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Dept. of Homeland Security Enforces Expired Patent
Fouquet writes "Apparently the Department of Homeland Security does not have enough to do in keeping the US safe, and now is enforcing copyright law as well. The AP reports that a toy store owner in Oregon was requested by Homeland Security officials to remove a potentially copyright-infringing Rubik's cube-like toy from her shelves. The patent for Rubik's cube was issued in 1980, and so it is expired."
GO LINUX!
w0rd up, gnaa!
consider anti-slash
If the patent gods are sexually violated, the terrorists win.
I submit it's jut possible that there are assholes and idiots everywhere. Not just in a huge government agency, not just in one country, not just on the internet on any given "news" site. The people that fly off the handle crying about all their rights being violated, or that the whole world (or any given country) is fscked up, they're just gonna cry regardless. Wait until the rest of the facts come out, not just one little story. Then focus your howling on the appropriately. Essentially...chill out. Hey...I've actually seen instances before where the press sort of blew an instance out of proportion, or *gasp* even misrepresented it.
Somebody Mod this up. It's a sensible post amongst a pile of knee-jerk one-handed spasm posts from the tin-foil-hat society members.
It doesn't matter if the submission was correct or incorrect, because it has served it's purpose in fanning the flames of US hatred.
The whole story is a TROLL!
Don't blame me, I didn't vote for either of them!
Calm down, European socialists. This comment is not +5 Insightful, no matter what you might have read on indymedia. The fact that the Slashdot servers have not been confiscated pretty much shows that what the parent poster said is complete crap. In fact, I'd say there is more freedom of speech in the U.S. than almost anywhere else in the world. Go to London and say that the British government is rotten to the core and hopelessly corrupt. Say it in a very public and inflammatory way. See if you get arrested. Repeat the process in France, substituting the French government. Repeat in Germany. How long will it take for you to get arrested?
For a control group in this experiment, have someone back in the states doing the same thing, complaining that GW Bush is Hitler's long lost grandson. See who gets arrested first. I think you might be very surprised by the results.
I noticed the feds investigated, found nothing, and moved on. Where's the prosecution? Ah, America of today, where simply being talked to by a policeman is grounds for shouting "OPPRESSION, 1984, RAPE!!!"
Shutting down free speech with violence isn't fighting fascism. It IS fascism!
Actually, Bush did not want to create the office for those very reasons, but he did so in order to keep it from being a divisive issue for the country.
Likewise, he did not want a 9/11 commission, because it would just wind up being crap that's filtered for the public. Which it was. But he went along with it so as to not divide the country.
Despite much evidence that Saddam moved his WMD out of the country during the lead-up to the war, the president has backed down from his WMD claims because he did not want to divide the country.
Despite much evidence that Saddam was involved w/ 9/11, Bush has never made the direct claim that Saddam was involved, because he did not want to divide the country.
Despite his ability to completely expose and trash the previous administration, Bush instead says gracious and kind words to and about Clinton, despite Clinton still acting as a Bush rival. He did this because he would rather unite the country than defeat a rival.
Bush has done his best to keep the country together, despite the media's and politicians (on both sides) attempt to rip it to shreds to maintain their viewing audience and political power.
Engineering and the Ultimate
(Score:-1, Flamebait), guaranteed everytime!
And slavishly kiss the ass of Kerry to see yourself modded to (Score:+5, Cocksucker)!!!
But. But. But. Why don't you go tell your "buts" to the families of the heroes who died on 9/11 you fucking anti-american asshat.
Actually, Iraq is where all of the terrorists seem to flee. The only remaining terrorist from WTC1 fled to Iraq. Zarqawi fled from Afghanistan to Iraq. Abu Nidal fled from the Phillipines to Iraq.
In addition, Iraq has been coordinating with Al-Qaeda for over a decade now. The 9/11 victims even won a judgment against Iraq for the 9/11 atrocity (Mohammed Atta met with Iraqi intelligence in the months leading up to 9/11).
Ramzi Youssef, part of Iraqi intelligence, and the technical mastermind behind WTC1, trained Terry Nichols (OKC) in bomb-making. Hussein Al-Hussany, a former member of Iraq's Republican Guard, was seen w/ McVeigh on the day of the OKC bombing, and his alibi was found to be a lie. Jayna Davis, an OKC reporter, even wrote a book naming him as John Doe #2. He sued her for libel, and she won.
Engineering and the Ultimate
Bullshit. It is, in fact, not illegal to manufacture trademark-infringing items. It is illegal to sell them -- either to retailers or to customers. It doesn't matter whether you're the thief or the fence. It is still illegal. Their job was to stop the sale of an illegal knockoff. They did so. Kudos.
By the way, here is the offending product.
This is just another proof (amongst many) that the american society is sick.
The funny part is, is that most of these naive Chicken Little's shout these things, yet they're nowhere even CLOSE to living in such an OPPRESSIVE society. Just the smallest hint tweaking their fears sets off the paranoia to the max.