Re: Linux 2.2.20pre10

["Paul G. Allen" <pgallen@randomlogic.com>]

Mike Fedyk wrote:
> 
> On Mon, Oct 22, 2001 at 05:45:02PM -0500, Steven Walter wrote:
> > On Mon, Oct 22, 2001 at 09:34:28PM +0100, Alan Cox wrote:
> > > > On Mon, Oct 22, 2001 at 01:29:14PM +0100, Alan Cox wrote:
> > > > >    "Until they become conscious they will never rebel, and until after
> > > > >     they have rebelled they cannot become conscious."
> > > >
> > > > While I've been generally saddened by Alan Cox's and others
> > > > anti-America attitude,  I am somewhat surprised to find that
> > > > Alan believes the US bombing of Afghanistan is justified and so
> > > > is the collateral damage as they call it.
> > >
> > > That quote is rather older than the US bombing of Afghanistan. You read
> > > totally inappropriate things into it.
> >
> > Certainly, it is not.  This statement applies to Afghanistan, in that
> > the fact that they have not rebelled means they imply consent to
> > everything their government does, and therefore are just as guilty as
> > the Taliban.  Therefore, killing civilians (collateral damage) is no
> > worse than killing terrorists or Taliban officials.  This is a stance I
> > can easily subscribe to, not just with Afghanistan but with any people,
> > nation, state, or country.
> 
> And how is someone from a forien country going to see just how much or how
> little you have rebelled against the DMCA?  We allowed the law to be passed
> so now we should take the blame?

No, "we" did not allow the law to pass. It was passed under our noses and is now being interpreted poorly. The DMCA does not remove our rights under copyright
law as written, but it has removed them as interpreted. The interpretation of the written law is the dangerous thing, not the actual written law. Chances are
the DMCA will stand until the US Supreme Court hears a case and makes the proper decision.

The DMCA and laws like it are meant for one thing: to allow entertainment companies to control what we see/read/hear, how we see/read/hear it, where, and when
we see/read/hear it. Since the networks in this country are run by the very same companies that propose and lobby for these laws, we never hear about them
through these channels. The public at large never has a clue until it's too late. Then we get to suffer until the law is overturned (hopefully).

> 
> Like some have already said, we have politicians that promise one thing, and
> do whatever the hell they want after they're in office.  It depends on how
> much they stick to their promisses when comes election time in 2-4 years
> that determines wheather they stay there...

Politicians are allowed to do as they please by the pundits who continue to vote for them, or not vote at all. It also occurs because the same people can't seem
to realize why politicians do this. Short term limits force them to do what the corporations they represent tell them to so that they'll have a job once they
are no longer politicians. The lame idea that we must allow campaign contributions at all allows these same corporations to easily grease their palms. The
public at large seems to think there are only two political parties and there is no other alternative. And it is extremely rare that anyone knows what the law
really is in any given situation, even though it is easily accessed via library or Internet.

Throw in the ridiculous complacency of most Americans, the programming that tells us "I can't make a difference, so why bother.", the lack of understanding of
how the law really works (and it does work well when people know how it works - been there, done that), and the general "I don't give a damn about my neighbor
or my kids." attitude, and we get what we deserve. What we have is a government run by, and for, corporations, and fewer and fewer freedoms than our
Constitution garnets as a result. Usually the Supreme Court fixes these things in time, but in the mean time we're screwed, blued, and tattooed.

Now, as for the DMCA bad SSSCA as it pertains to those outside the US. The FBI operates outside the US. The US has great influence on many countries. Don't
think for a minute that a law passed here will never, ever effect you in your own country. We all live on the same planet and with this "New World Order" crap
we, more and more, are dependent upon each other. Unless we all work together, ping our own governments and publicly pressure them, things will only get worse.
The saying "You can't fight City Hall." is very true if you do it alone, but if you make a spectacle of them, public pressure will far outweigh corporate or
special interest money.

Note also that the SSSCA will destroy most all GPL software in the US. It will also harm the Internet as a whole in a LARGE way because Apache, OpenSSH, Linux,
etc. will become illegal. Companies such as mine will be forced to find alternative ways to run their network. In case you are not aware, most likely you use
Akamai servers every day when you browse the Internet (we have over 12,000 servers in 53+ countries on over 300 networks). Most of our servers run Linux,
OpenSSH, and Apache/Apache SSL (using OpenSSL), as well as Perl and many, many GPL programs. Take all those away, or impose licensing and other costs on them,
and the Internet is a much different, and more expensive, place. Whether it realizes it or not, the SSSCA will greatly harm the US government itself.

I for one will not submit to the SSSCA and DMCA or any other such law that removes any of my constitutionally guaranteed freedoms. I do not vote for either of
the main parties and have a reputation for bitching and moaning to lawyers, law makers, and other authorities whenever my freedom is threatened. I guess it's in
my blood to do so, considering my ancestors did the same when this country was founded. Would that more Americans did the same.

PGA

-- 
Paul G. Allen
UNIX Admin II/Programmer
Akamai Technologies, Inc.
www.akamai.com
Work: (858)909-3630