Slashback: Indymedia, Starfighter, Mozparty

Slashback, below, brings updates and followups to several recent Slashdot stories, including Diebold's (trivial) financial penalty for copyright abuse, reviews of 'The Last Starfighter,' an inquiry into the best response to the recent seizure of Indymedia's servers in the UK, and the upcoming, distributed Mozparty2 to celebrate the 1.0 releases of Firefox and Thunderbird. Read on for the rest.

An apology might be a nice start. Chris writes "The UK government has broken its silence on the Indymedia server raid and is claiming that there 'no UK law enforcement agencies were involved'; see Richard Allan's blog for the whole written answer. This means that the potential for taking legal action against Rackspace in the UK needs to be explored -- were any UK laws (eg the Data Protection Act 1984 or the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000) broken? Are there any UK cyber law experts on Slashdot with any suggestions...?"

Is Google private enough for you? XeRXeS-TCN writes "Following on from the recent concerns reported on Slashdot about the Google Desktop, the CEO of Copernic has warned about user privacy. Google Desktop Search allows users to opt out of sending the company back detailed usage data, but it isn't possible to firewall it completely. Much more ominously, Google's product manager Marissa Mayer said she expected the private queries to generate more hits for google.com. Most people, she believed, would choose to combine personal and web searches resulting in more revenue for Google's ad business. More on this at The Reg."

If this is a dupe, then Murphy was right. Vcullen writes "The Formula that scientists recently proposed to calculate Murphy's Law has recently been turned into an easy to use online Murphy's Law calculator. So now you can work out what the probability of it happening on any given situation!"

Nice shooting, kid. Bravo! Jason Scott writes "Inspired by the Slashdot story about the arrival of 'The Last Starfighter: The Musical' off-Broadway, I drove from Boston to New York City and back in one day to attend a matinee. I have written a review of what I experienced on my weblog. As I say in the review, 'If spoilers do not interest you, if you only want the simplest of directions and want to make the next right move, then heed these words: if you live within driving, walking, bus or train distance of New York City, see this musical. Immediately.'"

And ottffs writes with his own impressions: "I was recently in Manhattan presenting at ACM Multimedia 2004 conference. I was lucky enough to be able to attend the premiere of 'The Last Starfighter: the musical' on Friday night. I have posted a review and some pics to my blog."

There goes the next office party budget. JimMarch(equalccw) writes "After losing a major copyright case in which Diebold was punished for exercising their copyright in a wrongful fashion (copyWRONG?), the other shoe has dropped: the court says Diebold owes the ISPs and webmasters who complained a total of $125,000. "

Anyone care to start one for El Paso? loconet writes "Following the success of Mozilla's 1.0 release parties, where Mozilla supporters from all over the world celebrated the release of Mozilla 1.0, comes Mozparty 2 celebrating the upcoming 1.0 release of Mozilla Firefox and Mozilla Thunderbird. According to the Mozparty site, currently there are 1007 ppl partying in 109 parties from which the biggest party is in Mexico."

Comments

FP

[Anonymous Coward]

n+1th post, i win
-MikeT

Re:FP

[Anonymous Coward]

woot, i actually did it! i FPd, bitches
-MikeT

Re:FP

[Anonymous Coward]

I think you were trying to say:

OMG

n=0

w00t.

just trying to help...

It's official

[Decapitees For Bush]

The Union Of Decapitated Americans endores George W. Bush for President.

Re:It's official

[Anonymous Coward]

The Decapitors of American Infidels have endorsed Kerry/Edwards.........seems only fair.
Listen to the soundtrack on their videos thats not Allah Akbar they are chanting when they saw off living heads its Kerry!...Edwards...Kerry...Edwards!

Post Second

[Anonymous Coward]

Ask questions later.

Google

[erick99]

The Google privacy issues are not issues if people use it on their home machine with a single user accessing the machine as Google instructs. The software was never intended to be deployed in a business or other multi-user environment.

Re:Google

[BenjyD]

Clearly nobody reads the articles, not even the mods. From TFA:

"users should know that the giant ad broker intends to mix public and private queries in the future,"

"Google Desktop Search allows users to opt out of sending the company back detailed usage data, but it isn't possible to firewall it completely"

"Eric Schmidt said the company's goal was to create a "Google that knows you""

Admittedly, the main source for the article is the CEO of a competitor to Google. But this isn't the multi-user issue.

Re:Google

[erick99]

Yes, a competitor who made unsubstantiated statements that do not reflect well on Google. It's a cheap shot and tells me they are afraid of Google and not confident of their own stable. But, hell, it worked. It fooled you.

Re:Google

[BenjyD]

I didn't say anywhere that I believed it. I think that the Google Desktop Search privacy policy specifically states that it sends no data back to google, so they'd be directly lying if some of his statements are true. I also made the dubious source of the statements clear.

I read the article before posting - at the very least, I am discussing the correct issue, rather than knee-jerk posting a response without bothering to check.

Re:Google

[Flexagon]

The software was never intended to be deployed in a business or other multi-user environment.

That rules out many (most?) home systems, shared by all family members. In fact, it rules out so many systems that it's hard to imagine this not getting addressed before the beta ends.

Re:Google

[Anonymous Coward]

So, what, are you afraid little Billy is going to finally uncover your smut collection, carefully stored under C:\Program Files\Microsoft\Office\Dontlook\HereBilly?

I don't see how Desktop Search is going to affect families one whit since whatever the family member exploits could just as easily be exploited by using the built-in search engine. Locking down permissions on your smut, user directory, etc. is the only way you're going to prevent this from being an issue. No matter what search engine is used.

Re:Google

[fstanchina]

Mod parent up, thanks. Was going to say just that.

Re:Google

[multimed]

I don't see how Desktop Search is going to affect families one whit since whatever the family member exploits could just as easily be exploited by using the built-in search engine.

Ahh but the built-in search is so slow no one would actually have the patience to wait for it to uncover the smut. Whereas Google's Desktop Search finds it fast.

Don't start planning your mozparties yet.

[zerdood]

Firefox is notoriously bad at coming out on the days they say it will. November 6th? Not gonna happen.

Re:Don't start planning your mozparties yet.

[bizpile]

Firefox is notoriously bad at coming out on the days they say it will. November 6th? Not gonna happen.

Most of the parties aren't being planned on the day of the release anyway, seeing as how it is (I believe) on the 11th which is a Thursday.
From the site:
*Hint* Suggested date for your parties is: Friday, November 19 - Sunday, November 21

Re:Don't start planning your mozparties yet.

[zerdood]

AFAIK the (supposed) release date is Nov. 6th. Somewhat related: the 1.0RC1 was supposed to come out 3 days ago and still hasn't.

Re:Don't start planning your mozparties yet.

[Conspiracy_Of_Doves]

That is probably because, unlike SOME Redmond-based monopolies whose names I won't mention, they try to actually get it RIGHT before they release it. Good software is preferable to timely software any day.

Re:Don't start planning your mozparties yet.

[Anonymous Coward]

Of course, certain unnamed Redmond-based monopolies have a tendency to do both - release half-assed software, and do it behind schedule. They just want to make everybody happy!

Re:Don't start planning your mozparties yet.

[Anonymous Coward]

To their defense, they released Windows 95 late, but since they didn't expect that "Internet" thing to take off, they didn't consider the imapct of any potential remote vulnerabilities.

Oops.

Re:Don't start planning your mozparties yet.

[Ash-Fox]

How many years have they been delaying longhorn?

Diebold

[mind21_98]

Now if only Diebold would be punished for their crappy voting systems, we'd be in nirvana. :)

brewssa

[Anonymous Coward]

sdasdasdasdasssd Added Name Filesize Seeds DLs Quality Submitter Info
17-09 ! Beat Fruit Machines Guide 1 Mb 21 0 Windows Dexter3000 link
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14-10 FIFA 2005 -Multilanguage 2CDs +Crack... 1414 Mb 318 3428 Windows waliX link
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15-10 FIFA

Mozparty 2.0

[bizpile]

Sign up for the Mozparty in Gainesville, Florida here.

Anyone else Read this as

[pegasustonans]

'The Last Starfighter,' an inquiry into the best response to the recent seizure of Indymedia's servers in the UK

Watch Alex as he blasts the evil goons from the DMCA/IP/Nasty Galactic Cluster Alliance! or something like that...

Re:Anyone else Read this as

[evilviper]

NO!
Nobody read it that way... Not even you.

This joke was old since the day it was first concieved. Let it die. Don't mod it up, and metamod these stupid moderators into the ground.

Thank you.

Re:Anyone else Read this as

[pegasustonans]

This joke was old since the day it was first concieved. Let it die. Don't mod it up, and metamod these stupid moderators into the ground.

You know, just because you've had a bad day...

On the other hand, why don't you direct some of that aggression against more deserving people, like gorilla poachers in the jungles of Africa for example.

Re:Anyone else Read this as

[Guppy06]

Greetings starfighter! You have been recruited by Slashdot to defend the Electronic Frontier against Gates and the Corporate Armada!

Re:Anyone else Read this as

[evilviper]

You know, just because you've had a bad day...

No, not a bad day... I've been saying the same thing in response to every one of these stupid jokes for a while now.

On the other hand, why don't you direct some of that aggression against more deserving people, like gorilla poachers in the jungles of Africa for example.

Good one. Because the /. moderation system is irritating, I should blame poachers. No, I think not. Aggression is, and should rightfully be, directed at the source.

Re:Anyone else Read this as

[pegasustonans]

Good one. Because the /. moderation system is irritating, I should blame poachers. No, I think not. Aggression is, and should rightfully be, directed at the source.

This is where we disagree. I don't see the usefulness in aggresively criticising a system I dislike. I found it much more useful to undertake constructive criticism of such systems. In my experience, this ends up being the shortest path to an eventual solution.

"Diebold's (trivial) financial penalty "

[FauxReal]

Come on, give the guys a break, they were too busy protecting the sanctity of the political process. Besides, it's not like they were downloading music!

Re:"Diebold's (trivial) financial penalty "

[ImaLamer]

Besides, it's not like they were downloading music!

Or were they?

I disagree...

[ArbitraryConstant]

If the Diebold machines were perfectly accurate, they'd still only be recording the votes of idiots.

Re:I disagree...

[Atrax]

But at least they'd be correctly recording the votes of idiots. Democracy makes no special case for stupidity.

Re:I disagree...

[cakestick]

I'm sick of the fact that this has become a marginal issue in the mainstream media. Wolfy Blitzkrieg on CNN had a 'debate' about whether or not our election systems are valid during his show this evening..

Listen up, shitface.. our democracy is broken, and the media settles down from Swift Boat/National Guard fiasco to have a calm debate about the fact that our election systems don't provide a paper copy? Give me a break!! /moving to Canada after Bush gets re-elected on the back of morons. I don't care enough to troll.

Re:I disagree...

[Anonymous Coward]

don't worry, bush ain't gonna win, only polls that disproportionately weigh republicans more (cough gallup cough) show bush ahead. all others are pretty tied. plus with the hordes of young people registering in record numbers this year, chances don't look good for bush. plus - his approval ratings are in the mid 40's and dropping, that is a REALLY BAD sign for an incumbent president. with approval ratings that low the undecided folks usually opt for the challenger instead.

Re:I disagree...

[Hatta]

don't worry, bush ain't gonna win

Should that make me feel better? I'm not sure global corporatism is any better than radical nationalism.

Re:I disagree...

[ArhcAngel]

Actually it does...
It's called the Electoral College and it was created specifically because the founding fathers knew people in general couldn't be trusted to always make the right choice.

Re:I disagree...

[imbaczek]

Democracy makes no special case for stupidity.

And that's why it's bound to fail.

Re:I disagree...

[ArbitraryConstant]

Kerry might not be much better than Bush, but he is better than Bush. One thing at a time.

want beer?

[Anonymous Coward]

sdfgsdfgdafgotrf4689rft4gydus dsfsd fsdfsd fsdfsd fsd fsd fsdf df wger ytr ygtr e 5 6 4576 456 3534 re g dfg dfg fgsr gsrgfsdjkvhkjh jjkh h h jgh kjh kjhkjh kjh jkghk jghjk hjkh jkhkj hjkh kjh khjk hkj hkjgh jkgh jkgh yigtyu fufy uyufu yfuy f[p;iouh ilguyfguyf uyfyu fyu uyf yuf sdfgsdfgdafgotrf4689rft4gydus dsfsd fsdfsd fsdfsd fsd fsd fsdf df wger ytr ygtr e 5 6 4576 456 3534 re g dfg dfg fgsr gsrgfsdjkvhkjh jjkh h h jgh kjh kjhkjh kjh jkghk jghjk hjkh jkhkj hjkh kjh khjk hkj hkjgh jkgh jkgh yigtyu fufy uyufu yfuy f[p;iouh ilguyfguyf uyfyu fyu uyf yuf sdfgsdfgdafgotrf4689rft4gydus dsfsd fsdfsd fsdfsd fsd fsd fsdf df wger ytr ygtr e 5 6 4576 456 3534 re g dfg dfg fgsr gsrgfsdjkvhkjh jjkh h h jgh kjh kjhkjh kjh jkghk jghjk hjkh jkhkj hjkh kjh khjk hkj hkjgh jkgh jkgh yigtyu fufy uyufu yfuy f[p;iouh ilguyfguyf uyfyu fyu uyf yuf sdfgsdfgdafgotrf4689rft4gydus dsfsd fsdfsd fsdfsd fsd fsd fsdf df wger ytr ygtr e 5 6 4576 456 3534 re g dfg dfg fgsr gsrgfsdjkvhkjh jjkh h h jgh kjh kjhkjh kjh jkghk jghjk hjkh jkhkj hjkh kjh khjk hkj hkjgh jkgh jkgh yigtyu fufy uyufu yfuy f[p;iouh ilguyfguyf uyfyu fyu uyf yuf sdfgsdfgdafgotrf4689rft4gydus dsfsd fsdfsd fsdfsd fsd fsd fsdf df wger ytr ygtr e 5 6 4576 456 3534 re g dfg dfg fgsr gsrgfsdjkvhkjh jjkh h h jgh kjh kjhkjh kjh jkghk jghjk hjkh jkhkj hjkh kjh khjk hkj hkjgh jkgh jkgh yigtyu fufy uyufu yfuy f[p;iouh ilguyfguyf uyfyu fyu uyf yuf sdfgsdfgdafgotrf4689rft4gydus dsfsd fsdfsd fsdfsd fsd fsd fsdf df wger ytr ygtr e 5 6 4576 456 3534 re g dfg dfg fgsr gsrgfsdjkvhkjh jjkh h h jgh kjh kjhkjh kjh jkghk jghjk hjkh jkhkj hjkh kjh khjk hkj hkjgh jkgh jkgh yigtyu fufy uyufu yfuy f[p;iouh ilguyfguyf uyfyu fyu uyf yuf sdfgsdfgdafgotrf4689rft4gydus dsfsd fsdfsd fsdfsd fsd fsd fsdf df wger ytr ygtr e 5 6 4576 456 3534 re g dfg dfg fgsr gsrgfsdjkvhkjh jjkh h h jgh kjh kjhkjh kjh jkghk jghjk hjkh jkhkj hjkh kjh khjk hkj hkjgh jkgh jkgh yigtyu fufy uyufu yfuy f[p;iouh ilguyfguyf uyfyu fyu uyf yuf sdfgsdfgdafgotrf4689rft4gydus dsfsd fsdfsd fsdfsd fsd fsd fsdf df wger ytr ygtr e 5 6 4576 456 3534 re g dfg dfg fgsr gsrgfsdjkvhkjh jjkh h h jgh kjh kjhkjh kjh jkghk jghjk hjkh jkhkj hjkh kjh khjk hkj hkjgh jkgh jkgh yigtyu fufy uyufu yfuy f[p;iouh ilguyfguyf uyfyu fyu uyf yuf sdfgsdfgdafgotrf4689rft4gydus dsfsd fsdfsd fsdfsd fsd fsd fsdf df wger ytr ygtr e 5 6 4576 456 3534 re g dfg dfg fgsr gsrgfsdjkvhkjh jjkh h h jgh kjh kjhkjh kjh jkghk jghjk hjkh jkhkj hjkh kjh khjk hkj hkjgh jkgh jkgh yigtyu fufy uyufu yfuy f[p;iouh ilguyfguyf uyfyu fyu uyf yuf sdfgsdfgdafgotrf4689rft4gydus dsfsd fsdfsd fsdfsd fsd fsd fsdf df wger ytr ygtr e 5 6 4576 456 3534 re g dfg dfg fgsr gsrgfsdjkvhkjh jjkh h h jgh kjh kjhkjh kjh jkghk jghjk hjkh jkhkj hjkh kjh khjk hkj hkjgh jkgh jkgh yigtyu fufy uyufu yfuy f[p;iouh ilguyfguyf uyfyu fyu uyf yuf sdfgsdfgdafgotrf4689rft4gydus dsfsd fsdfsd fsdfsd fsd fsd fsdf df wger ytr ygtr e 5 6 4576 456 3534 re g dfg dfg fgsr gsrgfsdjkvhkjh jjkh h h jgh kjh kjhkjh kjh jkghk jghjk hjkh jkhkj hjkh kjh khjk hkj hkjgh jkgh jkgh yigtyu fufy uyufu yfuy f[p;iouh ilguyfguyf uyfyu fyu uyf yuf sdfgsdfgdafgotrf4689rft4gydus dsfsd fsdfsd fsdfsd fsd fsd fsdf df wger ytr ygtr e 5 6 4576 456 3534 re g dfg dfg fgsr gsrgfsdjkvhkjh jjkh h h jgh kjh kjhkjh kjh jkghk jghjk hjkh jkhkj hjkh kjh khjk hkj hkjgh jkgh jkgh yigtyu fufy uyufu yfuy f[p;iouh ilguyfguyf uyfyu fyu uyf yuf sdfgsdfgdafgotrf4689rft4gydus dsfsd fsdfsd fsdfsd fsd fsd fsdf df wger ytr ygtr e 5 6 4576 456 3534 re g dfg dfg fgsr gsrgfsdjkvhkjh jjkh h h jgh kjh kjhkjh kjh jkghk jghjk hjkh jkhkj hjkh kjh khjk hkj hkjgh jkgh jkgh yigtyu fufy uyufu yfuy f[p;iouh ilguyfguyf uyfyu fyu uyf yuf sdfgsdfgdafgotrf4689rft4gydus dsfsd fsdfsd fsdfsd fsd fsd fsdf df wger ytr ygtr e 5 6 4576 456 3534 re g dfg dfg fgsr gsrgfsdjkvhkjh jjkh h h jgh kjh kjhkjh kjh jkghk jghjk hjkh jkhkj hjkh kjh khjk hkj hkjgh jkgh jkgh yigtyu fufy uyufu yfuy f[p;iouh ilguyfguyf uyfyu fyu uyf yuf sdfgsdfgdafgotrf4689rft4gydus dsfsd fsdfsd fsdfsd fsd fsd fsdf df wger ytr ygtr e 5 6 4576 456 3534 re g dfg dfg fgsr gsrgfsdjkvhkjh jjkh h h jgh kjh kjhkjh kjh jkghk jghjk hj

Re:want beer?

[zerdood]

I am amazed that this hasn't yet been modded down. Mod parent down!

How long before...

[Anonymous Coward]

... a virus or worm could exploit this google privacy issue?

Re:How long before...

[cduffy]

You mean the ability to grab information people thought was gone off of places it exists on the hard drive?

They already can; they have been able to from before the Google local search engine existed; and they'll continue to be able to after it's gone until folks actually take good care of OS-level security and permissions.

If you think the Starfighter musical sounds good..

[FauxReal]

You'll also wanna check out the Battlestar Galactica homage titled The Cylon King.

Foo

[Anonymous Coward]

Sorry...poor mod above, and I want to revert that...so here goes.

Its all about the fear factor

[t_allardyce]

The Indymedia thing to me sounds like a case of an ISP doing everything it can not to get into trouble. Its been shown time after time and even tested, ISPs will remove/giveup anything if they told. Even random people on Hotmail accounts have been able to order that information be taken down because it violates copyrights even though the copyright is fully explained on the actual page. We've come to a time when ISPs have no interest in sticking up for their clients, if someone can sue Rackspace then maybe it will send a message that ISPs have 2 sides to respect OR perhaps the law could just be changed to take all legal responsibility off their hands?

Re:Its all about the fear factor

[dbIII]

We've come to a time when ISPs have no interest in sticking up for their clients

If they do so it is entirely possible that they will be shutdown by some bloodyminded official. Bruce Sterling's non-fiction "The Hacker Crackdown" has some good examples of machines that were seized on very flimsy pretexts and not returned for months or well over a year - and that was over ten years ago before DVDs were considered worth protecting with a military reponse (Norway). Very few ISPs have the resources to rebuild an entire facility from scratch - it's not just the hardware, all available backups are seized as well.

I'm sure the words "National Security" would have been invoked in this case. It is not entirely impossible for people to be dragged away and locked in a cage in Cuba for two years without even being charged with a crime - so any ISP is likely to roll over as soon as some official looking types with US accents turn up and start talking about security.

Re:Its all about the fear factor

[poot_rootbeer]

The Indymedia thing to me sounds like a case of an ISP doing everything it can not to get into trouble. Its been shown time after time and even tested, ISPs will remove/giveup anything if they told.

That basically seems to be what it boils down to.

Despite the claims that have been made on IndyMedia about IndyMedia (impartial observers, wot?), it appears that the decision to pull the plug the UK-hosted IndyMedia machines was unilaterally made by RackSpace, the hosting company.

Could RackSpace, a company that does business in both the US and the UK, have had its arm twisted by US law enforcement to pull the plug? Possible, but unlikely -- for one thing, we would have seen the fuzz go after IndyMedia resources located in the US as well. Claiming that US law enforcement was indeed involved in this action in the absence of any proof to that effect is speculation and irresponsible reporting.

Re:Its all about the fear factor

[Yeb]

Rackspace made the following press release:
In the present matter regarding Indymedia, Rackspace Managed Hosting, a U.S. based company with offices in London, is acting in compliance with a court order pursuant to a Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty (MLAT), which establishes procedures for countries to assist each other in investigations such as international terrorism, kidnapping and money laundering. Rackspace responded to a Commissioner's subpoena, duly issued under Title 28, United States Code, Section 1782 in an investigation that did not arise in the United States. Rackspace is acting as a good corporate citizen and is cooperating with international law enforcement authorities. The court prohibits Rackspace from commenting further on this matter.

Do you think Rackspace is making this up? The US was clearly involved, unless this is a total fabrication of Rackspace's, which I doubt.

Why would Rackspace want to unilaterally pull the plug, anyway?

-Jeff

Re:Its all about the fear factor

[Anonymous Coward]

Despite the claims that have been made on IndyMedia about IndyMedia (impartial observers, wot?), it appears that the decision to pull the plug the UK-hosted IndyMedia machines was unilaterally made by RackSpace, the hosting company.

Ummmm...

The FBI issued a subpoena, while Swiss and Italian prosecutors have acknowledged interest in getting their hands on the Indymedia servers hosting certain images and messages.

All the Home Office has said is that no UK law enforcement agencies were involved. Clearly, one law enforcement agency from somewhere was involved, because someone took the servers from Rackspace and returned them days later. The exact details of the seizure are being kept rather quiet, and I wonder what other sites would have gone offline had Rackspace refused to comply with the subpoena and seizure.

Re:Its all about the fear factor

[sg_oneill]

Claiming that US law enforcement was indeed involved in this action in the absence of any proof to that effect is speculation and irresponsible reporting.


Other than the fact that it has been pretty much confirmed it was the FBI who did the raid. It might be 'iresponsible', but that dont stop it being true. I dont think rackspace are lying about this.

Re:Its all about the fear factor

[Anonymous Coward]

" it appears that the decision to pull the plug the UK-hosted IndyMedia machines was unilaterally made by RackSpace, the hosting company. Possible, but unlikely -- for one thing, we would have seen the fuzz go after IndyMedia resources located in the US as well. Claiming that US law enforcement was indeed involved in this action in the absence of any proof to that effect is speculation and irresponsible reporting."

So Rackspace decided to just take down the systems for the heck of it ? Please! How about abit of common sense folks....oh wait..some of us have no sense, i'm such an insensitive clod!

Re:Its all about the fear factor

[Anonymous Coward]

Its been shown time after time and even tested, ISPs will remove/giveup anything if they told.

There is one important exception. When the CRIA (equals Canadian RIAA) sued Canadian ISPs to turn over subscribers' info, every one of the ISPs (except Videotron: boo) told them to go fuck themselves, and the courts agreed with that suggestion.

If nothing else, it shows that when ISPs do take a stand, good things happen. Because of that court decision, the CRIA now has nothing to do but go fuck itself.

Re:Its all about the fear factor

[YOU LIKEWISE FAIL IT]

The Indymedia thing to me sounds like a case of an ISP doing everything it can not to get into trouble. Its been shown time after time and even tested, ISPs will remove/giveup anything if they told.

Hah! ISP's? Most people react this way. While many slashdotters would be familiar with Milgrams Experiment, I'm not sure how many realise what for me is the real insight here - not only will people submit before authority, they will submit before an unsubstantiated image or impression of authority. Rarely do people ask to see the papers, authorisations or justifications of those who seem to know what they're doing ( and I've experienced this effect first hand in the healthcare industry ).

Ok, rant over. But I think you'll be surprised how quickly the average person will be cowed by an authority figure ( lawyer, policeman, person in an expensive suit ) regardless of whether or not their claims have merit. The change that has to be made is not just for ISP's, but for all citizens.

YLFI

Re:Its all about the fear factor

[aquabat]

From the Rackspace website:

Managed Hosting
Backed by Our Award-Winning Fanatical Support(TM).

Featuring Our Exclusive:
- Zero-Downtime Network(TM) with a Money-Back Guarantee
- 1 Hour Hardware Replacement with a Money-Back Guarantee
- Instant Emergency Response

The irony of this is almost too rich to believe. Did these guys actually just commit corporate suicide in front of the entire internet?

Re:Its all about the fear factor

[Erik Hollensbe]

Frankly, I'm enjoying it if only because IndyMedia just got a first-hand case of what liberally running their mouth can get you if you don't cover your ass.

What's even more funny is the fact that nothing was shoved in their face (at least publically) to make them shut up about it, so they're doomed to do it again.

IM has a right to express their viewpoint and I'm not suggesting that discontinue, but there are always consequences of exercising "the right to free speech", whether they be legal of nature or not, and maybe, just maybe, IM just got a wake up call.

That and I'm sick of them labelling the biased ravings of some guy that is quick to criticize the system but has no experience in it as journalism.

If you question my quickness, a former acquintance that I know either writes for or knows a heck of a lot of IM "journalists" because he shoves their viewpoint in my face every time a topic comes up, as if they were the prophet of society as a whole. I hear about when GWB misses the toilet after getting up at 3AM to take a leak, complete with "Humor". (hint: watermelon and fried chicken jokes are funny to racists, doesn't mean they're funny to everyone else)

Fox is bad, but at least they have some modicum of accountability, in the form of the stock market. IM has none other than the laws regarding personal attacks in the countries they post in, and adherence to that is dubious at best.

Blanket statement disclaimer: yes, I'm sure some IM articles have merit, but in my experience those that do are in short doses in the article itself, which speaks as a whole of the service. I also want to note that it's the bias I have the problem with, not the concept.

Re:Its all about the fear factor

[gcaseye6677]

An ISP's takedown policy is crafted purely as a business decision. Will the company make more money by sticking up for the legal rights of their customers, or will they make more by immediately taking down anything that anyone doesn't like. You could make a case for either side, but I'm guessing that most ISPs have chosen the side of avoiding all controversy and taking down anything in question. Sure, their customers will take their business elsewhere, but someone will come along to replace them. The hosting business has pretty slim profit margins, so it's unlikely that most ISPs will be willing to spend money on lawyers if they don't absolutely have to.

The nice thing is, a website can be hosted anywhere in the world, so it's not like you can't find another host if your site is taken down on dubious grounds. For that matter, even if your site is blatantly illegal, somebody somewhere will host it for the right price.

Re:Its all about the fear factor

[topham]

The question is, was the raid performed by the FBI, for the FBI, or was the FBI invited in for their expertise?

Often experts from various law enforcement agencies are invited to participate in foreign countries.

Re:Its all about the fear factor

[sg_oneill]

Well it certainly gets interesting. At the moment the home office in the UK is denying its involvement , meaning the bloody fools might of done the raid themselves.

Which of course is utterly illegal since the FBI has no jurastiction there.

Re:Its all about the fear factor

[Doc Ruby]

No, it's worse than that. A US court sent its order out of its jurisdiction to a Bologna, Italy court with which it has a mutual "MLAT" agreement. Bologna sent the order out of its jurisdiction along a similar agreement with the UK. So Rackspace complied, as it was probably legally obligated to do. They probably folded too quickly, but the system of going through a couple of backdoors to enforce a US court order seems not only to have worked, but not to have even raised an eyebrow at the UK officials who do have jurisdiction. This is the one world government people have talked about for years: collusions between international courts that let foreign governments do the dirty work of local governments, while all those governments whine about the UN, and politicians get elected defending citizens from a UN that is powerless over them.

Re:Its all about the fear factor

[Doc Ruby]

What kind of fascist is applauding this total breach of national sovereignty, not to mention universal respect for freedom of the press, by saying "they asked for it by being vulnerable"? If I punch you in the mouth, and you can't stop me, did you deserve it? Is it OK? Would you like another?

Re:Its all about the fear factor

[demachina]

This post doesn't deserve any kind of positive mod. It was established at the time the FBI was involved in this seizure. All the stuff here just said no UK agency was involved which tends to suggest the FBI bypassed the law enforcement agencies that had jurisdiction in the UK which make this especially reprehensible and scary.

The FBI is with each passing day trying to make itself in to a global police force with or without the cooperation of the rest of the the world. They brag about their globalization on their web site. They now how have hundreds of agents spread around the globe. Its is just one more manifestation of America's unilateral move to establishing a global empire based on a triad, military, law enforcement and economy.

It sure would be interesting to know exactly how the FBI pulled off trampling international borders. I'm guessing they threatened Rackspace in the U.S. and made their U.K. office roll over when clearly they had no obligation to and without getting UK law enforcement involved at all. I wonder what threats the FBI used that made ratting on Indymedia the desirable of the two available options for Rackspace.

Re:Its all about the fear factor

[Anonymous Coward]

The court prohibits Rackspace from commenting further on this matter. Really?

The last statement is probably no longer true, or sloppily worded.

Distinguish between refrain, prohibit, and until all warrants have been executed. After execution, it is a matter of public record.

ISP's have a duty to disclose everything. Rackspace should add - we will disclose everything when said restrictions expire to ensure we have not been bullshitted on this one.

Re:Its all about the fear factor

[mwood]

Let's see. Rackspace has an "investor relations" contact, but I can't find a stock listing. Nevertheless they seem to have filed a DBA or something of the sort in the U.S. and whatever the equivalent is in the UK, so they are subject to the laws and the justice apparatus of those countries. So while law enforcement may not have been involved, it is very likely someone in a host country's government was.

But the complaint, what little we know about it, was thought to be from Italy and/or Switzerland, was it not? So whoever contacted Rackspace to take note of their responsibilities under the law was probably just an official conduit for the actions of someone else. That "whoever" is probably just as stuck (under the MLAT) as Rackspace, unless he wants to kick up a big fuss, and he's probably still trying to sort out just how big a fuss and whether it is worth the effort, particularly since we won't know for months or years whether the action was justified (i.e. a court hears the case and hands down a decision). And if a court does decide that the action was unjustified, it ain't "whoever"'s problem; the problem sticks to the Italian or Swiss or whichever agency that invoked the MLAT.

Re:Its all about the fear factor

[Erik Hollensbe]

It sounds like I pushed a button. :)

Apparently you missed the part where I pointed out that they do, indeed have the right to say what they want.

It's a fact of life bud. Call that cop a "pig" and while he may not be able to do much about it directly, you're going to be in some deep shit if you don't have all your ducks in a row and you've tickled his ribs.

I didn't say it was right, or that I approved it because it stifled free speech, I said it was a consequence to exercising it.

A true fascist response would have been to never let indymedia get going in the first place, which is evidenced by history.

Of course, you probably stopped right about the time you figured out this was a negative post to Indy Media and knee-jerked your way through a comment.

Re:Its all about the fear factor

[Erik Hollensbe]

Since a couple of apparent geniuses who couldn't counter my argument with more than a comment about fascism, and the wonderful moderation system has punished me for having a viewpoint not in line with the slashbots, I'll explain.

Indy Media is not journalism. Call it what you want, activism, philosophy, whatever, it's not journalism.

Their right to free speech is protected, as with all free speech. However, regardless how many people choose to go blind trying to comprehend this observation, free speech is not without consequence. I'm sure the indy media can address this because they often comment on issues like sexism and sexual harassment, both things that can get you in trouble at the work place with consequences that can effect you at a higher level than just losing your job. Of course, that's not free speech, right?

So, if you want to call me a fascist, fine, but you are wrong. No one said you can't speak, just that you might want to consider the consequences of your actions, legal or not. Jon Stewart went on CrossFire the other day (covered here) and publically berated the show's hosts, a consequence of their actions that had no legal holding whatsoever.

Does it make sense now?

Re:Its all about the fear factor

[Doc Ruby]

It wasn't hard to read the rest of your comment with spite, after you kicked it off with

"I'm enjoying it if only because IndyMedia just got a first-hand case of what liberally running their mouth can get you if you don't cover your ass"

And went on to burble your pleasure that a government somewhere shut them down, while muttering something about their rights to publish. Now you're softpedaling your remarks as "just an observation of cause and effect". Cut the crap - as you stated, you're happy that the US government is shutting down a UK publisher without the UK government even complaining. Because IndyMedia is "liberal", or somesuch contrived insult. Your fascist attitude is betrayed further by your defense of Fox's obvious unaccountability by invoking "the stock market", where accountability is diluted among millions of apathetic owners, and mostly by your anger that an independent publisher reports what's interesting to them, as if you are required to consume it.

IndyMedia started before the rising tide of fascism covered our society enough to prevent it. You are part of the problem: your cryptofascist denial is the sickness that supports these kinds of takedowns by the "Constitutional" US government, contrary to any rules of liberty. You must be very happy these days. But next month you'll see the true consequences of these kinds of repression, at the voting booths.

Re:Its all about the fear factor

[Erik Hollensbe]

No, you're reading something into it.

Personally, I enjoyed it because in many ways, they are an abusive organization hell-bent on imposing their views on those they don't like. They show no respect for those who do not accept their agenda, and this thread is a glaring example of that reality.

I never even said Indy Media was "liberal". Heck, I didn't even allude to it, but you spend half your post using that as a basis to call me a "fascist". And you have the balls to make the assumption that I'm backing up? Heck, I never put my foot out there in the first place, you just keep trying to drag my leg.

Yes, I am a "fascist". fascist fascist fascist.

I get a strong feeling you have no fucking idea what "fascist" means, you just know it's a bad word.

Here, I'll give you a bad word: bigot, because that's what you're acting like right now, which expresses the viewpoint I addressed in my original post.

Now go away and think about how you've acted.

Re:Its all about the fear factor

[Erik Hollensbe]

I didn't address the fact that I don't have to consume it.

Unfortunately I wish that was the case. But the group that follows indy media (as evidenced here), is insistent, far beyond the level of activism, to shove it down my throat.

Re:Its all about the fear factor

[Doc Ruby]

First you spewed

"I'm enjoying it if only because IndyMedia just got a first-hand case of what liberally running their mouth can get you if you don't cover your ass"

then you whined

"I never even said Indy Media was "liberal". Heck, I didn't even allude to it"

You might have continued your sleazy denial if you'd just weasled out by claiming "liberally" just meant "too much", but you dug your hole by denying that you'd even alluded to it. You're pretty far gone when you're lying that successfully to yourself.

Fascists are people who support the merger of corporate and government power. Fascists support rule by fear and intimidation. The fascists' powerhungry propaganda knows no lower limit of lying and buzzword "button pushing".

Bigots are people who judge others by their membership in a group, without accounting for individual differences, or knowing individual characteristics. I've learned enough about you from your helpful posts to recognize a fascist, a cryptofascist who denies their twisted hatred to further it. I am not going anywhere. And, unfortunately, neither are you, I suspect. So you'll just have to live with my exposure of your fascism. Maybe you'll realize your disguise has slipped, or not, but I'll point it out regardless. You can't succeed in lying, to yourself or others, by trying to make we who tell the truth "go away".

Re:Its all about the fear factor

[Erik Hollensbe]

You are confusing the word liberally , in the sense of definition 2, with the sense of definition 1d. What you read into my post is not my problem.

Also, since you seem to have more authority than webster's, merriam-webster, and oxford, could you please tell me how fascist, as defined by the link here is wrong? According to that definition, you are being the fascist.

(I was hoping you would reply so I could say just that, you pompous idiot.)

Also, I think you are confusing truth with propaganda.

Sure you want to continue arguing your point?

Re:Its all about the fear factor

[Erik Hollensbe]

Oh yeah, now that I've destroyed all your credibility, I should let you in on something.

I am registered Democrat, saw F 9/11 opening night, and consistently vote for drug legalization reform, all things, which I am unfortunately forced to stereotype on, I bet you agree with. So keep babbling like you grew up with me and know my opinions, bigot.

Re:Its all about the fear factor

[Doc Ruby]

When you open your lying fascist mouth, expect the truth to get shoved down your throat. Or click a different URL.

Re:Its all about the fear factor

[Erik Hollensbe]

Haha. Dude, you're about due for your rabies shot.

Or is that the ranting of a man who's had his leaning tower of pride ripped out from under him? I can't tell.

Re:Its all about the fear factor

[Yeb]

Ya, it looks like its probably related to Italy, but we still don't really know.

So are websites now beholden to Free Speech standards set by Fascist Italian Judges?

-Jeff

P.S. Also when I say "Fascist" I don't mean like "GWB is a Fascist". I mean like real old-school Italian Fascism, which still exists.

Re:Its all about the fear factor

[Doc Ruby]

Yes - you are flinging bullshit in a smokescreen to pretend you didn't "allude" to IndyMedia's clearly "liberal" orientation by using the word "liberally". This isn't an argument. This is the facts vs. your obfuscations and denials. Despite your facile citation, "fascism" is much more specific than "reactionary": was the Continental Congress "fascist"? Was the dictator Pol Pot "fascist"? No - there are other kinds of assholes, like Communist dictators.

Who are you kidding with this bullshit? Certainly not me, but perhaps yourself. Neither Webster, Merriam-Webster nor Oxford are cited in that page you linked. That page does cite the _American Heritage_ dictionary which says "see fascism ":
"the name of an authoritarian political movement [like] Fascism, founded in 1919 by Benito Mussolini". Mussolini signed the entry in the Encyclopedia Italiana (though Giovanni Gentile wrote it): "Fascism should more appropriately be called corporatism because it is a merger of state and corporate power".

You are a fascist by every definition, right down to your pathetic demand that I "go away", and pleas to stop this "argument". You can keep up your hollow screeching, but you are a fascist, and I am not. If you want, I can produce facts to quash your drivel wherever it rears its ugly head.

Re:Its all about the fear factor

[Doc Ruby]

Your denial is complete: I echo your formula of "deserve what you get", in an appropriate situation, and I'm rabid and ranting? What ripping? The only ripping going on here is all the new orifices I've ripped you in this thread, from which your denial, projection and nonsense gush unchecked, except by my rationality.

Re:Its all about the fear factor

[Erik Hollensbe]

If you called this "journalism", I could sue you for slander. No no, seriously, and I would win. But I'm not a fascist. :)

You butchered the definition of bigot, which forced that comment. Inference based on facts isn't your strong point, is it? (note, that without facts it's merely an assumption)

You keep making accusations that are not true about my person, and then using them as a basis to make your counter argument. I never, ever have given you a reason to think that my use of "liberal" is in the political sense, but you keep insisting that I have, citing that one quote but giving no others (other than my objection to Indy Media, which you cite as a politically liberal organization, not me) as defense.

You obviously missed the second definition of fascist, A reactionary or dictatorial person. Apparently the problem isn't that you can't click, but that you can't read. Technically my argument that you are a fascist is correct (definition 2), and yours is incorrect (definition 1). But oh well, you're just going to spout your trash at me again which amounts to "I am right and you are wrong, but I can't prove it", a common mantra amongst fact-manipulators.

But you sure can write. Keep dictating that I'm a fascist, please, it makes your fascism all that more interesting. Besides, you brought it up. :)

Re:Its all about the fear factor

[Doc Ruby]

You're incapable of even reading my posts, so blinded by denial and hate. I'm not going to quote my prior post again, where I refuted your oversimplified citation of fascism, in its own words. Why should *I* be doing all the thinking and work in this thread? You support merged corporate and government power in suppressing publishers: you're a fascist. I have proven through citation and exposing your own doubletalk consistently in this thread. If this were a fistfight, you'd be broken and bloody. Of course, your denial is so deep that you can't even read my comments, then reply with nonsense in their light. Play your games with yourself, but don't expect me to tolerate them.

Re:Its all about the fear factor

[Erik Hollensbe]

You refuse to acklowedge definiton 2 and, you claim that I am oversimplifying? And then you make another assumption.

THIS IS FUNNY. YHBT, dumbshit. You are so indoctrinated and convinced your position is correct that you are incapable of admitting defeat, even on the most pedantic of topics.

Really, only Rush Limbaugh and Howard Stern have cajones as big as yours. Please get over your overcomplicated version of "you started it".

Re:Its all about the fear factor

[Erik Hollensbe]

God, I've been waiting for quite some time for you to say just that.

It's good that it took around 10 posts to figure that out, but says a lot about your bias. :)

Re:Its all about the fear factor

[Erik Hollensbe]

I should probably cite that, regarding the "you deserve what you get" as the whole FUCKING POINT of my original argument.

Everything else is your assumption.

Re:Its all about the fear factor

[Yeb]

Yo! Erik Hollensbe & Doc Ruby:
Geez, you guys need to chill out. You're giving slashdot a bad name. ;)

I haven't seen a thread degrade like that on indymedia...

Hollensbe wrote:
But the group that follows indy media (as evidenced here), is insistent, far beyond the level of activism, to shove it down my throat.

That's like being hit by a slashdot troll and blaming the entire GNU/Linux community.

-Jeff

Re:Its all about the fear factor

[Erik Hollensbe]

Jeff,

I admire your maturity in this situation, but I should let you know that my post was intended to display an example with the actual viewpoint being secondary in nature.

A simple, oft-repeated scientific adage of, "Every action has an equal and opposite reaction" could describe my original argument - pretty damned hard to argue with. Everything else was just "syntactic sugar". The argument was worded carefully to avoid the most glaring logical fallacies but leave enough in to draw a crowd.

Seriously, how can I argue against bias with an obvious bias against indymedia? It's non-sensical at best. But nope, no one bothered to point that out.

Knowing this couldn't be defeated by defending indy media, I waited for it to happen. The answer was simple and it was to take my own point and direct it at me, which he finally did after realizing that he had degenerated into baseless name-calling. I would like to think that I did echo a viewpoint which a good portion of people do share, whether or not our self-appointed target feels the need to believe it, or the viewpoint has any base in truth itself.

I was just surprised the name calling started so early, it amazed me that I was labelled a fascist before I could even clarify my views. Really, is it that hard to ask a question before you make an assumption?

To get overly philosophical, "Free Speech" is only protected as long as all recipients of that speech agree to protect it. Sexual Harrassment is an example of "free speech" that is not protected. The twisting of the relatively simple conclusion that "all speech is free - the consequences aren't", as if you have some right to degrade others because the law tells you that you can disturbs me deeply. The law may keep you in line but nothing but yourself will keep you accountable to the effect you make on society.

Re:Its all about the fear factor

[Doc Ruby]

I'd gladly take credit for starting this subthread wherein I have made a monkey of you in every post, including yours. As I already mentioned, there are other authoritarians than fascists - it's a necessary, but insufficient, condition of fascism. You are repeating your failed tactic of merely denying my successful refutations, and it's become boring. Are you learning anything from the consistent history of fascism that I generously offer as I school you? Or are you content to merely work the Goebbels dictum "repeat a lie a thousand times and it becomes truth"? My balls are big, my spine is strong, and my mind is sharp. What's *your* excuse for belaboring this thread, in which you never land a punch?

Re:Its all about the fear factor

[Doc Ruby]

You can't compare your diseased formulation, that a publisher should expect to be physically shut down by a foreign government that it criticizes, with my sensible reminder that you spouted garbage, and should expect to be confronted by someone talking sense. Where does that leave you? Jibbering about my bias: I am clearly biased against fascist loudmouths cloaking themselves in disingenuous wordplay when convenient, then saying something completely inconsistent when cornered.

Re:Its all about the fear factor

[Doc Ruby]

Thanks for your concern, Slashdot deserves better ;). But all I can do is apply logic and rationality to the slippery posts of this degenerate character. That's how it plays out in a marketplace of ideas, where "caveat emptor" is packaged with sharp disagreements. If we just agreed to disagree, there'd be no distinguishing the quality ideas on offer from the vaporware.

Re:Its all about the fear factor

[Anonymous Coward]

Pure entertainment.......

Gunstar

[centauri]

I don't know what they called it in the stage show, but in the movie the Starfighter is not the name of the ship. The ship is called a Gunstar. The being who fires the weapon systems of a Gunstar is called a Starfighter.

(And the pilot of a Gunstar is called a Starnavigator)

Re:Gunstar

[m_xiphias]

They are so going to brand you an ubergeek now.

Re:Gunstar

[bob beta]

Is the ship's office manager called the Starofficer? (does he work in his spare time on Oo.org?)

Re:Gunstar

[Anonymous Coward]

The best part is his username.

Re:Gunstar

[Anonymous Coward]

> The ship is called a Gunstar.

Well, it should be spelled:

GUN/star.

It use is

gunstar cvfz /dev/null /enemy

Re:Gunstar

[Ash-Fox]

Gunstar was a typo on the ship, it was supposed to be GNUstar right?

Re:Gunstar

[LinuxTek]

You mean, other than the fact that his nick is 'centauri'?

He must still wear TLS pijamas...

Murphy's Law Calculator

[interactive_civilian]

ummm...they seem to have forgotten a very important side effect of probabilities and Murphy's law (at least that I have noticed in my experiences, and Murphy and I have become rather close):

The more improbable that something will go wrong, the greater the chance that it will go wrong immediately and in a big way.

I mean, come on, don't these people read the Guide? The Starship Titanic immediately underwent a massive existence failure because some fool tried to use an improbability field and make it infinitely improbable that something would go wrong with the ship.

So, as a PSA to all: Do NOT trust low numbers from the Murphy's Law calculator. If you get a low score, then duck and cover.

Re:Murphy's Law Calculator

[Anonymous Coward]

The Starship Titanic immediately underwent a massive existence failure because some fool tried to use an improbability field and make it infinitely improbable that something would go wrong with the ship.

I hope I'm not alone when I say this, but... what the hell?

Re:Murphy's Law Calculator

[Anonymous Coward]

The more improbable that something will go wrong, the greater the chance that it will go wrong immediately and in a big way.

Hi. I would like to bet $100 with you on the outcome of 100 coin tosses. That they all give tail is so improbable that according to your law, it's almost a certainty. I will pay $100 if this happens. You pay me $100 if there's at least one head.

Re:Murphy's Law Calculator

[Bombcar]

The only way it could work is if it was a million to one chance?

Why?

Because everyone knows that million to one chances come about nine times out of ten!

Oh my God, Google stands to GAIN something????

[aardvarko]

Much more ominously, Google's product manager Marissa Mayer said she expected the private queries to generate more hits for google.com. Most people, she believed, would choose to combine personal and web searches resulting in more revenue for Google's ad business.

MOTHER OF FUCK! No! That's just wrong.

Murphy's Law proves a few things.

[Dark Lord Seth]

3 out of 5 things regarding the equasion for Murphy's Law are easily manipulated. Put the right man ( skilled ) with the right experience ( frequency ) on the right job with plenty of time. ( urgency )

Complexity can also be influenced up to a certain level; A large complex task can be broken down into numerous less complex elements. So basically, Murphy's law proves that while heeding common sense, people are less likely to screw up. Well done!

Re:Murphy's Law proves a few things.

[Tackhead]

> 3 out of 5 things regarding the equasion for Murphy's Law are easily manipulated. Put the right man ( skilled ) with the right experience ( frequency ) on the right job with plenty of time. ( urgency )

And no matter how urgent your need to try the calculator might be, the probability that the ever-lovin' fuck will have been slashdotted out of it by the time you get there, is equal to one.

Re:Murphy's Law proves a few things.

[sahonen]

Frequency is actually how often you do the task that is likely to go wrong, not how many times you have done it in the past. If you do something more often, it's more likely to go wrong.

Re:Murphy's Law proves a few things.

[Zangief]

I guess the guys who came up with the site (or the equation), played way too much tabletops RPGs.

They have 5 bars. Urgency, Importancy, Complexity (disadvantages), and my skill and the frequency of doing the task susceptible of Murphy (advanteges).

If I put the first 3 bars, at maximum, and the last 2 at minimum (A freaking task, in which the world existance rest, and which I never have done before), the chance of me doing it is 5%.

If I put the 3 first bars, at minimum, and the last 2 at maximum (A simple task, which is trivial, and which I'm paid to do it, every day of my life), my chance of screwing up is 94%.

This means, that there is always 5% chance of success, and 5% of failure. Just like a d20.

Obviously you've had one too many

[Anonymous Coward]

Don't drink and type. And definitely don't let your cat roam across your keyboard either. Have fun getting all that fur and beer out of your keyboard!

Mozilla party at the south pole!

[ScottMacVicar]

South Pole
It looks like there is a party on all 7 continents.

Re:Mozilla party at the south pole!

[ashitaka]

Great directions:

"go South until it turns North. Look around - there's a big dome. Go inside. Enter the first building on your right and go upstairs. Party!"

Aw yeah for ppl.

[The Pi-Guy]

According to the Mozparty site, currently there are 1007 ppl partying in 109 parties from which the biggest party is in Mexico.

Ah, I'd love to welcome you to Slashdot, but we don't take kindly to AOL users here. Please turn in your geek badge at the door - a man named Roland will be collecting them.

Re:Aw yeah for ppl.

[YetAnotherName]

Roland Piquepaille, perchance?

Re:Aw yeah for ppl.

[Dark Lord Seth]

... a man named Roland will be collecting them

I saw the guy selling the Geek Badges to clueless Forbes 500 CEOs after he put on a few "promotional" stickers on them.

I think the CEO of Haliburton is trying to play frisbee with a badge... I don't know, don't DARE to find out.

El Paso? eww. (Yes, it's OT)

[Mike Markley]

Grew up there, didn't think there even was a damn tech community there. To put things into perspective, I thought Cleveland was nice after a decade in El Paso.

Diebold Demonstration Video

[PollGuy]

I came across this Diebold training video. Check it out.

Re:Diebold Demonstration Video

[n8ur]

I saw BoomChicago in Amsterdam a few years ago. Unbelievably funny show...

More on Indymedia

[Anonymous Coward]

There are some good questions on Spy Blog:

The questions about whether or not Rackspace's UK subsidiary have acted illegally under United Kingdom law, by intercepting "electronic communications" (including emails), disrupting an electronic communications system, export of personal data outside of the European Union to the USA without permission, breach of copyright etc. still need to be answered.

Without the protection of a properly authorised UK law enforcement warrant, which was obviously not obtained in this case, Rackspace UK could be sued for breach of confidentiality by the >Indymedia systems administrators with whom they have a legal contract.

The contract was with Rackspace UK and Rackspace are a UK limited company... you can look this up with Companies House (UK office hours, they don't leave their mainframe connected to the net when they are not in the office!)... so there must be potential for breach of contract action(s) here...

Check term 10 of Rackspace UK's Master Service Agreement:

"10 Law and Disputes
10.1 This Agreement shall be governed by English law.

I rang Rackspace in the UK today, their Linux managed servers sales section, I asked them if they would host a box for me in the UK and if it could be exempt from UK laws... I didn't get very far... I asked to speak to her boss but she said they were both out... she said only the US company could speak about this matter...

For more background on this see Jebba's blog and also please sign the Indymedia Solidarity Statment!

PS Isn't it time for a Indymedia topic with a nice (((i))) logo... :-)

chrisc at indymedia.org

Best.

[zogger]

Directions.Evah!

party down dudes!

where's the live WEBCAM?

Copyright imbalance

[KjetilK]

Heh, well, I think your post illustrates how bad the imbalance with copyright law has become. Copyright law is supposed to be a balance between the public's right to freely participate in the cultural and scientific progresses of society, and the rights of the creators to be awarded for their contribution to said progress.

Nowadays, if you a little too freely participate in said culture, you're a pirate, one who can be imprisoned, bankrupted and hung out to dry in public. If you on the other hand deny the public the most basic right to participate in democratic discourse and attempt to destroy democracy, well, you'll be fined with pocket change...

When this latter behaviour is made criminal, then we can start talking about criminalising freeloading. Not before.

Re:Copyright imbalance

[Doc Ruby]

FauxReal's comment was obviously (to me, anyway) a joke. You're right, but try to see clues to sarcasm like "at least they weren't downloading music" on Slashdot.

People read the article

[Chuck Chunder]

And rightly determined that it was almost entirely a bunch of FUD puked up by some disingenuous wanker more interested in pushing their own barrow than 'informing' users.

tHHGttG

[interactive_civilian]

blockquoth the AC:

The Starship Titanic immediately underwent a massive existence failure because some fool tried to use an improbability field and make it infinitely improbable that something would go wrong with the ship.

I hope I'm not alone when I say this, but... what the hell?

The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams holds all of the answers you need.

On a site like this, I doubt you are completely alone, but I would imagine the majority of /. has read this book.

Re:tHHGttG

[corsec67]

And that is why he can quote it without referencing it: everyone knows it.

This would be cause for a party WHY?!!

[Anonymous Coward]

I'll save MY partying for when they come up with a browser that words decently on a Mac... and I don't mean Safari clones, either, because Safari is the WORST!!

Omni
http://omniverse.blogspot.com/

Re:This would be cause for a party WHY?!!

[Scud]

Not that you get invited to any in the first place...

Diebold...

[Anonymous Coward]

Ah, if only we could somehow get Diebold to illegally download a CD. That should up the penalty to around 2 billion dollars ("just one CD, but it was ripped in a really fast computer").

I mean c'mon, abusing copyright law in an attempt to stifle discussion and discovery about America's most sacred process of government, that's one thing.

But when you download Nelly, the justice system PUTS THE SMACK DOWN ON YOU!

Visit America: Where Our Priorities Are Just A Little Fucked Up(tm)

Re:Diebold...

[Anonymous Coward]

America's most sacred process of government

Would that be bombing or blowjobs?

You don't get it...

[interactive_civilian]

This is a problem in raw probability. Murphy's Law doesn't deal with that. Murphy's law deals with taking plans you have made and royally screwing them up. Making a bet is not the same as making a plan.

However, in this situation, I can almost guarantee that the first flip would be heads because Murphy is better friends with me than with you, so :-p

wait...that isn't a good thing. :-(

Aside: I don't understand why my original post is being modded "Informative", and why people are taking it seriously. It was a (bad) joke...smile or something. ;-)

Murphie's Law Calculator

[Alien54]

As seen on the Page

Mathematicians have now come up with a rule for predicting the law of "anything that can go wrong, will go wrong". They say the formula allows people to calculate the chances of Murphy's law (or Sod's law as it is also know) - and to even try and beat the bad luck.

The person is asked to rate the following factors on a 1 - 10 scale for the situation to be analysed

Urgency
Importance
Complexity
Frequency of doing this task
How skilled I am at this task

which are then mangled together through the online calculator. One presumes that an end result of ten is equal to a 100% chance of Murphie's Law coming into play.

Strangely enough, it is possible to get a score higher than 10 on the calculator.

The best and most extreme example of this is when all factors are rated as ten (Urgency, Importance, etc) except for the skill level, which is rated as 1. In this case, the end result is 40, which I presume to either indicate a 400% chance of Murphie's Law Striking, or a 100% chance that Murphie's Law will strike 4 times.

Applying this to modern problems, such as the typical county worker trying to manage an electronic voting machine system, is left as an exercise for the reader.

Aim High

[ProfDark]

My only answer to Murphy's Law:
The only way to beat Murphy's Law is with Murphy's Law - ProfDark.

You can never underestimate Dumb Luck.

The highier the likelihood of Murphy's showing up the highier the chance of two of them showing up and screwing each other over. Ignorance just loves company.

How do you think people rise to their level of incompentency?

Have you ever talked to your boss before?

Re:Aim High

[aaza]

No, no, no.

Here you run into the problem of the "Unapplicable Law" (It does have someone's name to it, I just can't remember whose, and I've always heard it called that).

The Unapplicable Law quite clearly states:
Washing your car to make it rain does not work.

Washing your car makes it rain. If you want it to rain (and it looks like it might), you think to yourself "Washing your car makes it rain. I want rain, I think I'll wash my car." The problem with this is the Law knows you think this, and the clouds disperse shortly after the car has been washed.

The worst part about this is when you don't want it to rain. You think to yourself "Washing your car makes it rain. Last time I wanted it to rain, and washed my car, it didn't. If I wash my car now, it wont rain." The problem here is these Laws still know your mind. You don't want rain, therefore if you wash your car, it will rain.

In short: You cannot invoke these types of Laws, they will work against you every time.

Re:Aim High

[ProfDark]

Ah... but you assume I intended to succeed.
It's all in your state of mind.

Well, I find a nice beautiful day I go and wash the car fully expecting and wanting to waste a perfectly good day with a nasty run of rain. only problem is that Murphy comes along to screw with me so that I fail miserably and the rain never comes. Damn I hate that.

Oh well failure has it's virtues.

Re:Aim High

[multimed]

Um no. I'm pretty sure if you wash your car and want it to rain, it will hail. Basketball-sized hail. When you're at the furthest point you could be away from shelter.

Not only do things go wrong because they can, and Unapplicable Law means you can't reverse psychology Murphy, but but the larger issue is it will always be something you can't predict and will always screw you.

More Hits? Not likely...

[shaneh0]

"she expected the private queries to generate more hits for google.com."

Google is a very mature brand in their market. Although I can't speak to it's veracity I read in Business 2.0 that Google has 96% awareness among (?domestic?) internet users.

While I think the press may slightly increase brand awareness among the non-internet using public, I really doubt they'll see more hits. As if people will read the story and rush to go online to see what 'this google thing' is all about.

Google has reached this point without any consumer facing advertising. I doubt a few dozen stories over a few weeks will actually increase their traffic in a statistically significant way.

Besides, this has a short shelf life. When was the last time you read about the GMail controversy (that is, until Desktop Search made it relevent again)

Don't disrespect AOL users

[tepples]

Anybody who watched The Lord of the Rings films is an AOL user, as the films were published by Time Warner, whose stock symbol was once AOL.

Re:Don't disrespect AOL users

[Anonymous Coward]

Sorry, you're subject and body text don't agree with each other.

And don't forget...

[BillX]

Shit happens. But it is seldom content to happen independently of other shit happening...

Disturbing guest list...

[istewart]

theancientones@kadath.com

At least we know that the Elder Gods (some of them anyway) favor open source.

I fear this does not bode well for Microsoft.

Re:Disturbing guest list...

[Scud]

I fear this does not bode well for Microsoft.

Especially if they require a human sacrifice.

The Last Starfighter Review should read...

[Anonymous Coward]

Original Text:
When I heard that The last Starfighter was making the leap from the screen to the stage I wondered how they would recreate the vehicles, space battles and alien costumes.

Corrected Text:
When I heard that The last Starfighter was making the leap from the screen to the stage I wondered how they would make it more ghey.

MozParty2

[killermookie]

Did anyone else cringe when they went to sign up for a Mozilla Firefox party only to stop and realize that the site is basically one giant spam harvesting board??

--Matt

Re:MozParty2

[Anonymous Coward]

Note: All @'s in email addresses are images!

Re:MozParty2

[piranha(jpl)]

Surely this countermeasure will foil those dim-witted spammers!

Spyware Install?

[Goo.cc]

If I was Indymedia, I would look very carefully at the server before using it again. For all they know, monitoring software or a trojan could have been installed.

Re:Spyware Install?

[SimonShine]

Not to rub it in, but as a reply to the original article, they did consider this seizure as a case of hacking, and a comment then critizised Indymedia for just sitting back and moaning rather than treating the harddisk as lost and setting up a new one with a backup of the data. Slashback for you! :)

Google not collecting data

[topham]

Googles search option LOCALLY combines LOCAL data with web search results. It is a feature you can turn off if you wish. At no point does it submit the resulting data to Google.

Google's (web) search intercepts the query and submits it to the web, and to the local search function, when results fromthe web are returned the results from the local search are merged (ON YOUR MACHINE).

How is this a privacy problem?

Re:Google not collecting data

[Anonymous Coward]

It necessarily will submit the search query to google. To tell someone what you're looking for in your own data means to tell him that you have data about it.

Re:Google not collecting data

[ricotest]

Google keeps trying to use my HTTP proxy even with the 'phone home' option off. This happens at fairly random intervals, not when I'm doing a web search. Why the hell does it need to use the Internet if it is so 'local'?

Re:Google not collecting data

[Anonymous Coward]

Log the information to your proxy and post it.
It could be a bug, or google could be evil.

Google

[Anonymous Coward]

If you are paranoid about privacy then lock yourself in a box, or at the very least don't use free optional software that you have a problem with. Finally for the love of all that is good, quit wine'n about something that isn't forced upon you. People who use the software either aren't paranoid that google will invade their home, or they are too dumb, and oblivious, in which case they should be removed from the gene pool anyway.

Re:An even more trivial penalty

[Concerned Onlooker]

Yes, you've been bad, now here's your fine.

Kind of like when GM, Firestone and Standard Oil were found guilty of criminal conspiracy when they systematically dismantled the electric public transportation with bus lines. "The court imposed a sanction of $5,000 on GM. In addition, the jury convicted H.C. Grossman, who was then treasurer of General Motors. Grossman had played a key role in the motorization campaigns and had served as a director of PCL when that company undertook the dismantlement of the $100 million Pacific Electric system. The court fined Grossman the magnanimous sum of $1.211."

links:
American Ground Transport
The Street Car Conspiracy

Long tentacles of Ashcroft

[Doc Ruby]

The Indymedia story now appears to amount to the US Department of Justice filing a "court order" out of US jurisdiction with a Bologna court under a MLAT, which Bologna passed along in its European legal mutuality with London. So Ashcroft could shut down Indymedia across two outside jurisdictions as readily as he could have in Missouri. Everyone in Europe who wants Bush out of their backyards better start emailing and calling everyone they know in the US, talking some sense into us and getting us to vote for Kerry. If Bush can do this during his last reelection vulnerability, his second term will see every "undesirable" in some Guantanamo gulag.

Re:Long tentacles of Ashcroft

[Anonymous Coward]

I see no evidence to suggest that Kerry would handle things much differently than Bush would. I don't really care which of them wins, but I sure hope it is Bush so I can continue to laugh at the frothing of delusional nincompoops like you.

Re:Long tentacles of Ashcroft

[rpg25]

OK, this is a little off-topic, but if you're a European who wants to get Kerry elected, I would suggest not sending unsolicited emails and telephone calls.

The UK Guardian tried that, and it doesn't seem to have been very successful. Have a look at http://www.guardian.co.uk/uselections2004/story/0, 13918,1332041,00.html.

Re:Long tentacles of Ashcroft

[Doc Ruby]

Anonymous no nothing Coward, don't you know that Kerry's announced, committed plan is totally different from Bush's miserably failed "strategy"? To say nothing of the obvious lack of any Bush plan going forward, except default chaos? Or are you just prejudging Kerry by Bush's incessant lies? Kerry's got a long record of successful leadership, including flexibility as events force changes - in politics, and on the battlefield. You'll care a lot more if Bush wins and he drafts you for duty in the Terror War meatgrinder, Anonymous delusional Coward.

Re:Long tentacles of Ashcroft

[Doc Ruby]

That's why I wrote " emailing and calling everyone in the US" (emphasis added). Friends don't let friends vote Bush.

BTW, most posts in a multitopic Slashback are "offtopic" :). This subthread is directly ontopic: Indymedia is the canary in Ashcroft's coalmine, and Bush is the noxious gas.

Re:Long tentacles of Ashcroft

[Erik Hollensbe]

Which is truthful of course, with obvious evidence by these posts.

Friends let friends vote however they fucking want out of respect for their right to choose. Friends don't call people fascists when they defend that right.

Re:Long tentacles of Ashcroft

[Doc Ruby]

Format error:
"emailing and calling everyone they know in the US" (emphasis mine)

Re:Long tentacles of Ashcroft

[Doc Ruby]

You are a fool. When you call and email your friends to convince them not to vote for Bush, you respect their right to choose, and you respect their respect of your friendship by considering your point of view. Your kind of fascist thinks calling your friend to talk politics means making them an offer they can't refuse. You're just defending the right to alienate people from one another, keeping them divided to perpetuate the politics that oppresses them.

Re:Long tentacles of Ashcroft

[Erik Hollensbe]

"Friends don't let friends vote Bush" provides no indication that you are giving anyone a choice. In practice, I have found that I am right.

That said, many Bush supporters are just as bad, and I ferry them to the circular bin just as I have with you.

bad party vibes

[Doc Ruby]

Yes, yes - by all means, OPEN THE SOURCE! Read it out loud, by firelight, on the equinox! The ancient ones will fill your mind to bursting...

Better not to RSVP this one.

I just want to say

[TrippTDF]

I know someone in Last Starfighter, and I'm seeing it free next week. w00t.

More hits means more searches

[Chuck Chunder]

Not more consumer awareness. It's got nothing to do with the "press" they are getting.

It's the simple fact that if people are searching their desktop/email/etc for something and they can also search the web with Google at the same time for no extra effort then a lot of people will do it.

They should look into this before 1.0

[forgoil]

http://www.securityfocus.com/archive/1/378632/2004 -10-15/2004-10-21/0

Very easy to crash your browser, and should be fairly easy to set up and start finding crashing bugs. I already run firefox, but would love to see it not fail this easily.

That is exactly why...

[SimonShine]

That is exactly why I am always happy to know that I forgot something on a trip. If I forgot something and it was not particularly important, Murphy got one card and I can rest with the rest of my hand safely.

Worse it is when you think you've got everything because you inevitably have forgot something - or will! - so I always look for the thing that I naturally must have forgotten, because that makes my world safer. :)

"bias"

[torpor]

"bias" is just another way of saying that someone has an opinion you don't like.

just like, i'm saying you're biased towards fascism.

Re:"bias"

[Erik Hollensbe]

Bias is the reflection of an opinion which is tainted by moral conviction. If I say, "killing innocents is bad", am I biased against the military? Not really. Each situation is examined and this statement is applied, killing innocents may be necessary or accidental. Of course, this comment isn't about any of that, so I'll let you get yourself whipped up into an even deeper fervor by not commenting on my actual belief in those scenarios.

As for your 'fascism' comment, I'll let you read the other reply I made, evidenced here.

Your argument is either indicative of your ignorance or your bias, I can't tell which.

Re:"bias"

[torpor]

uh huh. situational ethics. wunderbar, mate!!

Re:"bias"

[Erik Hollensbe]

Please don't confuse "situational ethics" with a poorly formed or incomplete ethic.

Don't make me do to you what I did to your buddy above. It's not cost-effective for me and insulting for you.

Re:"bias"

[torpor]

okay Mr. Tough Guy. I won't.

Please continue to enjoy spanking me, in your mind, all night long...

UK law

[julesh]

were any UK laws (eg the Data Protection Act 1984 or the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000) broken? Are there any UK cyber law experts on Slashdot with any suggestions...?

The most important one, I suspect, is the Human Rights Act, 1998:

PART II
THE FIRST PROTOCOL
ARTICLE 1
PROTECTION OF PROPERTY
Every natural or legal person is entitled to the peaceful enjoyment of his possessions. No one shall be deprived of his possessions except in the public interest and subject to the conditions provided for by law and by the general principles of international law.

The preceding provisions shall not, however, in any way impair the right of a State to enforce such laws as it deems necessary to control the use of property in accordance with the general interest or to secure the payment of taxes or other contributions or penalties.

So, they can't confiscate property unless some other law specifically allows it. I'm not sure what that law would be.

Re:UK law

[MrNemesis]

"they can't confiscate property unless some other law specifically allows it. I'm not sure what that law would be"

Latterly, and sadly, it seems to be "the (unwritten) law of doing whatever America tells us to do".

Beat the DMCA with good old copywright...

[Anonymous Coward]

interesting legal idea: the government is now trying people under newer, harsher, more unreasonable "terrorist" laws. Example: trying drug dealers as "manufacturing chemical weapons" instead of the less frightening and less severe "drug trafficing". So if a criminal is caught and is going to be pounded by the "MAN" what he should do is to quickly hire someone to charge him of the same crime but under a less severe law and then he will quickly plead quilty before he is taken to trial for the more severe charges. Then because of U.S.A. 'double jepardy' laws the Gov. will not be allowed to procede with their case. Now IANAL, but I do recall a case where a murderer was found 'not guilty' and then evidence was later found prooving UNQUESTIONABLY that he did do the murder and he then admited that he did, but they could only then charge him for PURGERY (because he said he did not do it) and WOULD NOT/COULD NOT re-try him for the murder, so he spent (a maximum of) 7 years in jail because for purgery instead of 20+ (to life) for the murder. So the next time some company or organization cough*RIAA*cough sues one of us under the DMCA we just need one of our friends to sue us under existing copywright laws (when it applies), hand the pittance over to whoever is suing us and then tell them to shove the DMCA up their RJ45 plug.

Re:Beat the DMCA with good old copywright...

[codepunk]

Well no if your friend is not the copyright holder to the material in question you are still going to be tried. A better idea is to flood your web servers
with fake mp3 files with realistic names. The RIAA mistakenly sends you a takedown notice and you sue them for damages.

1007 people at 109 parties?

[Snosty]

Wow, that's just over 9 people per party! ROCK ON!

Tragic, looks like the geeks still can't get anyone to come to their parties. Maybe someone should call the Beastie Boys.

Re:1007 people at 109 parties?

[Anonymous Coward]

I hope no bad people come.

Try to keep up

[Anonymous Coward]

2376 ppl partying in 202 parties.

Thats almost 12 people per party. And still increasing...

Gotta a love those context-sensitive adverts...

[Anonymous Coward]

Muahahahahahaaaaa! Was just reading the Slashback on the front page about the Indymedia fracas, opaque government heavy-handedness and Rackspace spinelessly grabbing their ankles and turning over IM's servers... And while I'm reading what do I see in the right-most column?

A Rackspace advert, on the theme of making you "an offer you can't refuse".

Oh, how we laughed...

Re:Google --- my cold dead fingers

[chewmanfoo]

Honestly, this thing works so well, you can get it from me only if you can pry it from my cold, dead fingers.

Rackspace

[bLanark]

Did these guys actually just commit corporate suicide in front of the entire internet?

Strangely enough, I just got spammed by Rackspace UK (using the email address I registered for linux_expo with). They are launching a large campaign just now - see here. I wonder if they are seeing any kind of move of users away from them due to this. I'd like to think so, but I don't know how well this issue has been covered in the mainstream media in the UK

This whole incident has made me glad that I've chosen a UK-only ISP. I'd hate to have my site taken down due to leverage on a US parent company. (Not that I do anything wrong, of course!)

Re:If you think the Starfighter musical sounds goo

[mwood]

Is it just me, or does _The Last Starfighter: the Musical_ sound like it ought to be the funniest thing since _Springtime for Hitler_?

(Hint to those wondering about _Springtime_: look for _The Producers_ instead.)

Re: Beastie Boys?

[KayakFun]

Well, if you live close to Eindhoven, the Netherlands, you can visit

the only Firefox party that has LIVE music .

Not exactly Beastie Boys, but with music that sounds like Tom Waits, and free entrance (Firefox is free too), certainly worth your time.