JALALABAD -- March 26, 2002 -- Sun Microsystems, Inc. today announced a donation to the Ministry of Jihad (MOJ) of al Qaeda that will make StarOffice[tm] 6.0 (branded CrescentOffice[tm] in Islamic markets) an office suite of choice in madrassas throughout the Muslim world. Today's donation will provide unlimited access to one of the world's largest open productivity suites based on open source development. The technology will be available to be replicated and distributed to the students, teachers and administrators of the educational institutions governed by the ministry. The discussions today are a major expansion of the existing relationship between Sun and the MOJ.
"In the quest for learning and understanding, there is really no greater tool than technology," said Kim Jones, vice president of global education and research, Sun Microsystems. "With this contribution of software, Sun and the Ministry of Jihad will work closely with students, educators and suicide bombers to enhance their ability to compete in a global economy, while opening the door to greater productivity and achievements throughout the Islamic world. Sun Microsystems will provide al Qaeda with the office productivity tools they need to destroy all Zionists and Crusaders. Allahu Akbar!"
LA a couple years ago, about 4AM, a long roller, centered around Joshua Tree if I recall correctly.... I had just fallen asleep in the arms of a hottie I had met the night before.... The quake woke us up and kept going, and we wound up huddling naked under the doorway scared but aroused. When the shaking finally stopped, the phone rang.
It was my girlfriend, who called to see if I was OK.
Releasing a modular Windows is a smart move for MS whether or not they are "forced" to do it. It will help them become an even more ever-present monopoly. And they get this as a "sanction."
The real reason a programmer's union wouldn't work is that libertarians seem to think unions = communism. And most union advocates seem to think libertarian = conservative who smokes weed.
While we're talking about intuitive user interfaces, let's give a cheer for the greatest GUI innovation Apple came up with -- to eject a disk, you drag it to the trash can. Now that's user-friendly!
The Supreme Court has ruled on obscenity laws several times before. In Roth v. United States (1957), it ruled that obscenity is not protected as free speech and appealed to community standards to determine what is obscene. In Miller v. California (1973), it defined obscene material as that which "appeals to the prurient interest" of the average person and has no "serious literary, artistic, political, or scientific value."
Ummm, yeah. I know. But they have never said that speech is not protected if it is not "meaningful." It has said that speech is not protected if it is obscene, which is a very different thing, as you explain above. The Miller standard requires that material appeal to prurient interest and lack "serious literary artistic, political, or scientific value" in order to be considered obscene and thereby unprotected. The Supreme Court to my knowledge has never said that only "meaningful" speech is protected (whatever "meaningful" means!)
To be fair, Schenck is only cited these days for its elaboration of the "clear and present danger" doctrine, which it really didn't follow (at least, to my knowledge, most constitutional scholars agree that the Court has implicitly acknowledged this). But you're right that national security has always (and will, at least for the foreseeable future, given the current Court) trumped the right to publish and the right to know. Even when the government has been blatantly wrong the Court has been wishy washy at best about protecting speech (see the Pentagon Papers case).
But that does not mean that writing viruses should be considered incitement a priori, especially if there is a good spokesperson for open security models in front of the Court... writing and distributing viruses in order to better understand them is likely to be considered protected speech, whereas distributing viruses in order to cause damage to computers you have no right to access is likely to be considered conduct outside the protection of the First Amendment. And I don't think it is that hard to draw the line, and while I think this Court has done some outrageous things, I think they are bright enough to draw such a line. At least I hope so.
By the way, the comment that "The Court has upheld several times since then (especially in obscenity cases) the idea that speech is only protected when it is meaningful" is not backed up by anything I have seen in obscenity law. Or any other First Amendment law. Who decides what is meaningful?
If someone breaks into your house, and you see them snooping around, do you want the FBI to have to get a warrant to go into your house? Or should they just get your permission?
Do you really believe the FBI would have to get a warrant for this? Again, if the owner consents to a search of his premises, his fourth amendment rights are waived and the search may continue.
The FBI could not watch what the hacker did on the computer, even with the permission of the owner of the computer, because it was assumed that it violated the privacy of the hacker
Are you on crack? If I give the FBI access to my computer, they can do what they like with it, just as if I give anyone else access to it. The same as if I consented to any other kind of search of my property. There are no provisions for hackers' rights while they're busy busting into someone else's computer. Any protection offered against search and seizure is there to protect the owner of the property being searched, not some criminal trespassing on that property. If somebody breaks into my apartment and there is a cop in the hallway, are you suggesting that the cop would not be allowed to enter the apartment even if I go in the hallway and ask him to?
I like almost all of the changes that the Act introduced, and I have been amazed at the clarity that the bill has.
You cite one example of a provision, and you get that one totally wrong. What about "sneak and peek"? What about indefinite detention? What about the new definition of terrorism? Did you even read the EFF summary?
Slashdot Mirror
It's crappy but interesting; they add the judges to their hit list. The best part though is the last frame; "P ALIGNCENTERFONT TIME"
LOL
This was clearly done with the gimp.
!!seineew era sresu pohsotohp efil-orP
The commercial version includes a talking paper clip.
JALALABAD -- March 26, 2002 -- Sun Microsystems, Inc. today announced a donation to the Ministry of Jihad (MOJ) of al Qaeda that will make StarOffice[tm] 6.0 (branded CrescentOffice[tm] in Islamic markets) an office suite of choice in madrassas throughout the Muslim world. Today's donation will provide unlimited access to one of the world's largest open productivity suites based on open source development. The technology will be available to be replicated and distributed to the students, teachers and administrators of the educational institutions governed by the ministry. The discussions today are a major expansion of the existing relationship between Sun and the MOJ.
"In the quest for learning and understanding, there is really no greater tool than technology," said Kim Jones, vice president of global education and research, Sun Microsystems. "With this contribution of software, Sun and the Ministry of Jihad will work closely with students, educators and suicide bombers to enhance their ability to compete in a global economy, while opening the door to greater productivity and achievements throughout the Islamic world. Sun Microsystems will provide al Qaeda with the office productivity tools they need to destroy all Zionists and Crusaders. Allahu Akbar!"
Real geeks use ssh!!!
You know it's going to be Celine Dion and Charlie Pride too. Good thing I have a Mac, so that it will break when they make me listen to that junk....
"Cactus Ed Abbey" may have said that too, but certainly Diderot said it first.
LA a couple years ago, about 4AM, a long roller, centered around Joshua Tree if I recall correctly.... I had just fallen asleep in the arms of a hottie I had met the night before.... The quake woke us up and kept going, and we wound up huddling naked under the doorway scared but aroused. When the shaking finally stopped, the phone rang.
It was my girlfriend, who called to see if I was OK.
I've never been so fucking busted.
Hi! How are you?
I take you to this place in order to have your advice.
See you later! Thanks
Actually, praise of the Taliban freedom fighters used to occur often in this country; for example look at Reagan's speech marking Afghanistan Day.
whether they will put an ID chip in Beowulf .
Not to worry; once Ted Turner reads this post on slashdot it's as good as done.
Releasing a modular Windows is a smart move for MS whether or not they are "forced" to do it. It will help them become an even more ever-present monopoly. And they get this as a "sanction."
Sure, deleting these emails is a pain, but it's a lot less time-consuming than giving everyone your advice!
Here's something a union accomplished last month.
The real reason a programmer's union wouldn't work is that libertarians seem to think unions = communism. And most union advocates seem to think libertarian = conservative who smokes weed.
While we're talking about intuitive user interfaces, let's give a cheer for the greatest GUI innovation Apple came up with -- to eject a disk, you drag it to the trash can. Now that's user-friendly!
Apple announced the fate of Shake, but declined to comment on the fate of Rattle and Roll.
Ummm, yeah. I know. But they have never said that speech is not protected if it is not "meaningful." It has said that speech is not protected if it is obscene, which is a very different thing, as you explain above. The Miller standard requires that material appeal to prurient interest and lack "serious literary artistic, political, or scientific value" in order to be considered obscene and thereby unprotected. The Supreme Court to my knowledge has never said that only "meaningful" speech is protected (whatever "meaningful" means!)
But that does not mean that writing viruses should be considered incitement ... writing and distributing viruses in order to better understand them is likely to be considered protected speech, whereas distributing viruses in order to cause damage to computers you have no right to access is likely to be considered conduct outside the protection of the First Amendment. And I don't think it is that hard to draw the line, and while I think this Court has done some outrageous things, I think they are bright enough to draw such a line. At least I hope so.
a priori, especially if there is a good spokesperson for open security models in front of the Court
By the way, the comment that "The Court has upheld several times since then (especially in obscenity cases) the idea that speech is only protected when it is meaningful" is not backed up by anything I have seen in obscenity law. Or any other First Amendment law. Who decides what is meaningful?
Do you really believe the FBI would have to get a warrant for this? Again, if the owner consents to a search of his premises, his fourth amendment rights are waived and the search may continue.
Are you on crack? If I give the FBI access to my computer, they can do what they like with it, just as if I give anyone else access to it. The same as if I consented to any other kind of search of my property. There are no provisions for hackers' rights while they're busy busting into someone else's computer. Any protection offered against search and seizure is there to protect the owner of the property being searched, not some criminal trespassing on that property. If somebody breaks into my apartment and there is a cop in the hallway, are you suggesting that the cop would not be allowed to enter the apartment even if I go in the hallway and ask him to?
I like almost all of the changes that the Act introduced, and I have been amazed at the clarity that the bill has.
You cite one example of a provision, and you get that one totally wrong. What about "sneak and peek"? What about indefinite detention? What about the new definition of terrorism? Did you even read the EFF summary?
Hi! How are you?
I detain you at Customs in order to have your advice.
See you later! Thanks
They tried this but the CD player broke due to licensing issues.