Slashdot Mirror
IsoNews Ostensibly Shut Down By The DOJ
According to Yahoo News and also Cyber Crime The longest running news site for Piracy has been turned over to the Department of Justice. Stating David Rocci AKA krazy8, has recently plead guilty to selling modchips via his website http://www.isonews.com with profit of $48,000. Now the domain has been linked to the Cybercrime Site warning all pirates all there that modchipping is not a game. [chrisd] In case you needed a reminder...you don't own your hardware. Eff? That said, this is not 100% positive, and there are rumors of the old site floating around on other ip addresses out there.
In related DOJ web hijinks..joemite writes "Cannabis News released this article about how the DEA is seeking to redirect indicted businesses that sell glass bongs and pipes to the DEA's website. "If the court orders the sites to be redirected, Ashcroft said, they will point to a DEA.gov Web page that says: "By application of the United States Drug Enforcement Administration, the Web site you are attempting to visit has been restrained by the United States District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania pursuant to Title 21, United States Code, Section 853 (e)(1)(a)."" Also check out an analysis of the entire situation by Richard Cowan"
All your base are belong to us!
In the future, I would want to not be isolated from my friends in the Space Station.
you are all criminals.
- a carrot
- a can of coke
- a 2l pop bottle
Or just eat the weed.
Or smoke it in a joint.
I mean, poor american taxpayers, how much are you paying a year now to try and keep those dangerous stoners from running amok?
"Old man yells at systemd"
Registrant:
The iSO News (ISONEWS-DOM)
Jacobus van 't Hoffstraat 69
Nijmegen, MR 6533
NL
Domain Name: ISONEWS.COM
Post article
TheRegister story
Quote:
---
Two Justice Department attorneys said Internet users would eventually be steered to the government's address as name servers across the Internet are updated over the next several hours.
"There is going to be some lag time between the domain-name switch-over," one attorney said. "But the domain name isonews.com now belongs to the federal government."
---
Enjoy...
GameTab
does anyone where i can find out if master of orion 3 was released by a group yet? oh nm :)
More info HERE This links to the ISOnews forum Will prolly be Slashdotted soon.
In these grave times of war, all freedom thinking Americans should stand behind our President. These America-hating criticisms only help Bin Laden and his Communist and Democrat and Woman allies. I hope John Ashcroft shuts down Slash-dot and imprisons the lot of you in cuba!
They're going to make an example out of David Rocci.
----------
Check out my blackbox styles
Their 'competitor', NFOrce is seemingly still alive and kicking. I suppose the difference is in their strategy for collecting funds. As a note, both removed serial numbers from all posted NFO files.
(Score:-1, Wrong)
You can access the site and it's forums (that have information on the takeover) here:
ISONews
-----
How can you have any pudding if you don't eat your meat?
Let's change this law. I think I DO own my hardware, no matter how many lobbyists some corp, or the entertainment industry has.
If you go to the UPDATED website, it says " ISONEWS is now the property of the United States government. "
In the future, I would want to not be isolated from my friends in the Space Station.
From the DoJ-defaced website:
The Department of Justice and federal law enforcement will continue to investigate and prosecute individuals and groups that violate the federal criminal copyright laws at home and abroad.
Eh... abroad? Isn't that the Department of Infinite Justice?
My next comment will be ready soon, but moderators can beat the rush and mod it up early.
I get the site fine just as it's always been.
here is what I get when I got to isonews.com. Maybe it's just an issue of the DNS servers not updating soon enough (assuming the DOJ just changed the address).
The IP address on that is 66.201.243.172, it apears to be a virtual host
autopr0n is like, down and stuff.
This kind of thing should not be tolerated. Isn't this against his constitutional rights?
I would have thought his website would have been protected speech.
Eitherway, there needs to be a huge network of foreign isonews mirrors set up.
Browsers, away!
Krotus lives.
I thought you guys (people living in the USA) could buy radar detectors to scan for speed traps, but some guy sells mod-chips for Xbox and he's done for it?! (I'm not familiar with this aspect of US law)
Seems to me that this is quite unfair - in what way does the mod chip help pirates? I thought it:
A) Allowed Linux to boot and run
or
B) Allowed to machine to play games from another region.
I see no piracy on either count here. Have I got this wrong? (Help me out - I don't own an Xbox so I'm a little lost)
Sony took some people selling mod chips to court and lost.
"Don't forget the prunes." L. Francis Herreshoff
Since when were modchips illegal?
"I can't drive 55. It only goes 38."
I know I'm trolling but it seems the language skills of the slashdot crew are going even further downhill. Take your time guys and proofread before posting.
;-)
Just couldn't help myself commenting.
Byebye karma.
( Now did I spell everything right
When I read the article first I was reminded on this one I saw yesterday: DRUG ENFORCEMENT TAKES CONTROL OF DOMAIN NAMES, THREATENS PRIVACY.
Seems that the war on [drugs, terrorism, general stupidity etc] has moved on to a level higher.
bash$
As much as I dislike the console pirating scene, this is a really bad turn of events.
I have my PS2 chipped, and I'm going to do the same to my XBox. Not so I can pirate games, but so I can play imports, access savegame files on the hard drive, and so on. If I *can't* add that capability to a console with a mod chip, I'm much less likely to buy them in the first place.
"...always new atoms but always doing the same dance, remembering what the dance was yesterday." -Richard Feynman
"Cannabis News released this article about how the DEA is seeking to redirect indicted businesses that sell glass bongs and pipes to the DEA's website."
At first, I thought this was sarcastic. Doesn't sound like it is. Is it illegal to have a bong? Can they really do that?
This comment really bothered me:
"In effect, the defunct Web sites become electronic flypaper for those looking for illegal drug paraphernalia, reporters covering the story, and people who have trouble spelling in Google."
There's absolutely no way that they know anybody's intentions when they go to a site like that. The internet is a source of INFORMATION. At some point, information's going to be accessed. It's not like you can call me a pirate just for visiting a site about piracy. Heck, you can't even call me a pirate if I download an ISO. How do they know I'm not replacing a scratched disk?
Blah blah blah I know, it's all been said before by lots of people. The difference for me today is that I now understand why privacy nuts are so fanatical about it. Out of context, data can be used in horrible ways.
...it would appear we've slashdotted the Department of Justice. =)
"Yeah, well, Dracula called and he's coming over tonight for you and I said okay."
Since shutting down 8 servers at once (some of them being out of the US) is hard, the DOJ took control of the DNS for the isonews.com domain and pointed it to their own site, which is what many people get when they go to http://www.isonews.com now.
Some people still get redirected to the existing servers, but this will happen less and less as the DNS changes propagate out to leaf nodes.
I really think he got arrested only because he sold illegally imported modchips. Because why not take down CNN.com too, they report 0sec worldwide illegal activities too.
isonews has been degrading in quality for quite sometime now. Other release sites have taken its place partly because of ventures like modchip selling.
I doubt if it will stop them. Wonder how long it will be before a domain/server is running in remote parts of the world for the business.. oh wait
Siggy Say, Siggy Do
That said, this is not 100% positive, and there are rumors of the old site floating around on other ip addresses out there.
http://66.201.243.170/
Ok here is the official word straight from one of the ISOnews staff
"Yes its true. The DOJ has taken control of the isonews.com DNS which now points to 149.101.1.91
If you link directly to http://66.201.243.170 you can still reach the site. This is a good interim solution as the official DNS may be gone for good.
If you can still reach isonews.com from the old dns its only because your ISP has not updated its cache. Take note of the ip now if you still want to be able to reach isonews
Http://66.201.243.170
Hop into efnet #isonews for updates as they arrive. We'll try to keep things running here until the situation becomes clearer.
in the meantime , i wanna make some things clear.
1.theres about 8 isonews servers.
2.they are currently not being touched by anyone except isonews staff.
3.theres no need to back anything up.
In the meantime theres little need to specualte as we will keep you updated , in the meantime just use the forum as normal and pass the ip on to any friends who use the site till we sort this out."
Check http://66.201.243.170/
[20:11] a) it's a website hack, similar to the riaa.org hack, someone ****ed with the server and put whatever tey wanted there ,why should he... use common sense ... i hope you're listening good hsit.
[20:12] <C0ffeeMan> don't login to the site without going to the real site first... the real site in the topic
[20:12] <flipmo> nope
[20:12] <C0ffeeMan> c) loggin into the other site will prolly compromise your password
[20:12] <flipmo> the actual isonews server is still intact
[20:12] <C0ffeeMan> d) the doj prolly hasn't taken it down cuase they are idiots
[20:13] <C0ffeeMan> d) no i haven't talked to k8 in a wile, but others have.... hence the fake website, it's not really something to give a **** about
[20:13] <C0ffeeMan> e) nobody else has been charged with selling modchips
[20:13] <C0ffeeMan> f) it was a good hack, and a good joke... good job (whoever)
[20:13] <flipmo> amen
And all youll do in reply? Pour french wine into gutters (which youve already bought so its only damaging your own economy more) and get scared over false terror alerts in order to get you to buy govt endorsed products (look into who owns the largest duct tape making company you fat yank).
Near the University of Washington, there's an unfinished exit ramp that goes over part of Lake Washington. It's become a fun spot to jump off from into the water.
Someone drilled holes into the concrete sides to make a bong. Pretty nifty.
It's not like they were offering game ISOs for download, there just providing information. If it is being shut down because it can help people commit illegal acts then the government has alot of work to do, seeing that i have found enough information in my school library to create different forms of cocaine, and how each is to be used. I guess the government now just selects what they want the first ammendment to apply to without going to the supreme court, not like that's an important part of the process or anything.
OK, I am not sure why everyone seems to be falling for this, but it looks to me to be very fake. The page doesn't even look official. For one thing, the DOJ probably wouldn't steal the old ISONews logo and put it at the top of the page. They also probably have a better copy of their own logo than the crappy clip-art one at the top as well. (Although, maybe not if you take cybercrime.gov as any indication)
Another good thing to notice would be that there don't seem to be any specific laws or statutes mentioned. It's pretty standard practice to cite those when you can recite them in your sleep like the guys at the DOJ.
Seems much more likely that someone just hijacked the domain or hax0red the server to me.
Modchips are illegal. Yes, illegal. No matter how much we want to bitch and moan about how "I bought the boxen, I want to run Plan9 on it, wahhH!!!". The reasons companies do this goes much farther than that.
Now, reverse-engineering a console and using it in the comfort of your own basement - that's another thing. But selling them? Well, expect to pay the consecuences.
Now, people who for some reason need a modchip can be pissed off, and that's OK. So don't buy the console, right? Buy a PC and do whatever you want with it. Vote with your money. If Sony (PS2) or Microsoft (XBox) won't let you be 1337 with their consoles, don't buy them. period.
Sorry, but that's how the real world works. It has nothing to do with privacy or human rights or global warming or the habitat of the monitor lizard.
That said, this article and this follow up tell of a raid locally on a shop for selling "paraphenalia".
As to the websites, I guess they are treating them as impounded property. Sets an interesting precident for anything that might be considered inappropriate on the web. What about countries without such laws?
No matter the politics, its one thing to advocate illegal activity, its another to assist and profit in that advocation. Think people...
Strange women lying in ponds distributing swords is no basis for a system of government.
With each passing day, I'm loath being an American citizen more and more.
Land of the free? PFFT!
My ass.
More like land of the fucked (thanks bush)
it's all about $$ and not about the people.
the fact that you cant buy smoking apparatus doesnt bother me at all, it's the fact that the government thinks that is going to somehow curb the use of marijuna.
That's just plain ignorance.
Aside from everything else that you can make a bong or pipe from, how about TABACCO related products, such as the infamous blunt, and rolling papers aplenty.
But the government is more than happy to reap the benefits (profits) from tabacco sales. Think they realize that nicotine is more addictive than heroin? I'm sure they do, and they count on that.
Maybe that's what is keeping them from legalizing pot...it doesn't have the same addictive properties as tabacco, so they dont view it as a viable revenue generator
Somewhat along the lines of alcohol. It's addictive, causes cancer, kills brain cells, destroys families and takes lives.
I'm really fed up with this shit.
Even though there are some other sites (NFOrce, and VCDQuality) that appear to be doing what ISONews does not, it is sad to see a good site go.
ISONews sets the standards a few years back and I'm sure it wont be forgotten. I still have and wear my ISONews.com, REPRESENT!
It's sad. John Ashcroft is the first person I've ever had spawn the words "Fascist Fuck" spontaneously in my head when seeing his image on sites like this. Normally I am a pretty level-headed guy. I think if you measured my autonomic responses, I would register more of a reaction to Ashcroft for than Saddam.
... if I then do something illegal like piracy or service theft with the modchip, punish that action, not the ownership of the modchip ... it should be no more illegal than having IP connectivity (which also enables software piracy if you want to take it to one possible logical conclusion).
Between things like this and the Patriot Act parts I and the soon to be released part II, this administration has been the most un-American in office since the anti-communist folks in the 50's.
I fully believe that unless the modchip affects someone -elses- hardware, modifying hardware I own should be legal, especially if my use is to do something like run Linux
And before some idiot tries to subpoena my IP address to come search my house, my PS2 is not modified and I long ago (4-5 years) killed my software piracy habit in favor of free software. Just because I'm abiding by the law doesn't mean I agree with the way our current government tries to enforce the law and pass new (unconstitional in some cases) ones.
It is more productive to voice thoughtful opinions (reply) than to judge (moderate) others.
So if modchipping your own xbox is illegal....
;)
Does that mean Red Green is going to get arrested for "modding" that dryer into a bread maker?
Or what about the time he "modded" the ducts from his basement into a pontoon boat....
Tepp
http://66.201.243.170/
the real isonews.com with working forums
world was created 5 seconds before this post as it is.
I would just like to point out that Mod-Chips are legal here in Australia. Sony took a bloke to court for selling pirated games and mod-chips, on the games he got busted but on the chips it was declared that they are perfectly legal.
krazy8 got busted because he tried to do something that the elite of the scene rightfully frown upon: making money off of the scene. At one point iSONEWS (formerly orm.nu, after it's founder) was basically run and hosted by DEVIANCE (a game release group) and offered analysis of group's releases each month. However, when orm began to step back from the site and krazy8 took over it more, it became more commercialized and the real scene members backed away from it. There were popup ads, special deals with businesses, and worst of all... increased traffic. The elite of the scene stopped visiting and posting on isonews and it degenerated into a place for newbies to flame each other and talk about how elite they were.
krazy8 got busted because he tried to make the site more popular and profit off of it. Instead of catering to the elite of the scene, taking security precautions, and keeping the site 100% legal he appealed to the lowest common demonenator and payed the price. Sites like checkpoint cater to the elite of the scene, deny access to the public, and take security precautions.
The lesson? Don't try to make money off of piracy and don't try to expose the scene to the public.
IP the DoJ hijacked
The IP address that's returned from the site is the property of the US Department of Justice: http://uptime.netcraft.com/up/graph?site=www.isone ws.com&submit=Examine
This type of action (redirecting, rather than disconnecting websites) could be viewed as deceptive. It implies to an uninformed visitor that the previous owner currently accepts the opinions of their former opponents as valid. This is an orwellian distortion of message up with which I would not put. If my site were bluntly pointed at some hypothetical pro-death penalty site against which I may or may not have committed hypothetical libel and slander, I would go berserk.
You can also access:
doj.usuck.com
This is not real. There are many reasons as to why this is not true. Check out the thread on the ISONEWS forums for more information :
Forum Thread
Also there is no official press release from the DOJ:
DOJ February Press Releases
speaking of pipe sites, anyone know whats going to happen to customers of those sites. just wondering because someone i know knows someone who knew someone who bought 2 pipes from a site about a year ago. yeah.
That said, I agree that modchips aren't (or at least shouldn't be) illegal.
Comment forecast: Bits of genius surrounded by a sea of mediocrity.
how many other webpages will also turn blue like this in the times ahead?
You can read more info about the plea bargain and case at: http://www.cybercrime.gov/rocciPlea.htm
-OctaneZ
This whole thing just bothers me. How is it that aftermarket chip mods for cars is OK but chip mods for XBoxes or other types of computers isn't?
Seems to me that this is a matter of offering features that somebody else refuses to offer. Ford isn't going to put a chip that offers you more performance due to government meddling in auto manufacturing. But obviously the public demands these features and somebody is bridging the gap. How is this harming anyone? Isn't it actually expanding the market?
What do you expect from Ashcroft though? It wouldn't surprise me if this fellow is indicted on charges of "terrorism."
What's to differentiate a small spoon for use with cocaine from a small spoon for use with baby food?
This is the docket sheet as of today in the case. The formatting is mangled to get thru the filters...
12/10/02 -- Plea Agreement Hearing as to David M. Rocci set for 10:00
12/19/02 before Judge James C. Cacheris (dper)
12/19/02 1 CRIMINAL INFORMATION as to David M. Rocci (1) count 1. (dper)
12/19/02 -- Initial appearance as to David M. Rocci before Judge James
C. Cacheris held (r: D. McCoy) USA appeared through: Robert
Wiechering. Dft appeared with: Jon Lienhard. (Defendant
informed of rights.) (dper) [Entry date 12/20/02]
12/19/02 2 WAIVER OF INDICTMENT by David M. Rocci (dper)
12/19/02 -- Plea Agreement Hearing as to David M. Rocci held (r: D.
McCoy) USA appeared through: Robert Wiechering. Dft
appeared with: Jon Lienhard before Judge James C. Cacheris.
Deft FA and plea of guilty entered and accepted to Count 1
of Criminal Information filed. Case referred to PO for PSI
and cont'd to 03/07/03 @ 9:00 a.m. for G/L sentencing. Deft
released on $50,000 PR bond w/conditions: 1) travel
restricted to Blacksburg, VA area, and to see family in
Massachusetts during Christmas holidays; 2) PTS supv; 3)
refrain from excessive use of alcohol or drugs; 4)
surrender passport to Clerk; 5) substance abuse testing and
treatment as dir by PTS. Release Order ent. & filed in open
court. Passport surrendered. (dper) [Entry date 12/20/02]
12/19/02 3 Plea Agreement as to David M. Rocci (dper)
12/19/02 -- PLEA entered by David M. Rocci. Court accepts plea by
David M. Rocci. Guilty: count 1. (dper)
12/19/02 4 STATEMENT OF FACTS as to David M. Rocci (dper)
12/19/02 5 ORDER Setting Conditions of Release as to David M. Rocci
(Signed by Judge James C. Cacheris) Copies Mailed: yes (dper)
12/19/02 -- Sentencing before Judge James C. Cacheris set for 9:00
3/7/03 David M. Rocci (1) count 1. (dper)
12/19/02 6 Receipt for Surrender of Passport as to David M. Rocci
Passport # 400531972 Country: U.S. (dper)
END OF DOCKET: 1:02cr634-0
I thought mod chips mostly just provided a way to 'jump over' the logic which blocked certain kinds of media from running on the hardware. Most people use them to get around the US/Japan game system blockade, which in my opinion is the dumbest thing in the universe, with the possible exception of DVD region codes. Piracy? Do they want the receipts?
Karma: It's all a bunch of tree-huggin' hippy crap!
some of you may know me from there.
all i can confirm that, krazy8 has not been seen in a long, long time... and that he was busted FOR selling modchips.
the details of his plea bargain are not out, and nobody is speaking about anything.
i would suspect anyone not speaking openly about it, to be part of the plea bargain.
Runnin' On Empty
does it make america any better or safer bringing down the heel on people who sell water pipes, chips to make videogames do tricks, or sites that exchange information on "piracy" matters?
what kind of future are we to expect when the agents charged to protect the freedoms we cherish do everything possible to rob us of our rights when they come into conflict with... what exactly?
i feel 0% safer now that some stoner (who still managed to hold a job and keep others employed) now has his glass-pipe operation shut down. i won't rest any easier thanks to the diligence of agents who cracked the whip over some mook who made chips to modify a $200 toy. what a waste of time spent taking over information exchange sites that "promote privacy", assuring that i'll see fewer deadly and harmful unauthorized dvds of that rapping kangaroo movie floating about down at the swap meet.
i want my country back from the busybody bluenose wankers who are stealing it from us.
i just hope i'm not the only one who feels this way
The Department of Justice and federal law enforcement will continue to investigate and prosecute individuals and groups that violate the federal criminal copyright laws at home and abroad
How about the U.S. goes and f#$%s itself and stops believing that because it's law in the U.S., it's law everywhere...guess what fellas...there's other governments and legal systems in the world besides yours. Hands up who things the biggest threat to global stability is U.S. arrogance!
I used to be a regular on isonews back in 98-99. krazy8 was making bucketloads of cash off banner ads. The trick was that you never actually saw them -- the ads were in invisible frames that automatically refreshed every so often. It's sad that he's had to resort to making money by selling actual product.
The modchip soap-opera has been going on for a little while now, and I think the whole thing stinks. I own a Dreamcast for one reason, and one reason only!
The funny part is: this krazy8 guy apparently lives in my town. He drives a canary yellow lexus, and flaunts it by parking on sidewalks. Never did have much sympathy for assholes. He owns a cell-phone retail shop too. I KNEW holding those things up to your ear too long would make you stupid.
May the threads progress competently.
Kind of like, you can't fight us. This belongs to us now. Don't even try to oppose us... Of course, that's the point of doing it, isn't it :S ...
Karma: pi (Mostly due to circular reasoning in posts).
If you look in their message base, this prank has happened in the past.
Manipulate the moderator system! Mod someone as "overrated" today.
My mothers credit card was stolen in Nov 2002 and used for a $500 purchase from 'kick ass clones' for a purchase. She never was told for what, but was able to get it credited as a unauthorized charge.
Early this month she received a letter from DirectTV saying that they were taking legal action against the users of these chips. If she returned the chip they would still fine her, but would not sue. If she did not, she would be sued. She quickly called, said she never bought this, cited the charge. The DirectTV lawyer/rep said it was indeed from 'kick ass clones' and if she sent the paperwork and affidavid from the credit she would be removed from the filings.
Very interesting, especially since I haven't heard anything about this on Slashdot.
Non-authoritative answer:
Name: isonews.com
Address: 149.101.1.91
$> whois 149.101.1.91@whois.arin.net
OrgName: US Dept of Justice
OrgID: UDJ
Address: 1151D Seven Locks Rd
City: Rockville
StateProv: MD
PostalCode: 20854
Country: US
NetRange: 149.101.0.0 - 149.101.255.255
CIDR: 149.101.0.0/16
NetName: USDOJ
NetHandle: NET-149-101-0-0-1
Parent: NET-149-0-0-0-0
NetType: Direct Assignment
NameServer: JUSTICE2.USDOJ.GOV
NameServer: NS22.USDOJ.GOV
Comment:
RegDate: 1994-12-02
Updated: 2002-06-05
TechHandle: ZU85-ARIN
TechName: U.S. Department of Justice
TechPhone: +1-202-307-6846
TechEmail: EWS@usdoj.gov
Seems pretty legit to me.
Is that statement from chrisd true, that we don't own the hardware we buy anymore? As I had come to understand, under the DMCA we are not allowed to create/distribute methods of circumventing copy protection, but I had never heard that we are not allowed to use & abuse the hardware we buy how ever we please. This would also include modchips, which despite their reputation CAN be used for legitimate purposes (importing games from other regions, not making backups. No one really does that :)
If this is the case, could we potentially see individuals getting busted for attempting to purchase modchips, or even for having installing them installed, regardless of their intention?
This is rather troubling, I'd say. I don't support ISOnews.com or the acts it promoted, which were far from legitimate. I'm primarily concerned with the notion of being unable to do what I wish with my own hardware.
People will always mod their systems. People want to play import games that they would otherwise not be able to play. People want to watch divx movies on their Xboxes. and BELIEVE IT OR NOT, some of us do want to legitimately back up the games we purchased. PS2 discs do scratch easily, little brothers arent always careful with that shiny new $50 piece of plastic. Oh, by the way, shutting down websites will not stop piracy.
Doesn't this seem like the biggest waste of DOJ time? There are people out there guilty of *actual crimes* like murder, assault, carjacking etc, and they seem to be just as happy to track down and stop the sale of bloody XBox mod-chips, which to be frank probably has very little effect on Microsoft's sales figures, as they are finding the real baddies.
Let's face it, if anything, Microsoft will be making more money out of modchips than anything else - it's not like they've got an original brand Microsoft mod-chip for sale, is it? What damn difference does it make to them if I'm also choosing to run Linux as well as Tony Hawk 4?
Plus, how many more Slashdotters are likely to buy an XBox on the grounds of mod-chip, and thus Linux, support? Quite a few, I'd guess.
sig:- (wit >= sarcasm)
How many of you voted democrat or republican?
How many of you voted third party?
If we keep electing these idiots, this kind of garbage will keep happening. I don't condone pirating, but the possession or sale of a mod chip defined as a crime independently of its use is a dangerous precident to set!
Who's next? People who own guns? People who own both beer AND a car?
Obviously it was just the dns entries they grabbed. Useless if you ask me, but ... um, hopefully they don't target slashdot because of people like you. It may go beyond just grabbing dns entires.
If you listen really closely, you can hear the Bill of Rights screaming under Ashcroft's jackboot...
-- Insert wisdom here:
This will just get worse. I hope everyone is happy with them selves letting the government own your life.
Like George Carlin says "I love chaos"...
Atto
I didn't use the preview button, so get over it!!!!
Mike
"There is going to be some lag time between the domain-name switch-over," one attorney said. "But the domain name isonews.com now belongs to the federal government."
All your domain are belong to U.S.!
The old site still works for me...
All your bases are belong to us.
Microsoft is to software what Budweiser is to beer.
EFF?
SlashDot has so-o-o-o-o romanticized that organization, to the point now that we are supposed to regard them as some kind of cyber-digital Lone Ranger/Zorro amalgam.
I've been following their progress since the early 90's, and I just don't get it. As best as I can glean, they've thrown some great cocktail parties. I mean, we all have that non-lawyer's respect for their esquires and DC addresses, but I've seen no indication that any lawyer or lobbyist or legislator or corporation on "the other side" takes these EFF guys seriously.
Of course, I'm sure that if we all donate just a little more money to them, everything will be just fine. sh'yeah.
I'm beginning to think that our great burning desire to have some white hat organization to turn to has over-powered our collective bullshit detectors...
Hell, first of all GW Bush unilaterally appoints the US as the world's international police force, stepping into the internal politics of other soverign nations and fostering the widespread hatred of Americans amongst some of the world's most populous countries.
Then, in the name of the "war against terrorism", the government usurps the very constitutional rights of its own citizens to legal representation and the presumption of inocence.
And now it seems that the US government is set on forcing its own laws upon all citizens of the world.
It strikes me that the American people need to wake up and realize that those in power are starting to run amok and need to be reigned in -- for the benefit of *everybody* on the planet.
The USA is a great nation and I have lots of really nice American friends -- but hasn't anyone over there noticed that there's a bunch of crazies driving your wagon?
Look on the back or the bottom of your radios and televisions and you get the FCC warning that you cannot modify it to listen on non-stantdards signals AND it must accept any outside interference. To do so is a federal crime. This is nothing new.
Hell, if I stick a pre-ban 30 round magazine in my post-ban AK-47, that is a federal crime. And if I decided to "mod" it... let's just say the ATF would go Branch Davidian on my ass.
What is music when you despise all sound?
you live in a capitalist country - that means the rich rule. It is not a democracy.
it is not illegal down here
The replacement page's wording seems a little off. Doesn't it sound like too little legalize for a DEA post?
-Some Guy
My whois doesnt show isonews.org being taken yet: Whois Server Version 1.3 Domain names in the .com and .net domains can now be registered
with many different competing registrars. Go to http://www.internic.net
for detailed information.
No match for "ISONEWS.ORG".
>>> Last update of whois database: Wed, 26 Feb 2003 17:29:04 EST
If somebody has got a few $$ to waste, why not register isonews.org and point it to the appropriate place(s), life can go on, and the yank DOJ can be the proud owner(s) of their new domain.
Maybe they could set up a competing 'service' for us :)
Probably be a good idea to find out a way to do this outside U.S jurisdiction (if there is such a thing).
The site is apparently back up as of 8:45 EST. The site loads and there is no mention of the DOJ or any dowrtime.
If you can afford a lawyer, that is. Beyond that, it would seem to me that backing up your games to cd's or dvd's to preserve them, and then playing these copies, is a legitimate need for modchipping. (I know I'm preaching to the choir here)
THere's a market for items such as this Game doctor , but these only restored scratched copies. They do no good if the originals get stolen, are run over by your roommate on inline skates, etc. I think that protecting your investment with a $0.50 blank and a $50 mod chip (or however much it costs) is the only intelligent thing to do. Notwithstanding that you actually own the bloody hardware and can do what you like with it, this is an easy, direct argument that shows modchips aren't only used for piracy.
Of course, I'm not sure how much this line of reasoning jives with the DMCA, which should just plain be repealed.
Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms should be the name of a store, not a government agency.
My take: he was nailed for violating copyright law, he knew it, his lawyers knew it, and he threw the DOJ a bone that they could publicize in order to lighten the time he'd otherwise spend in the Cross Bar Hotel.
---mice!
I am glad I don't live in the US. Even though in this case, the ruling might be correct in respect to copyright violation on software used in modchips, for each ruling that further sets limits on the rights of the owner of a piece of hardware to modify that hardware, we get closer to not owning our hardware at all. Since it seems to be enforcable to limit purchase rights to 'licenses' in EULAs (post-purchase) in the US, how long will it be before we get EULAs with our TV's saying that to use the TV, we have to agree that we're just borrowing the TV from whoever made it and what we purchased was a revokable and arbitrarily limited license to use it as the maker sees fit?
Copyright should not be used to limit usage of technology - it should be used to legally protect the rights of the creator, not technologically. What's next, poking people's eyes out because they might use them to watch bootleg videos?
Proves they got a few backwoods idjits working in the html department. MICROSOFT WORD??????
:)
.shape {behavior:url(#default#VML);}
DEA redirect as given by 2600 online(not goatse
sample code:
v\:* {behavior:url(#default#VML);}
o\:* {behavior:url(#default#VML);}
w\:* {behavior:url(#default#VML);}
Notice
2
27
2003-02-19T19:41:00Z
2003-02-19T19:41:00Z
1
42
240
Home
2
1
281
10.3501
Clean
Clean
MicrosoftInternetExplorer4
OOOOO.. Icky!!!!!
and found it absolutely incredible.
:)
In our sense we bought the goods and we own it. Of course, it's still illegal to make profit out of others' proprietary intellectual properties; beside that, you can do whatever you like to the things you buy and nobody would give you trouble.
Mod chips can be found everywhere here, and we even have whole streets dedicated to this hobbist. I think you can still remember the case of Lik Sang who got into trouble selling modchips on US goods. We've never seen similar case for goods from Japanese, Korean, etc.
If selling modchips is a crime, why don't they ban screwdriver as well? I'm not kidding, there's more crimes with screwdrivers than with modchips.
Did I read that right?
The DEA website is buying glass bongs and pipes?
My tax dollars at work, and they're bogarting the goods!
I'd like to take a step back from the specifics of who was selling mod chips for which game system and look at the big picture of what's happening here.
Microsoft doesn't want mod-chips to be sold for probably one basic reason: they lose money on the sale of the X-Box unit itself. If someone uses a mod-chip to use the box to run, for example, Linux, then they get a very cheap PC and Microsoft doesn't make any money back on game sales. If someone uses the mod chip to play pirated/burned games, then, again, they lose money on pirated game sales. This is *why* they don't want people using mod-chips. I'm not saying it's right or wrong, I'm just giving their motivation.
If all anyone ever did with mod chips was to run linux, then I doubt Microsoft/DoJ would really care; the small number of people that do this wouldn't make it worth their time to track them down.
However, probably the majority of people using mod chips are also playing pirated games, and this is worth Microsoft/DoJ trying to stop. Everyone knows that it's really not possible to do this. Someone overseas can sell the mod chips and there's not much that Microsoft/DoJ can do about it.
In the long run, I think most games are going to move to more a subscription-based architechture (like Everquest or something similar) where you pay a small fee (or nothing at all) to get the game itself, but you have to pay to actually play it by connecting to a company's servers. I think this is actually a good model because it would encourage companies to constantly provide new content (new quests in role-playing games, new race tracks in racing games, new landscape flight games, etc.). It would also save consumers from paying $70 for the latest uber-game only to play it for 10 hours and put it aside, never to be touched again. If you got bored with a game, you could just cancel your subscription.
This is actually a trend caused by software/music/movie piracy in general. When all music becomes trivial to copy for free, then the producers of music will have to charge for services (i.e. rock concerts). Movie producers will have to provide movie theatres with large screens and great sound systems (they already do this). Game producers will have to provide a live and changing gamescape.
Regular Joe: Sorry sir, i thought i could open up the hood of my car like my parents used to. You mean i can't ever own a car again because of what i've done?Why don't you trust me anymore?
CIA:You never registered and activated that vehicle and as a result it's been flagged as stolen.
Regular Joe: Stolen?
CIA:Yes it makes no difference if you have a reciept you failed to follow the proper procedures of activation. Following Proper procedures is the only way to ensure full trustworthy compliance.
Regular Joe: But what if i want to go somewhere in a car?
CIA: After your internment in Corporate Reform camp you'll be given a new number in addition to the SS# you already have.
Regular Joe: Why do i need a new number? Isn't one enough already?
CIA: Your new number will be used in our GPS database in order to track your movements from place to place to ensure you are not moving around in any unregistered or unactivated vehicles. If you disable your tracer chip we'll be forced to arrest you again for non-compliance with trustworthiness protocol.
Regular Joe: But i thought you guys only used those for money? You mean you put those in people too?
CIA: Only people that fail to earn trustworthiness. You can earn points towards trustworthiness certificates like everyone else does through reporting on violations of trustworthiness to your local CIA chapter. Upon approval of verified violations you will recieve your first certificate, but if we can prove you have turned into us false or misleading violations you will have to be sent back to Corporate Reform Camp.
Regular Joe: I never thought to take those rules about hood opening so seriously.
CIA: It's too late for that now. As soon as you opened that hood you should have noticed we knew exactly where you were thanks to the GPS chip that's set to go off in case of non-compliance with registration or in the unusual event a hood is opened. Have a nice day. Oh, and remember to thank the CIA for your newfound education reform at Corporate Camp so you can finally be on your way to joining the rest of society in earning full compliance of trustworthiness.
... watch this 21MB video where Mr. Ashcroft tells you himelf!
And you can quote Rush Limbrough on that!
The yahoo article is little more than fluff, with the Cybercrime getting to the meat of what was occuring. I normally don't believe that selling mod chips is a crime, but the way that it seems that he was marketing his product he intent on sell those mod-chips who were intending to commit crimes, ie. play pirated games.
I mean, really what could he have expected. If I was advertising and selling the "date rape" drug, they would have strung me up. Yeah, I did not commit the crime but I certainly helped someone else do so and presented it as doing such. This is the same thing.
This is getting way out of hand. Pretty soon, I won't be able to make modifications to my PC or my car, not because it would void the warranty (don't care), but because I'M NOT FREAKING ALLOWED TO IN THE FIRST PLACE!
Of course, by this logic, all of NASCAR should be banned and taken over by the DOJ. Perhaps we can get a few of those judges to try driving those cars too. Sounds like Darwinism in action to me....
Rule #1 -- Politics always trumps technology.
Im in Australia, and when I visit the website, I can't see any message from the DOJ - the website looks exactly how I'd expect it to look (not having been there before, however). In fact, the forum statistics say there are 154 members, and 461 guests currently online...
sorry Mod chips aren't illegal in Australia. The High Court ruled that console region encoding is an illegal restraint of trade -hence mod chips are legal and pro-competitive
Why on earth did this guy plead guilty? It seems to me he is accused of a non-crime, at least the way the web-site reads. He should appeal and the EFF should help him.
This is extremely revolting that the selling of mod chips would be viewed in and of itself as illegal. All you people out there who think the DMCA covers this are very confused. The DMCA violation occurs when you strip a client game program of its authentication key (and this is copyright infringement anyway). All this guy did was sell parts that turned the game console into a general purpose computer. This is NO different than selling general purpose computer parts.
If ISOnews is in google cache w/ the pre DOJ site, does that mean google will be prosecuted by the gov for engaging in copyright infringement?
actually I am happy to see you, however that is in fact a banana in my pocket.
Unless I missed it, nobody pointed out the irony of the DoJ protecting the very company it has been 'going after' for years.
_______
2B1ASK1
This sounds more like a child than a government. The logic appears to be, "It's mine because I want it."
And notice how often they say "illegal." Three times in the first paragraph.
This is incoherent because I'm outraged. All I can think of is these words, and the lizards. Outraging the citizens is not a good way to maintain a stable government.
Of course, don't be too surprised if you meet this page trying to follow any of these links. It's theirs, because they want it.
Sigs are like bumper stickers.
... they were ostensible about it. I hate when people don't have the common decency to show ostension towards others.
I have three issues with this, apart from siding with the obvious "modchipping for all" stance, which is being voiced by everyone here.
1. They should have kept the old design if all they can come up with is the Times font on a blue background. Seriously, I thought isonews was 0wn3d and the kiddiez had a sense of humor for a change.
2. They seem to be infringing on the copyright of whoever created the IsoNews logo. Unless Krazy8 had the rights to it and signed it over to shave off a hour or two from his sentence.
3. Finally, they say that:
"The Iso News" is now the property of the United States Government.
Well, that's not true either. I just checked, and you can register "theisonews.com".
Seriously, what the hell do they think they are doing? In a month from now, Isonews will be back up at a new DNS name and back in busines with 2x the traffic thanks to all the press they get now. Isonews was not doing anything illegal, apart from selling modchips - but the illegality of that is quite questionable outside the Land of The Free (TM).
Well, I suppose I'm splitting hairs here, but it is not illegal to modify your own hardware. It's not illegal to own mod chips (as far as I know). It's illegal to sell them (and I'm not even sure that's true).
If you could cook up your own mod chip, for your own use, you'd be all set.
You know, with the way things are going, the old illustration of 'the car with the hood welded shut' may come true.
Go to a car dealership, ask to see the engine, get yelled at and/or arrested!
I am a filthy pirate.
They're going to hijack Sony, Toshiba and all the other manufacturers out there that make CD-RWs and DVD-R/RWs for creating hardware that is used to pirate software!
how this law works? Could i start selling these chips encased in cheap plastic as "geek paperweights"? If so, I have just found a new business. $48,000 in mod chips from one website! Wow!
I do feel sorry for the poor bastard who got busted tho..
Anyone setting up alternate root servers that will negate this and future Ashcroft thefts from the public commons?
Or would that be circumventing their technological lockout, and itself be in violation?
"with their freedom lost all virtue lose" - Milton
shills, on the NYT.
& oe =UTF-8&q=microsoft+%22bill+weisgerber%22&btnG=Goog le+Search
billwg - 08:25pm Feb 26, 2003 EST (# 6515 of 6520)
In the melee that is the COLA newsgroup, some of the advocates who like unix but dislike linux often refer to this site:
http://www.linuxisforbitches.com/bsdvlinux.php
Given that the picture is of the New York Lusers Group, the old boy on the table with the red hat might just be our little harry! Quite a difference from the picture on the Sex Offenders Hotline of the Harry Brown convicted for abusing little boys, but you can do wonders with makeup!
billwg - 08:31pm Feb 26, 2003 EST (# 6516 of 6520)
what is Microsoft's problem making a business with that sort of integrity either?
I don't think that you can construe the context of the statement that way with any credibility, craigster. Trustworthy computing will establish business systems integrity in the complete and wholeness sense and has nothing to do with a making by Microsoft.
Not that I would want to belittle the subject or pooh-pooh the source of such a commitment, but the whole "Trustworthy System" schtick was aired out in the 80s under the ISO9000 craze and really didn't go so so far even though it was and remains a great idea. Back then Microsoft wasn't the big push behind it, though and that may make the difference this time.
cba-3.14 - 08:43pm Feb 26, 2003 EST (# 6517 of 6520)
ok, as long as we're clear that Microsoft has no integrity, and if a business uses their technologies, it doesn't have integrity, and it's all about to fall apart.
btw, the article has other great comments, like where he answers one question pointing out that you can't eliminate every vulnerability, (to think otherwise you would have to be "from another planet") and then a few questions later says Microsoft is on track to obtain zero vulnerabilities. Hmmmmm, from Planet Microsoft, eh?
I'm glad when we can agree like this, bill.
billwg - 09:09pm Feb 26, 2003 EST (# 6518 of 6520)
ok, as long as we're clear that Microsoft has no integrity, and if a business uses their technologies, it doesn't have integrity, and it's all about to fall apart....I'm glad when we can agree like this, bill.
Well ok by me too since that makes it clear that you are only a stupid twit who really doesn't want to debate any issue at all and hides in word games whenever he runs out of ideas, which is often.
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8
I'm curious how much attention ShareReactor is recieving from the DOJ/MPAA/RIAA. ShareReactor is quickly becoming the top source for distribution of Warez/Movies/etc... this side of IRC.
Where the Music Matters
remember the old Saturday Night Live sketches based on the "Mattress Police"? They went around arresting people for removing the mattress tags from their mattresses that said..."Do Not Remove This Tag Under Penalty Of Law"... It seems to me as the years go by, the U.S. Government Law Enforcement agencies are being empowered and assuming the rolls of "Mattress Police" more and more. Where once we sought out to destroy, with great vigor, communism and dictatorial governments, we are slowly becoming what we once so heartily endeavored to destroy and set "the people" free from... *sigh*
"It is essential that justice be done
In Australia mod chipping is legal. The Federal Court held last year that the owner of a Sony Playstation can buy a mod chip from a supplier to permit him play region locked games,etc. The decision in essence starts that if you own a machine (Xbox, Playstation whatever) and buy software for it from overseas that have been crippled by region locking or the like you can fiddle with your machine to get your property (eg games) working. By implication this extends to all similar modding. The case was supported by the A.C.C.C, which enforces the Australian equivalent of the Clayton and Sherman Acts (ie US anti-trust laws)and Federal Government. The ACCC has commenced and supported similar litigation in the past.Region free DVDs are the norm here, maybe because we are lumped into a region with Latin America and we see a trickle of "legit" DVDs from the US.
Microsoft's reaction was to threaten to withdraw Xboxes from the Australian market. Xboxes aren't sold in Australia's largest electrical chain stores because M$ won't sell Xboxes to them unless they dropped Playstation and M$ was told to get lost.
The ACCC have said that modchips are legal, there was a case in Sydney in which Sony were trying to get a guy convicted for selling modchips and pirated games. He went down for the pirate gamez, but not the mod chips!
Are mod chips illegal? Should they be? Let's look at the facts.
Fact #1: Mod chips have to be utilized for modern console game theft to exist. Theft of games is illegal. Without modchips, burnt copies of games are set up the bomb.
Fact #2: Mod chips circumvent regional protections, allowing users to buy and play games from foreign markets - games which are often not sold in their home markets. AFAIK, there is no law saying the idiocy of regional encoding must exist. Nor is there a law preventing people from circumventing it.
Fact #3: Mod chips allow people to utilize their hardware in legal ways. Such as, running Linux on an X-Box.
Fact #4: Hitting someone in the head with a hammer, repeatedly, may cause death. At the least, such an act most certainly qualifies as battery. Without hammers, the act of bludgeoning someone to death with a hammer is set up the bomb.
Fact #5: Hammers can be used to drive nails into pieces of wood that are various lengths and shapes. This is totally legal.
Fact #6: You can buy a hammer in any Home Despot.
Thus, the High Court of Sanity finds that mod chips, provided that they do not contain proprietary code of which the chip maker is not owner of, are legal.
(Sadly, the High Court of Sanity's jurisdiction only extends in a foot-long radius about me.)
Although it's not a state :)
Why are mod chips even illegal? They give equipment owners the ability to play whatever the hell they want on their machines. Go after the "pirates" not the guys who sell you the means to control your device. The game industry, along with the content industry, expect you to buy the equipment and the games/music but consider backing up the software or music to be a crime and thanks to the DMCA it is.
Sure, the mod chips can be used to play games that aren't officially released yet (overseas releases) just like multi-region DVD players and they let you play a copied game if you choose. They have legitimate uses and hell this is my equipment I'll do as I please with it. It blows my mind that this 22 year old will be in debt for the rest of his days to pay off his legal fees on his deal AND the fine he's going to get AND serve time in prison (probably) because hardware manufacturers don't want you touching the inside of their magic black boxes.
On top of it all, they're seizing domain names (who game then that right?) to point to their absurd pro-industry propaganda. Lets sum up their message.
1. Piracy is copying/selling stuff you dont own.
2. Mod chips let you do anything you want with your machine.
These things have nothing in common but an easy to arrest 22 year old.
The doj is an extension of the corporate cronies money grubbing network! Big Bro is at work to denounce liberty, and exhibit it's overwhelming control over the population for "selling things people want", a crime punishible by confiscation and law suits!
What is the deal here anyway? People only buy mod chips so they can get fair use out of the hardware they bought and paid for! I'm gonna shove a big mod chip of the corporate cronies network's arzhole!
home page
I just couldn't keep myself from commenting.
Bye-bye, karma.
(Now, did I spell everything right? ;-)
If Algore had been inaugurated president (let's just set aside the issue of who was 'elected' president for now) I am sure that whomever his appointed henchman was would be doing the same thing.
But it's fun to slag Ashcroft, because it's partisan and all that stuff. Sorry for bringing it up.
Was he actually selling the chips? I was just told by someone that visited the site that there were banners (ala affiliate marketing). Certainly doesn't seem likely that he'd plea if his "selling" was actually affiliate marketing, but who knows!
Taco better keep a close eye one what Slashdot is selling via its banners..
billwg Jan 23, 2003 08:27 pm
...
All of which brings us back to more of KK's prose:
Nevertheless, Plaintiffs identify a number of new and, for lack of a better term, allegedly "bad" acts, relating predominantly to interoperability, taken by Microsoft both prior and subsequent to the imposition of liability. Upon review of Plaintiffs' allegations of "bad" conduct by Microsoft relating to interoperability and the liability findings in this case, the Court concludes that Plaintiffs' allegations in this area bear only a remote relationship to the liability findings. In this regard, the Court has rejected Plaintiffs' suggestion that the imposition of liability, in any way, condemns decisions to depart from industry standards or to utilize a proprietary standard in the absence of deception regarding the departure...
n Microsoft and Antitrust #6099 - billwg Jan 23, 2003 08:11 pm
you are living with your head in the sand. Java is a huge winner in the business space. HUGE...
n Microsoft and Antitrust #6098 - billwg Jan 23, 2003 07:53 pm
KK was heard to say:
As the appellate court observed, "[e]ven an act of pure malice by one business competitor against another does not, without more, state a claim under the federal antitrust laws . .
n Microsoft and Antitrust #6096 - billwg Jan 23, 2003 07:17 pm
cba-3.14 1/23/03 4:17pm
Well, they havn't had the space to themselves on the client side
They most certainly have had it to themselves. Microsoft wasn't pushing any competing product, but Sun has never delivered on their promise, choosing to spit and snarl at Microsoft rather than develop the java architecture as needed to meet user requirements.
Microsoft still ships a 1996 or so JVM simply because no one is insisting on anything newer...
n Microsoft and Antitrust #6088 - billwg Jan 23, 2003 07:31 am
sanjayahuja 1/23/03 3:13am
If you look at Microsoft's filings for the appeal you will see that Motz actually dismissed the charges against Microsoft on the very same issue that he based the injunction on. When Microsoft moved to then dismiss the injunction as well, Motz then re-activated the charges, i.e. reversed himself, without any stated reason to do so...
n Microsoft and Antitrust #6080 - billwg Jan 22, 2003 04:52 pm
As for history... this case is related to the contract dispute directly because it's MS's behavior within that framework that shows that MS was trying to choke Java and that MS thought Java was significant enough to throttle.
That is not what you said originally, craigster...
n Microsoft and Antitrust #6074 - billwg Jan 22, 2003 01:32 pm
I think that there is a lot of misunderstanding surrounding the issues in the java dispute as well. It is popular among the superficially oriented anti-MSers to put a few labels on things and then honk wildly and widely about the inequity of it all, but they seldom have a real set of facts at their disposal.
The often referenced "hijacking" of java is one of these myths that has become obscured through the years by these ignorant folk repeating the same misinformation...
n Microsoft and Antitrust #6073 - billwg Jan 22, 2003 12:58 pm
You people have very little understanding of the history of these court cases, it would appear. The contract dispute between Sun and Microsoft relative to Microsoft's use of the Java technologies was litigated and settled some time ago. The current action has nothing to do with the contract but rather with the theory that Microsoft's manipulation of java is a violation of the antitrust laws and is therefore subject to corrective action and penalties under those statutes...
Where my rights to information? ISOnews IP is working, just DNS stolen!
True the ip number 66.201.243.170 shows a perfectly working system,
though 66.201.243.172 will barf.
But www.easybuy2000 (on same netblock) 66.201.243.165 is working and still making over 140,000 dollars per week. (and advertising on isonews.com front page)
PEOPLE have a right to backup their media and a right to modify their machines to play backups.
But why is it that only Americans are being blocked from certain IPs (soon to include the 8 servers of ISONEWS).
Why doesn't the us gov take people to court instead of acting like china with firewall evil crap.
The usa is playing unfair like a fascist state.
Oh yeah, and a lot of "Old Money" republican families were so much trailer trash until they made their millions running alcohol during prohibition. Funny how you never hear about that...
I'm trying to teach myself to set people on fire with my mind... Is it hot in here?
The bad seeds are costing developers too much money. If it isn't taken care of, then you wont even have a choice of buying a console "in the first place".
Help weeds out the bad seeds, and report piracy to the SPA. If people all used them legit, and actually bought all the software, this wouldn't be an issue.
I rather would use the FAX number. Mail takes forever. Email is discarded or ignored, and frequently killed by filter systems. (Phone number is useless too, I am sure not paying for that!) If you find a FAX to suit then please provide it to us, --thank you in advance.
I suggest you read Slashdot
Now it's the law. Don't blame Bush for this one.
The honeymoon is over, people. Unfortunately, I am coming to the realization that the battle is lost already. I now understand that I will never again enjoy privacy on the Net. Mega-corporations have got there first, and the piecemeal approach of fire walls, anonymizers, proxy server kludges, and spam eliminators is just not going to protect me.
... particularly the enhancement that the Justice Department is planning to shortly introduce to the Patriot Act.
I foresee that I have to plan for the fact that I will not be able to use the Internet ever again unrestrictedly, and have been preparing for a complete break of private Internet use for about a year now. Shortly, I will be discontinuing my cable modem service forever, and will only use the Internet in a public forum such as at work, in a college, or in a Cybercafe, wherein I will obey every single law applicable (and will refrain from doing ANYTHING that may potentially break some law). However paranoid that may make me, it is worth it. We haven't even seen the beginning of how savage the witch hunts are about to become.
Yes, this is a boycot. Boycotting the Internet in this fashion may sound extreme, but then again I think the Patriot Act is a bit extreme
http://www.public-i.org/dtaweb/home.asp
Look for the icon the reads, "Patriot Act II"
One way to fight such rabid facism is to disconnect from the system. (This works because the Internet is a closed system. Without Internet users, there will be no commercial use for the Interent and no inherent need for vigorous policing of it.) I believe alternative networks will spring up out of the void so created, and, if those information avenues appears safe, I will surely take advantage of them. In the meantime, I plan to concentrate on fully utilizing the plentiful software already available which computing has afforded me.
I was a fairly well-paid computer professional from 1994 through 2000. But a sickness overtook the computer industry. It is a sickness imposed by forces which during the same time period tried to impose similar types of maladies on the health care and legal professions. Unfortunately, the computer industry (being in its infancy) was more susceptible than the others. Without strong professional organization and fraught by endemic sabotage by mega-corporations from within, the computer industry was doomed to succumb.
Currently, I am enrolled in a mathematics course of study which will degree me in Statistics, and am changing my profession out of the computer technology field altogether. For those still brave enough to tough it out under the current conditions:
May God have mercy on your souls.
Look at cable descramblers as proof. ..The original Playstation chips were illegal as hell also. You simply cannot allow illegal content to be shown/played on a licensed system. Just buy something else.
as everyone has said, you can still get to it at 66.201.243.170
So I just setup:
http://isonews.dnsalias.com/
It looks like the modchips were illegal because they contain a BIOS. Most chips are shipped without a BIOS, but the Enigmahs are pre-flashed.
A modchip without a bios isn't a usable device.
Wonder how long it will be before a domain/server is running in remote parts of the world for the business
I dunno if it will be popping up anytime soon. Mandarin, the main geek who runs their server and code setup, has told me he's getting tired of this kind of thing. You're right about the quality degradation too, slower updates, things late that, and one reason for the degradation is mandarin stopped caring. Weird to think about how one person can affect things like that.
Krazy8 supposedly "offered control of isonews to the government", but by that point I think isonews was already owned by some other company, EZ Buy maybe. Krazy8 could have offered control of Sony and Microsoft as part of his plea bargain, but that wouldn't make it so. But I think what it comes down to is possession is 9/10ths of the law, and the US.gov now possesses isonews.com DNS.
i always preferred http://www.nforce.nl, but that's just me.
Have we become so corrupt, so blinded, and so degraded by the pursuit of avarice that we must punish our fellow Man for innovation? For creativity? Or for simply posting information? Do we value an increased profit margin more than the lives of countless individuals? Just how far are we willing to go to protect our exclusive, absolute, and non-expiring right to "intellectual property?"
This blatant abuse of power does not affect the Mod-Chip community. Nor does it affect Slashdotters. It does affect the free world, and the meaning of freedom as we know it.
"With the first link, the chain is forged. The first speech censured, the first thought forbidden, the first freedom denied-- chains us all, irrevocably" (Captain Picard, The Drumhead).
We have lost control of our internet. It was once a free community, one of the freest to be found. It was subject to no outside control, no censorship. Now look at us. We can't even keep the DNS system we designed from the control of tyrants, nor can we evade the constant digital surveillance we are each under.
At our school, we don't earn a degree when we graduate—we earn pi/180 radians
Well here actually.
Another reason to LEAVE THIS COUNTRY. I will be.
Well screw the government and thier "warez" scene. Its enough to make me want to develop my own mod chip and buy an XBox just to say that I have. Since when can't we mod our hardware? Since when does copyright transcend every other law ever?
Oh right. DMCA.
~geogeek
I heard he has a drug felony on his record. He needed some extra cash or something so he decided to sell a little weed at the university he was at? BUSTED! Oh, and that's "Drug Felony Near a Public Education Institution." That's the same charge someone would get for selling crack to pre-schoolers, not good. All a prosector has to do is say "Your honor, maybe it's legal to sell modchips and maybe it isn't who can say? But THIS MAN SOLD CRACK TO BABIES! Won't someone PLEASE think of the CHILDREN?!?" Most judges and juries have been pretty lazy about investigating the subtle nuances of "fair use" when it comes to mod chips, but evil drug dealers they wanna give the max penalty to.
Interesting though, the link between drug perephrenalia and cracking down on "circumvention" lately.
So what exactly is so great about the US? I thought that it was the bastion of freedom and democracy? That it was fair and just? That people are innocent until proven guilty? That it's the people's government?
All I can say is - let's hope that this virus doesn't infect the rest of the world (fingers crossed.)
While at it, they should shutdown any store that sells blank cd's, video tapes or casettes since they can also be used for illegal purposes. I'm just glad they leave the head shops,online gambling and online porn places alone since they are so moral and legal....
Once again, we have closed down a business because it offered a product that COULD be used for illegal purposes. Napster had similiar problems (how was it illegal for a company to allow users to share music? they simply offered a means to share music. music that was open to share or not could be posted on napster..even songs written by "home artists" - the USERS were the ones breaking the law. Does that mean that if someone uses a Bicycle to flee from a crime that all bike shops should be shut down?)
This is truly a sad sad sad day for America! Hopefully over time we will grow up and realize that the world is changing.
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= - The Celtic - =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Let me guess, it will only be a short time before usdoj.gov is redirected to a site selling modchips?
Get 'em while they're hot. They're lovely
"Life of Brian"
Then let them try and determine who is obeying and who is breaking the law.. oh, that's right.. they will just outlaw peer-to-peer networks. Seriously, is there an encrypted peer-to-peer client?
Sigh. 1984 anyone? I hate the US government with a passion. I hope they're reading this. They can .... off and die.
Listen to my experimental-industrial-techno!
Infidels.
Can we make a class-action lawsuit against the DoJ in order to get them to buy us Japanese PS2s, since they seem intent on stopping us from using cheaper modchips for no good legal reason? :)
This Space Intentionally Left Blank
Of course, the DEA or anybody else in government doesn't care about criticizms of hypocrisy - the easy response is that the critic is either a dope fiend or a radical teetotaler who wants to trample on the rights of Joe Six Pack, Average American. It's really a shame, because the war on drugs, while successful in some statistical senses, has basically criminalized an entire generation of young minority men. Here's a highly acclaimed appraisal of our drug policy, which tries to draw some objective comparisons to other countries and other times.
Stop by my site where I write about ERP systems & more
It's illegal to sell them (and I'm not even sure that's true).
This is true.
It's not illegal to own mod chips
True. However -
Under the DMCA, it's illegal to make modchips - 1201 (2) `(2) No person shall manufacture, import, offer to the public, provide, or otherwise traffic in any technology, product, service, device, component, or part thereof, that-- `(A) is primarily designed or produced for the purpose of circumventing a technological measure that effectively controls access to a work protected under this title;
So, it's (apparently) legal to own them, but it's not legal to make them or to import them, and it's illegal for someone to sell or give one to you.
So it makes ownership pretty pointless, as there's no legal way for you to obtain one.
If you could cook up your own mod chip, for your own use, you'd be all set.
Nope. As I mentioned above, that's illegal too.
Remember you can't OWN a domain name!
>P
Everytime I think I've seen the lowest depths of ignorant subliteracy, there's a chrisd post to prove me wrong.
They're legal to sell as general purpose radar detectors but not legal to use to try to evade police radar. If you're caught with one you'll be, at the least, fined for it.
When I worked at RadioShack I wasn't able to talk about it as a device to detect police radar. Simply as a radar detector. You're better off obeying the law than pretending some device is going to warn you when to start obeying it.
Ben
Work Safe Porn
Enjoy.
Also, read the 'privacy' policy on any dot gov site. Might make you think twice about even visiting them.
We are all potential terrorists... We should all be locked up! Day by day our elected officials are working hard to make this a reality! Live free or die! (or just complain about everything) >p
Perhaps you're right.
But there's enough things they've done to push me over the edge.
Maybe if Bush hadn't been appointed president, maybe things like this would still be happening.
But, as the original post suggests, it's not this one thing, its:
(1) The patriot act.
(2) Bullshit "unilateral preemption."
(3) Imprisoning people--citizens--without due process.
(4) Dropping anti-monopoly lawsuits.
(5) This crap.
(6) Hiding documents revealing meetings with the energy industry under the guise of "national security."
(7) Proposals to implement nuclear missile defense without regard to research on its effectiveness.
(8) Comparing worldwide protests against his unilateral premption as "focus groups."
(9) Changing his speechwriter's appropriate phrase "axis of hate" to the naive "axis of evil."
(10) Refusing to openly discuss the economic plight of states with their governors at a major governor's meeting.
(11) Restricting the freedom of scientists to publish research, under the guise of "national security."
(12) Driving innocent immigrants out of the country in fear to Canada, splitting families apart.
(13) Proposals to monitor everyone on the internet.
(14) An arrogant but totally naive sense that he's maintaining his sense of "integrity" by not listening to anyone.
The list goes on and on and on.
It's not just one thing.
Absolute bullshit is the best way to describe politics in America right now. Absolute bullshit.
Something's got to budge.
Oh yeah, and a lot of "Old Money" republican families were so much trailer trash until they made their millions running alcohol during prohibition. Funny how you never hear about that...
You mean, like the Kennedys?
autopr0n is like, down and stuff.
PSX modchips were not illegal until after the DMCA took effect. The DMCA was the first law that took aim at so-called circumvention devices. I'm not sure how cable descramblers are proof, they weren't illegal before the DMCA either.
It's only if you try to sell them to the DEA's website.
The DEA won't tolerate any challenge to their monopoly on bong manufacture.
Used Microsoft Xbox, used Sony Playstation 2. Also available: 20 assorted original software titles, all with DVD-cases and instructions.
Selling because I no longer want to support corrupt terrorist regimes (ironically the DOJ and Microsoft working together) who ignore personal freedoms and rights of citizens to modify their own property. Gone back to playing outside and watching sunsets.
d0j 0wns j00 !!
REAL conservative believe that you should be able to do anything you want as long as it doesnt adversely affect others.
Those people are called libertarians.
autopr0n is like, down and stuff.
I've decided that no "legalization" or "decriminialization" effort will ever work.
Why not? Because the people don't want it, or because the Imperial Federal Government won't allow it?
Our society does not tolerate the use of dangerous drugs.
False! Alcohol use and abuse is tolerated. Furthermore, marijuana is not a dangerous drug.
Federal enforcement of drug control regulations is a success.
False! The government can't keep drugs out of prisons. What makes you think they do a good job keeping it out of the hands of non-inamtes?
Alcohol is a dangerous drug, and the people have consistently shown an inability to use it without causing death and destruction.
True for some people. I'll point out here that "the people" have consistently shown a stellar ability to use marijuana with no ill side effects.
If you have a medical reason for using alcohol, then you should be able to get a prescription for it. Otherwise, possession and sale should be treated exactly like the other dangerous drugs.
The purpose of this is to persecute people who use alcohol and tobacco, for there is no evidence that anything outside of education is any more than marginally effective at getting people to not use some drugs.
I don't make the rules. I just make fun of them.
We're not allowed to mod the TV so it doesn't interfere with radio waves of other frequencies. We *do* own our hardware, and as far as I know, though I'm hardly a lawyer, there's nothing inherently illegal about modchips. It's just the government's new policy of considering any electronic device that could be used to commit a crime as an illegal thing. Dunno about you, but it makes me really mad. I just hope that when W leaves office, we'll get our rights back.
Dan Aris
Fun. Free. Online. RPG. BattleMaster.
As a note.... they never posted cdkeys/serials on the nfos, they didn't JUST remove them from their sites.
I clicked the link for ISONEWS so that I could see what important business the U.S. Government Cybercrime division has been working on. However, the instant the page was loaded, my cable modem died.
Coincidence?
I just wondered if it happened to anyone else. Working in the computer field for many years has taught me that temporal proximity of events does not imply causality, but you never know.
A quick power cycle on the modem got me back online, but it was still a bit unsettling.
The whole thing is actually a fake, not only are there rumors of sites running on other ips, the site is really just where it was before on http://66.201.243.170 and it's not just a fake, it's the real site. Either the DOJ is just a bunch of numb-skulled idiotic... or the whole thing wasn't done by the DOJ. From December to Feb 26 is a long time, and there is nothing on the DOJ site about David M. Rocci.
"And we have seen and do testify that the Father sent the Son to be the Savior of the World"
1 John 4:14
Last I checked, you don't have the RIGHT to buy ANYTHING.
You are given the choice of buying something under the terms and conditions of the individual or company selling the item. If you do not agree to the conditions, the individual or company does not have to allow you to purchase the product.
Conversely, the company or individual doing the selling does not have the right to force you to buy the product.
That's the way capitalism works. It's about contracts and consent. If you don't like it, don't agree to the terms of the deal, and don't purchase the product.
It has absolutely nothing to do with liberty, or freedom, or any of that baloney you people throw about so "freely".
This is great! Now I can get my smoking accessories and modchips from one central .gov site!
right...?
Yuma, AZ...You will never find a more wretched hive of scum and villainy. We must be cautious.
I told mine I'm against the DMCA, it makes me a criminal and if all David Rocci did was sell mod chips allowing people to use devices they BOUGHT in whatever way they wanted then he should be released. I mentioned that piracy is WRONG and should be ILLEGAL. But doing what I want with things I pay for (eg. fair use) is MORAL, and should be LEGAL.
The only way you're going to keep the guys with guns from hauling you off for your Linux DVD player is to get the bad laws changed.
My Linux Command of the Day site : LCOD
Aparently this was all due to DNS hijacking. Plain and simple folks.. here's the discussion on iSONEWS.com:
8 26 f153aca799e283cc5b566361560c1&threadid=100834
http://www.isonews.com/forums/showthread.php?s=
I don't care how on topic it is.
It wasn't funny. The all your base thing ceased to be funny on its own about 2 years ago.... Then the variations on it.... even saying stuff like "All your funny are belong to 2 years ago" and "Someone set up us the dead horse" stopped being funny about a year ago....
Karma: Non-Heinous
Before they grab this too!
There must be some violation of copyright going on their...
*sigh*
...they're tryin to build up hits so they can get a sweet banner campaign goin for a new smut site monica.pr0n.gov
/. people coming and all the warez scene it'll amount to millions for weeks :-}
Think about it, with all
We are all computer geeks. Does anyone remember that the Patriot Act allowed the DoJ to begin demanding information from libraries covertly in order to determine who is trying to find information related to terrorism (or whatever else the DoJ pleases, there is no check on this)? Okay, so the DoJ has redirected the DNS for this website ISOnews ya? Effectively, they can now recognize and potentially track people who visit this site. It's an evidence gathering tactic, just like the library. It looks to me that the DoJ continues to carry out actions then tend to restrict the free flow of information. Sadness!
Slashdot uses the word "ostensibly" in a headline.
The shareholder is always right.
Oh my Gawd. Don't flip that floppy disk RO tab. It is a copy protection device. It is illegal to move it.
Duh - the US DOJ clearly has too many people with nothing useful to do.
Interesting chat about all of this in their fourm, including some talk about the DNS being changed back and forth. Worth a read..
e 8c bb6a68adfc1536a94f42a167b062&threadid=100834
http://66.201.243.170/forums/showthread.php?s=0
The press release is right here.
They probably just made an A record change to the DNS.
This buys them time to go seize the server physically, or copy all the user records off if it's a virtual colo.
If leaving the IP alone for a while prompts some clueless users to continue to log in or attempt to order more stuff, it's a smart move.
Get off my launchpad!
I fear you; you fear me. Great.
Thought crime automatically dumps you into the database. Only the next step beyond government run kiddy porn sites.
Anybody know whether Ashcroft can spell? There was a case of the South African pediatrician who was practically run out of a British village during the pedophile hysteria a few years back. "We don't want no pediatricians around here!"
Vice-versa, don't make a spelling mistake on your way to www.heroine.com! By this time next year, don't even think of doing a Google search for "religion is the opiate of the masses" or Ashcroft will be at your door faster than you can say, "No search warrant needed".
Makes you proud to be a freedom-loving American.
after all, i would be quite angry too if all the search results for my name turned out to be gender-questioning, tentacle-sporting anime porn
-strangeloop
I know this isn't popular with SlashDot users but...
Everyone is arguing that modchips allow people to use their machines as they see fit. Can anyone argue that the use of guns should be unrestricted? Arguing that if you own a machine/device entitles you to use it however you wish is ludicrous at best!
Where the Music Matters
http://www.opennic.unrated.net/ is looking to be a better alternative everyday anything that is not controlled by the US goverment or guarded by their attack dog(john asscroft)
Buy them over the internet from Australia. A court ruled that they were legal! Suck on that corporation!!
all the stories i've read have said he only made a $24,000 profit.
Justice Department Seizes Top Internet Site Dedicated to Copyright Piracy
So you agree that cybercrime.gov is pretty crappy?
Russia finally has a democratic government. Wouldn't it be nice if we could have one too. How much did you pay for your politician today ?
The fucking potheads could design a website better. It doesn't take 7 KB of HTML for a background image and a paragraph of centered blue text.
Great background image too - I guess the flag now stands for censorship; making sure you don't see pictures of bongs.
Tim
Omnia vestra castrorum habetur nobis.
I think it also makes the probation a little more "real" for people who are in trouble for the first time. Of course, "excessive" is a very subjective term, so I'm not exactly sure how you prove that up at the Motion to Revoke hearing.
OK, which DOJ employees are moderating this thread? Parent post is not a troll.
Fuck Ashcroft. Fuck Bush. These guys were not legitimately elected and they don't have the consent of the governed. Democracy was a nifty experiment, but now it's over.
In other news, astrophysicists have announced that they now know what all that dark matter is: it's stupidity.
no this was just some DNS hijacking...anyone looking at the fake page would have seen that it didn't look professional at all. However , anything regarding krazy 8 hasn t been confirmed
Just something to think about, but how do you think DOJ will react to slashdot? Expecially after the ./ effect. Possiably all slashdot viewers labeled as terrorists?? ;-)
I'm worried that I must point this out to you but for a crime to be a crime is not a prerequisite that the crime involves killing.
I just pointed out using a gun to kill as an extreme example. Another relevant example would be theft of property which can involve software.
Where the Music Matters
All your freebase are belong to us!
Escape Pod Films: Sketch Comedy and Web Series
I'm sorry but is not correct in other situations to always use your property in whatever way you wish, excluding killing/committing property crime.
I cannot use a newspaper to defame your name/person for utterly no reason. This is also against the law. To single out one example because Slashdot users wish it to be so is hypocritical. Why not look at other cases of such discrimination?
Where the Music Matters
Here blatenly stolen from the bb there.
Thing is I wish somebody would go there and post it for me in offtopic. What a hassel to sign up for that bb.
Read his lips man.
STOP PLAYING THESE SILLY GAMES PERIOD.
SEND MICRONOT THE MESSAGE.
You buy the box and you suport this repressive dictatorship. Stop and use your head.
look at quake III they want you to mod the game.
When did these guys crawl out of the crack?
See without the govs help the monopoly cannot exist.
But if you cannot do anything about the gov you can stop the monopoly dead in it's tracks.
David and Golioth.
Just say no and don't buy it. Your feeding the monopoly.
"Piracy is not a game it's a hobby, it debatable it's a crime," said Paul McNulty. "This case is another example of our dictatorship enforcing the intellectual property laws of microsoft online. Whether you are engaged in conduct like David Rocci or you are purchasing mod chips to play games, you should stop," said McNulty. "As David Rocci and others have learned recently, the consequences of copyright infringement are very real.Well that largely depends really on how much you give the government if you really wanted to tell the truth. "
Remember these are the same guys who also STOLE almost everyones software already and innovated it into the bloadware they call a operating system.
Now there using your tax dollars to put this poor slob in the slammer so you can pay to feed him. He was just trying to make a buck man. Maybe he had kids to feed and congradulate him at least. No use buying a xbox if you got nothing to fix it with. He was probibly was helping sales for christ sake.
Amerika uber alles, kangaroo fuckers!!!
What, have you been in a fucking cave?
Oh, wait. This is slashdot...... nevermind.
I just thought of something this poor guy made what 20 thousand dollars if that really. I heard he was a unemployed ex netscape programmer.......
I have the perfect solution, don't buy hardware that needs mod chips in the first place.
Everyone here knows that you can't legally make backup copies, so why would you buy something that restricts your fair use rights.
DVDs and CDs are fragile items, and unless I can make copies of them, I don't buy them.
So I still buy CDs as I can make copies and mp3 them for my car stereo, but I don't purchase dvds, dvd players or any other copy controlled media , I do own a dvd-rom for my SuSE installation, I will probably purchase a DVD burner for backups soon and a dv cam to try my hand at video editing, but not if it's copy controlled.
Please, really think about it, do you need the stuff? Is it necessary?
A night out on the town is always a whole lot more fun. Imagine actually interacting with other human beings instead of vegging out on the couch.
You forgot to call us all sex and drug crazed hippies...
I set stolemy.com to point to the isonews servers. If they aren't able to get isonews.com back, i'll donate the domain :)
(btw, if it doesn't resolve for you yet, try back tommorrow...)
Tim Dorr
Owner/Manger
A Small Orange
Non-authoritative answer:
Name: isonews.com
Address: 66.201.243.172
Aliases: www.isonews.com
And the site comes up just fine...
Rather than slinking around and trying not to get caught, people who like to copy software, movies, music and other copyright works should come out of the closet and declare themselves persecuted. I don't care how much money the big companies stand to lose or how many people's business plans are destroyed overnight, copyright law has got to go, simple because the people don't want it.
How we know is more important than what we know.
Boycott micronot and Bony and anyone else that uses these heavy handy lowlife tactics.
I'd dance in the street if this backfired and xbox sales dropped to 0%
Ya won the battle but you will loose the war.
And that is what should happen we should send them a clear as a bell message that ya you can push us around all right and even throw a few of us in the pen for free food and board but we can get you back cause we can stop buying your crap.
Mod chips allow it to boot linux also don't forget.
We're all just a bunch of criminals I take it then.
Speak with your wallet.
Hey I heard this poor slob was a unemployred ex netscape programmer just trying to feed his kids.
You should give him a metal he ways probably helping sales for christ sake.
so now i guess selling technology that allows piracy is piracy.
therefore, murder is selling knives.
YOU ARE GUILTY.
The DOJ seems to have 0wn3d part of the Iraq Daily's website. Click the TV link.
The Western Samoan (?!) website for Iraqi satellite television now broadcasts rather odd propaganda.
Those people stole more money than anybody else in the history of the world.
It's just video games! Get a grip!
You can legallly play any game on the planet if you pay for the games and the systems they were made to be played on. It won't kill you to shell out a few more bucks. Video games are NOT a necessity! We're not talking about important issues like access to public water reservoirs or voting booths. Believe or not, billions of people today have lived their whole lives without playing video games, and are no worse off for it.
IMHO, this is utterly trivial. But since many of you think it's a critical, life-or-death, the-sky-is-falling, Constitutional abrogation, I will continue...
We are a nation of laws, not chaos. Just because Joe Citizen doesn't like a law doesn't mean he gets to be self-appointed dictator. The law does not bow to prima donnas, post-modernists, or cry babies. Although you yourself can't make or repeal laws, you do get to choose the people who do that. The laws were created by representatives that the people have voted into office. That's the way a democracy (or, "representative republic," for the nitpickers) works.
With over 280 million American citizens, there will always be major disagreement over the merit of particular legislation. Notwithstanding, you must obey the laws or freely accept the punishment for breaking them, even if they aren't written like YOU would want them to be. You may practice civil disobedience, but in doing so, you still must face the consequences until the other people in your movement have been effective in lobbying for the amendment or repeal of the contested laws.
Gee, how nice to know our taxes are now going to pay for thugs to carry out the bidding of giant corporations. The DMCA not withstanding (being unconstitutional), the bypassing of region encoding (which is a violation of anti-trust and free trade laws and agreements) is not a crime and it is a moral outrage that the DoJ is abusing US citizens for the "crime" of wanting to play imported games. Also annoying is the inaccurate press coverage that fails to mention this justifiable use. Disgusting. "Land of the Free" my ass.
It happened to me THREE times in a row once... its a problem with their tracking scripts. They did not INTEND on resetting your modem , they were trying to install firmware probably or set settings. . I am not joking I repeated the experiment THREE times and three times the modem went dead. The site was not that site... it was a us gov honeypot site related to nuclear weapons . phonetically typed as "doubleyou eighty seven" (no spaces)
after googleing I discovered the modem hang on a few juicy caches.
you are indeed onto something. I proved it once 3 times in one evening and AFTER that evening I could no londer EVER EVER get the att service to grant me a new DHCP IP lease ever again and was stuck with a PERMANENT IP!!!! (permanent for at least 3 months until I cancelled the service) no one else in town had a permanent IP just me after that night. Watch your ip from now on!! I bet it remains static.
DVD region coding is not a copyright control mechanism. It's a control mechanism, and it's to the benifit of the copyright holders, but it's just so they can make money, and does not have legal force.
autopr0n is like, down and stuff.
Well, in iowa at leat you don't get an extra ticket, but I've heard that the cops are much more linent with you if you don't have one.
autopr0n is like, down and stuff.
Bubba: "So, Rocci, what you inside for ?"
Rocci: "I sold some Enigmah mod-chips, they gave me 5 years"
Bubba: "Heck, I murdered some guy and I only got 10, now pick up that soap over there !"
What a wierd world we live in - this guy is going to get 5 years for a silly "crime" which is a very debatable case - why don't the Enigmah mod-chip manuafacturers have legal actions taken against them ?
Surely you can do what you want with your own hardware ?
Hmm, apparently not anymore !
A slashdotting - you get the stick first and then the carrot !
http://www.isonews.com/top2.gif looks an aweful lot like something that would automatically fall under copyright by it's designer... I wonder who made it? IF it isn't the owner of the site who plea bargined, there may be a copyrite infringement case against the DoJ!
"Your superior intellect is no match for our puny weapons!"
Case in point: Kevin Mintnick. Case in point: American Taliban. Case in point: Jose Padilla. Case in point: typical prisoner's dilemma.
Now, sometimes, it *is* justified, and the public will view it as justified. In that case, no gag agreement is necessary in the plea bargain.
That isn't the case here. Here, a gag agreement is necessary. And that implies that the government is being used criminally. Which is no surprise: the biggest criminal gang around typically *will* be the government.
But there are therefore only four responses possible:
(1) fight the government ineffectively, and get killed/imprisoned.
(2) Become a *bigger* criminal and win -- in which case things get WORSE for everyone else.
(3) cross your fingers for luck, and wait until the government gets into too many fights with other governments -- but understand that things will still only get worse for you [at the end of WWII, the German army slaughtered their own people].
(4) leave, and go somewhere else, and let the criminal government fall on its own, without taking you with it.
In other words, take some good, conservative advice, and pick a better country .
But don't confuse running afoul of the biggest bully on the schoolgrounds, with being criminal. Sometimes, his victims *are* criminal. Sometimes they aren't. But there is no direct link necessarily there.
I can't believe you just made a racial thing out of that...
Take a look at those arrest records on those urban black males you state are frivolously arrested. I'm going to go out on a limb here, and say that there'd be a variety of different crimes, including a few violent felonies, not just BS speeding tickets based on 100-year-old laws.
Now, I'm not implying that crime is genetic in black males or any of that National Alliance racist crap... it has a lot to do with being young urban males, making poor choices (as we all tend to do when young and stupid), and being surrounded by criminal subcultures, which young people tend to emulate. For instance, the "Gansta" style of dress... that whole thing simply escapes me. Why would anyone emulate a bunch of thugs, who largely prey on their own people? Boggles the mind...
OK... sorry, end of tangent. What I was trying to say is that people often get arrest records BECAUSE they commit crimes, not because "the man" is keeping them down.
I can see your point if we are simply talking about public nuisance-type crimes... but an armed robbery rap usually requires active participation.
Even if a man chops off your hand with a sword, you still have two nice, sharp bones to stick in his eyes.
Will our tax dollars pay to renew the domains which have been taken over by the government?
I surely didn't vote for that.. OH WAIT! I have no rights! I'm just another tax payer..
I agree with your analysis about the motivations behind this move. I also mostly agree on the subscription model for games. I am still mulling over the movie and music thing mostly because I believe that subscriptions lessen the incentive to produce quality content instead of just new content, but that is another discussion.
The problem I have with the whole thing is simple.
I don't like being treated like a 5 year old kid. It is totally ok to know how to pick locks, copy media and modify hardware. What one does with that information has consequences of course, but the sharing of this type of knowledge is not the source of the problems.
As a kid, I was shown how locks worked and was given some old locks to open for a challenge. The intent at the time was to keep an eager brain busy and learn some basic mechanical skills at the same time, plus it was fun!
Later I took apart almost everything I have ever owned. Why? To understand how it worked and to learn how it could work better for me. The good karma I have earned from this is hard not to notice. Opening locked cars, fixing broken electronics, building creative solutions to solve problems all have earned me many favors in return. Who have I harmed exactly? Maybe a few local locksmiths have lost some revenue along with the electronics shops, but the people I helped sure found something to do with their money. Maybe they purchased a coupla more movies and music titles. heh heh...
The technology I sell and service today benefits those who produce it. Maybe a few schools lost some revenue because I actually bothered to pick up a book and learn something without having someone hold my hand. Isn't this what we are supposed to be doing anyway? Helping ourselves as much as possible?
80 percent of what I know today comes from this sort of learning. Those that mentored me early on were also teaching right from wrong. It also happens to be how I continue to make my living.
Today, my very nature is being slowly criminalized for no good reason and I resent it! This is wrong no matter what the motivation and everyone here knows it. It is also not good for society in general. Don't you want to see what the upcoming talent will create in their garage when you get old. Wouldn't it be nice to say, "Wow! Nobody saw that coming!" The way things are now, you can plot your future on the corporate roadmaps.
What we don't know is what to do about it (yet).
IsoNews is a source of a lot of hard to find information that can be put to as many good uses as bad. There are many other sites that provide the same forum. Will Asscroft shut them all down? Why?
I can understand the legal reason why some mod chips are illegal along with distributing pirated media, but I cannot understand the action against this site in general because it does not address the problem.
The problem is behaviour, not knowing how or why one would bother to use or construct modchips or copy media. These things are legal and ethical no matter what anyone says. If you cannot learn how, who does that really benefit?
The problem, as I see it, is the combination of education and maturity being modeled by many technically inclined people today. I can't say I blame them. It sucks to know you are being wronged.
Understanding this is a part of the big picture that also needs to be considered if we are ever to come to any sort of humane solutions.
Back to when I was young for a moment. Hacking things was encouraged! You could go to the supermarket and get magazines that actually documented this process in some detail. Teachers encouraged the activity as well. I remember a group of us changing one of the instructional disks to tell jokes. We learned a lot and harmed nobody because THE SCHOOL COULD EASILY MAKE BACKUPS! Know what the teacher did? He had us pick something we wanted to do and helped us do it. Guess what? WE LEARNED A LOT MORE!
Having an opinion was valued and encouraged. Many a teacher challenged me as to why I believed something instead of just telling me it was not politically correct. Some of these same teachers had the freedom to nurture and channel this into good constructive growth.
I might add that the schools had more flexibility in how they dealt with problem kids and a lot fewer lawyers. Maybe this was not as bad as we make it out to be today.
I had considerable freedom in school provided that I towed the line on the basics; namely, maturity, ethics and citizenship.
Today, things are very different. We are encouraged to know what to buy to solve our problems. I know that is a very general statement, but look around. You will see it in just about everything. In my state (oregon) education is being standardized and achievment is valued over creativity. Schools are sharply limited in what they can do to correct and control kids. They also exert far more subtle control than they used to because of this.
At the same time, that standardized education does not include strong citizenship and ethics material probably because of the additional lawyers on staff today combined with their strain on the budget and the stiff education requirements leave little room. Of course the lawyers will say this material just might offend somebody as well. (Too f-ing bad I say.) Could the state find a generation of task oriented citizens easier to control as well? Hmmm...
A lot of the technical education I see my kids getting is focused on performing tasks within the technology. Big mistake because understanding the ideas behind the tech is where the better tech comes from.
Kids today have less freedom and higher demands all at the same time while teachers have less room to do what they should be doing; namely, building society one kid at a time.
The level of control our society is experiencing is at an all time high. Is it any wonder that people are acting out?
Consider our precious Xbox. (Other products have similar problems, I just want to use the Xbox as an example.) The money god says make as much as you can. That means keeping people paying which means control and limited device function designed to facillitate payment. Instead of paying a ton of lawyers, who consume a fair chunk of the profit themselves, why not actually understand what people want to do and encourage it?
They could try marketing the Xbox Plus pack. Bundle it with a free game and code book! Sell the imports at a premium to those that want them. Funny, the 'Imports' are actually made here in Microsofts case so they just get to make more money.
Go ahead and run Linux, but pay 50.00 first and remember that you still can play all the online games with no worries.
Seems to me lots of kids would enjoy a home computer that could also play hot games. Why not let them do it? You just might find your next game developer that way.
Dump some of those legal dollars into some marketing designed to distinguish and reward the right kinds of creativity from blatent self-serving piracy.
Use the law to bust those doing real damage.
Sure the hardcore crowd will see all of that for what it is and will continue to go against the business model, but lots of people will just buy the thing because it does what they want. Price it right and mix in a couple of nice features and you can make money off the whole thing and look reasonably cool at the same time.
The rest of them will be numbered too small to worry about. Besides, you can spend what you want and the hardcore crowd will still do what they want. You just make less that way.
As it stands now, the stigma of the Xbox is so great for me, I will never ever own one and I make sure and tell others why. Wonder how much annuity revenue that will end up costing?
The core of the problem here is control. Here in the land of the free, we are increasingly under the thumb of large corporations driven by shareholder demand to make money every single quarter or cease to exist. Our free market has taught us the fewer options people have, the easier it is to make money. This same market makes it hard for companies to actually try new things. Invest in a new business model, but lose money for a quarter or two? Watch your stock become worthless. Better to not even try it, it is cheaper to pay the lawyers to beat away your potential competition while limiting your customers options in ways that maximize revenue.
Is this really American? Is this sort of power what our founders intended? Will these actions and others like them really benefit society, or will they benefit governments and corporations who seek control?
I for one see this for what it is. A lame attempt to drive information underground because it does not align well with some business model and that sucks and is wrong.
For anyone that actually gets to the bottom of this comment, take note this year and next of who does what and why. Remember that when it comes time to buy something, or vote. Be sure and tell them why and tell them often.
It matters.
Blogging because I can...
that guns don't kill people, people with modchips and bongs do!
Free as in mason.
ISONEWS 0WN3D BY D0J!!!1
PR0Pz 2 H0M3lAND S3KUR1TY
------ DMCA FOREVER -----
The sad part is, marijuana is going to be decriminalized before the DMCA or Patriot Act ever get repealed. No one is losing money on the decriminalization of pot except for drug dealers...and we all know how the goverment treats THEM. Once a few more of the crotchety old fucks in congress die and the crowd is younger and more enlightened, you'll see decriminalization...you bet on it. A very large portion of younger politicians are pretty open about their feelings on it now, as are many state governments.
IP and terrorists though are the kind of thing you can't even argue against without getting accusations of treason thrown at you. "You don't want terrorists killing your children do you? We need full access to your credit cards and phone records then. Thanks, citizen." And IP..well...IP has lobbyists...what more can you ask for. There's more and more money going into the marijuana lobby every year.
The only reason it hasn't been decriminalized yet is because the administration will then have to admit that all the money put into the War on Drugs was a big waste, and I don't think they're prepared to do that.
Hey, Gee Dubya....drop that $19.2 Billion you're dumping into the Drug War this year and apply it to public drug education/treatment, schools, transitional housing, tuition assistance programs, and other social services and watch national drug use drop to a fraction of its current level. Allow harmless recreational drugs to run their course...smoking pot isn't going to hurt anyone despite what the Drug Czar tells you. Provide treatment programs for those that develop a problem with harder drugs. You'll still spend less money. Prisons will have more room for the REAL criminals now. Come on, Prez, I know you blew coke back into the 70s...shit, you probably still do. You know what's up...be a man.
This message brought to you by the Council of People Who Are Sick of Seeing More People.
but I couldn't disagree more with Chris' statement. You -do- own your own hardware and you can paint it blue and throw it against the wall if that's your gig. As a matter of fact, you could probably make your own mod chip, install it, run it, and call the DoJ to tell them that you did. The guy who got arrested was the one making a profit off of selling the chips, not a chip user. As a matter of fact, I have a chip that I made in between typing this and slamming my console against the wall, so... if the DoJ asks slashdot for my user info, please feel free to give it to them, because I don't intend on selling it.
-- http://www.criticalassets.com
Ironically, I believe (and could be wrong) that licensed Amateur Radio operators are exempt. Part of the reason for this is that the Amateur service is co-secondary in those bands, so they can be used as Amateur receivers.
All we need is a mod chip that ONLY does away the Region protection. And I'll be happy to let them bring it up to the court.
Google has several pages from ISONEWS cached, so if you wanna check out what the DOJ doesn't want you to see.
e =UTF-8&q=+site:www.isonews.com+isonews
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&o
This will find all the pages listed on google, click on the cached option to see the old site.
DOJ, would you like a schmoke and a pancake?
You know, flap-jack and a cigarette?
Hm, alright. Cigar and a waffle? No?
Pipe and a crepe? No?
Bong and a blintz?
Perhaps (pinky in the corner of his sinister pirate grin:o) Mod chip and a Warez site?
don't do it...DO it!
Many people like to mod their consoles, allowing them to make "fair use" copies of games they have purchased, in case their children destroy or scratch the disk, or allow them to play import games from other countries (that they purchase online) that are unplayable in their own country. Many people also make their own games for consoles or handhelds, especially the Game Boy Advance, which has hundreds of cool demos and games, free, for people who have moded, or "flashable" cartridges. Last Christmas, siting the DMCA, Microsoft, Nintendo, and Sony filed against Lik-Sang.com (my favorite game hardware site) for selling such mod chips, because they could also be used to play downloaded copies of games, which would be an illegal use under the DMCA. One of the largest issues at hand with the mod chip craze, is that most consoles are now sold at a loss, and the companies have locked themselves into a dangerous game where they primarily make money off of game sales, and these mega corporations only want you to be playing (and buying) their games, not freely downloadable games online, or booting LINUX.
A console that plays MP3s or DIVX over a network (or off its 100gb drive) as an entertainment center, or runs LINUX, is USELESS monetarily to Microsoft. This, like everything in the world, is about money.
The edited BIOS of the mod chip is the illegal thing under the DMCA. Almost all mod chip sites do *NOT SELL CHIPS WITH A BIOS*, you must download the bios from someone online. This is perfectly LEGAL (buying the mod with no BIOS), though it is illegal (under the DMCA) to download that BIOS. If he's being prosecuted and plead guilty, it was because he was selling mods preflashed with a bios. There are hundreds of MOD chip sites online, and they aren't being taken over by the DMCA.
CE
Is it me or isn't there an entire industry that's sprang up offering 3rd party modifciations for cars? With that if modding my car is legal, then why not any other device I own, I worst I shouldn't be able to exact any warranty support, not arrest.
3000 dead over past 2 years, still no free Palestinians, still
I have pointed to the right IP with this hostname: iSONEWS.R0OT-SERVERS.NET and I like my hostname better than the others that have pointed some domain or hostname to isonews :P
I have some news for you:
The only current, popular console that remains relatively uncracked (GameCube) has rental stores panties in a bunch. For some reason they not only can't rent the damn games, but they can't even sell the things!
My local shop has taken to selling off their remaining used inventory at half price in a hope to recoup their losses. They haven't been successful.
It just goes to show that, just as before, no electronic media system with uncracked protection (if it has any) has ever been popular in North America (usually the world). Witness other heavily copy-protected schemes, such as DAT tapes and MD and you'll see I'm right.
Beats me exactly why it works that way. The best explanation I can come up with is the majority of first buyers are the types that want their stuff modded/cracked/whatever. And without the first time buyers telling all their less technically inclined friends just how kick-ass the equipment is, those next tier buyers hardly even hear about the item, and therefore don't buy it.
If you could be told what you can see or read, then it follows that you could be told what to say or think - BoC
if he changes white to black he will sound just like you
I clicked on the link and it took me right to the isonews webpage. I wonder if they didn't like their servers getting slashdotted or something?
It's even better, you are allowed to reverse engineer any software, modify it and use the software for own purposes.
You are also allowed to make copies, for own purposes as much as you want.
But you can't sell or distribute this modified and/or copied software without the permission of the legal owner.
This sounds all fair to me.
I would even enhance this liberal legal system: it should be possible to buy a software licence, modify the source and sell it for the price I want. As long as I buy a new license for every license I sold.
It's like buying a car, enhance it with a turbo, leather interior and disgusting neon lights. After the modification I could sell it for more then the original version. Few car manufactories will complain, if not, none.
But I agree, this would only work in a perfect world.
Are all US government sites so badly done? After seeing the isonews DOJ page that looked like it was done by a colourblind 8 year old with minimal HTML clue, I looked at a few other .gov sites and found that pretty much all of them were up to similar standards, especially the joke that is cybercrime.gov.
;)
Not only do they look bad, they're written badly, with practically zero concession to accessibility; whatever happened to Section 508?
Methinks the DoJ should be investigated on suspicion of child labour
C) Allowed back up copies of game discs to be played. Oh wait, this is the same feature that allows piracy isn't it... but it still has a valid use!
So all cops and all white people are racist... Is that it? You accuse me of over-generalizing about social character of black males in an urban area, and then you tar all cops and all white people with an even broader brush? I never said that all black males were violent criminals, simply that some are, and that not all criminal charges are a result of racism. You seem to believe otherwise, based on your N=1 night in jail.
This is a comprehensive demonstration on how to misread what someone else has written. If I didn't think that you genuinely meant what you said, I'd call this a troll.
Voting Rights?? - Screw giving the hispanics, or any other race, other then the white one, *ANY* rights..
And ship back 90% of them to where they came from. We dont need this much slave labor.
And stop giving them fucking handouts. They dont deserve MY money to feed their sorry ass mass of children.
If they protest, shoot them and use them as animal feed.
- "But that's OK, because get this: if a cop stops you on the street, it's illegal for them to search you if you're encrypted."
- "Man, that's it, I'm going there, that's all there is to it..."
If the DoJ is going to replace a web site, they ought to ensure it adheres to federal regulations, namely the Section 508 Accessibility guidelines. In this case, they left out the ALT attributes of the two images they included from the old IsoNews site; the images comprise the IsoNews logo. For these reasons, the page does not meet the 508 requirements.
This error might seem trivial, but the first line of text relies on the image to convey the name of the site (IsoNews) and therefore it violates the mandate of accessibility.
Furthermore, the ALT tags provided for the two logos do nothing more than reproduce the text in those images - the name of each agency. Those ALT tags don't even attempt to convey the visual information contained in those images, such as an eagle clutching an olive branch, the latin motto of the DoJ, or the scales and key within the Customs Service seal.
ps - The name "Lissard" for school admin s/w reminds me of a particular school admin: Police Academy Cmndt. Eric Lassard. :)
I thought that free speech had been proven from the DVD CSS trial? When people start printing t-shirts and making music and pictures to spread information then you cant do much.. well unless your the US government that is. As i understand mod chips are just PIC's or AVR's etc which are programmed and sold. What happens if you just distribute the source code - isnt that protected speech? Maybe the DOJ should go after microchip.com for their evil? Or, what about just arresting the people that mod their consoles? what about the people that actually pirate games? Well if your going down that road then your going to have to arrest the people who build/sell the cd/dvd copying equipment and software. Also while your at it your really gonna have to put a stop to these "home made" PIC programmers. You cant just make laws that break protected freedoms and then choose to enforce them on only a few people. That would be like targeting a country for war because they had a really bad dictator in power, when declaring the war would be illigal and there were several other dictators around that were even worse anyway.
This comment does not represent the views or opinions of the user.
That is good enough reason to harass you and run your ass out of town.
I commend the officer for his actions and he should be awarded.
That's hilarious. You're bitching about racism, then you, yourself, are making gross generalizations about "white people". You, sir, are a racist no different than a KKK member.
You want equality where it is convenient for you. I can positively say that your attitude doesn't reflect that of the black friends I have. I think they'd probably ask for you to stop speaking for the black population, because you're giving them a bad name.
Registrant:
The iSO News (ISONEWS-DOM)
Jacobus van 't Hoffstraat 69
Nijmegen, MR 6533
NL
Domain Name: ISONEWS.COM
Administrative Contact, Technical Contact:
The iSO News (20726749O) mraskolnikov@hotmail.com
The iSO News
Jacobus van 't Hoffstraat 69
Nijmegen, MR 6533
NL
555 555 1212 fax: 555 555 1212
Record expires on 01-Mar-2004.
Record created on 01-Mar-1999.
Database last updated on 27-Feb-2003 07:39:05 EST.
Domain servers in listed order:
NS1.ISONEWS.COM 149.101.1.3
NS2.ISONEWS.COM 149.101.1.6
But.. check the owner of IP's 149.101.1.3..
OrgName: US Dept of Justice
OrgID: UDJ
Address: 1151D Seven Locks Rd
City: Rockville
StateProv: MD
PostalCode: 20854
Country: US
NetRange: 149.101.0.0 - 149.101.255.255
CIDR: 149.101.0.0/16
This looks a lot like the same tactics used in the drug enforcement cases noted by 2600 magazine.
As pointed out to me by someone this could be part of a plea-bargain. But it's at least interesting from a privacy-view since all visits to the new isonews site will now probably be logged very thoroughly.
The Virtual Bookcase: book reviews
>>>Federal enforcement of drug control regulations
>>>is a success.
>>
>>False! The government can't keep drugs out of
>>prisons. What makes you think they do a good job
>>keeping it out of the hands of non-inamtes?
>
>Your opinions are not shared by your representatives in
>Washington, nor by the majority of your countrymen. I
>take it you have personally tried to obtain narcotics in
>prison and succeeded? While I am sure that there are
>ways to get whatever you want in prison if you try hard
>enough, I would also suggest that you not count on it
>yourself if you happen to find yourself there.
FYI, opinions aren't fact. My brother-in-law was in prison, and it's a fucking resort. He was in everything from minimum jail to medium prison. He could get anything he wanted, whenever he wanted.
Washington reps, and the average Joe don't have experience with the prison system. Why would their opinions on how well it operates matter at all?
Do you weigh heavily the VP of Finance's opinion on the network topology?
"I can't give you a brain, so I'll give you a diploma" - The Great Oz (blatently stolen sig)
It's fascinating to me that the DOJ does a shakedown on an obscure site like isonews, however truly obvious ones (like www.m-dc--p.com) go completely unnoticed.
If anyone has any idea what criteria the Federal Fuzz uses to decide what vectors to pursue (in tracking down mod-chipping terrorists or otherwise), I'd be interested to know.
x-
I suspect this guy will get off the hook either at trial or on appeal. The restriction on mod chips is unconstitutional in every way it can be, and the redirect tactic is bad, too. The only way he won't get off is if this is a plea bargain where they are allowing him to plead guilty to this charge instead of a more severe one.
BTW - I'd stay off related websites... Unless you want to get a formal realtionship with federal athorities. This is like your bookie getting busted.
-- $G
From what I understand, they are seizing these after being given a standing "Good to Go" (on any such sites) from a judge.
I keep having to point this out lately, but here is part of the Bill of Rights again:
Amendment IV
The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized
Andrew Borntreger
Champion of cinematic disasters
First, the website has no direct effect upon the world of pirated software, it mearly advertises it, so unless there is something illegal about that(which there isen't) they have no right to take the site down, they can only take k8's domain which is isonews.com, the site can be moved and restarted....Remember, he was convicted for selling modchips.
:P, I'm sure the "scene" appreciates you arresting people that take advantage of the scene to make profit.
Now here is my $0.02, every year, DOJ tries to make a hit on pirated software by making a few arrests, scaring the people deep down. This year, they lacked the possibility of this, so the went after what they thought would actually scare the members of the "scene". I know for a fact it didn't, because most of the scene did not agree to this type of publication of the works.
So DOJ, you can put your thumbs back in your asses, you lost this one
As it is frowned upon to sell any type of pirated software in that world, k8 was taking advantage of the fact peiople liked to read isonews and he made profit from it, so basically made money out of somebody elses work.
Have a nice day!
Posting useless rant since 2003.
This reads:
... illegally imported from the United Kingdom ... The mod chips contained software code ...
If I'm not mistaken aren't mod chips sent with no code at all, I know my Matrix chip was, it was set to FF on every byte.
I can see how it was illegal to import them with code, thanks to DMCA, however if they where without code does this case really stand to hold?
Put your money where your mouth is -
I've heard lots of horrific stories from Iraqi refugees about torture with electric drills and acid,
Obviously the video game stuff is BS, but just you wait. In a couple of years you're going to start hearing stories of the torture that the US Gov't is currently inflicting upon anyone suspected of having links to bad people. Here's a link to stuff that is happening right now in the rising fascist state of America.
This is a very interesting time indeed. Many people have been making connections between America now and Germany in the 30's - how could people not have seen that their leaders were actually evil, misguided, frightening men? Why did people keep silent even when they knew? Why did so many people support the Nazis? We're all getting a little lesson in the answers to these questions right now...
How about a memory remapping chip?
ie, does an in place memory patch, or remaps some ranges to itself when placed in front of original chip.
this way the chip won't have any original BIOS code on it and still be effective.
Musicians, ravers, pirates, etc...
Everyone calls what they're involved with "the scene". It's starting to get on my nerves.
and I'm sure the weed you were smoking was no good reason for a cop to arrest you.
"out of every 8 black males you see one is in jail"
That's a lie. I don't visit jails. All the brothers I see are on the street or working!
I wonder what would happen if I created a razor blade that fit the Mach 3 razor, was equivalent to the Mach 3 blades, and sold it for half the price of the Mach 3 blades...
What happened to 'generic' stuff? You never see plain old black and white "CEREAL" boxes anymore..
"I can't give you a brain, so I'll give you a diploma" - The Great Oz (blatently stolen sig)
I think you will find they nailed him because the mod chips were pre flashed with the hacked Micro$oft xbox bios.
My understanding of the DCMA is that he may have avoided the DOJ wrath if the mod chips flash roms were distributed blank. This would mean that the device would/could not be circumventing the copy protection by default and would be useless (then left to the purchaser to do the dirty work).
If I'm way off then sorry but I don't live in the US.
Cheers
#include IANAL.h
A former roommate of mine used to work at the neighborhood head shop in college. She explained the law to me like this: A bong is only parphenelia (thus, illegal) when used for smoking something illegal out of it. If they profess to use it for tobacco, or don't tell you WHAT they'll be using it for, then its (at least, used to be) technically legal.
I didn't hear about any new "anti-bong" laws, so I'm assuming John "NaziBoy" Ashcroft is "enforcing" the old laws. So then the issue becomes, did the sites mention smoking buds, or did it refer to the items as "tobacco accessories?"
Regardless, the best bong I ever had was home made from a water cooler tank... Made it into a giant 6 -man hookah. And peopls say pot smokers never accomplish anything.
Quite satisfying to use too, because we made it ourselves.
Who did what now?
EFF tha Police!
EFF tha Police! ....and tha DOJ!
It's still alive and well on it's original IP address. Unfortunately they only support HTTP/1.1 so you need to send a Host: header or you will get an error. That's why just http://66.201.243.172 wont work :
>
[root@wired Web root]# telnet 66.201.243.172 80
Trying 66.201.243.172...
Connected to 66.201.243.172.
Escape character is '^]'.
GET / HTTP/1.1
Host: www.isonews.com
HTTP/1.1 200 OK
Date: Thu, 27 Feb 2003 14:32:46 GMT
Server: Apache/1.3.27 (Unix) mod_throttle/3.1.2 PHP/4.2.3
X-Powered-By: PHP/4.2.3
X-Accelerated-By: PHPA/1.3.3r1
Expires: Mon, 26 Jul 1997 05:00:00 GMT
Last-Modified: Thu, 27 Feb 2003 14:32:46 GMT
Cache-Control: no-cache, must-revalidate
Pragma: no-cache
Connection: close
Transfer-Encoding: chunked
Content-Type: text/html
cd
<html>
<head>
<title>
[iSONEWS]
</title
</head>
<frameset rows="100%,*" frameborder=0 border=0 noresize>
<frame src="portal.php3?t=2" name="main"
scrolling="auto" noresize>
</frameset>
</html>
It makes little sense to legislate profits for corporations at the expense of "market forces" like demand for functional hardware and demand for the ability to run NON-pirated software on the hardware they purchase!
From the doj website, "The mod chips contained software code designed specifically to circumvent the security or access control protections on the Xbox. Once the built-in security protections were defeated by the mod chips, pirated game software could be played on the Xbox console." This is way off base, people purchase mod chips so they can run cool stuff, which happens to not be pirated stuff, unless you are microsoft and consider the fact that you are running linux alone, is "pirating", ie.. stealing their profits by running free software.
Why is it our government wants total control of our hardware/software, at the expense of individual liberty and freedom? "terror" is having people free to do what they want, perhaps our department of justice by it's enforcement actions of incredibley unconstitutional laws(dmca), are the real terrorist, along with those corporate cronies in washington that passed it! If our government really wants to "enforce the laws", then we should be going after sodomy laws and arrest the people violating peoples arzholes! It'll never happen, the fudge packers are the congresscritters and their corporate cronies enforcement buddies at the doj! Quit trying to pack my fudge! I'll run whatever I want, and you and your doj fudgepackers ain't gonna stop me!
Perhaps they should have made the Xbox out of non-standard hardware{non-x86} to run their applications or should have priced their X-box as to not sell it at a LOSS. I'm certain, if msft priced their product at 25$ over it's cost, they wouldn't be having their buddies over at the DOJ run around and arrest people for trying to deliver inexpensive computing, to the masses that craves it.
Congress could easily fix this problem, by requiring manufacturers to sell their hardware for no less than the cost of production of said hardware!
WTF is he thinking? Doesn't he have something better to do? Like persuing the further revocation of our constitutionally guaranteed civil liberties. Now, as for the above quote -- it's not like there's a couple of shady guys selling a cases of glass bongs in my mom's living room that she doesn't know about. These are people who are simply trading their wares on the internet -- those wares, in and of themselves, are completely benign. Where the hell does he get this crap? Ashcroft runs the most abusive DOJ that we've had in decades.
Eat my ass, Mr. Ashcroft! Now...anyone wanna buy a glass piece?
-Turkey
www.nforce.nl
Posting useless rant since 2003.
Of course, all the slushfuck morons jumped off the edge of the cliff before actually reading the articles. If you assholes would have read first, you would have seen that the website was taken down AS A RESULT OF HIS CONVICTION. He was convicted as a criminal for selling modchips, the site going down went along with his conviction. He was convicted in early December so why is this news? I know why..because the jerky boys who run this godawful site KNEW everyone would jump to conclusions and turn it into something it's not, just like loonix.
I wish I would've counted how many posts from absolute idiot morons I saw stating they are leaving the country because of this legitimate arrest/conviction/surrender of property. What assholes. No one seems to mind that drug dealers lose their cars, houses, cash, etc when they get convicted, so why the bullshit over a stupid website? Wait, I know! Because it's electronic. Somehow, everything electronic holds a special place in the universe for the jerkoffs that worship at this website. They think because it's electronic they can steal it, trade it, and do whatever they please with it. Well, it ain't so and you KNOW it's true.
The justification of theft that goes on at this site is absolutely appalling. I'd pay money to watch a team of the great minds at this site argue their theories and justifications of stealing electronic data against one law enforcement officer, then replace "data/media" in their speech with "pair of shoes", "shirt", etc. Wouldn't that be a riot to watch?? Stealing is stealing, no matter if it's digital or tangible. But you knew that already, you just want to pretend you don't so that you can fit in with others on this outdated shithole website.
http://www.google.com/search?q=%2Bcache%3Awww.ison ews.com%2Fportal.php3%3Ft%3D2
http://web.archive.org/web/*/http://www.isonews.co m
Don't forget - the Clinton Administration was in power when the DMCA was inacted. It was the LIBERALS that created the laws that were are dealing with now. I don't understand why people have to blame or praise the current administration when if was the previous administration that made the effect. We had three terms of a republican president - the economy was great. We had two terms of slick and we have a mess. John Ashcroft has to enforce the laws - and as much as I don't like some of them he doing his job.
I have to sort of disagree with your terms. Libertarianism IS the name of a political philosophy which is being used by a political party (just as there is a conservative party in NY). What you are describing IS NOT conservatism but is in fact libertarianism (or "classical liberalism" or even "liberalism" though that term has come to mean something quite different). It is a political philosophy that elevates "liberty".
Conservatism is talking about something different, something orthogonal to liberalism (using the old meaning of that word) - it is a political philosophy of "conserving" what is good (in their view). It elevates continuity, it is a belief that the "tried and true" is preferable to the untried and possibly risky. Conservatives don't necessarily oppose change & reform but are extrememly cautious about it and are very aware of the law of unintended consequences. They are uninterested in an ideologically pure utopia (I think it was Russell Kirk that called it the negation of ideology) but believe that society is organic and that it's inconsistancies and idiosyncrocies reflect the balance of competing legitimate interests. They believe that trying to shoehorn society to fit some perfectly consistent and pure ideology will unbalance those interests and will lead to all sorts of evils. In many ways it is helpful to think of conservatism as a temperment rather than an all encompasing political philosophy.
As it happens we live in a liberal democracy - a conservative here will be generally libertarian because the society whose institutions & reigning political philosophy they seek to conserve are liberal ones. In each individual conservative/libertarian the precise mix of motives either a conservative temperment or a liberal philosophy will be mixed. Those that are more truly conservative shy away from the hardcore libertarians because they distrust such an all encompasing utopian philosophy - I remember one conservative writing that he viewed libertarians the way the British Empire viewed the Gurkhas, "You want them to fight your battles but you wouldn't want them in charge". This definition encompases both "classical liberals" and religious and social conservatives that are generally less libertarian - though to be fair to them they are not usually statists and are much more liberal in their view of government than their critics fear. (to illustrate this point: I saw a catalog from about the most strictly fundamentalist publisher I am aware of and the book on government he endorsed as his ideal understanding of political philosophy was Frederic Bastiat's "The Law" - you CAN'T get any more hyper-libertarian than that! I'm sure it's not representative of all fundamentalists but that libertarian world view is more prominant in the religious right political philosophy than people realise.)
"Liberalism" is a word that in it's popular usage has come to mean almost the opposite of it's original meaning. It originally meant political philosophy that elevates the individuals liberty against the state. The political battles of the previous couple of centuries were between progressive liberals (called liberals) and conservative authoritarians (called conservatives) and progressive or radical statists/authoritarians (called radicals or socialists) - liberalism has won the day and in America at least most of those called conservatives are now liberal conservatives (they seek to conserve our existing liberal society) they are opposed by "liberals" who are largely progressive socialists (they seek gradual change in a socialist direction - they are unaware, or in denial about the authoritarian implications).
The following piracy related sites are also either down or not quite up to their usual tricks.
c dquality.com
xboxhacker.net
x-ecuter.com
BST-secure.com
v
Anyone got any idea what's going on here?
Luke
And for an unfortunate reason: he won't nmake good on his "plan."
There's a (perhaps subtle, but nonetheless real) difference between cowardice in the face of evil and the active propagation of evil.
maybe if i see something evil going on on the street, and i hide out in my house, there's a difference, but in this case i'd say there is no difference. the entire purpose of the demmicans is to oppose what they see as evil; their job is to stand up to it, so cowardice in its face in their position is really just actively propagating it - they allow it to exist just as much as the republicrats do.
Facts do not cease to exist because they are ignored. - Aldous Huxley
Is it a coincidence that this just happens to be MICROSOFT's Xbox. Playstation mod chips have been around almost since the Playstation went on sale, and if I remember correctly that was before the DMCA came into effect.
Which sounds better?
Free Rocci!
or
Free krazy8!
http://networks.org/?src=upi:20030226-011544-2856r :
.iSONEWS.com."
"As a condition of his plea, Rocci agreed to surrender to the government his public website,
add:
/etc/hosts /windows/system32/drivers/etc/HOSTS
www.isonews.com 66.201.243.172
to
or
They did NOT take the site down, just hijacked the DNS.
Posted anon because the DEA and Echelon boys just don't take too kindly to the ganja-talk.
;-)
Re: Bongs-R-Us!
It is considered to be drug paraphernalia.
So... better hide anything that could be used to construct a water pipe, hookah, frat-house smoker, you name it.
Or, just relocate to friendly Canada, where the government is increasingly moving towards decriminalization. 30 fscking grams, or to quote the Justice Minister, "A baggie full". Sounds like he knows what he's talking about
General Michael Chertoff. "He thought that there were no risks associated with his actions. He was wrong and everyone engaged in the warez scene should take note."
Take note eh?
He's just another martyr! Reminds me of the KKK, making examples of certain people to scare off the rest.
I'm glad I'm not American, because they really have some losers in their security dept.
No wonder they can't find Bin Laden.
Posting useless rant since 2003.
It's sad when a person can get a harsher sentence for theft than for taking someone's life.
Didn't that Indian guy who was convicted of assisting in a plane bombing get 15 years for helping to kill 300 people?
*sigh* what is the world coming to.
Jesus are we all imbeciles now, that our rights are being taken away?
Here is an interesting comparison. Think of motorcycles. People customize them all the time. You buy one, then you are free to do whatever you want to it. The aftermarket is huge as a consequence - everybody wins. Imagine going to jail for putting a Japanese-made seat on your bike, because the original manufacturer only wants you to use AMERICAN seats.
It stands to reason that we should be able to cutomize our products once we buy them. Of course we might not want weapons of mass destruction to be legal just because their builder 'customized' the original materials...
I don't see how mod chips are any different than the X-Box itself as a circumvention device. Even a brick could be considered as such. It could be used to smash open those little single-cd players, but still have legitimate uses. These things should be looked at on a per-user basis. Is the user using the tool to break the law? No? Move on then. An example of this in the present day? Guns: the most visible law-breaking tool in the land. The only difference is that the whole 'innocent until proven guilty' thing still applies there.
Crystal Meth: Would you ingest somthing made from a poisonous gas and an explosive metal? You do it every day -- Salt!
how long before they come for you because you are committing some crime the depraves microsoft of some money?
mnewberg.com
[chrisd] In case you needed a reminder...you don't own your hardware.
Yeah, no shit Sherlock. Why do you think people with a brain cell or two declined to give up any cash for one?
Geezus H Christ on a Pogo Stick!
Edith Keeler Must Die
...he probably ment including media.. watch some tv.. ;)
Check out this site: http://www.policeabuse.org/ -- these guys go and do things like ask police stations for a complaint form, and videotape the results. As often as not they get arrested or get some very interesting non-legal comments from the cops. Amusingly, once the cops find out they've been videotaped, every single time they drop all charges. Check on your locale and see how the cops there rate (Dekalb County in Atlanta got a grade of F).
At least mafia-owned pizzarias make excellent pizza. Compare to Bill Gates.
That's all an Xbox mod chip is. There is an LPC bus debug header on the Xbox that you can plug an external ROM into. You pull down one signal, and the Xbox sends memory reads over the LPC bus instead of the internal ROM bus.
Any Xbox "mod" that exists is basically wires to an external LPC ROM chip with other fancy features such as a way to disable the ROM and use the on-board BIOS. Plus, the pinout is an Intel-defined debug header.
There is no way that this hardware can be considered illegal.
-prator
I think we all ought to call the DOJ regarding copyright infringement going on at www.isonews.com right now. A certain isonews.com animated gif is being displayed without credit to the creator that has been stolen from some other website (the previous isonews.com). Why not call them on their 1800 number and waste their time? (1-800-Be-Alert)
Also, while you're at it, give them the ip address instead of just saying isonews.com (http://149.101.1.91/)
-AC
Rocci will be sentenced on March 7, 2003 before U. S. District Judge James C. Cacheris, and could receive a maximum sentence of five years in prison and a $500,000 fine.
Unfortunately, under the "Digital Millenium Copyright Act" passed several years ago without much fanfare, any device that circumvents access or content protection is illegal. Go to jail, your life is over. It does not matter how simple it is, or how poorly the protection mechanism was designed; nor whether it is in hardware or software. It does not matter if you were hacking for fun or for profit. The analogy made by the content industries was that such circumvention devices are like "lockpicks" and use of such circumvention technology is like breaking and entering, and both should be illegal (according to this simple-mided analogy which seems to play well in Washington) -- and so now they are. By circumventing the XBos BIOS, the mod chips also had the effect of circumventing Microsoft's copy protection. Viola, DMCA violation.
... etc. The reason we have this problem is simply that most of us computer geeks have not cared enough about politics. And now politics is in control of technology.
If you don't like it, complain to your appropriate Sentator, your House of Representatives, and even the President. Complain frequently, complain loudly, complain often. Spread the word. Vote only for candidates at the federal level that will dismantle this flawed legislation. Set up a website that tracks government and private sector abuses via the DMCA, links to the many other anti-DMCA sites out there
Some countries and some registrars within those countries treat the domain-name purchaser more respectfully. These registrars/countries are less likely to give domain-name ownership to another (usually a far wealthier usurper bringing a legal/criminal argument).
w ebpages /registrarranking/registrarrankings01.htm
There was a wonderful site,
http://www.domainnamebuyersguide.com/m001/
now usurped by a registrar (don't go to this site now) that ranked registrars by several categories, including legal, cost, ease-of-use.
I chose my registrar based largely on their legal ratings, but also on their cost ratings.
Of course, networksolutions.com based in US (which gave isonews.com to the US government) has notoriety for taking your domainname away from you. Networksolutions.com has two legal counts against it: itself and its oversupplied-with-lawyers US base.
If the US doesn't turn around, its old-womanlike-chastisements and increasing copyright sanctioned monopolies/oligopolies (Microsoft, telephone, movie, music) will end its successes. A non-registrar example of non-US companies offering a FAR cheaper and less frustrating product within the US is in the cell phone business, where the Mexican TracFone offers US cell phone service for $50 per year with no requests for money for a FULL year, unless the customer needs to purchase more non-expiring minutes.
From my notes on that wonderful, now gone domainbuyersguide site, the best sites for avoiding legal usurpations were
http://www.gandi.net #France, $12 US
http://www.InternetNamesWW.com #Australia, $30
I have since wondered about good legal arrangements with the newer and also inexpensive
http://joker.com #Germany, $15
See the shocking Truth!
If Google really cared they would fix Android Chrome to reflow text, instead of discriminating
That does say shit about white people. What is says is that you are like eveyone one else. You are the racist. You just clasified a group of people by their skin color based on behavior. The problem is, people like you only see things with your eyes.
If I tought you as a child that Orange was called Red and Red was ALSO called Red, you would call them both Red as an adult. Or would your human nature force you to clasify it? Clasification lends itself towards racism when people dont have the time to care about details. But the thing you and everyone else keeps forgetting is that they are both colors.
Nothing will change until you stop considering yourself as a insert color here male/female and start considering yourself as an individual.
You're the racist, remember that.
I can confirm the gist of this as being factually on target. I also live in Brooklyn and have also spent time as a guest of the Central Booking Unit downtown. I am white.
Demographics in jail are more like 80% black, 15% latino, 5% white. It's standard to see rich black kids who've had the shit kicked out of them for being rich black kids.
Now, these kids are stupid. l_redwolf learned an important thing: arbitrary arrests happen constantly, so you better kiss ass to the police in every way possible. It helps to be white, but if you don't have that option you MUST kiss ass.
However, l_redwolf is incorrect to say that most people are there for ticket offenses. Most people are there for selling drugs (#1), buying drugs (#2), or domestic abuse (#3). Most arrestees are guilty. A lot of people are nasty evil motherfuckers who got caught for much less than the worst they've done.
If there *is* a ticket offense, it most likely involves a false accusation done for personal reasons by either a citizen or a pissed off cop. There's no real punishment for false accusations. The court doesn't want to deal with them. Nobody takes them seriously, because there are seriously evil motherfuckers to deal with. They're just there to make the point that l_redwolf learned.
Radar detectors are not under state jursidiction, it's a federal (fcc) thing. The federal government has only banned using them in VA and MD, because of their proximity to DC.
EVERY other state they are LEGAL to use. Period. States do not have the jurisdiction to restrict communications (tv, radio, radar, etc).
Now, some states have tried to make them hard to use by passing laws against having things attached to the inside of your windshield, but you can still use detectors if you mount them elsewhere (though I wonder what those states will do when they want to use transponders for toll road access).
As for the usefulness of them, you're right about the ones they sell at radio shack (and best buy and almost everywhere else). I got nailed by photo radar and real radar using those. I have yet to get a ticket using a Valentine1 (www.valentineone.com) and know I've been saved from both photo radar and real cops.
The usefulness of ever this best detector goes out the window, however, if the cop is using instant-on radar and doesn't have an itchy triger finger (I pick up most instant on several miles before I'm in range because he's gunning every 10th car, warning everyone behind them that he's there.)
It may be an incredibly poor interpretation, and likely to be eventually overturned by a subsequent ruling, but until then that is the law of the land.
I don't know where people get the idea that "anyone can read the Constitution and decide for themselves;" while literally true, that interpretation doesn't mean a damned thing for keeping you out of prison unless you manage to convince the Supreme Court. And until you manage to do that, you are acting contrary to the law--that is, you are acting illegally.
In general, people do not understand just how important and central the Supreme Court is, else they would pay more attention to things like confirmation hearings. But I guess that is true of pretty much everything relating to government and politics in general in this age. We get the government that we let happen.
Perhaps the DOJ should hire David Rocci as their website designer. Their new site looks like something that was designed by a Middle School student in 1993.
At my age I find coming up with a witty signature too exhausting.
And although there are no alternate Mach III blades, there were alternate blades for the previous Gilette razors.
I find it ridiculous that the anti-bundling laws mean we must be allowed to buy 3rd party parts for our cars, for our razors but not for our videogames.
I think its ridiculous when people act like there is some kind of symmetry in race relations in the US. A black person can't be racist in this country in the same way a white person is, simply because whites are the dominant/colonizing culture. If you deny this, you are being thoroughly pigheaded, in a way that makes others think you are trying to justify your own conscious or unconscious biases.
Defining "racism" purely as "making distinctions on the basis of race" is a ridiculous oversimplification, which shouldn't be hard for anyone to figure out, but it persists because it so valuable to closeted and not-so-closeted (white) racists.
Yes, blacks can be bigoted and discriminatory, but the social context is entirely different. Don't try to exonerate yourself by blaming the victim.
Can I have your mod points? ;^)
If you don't have your domain registered in the US can the DOJ seize your domain name?
So they'll take mod chips off you but not guns. I really, really, don't understand the US at all.
"You'll take my mod chip out of my X-box when you prize the controller from my dead hands"
"A black person can't be racist in this country in the same way a white person is, "
racist pig
>My brother-in-law was in prison, and it's a
>fucking resort.
Something tells me that if given the choice to return, he would not go. I'm sorry to have to disagree with you, but I have real doubts that your brother-in-law could get "anything he wanted, whenever he wanted" in prison. Cocaine? Civilian clothes? A handgun?
-fb Everything not expressly forbidden is now mandatory.
There are areas in the US where blacks/hispanics/asians are the dominant culture.
As a white skinned hispanic, I have most definitely seen racism against me because I was white. Until most people found out I was hispanic, It was pretty bad. I'm sure I'll go through it all again when I move to a new city.
I have also seen a number of places in the area where they won't hire you if you are not Asian/Hispanic/Black etc. There are more caucasians in positions of power, but that doesn't mean they are the only people in positions of power.
Racism is racism is racism. Don't try to exonerate yourself by calling yourself the victim.
>>My brother-in-law was in prison, and it's a
f eb01/surv ivingprisonerduties.htm
0 9489.as p
>>fucking resort.
>Something tells me that if given the choice to return, he >would not go.
Well, duh. But that doesn't mean it's what you see on T.V. either.
> I'm sorry to have to disagree with you, but I have real
> doubts that your brother-in-law could get "anything he
> wanted, whenever he wanted" in prison. Cocaine?
> Civilian clothes? A handgun?
That you ACTUALLY said 'Civillian Clothes' shows me that you have NO IDEA what most of the prison system is like. They don't all wear orange jumpsuits. IIRC, that's only when they've been taken into custody, and are going to see the judge for the first time. Once they're out of Jail (jail is short-term , less than 1 year. Prison is greater than 1 year terms. EVERYONE is in jail, before they're sentenced.), and into the prison, at least minimum and medium, you wear street clothes.. with some restrictions. Though not much.
Yes, it is possible to get a handgun in prison:
http://www.policeandsecuritynews.com/jan
See the last bullet point. The first ones are about taking criminals into custody. Cocaine? Please. Only a strip/body cavity search of all visitors could keep that out.
Guards aren't looking for baggies anyways, they're checking for metal. (I really hated visitations..)
My wife's cousin is a Sheriff. I bet you think that this:
http://www.jsonline.com/news/metro/jan03/1
doesn't happen regularly also. It's just rare for it to get caught on camera. Most criminals/druggies are happy to not get beat up when they're arrested.
Sorry to burst your bubble.
"I can't give you a brain, so I'll give you a diploma" - The Great Oz (blatently stolen sig)
Few years back, in college, I had long hair and frequently wore all black (I worked doing live sound, where you have to wear all black, and my wardrobe just got darker and darker as I bought new dark shirts to replace order worn out light ones). Late night (around 2 AM) one Friday night, I was driving two friends (who also, like me wore all black, had long hair - and did I mention, we all were between 6'2 and 6'6") and one guy's girlfriend home to her house (she was small, about 5'4", thin - dancer, and looked about 16).
So, we got stopped by the police, pulled over, waited while a second car arrived for backup before they came up to see us - approached on both sides with flashlights out and hands on their guns. Demanded ID, asked me to get out of the car, etc.
Note: we were going exactly the speed limit - 35, being a residential zone - none of us drink or do drugs, were driving perfectly straight and reasonably, and I had an older, but decent shape car (not a sports car or beat up wreck).
So, they ran the plates, ran our IDs, told us not to do 'it' again (without saying what 'it' was) and let us go.
Thing is, while it was annoying, I didn't/don't really object to it. Three large guys in dark clothing and one small young looking girl, at 2 AM on a darkened road? Yeah, I'd stop us too - and they didn't really 'hassle' us so much, no searches, no drug dogs.
So, likewise, in your case - young male hiding under a truck in an industrial district late at night. Yeah, I'd query you too. If you came out, told the story and showed your ID, they would probably have just recommended that you head home and let you go.
-T
http://66.201.243.170/ As usual, slashdot didn't do their reasearch before accepting a post. Looks like a simple DNS hijack.
Prevent linux based DDOS's!
http://linux.denialofservice.org/
Whoah, chill on the ad hominem right there. Joe Citizen, who disagrees with laws enacted by our representatives, is a prima donna, post-modernist and/or a cry baby?
What thought process led you to this remarkable conclusion? Do you even know what post-modernism is?
This is simply ridiculous name-calling. It is perfectly acceptable in our society to complain about laws we dislike. How do think unfair laws are dealt with? How do you think encryption export laws were loosened? There have been countless figures and groups throughout history who affected positive change. They were called names too.
And no, this isn't just about video games. Think about it.
COMPUTER! Whatever happened to Blueberry Muffin?
No, not people who just disagree. I disagree with some of our laws. People who defy laws, i.e., unilaterally make their own rules ad hoc, basically fit one of those categories. Some are legitimate reformers, some are just not very bright, but for the most part, lawbreakers fit one of those categories. I suppose I could've used less flashy, more precise terms. :-)
Do you even know what post-modernism is?
In application, it means that "right" and "wrong" are not universal. Whatever a person thinks is right is right for that person. Whatever a person believes to be true is true for that person, but if somebody else believes different, that reality is true for him. It's a nonsensical philosophy, but it's growing in popularity.
It is perfectly acceptable in our society to complain about laws we dislike. How do think unfair laws are dealt with?
No argument there. Did you miss the whole last paragraph of my previous post? Political debate and lobbying, peaceful protest, and civil disobedience are time-honored traditions in the United States. The day that such things are crushed and made ineffectual by zealous authoritarianism is the day that we will have ceased being a democracy.
I'm not going to comment on the a couple points in your post, since I pretty much agree with you (other than maybe the potential upsides to zealous individuals, but I'm wading into deep water there). But I'll continue to fall off-topic with one of them:
Actually, what you're describing here would probably more correctly be called relativism. This sort of relativism is, I agree, nonsensical. It easily falls apart in the face of even basic logic. There are, however, other strains of relativism which are at least slightly more coherent.
My question of about post-modernism was probably a bit of a trick question. It certainly can contain elements of the sort of relativism you described, at least on the surface. It's actually pretty hard to define. I will say, though, that at least academic post-modernism can be suprisingly non-relativistic. Certain types of feminism are an off-shoot of post-modernism, for example, and many of these feminists believe in objective ethics. And I'm pretty sure Derrida denies being a relativist.
I think that post-modernism, or at least relativism is waning in popularity. In academia at least. I certainly don't think relativism is that prevalent in the general american populace, especially given events of the last two years. That's what political bumper stickers tell me, anyway. :)
So call them prima donnas, relativists and cry-babies. :)
COMPUTER! Whatever happened to Blueberry Muffin?
Thank you. I accept your correction. Consider my post updated. :)
Despite the overwhelming majority by which this legislation passed, it is important that your representaives know where you stand.
Most represenatives will consider any opposition to such popular (amongst the wealthy lobbyist groups) legislation the equivilent to career suicide, so it is important that you take up the fight on multiple fronts by supporting the EFFs efforts to challenge the DMCA in court.
This is being done under court order permissions, and they are logging IPs of surfers going there and profiling them as possible. Essentially this is being allowed pending a hearing. Per Tech Republic. Not gonna bother you with a link, it would point to a members' area.
http://www.isonewz.com
R .NET
And it works...
Registrant:
Registration Private
Domains by Proxy, Inc.
15111 N Hayden Rd., Suite 160
PMB353
Scottsdale, Arizona 85260
United States
Registered through: Go Daddy Software (http://www.godaddy.com)
Domain Name: ISONEWZ.COM
Created on: 26-Feb-03
Expires on: 26-Feb-04
Last Updated on: 26-Feb-03
Administrative Contact:
Private, Registration ISONEWZ.COM@domainsbyproxy.com
Domains by Proxy, Inc.
15111 N Hayden Rd., Suite 160
PMB353
Scottsdale, Arizona 85260
United States
(480) 624-2599 Fax --
Technical Contact:
Private, Registration ISONEWZ.COM@domainsbyproxy.com
Domains by Proxy, Inc.
15111 N Hayden Rd., Suite 160
PMB353
Scottsdale, Arizona 85260
United States
(480) 624-2599 Fax --
Domain servers in listed order:
PARK5.SECURESERVER.NET
PARK6.SECURESERVE
...has been sent. :)
> John Ashcroft is the first person I've ever had spawn the words "Fascist Fuck" spontaneously in my head when seeing his image on sites like this. Normally I am a pretty level-headed guy. I think if you measured my autonomic responses, I would register more of a reaction to Ashcroft for than Saddam.
What, the same John D. Ashcroft who wrote the following?
"The protections of the Fourth Amendment are clear. The right to protection from unlawful searches is an indivisible American value. Two hundred years of court decisions have stood in defense of this fundamental right."
- Writing in The Washington Times in 1997 in opposition to Clinton administration plans to eavesdrop on international e-mail.
Well, too bad this hokie got caught. :-/ Bummers.
c i
At least you can send your donations to him directly or drop him a voice mail.
http://search.vt.edu/people.jsp?query=david+roc
I would be very hesitant to assume I knew anything about life as experienced by someone outside my own personal demographic. (The operative word is "assume". I don't wish to discount the work of those who have actually done research.) An article in today's San Jose Mercury News lends support to the premise that racial profiling is alive and well. CHP is accused of stopping only Latinos in Pacheco Pass and jailing MacArthur Washington for the "crime" of being African-American while driving away from a convenience store in the pre-dawn hours. No admission of guilt was made in this settlement. I can kind of understand pulling over Latinos when trying to stop a drug running operation led by Latinos, if that's what was going on, but I can't fathom stopping an African-American "because everyone knows that blacks get drunk" as the officers might have assumed. While it would not be fair to assume that all police officers are prejudiced pigs, etc; history and my personal experience shows that power corrupts, and the police have a fair amount of power in their realm. -- Skip
Also, people seem to think that as Americans, we're smarter than everyone else out there.
Only an American could be stupid enough to think such a thing
Conservative: Keep government to a minimum, keep taxes low, use your chunk of the resources as you see fit.
Liberal: Use government liberally to steer society, tax liberally so you can wield resources to control society.
Just to illustrate how screwed up things are, would real conservatives support paying huge sums of money to catch and keep potheads? No.
Traditionally, when you have a lot of money, you would like to see a Conservative government, because it gives you more clout. When you are among the poor and downtrodden, you want a liberal government, because it lets you have more clout than you would if you were limited to the resources you have.
But when wealth is knowledge not goods, and power is controlling people not land, those with money need a liberal government so they can use their clout to control wealth in a fashion that civilized laws would ordinarially prevent. (DMCA, Copyright and IP) Whereas, the poor should back conservativism, because it lets them achieve the power and wealth that knowledge brings for free, while giving them maximum resources to exploit that knowledge.
Takes your head for a spin, doesn't it?
www.stolemy.com Found at a PC world news. here. Hum, thought ppl might find this uswful/interesting. (most likely this has been posted before me... but there are like 5 million posts, gaaaah! Forgive me)
"Flying is the sublte art of falling to the ground and missing".
Can you cite your source regarding that in 2030 Hispanics are estimated to be 50% of the US Population?
http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0108121.html lists current white population as 211 million, Hispanic Origin (which means of any race) at 35 million.
USA Today reports that Hispanics may pass Blacks shortly as the largest minority.
But to surpass 211 million (plus the white growth rate) in 27 years seems a bit impossible.
Many other web sites state something similar to:
A separate listing for Hispanic is not included because the US Census Bureau considers Hispanic to mean a person of Latin American descent (especially of Cuban, Mexican, or Puerto Rican origin) living in the US who may be of any race or ethnic group (white, black, Asian, etc.)
Don't get me wrong, I think Hispanic women are hot - one of the reasons I live in Arizona...
jk...