google and not to websites that have the video embedded. If there's truly a mention of a "pirated copy", then Google will take it off and the websites that have the video embedded will not "link to a pirated copy" anymore either.

I wondered if it had anything to do with the things that came to the surface on the Dubroom Messageboards after the review was written. A positive review, by the way, for which the producer of the reviewed material had no interest whatsoever.

It was all about money, so it seemed. Even spreading false rumors was apparently allowed in that cause!

This was exactly the same vibe we got from the information that surfaced on the Dubroom Message Boards.

A visitor of the Dubroom told us, how she saw the video while in Jamaica. Since she knows some of them personally, she came to know that the youths who "eagerly participated" in the film, were all paid $20 for their cooperation.

"Hear-say", was the initial response of the producer when I asked him about this particular fact. "Ethical", he said, after being asked again. But he continued to call it "hear-say" and said he had no time to deal with it since he "wasn't a talk show host"...

Apparently, though, he had time to write to the Dubroom, even to find out the email address, only to call us names ("Pirate Rastas") and threaten us to spread false rumors about us uploading material to Google Video.

The producer of the video refused to answer the question if he sent such threatening letters to every site that may have his video embedded. After all, there is no (legal) reason to do so. When the uploaded video truly is a "pirated copy", you should write to Google Video and not to sites that have Google video's embedded.

Besides, he was responding to an email that was not sent by me or from the Dubroom, with the topic "Pirate Rastas". He knew the Dubroom's email address as well, since he informed me that the contact page wasn't working and wrote directly to one of the Dubroom email addresses.

Now, was that video uploaded to Google by or in connection with the Dubroom? NO. If you ever hear so, you know where the rumor came from.

It came from a guy who is more interested in making money than in spreading information. A guy who is more interested in spreading false rumors than in being happy with a positive review.

A guy who "co-incidentally" writes to the Dubroom exactly at the time when his video is discussed and information comes to the surface that puts his work in, let's say, a different light and perspective.

He wrote me, that he was only familiar with that page on the Dubroom that had the video embedded. Was he not even familiar with the review? Was he not aware of the things that surfaces on the Dubroom Message Boards?

He said, no... But can you believe someone who privately announces to be willing to spread false rumors for money?

Nuff Said.

10 comments:

  1. This is what I wrote to him:

    Michael



    First of all lets gets things strait. I DONT HOST ANY COPYRIGHTED and certainly not illegal material or whats so ever. So you accusing me in the worst way.
    I demand immediately an excuse from you and your organisation and as far as it is necessary I summon you to do so.



    You even insinuate I uploaded a copyrighted video to google. This is a very, very bad charge to the wrong person.
    However since the video will be removed on Google as you stated I don't will be forced to take legal action to you, concerning your falsely statements.

    I noticed from your writings that you are quite a newbe on the internet. So I did some queries and found out that over 50 websites are linking to this google video in the same way I do.
    So I advise you to contact Google and leave innocent civilians in peace. thank your for your immediate cooperation.

    This was his answer:



    Subject: Re: J. Michael Seyfert jms@filmclub.com


    you need to seek counseling, or get more frequent sex or take large quantities of valium or visit a local coffeeshop or something

    your aggressive manner is out of bounds

    actually you seem like the perfect asshole to me

    so fuck you and your cheap webhoax and get a mailorder bride

    dumbfuck CEO moron

    ReplyDelete
  2. This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

    ReplyDelete
  3. FYI: There was one comment deleted, because it was a double post. The original comment can still be found on this page.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Greetings Anonymous! Thank you for sharing this information with the readers/visitors of the Dubroom.

    I take it, that you are -like me- a webmaster that had embedded the rent a rasta video ans was subsequently harrassed, insulted and even threatened by the producer?

    That shows once again what this man Michael Seyfert is up to: making money.

    According to an informed visitor of the Dubroom, he paid people interviewed in his video 20 dollars, something which he did not deny in the "correspondence" he and I had.

    There was also someone on the Dubroom Messageboard whose music was used in the movie Rent A Rasta. This persona expressed the very same mentality as this Mikal Seyferd or whatever his name is: a very, very rude behaviour, no respect for the Creator, politikkkal korrekktnes "reggae compassion act" style, and most of all: a colonialistic and moralistic attitude towards the people of Jamaica.

    So thank you for your comments, I will also post the correspondence he and I had.

    One Love,
    Messian Dread

    ReplyDelete
  5. Here is the correspondence between Michael Seyfert and Messian Dread:

    -------------------------
    05:35 23-3-08 (from ms)

    please remove your page
    http://www.dubroom.org/video/rastafari-003b.htm
    linking to a pirated copy of my film RENT a RASTA
    legal documents have been filed with Google, Inc.
    thank you
    JMSeyfert
    www.rentarasta.com

    BTW your contact form
    http://contact.dubroom.org/
    does not work

    ---------------------

    3/25/08 (from md)

    The Dubroom does not host the video that you write about, this is actually hosted by Google Video. You can always write to the website that actually hosts that video when you think that the video should not be on that website, which will result in an error on the pages that have the video embedded (not hosted) .


    Thank you.
    ----------------------------------
    19:26 25-3-08 (from ms)

    Google has been informed but is VERY slow to react, being a typical Babylon corporation


    you have have been informed of the illegality of the google stream that you

    have been embedding in your site, that makes you an accessory to piracy

    if ypu continue to provide access to the pirated video, or support the speculation

    that you or someone you know places the film on google video.


    I would appreciate your cooperation and not beating around the google bush


    let-s not rip off rasta


    JMS

    ----------------------------
    Sat, Apr 5, 2008 (from md)

    It took me a while to digest what you wrote to me.

    I would like to know, if you are writing to all the websites that have your video embedded. I wonder what you think about the review. I also wonder what your reaction is to the fact that it has been said you have been paying interviewees 20 dollars (not Jamaican I hope) so that they can be interviewed, you have not payed all the musicians whose work you have been using in your video, and now you write to make and m,ore or less tell me you are going to suggest that "I" or someone "I"know has actually put your video online on the Google website?


    I equally wonder about the subject you gave your e-mail, I wonder why the "Re:" in the first e-mail your sent me as it was not a reply to anything I ever wrote to you. I wonder why it says "Pirate Rastas" and I wonder why you call me a pirate as well, where I only embed a video on my website.


    I wonder what your responses are, about people who have called you a slavemaster because you have actually "rented the rastas" to interview them.


    I wonder about all of these things, and I would like to read any reply you have before I might change the contents of the website that I am the webmaster of. You have more or less accused -and singled out- the Dubroom and I truly wonder what made you do that.


    Awaiting your reply

    ------------------------------
    02:06 7-4-08 (from ms)

    simple

    I asked you kingly to respect my rights as a filmmaker and you denied me that respect

    only embedding, ha, its only linking to a pirate version, not really hosting it
    it/s not being a thief, it/s only fencing stolen goods, give me a break

    you know, I appreciate your review, but all sorts of sleazy elements upload films to google
    and then embed that anonymous version in their site, it is rather harmful to any independent
    filmmaker and google is VERY slow to react taking films down

    this filmmaker is simply trying to recoup his investment to be able to go and make another film
    hats not exactly unreasonable

    I am not going to respond to other gossip or hear/say stuff in your email

    I hope you will comply with my request and modify you link to a modes paid version
    or none for that matter at documentary-film.net

    THANKS

    JMS
    --------------------------------
    At 09:12 7-4-08, Messian Dread wrote:
    To: "J. Michael Seyfert"
    From: Messian Dread
    Subject: Re: pirate rastas


    There's a couple of things I don't get. I need to know your (non) reply before I will be able to make changes on my site. I will make changes but the nature of these changes depend a little bit on you. For the changes will answer the question: What shall I tell the visitors of the Dubroom?

    I wonder why you single out my website, calling me a "pirate" and maintain you have treated me "kingly" or "kindly"? You have done nothing but calling me names, showing a complete lack of interest for the topic itself and instead only talk about money. I am actually promoting your works, and have face critique against that myself as I know how not everyone in Jamaica is contend with what you did. Only after mentioning it, is when you write a little about the review that has been written about your video.

    I truly wonder if you are writing to all the websites that make use of the embed function, especially since you have more or less announced how you would be spreading the rumour that somehow "I" or someone "I" "know" have uploaded the material? Since you call me a "pirate" from the start, I wonder what made you be focused on Dubroom.

    I thought, maybe it has to do with the fact that your movie is debated on he Dubroom messageboards and some interesting data came to the surface after the review was released. So I wanted to give you a chance to respond to the information, in the best journalistic tradition. The information is public, very relevant, and will definitely be taken into consideration by those that will be confronted with it.

    In the same time, you should be aware that you have called me a "pirate", suggest how you will be spreading rumours, even call me a "sleazy element" since you have convinced yourself of the idea that "I" or someone "I" know uploaded the material, which is not true. So I wonder if you maintain the idea and intent to spread the rumour even though it is false?

    Anyway, I will make changes to the website but these changes depend on your responses. Once again, I would love to know why you single out the Dubroom and what your public response is to the information that came to the surface after the Dubroom Review on Rent-A-Rasta was published. For I will write about it.


    MD.

    ReplyDelete
  6. His last response:

    Date: Mon, 7 Apr 2008 09:53:11 -0700

    From: "J. Michael Seyfert" To: "Messian Dread" Subject: Re: pirate rastas


    greetings


    no one sigled you out, you are simply a site that links to a pirated copy for quite some time


    I have never read any of your forums, I am only familiar with your review page


    you have no idea the gibberish and hogwash people talk all day, that does not
    exclude my film from the bowels of human nature.


    if I had the time to respond to hear/sa I/d be a talkshow host


    I assure you that rent a rasta was made ethically and people were treated well and some were paid
    and some did not request payment, in a project of journalistic endeavor, payment is generally not
    a means of securing contribution, it/s the voluntary effort and desire to enlighten.


    rent a rasta was made with a very modest budget yet the high cost of travel and related production
    expenses requires that the film sells a certain amout of payperviews and dvds to break even,
    which it has yet to do


    I appreciate your cooperation




    JMS

    ReplyDelete
  7. after nothing has been said and less has been done, you may now watch a free and legal and quality version of RENT a RASTA at vimeo.com/9176775

    enjoy!

    JMS

    ReplyDelete
  8. is it true that the average wage in Jamaica is $80 usd per week? I don't know. At least it says so in Seifert's film, but if it's true, he paid a daily wage for an "interview" to locals, is this bad behaviour on the part of the producer?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I wonder what you would do for 20 Jamaican dollars.....

      Delete

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