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Slashback: Python, Giveaway, Collection
Let's make this a closed collection, please. gmr2048 writes "In the WashTech section of the Washington Post there is a story about organizations (working with the Library of Congress) trying to catalogue and store web pages from the attacks of Sept 11, 2001. Towards the end of the article is this request for help: "...are developing a cataloguing system to help navigate the terrorist attack archives, and they are seeking the public's help in identifying Web pages that should be included. Their Web site is at www.webarchivist.org.
I thought slashdot'ers could lend a hand. I know I got most of my info the day of the attacks from /."
Hopefully, they will include Robert Liedlein's site. Lieblein writes: "Quick backstory, 4 or 5 years ago I shot footage for an IBM commercial down in the World Trade Center area. It was actually one of my favorite days that I ever spent in New York, just me and a camera. I kept thinking about that day after the tragic event. 5 years in New York city and only once was I right directly in the area that is ground zero, and I happened to have a camera and an objective of the day was to film the people, the energy, the life. A few days ago I finally found an old VHS tape that had about an hour of transfers of the footage. I knew I had that tape somewhere. I wanted to watch just for the reason of being able to go back there, to understand what it was like and what had happened. I realized that I had footage that was refreshing from the devastation we are all viewing and cut it into a 4 1/2 minute video. I hope the memory of the WTC alive and breathing life gives hope to a new day when that energy and vitality can thrive again."
Outliving the presumption of innocence. Keefe writes "I am sure that we all remeber the name Brian K. West. He is 24 year old sales and support employee for an internet service provider in SE Oklahoma. Mr. West alerted a local business to a serious security flaw in their website. The business had him investigated by the Justice Department for helping them fix a website security hole. The online community cried out to help him because of his innocence. It turns out that he actually was intending to modify the newspaper's Web applications -- written in the Perl language -- and modify them and market his own versions."
Patsy! Patsy! Patsy! (It's only a model.) Shere Ermilio wrote to point out that if you're interested in the Monty Python action figures hemos posted about not long ago, this could be your lucky month -- here's the link to Sideshow Toys' Monty Python giveaway for October. Those with spare cash and less hope can buy them the usual way. (And No, I'm not getting any free dolls ;))
He's not guilty. He's just pining for the fjords!
Gee I've had several "transient websites" that (at the time) were never meant to be...
I'd rather not have anyone backing them up!
While just about everyone else was watching "Enterprise" on Wednesday, I was out seeing "The French Connection" (came out in 1971) at a local rep cinema. One interesting shot: a WTC tower under construction, with cranes on the roof and everything. Pretty weird in light of recent events...
It doesn't mean much now, it's built for the future.
Donated CD's, you say? Well judging by the speed that my current 100-pack is diminishing, the idea of giving them away is going to send me into the red before you know it.
But that brings up a good question: How much does one donate to something like that, and what cost is that looking at? I got a deal with 100 CD's and cases for $0.50CDN apiece, but that was a deal. How much do you usually send? and where can I get some of those free CD's in the neverending quest to archive the internet (another noble pursuit)
- Relativistic? That's barely Newtonian!
Unlike "real world" theft, it is pretty easy for a company to protect itself against these kinds of problems, and it is pretty easy for it to collect and present its own evidence. And even in the real world, if you left your front door unlocked and put your cheap, fake diamond necklace out there for everybody to see (roughly the equivalent of having a Perl script on an IIS server), I think a prosecutor would see the sillyness of wasting lots of resources on your case.
As for guilty pleas in such cases, I think they are pretty meaningless. Faced with the threat of lengthy prison sentences, I suspect many people will plea guilty to minor offenses, whether they committed them or not. Do you really think West "intended" to modify someone else's messy Perl script and make a business out of it? Seems pretty unlikely to me.
I remember a story on /. a while back that expressed concern that there would be no electronic records from the 20th/21st century because of our reliance on computer technology (and the fact that things can be deleted/degrade over time) is a catalogue of webapages (I know they're not supposed to be a definitive record of eventss, but...) a little redundant?
I found this video very moving and powerful. Kudos to the filmmaker! The towers bustled with so much life now its all gone, for what? for nothing. Someday, life will return to that area and when it does we will be all better for it!
CDE open sourced! https://sourceforge.net/projects/cdesktopenv/
Actually, it is:
Wired
Someplace I have never heard of
And probably some others...
Posted from the wireless couch.
Anyone else struck buy the similarity of this plea and request for donations by the Red Cross?
Due to the recent terrorist atacks by Nimda and Code Red, hospitals and server farms are running dangerously low on Linux. If you are type Root negative, you are considered a universal superuser, and your donation is needed most. Please sign up with your local donation center and give a pint of Linux. The box you save may be your own.
P.S. I am NOT mocking blood donation. If you haven't yet, give blood.
I was searching for sites (don't ask) and this article came up.
www.ishipress.com/osamaint.htm
coincidence? stenography? idiocy? you decide
Transcript of Osama Bin Ladin interview by Peter Arnett The first-ever television interview with Osama Bin Ladin was conducted by Peter Arnett in eastern Afghanistan in late March 1997. Questions were submitted in advance. Bin Ladin responded to almost all of the questions. CNN was not allowed to ask follow up questions. The interview lasted just over an hour. ARNETT: Mr. Bin Ladin, could you give us your main criticism of the Saudi royal Family that is ruling Saudi Arabia today?
Osama bin Ladin
MR. BIN LADIN: Regarding the criticisms of the ruling regime in Saudi Arabia and the Arabian peninsula, the first one is their subordination to the US. So, our main problem is the US government while the Saudi regime is but a branch or an agent of the US. By being loyal to the US regime, the Saudi regime has committed an act against Islam. And this, based on the ruling of Shari'a (Islamic jurisprudence), casts the regime outside the religious community. Subsequently, the regime has stopped ruling people according to what God revealed, praise and glory be to Him, not to mention many other contradictory acts. When this main foundation was violated, other corrupt acts followed in every aspect of the country, the economic, the social, government services and so on.
REPORTER: Mr. Bin Ladin, if the Islamic movement takes over Arabia, what kind of society will be created and will Saudi Arabia, for example, return to the laws of the Qur'an at the time of the Prophet?
BIN LADIN: We are confident, with the permission of God, Praise and Glory be to Him, that Muslims will be victorious in the Arabian peninsula and that God's religion, praise and glory be to Him, will prevail in this peninsula. It is a great pride and a big hope that the revelation unto Muhammad, Peace be upon him, will be resorted to for ruling. When we used to follow Muhammad's revelation, Peace be upon him, we were in great happiness and in great dignity, to God belong credit and praise.
REPORTER: Mr. Bin Ladin, if the Islamic movement takes over Saudi Arabia, what would your attitude to the West be and will the price of oil be higher?
BIN LADIN: We are a nation and have a long history, with the grace of God, Praise and Glory be to Him. We are now in the 15th century of this great religion, the complete and comprehensive methodology, has clarified the dealing between an individual and another, the duties of the believer towards God, Praise and Glory be to Him, and the relationship between the Muslim country and other countries in time of peace and in time of war. If we look back at our history, we will find there were many types of dealings between the Muslim nation and the other nations in time of peace and in time of war, including treaties and matters to do with commerce. So it is not a new thing that we need to come up with. Rather, it already, by the grace of God, exists. As for oil, it is a commodity that will be subject to the price of the market according to supply and demand. We believe that the current prices are not realistic due to the Saudi regime playing the role of a US agent and the pressures exercised by the US on the Saudi regime to increase production and flooding the market that caused a sharp decrease in oil prices.
I thought to myself, "If they had a paypal account, I could send 'em ten bucks. That would be easier than running to the local computer store and buying cd's and sending them in the mail. Also, they could prolly make that ten bucks stretch further by making bulk purchases."
SO, I did some research and found
http://www.freelinuxcd.org/donate.php
I'll send my ten bucks and you can too.
Thanks,
mr.
In fact, I never defended the guy or made assumptions about his guilt or innocence. I just think it's a waste of taxpayer money to prosecute these kinds of cases.
The CD-giveaway thing was a great thing once, because Linux was still relatively experimental and there was a need to find inventive ways to distribute Linux to anyone who might try it.
At this point, I think Linux has been around long enough, maybe it's time that people with slowband connections actually shell out for at least a CheapBytes CD or actually keep the companies that make distributions alive by buying a $40 box once a year. Is that really so much to ask?
Several companies still sell the cheap CDs, and I can't imagine too many people who can afford a computer that can't afford six bucks for the CD-ROM plus shipping. (Or whatever the total cost is...) Granted, there may be some "under-developed" countries who could use them, but the average teen or LUG member can afford to actually shell out a few bucks to help support the commercial efforts that support the software development.
It's one thing to buck insane licensing fees and want access to source code, it's another just to be a cheap-ass who is out to get everything for free. (This isn't a dig on the Free CD effort itself, they're trying to do the Right Thing. But I'd bet a lot of people sucking up the CDs could afford to buy one but instead take advantage of the generosity of others.)
That said, this bit of video brings up an interesting question that has crossed my mind: What will be the fate of the Center itself? While the focus has been on the destruction of the two main towers, the site itself is very large.
I have heard various suggestions: the owner/developer of the property is considering putting up four new 50-story buildings; some are calling for the twin towers to be rebuilt exactly as they were. NYC officials have been quoted as saying that this is an opportunity for New York to rethink not only its skyline but its vision of itself.
I hope that whatever happens, it is something more interesting that another corporate filing cabinet. Of course there will be an extensive memorial (as well there should be), but doesn't the site deserve something at least as interesting as the twin towers were in the 60s? How about an arcology? Ideas?
Guvegrra?
I don't think they are asking for you to go out and mass-produce Linux CDs. Usually, the idea is to pass on CDs that you have used and no longer need, so that they can be spread to others. Sort of the same idea as donating to a charity. Most charities will take used clothes. They don't expect you to go out and buy a new wardrobe and put it in one of those collection bins. (I realize some charities only take new clothes, but just work with me here.)
I, for instance, have tons of Linux CDs sitting around collecting dust, which I am going to package up and send out.
This is given what he actually did was a crime and his intent was to release the scripts as opposed to just warning them about a hole in security.
Fight Spammers!
that's really sweet. brings back some good memories of my days in lower Manhattan (walking thru the WTC plaza to work near City Hall). Everyone should download, watch, and save this. Also Robert: send it to one of the news stations, I bet they'll play it at the end of a news broadcast.
sulli
RTFJ.
Here's mine.
...stupid lameness filter.
$x='S24;r)>63/* h@<5+oZ)32"5cz';$me='phroggy'x$];
$x=~y+ -xz+\0-Tx+;print$_^chop$me for split'',$x;
An archive must collect and preserve information.
The Internet Archive has failed to preserve most of what it has collected. Preservation does not get them attention and so they don't do it.
The early years of the archive are on the cheapest DLT's made and are stored on the floor of a basement that floods. And we're talking several years stored this way.
Cheap tapes plus moisture means bit rot. Enormous amounts of the archive are gone because of this.
So anyone with the means of doing an archive shouldn't say "oh, I don't need to do this because the archive is already taking care of it."
Don't believe it. They've lost much of what they claim to have preserved.
who profitted most from the wtc bombings?
Gary Condit, the California congressman and mistress murderer, whose bizarre sexual practices are no longer front page follies?
George Bush, the "unelected" President, who now has approval ratings higher than any of his predecessors could have dreamed possible?
The Defense and Intelligence industry, after years of scandals, fuckups, embarrassments, and dwindling budgets, they've been given a blank check and new powers?
Rudy Guliani, the mayor who made New York livable again, but then was sidelined by term limits, prostate cancer, and a divorce, who is now seen as one of the greatest mayors ever and may be re-elected by unorganized writeins?
Or VA Linux, whose slash.org web log recieved more "hits" in the days following the crash as they had the previous 3 months, and whose imminent Nasdaq delisting was put on hold?
Do not intrude into or modify systems unless it's been made explicitly clear that you're allowed to do so.
You think you should be allowed to do something? You have some silly-ass analogy regarding doorknobs and windows to explain why you're doing a public service? It doesn't matter. You're going to get yourself in trouble. Is that really so hard to comprehend?
I think we should have a public archive law. All media that is distributed with copyright protection desired must make an archivable version of it available after N years. If the big money can shove stupid laws at us, we don't we shove some useful laws right back at them.
t.
Now, can we PLEASE do away with footages with shitty violonist music over it and stop pretending it's moving ? When will video and cinema people realize that a bland piece of tape isn't turned into a piece of art just because they slap a Schinlder's list soundtrack on top of it ?
"A door is what a dog is perpetually on the wrong side of" - Ogden Nash
I wanted to watch just for the reason of being able to go back there, to understand what it was like and what had happened
A few days ago, I walked by a local picture-framing store. They were selling a large framed picture of the skyline with the WTC towers intact and distributing profits to charity. As people walked by many of them, myself included, stood there transfixed by the image. Otherwise busy people stared at it for as long as 5 minutes. It seems like when you look at it, you can almost live in the yesterday for just a few more minutes.
For all intensive purposes, "whom" is no longer a word. That begs the question, "who cares"?
The biggest problem here is that we really don't know who to believe. Given the choice between believing a U.S. district attorney and some slightly scummy small-time crook, we really don't know which to take. The U.S. government has a long history of bad behavior. (Think about the secret experiments (also here and here) in the '50s, in which people were exposed to radiation
The good scenario here is that West is a petty crook who's getting a break because it's his first offence. The bad scenario is that the DA realised that if he dropped this, he'd look like an idiot, so he's threatened a poor innocent guy into pleading guilty to a crime he didn't commit, just to save the DA some embarassment. And it looks as if we'll never be sure.
See what I've been reading.
who profitted most from the wtc bombings? Gary Condit?
Last time we had both a sex scandal and a war at the same time (i.e. lewinsky + kosovo), Congress managed to slip two bad laws onto the books: the Sonny Bono Copyright Term Extension Act and the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. This time, disney and the rest of MPAA are shooting for getting the pro-obsecurity SSSCA passed. To make it look less like an IP bill, MPAA has added anti-cracking riders.
Will I retire or break 10K?
Especially once you've installed Debian! Nearly everything you ever wanted is just an apt-get away!
The government frequently coerces individuals into plea bargains for actual crimes not committed.
3 4. html
I suspect, and we have not hear from Brian in this case since the legalese, but it certainly could have stemmed from a converstation such as:
FEDS: "Did you download the PERL code?"
BKW: "yes, by clicking on the link i was able to view the code and save it to disk as proof of the security hole"
FEDS: "could you have modified that code?"
BKW: "yes, anyone could have?
FEDS: "the plaintiff contends that the PERL code in question is worth at least $5000. Could you have modfied that code and profited from such modfications?"
BKW: "i could have, but my intention was to notify the newspaper and let them know of the security breach"
FEDS: "no further questions"
How easily this crowd is swayed from one side to the other. For once, think about your own actions. The concept of "downloading" and "accessing" a password file and then "logging into unauthorized areas" of a website -- give me a break. "Authorization" is based on who as the password, however it may have been obtained. If you have a hole in your security, fix it. "proper access" is another matter, but even there, it is amorphous. A trusted employee one day can become a "non-trusted" ex-employee the next. There are no "tangible trust tokens" to speak of. Its all a matter of perspective.
Did Brian actually *MODIFY* or DEFACE the site? Does it really matter what his *INTENTIONS* or *CAPABILITIES* were?
In this country our rule of law is based on evidence, not "possible evidence" -- I think about setting off fireworks in the state of Minnesota every Fourth of July -- i have access to "illegal" fireworks over the border in Wisonsin year-round. I have "intention" to set them off -- but I don't actually do it. Am I guilty?
When I contacted the Poteau Daily News after this story broke, they categorically denied that Mr. Burchett contacted the FBI, but rather stated that the hosting ISP had initiated the prosecution, a copy of that letter follows:
My point? If you're going to light the torches and burn someone to the stake, at least make sure you're not a pyromaniac.
-d
Date: Sun, 19 Aug 2001 09:27:26 -0500
From: Poteau Daily News & Sun <pdns@pdns.com>
To: Team BPSI <team@backpack.net>
Subject: Re: Confirmation please
[ The following text is in the "iso-8859-1" character set. ]
[ Your display is set for the "US-ASCII" character set. ]
[ Some characters may be displayed incorrectly. ]
The Poteau Daily News does not own or manage the web server that is in
question and did not contact any authorities in this case. The sever is
located, owned, and managed by the local ISP.
At the time of this incident there was some propieritary software being used
in conjuction with this site (the software is NOT the property of the Poteau
Daily News). What the story posted by Brian West, does not talk about is
that the propiertary software was downloaded from the server and at the time
of the FBI investigation, it was found in the possesion of Mr. West.
Mr Burchett did not contact any authorities, they were contacted by the
local ISP. And at this time Mr. Burchett is no longer at the Poteau Daily
News, not for any thing concerning this matter.
The Poteau Daily News is not involved in this case at all.
----- Original Message -----
From: "Team BackPack" <team@backpack.net>
To: <pdns@pdns.com>; <publisher@pdns.com>
Sent: Saturday, August 18, 2001 11:03 PM
Subject: Confirmation please
http://www.linuxfreak.org/post.php/08/17/2001/1
please confirm/comment on the validity of this story
Old age and treachery almost always overcome youth and skill.
If he was going to modify the script for profit, WTF would he notify the newspaper of the security hole?
I mean really, can anyone be _THAT_ arrogant and stupid?
Oh wait...who am i preaching to
</flamebait off>
Old age and treachery almost always overcome youth and skill.
What about a Slashdot interview with Bin Laden?
Would the Slashdotters be able to get something interesting out of him?
__
Men with no respect for life must never be allowed to control the ultimate instruments of death.
GW Bu
So either the press was promulgating lies before, or it's promulgating lies now.
You choose which to believe from a field of lies. Truth may possibly be present. But perhaps not.
If Mr. West pleaded guilty, then it was likely to be the result of plea bargaining. This doesn't seem to have any relationship to what he did, or didn't do. Merely to how much he was threatened, and how capable he felt of defending himself. And what the DA felt he could get away with.
I accept that he might be guilty. I also accept that he might not. And I have no reasonable basis on which to choose between those two positions. Plea bargaining has thoroughly corrupted our legal system. The best bet is that everybody's lying.
I think we've pushed this "anyone can grow up to be president" thing too far.
If you have been thinking about contributing CDs, it is the best time to do so.
I have a large number of AOL CDs, back to version 5.0. Will these work?
--
"Outlook not so good." That magic 8-ball knows everything! I'll ask about Exchange Server next.
What's most interesting about this piece is that it's totally accidental. The author was never intending to make it a tribute - when he shot it, it was just footage of a place he liked. But now, because it's gone, it suddenly means a lot more.
For another example, next time you're in NYC, take a train to Pennsylvania Station. As you walk around that low-ceilinged, crowded, user-hostile concourse, look around for the B&W photos on some of the pillars. This used to be there, until they tore it down in 1963.
sulli
RTFJ.
She was, however, from his congressional district, so he was her very own personal congresscritter.
If she was just a 24 year old regular employee of the Bureau of Prisons and was from some other congressional district, the various media wouldn't have been able to run all those stories with "Congressman", "Intern", and "Sex" in them, and would have had to content themselves with running stories with "Congressman", and "Sex" in them, which wouldn't have been quite as good for 'round the clock coverage. "Intern" is so good for conjuring up the impression of someone vulnerable and very underage.
Of course if she had been a 24 year old high school teacher having an affair with a 16 or 17 year old boy, the same folks talking as though Conduit was a child molester wouldn't have kept referring to her as a "young girl who was taken advantage of", but as a grownup fully responsible for her actions.
The horror of September 11 may well have gotten Condit off the hook and may even save his political career--he is on the House Intelligence Committee, and should be able to exploit that. "Don't rock the boat while there's a war on!"
I see even classic Slashdot is now pretty much unusable on dial up anymore.