The object of this Essay is to assert one very simple principle, as entitled to govern absolutely the dealings of society with the individual in the way of compulsion and control, whether the means used be physical force in the form of legal penalties, or the moral coercion of public opinion. That principle is, that the sole end for which mankind are warranted, individually or collectively, in interfering with the liberty of action of any of their number, is self-protection. That the only purpose for which power can be rightfully exercised over any member of a civilized community, against his will, is to prevent harm to others. His own good, either physical or moral, is not sufficient warrant. He cannot rightfully be compelled to do or forbear because it will be better for him to do so, because it will make him happier, because, in the opinion of others, to do so would be wise, or even right... The only part of the conduct of anyone, for which he is amenable to society, is that which concerns others. In the part which merely concerns himself, his independence is, of right, absolute. Over himself, over his own body and mind, the individual is sovereign.
It goes to show that an open society, tolerant of diversity and dissent, will always be superior to a closed society (in the long run). Unfortunately, the powers-that-be in the USA are working to move us from the former to the latter.
If you post in a vaguely supportive way about Wikileaks, the law and order jarheads emerge and a robust (but depressing) conversation ensues. Here we have no opposing viewpoint from Qaddafi and his toadies, which removes all the charm from reading/.
Access to the internet and other forms of communication are one of our arms we have in defense of our liberties. The internet should therefore fall under the protection of the 2nd Amendment. Resist the kill-switch!
£100 to destroy the data, £399,900 to hunt down all the backup tapes, memory sticks, cloud storage, DVDs and laptop copies made by low-level functionaries.
Please forget the Republican vs Democrat paradigm. Debating their relative merits is pointless and diverts us from the real issue - freedom vs everything else.
"We fought for Freedom and all we got was democracy"
- Pieter-Dirk Uys
Big business spends millions of dollars to lobby congress and regulators to confer favors. We all agree this is a Bad Thing.
There are two ways to stop this:
1. Pass laws or somehow prevent lobbying or buying favors, such as net neutrality favorable to ISPs. 2. Remove the power to grant of favors, such as any "net neutrality" regulation, which theoretically favors consumers, but in reality will not.
I am in favor of 2, because there will always be a way around 1. There is at least a hope that competition will limit the effect of option 2. The Founding Fathers tried to implement 2 ( 9th and 10 amendments), but the courts have connived to undermine the constitution.
Memorializing Events in the Battle of Balaclava, October 25, 1854 Written 1854
Half a league half a league, Half a league onward, All in the valley of Death Rode the six hundred: 'Forward, the Light Brigade! Charge for the guns' he said: Into the valley of Death Rode the six hundred.
'Forward, the Light Brigade!' Was there a man dismay'd ? Not tho' the soldier knew Some one had blunder'd: Theirs not to make reply, Theirs not to reason why, Theirs but to do & die, Into the valley of Death Rode the six hundred.
Cannon to right of them, Cannon to left of them, Cannon in front of them Volley'd & thunder'd; Storm'd at with shot and shell, Boldly they rode and well, Into the jaws of Death, Into the mouth of Hell Rode the six hundred.
Flash'd all their sabres bare, Flash'd as they turn'd in air Sabring the gunners there, Charging an army while All the world wonder'd: Plunged in the battery-smoke Right thro' the line they broke; Cossack & Russian Reel'd from the sabre-stroke, Shatter'd & sunder'd. Then they rode back, but not Not the six hundred.
Cannon to right of them, Cannon to left of them, Cannon behind them Volley'd and thunder'd; Storm'd at with shot and shell, While horse & hero fell, They that had fought so well Came thro' the jaws of Death, Back from the mouth of Hell, All that was left of them, Left of six hundred.
When can their glory fade? O the wild charge they made! All the world wonder'd. Honour the charge they made! Honour the Light Brigade, Noble six hundred!
Now, I was just an ordinary English man, Till I got me uniform, and hat, And ever since that hour, I exercise me power, Preventing you from doing this and that. You'll find me on the turnstiles at the zoo, Or outside the Roxy, marshalling the queue, And if you turn up late, when I'm on the gate, It's no good asking me to let you through... 'cause I'll just say:
CHORUS: Jobsworth, josbsworth; it's more than my job's worth. I don't care, rain or snow, whatever you want - the answer's no! I can keep you standing, for hours in the queue, And if you don't like, you know what you can do! (A...a...ah...ah)
When you're trying to see, what the butler saw, I'm the one who says; "Come on, move on!", And if you want to stay, you'll have to bleedin' pay, And even then you can't stay long. You may be almost dropping dead from thirst, Or waiting for the toilet, fit to burst, But I've got the key... and you won't get that from me, Until I've had me little grumble first! Chorus: Jobsworth, josbsworth; it's more than my job's worth. I don't care, rain or snow, whatever you want - the answer's no! I can keep you standing, for hours in the queue, And if you don't like, you know what you can do! (La, la, la, la, la, la, la la la la, la, la)
Spoken: (Yes, well, I died in the last war for people like you... don't you forget it!)
Fishing in the river, on a summer's day, I s'pose you think that water's all for free? But, I've got news for you; everybody pays his due, And right now it'll cost you 50p (plus VAT). Don't think you can picnic on the grass, Public amenity... my ah... foot, And if you want fresh air, you'll find some over there, But I don't fell inclined to let you pass...without a backhander.
CHORUS: Jobsworth, josbsworth; it's more than my job's worth. I don't care, rain or snow, whatever you want - the answer's no! I can keep you standing, for hours in the queue, And if you don't like, you know what you can do! (A...a...ah...ah...)
Mornin' Skipper, what can we do for you? (Recitative) "Don't call me Skipper!"... All right Chief, don't shout. (Recitative) Whatever you require, we're very sorry, Squire, But it's ten to one we just sold out. 'Course... you could try that shop around the block... (sniff), But I doubt if he's got any left in stock, And if you think we'll get 'em through, inside a month or two, I'm afraid you're in for a nasty shock,... Cock.
CHORUS: Jobsworth, josbsworth; it's more than my job's worth. I don't care, rain or snow, whatever you want - the answer's no! I can keep you standing, for hours in the queue, And if you don't like, you know what you can do!
When you get back home, you will heave a sigh, And thank the Lord that you've got rid of me. But it won't be very long before your telephone goes wrong, And you need someone to fix your... TV, And add to that, your lights have all gone out, (Nya, nya) And your central heating boiler's up the spout, And when you're tearing your hair, and the wife's going spare, You'll hear us in the distance calling out: (Two, three, four...)
CHORUS: Jobsworth, josbsworth; it's more than my job's worth. I don't care, rain or snow, whatever you want - the answer's no! I can keep you standing, for...years in the queue, And if you don't like, you know what you can do! (You can lump it!)
If ever there was a justification for bittorrent, this is it. Why stick this on Youtube with crappy resolution, when you could post a torrent file and seed for a while.
The video could be public domain, high-def, and inspiring to young geeks, instead of being lame.
Just want to add that I have bare, 10 Mb/s internet-only service from Charter cable. This costs me $29.99 per month - no fees, no taxes. I would like it to stay that way.
I still have a landline. (snip)...The FCC has the power to label both these as "common carriers" and require they carry all traffic regardless of content. But for some reason, they refuse to do it.
Ok, you got me, but you must be the only/.er with a landline.
Look, I am all for net neutrality and the regulations you espouse. It's just that I don't trust the government to do it without the whole shebang being twisted to the incumbent's advantage and ending up worse than before.
I am more in favor of truth in advertising. If you block ports, sites, browsers, protocols or inspect packets you are not providing an internet service. You must call your "service" something else - may I suggest "AOL"?
Slashdot Mirror
It's generally a good idea, in any form of government, to not have large standing army.
Fixed that for you.
One attends college for an education, not training.
The object of this Essay is to assert one very simple principle, as entitled to govern absolutely the dealings of society with the individual in the way of compulsion and control, whether the means used be physical force in the form of legal penalties, or the moral coercion of public opinion. That principle is, that the sole end for which mankind are warranted, individually or collectively, in interfering with the liberty of action of any of their number, is self-protection. That the only purpose for which power can be rightfully exercised over any member of a civilized community, against his will, is to prevent harm to others. His own good, either physical or moral, is not sufficient warrant. He cannot rightfully be compelled to do or forbear because it will be better for him to do so, because it will make him happier, because, in the opinion of others, to do so would be wise, or even right... The only part of the conduct of anyone, for which he is amenable to society, is that which concerns others. In the part which merely concerns himself, his independence is, of right, absolute. Over himself, over his own body and mind, the individual is sovereign.
– John Stuart Mill,
It goes to show that an open society, tolerant of diversity and dissent, will always be superior to a closed society (in the long run). Unfortunately, the powers-that-be in the USA are working to move us from the former to the latter.
If zero predates christianity, then why isn't there a year zero? We go straight from 1 BC to 1 AD!
...While I hate to see it happen, I foresee some sort of federal regulation of "e-reader's rights".
-JJS
This is the usual starting point for capture (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capture_%28politics%29).
If you post in a vaguely supportive way about Wikileaks, the law and order jarheads emerge and a robust (but depressing) conversation ensues. Here we have no opposing viewpoint from Qaddafi and his toadies, which removes all the charm from reading /.
I mean, what are they going to do to you?
Rendition
Guantanamo
Navy brig
Preventative detention
No-fly list
Ongoing harassment
etc.
The purpose of all the laws you mention are to create barriers to the entry of new competition.
Access to the internet and other forms of communication are one of our arms we have in defense of our liberties. The internet should therefore fall under the protection of the 2nd Amendment. Resist the kill-switch!
£100 to destroy the data, £399,900 to hunt down all the backup tapes, memory sticks, cloud storage, DVDs and laptop copies made by low-level functionaries.
How's that working for ya?
Please forget the Republican vs Democrat paradigm. Debating their relative merits is pointless and diverts us from the real issue - freedom vs everything else.
"We fought for Freedom and all we got was democracy"
- Pieter-Dirk Uys
...any competently put together "net neutrality" policy will necessarily be very complex...
Civilizations collapse when they become too complex to sustain - http://amzn.com/052138673X
But did you want to listen?? Nooo...
(See my various postings elsewhere)
Sadly, none of this is surprising.
Big business spends millions of dollars to lobby congress and regulators to confer favors. We all agree this is a Bad Thing.
There are two ways to stop this:
1. Pass laws or somehow prevent lobbying or buying favors, such as net neutrality favorable to ISPs.
2. Remove the power to grant of favors, such as any "net neutrality" regulation, which theoretically favors consumers, but in reality will not.
I am in favor of 2, because there will always be a way around 1. There is at least a hope that competition will limit the effect of option 2. The Founding Fathers tried to implement 2 ( 9th and 10 amendments), but the courts have connived to undermine the constitution.
Now these guys had discipline! A good example, you think?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charge_of_the_Light_Brigade
The Charge Of The Light Brigade
by Alfred, Lord Tennyson
Memorializing Events in the Battle of Balaclava, October 25, 1854
Written 1854
Half a league half a league,
Half a league onward,
All in the valley of Death
Rode the six hundred:
'Forward, the Light Brigade!
Charge for the guns' he said:
Into the valley of Death
Rode the six hundred.
'Forward, the Light Brigade!'
Was there a man dismay'd ?
Not tho' the soldier knew
Some one had blunder'd:
Theirs not to make reply,
Theirs not to reason why,
Theirs but to do & die,
Into the valley of Death
Rode the six hundred.
Cannon to right of them,
Cannon to left of them,
Cannon in front of them
Volley'd & thunder'd;
Storm'd at with shot and shell,
Boldly they rode and well,
Into the jaws of Death,
Into the mouth of Hell
Rode the six hundred.
Flash'd all their sabres bare,
Flash'd as they turn'd in air
Sabring the gunners there,
Charging an army while
All the world wonder'd:
Plunged in the battery-smoke
Right thro' the line they broke;
Cossack & Russian
Reel'd from the sabre-stroke,
Shatter'd & sunder'd.
Then they rode back, but not
Not the six hundred.
Cannon to right of them,
Cannon to left of them,
Cannon behind them
Volley'd and thunder'd;
Storm'd at with shot and shell,
While horse & hero fell,
They that had fought so well
Came thro' the jaws of Death,
Back from the mouth of Hell,
All that was left of them,
Left of six hundred.
When can their glory fade?
O the wild charge they made!
All the world wonder'd.
Honour the charge they made!
Honour the Light Brigade,
Noble six hundred!
JOBSWORTH
Words (and Music?) by Jeremy Taylor
Now, I was just an ordinary English man,
Till I got me uniform, and hat,
And ever since that hour, I exercise me power,
Preventing you from doing this and that.
You'll find me on the turnstiles at the zoo,
Or outside the Roxy, marshalling the queue,
And if you turn up late, when I'm on the gate,
It's no good asking me to let you through... 'cause I'll just say:
CHORUS: Jobsworth, josbsworth; it's more than my job's worth.
I don't care, rain or snow, whatever you want - the answer's no!
I can keep you standing, for hours in the queue,
And if you don't like, you know what you can do! (A...a...ah...ah)
When you're trying to see, what the butler saw, ... and you won't get that from me,
I'm the one who says; "Come on, move on!",
And if you want to stay, you'll have to bleedin' pay,
And even then you can't stay long.
You may be almost dropping dead from thirst,
Or waiting for the toilet, fit to burst,
But I've got the key
Until I've had me little grumble first!
Chorus:
Jobsworth, josbsworth; it's more than my job's worth.
I don't care, rain or snow, whatever you want - the answer's no!
I can keep you standing, for hours in the queue,
And if you don't like, you know what you can do! (La, la, la, la, la, la, la la la la, la, la)
Spoken: (Yes, well, I died in the last war for people like you ... don't you forget it!)
Fishing in the river, on a summer's day, ... my ah ... foot, ...without a backhander.
I s'pose you think that water's all for free?
But, I've got news for you; everybody pays his due,
And right now it'll cost you 50p (plus VAT).
Don't think you can picnic on the grass,
Public amenity
And if you want fresh air, you'll find some over there,
But I don't fell inclined to let you pass
CHORUS: Jobsworth, josbsworth; it's more than my job's worth.
I don't care, rain or snow, whatever you want - the answer's no!
I can keep you standing, for hours in the queue,
And if you don't like, you know what you can do!
(A...a...ah...ah...)
Mornin' Skipper, what can we do for you? (Recitative) ... All right Chief, don't shout. (Recitative) ... you could try that shop around the block ... (sniff), ... Cock.
"Don't call me Skipper!"
Whatever you require, we're very sorry, Squire,
But it's ten to one we just sold out.
'Course
But I doubt if he's got any left in stock,
And if you think we'll get 'em through, inside a month or two,
I'm afraid you're in for a nasty shock,
CHORUS: Jobsworth, josbsworth; it's more than my job's worth.
I don't care, rain or snow, whatever you want - the answer's no!
I can keep you standing, for hours in the queue,
And if you don't like, you know what you can do!
When you get back home, you will heave a sigh, ... TV,
And thank the Lord that you've got rid of me.
But it won't be very long before your telephone goes wrong,
And you need someone to fix your
And add to that, your lights have all gone out, (Nya, nya)
And your central heating boiler's up the spout,
And when you're tearing your hair, and the wife's going spare,
You'll hear us in the distance calling out: (Two, three, four...)
CHORUS: Jobsworth, josbsworth; it's more than my job's worth. ...years in the queue,
I don't care, rain or snow, whatever you want - the answer's no!
I can keep you standing, for
And if you don't like, you know what you can do! (You can lump it!)
You know what ... you ... can ... do!
(Rump, duddie ah dah - rump dah - vroom)
Let me tell you a crazy story about how I got my Xbox to work after a RROD!
I involves chewing gum, rubbing alcohol, a tweezer, a prophylactic and a wire coathanger...
If ever there was a justification for bittorrent, this is it. Why stick this on Youtube with crappy resolution, when you could post a torrent file and seed for a while.
The video could be public domain, high-def, and inspiring to young geeks, instead of being lame.
"Those who gave up essential liberty did not deserve it."
Fixed it for ya.
I call on /.ers to do the same.
"We fought for Freedom and all we got was democracy"
- Pieter-Dirk Uys
It's the Willie Sutton effect.
Just want to add that I have bare, 10 Mb/s internet-only service from Charter cable. This costs me $29.99 per month - no fees, no taxes. I would like it to stay that way.
I still have a landline. (snip)...The FCC has the power to label both these as "common carriers" and require they carry all traffic regardless of content. But for some reason, they refuse to do it.
Ok, you got me, but you must be the only /.er with a landline.
Look, I am all for net neutrality and the regulations you espouse. It's just that I don't trust the government to do it without the whole shebang being twisted to the incumbent's advantage and ending up worse than before.
I am more in favor of truth in advertising. If you block ports, sites, browsers, protocols or inspect packets you are not providing an internet service. You must call your "service" something else - may I suggest "AOL"?