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History of the Electronic Frontier Foundation
Well, no one submitted it (guess no one reads the LA Times), but from the Red Rock Eater list we have a link to Freedom Fighters of the Digital World, a laudatory history of the EFF. Read it, live it, remember it when you think "I can't make a difference".
It isn't that no one reads the Los Angeles Times, it's that no one reads the Los Angeles Times Magazine .
EFF history eh? Makes me want to change my page background black to stop the Communications Decency Act, and put up a Blue Ribbon. I think it all started so people would have an excuse to use the Netscape-proprietary BGCOLOR attribute to the <BODY> tag, and the corresponding <FONT> tags, personally. Heck, I used server-push to make moving images before browsers supported animated GIFs, so I'd take any excuse to mangle a page. In all seriousness, folks... it IS a good idea to donate. They're doing the grunt work to protect our freedoms.
Error: PANTS NOT FOUND. Press <F1> to continue.
Airport security could employ advanced X-ray screening that looks through clothes
*sound of 50000 nerds filling in application forms for 'airport security manager'*
http://twitter.com/onion2k
In this post 9/11 world, sure - we need to think about security. But we need to remember PRIVACY! and all other freedoms we too-often take for granted.
/. would take less time reading and bitching about all of these issues and spent some time actually lobbying and petitioning and holding rational discussions/debates on all levels (from the neighborhood greasy spoon to Washington), we'd see more of a difference.
If most of us addicted to
Don't like the Rosens of this world? [MP|RI]AA got you down? Worried about Carnivore? Take this not just as a reminder of an important (and neglected/forgotten) part of the net's history, but as a battle call...
Seriously. Let's do something, instead of bitching. Don't post a comment unless you're going to write a congressman/woman or sign a petition today. I'm going right now...
Peace.
Groove Salad -- a nicely chilled plate of ambient grooves and beats.
From http://www.toad.com/gnu/verio-censorship.html:
The irony is that Verio now owns The Little Garden.
From http://www.toad.com/gnu:
From http://www.toad.com/gnu/verio-censorship.html:
-Don
Take a look and feel free: http://www.PieMenu.com
I guess we could then consider the trolls as the Mujahideen of Slashdot... :D
More props to ringbarer. Some seriously good philosophical FPs going on there.
/.
But the real reason you deserve praise is your name/sig - got to be the best I've ever seen on
Keep up the good work.
The attacks themselves had limited effects on the economy and infrastructure of the U.S., but they empowered several monsters to wreak havoc. The consumer confidence boogey man came and went. And after the smoke cleared, Americans felt safer from physical danger because they thought they knew the score.
"If I don't get on an airplane or work in a skyscraper, I'll be OK," they tell themselves. "If I don't open suspicious envelopes and if I don't question the Patriot act, I'll be OK."
But the opportunists still run amok.
It is unfortunate that there are opportunists in Congress who present a greater "threat to freedom" than Osama Bin Laden. Bin Laden presented them with the opportunity to seize power, and they grabbed it.
The ACLU and EFF are the police and FBI that protect us from opportunists. Please familiarize yourself with their activities and support them.
remember it when you think "I can't make a difference".
I've heard that this is on a poster on the wall of an Afgan salted snack factory..
I'm hardly in a financial position to do so, but this has finally convinced me to join the EFF. With all the old cases, plus everything new the USA PATRIOT act put into place, they need all the help they can get....
Please consider doing so as well.
http://www.eff.org/
My company's proxy blocks access to the EFF web site. They also block access to the ACLU's site. I'm sure this says something. (Most likely that our IT department never bothered to change the default filter list from the vendor.)
Chelloveck
I give up on debugging. From now on, SIGSEGV is a feature.
For those of us who work for companies which match finantial donations to non-profits, please feel free as I shall, to (ab)use this privaledge in having your company donate your matching donation to the EFF.
Go ahead! Put your fortune 500 in a tight spot!
Kind of strange that they do that and not filter Slashdot.
-- Dan
(even if my former colleague Michael Sims did later publicly proclaim he regretted nominating me, and my award probably didn't get any Slashdot coverage because of What Happened To The Censorware Project (censorware.org))
It's possible to make a difference. Though it's a lot of work, sometimes a lot of risk, and it isn't easy. EFF has made a difference in my life, and in many other people's lives.
How long can a capitalist country remain a police state before is becomes a fascist state?
I wonder if the next Einstein has already fled the country? I wonder what "disruptive" science he will be/is master of?
Novel theory: Modern Man evolved from psychopath
I collared my Representative, Bob Goodlatte (R-Roanoke, VA) TWICE at functions and was told bluntly that nobody cared about the DMCA and copyright. Literally, he cut me off and said, "No one cares about that." I was stupified each time; I wish I had a good rejoinder or comment. And for what it's worth, both times I was in business casual and _polite_. (Both quite rare for me, btw.)
So, whadda I do? I've thought about writing him, but wouldn't this be a wasted effort? In contrast, the Congressman in the next district over is Rick Boucher who is extremely clued in. I could probably give boucher time or money, but what do I do about my own Representative?
At the Future of Music Conference in Washington DC I had the opportunity and privilage to meet both Robin Gross and Fred Von Lohmann, two of the EFF's lawyers. Both asked tough questions during the Copyright Panel which featured Bruce Lehman (the guy from the Clinton Administration that was responsible for writing the infamous "white paper" that the DMCA was derived from.) Both have razor sharp minds, think outside of the proverbial box, and are extremely passionate about their work. My $100 donation was well spent, but they always need more to fight the deep pocketed corporations that are constantly assailing your online rights. Put up a blue ribbon, and donate..It's worth it.
"...all those people, then numbering about 500, who have been rounded up in the terrorism investigation. Who are they? Why are they being held? Does anybody know anything? "Who's representing these people and trying to get them out?"
The panelists' silence leaves Gilmore exasperated."
It's interesting to see such a simple and straightforward question having that kind of effect, effectively stumping a respectable panel of experts.
To give credit where it's due, the question is probably only obvious with hindsight, and kudos to John Gilmore for asking it.
Chuck Norris: Socialism == a thousand years of darkness.
(guess no one reads the LA Times)
/.'ers probably live outside the greater L.A. area, and would read other papers. Me, I read the LA Times, but it's the dead tree version, and their website doesn't make it easy to find the corresponding article at times...
Well, let's see... most
Fascism starts when the efficiency of the government becomes more important than the rights of the people.
Using 9/11 as an excuse is like addressing the symptoms, not the cause.
access the links you find here And the links you find at those links.
What you will find is that there was alot of reason for 9/11 to have happen and even the education and seeding needed for it to happen.
A great deal of everything from motive to do, to education on how to do it was supplied by the US.
These are FACTS, not my opinion, follow the links and see how deep that rabbit hole really goes.
I seem to preceive the EFF as having become a political legal manipulation machine that can easily become out of touch with the individual human party of us all that they are claiming to represent.
The ACLU ignores any case that doesn't present them with some self promotion mechanism. In fact they dismiss even simple request for simple legal referal with their mass produced post card stating they are not currently interested in the case. (which has nothing to do with responding to a simple legal referal request)
I suspect the EFF is following such a direction.
Sorry, I really wish I was wrong about this but I don't think I am.
Concider "To high-tech pros and policy wonks, the EFF is well-known for its opposition to the regulation of encryption. Hollywood and the publishing industry know it as the loyal opposition in battles over digital copy law, which the EFF believes is so restrictive that it frustrates innovation."
LOYAL OPPOSITION??? does this mean the EFF would fumble the ball intentionally under the right conditions?
A flag with stars of company logos? Like Time Warner?
What's real on the Electronic Frontier?
How about the fact that computer are all about automaion. The automaion of complexity that is made up of simpler things, so as to make reuse or use again easier for the party use it?
The software industry can automate anything, includng human ability to balance and move (the Segway), but what's the deal with it' apparent inability to automate programing even in fundamental ways that the user can apply?
If the Electronic Frontier Fondation is really about our freedoms in the electronic frontier, then where is the hardware and software components, the modularity and ease of use and creation (putting things together, automating) for the users, the consumer to apply as they see fit or need?
Instead you have a flag with company logos for stars.
Need to see more? try my journal here on slashdot as well as my recent posts here, or my web pages..
Don't be fooled as to what freedom is in this electronic frontier, by those who present themselves as representing you. Instead make them represent you correctly.
Get to the causes, stop treating the symptoms that will never go away untill to get to the cause.
More details from one of the EFF co-founders: A Not Terribly Brief History of the Electronic Frontier Foundation.
In it you can read Barlow's firsthand account of his interview with that FBI agent which helped spark the creation of the EFF: He had been sent to find out if I might be a member of the NuPromtheus League, a dread band of info-terrorists (or maybe just a disaffected former Apple employee) who had stolen and wantonly distributed source code normally used in the Macintosh ROMs. Agent Baxter's errand was complicated by a fairly complete unfamiliarity with computer technology. I realized right away that before I could demonstrate my innocence, I would first have to explain to him what guilt might be.
The last two sentences still ring true for technologists today!
ancarett, historian and zombie gamer
This little quote stuck with me. The wisest answer would have been not to turn that corner. But maybe growth comes from going through this kind of problem too.
I may be a troll in saying this, but I'm one of many chileans who left my home country through a coup organised for a different 11th of september, in part by the pentagon and the CIA, in part by lobbying organisations with lost interests in a left wing chile, and in part by chileans.
What "freedom" were those organisations protecting? To what extent did they go?
I don't have a problem with americans though. I think it's a nice, albeit twisted country, my life has taken me always closer to it, still trying to understand.I'd ask people who really believe in this "freedom" thing to read up a bit on history. Try latin american history for starters. The 70s, the "National Security Doctrine". Don't worry about chile. Try Guatemala and clinton's apology. Try argentina, cuba, panama. Then look up US interests in other parts of the world. Foreign Debt, the international criminal court and Bush's reasons for opposing it(monsanto?).
The US doesn't bother me. You bring together the dreams of so many peoples. This small mindedness, ignorance, is the same as that of the british of the past few centuries, or any "empires" before. We all share those traits. It's just the same problems as ever, but maybe, the US will be the place where we, humanity, will finally solve these problems.
As for sacrificing liberties, try cause and effect, or "do unto others" as the christian view of it is. It's a simple concept. Any power that lives in fear of the outside will not last.
Bottom line is, this kind of thing is up to people. Individuals. Not agencies or organisations. If America is really free, then the agencies and corporations will listen to those like the EFF who apply their knowledge and their wisdom for the good of everyone, and to those who silently support them with votes, ethical choices, expressed opinions, and dialogue.
Before this article in the magazine, there was an article about a controll advocate who had been shot. Although there is apparently little evidence to suggest that the attacker did so due to his stance on gun control (and some evidence that he did not), the entire article was essentially a blast against the pro-gun side with tiny tidbits of the opposing point of view thrown in. Anyone else see the irony of blindly opposing security in the name of freedom after a devastating incident while at the same time blindly supporting security against freedom (firearms) after a devastating incident?
No? Then pay no attention to the man behind the talking head.
Mine sucks worse than yours. I've written to mine. He (Howard "Buck Mckeon R-CA) doesn't just blow me off with "nobody cares" but actively works for the other side. He could care less what I think. I didn't vote for him and he doesn't care about that, he has a safe seat. All I can do is work for whoever opposes him, even though they don't stand a chance against his campaign warchest.
Could be worse, my sister and mother live in Mary Bono's (formerly Sonny's widow) district.
the process isn't working and hasn't been for a long time
-- your Web browser is Ronald Reagan
Five years before the ACLU handled its first Internet case, the EFF pioneered the field in a pair of landmark cases. The first involved Steve Jackson Games, a Texas-based company that had been raided by federal agents investigating hacking. The EFF brought a suit that established that e-mail is protected under the Electronic Communications Privacy Act. Law enforcement would be required to have a warrant describing each message or e-mail participant before the mail could be read.
And this is a case I remember well, since it happened to a friend. Steve was a great guy, lending his computers and people when we had the Worldcon in NoLa and had to rewrite some dBase programs to get panel/author registration up, since the coders had not bothered testing it for large-scale use and it collapsed when we scaled up to the size of a Worldcon.
And then they took his computers when he wrote a GAME about hackers, broke them into bits (literally) and "returned" the broken parts to him. Tens of thousands of dollars of equipment, destroyed. For no reason.
-
--- Will in Seattle - What are you doing to fight the War?
>LOYAL OPPOSITION??? does this mean the EFF would
>fumble the ball intentionally under the right
>conditions?
I think you are misinterpreting the term "loyal opposition." It means that even though the sides may disagree on particular issues (about which there may be lots of room for disagreement), the loyalty of either side to their common cause (in this case the USA) should not be called into question just because they disagree.
And irony must truly be dead if you don't understand the US flag with corporate logos replacing the stars (that is what EFF is trying to avoid. Get it?).
A closet pseudo-intellectual! I used to see your disaffected kind wearing all black with a goatee below your walrus-vision eyeglasses in formerly trendy coffe-/smoke-houses everywhere. Where did you migrate to? I thought you were all but extinct..
"The Net treats censorship as damage and routes around it."
I was quoted in Time Magazine in about December, 1993 as saying something very close to this ("a defect" rather than "damage"). It's been reprinted hundreds or thousands of times since then, including the NY Times on January 15, 1996, Scientific American of October 2000, and CACM 39(7):13.
In its original form, it meant that the Usenet software (which moves messages around in newsgroups) was resistant to censorship because if a node drops certain messages because it doesn't like their subject, the messages find their way past that node anyway by some other route. This is also a reference to the packet-routing protocols that the Internet uses to direct packets around any broken wires or fiber connections or routers. (They don't redirect around selective censorship, but they do recover if an entire node is shut down to censor it.)
The meaning of the phrase has grown through the years. Internet users have proven it time after time, by publicly replicating information that is threatened with destruction or censorship. If you now consider the Net to be not only the wires and machines, but the people and their social structures who use the machines, it is more true than ever.
Draw enough attention to his lack of caring for the people he represents, and he just may change his tune.
revenge (r-vnj)
tr.v. revenged, revenging, revenges
To inflict punishment in return for (injury or insult).
To seek or take vengeance for (oneself or another person); avenge.
n.
The act of taking vengeance for injuries or wrongs; retaliation.
Something done in vengeance; a retaliatory measure.
A desire for revenge; spite or vindictiveness.
An opportunity to retaliate, as by a return sports match after a defeat.
after a few rounds of revenge, no one has a clue what the hell they were fighting about in the first place
Mmmm! html PI(e?) :)
.
(David Bowman, EVA near HUGE Monolithic Win-PC in orbit around Jupiter) "My God - its full of Malware!"
But Seth really is an odious creature. Michael's description of his loopy behavior is perfectly fair. Seth also comes across as obsessive; once he finds an enemy, he sometimes makes a point of finding that person and fighting with him as often as possible. And when he's proven completely wrong, he doesn't acknowledge it, as someone arguing in good faith might. I've only seen a small glimpse of Seth's "handiwork" and he is someone I wouldn't want to meet, much less work together with.
Surely what Michael did with censorware.org was rash, and it makes him look bad to outsiders. And for all I know Michael is a complete asshole (I've never met him). But nobody should be held accountable for failing to get along with Seth. Seth is an intelligent man who has a strange attraction to using his wit to stir up shit. He has no scruples. I, too, would feel bad about helping him win an award from an otherwise honorable organization.
--
Ikaruga scoreboard (supports netranking)