Slashdot Mirror
Vint Cerf and Robert Kahn Awarded Medal of Freedom
3l1za writes ""President Bush on Thursday announced the recipients of this year's Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation's highest civil award." Vinton Cerf and Robert Kahn -- for their design of "the software code used to transmit data over the Internet" -- are among those to be honored next Wednesday. "
This is newsworthy? This is the same President who gave George J. Tenet the Medal of Freedom.
This is generally cronyism at its worst, and media attention getting at its finest. There is no Constitutional mandate or power. President Harry Truman enacted the medal in 1945 and it was virtually ignored until JFK brought it back -- through an Executive Order in 1963.
That same Executive Order also expanded the size of unconstitutional government by extending the "Distinguished Civilian Service Awards" board -- yet another cronyist bunch given very nice salaries* by the President.
I know the political spectrum is well covered here, but does anyone honestly believe a government that is trillions in debt needs a board to give out awards? Disregard any constitutional grounds and focus on the need of the governed. Can't an independent not-for-profit group do the same? BTW, Clinton also gave the award to some ridiculous recipients, so I'm not Bush bashing. This is just a waste of your money.
*There's almost no oversight or budget restrictions on what the board can be paid: Expenses. Necessary administrative expenses of the Board incurred in connection with the recommendation of persons to receive the Presidential Medal of Freedom, including expenses of travel of members of the Board appointed under Section 3 (a) of this Order, during the fiscal year 1963, may be paid from the appropriation provided under the heading 'Special Projects' in the Executive Office Appropriation Act, 1963, 76 Stat. 315, and during subsequent fiscal years, to the extent permitted by law, from any corresponding or like appropriation made available for such fiscal years. Such payments shall be without regard to the provisions of section 3681 of the Revised Statutes and section 9 of the Act of March 4, 1909, 35 Stat. 1027 (31 U.S.C. 672 and 673).
KHAAAAAAAN.....yea someone was gonna say it, it may as well be me.
-------
Support Indy Music. Buy
Quote
"The medal was established by President Truman in 1945 to recognize notable service in the war.
In 1963, President John F. Kennedy reintroduced it as an honor for distinguished civilian service in peacetime. "
And this is considered peacetime ?
Aretha Franklin won it, too. As long as we're talking about mighty national heroes, and such. Maybe we should show these two a little R- oh, god, I can't do it!
damn, you beat me to it :-(
A useless, nationalist-buzzword-laden award from the most dangerous man in the world! What an honor . . . . .
If it were me I'd ask for the lesser award of "presidental medal of awesome." Also, it would come with double prize money.
I find it less impressive since its being given by Bush. I realize that its more than the president that desides who receives such an honor. But still, for them to receive a medal of freedom from such a tyrant is disheartening.
I need to know what the greatest lie is and who will be honored for it...from the justification for war and the [non-existent] WMDs, and Scooter Libby's lies about that CIA agent, to Iraq's imminent usage of a nuclear device in 45 minutes...and so on. Who will take that honor?
I think he's handing out the award now, because Vint Cerf (ICANN director) is backing Bush's proposal for US controlled DNS and taking Google with him.
Whether you agree or disagree with the USA control of DNS, if Vint Cerf was deserving of the award then he should have got it years ago, not JUST BEFORE a meeting on the future control of the Internet on 18th November.
seeing Bush and "freedom" in the same sentence looks awkward.
A boxer ... an actor ... a singer ... a different actor ... a baseball player ... a radio personality?
... what? It certainly isn't "distinguished service" anymore.
The Medal of Freedom?
So the requirements are
the nation's highest civil award." Vinton Cerf and Robert Kahn -- for their design of "the software code used to transmit data over the Internet"
Shouldn't it have been Al Gore?
"A door is what a dog is perpetually on the wrong side of" - Ogden Nash
Shouldn't those guys get more than one medal? One for each of the internets?
we'd still have a bunch of proprietary network islands floating in a sea of mediocrity.
Is the reason they are being awarded the medal now a political publicity stunt connected with the ongoing row over who should control the Internet in the future i.e. George Bush saying to the public "Look, we invented it, we should control it !" ?
You mean TCP/IP wasn't developed and patented by a private company that invested billions in R&D?
It would be very noble of them to turn down the medals. Instead they should request that the money that would have been spent on the medals themselves, and any additional monetary award, be used towards the formation of an annual Nobel Prize-style award. The recipient could be an individual who has made a major contribution to computer networking.
Everybody in the field knows (or should know) that they are amongst the Gods of the Internet. Their fame has peaked. That is why it would be very sportsmanlike of them to help highlight the achievements of others in their field.
Cyric Zndovzny at your service.
Jack Nicklaus? How is playing golf now worthy of a "Freedom" medal? Sounds like a pretty worthless medal.
rooooar
Sure it is. Remember, the wars you guys are involved in are taking place on the other side of the world from you! You know, in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Things are very peaceful for you, since you're isolated away from all of the fighting itself. No warring is actually taking place in the United States.
Cyric Zndovzny at your service.
"It is nice to know that the computer understands the problem. But I would like to understand it too." --Eugene Wigner
So will they get their Medal of Freedom BEFORE or AFTER they are locked away in a East European Gulag???
API - Washington, DC. The FBI and local authorities today arrested Vinton Cerf and Robert Kahn at the behest of the MPAA and RIAA. "Their design of the software code used to transmit data over the Internet has cost the entertainment industry hundreds of billions of dollars in annual losses." said MPAA president Dan Glickman. "These two thugs deserve what's coming to them in prison." added RIAA president Cary Sherman. Meanwhile, Sherman and Glickman, working with congressional leaders, have drafted a bill to add "design of internet software" to the list of federal crimes eligible for the death penalty. "The crimes of Al Gore will not go unpunished." said Republican House leader Tom DeLay. "He invented this internet thing and it's destroying our way of life."
--- What parts of "shall make no law", "shall not be infringed", and "shall not be violated" don't you understand?
Yes, he has passed away but he could have been given the award posthumously.
It's true no man is an island, but if you take a bunch of dead guys and tie 'em together, they make a good raft.
...I'd wipe my ass with it and hand it back to him.
+2 hilarious, -1 chilling
While Cerf is deserving of an award, its value is (IMO) diminished due to the number of people Bush has given it to. He's been basically giving them out like candy (and publicizing it) over the past two years, I'm getting the impression he's given out more than many of his predecessors combined. I hear about this medal in the media all the time now, it was never publicized much with previous presidents in recent history.
And as another poster said, while Cerf deserves the award for past accomplishments, he should have been given the award long ago. Cerf receiving the award now amounts to a kiss-up bribe from Bush to get Cerf's support for continued US control of the DNS system.
retrorocket.o not found, launch anyway?
This is newsworthy because it appears on the Google blog, which seems to be the main source of Slashdot news these days.
Bush's original draft read "that whole deal used to transmogrify data over teh Interweb"
"Win treats sysadmins better than users. Mac treats users better than sysadmins. Linux treats everyone like sysadmins."
The man at the head of the world's largest heirarchical power structure gives out "Freedom" medals.
The Medal of Freedom is generally considered the Kiss of Death to any career. But consider that Cerf was already awarded the National Medal of Technology by Bill Clinton in 1997. At least Cerf and Kahn got the Turing Award, which came with a $100k cash prize.
Yeah, gotta agree. Seems more like the Medal of People's Choice.
Maybe there should be a whole awards show for something like this.
Letter To Iran
"This is newsworthy?"
Well let's see, these people only helped create a system that has not only impacted millions of people worldwide, but changed the nature of information dissemination and business commerce for you, your kids and their kids. You tell me if this is news worthy. On second thought, let me tell you. It's nothing short of revolutionary. Then you go about discrediting an example of another award, as if it somehow makes this any less newsworthy or deserving of recognition when it really has nothing to do with anything.
Yeah, some people will find the shit in anything if it's labelled Microsoft, Bush or [insertyourfavoritenamebrandehere], regardless of how deserving it is.. I thought we marked crap like this 'trolls'...
You need a FREE iPod Nano
Given an 10% rate of return on investment, no overhead costs, 3% inflation rate, you could give out two prizes per year with a value of **seven percent** of whatever Vint and Robert are getting (which is a token amount, iirc). Not to mention there are overhead costs and inflation is a moving target.
Besides, who are you to tell these two men what to do? I mean seriously, what credentials do you possibly have to think you can tell these two "gods" as you say what to do? please...
-everphilski-
He invented the internet ...
It's a joke because of the other people who get one, too. Actors? Golfers?
feh. stuff.
Is it better than the Amulet of Yendor? What are the stat raises with one of these?
......That Bush doesn't have a brain. I think this proves all of the naysayers wrong. Cheney must have had to stay up all night to come up with this.
This is my opinion. To make sure you don't steal it, it's covered by the DMCA.
You forgot to mention how the Mossad spirited away all the Jews who would have been in those towers on 9/11. And how the Jews were pre-warned about the London bombings.
Or, in shorthand, "jews did 911 lol".
Laws do not persuade just because they threaten. --Seneca
Bush is underscoring the US position: we built it; you furriners who want to control it can go install a CAT5 cable where the sun don't shine.
/. If the government wants us to respect the law, it should set a better example.
An excellent post.
Statements that are manifestly obvious:
I'm in favor of good. I'm in favor of truth. I'm in favor of that which is noble.
I'm against evil, wickedness, sin, and nastiness.
The business of business is business.
What I wish most for is WORLD PEACE, and a non-polluting, safe, reliable, cheap, compact, widely available, and infinite source of energy for humanity. (Have I forgotten anything?)
"Oh drat these computers, they're so naughty and so complex, I could pinch them." --Marvin the Martian
Simply because you don't have any answers, you fucking scumbag. Hell, you haven't lifted a finger to help with anything. You have actively conspired to make things worse. We should fucking execute you, if we had any balls.
Go to France, cocksucking piece of shit.
And remind me, what did these two bozos contribute to the "greater good" lately that makes them deserving of what was once a hallowed honor. Sorry, not gonna buy it. I'm against kneejerk Bush or Mr. Softee bashing, but when it's merited, gimme my $Hi+ kicking boots and I'll join right in.
I guess it comes down to the fact that there's enough crap to hold against Mr. Softee, and definately Bush, that we shouldn't resort to the kneejerk attacks. It weakens our case for the many times we do have a reasonable gripe.
like now
My $0.02
E = m * c^(Hammer)
(im starting to getting used to them not having humor)
That's only been true under the Bush administration, after he awarded the Medal of Freedom to the architects of the Iraq war.
The term is not red-state hick.
5 exhibits.pdf
It's 'wacko'... At least according to the Republican operatives implicated in the Abramhoff scandal.
Page 119, of this document... http://indian.senate.gov/2005hrgs/110205hrg/11020
> KHAAAAAAAN.....yea someone was gonna say it, it may as well be me.
Must add missing drama:
*quivering*...*jaw clenched*...*eyes bulging*...KHAAAAAAAN......!!!!
There now. Better.
Vint did nothing to stop the flood of spam that comes from Uunets spamming customers. Even after Spamhaus tried to educate him on the problem, he chose to do nothing. Vint could have cleaned up the internet spam problem at any time, but he didn't. I wonder how much of the millions that spammers pay mci goes to Vint?
Look, if you're going to have awards specifically for people who contributed to Freedom, use the word "Freedom" in the award. But Jack Nicklaus was a professional golfer who went on to career in designing golf courses. He's contributed precisely zero to "freedom" (IIRC, he refused to play in South Africa in the 1970's when the sporting boycotts began to be enforced. That was the right thing to do, but hardly exceptional).
Rename the damn award the "Presidential Medal of Achievement" or "Presidential Medal of Service", and then it won't be so incongruous to give it to golfers.
I do have to wonder about giving the highest civilian award to Nicklaus, whatever it's called. He was a great golfer, sure. But he was very, very well renumerated for that, and won all manner of sporting awards. Did he do something exceptional beyond that to improve the lives of Americans in any way? I don't think so. But, hey, it's your country, and my own is hardly pure as snow on this kind of thing... The easiest way to become Australian of the Year is to captain the Australian cricket team...
Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from a rigged demo
--Andy Finkel (J. Klass?)
George Walker Bush deserves the same fate as Adof Hitler ... Death by suiside!
Such an ignomineous death is befeting GWB; afterall he masterbates each night
at the thougt that he as only killed 2000 or so worthless US niggers in Iraq
and Afganastan. What a bum wast, GWB tells Babs at the dinner table in the
White House and then calls out to "Boy" to bring him some more chitlen.
Toodles!
Dubya presenting a medal of freedom.
It's like Bill Gates presenting a medal of competition, or Mary Magdeline presenting a medal of promiscuity.
Why couldn't Dubya give a medal to some of the thousands of fallen US soldiers that died executing his illegal war of aggression? Of course I don't expect it to go to anyone who works at Guantanimo Bay or anything, but what exactly do you have to do to get one of these freedom chimes again?
My bad. Tinfoil hatters like yourself frequently blame the Jews.
Laws do not persuade just because they threaten. --Seneca
He is the President of Freedom after all.
See also this post from ACM to Honor TCP/IP Creators with Turing Award.