I knew that last one sounded familiar as I read it! I got that e-mail too back in 2002. Clearly it was spam that filters couldn't detect.
I remember being so entertained that I had to forward it to my roommate. The site wasn't as hard to find as it sounds.
This proves the point I've made again and again: Microsoft just gets it compared to the media industry. You don't sue nobodies who download bootlegs; you sue the people who are actively trying to profit from it. It used to be the same for media.
Sueing the little guys over every "illegal" copy being used is short sighted and counter productive. You lose respect from potential costomers, provide motivation to engage in piracy on principle and turn generations against the very idea of copyrights.
Microsoft on the other hand creates agreements to provide their software to programming students for free. It gives those who can't afford your software a break and gains their respect. Any preference for Microsoft software later becomes an asset as it encourages future employers to buy licenses for the software.
In short, winning people's support and respect by using the laws more reasonably is a better long term solution.
That, however, ignores the evidence that the administration forged in the push for war and its influence on voters. Besides, part of the crime of this war is not just how it started but how it had no hope of success.
I've always believed we were justified in Iraq. The problem is that we had no plan. Our initial victory could have made things better but it only made things worse. The reasons why are myriad and as bad as anything else this administration has produced.
Without the irrelevant, absurd attempts to tie Hussein with Bin Laden, the innitial invasion was as moraly wrong as shooting yourself in the leg with a shotgun and about as pleasent.
But of coarse both are true and both are false. Bush isn't as stupid as his parodies but he is still truly incompetant. The horrible intelligence of the administration has come from supporters (many of whom have now broke ranks and been denounced). Cheney is clearly the scholar of the operation.
Sometimes parody gets it right; Call Cheney what you whatever else you like, but I doubt I'd ever call him stupid. That still doesn't mean every theory positing them as the villains is true either. I don't expect that Cheney ever intended this presidency to end up like this.
Like fouling often on easy shots in basketball, this administration has been cruely calculating but playing on borrowed time.
Part of the blame is on Clinton. Clinton made Nixon look ok, and Bush makes Clinton look like a boy scout. Clinton should have seen jail time but Bush should be executed by international court.
Still, the Clinton machine's hatchet job on the impeachment congressmen ensures that noone will ever try to hold the president accountable for their crimes again. The dems know all too well how the Republicans can exact revenge for an impeachment. They themselves handed over the blueprints in 1998.
Slashdot Mirror
I knew that last one sounded familiar as I read it! I got that e-mail too back in 2002. Clearly it was spam that filters couldn't detect. I remember being so entertained that I had to forward it to my roommate. The site wasn't as hard to find as it sounds.
This proves the point I've made again and again: Microsoft just gets it compared to the media industry. You don't sue nobodies who download bootlegs; you sue the people who are actively trying to profit from it. It used to be the same for media. Sueing the little guys over every "illegal" copy being used is short sighted and counter productive. You lose respect from potential costomers, provide motivation to engage in piracy on principle and turn generations against the very idea of copyrights. Microsoft on the other hand creates agreements to provide their software to programming students for free. It gives those who can't afford your software a break and gains their respect. Any preference for Microsoft software later becomes an asset as it encourages future employers to buy licenses for the software. In short, winning people's support and respect by using the laws more reasonably is a better long term solution.
That, however, ignores the evidence that the administration forged in the push for war and its influence on voters. Besides, part of the crime of this war is not just how it started but how it had no hope of success. I've always believed we were justified in Iraq. The problem is that we had no plan. Our initial victory could have made things better but it only made things worse. The reasons why are myriad and as bad as anything else this administration has produced. Without the irrelevant, absurd attempts to tie Hussein with Bin Laden, the innitial invasion was as moraly wrong as shooting yourself in the leg with a shotgun and about as pleasent.
But of coarse both are true and both are false. Bush isn't as stupid as his parodies but he is still truly incompetant. The horrible intelligence of the administration has come from supporters (many of whom have now broke ranks and been denounced). Cheney is clearly the scholar of the operation. Sometimes parody gets it right; Call Cheney what you whatever else you like, but I doubt I'd ever call him stupid. That still doesn't mean every theory positing them as the villains is true either. I don't expect that Cheney ever intended this presidency to end up like this. Like fouling often on easy shots in basketball, this administration has been cruely calculating but playing on borrowed time.
Part of the blame is on Clinton. Clinton made Nixon look ok, and Bush makes Clinton look like a boy scout. Clinton should have seen jail time but Bush should be executed by international court. Still, the Clinton machine's hatchet job on the impeachment congressmen ensures that noone will ever try to hold the president accountable for their crimes again. The dems know all too well how the Republicans can exact revenge for an impeachment. They themselves handed over the blueprints in 1998.