Slashdot Mirror

For once I find myself whole-heartedly in agreement with Mr. Katz. Politicians and the people who shape public policy aren't interested in facts; they're interested in good sound-bites. An article at alternet by a social scientist makes an excellent case for the youth of today being at least as well adjusted as they were in the past. They may even be better adjusted in some ways. However, it's the tragedies like Columbine which get public attention. And that's what politicians use to justify wrong-headed policies that deprive people of basic freedoms.

Onorio Catenacci

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"And that's the world in a nutshell -- an appropriate receptacle."

Here is the first paragraph...

"The handful of crypto activists living in the world's smallest country is prepared for a blockade. Driven by a passion for Internet privacy, they've brought enough food, water and fuel for a year and moved to Sealand, a 25-yard-long steel and concrete former World War II fortress six miles from the English coast. In 1967, an eccentric former British major named Roy Bates declared Sealand a sovereign territory, eventually issuing his own stamps, flag and currency. Forty-four years later, Bates, now the crown prince of Sealand, has leased his island to a group of techno-libertarians and their start-up, a data sanctuary called HavenCo which promises cyber security and which may affront many of the world's major nations."

I thought this was very interesting; a possiblity that I never considered before.

I don't know if you know about this, but the smallest nation in the world is not the Vatican, it's an nation called Sealand that is actually a former British air base. And they've decided to become a haven for internet privacy. Here's a quick description of the situation...

http://www.alternet.org/story.ht ml? StoryID=9315

"The handful of crypto activists living in the world's smallest country is prepared for a blockade. Driven by a passion for Internet privacy, they've brought enough food, water and fuel for a year and moved to Sealand, a 25-yard-long steel and concrete former World War II fortress six miles from the English coast. In 1967, an eccentric former British major named Roy Bates declared Sealand a sovereign territory, eventually issuing his own stamps, flag and currency. Forty-four years later, Bates, now the crown prince of Sealand, has leased his island to a group of techno-libertarians and their start-up, a data sanctuary called HavenCo which promises cyber security and which may affront many of the world's major nations."

He claims to be acting in a noble fashion. He claims to be patenting to be defensive and stop others from pulling a Unisys. But who IS the noble one in this case? B&N certainly *did* end up copying One Click.. So I suppose they have a right to sue over that.

It's interesting the way people post to Slashdot without reading up or doing research first.Nowhere in Jeff Bezos' open letter on patents does he claim nobility nor say a word about Unisys. He does not and has not talked about Amazon's motivation in obtaining the said patent...from all indications this was just another shot by Amazon in the ongoing war with B&N, which is a rather Microsoft-like (attempts at monopoly to crush competition) company by the way.

PS: How come nobody on Slashdot ever talks about the fact that Jeff Bezos said On a related issue, to further try to help with the prior art problem, I've also agreed to help fund a prior art database. This was Tim's idea, and I'm grateful for it. Tim is poking around to find the right people to run with that project.

The media is being pretty quiet on this issue. For something that will affect our environment, health care, education, and job security, it is being kept to the business section of the papers if it appears anywhere at all.

However, other media does exist and is available for Radio, TV & Newspapers, even if they can't afford to send someone to Seattle or give them time to become an expert. Live Video and Audio Feeds will be available. Alternative Media is hopping on this issue. For more information on WTO protests.