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Bought a copy of True Names and read it last night. Great story, especially considering the date. The first net-fi I read was Neuromancer in '84.

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R. Stallman's Right to Read short story is sickeningly close to reality. I don't care one way or the other if Microsoft patents and creates an OS

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Tim's essay was mostly the familiar stuff, nicely organized and

Im yet to have the pleasure of either,Does 'Billion dollar brain",by len Deighton squeeze into the genre? that does DRM but I do care about having it forced down my throat at the hands of congressvermin and corporations which, as I see it, is practically a certainty.<< They are patenting our DNA,the freeTM market is a very strict mistress.MS and its precious code is now listed as a security risk. The wisdom of insecurity by watts,springs to mind."when you can snatch the source code from my fingers..." Dont knock corporations here mike, jamesd will be on your case like a latter day roy cohn.Tims freeper hatchet man. presented. The style was almost academic but I notice he did slip one "spokesvermin" reference in there<< Tim says jya should not be seen as representative of this list.Ill take him over timmy anyday.Tim May is well past his useby date.The familiar stuff deconstructs into lame self mythologizing,dead data and puff pieces on cyber-liberty. Academic in the use of jargon,obscurantist verbiage,pretentious drivel,reactionary nonsense?I'm not surprised.

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So, Tim, we seem to have raced closer if not past the fork in the road, especially since September. Recalling Yogi Berra's "when you come to the fork in the road, take it", have we taken it? And if so which path?

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The fork analogy may be too simple. The natural path for a vital culture is the crypto-anarchist path. The path of increasing state control is the natural path for the maintenance and accumulation of power. We all see the forces in operation, it's pretty much the topic 24/7. I think the forces

Tim May: Deja vu all over again.Verbal contracts not worth the paper they're written on,etc...Fork off tim. that bind this mess together increase with distance, the more free the net becomes the greater the perceived threat and the desire to reign it in. The tighter the controls the greater the desire to break free. On each side there are those for whom compromise is unacceptable. In the middle are the nearly oblivious masses who can with varying degrees of success be swayed one way or the other from time to time. Fear seems to be their main motivator. << 30% of the pop may support the revolution,30% may oppose it,the rest are on the fence.The way to leverage relatively small no's through anonymity and the web is to use AP to defend and extend the web."the net is closing in"and not just on bin laden.What anarchy? Why die for timmy mays casper milquetoast version when the real things on the streets. Alternatively,lie low,stay anon,the state of grace is quad anon.Both will be needed.Mays cod anarchism will not. Fear is the key and the only thing to fear is fear itself."extremely dark markets'should not be feared.Viva anarchy!

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Rather than making a choice and following any single path we are following two concurrent and divergent paths and the energy level is increasing. We are headed for a period of escalation. It's definitely a new 'War on Drugs' scenario, just as dangerous, just as futile and just as sustainable. Mike <<

Who's this "we",whiteman? After prohibition 2,vietnam 2,bush 2 its time for civil war 2.The coasts march on crawford and liberate the chicago and minnesota communes.In the dreamtime of one persyn who's been down the other side of the mountain and knows the world can live out the true meaning of this creed,"Liberty without socialism is privilege,injustice;Socialism without liberty is slavery and brutality." Bakunin: Sustainable is as sustainable does.