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One Woman's Fight to Save P2P
jalefkowit writes "I'm a writer for the Online Community Report, and in our last issue we ran a story I wrote that might be of interest to the Slashdot readership. Slashdot has already mentioned the campaign of Tara Sue Grubb to unseat Howard Coble in North Carolina's 6th congressional district. We thought this story merited some deeper analysis, so I put together a piece entitled "Tara Sue Takes Aim" that ran in the latest issue of OCR. I'd love to hear the community's opinion of our take on the significance of her campaign."
My take on it? Snowball's chance in hell. Not her fault, or Dave Winer's, just how it's going to play out. The piece is worth reading anyway, both for some choice rhetoric and a few bits of background info for those of us who aren't Radioland devotees or political pundits.
All of those nationwide supporters aren't going to help unless they all have close friends and relatives in the district of contention, now are they? Combine that with the widespread voter apathy in this country and... feh.
(Side note: The recent mail-in elections here in Oregon barely stirred the needle above "Total Apathy," even with parents who had very vested interests in the school funding measures! "Oh, the measures won't pass anyway, so I didn't bother." You said WHAT?!? Grrrr.)
I'm only wearing black until they come out with something darker.
The NRA has huge amounts of political clout, and I'd like to think that geeks are at least as numerous, wealthy, intelligent and organized as gun owners. Maybe it's time we stopped bitching and got off our asses and did something about it?
paintball
P2P A.K.A client-server has been around since the dawn of time, and is doing just fine. I dont think it needs saving.
Now companys that encourge and enable piracy definately need saving, and probably a lot of money to make bail for that matter.
- Adam L. Beberg - The Cosm Project - http://www.mithral.com/
All P2P issues aside, it's fascinating to think about what this form of campaigning means to the American public. Ponder for a second the legions of disaffected Americans who sit at their computers daily, reading blog after blog. Wouldn't you like to read a blog written by, say, your elected official? Not some slick press-release from the public relations branch of said official's staff, but an actual blog -- real thoughts and opinions. Would you be more inclined to vote? I hope to see more of this in the future. Most Americans don't vote because they feel so distanced from the political process, and from the politicians themselves. Most of us don't even really know the views of the people on the ballot (since we're all too smart and hip to buy into the media mudslinging and muckracking that campaigning has turned into.. right? RIGHT?) If more officials did something as courageous as putting their thoughts and opinions out there in the ether like Ms. Grub, can you imagine how the political process might change? Geeks might vote! Intelligent people might get elected, not just ones who can afford a good PR department! And wouldn't that make the world a better place?
Moderation totals that amuse me for one of my posts: Flamebait=1, Insightful=2, Funny=2, Overrated=1, Underrated=1
We need $5000 to produce commercials to throw these guys out of the water. Donate to this campaign.
:)
Not even a please? Awww....
I can't see her getting far, but I wish her good luck! We need more people like this!
Perhaps a little less demanding tho
In "Ender's Game", Orson Scott Card depicted a world in which a few individuals could influence society simply through the power of their words, via the Net.
Something like this is starting to take place. The online word is almost powerful enough to counter traditional political forces: the backroom politics arranged over a handshake and a drink.
This fight is attracting those with an interest in P2P and the Net. Tomorrow's fights will be more broad based.
But, please, someone find a better term than "Blogging"!
Sig for sale or rent. One previous user. Inquire within.
1: Write free software.
2: ?
3: Save P2P networks.
4: Profit!
Has everyone who is part of Tara Sue's campaign written, on paper, with envelope, Howard Coble to complain about the idea of MPAA or RIAA being able to hack at will?
Congress tends to blow off email, like it or not, and pay a lot more attention to written letters and more even to handwritten letters outlining the person's stance on whatever issue.
A quote that stuck with me from a Congress person's interview, "People don't contact their congressmen anymore. Hardly anyone writes letters, or even calls. As little as 12 letters has directly influenced the way I handle issues and represent the people... I can only assume if those dozen people care enough to write, there are thousands of people I am representing that care just as much, but never took the time to write."
Write, write, write. Email, and call as well, but write. If the Rep then ignores the letters, then by all means set up an alternative for voting, but while the election is there, write as well.
DanH
Cav Pilot's Reference Page
UNIX - Not just for Vestal Virgins anymore
Not to mention the fact that many geeks are both gun owners and members of the NRA. *snort*
As much as we think you can't be more famous than when you're mentioned in Slashdot, not everybody reads this site. I think anybody who lives in or near her District and care about her goals should go out and help, print out posters and informational leaflets about her/her campaign and DDoS the real world with it. But ask her first if it'd be okay.
Coble's website got nothing compared to hers, and looking at her photo doesn't scare me away either.
What time is it/will be over there? Check with my iPhone app!
:s/by/buy
Slashdot only allows a user with your karma to post 2 times per day. You've already shared your thoughts with us that many times. Take a breather, and come back and see us in 24 hours or so.
If you think this is unfair, please email jamie@slashdot.org with your username "Drunken Coward". Let us know how many comments you think you've posted in the last 24 hours.
Given that congress is bought and paid for by Disney and the RIAA, and the looming, inevitable rise of pallidium...the point of this ruckus would be what, again?
We're fucked, get over it.
...and manages to save P2P (while getting elected to Congress), does that mean that the truth about JFK, Hoffa, Roswell and other "conspiracies" will be available to download on NeoNapster? Just search for "MagicBullet.zip" and viola! We know that Kennedy was killed by a young Osama bin Laden, Hoffa is in a hubcap rolling around on a 79 Ford, the Vulcans crashed in Roswell, and an MP3/OGG of the missing 18.5 minutes of the Nixon tapes reveals that "Deep Throat" was Slick Dick's favorite DC hooker.
Ah shit. I'll BRB, the Feds are at my door asking how much I know...
Blog Prophyts - Right On, Man
This is a REPUBLIC my friends. My rights end where your rights begin.
On P2P, Privacy rights far outweigh copyrights. There is always an alternative. Coble and Berman want to portray us as pirates because they know the average individual is smart enough to see this bill for what it is. Who's gonna listen to a pirate, right?
I'm no pirate. I've never stolen anybody's eight cents. I'm protecting our right to privacy. I'm doing Mr. Coble's and Mr. Berman's job---pro bono! These boys need to head back to law school. They just don't get it.
The Coble/Berman camp thinks Libertarians should support this bill. There are many issues surrounding P2P other than privacy and IP. If it passes, this bill will set a dangerous precedent for the future of our privacy. Show me a law that hasn't been abused by a lawyer and his client somewhere.
There is another important point champions for free markets support. There are several extremely successful business models that have demonstrated the advantages in file sharing. Phish and the Grateful Dead are the two largest "cult" bands in history. They encourage their audience to share their music. They have record sales and performances. They have a real touch on what it means to participate in a free society.
The goal of a free market is to weed out the weak. It's ridiculous for industries to yell "foul!" when a new industry hits the scene. It is not government's place to ensure any particular entity's market. That priviledge belongs to the consumer. In this case the consumer is telling the industry what it wants. Berman & Coble are saying they don't have to listen.
The manner in which the entertainment industry has chosen to compensate for its weakness is beyond deplorable. I myself was the recent victim of a virus or hacker. These are very bad, but if you contribute to the Coble/Berman campaign, it's ok. These double standards are outrageous.
Another issue is the trade off of privacy for protection. The author of "Let Hollywood Hack" (one of the articles on Mike's blog) James D. Miller, says:
"While we should regret any loss of privacy, fighting crime often requires reducing the privacy rights of innocents. For example, our privacy is violated when we walk through a metal detector or are searched by airport security Indeed, NASA may soon even scan the brains of airline passengers in efforts to detect terrorists. Surely, scanning hard drives is far less objectionable than scanning brains."
I am almost reluctant to respond to sophmoric arguments such as these. I am not convinced that the need to fight this crime outweighs our right to privacy. And I don't see that it ever could. Miller compares this issue to airport security, which of course is beyond ludicrous. First, lives are not at stake in P2P. Secondly, scanning a citizen's personal computer is far more intrusive than walking through a metal detector. Allowing Hollywood to arbitrarily hack into a PC, not knowing the user and actual perpetrator is unjustified. And third, comparing the scanning of hard drives to the future of privacy violations is senseless. Of course scanning hard drives is less objectionable than scanning brains, but that is not happening. A reasoned argument does not throw out some unrealized, futuristic possibility to shock and amaze in order to lessen the gravity of our situation.
In addition to all of this, sacrificing privacy has not ensured one ounce of protection, it has merely provided the illusion of its existence. As we know, metal detectors don't stop terrorism. The P2P bill won't stop file sharing. In fact, it will increase any perceived loss and add to consumer contempt. This because two men hadn't the nerve nor the wit to protect the constitution and encourage good business. That is the real casualty.
Libertarians aren't sell outs. That's why it takes so much of YOUR effort to put them into office and that's why I don't support this bill. It reaks of corporate favortism at Liberty's expense. And every person I talk to understands this.
1.Write witty reply to anonymous /. posting, anonymously.
2.?
3.Get Mod -1 (Troll)
4.Profit!
in the light of recent not so subtle changes in U.S. diplomacy tactics I find this issue (and also the not so subtle lobbying for a particular candidate) pretty ridiculous and a tad offensive.
Vote with your head, not with your wallet.
No kidding. At LEAST become an "armchair activist" -- you can attempt to change the status quo from the comfort of your computer desk!
Working for Change lets you e-mail the appropriate elected officials for your area. It's easy -- they provide a pre-written, customizable e-mail that you sign. Click send, and it automatically goes to your appropriate representatives. It also attaches your appropriate information (name, address, etc) so they can determine that you're actually a constituant (which is very important to elected officials).
Usually, you'll get a snail-mail reply from the people you write to. It's kinda nice to get something in the mail besides bills, AND feel like you're helping a cause at the same time...
That said....
So when's a Slashdot reader gonna run for office?!? Unfortunately, I'm not quite old enough to run for President yet -- you have to be 35 and I'm about a decade short...
Moderation totals that amuse me for one of my posts: Flamebait=1, Insightful=2, Funny=2, Overrated=1, Underrated=1
Right on. The NRA is a great example of what people can do when they organize. I would only hope we can keep Barbara Streisand from bashing our new PAC.
I'm proud to be owned by MS and get my $50k, its better than being owned by linux, and get to suck Linus' dick and getting paid $0. I don't even know what's wrong with people who say MS software dosn't work, I've been running win2k for 2 years with no major problems, I think that the people who say MS software sucks are just too stupid to use it. For example we all know CmdrTaco couldn't install windows XP after trying 12 times, I guess that just makes my point.
Is that what you want? C'mon, you know you hate it when politicians whine :) Someone whoe fights the good fight [i]should[/i] demand action and donations...
-- Waht? Tehr's a preveiw buottn?
GRUB for congress? LILO works fine, damnit!
Bootloaders don't need shells, and they certainly don't need to run for congress, damnit!
Sorry to say it but the server-client way is much better than P2P. Look at Direct Connect; I can connect to a hub that only allows 10Mbit connections, forces individual share limit of say 50GB+, forces me to have a minimum of 3 slots open, and it has admins who kick out the fakers and hackers. And besides it's much more fun downloading at 700KB/s from DC than 20KB/s on Kazaa or Gnutella. And if you download from P2P you never know what you get, if the admins on DC find out that you share a fake release they will ban your ass...
So he's a stupid moron for having a political opinion that disagrees with yours? Apparently you don't know jack shit about the economy either, given your assumption that the Government finding an alternative to Microsoft would somehow damage the economy.
Although, why you should be taken seriously isn't clear at the moment; if your political views were so significant and so important to you, you'd have enough spine not to post as an AC.
I know this because Tyler knows this.
CNN is running this story about an "American Idol"-like TV show to find a Presidential candidate. How's THAT for optimism?!?
Moderation totals that amuse me for one of my posts: Flamebait=1, Insightful=2, Funny=2, Overrated=1, Underrated=1
Tara Sue is way hottt!!@! VOTE 4 HER YOU MAILBOX HEADS!!!!
Hot Hot Hot! Not Cold! Hot Hot Hot!
I'm damned if I'm gonna buy a whole new PC and OS, just to run one app, even if it is the best thing since the invention of the Turing machine.
In my opinion this is the district-system. If votes are counted only in small regions that yield only one seat, you effectively create a two-party system. These two usually keep each other in close balance: you stay in power until you screw up and then the other party gets its chance for a few years.
Here in Europe (except for England and France?), the votes are usually counted in the whole country (usually with a threshold of a few percent). Most countries therefore have a mix of parties (green, labour, liberal, christian,
karma police: arrest this man, he talks in maths; he buzzes like a fridge, he's like a detuned radio. [radiohead]
The NRA DOES NOT have huge political clout, because they were stupid in the late 70s and threw in almost 100% with the Republican party. This allows the Republicans to treat gun owners as Democrats treat blacks. "Fuck you and shut up, you have nowhere else to go." Doubt me? Try this thought-experiment.
.38 in the pilot's flight bag! Imagine the noise! It took a FUCKING YEAR to get Bush to say maybe a few pilots should get guns if trained in an overexpensive and useless program, but there's no WAY AlGore would have been able to get away with that shit. Face it, we gun owners are the Republicans' niggers. sigh.
ALGore wins in Florida, and is president. Sept. 11th happens exactly as it did (like Bush, he'd hire cops who were more interested in the tax-&-spend drugwar). Now it's the aftermath of 9/11, and Gore happily talks of fighter jets with sidewinder missiles downing future hijacked planes, but God FORBID a
anon
The worst terrorist attack in recorded history occurred over a year ago, followed by a Holy War against Islam, and now Israel and the Palestinians as well as India and Pakistan are teetering on the brink of their own war, Argentina is in the midst of a financial crisis, America is considering launching attacks against Somalia and Iraq, and you people have the gall to be discussing P2P music theft???? My *god*, people, GET SOME PRIORITIES!
The bodies of the thousands of innocent civilians who died (and will die) in these unprecedented events could give a good god damn about P2P, your childish Lego models, your nerf toy guns and whining about the lack of a "fun" workplace, your Everquest/Diablo/D&D fixation, the latest Cowboy Bebop rerun, or any of the other ways you are "getting on with your life" (here's a hint: watching Cowboy Bebop in your jammies and eating a bowl of Shreddies is *not* "getting on with your life"). The souls of the victims are watching in horror as you people squander your finite, precious time on this earth playing video games!
You people disgust me!
They even have a web site that makes it trivial for you to write your congress folk. They supply text which you can modify or rewrite entirely. They then look up your representatives according to your zip code and will send the text for you. Couldn't be simpler.
So what are you waiting for?
Devon
Tara Sue:
In this post http://www.tarasue4u.com/soos/09/14#a176 you make some impassioned, but not clearly reasoned statements that don't stand by themselves.
"-What do you think we need to defend ourselves?"
Health and Intelligence is the best defense. Health in this nation is extremely poor, both mentally and physically. A real dedication to human interest or human capital builds the strongest foundation. This includes the water we drink, the air we breathe the food we eat. And of course the health of our political life. Our public school system for example, has cut out health education to spend money elsewhere. Congressmen know that American's hardly vote and do nothing to include them. Do you know that Mr. Coble has not once asked the Board of Elections what they need to improve voter turn out? That would be the first call I make once in office.
As for Intelligence, we've seen the lack of intelligence on September 11. We value tests and scores far more than experience and education. The public school system does not teach worldly concepts of liberty & justice, much less American concepts of the same. We used to teach the classics to our middle school children. Now one must afford college to be exposed to the wealth of philosophy and history, unless of course their parents have stepped in.
Intelligent parenting then is the more adequate solution. But I am not here discussing what parents do and don't do. I am here to demonstrate how government can do more by doing less, how to improve the American home.
"-Why do you think it'll result in a war with "All Arabic Nations"? This may be possible and is most likely what bin Laden has hope for, but is far from certain."
In the local paper (Greensboro News & Record) Iraqi/Arabic leaders were reported to have said, "An attack on Iraq is an attack on all Arabic Nations." They said it first. Bin Laden is a moot point. He is one of thousands, the figure head for our tv.
"-Why do you think war with Iraq would be unjust? This is not clear. One may easily question the wisdom of such a war, but questioning its justice is more difficult, give Sadam's history."
First, the same article I read quoted Arabic diplomats saying they were willing to work things with diplomacy. It is unjust to choose war when your opponent is willing to talk it out. But our leaders have a desire for war and have chosen to lobby other nations to join them. I'm not sure what "lobbying" entails. I believe there are few just wars.
You say it is difficult to question, given Saddam's history, so lets examine this history. We must look back over twenty years when we first assisted him in obtaining arms. Saddam is a small part of a much larger problem rooted in the fertile crescent, augmented by greed. The issue at hand is U.N. violations. I'm sure Mr. Bush will have his war, considering the world depends upon this nation in many ways. But I am certainly not convinced that war is the solution for these problems.
"-Why do you think life in the US will be regressive?"
Must you ask? If the foreign diplomats mean what they said about a war against "all Arabic nations" then our problem hits home. The Arabic nation is here as well. Fear, anxiety, hate, ethnocentrism, murder for gods are all borne of evil and regressive by nature. We tear apart our own people if they fear their neighbors for their religious beliefs. Fear is so powerful and unnerving. We threw thousands into concentration camps after Japan bombed Pearl Harbor. History repeats itself because people never learn.
The message our leaders should be sending is a message of peace. They should acknowledge life as more than money, markets and wars. In this campaign I have grown a great disdain for politics. The thirst is not for passionate leadership and compassionate will. It is for power only. The fact that this "war" is being debated around the November election drives the point home even harder. These people are not interested in doing what is best, be it war, or no. They are more concerned with a strategy to keep their jobs. They are just not sure if the voting public is willing to go to war. So they run their ads and talk about freedom and take their polls. I'm sure once the Demopublicans have the poll they need, they will go to war.
As I have said before, if you have to convince your people and the world that war is a good idea, then it probably isn't.
You mentioned that a "credible candidate needs to address things like this. "
Interesting. I have yet to see one politician address these issues listed above, and they currently serve. They give nothing but sound bites, with no real substance. They use emotion to tool their way through.
You know, everyday I visit with several people. They aren't thinking about Iraq. They are thinking about paying their bills, keeping their home, finding a job, dealing with their kids. This nation still has all the same problems it had before September 2001. Our Carolina school systems are re-living 1964. Desegregation did not fix anything. Families of color are still being pushed out of wealthy white neighborhoods and still make 60 cents on the white man's dollar. White flight is a common occurrence. Sexism is as real today as in 1960's. Poverty and the dying middle class is so obvious, even to a laymen. And America is fat on mal-nourishment.
To add insult to injury, this "attack on freedom" has served as a wonderful marketing tool for many pushing useless items. "You're an American. You should be talking on a cell phone everywhere you go. You're an American. You should pay more for a new car than you do for your house, and please, go into as much debt as possible. Freedom has become a shopping spree. And few of us have any money. But that is the message being sent. I say then that freedom in some sense is money. And since we have no economic justice, no money, we have even less freedom.
I would just like to see us evolve.
Once again the Internet proves its power with regards to public communication and information. When the subject is right, peoples voices will be heard. She is getting much more publicity than my congressman, for that I am certain. How intriguing that through a simple electronic payment that was not easily conceived only a few years ago, that I can now offer support for someone who is not even in my district. The more she gets noticed, the more everyone standing up for our freedom of speech, online and off, gets noticed. A win for her, or at least a very public loss for her there, seems like it could benefit us all. The more her status gets raised, congress in every state will take notice. She seems somewhat of a net newbie, but many are voted into political office with little experience other than the desire to listen and act for the people.
Underdog congressional candidate Billy Bob Budweiser is making waves with his renegade single-issue campaign platform: free beer for everyone.
Across America, millions of beer lovers have coalesced behind his effort to put free brewskies in every refrigerator. The incredible outpouring of support for the little-known but aptly named candidate has all the markings of a movement, maybe even a revolution, that could change the System forever.
Even though he doesn't have any money, Billy Bob has asked his supporters to send him the cap from every beer they drink to indicate their support for his campaign. So far he's collected several million caps, which he says he plans to take to Washington and "leave 'em in a big ole pile on the President's desk. That'll show 'em!"
Budweiser's opponent, a 30-year incumbent with a multi-million dollar war chest, said he isn't concerned about Budweiser's beer-based campaign. "People in this district prefer Miller Lite," he said. "It tastes great and it's less filling."
Political pundits say Budweiser has no chance whatsoever to win the race, but that hasn't dimmed the frothy enthusiasm of his beer-addled supporters. "Ah'm a-gonna keep shendin' Billy mah beer capsh," said one wildly intoxicated supporter, who claims to have drank more than 40 cases of Budweiser in the last two weeks. "If everbuddy wood jess shend Billy their capsh, them fellersh that runsh the gubbament wood hafta lishen! An if they don't, me an Billy gonna go up dare ta Warshinton and kick shome ash!"
Of course, the voters in Budweiser's district will have the last word. The latest poll shows Budweiser is likely to top out at 3-5 percent of the vote. Budweiser says he isn't worried. "If I lose, I'm gonna take these here bottle caps to the aluminum recycler. That should get me a good $20 or so. Then I'll head over to the Do Drop Inn and get a good buzz on. That's what America's all about, ain't it?"
Fried ice cream is a reality. - George Clinton
One word: GeekPAC.
dcgui, a.k.a. dc_gui (GTK+) and dctc (text-mode client, not designed for actual users - it's designed to provide a backend for things like dcgui).
:-)
For server aps there's dchub.
Debian users: "apt-get install dcgui dchub" should do it
I have often thought that when we finally get to the point where everyone is wired we should make some serious campaign reform. Creating a website is pretty cheap and we should restrict a candidate's campaign communication medium to a publicly offered website that the candidate or his staff can maintain. This would ensure a level playing field for all candidates and take much of the power away from the major corporations. Running a campaign wouldn't cost anything more than time to set up your website and the application fee so a candidate would not be obligated to seek funding for election and could spend time actually figuring out what his constituency's priorities were. Do you want to know who your canidatates are and what their positions are? Go to http://campaign.gov
Of course restricting a candidates campaign medium would take a constitutional amendment but when the time is right that shouldn't be a problem. People were able to ratify a constitutional amendment banning alcohol. Once the critical mass is there on the internet it shouldn't be a problem coordinating an amendment movement.
Cat
It's not that small. Maybe 30% turnout? That's still only a third the normal number of Republicans.
Maybe if she can get the Dems to climb on board...be a *moderate* Libertarian, villify Coble.
Here's luck to her -- one Libertarian wouldn't upset the boat too much, and it would get a lot more attention given to online/tech types.
May we never see th
My Senator, Jean Carnahan (D-MO), dodged the question with some flowery language about how she wanted "to encourage the adoption of broadband," which tells me she'd vote for it. (My letter was obviously opposed.)
I just sent an email asking the question point blank to Sen. Carnahan, and also to her Republican challeneger, Jim Talent.
Any reports from other states?
Call (206) 338-5780 COLLECT for information about a genuine BA, BS, MA, MS, MBA, or Ph.D.
The reason for the widespread voter apathy on this issue is just that they don't realize they're getting screwed. If they catch on things could change.
The reason congress treats copyright law the way they do is so they can get re-elected. Copyright laws aren't even a big issue in nearly all elections so congress can quietly screw the general public (by lengthening copyrights by about 100 years and ensuring that there will be no public domain material for a while) and the entertainment industry will give them free money.
Until the general public catches on and possibly even starts financing candidates who represent us instead of the entertainment industry, people running for congress will continue to take money from the entertainment industry and to be swayed by their arguments without bothering to consider the other side.
(On a side note, I think if a performer can be paid for a recorded performance for the next 100 years that ditch-diggers should earn residual income as long as their ditch is in use. After all, they should get paid for their work.)
Coding Blog
For your information p2p mùeans that each client is also a server. And that means that any individual, any small company and any voluntary can publish a document wordlwide even with billions of hits a day, without any server hosting cost. Democracy for small publishers, at last.
And that's why big corps want to put an end to p2p, and they don't care how harmful it will be just as long as it can help them keep their monopolies and make more money.
~~~
With his pitiful few, out of the money stock options, he thinks he owns Microsoft!
Remember that Microsoft has 5 billion+ shares outstanding, so he's a really big wheel in the Microsoft empire! Not!
Come to think of it, that's what watering the stock does; nobody is a really a big wheel at Microsoft!!!
That's one of the reasons for the poor product quality of Microsoft's products. Nobody at Microsoft has the leverage to impose the discipline needed to implement, for example, "Trustworthy Computing"! Just try disciplining fellow owners of the company, when each one knows the best way to protect the value of his stock options!
Now that people know she's serious, it be more tha a little helpful if she had an organized website built around her blog. I can approximate a sketch of her political beliefs by her libertarian affiliation, and at the end of her "about me" page, she talks about laisez faire economics... but that's it. Even if she wants to be seen as a "one-issue" candidate, she still needs to look better organized and, well, less ranty.
One might ask the same about birds. What ARE birds? We just don't know.
WHAT can we do to wake up "Joe 6 Pack"?
;)
He's the one who is apathetic. But he has just as much to lose as we do.
As recently demonstrated by "accident" in New York, the next generation of TV, Digital TV, which has DRM mandated into it by the FCC, itself is to be forced down everyone's throats before the end of this decade, WILL have the ability to forbid recording off TV.
Recording shows off TV has been a right taken for granted by analog VCR owners since the early 80's. Virtually EVERYONE has recorded a show on a VCR, even if they are recording inane crap like "Bassmasters" or "Friends" instead of "Star Trek" like we geeks do
That soon will end. Given their blatantly stated attitudes, I cannot for one second believe that Hillary Rosen and Jack Valenti won't order cable companies and broadcasters to "throw the switch" shutting off virtually all recording once DTV has been forced into homes.
Furthermore, P2P sharing is definately NOT just for geeks. Plenty of Joe and Jane Averages have been buying computers and internet JUST FOR THIS for the past 3 years. There are millions more file sharers than there are geeks.
Filesharing is no more a crime than taping songs off the radio (likely to be impossible when radio goes digital, also something mandated by the FCC by the end of the decade). Who DIDN'T trade dubbed casettes with people back in high school?
I did so quite alot. It never stopped me from buying albums whenever I had the money to. Just as my collection of over 10,000 MP3 song files doesn't stop me from buying albums of artits I like (such as Avril Lagigne, the "Anti-Britney" who's album is most definately worth buying). I don't download Britney. I download mostly pre-1990 stuff, a LOT of it being out of print.
The RIAA/MPAA "Hack Act" would create mass chaos on the Internet. ANYONE can whistle, play a kazoo, hum, etc random noise into a casette recorder, make a MP3 of it and have a "copyrighted" song (and it would be at about the artistic level of Britney/BSB/NSync, et all), place it on your computer and then have cause to hack the RIAA "just to check".
The RIAA/MPAA have no idea what they are asking for... Because for the law to be written only to apply to THEM would cause it to be tossed out as discriminatory. So it must apply to everyone who owns ANY copyright. Their technical expertise and resources are also vastly inferior to those of the geek community.
They'd be starting a war with a nuclear power when all they are armed with is rocks and pointed sticks.
The result would be total chaos on the net. And, you know, I'm not so sure they aren't aware of that... CBDTPA DRM computing, using MS Palladium would take control of our hardware and software from US, making it impossible (theoretically) for us to resond in kind to RIAA hack attacks.
But, I digress... What will it take to get Joe and Jane Average to realize what is being done to THEM? Will it be the first time they can't record "Oprah"? Will it be when they discover their PC has been "accidently" erased by some amateur RIAA hacker? Will it be when they buy a new PC with Palladium and it won't play their MP3's?
Sooner or later, I believe it will happen. There is a LOT of hostility in the general public towards corporations. For some reason, Hollywood and the Record Industry have escaped general wrath, despite the fact that what they rake in makes overpaid athletes (whom the public often bitch about) look like Wal-Mart greeters.
Corporatism != Free Market
http://www.lpnc.org/events/calendar.html
Anyone checked this out yet? An unorthodox but likely sucessful way to raise money... I've never seen Demopublicans look that good.
And they are for freedom to boot!
This is raising money for the NC libertarians.
Corporatism != Free Market
and the looming, inevitable rise of pallidium
Palladium only provides a secure space inside your machine in which software can run. If you turn off Palladium, or you don't run any apps that import palladium.dll, then Palladium has no effect on your use of the Internet. WinMX and Gnucleus will continue to let you trade copies of live recordings, especially of bands who have authorized it.
Will I retire or break 10K?
The Walt Disney Company now owns the mindshare rights (which can have more value than any copyright or trademark) to the name "LILO".
LILO works fine, damnit!
So does STITCH. Your point?
We have GeekPAC, founded by the guys who do The Linux Show and it needs your support.
"Straddling the sword of technology..."
The simple fact is that p2p is not just about music, but who controlls information - and what we can do with it. Like it or not, all the major conflicts in the world are about information, what people know, and what that leads people to believe, and how they react. P2P is not about music, but about controll - and if this issue can not be resolved in the USA, one of the most powerfull and free contries in the world (inspite of all its problems) then it has a snowballs chance in hell of being resolved anywhere for a long time. There are litterally trillions at stake, and billions of lives will be influenced by how this battle plays out.
The USA is suffering a lot of pressure as it enters the information age, and has really cracked down hard in many unjust ways - you can be rest assured that this evil will be magnified 100 fold when this "title wave" hit countries that don't have a strong foundation of liberties. We owe it to these people to solve these problems now, before they really get out of hand. If we can not help ourselves as hell breaks out here, then we will certainly not be able to help them when it comes their way too.
Well paid? Well, I'm not. But I do do some political work.
When are people going to realize that the vote is rigged FOR THE ZIONIST, BY THE ZIONIST. Look at what happened to Cynthia McKinney. A lesson to everybody: You are not allowed to criticize the Zionist! There is NO WAY they will ever let anyone who opposes their draconian intellectual property policies get elected.
You make the inane assumption that every reader agrees with the political views of CmdrTaco & friends. Believe it or not, not everyone thinks the same! P.S. What is your justification for outlawing MS in government? How would you like it if your business was banned from doing business with the government?
So when's a Slashdot reader gonna run for office?
For some of us, this is fairly hard to achieve by virtue of not being american in the first place. Having said that, where is the european alternative to EFF? That would be a first great step over here...
Don't forget to pick up a copy of your Ladies of Liberty Calendar...
Are all libertarians this attractive and intelligent or is there something in the water in NC?
...politely and articulately expressing my disdain for the bill he's co-sponsoring and urging him to drop his support. Not surprisingly, I have yet to receive a reply.
What baffles me is that nowhere in Coble's constituency is there the slightest motivation for this legislation. Therefore, whatever, Coble's motivation, it must come from outside his constituency. In a sense, this is par for the course among politicians who seek to grasp and become a part of issues they do not understand so as to bask in the limelight of national publicity.
However, it is also dangerous when politicians allow their personal ambitions to cloud and color their political agendas. Coble has his Democratic counterparts, to be sure (an old and genteel southern Democrat from South Carolina whose name I cannot quite recall at the moment, who clearly does not distinguish between a ram chip and a disk drive, is also using anti-computer, anti-geek sentiment to propel himself into the national limelight. Ok, now I remember. His name is Hollings.)
Anyway, assuming that these people are merely using these issues as political footballs for their own personal gain is the lighter side of the assumption. We're indeed in trouble if there's more to it than that.
As to the Grubb-Coble faceoff, the issue here is really over the Coble legislation. Should Coble quietly withdraw his support, I fear poor Ms. Grubb would soon go unappreciated.
1. Read Atlas Shrugged
2. ?
3. Get elected to congress
4. Profit!
Well why don't you start one then ? I'm not even eligible to vote ( born wrong side of the border ) but I'd still $upport you because of the push-down effect US policies have on other countries policies.
howard coble has been my hometown's representative for as long as i can remember, and even the most skeptical people love him. he's an example of politics done right, in my opinion, and i despise almost all politicians.
in jesse helms's state, there are wiser battles to be fought than this one.
These people are trying to set one up. They're affiliated with the American Open Technology Consortium. If I understand the relationships, it's sort of like the Sierra Club's political wing as opposed to their lobbying/educational wing.
Unfortunately they don't seem to have their act together yet. For instance, I sent the AOTC some seed money about three months ago and the check hasn't been cashed yet. Their manifesto shows them only having received three pledges, which I think means it hasn't been updated in several months. GeekPAC is still working on authority to operate as a political action committee (there's a lot of legal mumbo-jumbo involved), but is taking donations on the assumption that approval will be granted.
And, my final gripe is, the name GeekPAC has to go. It's fine as a nickname among geeks, but outside the community the name "geek" carries some prett negative connotations. Might as well call it "WeirdoPAC" or "GoonPAC" or something.
Don't get me wrong, I hope these are just growing pains on the way to an organization that can play with the big boys and occasionally win.
Someone you trust is one of us.
well? is she hot? if not, who gives a fuck. unattractive women *
Well, this is a good point. Is EFF the way to go? Or is it about time the /.ers start really pulling together? Plenty here pay dues to EFF, yet feel lost in the crowd. We write and write, and wonder if we even make a dent. I am about to send $$ to a woman in another state on the slight gamble that she might be able shout louder than us. Should we focus on one area or spread ourselves around? This is a political battle and I am not a political person, so I will listen to all theorys on the best approach out there.
I've been a /.er for a few years and decided it was time to get involved as opposed to only replying on /. -
See my site at http://victormarks.org - unfortunately you won't see my stance on IP issues/copyright law on that page, simply because as a state representative, it's a non-issue- those laws are made in US congress, not the state legislature.
Instead, state legislatures get to deal with laws concering EULAs, ( http://www.cptech.org/ecom/ucita/ ), laws concerning model health acts , ( http://www.disinfo.com/pages/article/id2454/pg1/ ) and other threats to our rights to live our lives without intrusion.
Tara really latched onto Coble's prominent "I've-been-bought" issue, and has done well with it- however, the Coble bill isn't going to go anywhere- even Republican candidates I know are writing Coble telling him to put it to rest.
Vote Libertarian! http://victormarks.org
Yeah, but you can sure run for mayor. Of course, in most cities, you can't be a cab driver until you're, what, 25?
*sigh*
Everyone on slashdot has a journal.
I admire her bravery, and her willingness to fight the good fight against Howard Coble - an obnoxious fool if I ever saw one - but get real.
I used to live in Greensboro, NC, part of Mr. Coble's district. In fact I spent most of my life in that part of NC, and several years working in politics in NC.
I can tell you from first hand experience, working in past political campaigns there, that he is completely safe from any challenge. His district is drawn in such a way as to guarantee his re-election.
Which is sad, cause the fat bastard really is an almost completely-ignorant jackass, but it's also the reality on the ground.
The people of Guilford County by and far don't really care about these issues. They care about textile jobs going to Mexico (and now to China), and furniture plants closing and moving overseas as well. Unfettered P2P won't pay the mortgage.
Her cause might be noble, but is it really worth it? I think we would be better off fighting his idiotic bills, and picking our battles more intelligently.
Please don't accept his response as anything more than a typical bullshit non-answer from a politician. It is a classic example of the types of meaningless phrases that politicians are so adept using. You know precisely nothing more about his position than you did before you asked.
You need to provide a focused question such as "Please answer yes or no to the following question: Will you vote to pass the (insert name of bill here)?". The average politician will probably never give you an answer, or reply in such a way as to appear responsive yet make no commitment - possibly by rewording and answering a different question.
Hey I read the article, then went to the Tara For Congress Site.
She's fighting for something I believe in, and I admit I do like her position on other things. I found her Paypal contribution button..
So screw it, I know it's a good cause... I sent her $25 cash via PAYPAL Contribution:
Transaction Details
Web Accept Payment Sent (ID #9WL51528E6024712A)
Name Tara For Congress (The recipient of this payment is Verified)
Email grubbhouse@msn.com
Amount 25.00
Send her some cash guys! Are you waiting for the tooth fairy to fight for you?
If you don't support what you believe in...
then you don't really believe in it, do you?
Mabidex
Hey Creepy Girlygirl...
....AHhhhhh worthless piece of crap!
Priorities... let's see Osama wants us to be scared, we then get our gov to make laws that take away some of our rights (for security). Hasn't he won?
Heck we are trying to keep certain rights, that is how we fight those assholes... We lost lives, you bitch. We freaken lost lives on that september day...
So you want us to lose our liberties?
You moron, these people kill themselves for their way of thinking. Would you die for yours?
If you don't die for your freedoms (freedom of religion, freedom of election, etc), then go suck brazilian horse dick for a living, and get the fuck out of here. Now if you posted this from outside of the US, then say hi to se~nor horse scrotem... you fucking stupid
Severly Pissed
Is it just me, or is this the same thing that 20 years ago happened to satellite TV? At the start of satellite TV, people were able to take their dishes, point them, and watch some of their favorite shows, such as the late-night variety shows like The Tonight Show, unedited and without commercials. That was soon put to an end with encrypted signals. Throughout the 80's and into the 90's with the introduction of DSS, satellite providers couldn't provide local channels because the cable companies lobbied for bills to outlaw it, giving them an edge in the marketplace. If someone in Washington would get their head out of their ass and realize that the RIAA is going to be the death of music here in America and most of the western world, they will come up with a way to deflate their power.
No TiVo and no caffeine make me something something...
Combine that with the widespread voter apathy in this country and... feh.
Yeah, but who cares...
Come on, she will say anything to get elected.
How can you be certain she is genuine ?
You'd outlaw MS in government? So, they are the only company you perceive as bad? Would you prefer to simply outlaw every company? That way, you are the only voice in our goverment? I sure bet it would be a tight ship up there if you were at the helm, eh?
And, of all the problems in this world, spam in your mailbox has got to be the lowest of the low on the totem pole. How about something that actually affects people's life (I mean life & death here) and real liberty?
The only thing that you said that wasn't 100% moronic was encouraging people to stop bitching and do something about it their issues.
How fat and lazy we must be as Americans for our #1 problem to be commericals in our inbox.
Dontbuycds.org endorses Tara Sue Grubb. If North Carolina's 6th district Slashdotters will get out and tell all their neighbors why they are voting for Tara, she has a chance. All it really takes is name recognition. Don't tell the old timers she not a dem or repub. Just tell them her name, and that we need people who understnd technology in congress, not just white haired old men with VCRs flashing 12:00
The Uncoveror: It's the real news.
I highly recommend it. They should have a "wow, thanks!" page with membership numbers though, after your card is charged, instead of just a reciept & a sitemap link.
But anyway, I feel better, and I know that will be the most effective $500 I've ever spent.
Thanks are due to Jason A. Lefkowitz for spreading awareness about Ms. Grubb, but his article is a textbook example of hyperbole. He takes four reasonably long paragraphs to get to ANY level of factual information. I can understand laying out a few facts and THEN telling us how she and/or her campaign are going to change the world, but it took a good deal of skimming to get around all the hot air he's put in there.
Santorum (R-PA) was right up with the best of them in being as vague as possible. I am so not voting for him next time. I just hope the LP puts a candidate up.
Why would I want to support a terrorist group like yours raehl?
The intended purpose of copyright law was to provide stimulation to authors to create new works. There is a simple trade at the heart of this proposition -- society offers to enforce copyright, for a limited time, at its expense. In exchange for that free protection, the author will cede the work into the public domain.
Somehow the idea that the author and publisher of a work is entitled to free protection of that work has taken hold. Current copyright law has eliminated the ceding of works into the public domain. Society is now in the position of providing unlimited protection, at unlimited cost, for works in perpetuity, without receiving any returned benefit. This is a ridiculous situation.
If the record companies and movie companies think that their works are going to be stolen if the public communications mechanisms are used (internet and so forth), then they should not release those works in digital form. The media companies want the taxpayer to secure and entrench their business model for them, paying through the nose for it, and sacrificing a whole series of privacies and capabilities on the way.
The thing is, what the media companies want is to reduce the capability of our devices. General purpose computation is their enemy -- they don't want devices that can be programmed and altered to be available to the consumer. It's the only way that their precious content can be fully controlled. And it won't stop with simple digital rights management -- the next step will be to impose monitoring. I find that unacceptable.
Imagine a world where CB radios have special circuits in them that, every time you push the "talk" button, check to see if the contents of your transmission match against known music. If your transmission matches, it prevents your broadcast and reports you to the authorities. It sounds silly, but this is exactly what the media companies want for your computer, and for you.
We have to preserve the purity of our communications channels. If the media companies think the digital world is too dangerous and unpredictable for them, they shouldn't play. And they shouldn't be permitted to destroy or belittle the internet because it makes their profiteering more complicated.
"Yes, let's consider," said Bruno, putting his thumb into his
mouth again, and sitting down upon a dead mouse.
"What do you keep that mouse for?" I said. "You should either
bury it or else throw it into the brook."
"Why, it's to measure with!" cried Bruno. "How ever would you
do a garden without one? We make each bed three mouses and a half
long, and two mouses wide."
I stopped him as he was dragging it off by the tail to show me
how it was used...
-- Lewis Carroll, "Sylvie and Bruno"
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