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Re: [linux-elitists] LOCAL Stanford University: face down the DMCA enforcers (fwd)
by Karsten M. Self 21 Jan '03

21 Jan '03

on Mon, Jan 20, 2003 at 12:08:43AM -0500, Declan McCullagh (declan(a)well.com) wrote: > I suspect would be silly to stage an anti-DMCA protest against an > invited speaker to that Stanford class. Lessig, Gilmore, Barlow, > Farber, and Stallman have been speakers (and I'm scheduled to be in > the spring lineup). Gilmore and others have also been audience members. The CPRM lecture was attended by John, myself, and other concerned community members. > At the very least, it makes sense to find out more about the program > and have a cordial conversation with the organizers before rushing to > stage a demonstration. Activist-hours are a scarce resource; use them > prudently, carefully, and wisely. The forums are *open to the public*. A proportionate response is both expected and apprpriate. Why should a presentation at this venue be any different from protests of immoral principles or activities in any other context? Peace. -- Karsten M. Self <kmself(a)ix.netcom.com> http://kmself.home.netcom.com/ What Part of "Gestalt" don't you understand? Moderator, Free Software Law Discussion mailing list: http://lists.alt.org/mailman/listinfo/fsl-discuss/

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And another one bites the dust: Dissent Takedown
by Major Variola (ret) 21 Jan '03

21 Jan '03

[x] move supplies & troops [x] add Turkey, Saudis to shopping cart [x] work domestic propoganda machine [x] quiet Wellstone [x] shut Ritter up Channel Six News has learned former UN Weapons Inspector and Delmar resident Scott Ritter was arrested during an Internet sex sting operation. But it turns out police caught Ritter months before, but declined to press charges. Sources tell us Ritter tried to meet a 14 year-old girl he chatted with online. He was instead met by police officers, who let him go. Ritter was arrested in June of 2001 for allegedly trying to lure a 16 year-old girl he met online to a Burger King. But that girl was really an undercover cop- surfing the web as part of a police sting operation. Ritter was charged with attempted endangerment of a child. But the charge was dismissed and the case sealed. That means, essentially, that it never happened. Ritter searched Iraq for weapons in the years following the Gulf War. More recently, he's been speaking out against President Bush's policies on Iraq and is frequently seen on local and national television. http://www.wrgb.com/news/local/local_news.asp#H1 ALBANY, NY, Jan. 20 - More details are emerging about the June 2001 arrest of former U.N. weapons inspector Scott Ritter of Delmar. He was apparently arrested by Colonie police as part of Internet sex sting. The Schenectady Daily Gazette reports Ritter was under investigation for a similar incident two months earlier. http://www.msnbc.com/local/WNYT/M264375.asp

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Harbucks (was Re: Small taste of things to come if the war on Iraq happens.)
by Sunder 20 Jan '03

20 Jan '03

Yeah, not that I frequent them much - as I don't think that spending $7 on a greasy vendi Crappuchino* or whatever full of caffeine, corn syrup and heavy cream is a wise way to spend $7 when the corner deli has damned good coffee for $1.25, but Harbucks** reminds me of the beatnick coffee houses of the days of lore, where men would gather and talk of revolution. :) Strange that such a place is now connected with "Working for The Man" and creeping consumerism, and evil corporations... Of course, now, the local Harbucks, it's full of palm pilot bearing geeks trying to nervously hook up with a prospective date, while sitting in comfy cartoonish chairs and couches (think the more LSD like Tom & Jerry episodes), getting wired on expensive caffeine and sugar and complaining about not being able to take the pressure**1/2, while surfing wired.com or slashdot.org wirlessly, or in need of passing time for the sake of just passing time without getting nabbed by the gendarmes for loitering behding the 7-11 and drinking non-alcoholic beer*. That, and the current dive dot bomb that has hired me as a sysadmin and working me 70 hours a week in this sinking market, has so little room for private meetings that we've had to have some there - in public (irony!), so on the flip side, I see it as a work related place - not conducive to enjoyment. Bah, gimme the corner Irish Bar where nobody knows my name***, but has a fresh Guinness on tap, and a damned good bacon mushroom cheeseburger with a side of fries (and malt vinegar), no cat to ask for my slice of pecan pie**** or 20+ year old single malt scotch (made in Scotland of course!) and I'm a happy, damed, cyperpunk for fuck's sake! * Sly Beavis and Butthead refrence ** Slyer still South Park refrence - at least it doesn't taste like vomit. :) **1/2 - Tweak character out of South Park referring to episode featuring Harbucks. *** Obligatory anonimity refrence - to keep this on topic - not that anyone cares anymore about not pissing in the pool like 2nd graders**** **** South Park again, what else. ----------------------Kaos-Keraunos-Kybernetos--------------------------- + ^ + :NSA got $20Bil/year |Passwords are like underwear. You don't /|\ \|/ :and didn't stop 9-11|share them, you don't hang them on your/\|/\ <--*-->:Instead of rewarding|monitor, or under your keyboard, you \/|\/ /|\ :their failures, we |don't email them, or put them on a web \|/ + v + :should get refunds! |site, and you must change them very often. --------_sunder_(a)_sunder_._net_------- http://www.sunder.net ------------ On Sun, 19 Jan 2003, Jay h wrote: > ---------- Original Message ---------------------------------- > From: Matthew X <profrv(a)nex.net.au> > Date: Sun, 19 Jan 2003 20:47:49 +1100 > > >street, and through the windows of a Starbucks and a Victoria's Secret. > > Yes all those evil weapons of mass destruction made by Victoria's Secret... they MUST BE STOPPED! > > The obsession with Starbucks really puzzles me. Starbucks is one of the few mass retailers that actually offers medical coverage to even part timers, it allows people to move from place to place and pick up employment at another store, their policies have always been actively supportive of people discriminated against elsewhere such as lesbian and gay, and unlike Walmart, their prices pose no threat to the beloved 'mom and pop' stores in a community. It would seem there are better targets to attack as the evil tools of oppression. > > j > > > > > ________________________________________________________________ > Sent via the WebMail system at 1st.net >

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Re: cloning as heresy (Re: Fresh Hell)
by Meyer Wolfsheim 20 Jan '03

20 Jan '03

On Sat, 18 Jan 2003, Harmon Seaver wrote: > Ah, now I see. Before, I was thinking that he was talking about the passage > where Onan pulls out and spills his seed on the ground, which, somehow, became a > prescription against masturbation, although reading it, especially in context, > is clearly just about pulling out. Or possibly against birth-control. > "Thou shalt not pull out.", thus saith the Lord, "or in any other way deprive > thy partner of the power of thy final orgasmic thrusting." > > 8-) > > Weird, isn't it, that this became so associated with masturbation > that a very successful company -- "Onan" -- even would choose their > name for generators, i.e., "self power" or "do it alone", etc., from > that passage. Even weirder that it doesn't have the slightest thing to > do with jacking off, but with someone not willing to accept their (at > the time) societal duty to support his dead brother's wife and father > her children. The irony, of course, is what the Catholic Church would have to say if the brother-in-laws of modern widows resumed this practice. -MW-

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Re: [linux-elitists] LOCAL Stanford University: face down the DMCA enforcers (fwd)
by Tim May 20 Jan '03

20 Jan '03

On Sunday, January 19, 2003, at 09:08 PM, Declan McCullagh wrote: > I suspect would be silly to stage an anti-DMCA protest against an > invited > speaker to that Stanford class. Lessig, Gilmore, Barlow, Farber, and > Stallman have been speakers (and I'm scheduled to be in the spring > lineup). > > At the very least, it makes sense to find out more about the program > and have a cordial conversation with the organizers before rushing > to stage a demonstration. Activist-hours are a scarce resource; use > them prudently, carefully, and wisely. > I've been to a few of these, and once spoke at one, circa 1993. IMO, nearly worthless. Thinking about how little can get covered in an hour at a Cypherpunks meeting, imagine what happens in any particular one hour of one of these things: just enough time to establish a few basic points, hit on some of the current issues, and take some questions. For the actual students, not so bad, as they're getting 15 or so of these lectures per semester, and the intent is to provide a survey of topics. (Strangely enough, 15 times "nearly worthless" is OK...for a survey class!) The point is that anyone already familiar with the topic or the issues will not learn anything. Which leaves arguing with the speaker as the only reason for going...and arguing with the speaker is not worthwhile, given the extreme constraints on time. And given the usual pointlessness of arguing with others. --Tim May

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Atlas Shrugs in Venezuela
by Steve Schear 20 Jan '03

20 Jan '03

A recent news article described the nationwide strike in Venezuela, in protest against the nascent dictatorship of Hugo Chavez, as seeming "like something from fiction." Well, yes, it seems very similar to one work of fiction in particular: Ayn Rand's prophetic 1957 novel, "Atlas Shrugged." The parallels between fiction and fact are striking. In Ayn Rand's novel, America is sliding into an economic dictatorship, so inventors and businessmen lead a secret walk-out, withdrawing their support from the "looters" who want to plunder the wealth they create. They declare that they won't return until the looters relinquish power. Rand's working title for the novel was "The Strike." In an era of frequent, sometimes violent strikes by factory workers, it was shockingly original to suggest that the entrepreneurs, inventors and capitalists might go on strike. Ayn Rand's imagined strike is no longer fiction. For four years, Venezuela has been gradually sliding into an economic and political dictatorship under Marxist populist Hugo Chavez, an open admirer of Fidel Castro and Saddam Hussein. In response, the nation's largest federation of businessmen has led the nation for more than 40 days in a massive work stoppage. Venezuela's most productive citizens have gone on strike to protest their imminent liquidation under Chavez's communist revolution. http://www.jewishworldreview.com/0103/tracinski.html "Liberty cannot be preserved without a general knowledge among the people... Be not intimidated, therefore, by any terrors, from publishing with the utmost freedom...nor suffer yourselves to be wheedled out of your liberty by any pretenses of politeness, delicacy, or decency. These, as they are often used, are but three different names for hypocrisy, chicanery, and cowardice." -- John Adams

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WPI Crypto Seminar: Towards a Theory of Variable Privacy
by R. A. Hettinga 19 Jan '03

19 Jan '03

--- begin forwarded text

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RE: [linux-elitists] LOCAL Stanford University: face down the DMCA enforcers (fwd)
by John Young 19 Jan '03

19 Jan '03

Based on Larry Augustin's apology for cops and his avowed closeness to them, a protest is even more deserved against him if not the other participants. Larry appears to be quoting from the COPS PR manual for garnering public support to offset deserved criticism of official misbehavior. Larry is not alone in seeing the lucrative benefits of defending the giant law enforcement and national security industries, why you can read the turncoats all around the world of digital opportunity going on about the need for vigilance on the dangerous Net and worse, advocating prowling Intel-inside private computers networks to spot looming threats. As just one example see Counterpane's recent crowing about success, one of its lengthening series of warnings about the need for more and more security against the dangerous digital hordes, and less and less warnings about the need to protect against official and commercial invaders who are handing out lucrative contracts to Net security firms and professionals. Nothng like a fat bribe to convert pagans to organized terrorists screaming beware the sinners. Hmm, wasn't St. Augustine a prime role model for that crossover, as if Larry Augustin is a namesake. To be sure, informers are best recruited from the pagans for they know how to magnify the hazards of their clan. At 12:00 PM 1/19/2003 +0100, Eugen Leitl wrote: >Hold your fire for a moment. Could be hitting the wrong ones. > >---------- Forwarded message ---------- >Date: Sun, 19 Jan 2003 00:25:10 -0800 >From: Larry M. Augustin <lma(a)lmaugustin.com> >To: linux-elitists(a)zgp.org >Cc: 'Don Marti' <dmarti(a)zgp.org>, 'Karsten M. Self' <kmself(a)ix.netcom.com> >Subject: RE: [linux-elitists] LOCAL Stanford University: face down the DMCA > enforcers > >I think that it would be a big mistake to do anything that might be viewed >as even the slightest bit disruptive in this venue. Further, I think you're >jumping to conclusions to assume that the DMCA is relevant to these >speakers. > >Dennis Allison and John Wharton, both of whom I have known for years, are >sympathetic to free software and sympathetic to the problems with the DMCA. >Dennis regularly brings in Bruce, Eric, and Richard as speakers. I've >spoken at this seminar on 2 or 3 occasions. Bruce was just there a few >weeks ago talking about the RAND vs. RF patent policy issues. > >Cops have a tough job. They deserve our thanks for doing a tough job. I >have a number of close friends who are cops. I think they deserve more >benefit of doubt than "Target the _speakers_ and _philosophy_". It doesn't >sound like these are people that write the laws or make policy. Maybe they >spend their time fighting real computer crime like identity theft and >crackers. They deserve our support in that job. > >Has anyone talked to Dennis? Before jumping to any conclusions, or >organizing any kind of protest or demonstration, talk to Dennis. > >Larry

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Re: Fresh Hell
by Kevin S. Van Horn 18 Jan '03

18 Jan '03

Morlock Elloi wrote: >>Funny, but I can't seem to find the passage in the Bible where it talks about cloning. In fact, I can't find any passage that even remotely impinges on the subject >> >[...] wasn't there something about exclusivity of conceiving without fucking ? > As a former believer and student of the Bible, I can assure you that there is no passage in the Bible that says that Jesus was, will be, our should be the *only* person conceived without the benefit of sexual intercourse. And what do you think in vitro fertilization is, anyway? Many / most American Christians stress that they rely on the Bible as their one and only source of religious truth. If so, they have absolutely no *religious* basis for objecting to cloning.

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Re: Petro's catch-22 incorrect (Re: citizens can be named as enemy combatants)
by Harmon Seaver 18 Jan '03

18 Jan '03

On Sat, Jan 18, 2003 at 02:18:52PM -0500, Tyler Durden wrote: > > Perhaps we should try it and see? Ah well. But remember, it just might be > that OBL and Co are not just half a dozen guys in a Pakistani cave. Perhaps > there are thousands who are almost equally angry, Thousands? Gimme a break -- try "millions", eh? -- Harmon Seaver CyberShamanix http://www.cybershamanix.com

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