Re:I've written my representatives
on
SSSCA Editorials
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· Score: 2
It's eight paper pages long, going into extra details and speaking plainly since it's also intended for a wider audience. It covers scope, civil, business, technical and motive objections to such legislation.
You've just guaranteed that none of your representatives will actually read your letter. Eight pages long?? You've done the exact opposite of what you should have done. When writing to Washington, the cardinal rule is concise, Concise, CONCISE!! They don't give a damn about your interpretation of the motivations for such legislation - they have lawyers for that. All they want to know is Yes or No, Do you support it?
Your representatives most likely receive hundreds of letters a day. In the time they spend reading your eight page monstrosity, they could read letters from ten other people. Think they'll read your's? Think again.
You want your voice heard? Tell them you don't support the SSSCA b/c it doesn't allow for a balance b/w business interests and fair use interests, b/c it will have a negative effect on self-publication in the arts, b/c it will stiffle innovation in the tech industry and cause us to lose our place as leaders in technology to countries like Japan, China, and India. See? Nice and concise. (And that last point will definitely get their attention!)
I know it isn't popular but games and movies do influence people (including youth).
This is probably true to some extent, but the fact is that millions of people indulge in violent video games and movies on a daily basis but still keep their finger off the trigger. The influence is most likely negligable.
Don't underestimate the power of suggestion on an individual who is under a pressure situation or lives in an environment without consequences
Now you're getting warmer. But again, I don't think this has anything to do with video games. More than likely it is the myopic world view of most teen-agers mixed with romantic notions of death. Torment day in and day out, an authoritarian school administration that merely re-enforces the social pecking order at the school, and the inability for a teen-ager to realize that there is a better life after those four years of Hell called "high school" - pressure situation is right. If a person is not given a way out of an unbearable situation, they will make their own. Violence and ridicule is all these kids were subjected to on a daily basis - it shouldn't be surprising that they responded in kind.
It wasn't about video games or movies - it was about power - it was about acting out an unanswerable revenge.
To you and I it's "Duh!" - but a wrongful death suit was filed. It's obvious that some people need to hear, in plain, unambiguous terms, "The killers are responsible, not the makers of Quake III or The Basketball Diaries!"
If it was download mix burn they might actually have a point...
Bullshit. Don't substitute one distortion for another. I acquire some of my music from eMusic, which I have to download to get. I'll be damned if you, Eisner or anyone else implies that I'm a thief for doing "download mix burn". My credit card statement for the last eight months says otherwise.
Should the government be allowed to stalk anyone, just because it's technically feasible?
Your question is actually right on the money, but not in the way I think you realize. Your protectors may be stalking you and/or your fellow citizens and it's not for anything as noble as public safety. Check out this link: Cops tap database to harass, intimidate
Our local and federal law enforcement agencies are made up of fallible human beings - and there are times that these people can be even more sinister than those from whom they are supposed to protect us. And with tools that would make surveillance so much easier, how many others will be tempted to use it illegally and immorally? For this reason alone, I oppose these types of measures.
The sad fact is videocameras on every street corner will not stop crime. Nothing will change, except instead of looking over my shoulder for criminals, I will also be looking out for the gestapo.
I'm not sure why you think this is a give-away category. Cinematography is one of the most important aspects of film-making - it can make a brilliant film even better (LotR) or a mediocre film look brilliant (Vanilla Sky). "Serious" themes or not, LotR *deserves* this award based on merit, not as a pity award. I've seen all the movies nominated in the category and the only one that comes close to matching LotR is Black Hawk Down.
You hit the head on that one. My family members bitching about my tying up the phone line is the number one reason I am getting DSL. And while MP3, pr0n and steaming a/v are good reasons to get DSL for some, I really just want Slashdot to download faster.:)
Not to mention the Iron Maiden ref dropped in there for us fans who strongly associate that quote with one of the quintessential Maiden songs. Double-word score for that guy!
Contributing to Boucher's campaign would be a *great* way of fighting fire with fire. He is one of the few friends geeks and media consumers seem to have in Washington. It benefits us all to have him in office. For those of us who do not have the priviledged opportunity to vote for him, contributing money is the next best thing we could do.
On a related point, your link has got me thinking about philanthropy on Slashdot. I'm still baffled why this site does not run drives to raise money for various causes - like a "Cause of the Month" type of thing. Kuro5hin has been doing this lately. There are always cause de jours that need money (Sklyarov) and the EFF could be the default. Hell, create a Slashdot poll to determine who gets the money for the next month. Taco could set up a Paypal account and donate the proceeds to each cause at the end of the month. Put the link on the homepage and BAM! donate with a single click, as you read.
Various posters talk about contributing to groups like the EFF - perhaps we can make this a community priority (as well as making it as easy as possible for people to do so).
I'm sorry but if that site is representative of independent artists who choose to bypass the RIAA, then they are just as fucked as Hilary Rosen & Co. Why? With CD Baby "deals" of $13.99 (down from a list price of $18.95!!) these schmucks will suffer from the same problems as the RIAA. Until CD prices start approaching reasonable levels, independent or not, people won't buy them.
If anything, I find these prices to be even more outrageous than the RIAA's - arguably, these musicians will see a larger cut of the revenues than they would with the RIAA. But few of them use this to their advantage by reducing the prices of their CDs and truly making their product more appealing. Instead, they take advantage of a buying public that is used to paying outrageous prices for CDs by charging their own outrageous prices.
I'm sorry but if this is the alternative to the RIAA, I'll stick with used CD shops and P2P. Just because the artists are getting screwed by the RIAA doesn't mean they are on the side of the consumer.
Goddammit, I am so fed up with these constant assassinations of Internet privacy anytime it is revealed that a terrorist group used email or cryptography to coordinate their attacks. I bet they also used telephones, cell phones, and snail mail to communicate as well. Why the fuck aren't these sodding politicians calling for monitoring of voice conversations and physical inspection of packages and letters? If they are serious about security why not go the whole nine yards? Speech recognition technology could surely make the former feasible. <sarcasm>After all, only those who are doing something wrong have something to hide.</sarcasm>
That bullshit never happens because most people, whether here in the US or over in India, wouldn't stand for such a blatant invasion of their privacy. Just because technology makes monitoring Internet communications an order of magnitude easier, doesn't fucking make it right! Whether it is listening in on a phone conversation, sniffing a packet, or tearing open a letter the intrusion is still the same.
It takes a nation of millions to wage war, but only a single man to commit terrorism. Until we address the factors that lead people to such desperation that they are willing to give their lives to cold-hearted violence, we will wage this war until we inevitably lose it.
We have always had the means to destroy ourselves - but terrorists have finally given us the motivation to do so. And like the proverbial frog in the pot of water, we are slowly selling out our treasured civil liberties for an illusion of security. And the day we lose this so-called War on Terror is when we have silently replaced the republics of the world with police states that hide behind masks of democracy and pay lip-service to freedom.
They're arguable trying. Here's a link to their testimony to Congress. They're apparently trying to get Congressional support so that action figure tie-ins from M-rated video games don't get marketed to children.
All they are "imposing" on anyone is a little common sense. If the game isn't appropriate for children, then toy tie-ins probably aren't either. Their "lobby" only imposes upon eight-year-olds.
So, what happened in the original Terminator for the sequel to happen? Uh, the robot lost its arm in a factory, which was later on found by computer scientists and used to create the AI that would end up fucking humanity's shit up. Sound familiar?
Wrong. It was the CPU from the first T-800 that enabled Miles Dyson to create his revolutionary microprocessor. (Quickly pop the DVD in my computer...) From the movie:
DYSON
The chip. Do you know about the chip?
SARAH
What chip?
DYSON
They keep it in the vault at Cyberdyne. (to the Terminator) It must be from the other one like you.
TERMINATOR
The CPU from the first Terminator.
SARAH
Son of a bitch! I knew it!
DYSON
They told us not to ask where they got it.
SARAH
(to herself) Those lying motherfuckers!
DYSON
It was scary stuff. Radically advanced. It was smashed. It didn't work, but it gave us ideas, took us in new directions. Things we would have never... All my work was based on it.
Besides, I really doubt anyone could create a microprocessor capable of birthing AI from a mechanical arm.
That said, there doesn't seem to be any obvious plot threads upon which to hang a sequel. But that's obviously not a sequel killer. Jim Cameron excised the original ending for T2 in which a future Sarah sits in utopia with John and her grandchild, telling of her successful fight for the future. He left it ambiguous to accent the idea, "the future is not set". But how they will justify the rise of Skynet now isn't very apparent.
This event seems to be the latest in a string of events our government justifies in the name of "national security". Unfortunately, these actions will make us LESS secure in the long run.
Destroying information in public libraries, restricting requests through the Freedom of Information Act, Bush's executive order that allows a sitting president to seal presidential records indefinitely - all of these events result in less information for the public to properly judge the actions of our government. This is inexcusable in a republic.
Without public accountability, our elected leaders will have carte blanche to commit aggregious acts in the name of our country. Any illegal actions that they take, clouded in executive priviledge and secrecy, could very well sow the seeds for future terrorist attacks.
We need to know exactly what our government is doing, particularly while we are at "war". The only way we will win a "war" against terrorism is to stand the moral high ground, and wage it with justified, measured response. If our government begins to wage it with illegal and extreme methods (in our name and without our knowledge) we are assured to locked in a vicious cycle of retribution and revenge that will only hurt ourselves in the long run.
I guess if more people subscribed as premium members, this would not be an issue.
and then turn around and say this
Salon is a great site, and I'm personally willing to put up with a few ads. I just hope they keep going.
without seeing the connection.
If you think Salon is a great site, then drop the $30 for a year's subscription. Shit, quality content updated daily for $30 is an absolute steal. Don't just hope they keep going, help them to keep going.
Some idiot thought the title might remind someone. Having coped with loss a while back I can tell you that this is a pointless excercise. You get reminded of the loss by the oddest stuff...
Right on brother. I mean, who would have thought that the networks' 24/7/365 coverage of every single eye-witness testimony, worthless pundit opinion, and Duh-bya's every single move would have reminded me that three planes destroyed three major U.S. landmarks a week ago? It's a good thing they banned those songs b/c we all know that the best way to deal with grief is to never acknowledge it.
The danger is if that person ever told ANYONE about it. If he did, then he's not truely anonymous, and given enough of an incentive, someone might be tempted to talk.
Am I the only one who is reading posts like this parent and mistaking this for a discussion about China? Distributing documents anonymously via FreeNet, fear of identity disclosure, friends turning you in? When the hell did America start to embody everything it is supposed to stand against?
May I just say, one private bookstore maintaining their own database of shoplifters shutting down is no doubt a victory for the privacy cause; it is a small victory. What if say, Borders got togeather and shared the system and database with, say, B&N. And they, in turn, shared with say another chain, say Walmart.
From the article:
The software, sold by Minnetonka, Minn.-based Visionics Corp., fights shoplifting by constantly comparing images of shoppers captured by a store video camera against a police database of known criminals, according to information on Visionics' Web site.
That's exactly what they are doing. And you are right to be afraid of this. Despite what the Libertarian nay-sayers are saying, this is not a corp compiling a database. This is a corp working in conjuncture with local law enforcement, using their database. I think allusions to corporate police state are appropriate here. Americans may have laws to prevent double jeopardy, but apparently the Scarlett Letter punishment slipped through the cracks.
The article in the previous/. story did not mention who was maintaining the database of pictures. Now that I know it is a police database, I am more against this than ever.
I've been involved in helping stores cut back loss, and let me tell you that 70% of the theft that has occured after I've installed cameras has been by employees, and a lot of the time in those cases, management.
Which of course, begs the question, if three quarters of their theft is internal why are they monitoring customers instead of their employees?
On top of that, in most of the Borders I've been in, most employees do not respond to the beeping security gate at the entrance. Half the time they wave the patron through! Perhaps if they stationed a security employee at the door to check those instances (ala Best Buy) maybe that level of security would actually be effective.
I still don't see the problem with this. I'm for any business enacting any policy they please within the confines of their store.
What if they could perform random searches of your person? Your car? (Hey, it's in their lot!) Unlikely? Of course. But what if this became widespread and unavoidable? (as a lot of the video monitoring we find commonplace today was 30 years ago) When does it become too intrusive?
If you don't want to be watched, don't go there, and make it a habit to write letters about it to advertisers and distributors.
I always preferred Borders to Barnes & Noble, but I'm switching now (with a handwritten letter to both to let them know why!).
I don't mind it a bit, since I haven't done anything wrong. If they want to watch me closer because they think I'm a thief, good for them.
Would you mind if a security guard followed you around the store? Would you mind being randomly searched by a Borders supervisor in the middle of your browsing? Would you allow the police to search your car without a reason? What about your house without a warrant? You've done nothing wrong, so you shouldn't mind, right? I'm sorry but I will never understand this type of mentality. Just because you've done nothing wrong does NOT justify their intrusion. The burden of proof lies with them to prove your guilt, not with you, your innocence. If people's commitment to privacy only revolves around how inconvient a search is, then we have already lost.
If the thieves stop going to those stores because they bet profiles, maybe prices will drop.
And I bet I can walk on water and turn water to wine. Customer discounts winning over higher profits would only be a miracle.
If you want privacy, go get some acreage of land in the mountains and stay out of civilization. I don't see ANY privacy loss if you're as much at fault for entering THEIR private property.
See my comment above for my take on your mentality. Would it be okay for them to record and broadcast your conversations while in their store? Would it be okay for them to record you in the bathroom and broadcast that? Would it be okay for a hotel manager to watch your wife shower because you are renting his rooms? Just because you in on private property does not mean you do not have a reasonable expectation to privacy.
Its cameras on the street that worry me, but we get videotaped by ATMs and banks and at the McDonald's and the convenient store, whats so wrong with filtering those images so security can do a better job?
I am absolutely baffled why recording on public streets would bother you and recording at Borders does not. When did it become common thought that the (imagined) right to corporate profit trumps individual human rights? Corporations and businesses are legal fictions that exist at the leisure of the public, not the other way around. We seem to be forgetting this, at our own peril.
Your post made more sense to me when I initially misread your first sentence as "So perhaps right after the big bong..." It would explain all your references to food if nothing else.:)
She has GOT to be kidding if she thinks the average consumer has the ability to design tools that will allow them to access there fair use rights. This is idiotic. Most/.ers couldn't even handle this.
And furthermore, even if a person *could* design the tools, (in the case of DVDs) the DVD-CCA licenses the key to decrypt the DVD. Individuals would have to either pay for the license, $5,000 for an annual license (although they may deny you) or acquire it "illegally" (i.e. reverse-engineer). So, in the case of DVDs, there is no realistic and/or legal way for a consumer to write a program themselves (witness Jon Johanson).
All of those you recommended are *great* series. Most of the incredible things I'm reading at the moment are not in the superhero genre either (although there are good books there as well). Here's some more -
Palooka-Ville - by Seth. Published by Drawn & Quarterly. Pick up the collected story arc, It's a Good Life, If You Don't Weaken. It's a semi-autobiographical account about the author's quest to find an obscure New Yorker artist (drawn in a New Yorker style).
Ghost World, David Boring, or anything else by Daniel Clowes. This guy is one of the best writers in Indie comics. Sharp, dark humor. Published by Fantagraphics.
Jimmy Corrigan: The Smartest Kid on Earth - By Chris Ware. This one is available at Barnes & Noble and Borders. Collected from the Acme Novelty Library series. A heart-wrenching story about a pathetic man who meets his father for the first time. The best series I read last year and Ware is the greatest hope for comics being taken as a serious medium. Also published by Fantagraphics.
Optic Nerve - By Adrian Tomine. Published by Drawn & Quarterly. One of the most promising young talents in indie comics. Pick up Sleepwalk and other stories, which collects issues 1 - 4 of Optic Nerve. Short stories about real people. Brilliant work.
From Hell - By Alan Moore and Eddie Campbell. Moore's analysis of Jack the Ripper is frightening, shocking, and enthralling. I've read this series three times and I still haven't absorbed everything. Available in a collected edition at B&N and Borders.
Maus - By Art Spiegelman. Winner of the Pulitzer Prize. One of the most overlooked treasures in comics. This book stands in the shadow of Watchmen when people talk about the best comics produced in the 80's. A masterpiece narrative about the Holocaust. This is the torch-bearer for greatness in the comics medium.
Anything by Brian Michael Bendis - This guy is reigniting the Marvel line with his work on Elektra and Ultimate Spider-Man but some of his best work was done at Image Comics. Pick up Jink and Torso, both available in TPB.
And a few other quick recommedations: Non by Jordan Crane, Jar of Fools and Berlin by Jason Lutes, the re-issued B&W TPB of Akira and Oh My Goddess! both published by Dark Horse, and Peter Milligan on X-Force.
Phew! Any one who says that comics are dead isn't reading any. There are spectacular things going on in the medium at the moment. With sales down, publishers like Marvel and DC are taking more risks. The result? Some of the best comics from these companies in the last ten years. And like I've outlined, Indie comics are still churning out *great* books.
For even more recommendations and some damn good thoughts on the comics industry as a whole, read Warren Ellis' series Come In Alone at Comic Book Resources. A collected, dead-tree version is also available (which I have and strongly recommend).
The only people who don't want this are 1) criminals, and 2) people who cheat on their spouses and don't want to get caught. Well, my public safety is more important than your ability to get to your motel room unobserved.
You are a troll. Unfortunately, a lot of reasonable people make this ludicrous argument. To say that law-abiding citizens have nothing to fear, therefore they should not have a problem with this is to ignore the unbelievable potential for abuse. By your inane reasoning, law-abiding citizens have little use for the 4th amendment. After all, they shouldn't mind a search of their houses, cars, or person because they have nothing to hide right?
The point is charges do not need to be pressed for this to be a tool of oppression. There is tremendous evidence that unscrupulous police officers are already using driver's license databases to stalk women, spy on ex-lovers, and pursue revenge. A corporate-controlled system that has the ability to locate a person is ripe for abuse. I suggest you wake up and stop swallowing this crap that these systems are here "to protect you" and that "only criminals need to worry".
One more thing: To quote Ben Franklin, "They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety." I say you are one of these people. Perhaps you should consider relocating to a country that better suits your attitude - perhaps China?
Slashdot Mirror
You've just guaranteed that none of your representatives will actually read your letter. Eight pages long?? You've done the exact opposite of what you should have done. When writing to Washington, the cardinal rule is concise, Concise, CONCISE!! They don't give a damn about your interpretation of the motivations for such legislation - they have lawyers for that. All they want to know is Yes or No, Do you support it?
Your representatives most likely receive hundreds of letters a day. In the time they spend reading your eight page monstrosity, they could read letters from ten other people. Think they'll read your's? Think again.
You want your voice heard? Tell them you don't support the SSSCA b/c it doesn't allow for a balance b/w business interests and fair use interests, b/c it will have a negative effect on self-publication in the arts, b/c it will stiffle innovation in the tech industry and cause us to lose our place as leaders in technology to countries like Japan, China, and India. See? Nice and concise. (And that last point will definitely get their attention!)
This is probably true to some extent, but the fact is that millions of people indulge in violent video games and movies on a daily basis but still keep their finger off the trigger. The influence is most likely negligable.
Don't underestimate the power of suggestion on an individual who is under a pressure situation or lives in an environment without consequences
Now you're getting warmer. But again, I don't think this has anything to do with video games. More than likely it is the myopic world view of most teen-agers mixed with romantic notions of death. Torment day in and day out, an authoritarian school administration that merely re-enforces the social pecking order at the school, and the inability for a teen-ager to realize that there is a better life after those four years of Hell called "high school" - pressure situation is right. If a person is not given a way out of an unbearable situation, they will make their own. Violence and ridicule is all these kids were subjected to on a daily basis - it shouldn't be surprising that they responded in kind.
It wasn't about video games or movies - it was about power - it was about acting out an unanswerable revenge.
To you and I it's "Duh!" - but a wrongful death suit was filed. It's obvious that some people need to hear, in plain, unambiguous terms, "The killers are responsible, not the makers of Quake III or The Basketball Diaries!"
Bullshit. Don't substitute one distortion for another. I acquire some of my music from eMusic, which I have to download to get. I'll be damned if you, Eisner or anyone else implies that I'm a thief for doing "download mix burn". My credit card statement for the last eight months says otherwise.
Your question is actually right on the money, but not in the way I think you realize. Your protectors may be stalking you and/or your fellow citizens and it's not for anything as noble as public safety. Check out this link: Cops tap database to harass, intimidate
Our local and federal law enforcement agencies are made up of fallible human beings - and there are times that these people can be even more sinister than those from whom they are supposed to protect us. And with tools that would make surveillance so much easier, how many others will be tempted to use it illegally and immorally? For this reason alone, I oppose these types of measures.
The sad fact is videocameras on every street corner will not stop crime. Nothing will change, except instead of looking over my shoulder for criminals, I will also be looking out for the gestapo.
I'm not sure why you think this is a give-away category. Cinematography is one of the most important aspects of film-making - it can make a brilliant film even better (LotR) or a mediocre film look brilliant (Vanilla Sky). "Serious" themes or not, LotR *deserves* this award based on merit, not as a pity award. I've seen all the movies nominated in the category and the only one that comes close to matching LotR is Black Hawk Down.
On a related point, your link has got me thinking about philanthropy on Slashdot. I'm still baffled why this site does not run drives to raise money for various causes - like a "Cause of the Month" type of thing. Kuro5hin has been doing this lately. There are always cause de jours that need money (Sklyarov) and the EFF could be the default. Hell, create a Slashdot poll to determine who gets the money for the next month. Taco could set up a Paypal account and donate the proceeds to each cause at the end of the month. Put the link on the homepage and BAM! donate with a single click, as you read.
Various posters talk about contributing to groups like the EFF - perhaps we can make this a community priority (as well as making it as easy as possible for people to do so).
If anything, I find these prices to be even more outrageous than the RIAA's - arguably, these musicians will see a larger cut of the revenues than they would with the RIAA. But few of them use this to their advantage by reducing the prices of their CDs and truly making their product more appealing. Instead, they take advantage of a buying public that is used to paying outrageous prices for CDs by charging their own outrageous prices.
I'm sorry but if this is the alternative to the RIAA, I'll stick with used CD shops and P2P. Just because the artists are getting screwed by the RIAA doesn't mean they are on the side of the consumer.
Goddammit, I am so fed up with these constant assassinations of Internet privacy anytime it is revealed that a terrorist group used email or cryptography to coordinate their attacks. I bet they also used telephones, cell phones, and snail mail to communicate as well. Why the fuck aren't these sodding politicians calling for monitoring of voice conversations and physical inspection of packages and letters? If they are serious about security why not go the whole nine yards? Speech recognition technology could surely make the former feasible. <sarcasm>After all, only those who are doing something wrong have something to hide.</sarcasm>
That bullshit never happens because most people, whether here in the US or over in India, wouldn't stand for such a blatant invasion of their privacy. Just because technology makes monitoring Internet communications an order of magnitude easier, doesn't fucking make it right! Whether it is listening in on a phone conversation, sniffing a packet, or tearing open a letter the intrusion is still the same.
It takes a nation of millions to wage war, but only a single man to commit terrorism. Until we address the factors that lead people to such desperation that they are willing to give their lives to cold-hearted violence, we will wage this war until we inevitably lose it.
We have always had the means to destroy ourselves - but terrorists have finally given us the motivation to do so. And like the proverbial frog in the pot of water, we are slowly selling out our treasured civil liberties for an illusion of security. And the day we lose this so-called War on Terror is when we have silently replaced the republics of the world with police states that hide behind masks of democracy and pay lip-service to freedom.
The key to our success would be if a strong commercial actor became deeply invested in freedom.
Don't worry Larry - Wil Wheaton is on it.
They're arguable trying. Here's a link to their testimony to Congress. They're apparently trying to get Congressional support so that action figure tie-ins from M-rated video games don't get marketed to children.
All they are "imposing" on anyone is a little common sense. If the game isn't appropriate for children, then toy tie-ins probably aren't either. Their "lobby" only imposes upon eight-year-olds.
I say, to them, "Keep up the good work".
Wrong. It was the CPU from the first T-800 that enabled Miles Dyson to create his revolutionary microprocessor. (Quickly pop the DVD in my computer...) From the movie:
DYSON
The chip. Do you know about the chip?
SARAH
What chip?
DYSON
They keep it in the vault at Cyberdyne. (to the Terminator) It must be from the other one like you.
TERMINATOR
The CPU from the first Terminator.
SARAH
Son of a bitch! I knew it!
DYSON
They told us not to ask where they got it.
SARAH
(to herself) Those lying motherfuckers!
DYSON
It was scary stuff. Radically advanced. It was smashed. It didn't work, but it gave us ideas, took us in new directions. Things we would have never... All my work was based on it.
Besides, I really doubt anyone could create a microprocessor capable of birthing AI from a mechanical arm.
That said, there doesn't seem to be any obvious plot threads upon which to hang a sequel. But that's obviously not a sequel killer. Jim Cameron excised the original ending for T2 in which a future Sarah sits in utopia with John and her grandchild, telling of her successful fight for the future. He left it ambiguous to accent the idea, "the future is not set". But how they will justify the rise of Skynet now isn't very apparent.
This event seems to be the latest in a string of events our government justifies in the name of "national security". Unfortunately, these actions will make us LESS secure in the long run.
Destroying information in public libraries, restricting requests through the Freedom of Information Act, Bush's executive order that allows a sitting president to seal presidential records indefinitely - all of these events result in less information for the public to properly judge the actions of our government. This is inexcusable in a republic.
Without public accountability, our elected leaders will have carte blanche to commit aggregious acts in the name of our country. Any illegal actions that they take, clouded in executive priviledge and secrecy, could very well sow the seeds for future terrorist attacks.
We need to know exactly what our government is doing, particularly while we are at "war". The only way we will win a "war" against terrorism is to stand the moral high ground, and wage it with justified, measured response. If our government begins to wage it with illegal and extreme methods (in our name and without our knowledge) we are assured to locked in a vicious cycle of retribution and revenge that will only hurt ourselves in the long run.
I find it amazing that you say this
I guess if more people subscribed as premium members, this would not be an issue.
and then turn around and say this
Salon is a great site, and I'm personally willing to put up with a few ads. I just hope they keep going.
without seeing the connection.
If you think Salon is a great site, then drop the $30 for a year's subscription. Shit, quality content updated daily for $30 is an absolute steal. Don't just hope they keep going, help them to keep going.
Right on brother. I mean, who would have thought that the networks' 24/7/365 coverage of every single eye-witness testimony, worthless pundit opinion, and Duh-bya's every single move would have reminded me that three planes destroyed three major U.S. landmarks a week ago? It's a good thing they banned those songs b/c we all know that the best way to deal with grief is to never acknowledge it.
Am I the only one who is reading posts like this parent and mistaking this for a discussion about China? Distributing documents anonymously via FreeNet, fear of identity disclosure, friends turning you in? When the hell did America start to embody everything it is supposed to stand against?
May I just say, one private bookstore maintaining their own database of shoplifters shutting down is no doubt a victory for the privacy cause; it is a small victory. What if say, Borders got togeather and shared the system and database with, say, B&N. And they, in turn, shared with say another chain, say Walmart.
That's exactly what they are doing. And you are right to be afraid of this. Despite what the Libertarian nay-sayers are saying, this is not a corp compiling a database. This is a corp working in conjuncture with local law enforcement, using their database. I think allusions to corporate police state are appropriate here. Americans may have laws to prevent double jeopardy, but apparently the Scarlett Letter punishment slipped through the cracks.
The article in the previous
Which of course, begs the question, if three quarters of their theft is internal why are they monitoring customers instead of their employees?
On top of that, in most of the Borders I've been in, most employees do not respond to the beeping security gate at the entrance. Half the time they wave the patron through! Perhaps if they stationed a security employee at the door to check those instances (ala Best Buy) maybe that level of security would actually be effective.
I still don't see the problem with this. I'm for any business enacting any policy they please within the confines of their store.
What if they could perform random searches of your person? Your car? (Hey, it's in their lot!) Unlikely? Of course. But what if this became widespread and unavoidable? (as a lot of the video monitoring we find commonplace today was 30 years ago) When does it become too intrusive?
If you don't want to be watched, don't go there, and make it a habit to write letters about it to advertisers and distributors.
I always preferred Borders to Barnes & Noble, but I'm switching now (with a handwritten letter to both to let them know why!).
I don't mind it a bit, since I haven't done anything wrong. If they want to watch me closer because they think I'm a thief, good for them.
Would you mind if a security guard followed you around the store? Would you mind being randomly searched by a Borders supervisor in the middle of your browsing? Would you allow the police to search your car without a reason? What about your house without a warrant? You've done nothing wrong, so you shouldn't mind, right? I'm sorry but I will never understand this type of mentality. Just because you've done nothing wrong does NOT justify their intrusion. The burden of proof lies with them to prove your guilt, not with you, your innocence. If people's commitment to privacy only revolves around how inconvient a search is, then we have already lost.
If the thieves stop going to those stores because they bet profiles, maybe prices will drop.
And I bet I can walk on water and turn water to wine. Customer discounts winning over higher profits would only be a miracle.
If you want privacy, go get some acreage of land in the mountains and stay out of civilization. I don't see ANY privacy loss if you're as much at fault for entering THEIR private property.
See my comment above for my take on your mentality. Would it be okay for them to record and broadcast your conversations while in their store? Would it be okay for them to record you in the bathroom and broadcast that? Would it be okay for a hotel manager to watch your wife shower because you are renting his rooms? Just because you in on private property does not mean you do not have a reasonable expectation to privacy.
Its cameras on the street that worry me, but we get videotaped by ATMs and banks and at the McDonald's and the convenient store, whats so wrong with filtering those images so security can do a better job?
I am absolutely baffled why recording on public streets would bother you and recording at Borders does not. When did it become common thought that the (imagined) right to corporate profit trumps individual human rights? Corporations and businesses are legal fictions that exist at the leisure of the public, not the other way around. We seem to be forgetting this, at our own peril.
Your post made more sense to me when I initially misread your first sentence as "So perhaps right after the big bong
And furthermore, even if a person *could* design the tools, (in the case of DVDs) the DVD-CCA licenses the key to decrypt the DVD. Individuals would have to either pay for the license, $5,000 for an annual license (although they may deny you) or acquire it "illegally" (i.e. reverse-engineer). So, in the case of DVDs, there is no realistic and/or legal way for a consumer to write a program themselves (witness Jon Johanson).
So much for that idea.
- Palooka-Ville - by Seth. Published by Drawn & Quarterly. Pick up the collected story arc, It's a Good Life, If You Don't Weaken. It's a semi-autobiographical account about the author's quest to find an obscure New Yorker artist (drawn in a New Yorker style).
- Ghost World, David Boring, or anything else by Daniel Clowes. This guy is one of the best writers in Indie comics. Sharp, dark humor. Published by Fantagraphics.
- Jimmy Corrigan: The Smartest Kid on Earth - By Chris Ware. This one is available at Barnes & Noble and Borders. Collected from the Acme Novelty Library series. A heart-wrenching story about a pathetic man who meets his father for the first time. The best series I read last year and Ware is the greatest hope for comics being taken as a serious medium. Also published by Fantagraphics.
- Optic Nerve - By Adrian Tomine. Published by Drawn & Quarterly. One of the most promising young talents in indie comics. Pick up Sleepwalk and other stories, which collects issues 1 - 4 of Optic Nerve. Short stories about real people. Brilliant work.
- From Hell - By Alan Moore and Eddie Campbell. Moore's analysis of Jack the Ripper is frightening, shocking, and enthralling. I've read this series three times and I still haven't absorbed everything. Available in a collected edition at B&N and Borders.
- Maus - By Art Spiegelman. Winner of the Pulitzer Prize. One of the most overlooked treasures in comics. This book stands in the shadow of Watchmen when people talk about the best comics produced in the 80's. A masterpiece narrative about the Holocaust. This is the torch-bearer for greatness in the comics medium.
- Anything by Brian Michael Bendis - This guy is reigniting the Marvel line with his work on Elektra and Ultimate Spider-Man but some of his best work was done at Image Comics. Pick up Jink and Torso, both available in TPB.
And a few other quick recommedations: Non by Jordan Crane, Jar of Fools and Berlin by Jason Lutes, the re-issued B&W TPB of Akira and Oh My Goddess! both published by Dark Horse, and Peter Milligan on X-Force. Phew! Any one who says that comics are dead isn't reading any. There are spectacular things going on in the medium at the moment. With sales down, publishers like Marvel and DC are taking more risks. The result? Some of the best comics from these companies in the last ten years. And like I've outlined, Indie comics are still churning out *great* books.For even more recommendations and some damn good thoughts on the comics industry as a whole, read Warren Ellis' series Come In Alone at Comic Book Resources. A collected, dead-tree version is also available (which I have and strongly recommend).
You are a troll. Unfortunately, a lot of reasonable people make this ludicrous argument. To say that law-abiding citizens have nothing to fear, therefore they should not have a problem with this is to ignore the unbelievable potential for abuse. By your inane reasoning, law-abiding citizens have little use for the 4th amendment. After all, they shouldn't mind a search of their houses, cars, or person because they have nothing to hide right?
The point is charges do not need to be pressed for this to be a tool of oppression. There is tremendous evidence that unscrupulous police officers are already using driver's license databases to stalk women, spy on ex-lovers, and pursue revenge. A corporate-controlled system that has the ability to locate a person is ripe for abuse. I suggest you wake up and stop swallowing this crap that these systems are here "to protect you" and that "only criminals need to worry".
One more thing: To quote Ben Franklin, "They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety." I say you are one of these people. Perhaps you should consider relocating to a country that better suits your attitude - perhaps China?