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IBM, Intel Set Up $10m SCO Defense Fund
An anonymous reader writes that the "NY Times reports that a group of companies, led by I.B.M. and Intel, plans to announce today that it is setting up a $10 million legal defense fund to help pay for the litigation costs of corporate users of the popular GNU/Linux operating system if they are sued. ZDnet also has a story on this." otisaardvark points out that "The fund is to be administered by OSDL (Open Source Development Labs) and so, amongst other things, could bankroll legal costs for Linus."
Cocksmokers! You've got that much money and you still won't cough up the $699/Linux that rightfully belongs to us.
This wouldn't be news but they always accuse liberals of the same thing, which has never been true in my experience. We pity right wingers, we don't hate them.
Megacorps aren't evil in themselves. The intellectual "property" laws that give them their power are, since they prevent you from competing with the megacorps. Basically, copyright and patent are anti-capitalist measures.
Well, I kind of like the clear concepts of morality the present administration shows. Good and evil must be defined and dealt with in an unambigous way.
mod down you kown the routine
The Bush Hitler Thing
t r u t h o u t | Reader Submission
Friday 09 January 2004
Dear Sir,
My family was one of Hitler's victims. We lost a lot under the Nazi occupation, including an uncle who died in the camps and a cousin killed by a booby trap. I was terrified when my father went ballistic after finding my brother and me playing with a hand grenade. (I was only 12 at the time, and my brother insisted the grenade was safe.) I remember the rubble and the hardships of 'austerity' - and the bomb craters from Allied bombs. As late as the 1980s, I had to take detours while bombs were being removed - they litter the countryside, buried under parking lots,buildings, and in the canals and rivers to this day. Believe me, I learned a lot about Hitler while I was growing up, both in Europe and here in the US - both my parents were in the war and talked about it constantly, unlike most American families. I spent my earliest years with the second-hand fear that trickled down from their PTSD - undiagnosed and untreated in those days.
I'm no expert on WWII - but I learned a lot about what happened in Germany - and Europe - back in those days. I always wondered how the wonderful German people - so honest, decent, hard-working, friendly, and generous - could ever allow such a thing to happen. (There were camps near my family's home - they still talk about them only in hushed conspiratorial whispers.) I asked a lot of questions - we were only a few kilometers from the German border - and no one ever denied me. My relatives had obviously spent a lot of time thinking about the war - they still haven't forgotten - I don't think anyone can forget such a horrible nightmare. Among the questions I asked:
Why didn't you do anything about the people in the camps?
Everyone was terrified. People 'disappeared' into those camps. Sometimes the Nazis came and lined everyone up, walking behind them - even school children - with a cocked pistol. You never knew when they would just shoot someone in the back of the head. Everyone was terrified. Everyone was disarmed - guns were registered, so all the Nazis had to do was go from house to house and demand the guns.
Didn't you see what was happening?
We saw. There was nothing we could do. Our military had no modern weapons. The Nazis had technology and resources - they just invaded and took over - we were overwhelmed by their air power. They had spies everywhere - people spying on each other, just to have an 'ace in the hole' in case they were accused - and anyone who had a grudge against you could accuse you of something - just an accusation meant you'd disappear. Nobody dared ask where you had gone - anyone who returned was considered suspicious - what had they said, and who did they implicate? It was a climate of fear - there's nothing anyone can do when the government uses fear and imprisonment to intimidate people. The government was above the law - even in Germany, it became 'every man for himself'. Advancement was possible by exposing 'traitors' - anyone who questioned the government. It didn't matter if the people you accused were guilty or not - just the accusation was enough.
Did anyone know what was going on?
We all knew. We imagined the worst because the Nazis made 'examples' of a few people in every town and village. Public torture and execution. The most unspeakable atrocities were committed in full view of everyone. If this is what happened in public, can you imagine what might be going on in the camps? Nobody wanted to know.
Why didn't the German people stop the Nazis?
Life was better, at first, under the Nazis. The war machine invigorated the economy - men had jobs again, and enough money to take care of their family. New building projects were everywhere. The shops were full again - and people could afford good food, culture, and luxuries. Women could stay home in comfort. Crime was reduced. Health care improved. It was a rosy scenario -
The backgrounds, in particular, were disturbing. Flags and a veritable wall of uniformed people standing behind him and clapping at every point.
I suppose that was supposed to project an image of military strength and the unity of the nation, but for a history buff intellectual pacifist like me it was a horror show.
can't think of any 'stuff that matters' besides monIE?
rumour has it that va lairIE/robbIE are setting up a slushIE defense FUNd for the won-eyed girl, just in case the lonely stood/up/for hobbyists who paid for gnu year's eve 'dates' with her, or the illegal aliens requesting the health-related documents, decide to litigate?
some are saying it will be more phonIE monIE than we'll ever know about?
the other half were catholics, gypsies, homosexuals, and political prisoners.
How long before SCO gets another handout from redmond?
Megacorps are EVIL! EVIL I say! And they will bring DOOOM TO US ALL!!!
yes, but even they do not have the power to bring us "Duke Nukem Forever."
Ooh, a sarcasm detector. Oh, that's a real useful invention.