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EFF Fundraiser in Boston
Weld Pond writes "The Digital Commerce Society of Boston is holding a fundraiser for the EFF legal efforts in the DeCSS case. @Stake (nee l0pht) is one of the sponsors making this event possible. Come join us and put your money where your mouth is. Suggested minimum donation is $35. The details are in the
invitation. Geek warning: The Harvard Club of Boston requires jacket and tie. " One other note: I talked with some of the folks from OpenDVD last night, and there will be a fund setup within the week to help the legal defense fund. At the Beanie Awards, Alan Cox, who won the Unsung Hero Award, gave his $10,000 towards the defense fund - and we had a fundraiser later on in the evening.
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"You can't shake the Devil's hand and say you're only kidding."
Where can I send money, ignoring the dinner?
... I want to make a difference with my money, not portray myself as one of the ilk responsible for the bs.
I don't need to hob knob and dine
I am, therefore you think.
It would be interested to see if any commercial companies are going to donate any money to help support DeCSS. It would be pretty interesting if one of the larger companies OpenSource supporters are going to donate money for this cause(Maybe Redhat or Corel?).
Maybe if they'll also organize a competition--for example, the biggest donation gets a T-shirt with the DeCSS source code signed by its author, they'll get more funds.
So Alan Cox gave his $10,000US to the EFF for defense. THAT floors me. But my respect for AC just went up a great deal.
I'd like to shake his hand someday. Hey, Alan, if you're ever in Portland, you've got a place to crash :-)
We could all learn from that example!
If you can't figure out how to mail me, don't.
For linux tips: http://www.linuxtipsblog.com
I guess he feels guilty because he bought a DVD player before all the brouhaha :)
At the Beanie Awards, Alan Cox, who won the Unsung Hero Award, gave his $10,000
towards the defense fund - and we had a fundraiser later on in the evening.
Waitaminnit!!! Am I missing something?!? The Beanies have already been awarded?!?!? Why didn't I receive the memo?!?!?!?!? God damn it.
In any event... I hope that Knuth won the Best Open Source-Related Book Beanie. Any other result would be just preposterous.
To the editors: your English is as bad as your Perl. Please go back to grade school.
Today, February 4 will also be a day of action planned against motion picture association. Protests are scheduled for today at movie theaters around the world, in over 100 cities. You can find more information here.
Go and tell people the truth about DeCSS! You can find flyers in multiple languages here.
/ k.d / earth trickle / Monkeys vs. Robots Films /
Large print giveth, and the small print taketh away
/ k.d / earth trickle / Monkeys vs. Robots Films /
Large print giveth, and the small print taketh away
They have great, cheap, pre-owned jackets, ties, pants, shoes, etc. Granted, it won't be the height of fashion, but then again you'd be going to a deCSS defense fundraiser. The uglier the tie, the cooler.
Secondly, not everyone is a wealthy millionaire. $35 might not sound much, when the defence is probably going to cost a fortune, but it's a lot to some people. I spend less than that a week on food, gas and other essentials. I'm not complaining, I just think the perspective needs a little fine-tuning.
Also, don't just stick with the "big dinners". There are plenty of high school kids in the US, 4th - 6th formers in the UK who would be happy to chip in something to help kick an arrogant slug in the teeth. Ok, not many go around with $35 to throw around, but there's a hell of a lot more of them. If each kid in a typical school could splash in a solitary quarter, you're talking hundreds of thousands of dollars. And that ain't something to be sneezed at!
(It'd also get news footage. Your average Joe and Jane Bloggs in the streets doesn't care about the people they are told are pirates. They won't care about a fancy over-blown dinner party, either. But they'd pay attention when they see their little Mary Bloggs offering some of her allowance to "fight the oppressors". THAT would change public perception. FAST.)
It's a small world and it smells funny; I'd buy another if it wasn't for the money; Take back what I paid (SoM)
... showing why he is the #2 man in the Linux Kernel.
I.e. He knows the right things to do in order to help move the community forward. He is a worthy successor to Linus. Which is kind of tricky since I think he actually seams older. ( Alan how old are you really ? )
As for this DVD thing. The sound bytes from LinuxWorld hint at VALinux getting involved. This makes perfect sense in light of how *I* ( and perhaps a very few others ) see this this thing going. I.e. Get an injunction against a well hated bogeyman like 2600.com then use it to keep serious Linux companies and Hardware manufacturers out of the DVD business.
Picture a DVD player that lets you do absolutely anything you want with the film including; cut and past to compare the holes on Neo's shirt when he is "dying" to the ones when he is "resurrected" ( Do they line up ? ).
This can be done with an OSS software player and DVD watching geeks sending code in. It won't happen with what exists now commercially. This scares the devil out of the existing licensees.
--= Isn't it surprising how badly I spell ?
Fundraisers like the EFF affair are a good way to get the typical suit-and-tie types to contribute. It's probably not the best way to get the typical geek to contribute though. Even if I lived near the Boston area I probably wouldn't go, wearing a suit is about as enjoyable for me as a good swift kick in the butt.
What I'd be more interested is more of a birds of a feather affair: a couple kegs of beer, a few pizzas and no dress code. Make your donation and get a cheap plastic cup to fill with beer.
There wouldn't be enough interest where I am, but possibly in Minneapolis, which is only about 100 miles away. Is there anything like this planned?
The fund-raiser at the Harvard Club is a great idea, its just not a great fit for everybody. It will probably make news and thus raise awareness. Smaller get togethers can at least raise money for the defense fund and may also be able to make news and bring out the message "we're not in it to pirate, we honestly want to watch purchased DVD" to the public. Something that I've rarely seen even mentioned in the press.
no matter WHAT you do, when gold bricks start flying the scum crawls out of the woodwork to try and sell you a bridge over the East River - donations should end up in the right hands and not the trunk of some shyster speeding for the boarder...
No alter ego today
try { do() || do_not(); } catch (JediException err) { yoda(err); }
Given that the NY Judge's ruling repeatedly mentions the lack of evidence presented at the trial, the EFF needs all the dough it can get to hire good lawyers who *gasp* do their homework. Jon has a chance, but not if his lawyers putz around with baseless/unproven (as in having no supporting evidence provided) arguments.
Imagine someone was getting sued for promising that the sun will rise tomorrow. Which defense are you more likely to believe:
The judge doesn't want to hear opinion, he wants evidence and proof to support the opinion. It is this proof, not the opinions expressed in speech, that will make the difference.
Bah, enough ranting :P
Nathanplease donate to the grits-pourers defense fund. your money will be used to buy bowls, microwaves, and more boxes of grits. thank you.
I would like to propose a way for the open source community to participate more actively in legal matters. This would be a way for members of the community to directly assist the EFF.
We should create an open source forum for the creation of legal briefs and legislation, similar to existing open documentation projects. As a pilot, I recommend writing an amicus brief for the DeCSS case. Two other possible projects would be to draft alternative legislation to UCITA and submit a brief to the 9th Circut for the rehearing of the Bernstein case.
An EFF lawyer and/or other interested lawyers should take leadership roles in this. The basic idea is that people could do research and submit arguements and supporting cases & evidence. The lawyers would compile these and merge them into a final product and also compile "to do" lists, including questions for further research.
As with any open source project, individuals could take the output, modify it, and submit it as their own (with proper credit and a different name, of course).
There are two protests going on in the San Francisco Bay Area tonight.
:-)
* 7pm at the Sony Metreon (the Mission and 4th entrance)
* 7pm at the Century Cinemas on Shoreline Blvd in Mountain View (outside the box office)
Bring posters, signs, flyers and (of course) the t-shirt
See you there!
-- Kinesis, Defendant #2
I just made my little donation to the EFF, but I know money only goes so far. I hope to help in other ways too and wish the best for all involved.
You see, issues like this affects how others view me as a computer hacker. The RIAA and MPAA are trying to villify anyone who circumvents their method of crappy entertainment distribution. I'm a hardware guy that likes to find better forms of communication. Cassettes suck. CD's suck. MP3's rock. DVD writers with no mafia tax would rule.
Its not that I like to use new technology for commercial entertainment anyway. Mass storage and playback of multimedia has tremendous utility in almost any field I can think of; however, they wish to make the common tools of playback and recording unreachable. They have a dinosour of a business model and I feel it interferes with what I think is my right to use technology how I see fit.
Its good to see well organized rights group such as the EFF back principles I feel are important. They have my support and best wishes.
That is an EXCELLENT idea. count me in.
If you can't figure out how to mail me, don't.
For linux tips: http://www.linuxtipsblog.com
I'm going to e-mail and see if they will take a $100 donation pledge. I can't make it in person, but would like to be there in spirit. (Yeah, I know I could just send the $100 direct to EFF. I joined last year in support of their work in the DVD case.)
But to get to the subject: I would like to suggest that some of the deep-pockets companies like Red Hat or VA Linux make a challenge. For every dollar that us working stiffs donate, they'll donate a dollar or two. Like the pledge drives at your local NPR radio station. Instead of giving out mugs or tote bags, the sponsor can give out the right to put an "I donated" badge on their personal web site, with a link back to the donor's challenge page.
--Jim
Actually, she's at least an honorary geek, so she probably understands :-)
moderators where kicked around as children, this is just a way to get "even"
All anyone has to do is whip out their credit card and head on over to www.eff.org and fill out the nice form on their web page with your name and credit card number.
I did it, it really works, it's easy, and all the money you contribute will go directly to them, no muss, no fuss.
- jon
Ganymede, a GPL'ed metadirectory for UNIX
Damn. I must be halucinating.
So why haven't the winners of the beanie awards been posted yet? I thought they were given out last night.
Non gratis rodentus anus
I'd be interested in helping protest if anyone is doing organizing a protest in Houston...
Yes. First post has not been stated in the thread for this story. What drugs are you on, son?
I have to agree. good idea
Just smear some raisins on your chest and do the macarena... thatll show those mpaa bastards
Indeed it may be a tradition, but each new post brings with it a different atmosphere and therefore cannot be compared with other posts before it. For instance would you call coming to america redudant when everyone is coming from a different country? No. Thank you and please die, thanks.
Too bad there's not one here in Philly ... I would *LOVE* to attend!
... I'll bet), but still so much good will in that one room. Their benevolence for each other, fellow peers, and in fact the entire general populace astounds me. I believe that the country will benefit immensely if we win this one by uniting against these massive, global corporations.
... and way to go Alan Cox. I'm sure the $10,000 will be a tremendous help.
I read the story and the idea of hundreds of geeks/civil liberties advocates joined together inspires me. I can just imagine the atmosphere and conservations (quite techie
Suffice to say, I wanted to help out even though I can't attend, so I immediately joined the EFF.
Oh
Hey EFF, are you reading this? How about setting up a little New York City fundraiser??? This is a bigger city.... it'll bring more people and raise more money. Best of all, if its in New York _I_ can attend it.
*grin*
But are they supposed to match and stuff?
Eve Fairbanks says I drive a hybrid!LOL
I agree, that is an _EXCELLENT_ idea, I'm sure there are tons of legal-savvy geeks out there who could contribute sometihng, not to mention all the regular geeks who could provide insight into the technical details and history to provide supporting evidence.
If you are in the Washington DC area, check here: http://www.dc2600.com
Eve Fairbanks says I drive a hybrid!LOL
Ok, I'm in England. Boston is a little long distance. But I'll lighten my credit card a little if there's somewhere I can go to do so online. Suggestions ?
So, I say, way to go @stake, I'll now count you definitely in the "good guy" column.
I've already donated to EFF, and will donate more when I've cleared up some nasty debts. I hope anyone who can will do it too. Hey, combine it with the boycott, send the money you would've spent on movies to the EFF.
(See the below link).
All the creatures will die, And all the things will be broken. That's the law of samurai. (Jubai, 1605)
normal joe bob working in the fucking coal mine all day will probably laugh along with. stuis and ties and all appearance based judgement are against nature, against god, against common sense. against civilization! not to mention science.
the idea of hundreds of geeks/civil liberties advocates joined together inspires me. [...] still so much good will in that one room. Their benevolence for each other, fellow peers, [...]
Good thing I keep vomit bags in the desk -- usually I use them after the boss has been by, but it came in handy here.
Good will counts for nothing in the cold, hard real world. The only thing that matters is power. So far the MPAA is winning that battle quite nicely. Frankly, if the only thing the "Linux community" has to throw against them is the EFF... then it looks like it's time to buy stock in the MPAA's member companies.
Being politically active in the Boston area, I can tell you that in this town, a 35 dollar minimum donation is grassroots. ACLU dinners cost 100 to 150 per plate, plus they expect you to make a donation. Fenway community health, anything major is the same. I'm working on a first time dinner dance for my group, and was told that more poeople would want to come if it was 50 dollars instead of 35 (my recommended ticket price). Its crazy when you move out of the grassroots.
Part of this is because there is just such a big population out here, you can apeal only to those who can spend a lot and still fill a room. The other thing is that the cost of living is so high, your veiw of money just changes. I pay 350 a month in rent, no utilities and I have a great deal on an apartment I share with others. $35 is going to this instead of catching a movie and dinner that weekend. A choice I'm fine making.
Jeesh, you guys want high society goldbricks, try getting an invite to a $150 a plate black tie dinner when you only work part time. And then considering scraping together the money to go because you need to make contacts in the political action world. ugh.
And as for the tie (I don't own one but that won't be a problem) Most computer geeks in boston have at least one "interview" outfit that will work. And thats what this is really. If these guys have brains, they will be contacting the press, and they want geeks in suits to say "yeah I work for a software startup and code Linux on the side. This thing is blown way out of proportion. I mean, Pirates! *laughs* Its so silly." Its just a different kind of interview.
So, any boston geeks who want to go but don't own the clothes, let me know and we'll take a field trip down to the big Goodwill Bargin Basement. We'll get ya a blazer, a pair of pants that are supposed to be creased and a tie. Then I'll throw them in my drier with my "home dry-cleaning kit" to freshen them up and wa-la instant respectibilty, 10 to 25 dollars.
-Kahuna Burger
...will work for Chick tracts...
Don't believe the hype, EFF is a scam.
The last ruling clearly shows this.
The longer this conflict lasts, the more funds they can raise.
If you want to help, read point nine of Jon's interview.
Free Jon's computers !
At the Beanie Awards, Alan Cox, who won the Unsung Hero Award, gave his $10,000 towards the defense fund...
Here's someone who just earned himself a big chunk of good Karma -- and not the kind Slashdot moderators give out, either.
I live in boston, would like to attend the event. But jacket and tie, we are regular people!!! I don't own that stuff. Leave it up to people like harvard to make a big statement out of this, so they can pat themselves on the back . I think they are doing it just for themselves, their image, not for the cause. I would love to help, but dont' put a suit on the community, you don't judge a man by what he is wearing. We were all born naked. I am anonymous, cause I don't want to get beat up by harvard students...we should set something up for the normal guys with junky computers like me. Guys that also care but who shop at the salvation army
Talk to these fine people:
The Electronic Frontier Foundation
1550 Bryant Street, Suite 725
San Francisco CA 94103-4832 USA
+1 415 436 9333 (voice)
+1 415 436 9993 (fax)
Internet: ask@eff.org
I've been following the EFF ever since The Man was putting the beat-down back on the BBS scene. I'm going to be there in person, but if you call or contact them using the above info, I am sure they will have numerous suggestions of how you can lighten your wallet for a good cause. SoupIsGood Food
In 1999, Knuth was a nominee for the fsf award, but he lost it to Miguel de Icaza.
I can't be certain, but I think Knuth was also nominated for th 1998 fsf award, which Larry Wall won.
Now, he gets nominated for a Beanie Award, and loses to a Camel.
"Ha Ha Knuth! you will always be second place in the minds of the Open Source and Free Software communities!"
"The quality of our software depends on the algorithms which you so clearly explained in your books, our only defense against nasty patents is evidence of prior art, which you also provided much of, and you wrote TeX, the best open source typesetting tool, but you are still second place in our hearts."
"And by the way, nobody uses Web; 'literate programmer' is a contradiction in terms."
Don't laugh. It is only funny if your head is screwed on backwards.
The EFF has on their web site's home page a link to the Blue Ribbon campaign. In retrospect I hope we can see that the Blue Ribbon campaign actually was a corporate sponsored PR campaign, only it was the ISPs who were the corporate sponsors. Don't believe me? Try and create some symbol to represent any other campaign and see how widespread you can propogate it without the active cooperation of the ISPs. It just won't happen.
Before DeCSS the main EFF publicity was former Chairman and current Board of Directors member Esther Dyson self-promoting herself with her book and ICANN. Hmmm, ICANN didn't exactly fulfill any of its potential for increasing freedom or helping the individual versus the corporations. In fact ICANN basically caved in to NSI in exchange for some money to keep it alive.
I just don't see any record of the EFF's actually making a difference. I do see a record of the EFF using these events to increase its fundraising.
Then his wife called to complain that she was unable to fast-forward through all the advertizing at the front of the new Disney Tarzan DVD.
That pissed him off.
I think he's like most people. Doesn't care about the big picture, but gets pissed off when it directly affects him.
Put this example into the 2600 flier. It's a concrete example that most people can relate to.
Is anybody working on a demostration for the Oscars? They allways have TV cameras outside to show the stars arriving. There are usually a lot of autograph seeking fans in the shots. Couldn't some LA area Hackers join the crowd?
Quemadmodum gladius neminem occidit, occidentis telum est
Okay, so there is a Dress Code. Just work on making this code be usable also.
I work just down the street. I plan to be there though I think I'll drag the suit downtown on a hanger. If anyone want's to meet before hand, let me know...
srbrown@nyx.net
Sean Brown
Linux Evangelist
"I'll let you be in my dream if I can be in yours." - Bob D.
At the Beanie Awards, Alan Cox, who won the Unsung Hero Award, gave his $10,000 towards the defense fund - and we had a fundraiser later on in the evening.
Not that I feel that he owed anyone anything, but I am impressed by the gesture. I for one will sing your praises, Alan.
yes
I'm about 300 miles from Minneapolis, but I'd find time to go to an event there if we could get one arranged. Let's do it!
"Going to church makes you no more a christian than sleeping in your garage makes you a car." --Loosely paraphrased, Ga
Success, success, success!. Tonight I attended my first 2600 meeting. For many, in Campbell, CA(near San Jose, CA) it was their first as well. Everyone was upset about DeCSS for a variety of reasons. Myself, I felt the MPAA, was committing fraud and attacking the first amendment. If you look at the back of a DVD movie case you will see no mention of the license terms and thus a reasonable person would assume that if they purchase/rent the disc that they can play it back with whatever player they own(be it a $1000 sony unit or an open-source linux player based on DeCSS). So I, being the libertarian, took to the streets to fight against fraud and the assault on the first amendment rights of those seeking to expose this fraud and how to circumvent it. One of my partners in flyer distribution, a socialist, sought to stop the MPAA from creating a monopoly on DVD players. So here were two people, with different points of view on various issues coming together to protest a greater evil. We had no problem distributing the flyers all throughout downtown Campbell in video stores, bars, restaurants, or just to passerbys on the street. We were very polite to people and asked if we could "give them a flyer". Very few people said no. Some wished to discuss the issue further, so we were prepared to present our point of view and we encouraged them to visit the websites to get as much information as possible before they made up their own minds. The only business that asked us to stop distributing flyers was Barnes and Noble. However, they were very polite in their request and we were very polite in leaving. Keep the fight going on many fronts and we should have success.
Stuart Eichert
Stuart Eichert
Why couldn't they make it friday? Plane fares are so much higher during the week! If it was friday, I'd glady fly in friday afternoon, make a weekend of it and contribute $200!
Something along the lines of "we don't care what you were as long as you don't diss our clothes"
Jon Katz should write something about how this suits are Borg-ising us :-)
Here's my mirror, where's your's
Something along the lines of "we don't care what you were as long as you don't diss our clothes"
Jon Katz should write something about how this suits are Borg-ising us :-)
Here's my mirror, where's your's