Re: GNU/Linux in a binary world... a doomsday scenario

Jeff V. Merkey
2005-12-10T21:10:36Z

Jan-Benedict Glaw wrote:

>On Sat, 2005-12-10 11:44:37 -0700, Jeff V. Merkey <jmerkey@wolfmountaingroup.com> wrote:
>
>
>>Two responses from people who live in socialist countries. Sure you
>>agree, it's just status quo from your perspectives.
>>
>>
>
>Jeff, I'm not sure if we both think about the same things when we talk
>about "socialist", but I guess you may want to have a look at
>Germany's history, as well as the whole newer history (like 50 years)
>of Old Europe...
>
>MfG, JBG
>
>
>
I'm married to a German citizen and I visit Germany for 3-4 week stints
once a year. Last year I went to Aachen and Amsterdam on vacation.
Every computer store I visited sold pirated copies of Windows XP and
Microsoft Office and in Amsterdam people were selling copies on the
street corners in the Artis District.

The entire culture has absolutely no concept of IP rights and I was
amazed at how open folks are there about piracy. If someone did that in
the US, they'd
be in jail. I have lived in Germany, Italy, France, Spain, Crete, and
I spent about 2 years in the UK when I was a younger man, and I have a
really
good handle on the culture over there. Even the republic countries
which have democratic governments are very much socialist in terms of the
lifestyle and the governments, and the way people live, so it's no
surprise the whole concept of free software and the GPL are so natural
to the
culture of Europe in general.

I have been very dismayed at how FOSS has been used as a vehicle to
promote anti-american attitudes into our own culture. It's sad. I have
lived in
all these places and the only place where people have guaranteed rights
as individuals and true freedom is America. I was in Germany in the late
1970's and earlt 1980's when the Bater-Meinhoffs were killing Americans
in the streets and the Grune-Gehfahr (Green Party) was having
demonstrations burning effigies of Uncle Sam in the Hauptewache District
in Frankfurt. This younger generation has no concept of what they are
supporting or how bad things can get. It is the doom of men that they
forget.

At any rate, I do understand, and I have a son-in-law in Germany and
grandchildren who speak German and not English (I know what Oh-pa means
and I can always tell them "Ich Habe Dich Leib"), so I do agree the
bonds between countries are becoming more and more blurred. I remember an
older German man in Aachen in a Luftwaffe Uniform watching me with my
grandson in Starbucks try to talk to each other and him smiling at the
thought an American man has grandkids who are totally immersed in the
German culture. At any rate, Stallman needs to in the next GPL incorporate
capitalist provisions which will allow FOSS to become a self sustaining
model. The US markets are abandoning Linux as a commerical offering
and Windows is continuing to get stronger and stronger. It's tough to
embrace technology when people cannot see a future in it. Hardware
purchases aside.

Jeff

Jeff