Why anyone using/working on Wikileaks thinks they are above the law, I have never understood.
What makes you think they are subject to US law? Are you subject to Russian law? Can the South Koreans arrest me because I said something nice about North Korea (I'm not sure what that would be, "nice uniforms" or "no traffic problems" maybe), so long as I'm not in South Korea? Can the Saudis legitimately "take steps" if you have pictures of women who aren't wearing anything^H^Hburkhas ?
PayPal, being a business, also has the right to refuse any business they want.
That is true. But this is money they have already accepted from Cryptome's donors that PayPal is stealing.*
*Even if they eventually give the money back, they are stealing the use of the funds for half a year. I'd accept a different word if they pay Cryptome interest at the prime rate.
You would need to completely bypass the drive firmware in a way that would make the drive quite unusable afterwards
"Afterwards" wasn't part of the spec. He just wants to write the 1s and 0s. Reading them wasn't part of the spec that he gave us.
Seriously, if he just wanted to use a HD for data storage and retrieval, he already knows how to do that. Maybe he just wants a magnetic platter decorated with his logo printed in magnetic domains, a la lightscribe. Or something entirely different. Since he didn't tell us, but yet wants to do something so unusual, we can't make assumptions.
That was my first idea too "Find an old MFM/RLL drive, and have at it" - then I realized, "You know, I'll bet that more than 1/2 of the readers of/. don't even remember them"
Remember them? I think I've got a pile of them somewhere, just waiting for them to come back into fashion. And a few of those old WD controllers they used. But maybe it's time to throw out the shoebox labeled "MFM CABLES". Hmm.. $35 on eBay for a used ST225, I guess I need to wait for the pile to appreciate some more.
Whoever said "find an old 486" isn't really in sync, 486s are way too modern.
Never trust government (US, Chinese, British, doesn't matter who, don't trust them) however one thing to consider is that in most places the government doesn't do the manufacturing nor have control over it. In the US at least what is left of the manufacturing is controlled by the corporations not the government.
You mean, when the government goes to AT&T or a manufacturer of crypto gear, they have to say "please"? Or preface the request with "If you're a PATRIOT(tm).." or "If you ever want to see another government contract.."? I feel so reassured.
Some people, young and old, play the role of what I like to call the "sheepdog". They can't stand it when someone does not behave in ways society expects.
For whatever reason, they look for those that stray from the herd, and give them a bark to get them back in line.
A bark, ok. Sheepdogs that attack the sheep, get shot.
Our open source project is a new an exciting social network, Pokebook.
You can check out our website
Um.. a website that announces a product without giving even a hint about what it is, other than it's something to do with social networking and perhaps goats. A "viral marketing video" (playing of which requires downloading a java applet from an uncertain source) that is not partly, but totally, incomprehensible. A link to a log that shows dtobson repeatedly poking tdobson (yer alter ego, maybe?). A blog that announces "New features have been integrated with the sites [sic] existing functionality to create the most dynamic and exciting platform yet, whilst consistent design and constant user testing has yielded an application with very strong potential for further expansion", a marketdroid sentence that divulges no information whatsoever. A link to a podcast that doesn't seem to refer to "pokebook" at all (going by the web page, I don't care enough to listen to a 1h 32m 34s podcast to verify it).
I was going to make an unkind comment, but then decided that an accurate description probably was damning enough.
MN has the record for cold temperature in the continental US and it can at times be colder here than Alaska's Arctic shore
Are you using a wikipedia map? Or did they sell Alaska back to the Russians to lower the budget deficit? I'm pretty sure both MN and AK are on the North American continent.
Anybody implementing an automated system like that without a human well-versed in copyright law manually validating the list would be skating on very thin ice. DMCA takedown notices require the notifier to swear under penalty of perjury that the information contained in the DMCA takedown notice is accurate.
That's a common misconception, and should be true. But I don't think it is. If you read a takedown notice, you'll see that the only thing sworn under penalty of perjury is that the sender of the notice is an agent of the copyright holder.
FLOSS wishes or not, section 5 of the FoFS doesn't supersede US Law for those in the US.
No, but being in the US does not mean you're not guilty of violating the GPL if you do obey those restrictions.
What this may mean is that it is not possible to host GPL software in the US and still be in compliance with the license. That certainly seems to apply to anything covered by GPL2:
7. If, as a consequence of a court judgment or allegation of patent infringement or for any other reason (not limited to patent issues), conditions are imposed on you (whether by court order, agreement or otherwise) that contradict the conditions of this License, they do not excuse you from the conditions of this License. If you cannot distribute so as to satisfy simultaneously your obligations under this License and any other pertinent obligations, then as a consequence you may not distribute the Program at all.
GPL3 does not seem to have this clause, so maybe SF is ok for GPL3 projects.
We already have fraud laws for identity theft. We already have the free market to regulate the likes of Google or other companies.
But you're not Google's customer. How does the "free" market help you?
We have the 4th Amendment.
For certain values of "we" that apparently don't include the Chinese. And "unreasonable" is in the eye of the beholder. Besides, what makes you think it protects you, anyhow? It's Google's data we're talking about, it doesn't belong to you (in the USA, anyhow).
Re:And we're trusting you because....
on
Hiding From Google
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· Score: 1
Why not just get the Ghostery extension for Firefox. It blocks all the things like google analytics, doubleclick, etc. I also use TrackMeNot - another free firefox extension
And for FF there's also OptimizeGoogle (which can anonymize your google cookie and block GoogleAnalytics, in addition to a lot of other customizations not related to privacy) and SquiggleSR (another random searcher similar to TrackMeNot).
It's worth noting that this is entirely different from the so-called "Roundup Ready" crops which by definition encourage the farmer to use potentially toxic doses of the herbicide.
I have heard the exact opposite from farmers. I grew up on a farm and my father still farms. He and many other use GM corn that is 'Roundup Ready'. They love it because it lets them use less herbicide. Before, they had to pick and choose herbicides so that they didn't kill the corn.
Please read for comprehension. Note that the article "the" (in "the herbicide") makes the line refer specifically to Roundup, not herbicides in general. Farmers who use "Roundup Ready" corn do not use less Roundup, although they may (or may not) use less of other herbicides.
This device allows you to save those minutes for when you are away from the home, while otherwise using the same phone at home for little cost.
Except that (in my area) you can have a landline (and reasonably good audio quality) + DSL for little more than the cost of dry DSL. (And either is cheaper than cable, no, I don't have cable.) What is the benefit of "using the same phone at home"?
I would think that the number of people who have a cell phone with no contract, but have broadband and a computer on 24/7, is vanishingly small.
I've got a prepaid cell phone (I use maybe 20 minutes airtime per month, it's mostly for when I'm out on jobs or actually want someone to be able to reach me when I'm not home, then I forward the landline to it). At least one computer on my LAN is always on (and is connected by DSL through an ISP whose TOS doesn't object to my servers so long as I don't do anything stupid). My total connectivity (cell, landline, DSL, ISP) is about US$95/month.
Finally, yes, Google is in a scary position right now. Not only might they have access to your search results, but if you use Gmail then they have your email and if you use Google Docs then they have your documents. Right now, Google has a lot of access to a lot of data, which is exactly why people think their "don't be evil" mantra is so important. If Google chooses to abuse their position, they could cause a lot of problems.
Which is why running programs like TrackMeNot and SquiggleSR (Firefox extensions) is good. They won't help with your mail or docs, but they'll muddy your search history pretty thoroughly. I figure my LAN does a couple hundred thousand more-or-less random searches per year. Somewhere in that haystack are my few hundred real searches. Well, assuming I don't use a proxy or another search engine for those.
Seriously, police tasering is not a major problem in our country. You're more likely to die from a terrorist attack than from a taser. Really.
Cite?
In my community (a decent sized US metro) we have NEVER had a terrorist attack to my knowledge. Though I suppose it all depends on exactly how you define "terrorist" (Can it include government employees? When the government is the one who decides whether each particular case is "terrorist" or "not" it's going to skew the numbers pretty badly.). But about a year ago the cops tased a guy to death, the coroner ruled the death a "homicide". None of the killers were ever brought to justice, though.
It has long been, and still remains, illegal to have a scanner capable of listening into police frequencies in a moving vehicle, at least everywhere that I have lived.
A lot of places, licensed amateur radio operators are exempt from that law.
You also have to warrant "that the information is accurate" and, under penalty of perjury, that the copyright has been infringed.
Perhaps you could give a cite? No DMCA takedown that I have ever seen, including those that I have personally received, does that. Here's actual text from an actual notice from my files, with names changed to protect the guilty:
Scumsucker and Weasel LLC ("Scumsucker") swears under penalty of perjury that Sleazebag Studios, Inc. ("Sleazebag") has authorized Scumsucker to act as its agent for copyright infringement notification. Scumsucker's search of the protocol listed below has detected infringements of Sleazebag's copyright interests on your IP addresses as detailed in the attached report.
Scumsucker has reasonable good faith belief that use for the material in the manner complained of in the attached report is not authorized by Sleazebag, its agents, or the law. The information provided herein is accurate to the best of our knowledge. Therefore, this letter is an official notification under provisions of section 512(a) of the U.S. Digital Millennium Copyright Act to effect removal of the detected infringement listed in the attached report. The attached documentation specifies the exact location of the infringement. The Notice ID identifies the copyrighted works by file identification number.
We hereby request that you immediately remove or block access to the infringing material, as specified in the copyright laws, and insure the user refrains from using or sharing with others Sleazebag's materials in the future.
Please send us a prompt response indicating the actions you have taken to resolve this matter. Please reference the Notice ID number above in your response.
Notice how the only thing that is sworn to is that Scumsucker is the agent of Sleazebag.
Additionally, perjury aside, making false statements could be considered an obstruction of justice that could get you a contempt of court charge.
IANAL, but I'm not sure that "obstruction of justice" can apply to a civil case. In addition, note the weasel phrases "reasonable good faith belief" and "to the best of our knowledge". They don't swear that it is a violation, or even that they've examined the file in question, merely that they think it is a violation.
A proper US-DMCA letter makes claims "under penalty of perjury..."
The only part of the letter that the penalty of perjury applies to is a statement that the sender is an authorized representative of the copyright owner. Which is no problem if you're claiming that it's something you hold copyright to. (The copyright does not need to have been filed with the Copyright Office.)
And if you've ever sent them an email, when you wrote that email you automatically got copyright to it. I expect they could argue "fair use" if they made (or still have) a copy, but the DMCA makes no provision for fair use. Besides, it would be amusing to hear the MPAA/RIAA make arguments about why fair use is permitted.
The sub-$100 laser printers are just as bad as the sub-$100 inkjets: they come with starter cartridges, they don't have network hardware on-board, the consumables are expensive, they aren't rated for high duty cycle, etc. You get what you pay for.
Some people don't print much, and are ok with using their desk computer as a print server, in the preceding discussion there are people who talk about getting years out of the starter cartridge. True, the consumables tend to be expensive, but not if you don't use them much. If you need a standalone on the network, 40ppm, and run 10K copies a month, you need to spend more.
If you don't need color, and are in a metro area, you can probably find a decent HP-4, -5, or -6 cheap at a thrift shop (aside from the 4P, I think they all use the same print engine). HPs are nice because there's lots of places selling aftermarket toner at reasonable prices. My HP-6MP cost $1.49 (sale day at Salvation Army) and the only thing wrong with it was a missing lifter spring in the paper drawer (which turned out to be identical to the spring in the dead HP-4P in my junk pile).
"You get what you pay for" is an overrated expression. Sometimes you do, sometimes you don't. And sometimes you get a lot more.
it's worth noting that "corporatism" in Fascist speak doesn't really have anything to do with the modern meaning of the term "corporation"; it was rather about a guild-like system
That may be true. Of course, the very existence of a corporation is a government grant, a special privilege granted by the government. They are a relatively modern invention not recognized by the US Constitution, a way for owners to escape personal liability for their businesses.
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Why anyone using/working on Wikileaks thinks they are above the law, I have never understood.
What makes you think they are subject to US law? Are you subject to Russian law? Can the South Koreans arrest me because I said something nice about North Korea (I'm not sure what that would be, "nice uniforms" or "no traffic problems" maybe), so long as I'm not in South Korea? Can the Saudis legitimately "take steps" if you have pictures of women who aren't wearing anything^H^Hburkhas ?
PayPal, being a business, also has the right to refuse any business they want.
That is true. But this is money they have already accepted from Cryptome's donors that PayPal is stealing.*
*Even if they eventually give the money back, they are stealing the use of the funds for half a year. I'd accept a different word if they pay Cryptome interest at the prime rate.
You would need to completely bypass the drive firmware in a way that would make the drive quite unusable afterwards
"Afterwards" wasn't part of the spec. He just wants to write the 1s and 0s. Reading them wasn't part of the spec that he gave us.
Seriously, if he just wanted to use a HD for data storage and retrieval, he already knows how to do that. Maybe he just wants a magnetic platter decorated with his logo printed in magnetic domains, a la lightscribe. Or something entirely different. Since he didn't tell us, but yet wants to do something so unusual, we can't make assumptions.
That was my first idea too "Find an old MFM/RLL drive, and have at it" - then I realized, "You know, I'll bet that more than 1/2 of the readers of /. don't even remember them"
Remember them? I think I've got a pile of them somewhere, just waiting for them to come back into fashion. And a few of those old WD controllers they used. But maybe it's time to throw out the shoebox labeled "MFM CABLES". Hmm.. $35 on eBay for a used ST225, I guess I need to wait for the pile to appreciate some more.
Whoever said "find an old 486" isn't really in sync, 486s are way too modern.
Never trust government (US, Chinese, British, doesn't matter who, don't trust them) however one thing to consider is that in most places the government doesn't do the manufacturing nor have control over it. In the US at least what is left of the manufacturing is controlled by the corporations not the government.
You mean, when the government goes to AT&T or a manufacturer of crypto gear, they have to say "please"? Or preface the request with "If you're a PATRIOT(tm).." or "If you ever want to see another government contract.."? I feel so reassured.
Some people, young and old, play the role of what I like to call the "sheepdog". They can't stand it when someone does not behave in ways society expects.
For whatever reason, they look for those that stray from the herd, and give them a bark to get them back in line.
A bark, ok. Sheepdogs that attack the sheep, get shot.
Our open source project is a new an exciting social network, Pokebook.
You can check out our website
Um.. a website that announces a product without giving even a hint about what it is, other than it's something to do with social networking and perhaps goats. A "viral marketing video" (playing of which requires downloading a java applet from an uncertain source) that is not partly, but totally, incomprehensible. A link to a log that shows dtobson repeatedly poking tdobson (yer alter ego, maybe?). A blog that announces "New features have been integrated with the sites [sic] existing functionality to create the most dynamic and exciting platform yet, whilst consistent design and constant user testing has yielded an application with very strong potential for further expansion", a marketdroid sentence that divulges no information whatsoever. A link to a podcast that doesn't seem to refer to "pokebook" at all (going by the web page, I don't care enough to listen to a 1h 32m 34s podcast to verify it).
I was going to make an unkind comment, but then decided that an accurate description probably was damning enough.
MN has the record for cold temperature in the continental US and it can at times be colder here than Alaska's Arctic shore
Are you using a wikipedia map? Or did they sell Alaska back to the Russians to lower the budget deficit? I'm pretty sure both MN and AK are on the North American continent.
Anybody implementing an automated system like that without a human well-versed in copyright law manually validating the list would be skating on very thin ice. DMCA takedown notices require the notifier to swear under penalty of perjury that the information contained in the DMCA takedown notice is accurate.
That's a common misconception, and should be true. But I don't think it is. If you read a takedown notice, you'll see that the only thing sworn under penalty of perjury is that the sender of the notice is an agent of the copyright holder.
FLOSS wishes or not, section 5 of the FoFS doesn't supersede US Law for those in the US.
No, but being in the US does not mean you're not guilty of violating the GPL if you do obey those restrictions.
What this may mean is that it is not possible to host GPL software in the US and still be in compliance with the license. That certainly seems to apply to anything covered by GPL2:
GPL3 does not seem to have this clause, so maybe SF is ok for GPL3 projects.
We already have fraud laws for identity theft. We already have the free market to regulate the likes of Google or other companies.
But you're not Google's customer. How does the "free" market help you?
We have the 4th Amendment.
For certain values of "we" that apparently don't include the Chinese. And "unreasonable" is in the eye of the beholder. Besides, what makes you think it protects you, anyhow? It's Google's data we're talking about, it doesn't belong to you (in the USA, anyhow).
Why not just get the Ghostery extension for Firefox. It blocks all the things like google analytics, doubleclick, etc.
I also use TrackMeNot - another free firefox extension
And for FF there's also OptimizeGoogle (which can anonymize your google cookie and block GoogleAnalytics, in addition to a lot of other customizations not related to privacy) and SquiggleSR (another random searcher similar to TrackMeNot).
Bottom line: if you care about overuse of herbicide Roundup-ready corn is a win-win situation.
Well, so long as you don't mind your corn being toxic.
(That's IF the studies finding toxicity are correct.)
I have heard the exact opposite from farmers. I grew up on a farm and my father still farms. He and many other use GM corn that is 'Roundup Ready'. They love it because it lets them use less herbicide. Before, they had to pick and choose herbicides so that they didn't kill the corn.
Please read for comprehension. Note that the article "the" (in "the herbicide") makes the line refer specifically to Roundup, not herbicides in general. Farmers who use "Roundup Ready" corn do not use less Roundup, although they may (or may not) use less of other herbicides.
This device allows you to save those minutes for when you are away from the home, while otherwise using the same phone at home for little cost.
Except that (in my area) you can have a landline (and reasonably good audio quality) + DSL for little more than the cost of dry DSL. (And either is cheaper than cable, no, I don't have cable.) What is the benefit of "using the same phone at home"?
I would think that the number of people who have a cell phone with no contract, but have broadband and a computer on 24/7, is vanishingly small.
I've got a prepaid cell phone (I use maybe 20 minutes airtime per month, it's mostly for when I'm out on jobs or actually want someone to be able to reach me when I'm not home, then I forward the landline to it). At least one computer on my LAN is always on (and is connected by DSL through an ISP whose TOS doesn't object to my servers so long as I don't do anything stupid). My total connectivity (cell, landline, DSL, ISP) is about US$95/month.
But in general, you're probably not too far off.
Finally, yes, Google is in a scary position right now. Not only might they have access to your search results, but if you use Gmail then they have your email and if you use Google Docs then they have your documents. Right now, Google has a lot of access to a lot of data, which is exactly why people think their "don't be evil" mantra is so important. If Google chooses to abuse their position, they could cause a lot of problems.
Which is why running programs like TrackMeNot and SquiggleSR (Firefox extensions) is good. They won't help with your mail or docs, but they'll muddy your search history pretty thoroughly. I figure my LAN does a couple hundred thousand more-or-less random searches per year. Somewhere in that haystack are my few hundred real searches. Well, assuming I don't use a proxy or another search engine for those.
Seriously, police tasering is not a major problem in our country. You're more likely to die from a terrorist attack than from a taser. Really.
Cite?
In my community (a decent sized US metro) we have NEVER had a terrorist attack to my knowledge. Though I suppose it all depends on exactly how you define "terrorist" (Can it include government employees? When the government is the one who decides whether each particular case is "terrorist" or "not" it's going to skew the numbers pretty badly.). But about a year ago the cops tased a guy to death, the coroner ruled the death a "homicide". None of the killers were ever brought to justice, though.
It has long been, and still remains, illegal to have a scanner capable of listening into police frequencies in a moving vehicle, at least everywhere that I have lived.
A lot of places, licensed amateur radio operators are exempt from that law.
You also have to warrant "that the information is accurate" and, under penalty of perjury, that the copyright has been infringed.
Perhaps you could give a cite? No DMCA takedown that I have ever seen, including those that I have personally received, does that. Here's actual text from an actual notice from my files, with names changed to protect the guilty:
Notice how the only thing that is sworn to is that Scumsucker is the agent of Sleazebag.
Additionally, perjury aside, making false statements could be considered an obstruction of justice that could get you a contempt of court charge.
IANAL, but I'm not sure that "obstruction of justice" can apply to a civil case. In addition, note the weasel phrases "reasonable good faith belief" and "to the best of our knowledge". They don't swear that it is a violation, or even that they've examined the file in question, merely that they think it is a violation.
A proper US-DMCA letter makes claims "under penalty of perjury..."
The only part of the letter that the penalty of perjury applies to is a statement that the sender is an authorized representative of the copyright owner. Which is no problem if you're claiming that it's something you hold copyright to. (The copyright does not need to have been filed with the Copyright Office.)
And if you've ever sent them an email, when you wrote that email you automatically got copyright to it. I expect they could argue "fair use" if they made (or still have) a copy, but the DMCA makes no provision for fair use. Besides, it would be amusing to hear the MPAA/RIAA make arguments about why fair use is permitted.
What should be changed are browser defaults to "delete new cookies on exit", and make it a special opt-in to allow the site to set permanent cookies.
Firefox already has that, more or less.
Re Google, if you add the CustomizeGoogle extension you can specifically block Google's session cookies.
Throw in TrackMeNot or SquiggleSR to generate some noise in your searches, and any record they have of your search history will be a mess.
Or go through the Scroogle proxy.
The sub-$100 laser printers are just as bad as the sub-$100 inkjets: they come with starter cartridges, they don't have network hardware on-board, the consumables are expensive, they aren't rated for high duty cycle, etc. You get what you pay for.
Some people don't print much, and are ok with using their desk computer as a print server, in the preceding discussion there are people who talk about getting years out of the starter cartridge. True, the consumables tend to be expensive, but not if you don't use them much. If you need a standalone on the network, 40ppm, and run 10K copies a month, you need to spend more.
If you don't need color, and are in a metro area, you can probably find a decent HP-4, -5, or -6 cheap at a thrift shop (aside from the 4P, I think they all use the same print engine). HPs are nice because there's lots of places selling aftermarket toner at reasonable prices. My HP-6MP cost $1.49 (sale day at Salvation Army) and the only thing wrong with it was a missing lifter spring in the paper drawer (which turned out to be identical to the spring in the dead HP-4P in my junk pile).
"You get what you pay for" is an overrated expression. Sometimes you do, sometimes you don't. And sometimes you get a lot more.
Anyone who thinks that any law enforcement agency will hand over any information at all concerning ongoing investigations is living on Fantasy Island.
This is true. Likewise anyone who thinks that any law enforcement agency can be counted on to obey the law.
it's worth noting that "corporatism" in Fascist speak doesn't really have anything to do with the modern meaning of the term "corporation"; it was rather about a guild-like system
That may be true. Of course, the very existence of a corporation is a government grant, a special privilege granted by the government. They are a relatively modern invention not recognized by the US Constitution, a way for owners to escape personal liability for their businesses.