Now, just for clarity's sake, remind me again just who is it that gets to define what "anything" is?
The primary fear behind any intrusion by government into it's citizen's lives is based upon the concept of "slippery slope". In other words, "since we're already tracking this guy's e-mail, what's wrong with tracking his physical location?", or "what's wrong with filming his daily activities (both public and private)?". Government will argue that this will help identify and track "suspicious" individuals and potential "terrorists", but again, who gets to define those terms? You, me, the political party of the moment?
If that is important to you, fine. Go out and buy an aftermarket system. LoJack or similar. Having the government do it for us opens up so many possibilities for abuse, it's not funny.
Or better yet, check out some of these fine examples of how the police have been mis-using the public databases they already have access to. Even if this is just a listing of the cops that were caught abusing the system, its plenty of evidence that the presence of such systems is already proving to be too strong of a lure to the less than honorable.
We all need to ask ourselves one more time how safe we really feel letting the government have this much power.
You have to wonder, though. How much of this forgetfulness is due to the amount of time it takes for the case to actually get to court?
While I'm willing to concede that a large number of witnesses are simply full of it, or grandstanding out of some perverse sense of participatory thrill, I'm also aware that I couldn't possibly expect to remember what I was wearing as recently as last weekend. Imagine how hard it is to try and remember (under extreme testimonial pressure, no less) every detail of something you may have said, done, seen, or heard some six months in the past.
Maybe Justice is blind because she's seriously overworked . . .
I just wish they'd be honest about the whole thing and own up to the fact that just about all of this crap is really just designed to make life easier for the marketing department. I cannot, for the life of me, imagine that, somewhere, somehow, some customer made a comment along the lines of, "You know what's really missing in my life is a more convenient way for [insert corporate brand here] to reach me directly."
Again, here we see a case of an individual unwilling to even make an attempt at a thorough and thoughtful analysis of the issues surrounding what is most definitely a very complex subject. While I fully see the need for a certain level of cooperation with the authorities, I see far more problems with allowing them carte blanche acces to my entire life. When any agency has that much power, there is no point at pretending a democracy exists anymore. Ebay, and Sullivan in particular are taking a cheap and easiy way out simply to avoid dealing with an unpleasant issue.
However, Sullivan may be missing the point that privacy is always a two way street. Customers, like it or not, expect a certain amount - take it away and you drive them off. Advertise that you don't respect your customer's privacy, and you see a flurry of discussion and anger similar to that on display on this page. Sullivan seems to think that bending over for "the man" will make his dealing with law enforcement more pleasant, but he's missing the point that it doesn't grant blanket immunity from personal, or corporate liability, should "the man" make a mistake. God have mercy on the soul of any corporate bigwig who accidentally gets a customer persecuted/prosecuted under false pretenses.
At roughly $950 per computer this clearly involves more than just the OS
But remember, we're talking about the U.S. military here. These are the same folks that'll cheerfully pay $400 for a hammer and $600 for a toilet seat.
(Karma burn in progress)
. . . that the people representing the THOUSANDS of employees shafted by corporations like Enron, Mirant, ImClone, WorldCom, Microsoft, etc. are lawyers?
Did you ever noticed that that the people representing the folks contaminated by asbestos, nuclear waste, glass in food, etc. are lawyers?
Did you ever notice that the people fighting the hardest to ensure you have ANY civil liberties and civil rights at all are lawyers?
Didn't think so. The tired argument that lawyers are the source of all evil is complete, utter, "I'm incapable of original thought" bullshit.
Greed has done, and will continue to do, far more damage to this world than any country of lawyers could ever dream of accomplishing.
What lawyers do is ensure that the laws we hold so dear in the U.S. are subject to continual review and re-interpretation. Ask yourself this simple question: Could you live your life under the same rules that someone in say, 1890, did? Do you even know what those rules are? Maybe you'd prefer who ever was in power to just decide for us who is right and who is wrong? That'd be easy, and nobody'd have to think - I would so love a world filled with even more stupidity.
I wouldn't worry too much about the Georgia D.O.T. workers. After they get finished stripping off the pavement, they'll need a crew of about 20 to drop the metal plates over the mess while they wait for five to six months for the re-pavers to show up to bury the water line caps and manhole covers. Two weeks after that, the jackhammers will come back to re-chip away the fresh pavement over the openings, which means there will be at least seven "engineers" in attendance to make sure that at least two of the caps will remain uncovered. This is so the same crew can return in another month to clear the remainder. By the time the work is finally finished properly, the state house elections will be over and the new guy (desperately in need of a fatback fix) will tack several million dollars onto a business tax break bill to get the whole process started over so that the re-paved road can be named after himself.
Come OUT!!! Leave the blessed children of Jesus in peace, you spawn of Satan, you evil-doers, you molesters of children, you...you...bad people, you.
Seriously, I'm finding it hard to see any sincere motive in any legislation sponsored by the "Christian" Coalition. Is there a rider giving them an out clause to spam if the messages evangelize about the "true" faith?
First of all, let me begin by saying that this whole issue is completely ****ed up on too many levels.
But, let's indulge in some grand scale "conspiracy theory" style paranoia:
Who's to say SCO didn't just copy/paste somebody's else's comments into some old source code and "discover" the similarities themselves?
I gotta believe that you'd need a whole lot more similarities than just code commentary to prove an IP violation. I surely do not envy the lawyer(s) trying to piece this crap together...
...of using a fictional approach to highlight security vulnerabilities. How many times have we sysadmins tried to point out the dangers of a particular practice (say, passwords pasted to monitors), only to be asked "what's the worst that could happen" and asked to prove the risk?
Other than spending a large chunk of time Googling for news stories, there's not a lot of real and readily accessible information out there about the serious consequences of a lame security approach. Nor is there a pile of information that comes in an easy to understand form that upper management can grasp. Trying to explain the technical aspects will only make their eyes glaze over, and appealing to their sense of security is more often than not perceived as questioning the morality of staff.
Anecdotal "tales" such as this, may actually help the technologically adverse see the nightmare scenarios that many of us admins lose significant sleep over, and can do so in a way that makes them understand that even the best intentions can go horribly awry.
. . . of the 10% drop in "piracy" is due to the fact that the BSA did such a sublime and effective job pissing off so many of its customers that they switched to Open Source?
While I'm also concerned about this, I'm not sure its quite time to panic just yet. We need to remember who we are talking about here.
Yes, he who controls the airwaves does indeed control the debate, but who exactly will control them, and for how long? Rove and Cheney can't hold office forever, and the Republican party will only feed on itself once the broadcasting money starts to hit the water. And let's not forget that either side is a fickle mistress - whoever both expecting that the other does exactly what they are told to do.
The first time one group gets pissed at the other , all the marbles go back in the jar and Johnny goes home with the toys. If corporate America oversteps, they'll get re-regulated. If the politician oversteps, the nightly news starts running stories from hookers and interns. While I would hope that a democratic country could find a better way to discuss democracy, I do believe that this warped sense of balance keeps us [mostly] whole as a nation.
Still though . . . the EU is looking better and better
The following is brought to you by the Ministry of Information.
[Begin Sarcasm]
For Immediate Release:
The Republican National Committee is pleased to announce that it fully supports the recent FCC decision relating to broadcast media ownership requirements. It has long been the opinion of this body that the vast majority of broadcast communications have been terribly one-sided with regard to the sacred views and opinions expressed by the vast majority of true American patriots.
By eliminatiing these outdated and unecessary rules, the FCC re-establishes the constitutional principles of "free speech" so long missing from the country's airwaves. No more will the people be forced to listen to the self-righteous posturing of liberal idealism.
That being said, we at the RNC would like to announce the immediate retention of the following organizations to assist in our efforts to restore reason and values to the American Airwaves:
The Motion Picture Association of America
The Recording Industry Association of America
America Online/Time Warner, Inc.
Clear Channel Communications, Inc.
The Christian Broadcasting Network
We would also like to take this opportunity to announce our latest proposals for further streamlining the Federal Government, lowering tax-payer burdens, and increasing national security.
Under our newest plan, the following departments and agencies would be eliminated:
The Department of the Interior
The Department of Education
The Department of Agriculture
The Department of Energy
The Department of Health and Human Services
The Department of Housing and Urban Development
The Department of Labor
The Department of Transportation
The Department of Veterans Affairs
The National Endowment for the Arts
The Public Broadcasting System
National Public Radio
The Emergency Broadcast System
Of course, we are sure that the FCC reserves the right to review this decision at a later time [ed.: like if and when a democrat somehow manages to get elected]
[/End sarcasm]
Either we are really screwed, or the wheels of fortune will turn and this will become an advantage in the near future.
I'm pretty sure this is because Wall Street sees this as a ploy to get bought by IBM. What I wonder is what will happen to SCO stock if IBM balks at this. After all, its not like SCO is trying to sweet talk itself into a saleable position.
Probably little chance of suing them per se, and even less chance of a tangible outcome, but they could make life interesting for the rest of us by issuing a request for discovery of all the names of the "offended" parties should the case be accepted by the courts.
Of course, the usual IANAL disclaimer applies to all of the above commentary . . .
39. Defendants, S. LINFORD, J. LINFORD, MURPHY, WILSON, GUNN, SOBOL,
SHARP, TIETJENS, BROWER, JARED, SPAMHAUS and SPEWS converted said
Internet Protocol addresses and servers to their own use and for their
own financial gain.
According to MY mail logs, the only people trying to "convert" IP addresses and servers to their own use are the spammers. Where, oh where, are the BIG foam cluebats when you REALLY need them?
I can see it now . . .
Please . . . I don't want to be a bother, but can you help a brother out? I'm hurting, man . . . I just need five more dollars to buy some safer software . . .
In the industry where I work (non-profit), they don't really hire too many true geeks, relying instead on a staff member they refer to as a "Computer Responsible Person" or "C.R.P.".
Guess the pronunciation, and you get pretty clear idea of how they feel about geeks in general.
Slashdot Mirror
Now, just for clarity's sake, remind me again just who is it that gets to define what "anything" is?
The primary fear behind any intrusion by government into it's citizen's lives is based upon the concept of "slippery slope". In other words, "since we're already tracking this guy's e-mail, what's wrong with tracking his physical location?", or "what's wrong with filming his daily activities (both public and private)?". Government will argue that this will help identify and track "suspicious" individuals and potential "terrorists", but again, who gets to define those terms? You, me, the political party of the moment?
If that is important to you, fine. Go out and buy an aftermarket system. LoJack or similar. Having the government do it for us opens up so many possibilities for abuse, it's not funny.
Or better yet, check out some of these fine examples of how the police have been mis-using the public databases they already have access to. Even if this is just a listing of the cops that were caught abusing the system, its plenty of evidence that the presence of such systems is already proving to be too strong of a lure to the less than honorable.
We all need to ask ourselves one more time how safe we really feel letting the government have this much power.
You have to wonder, though. How much of this forgetfulness is due to the amount of time it takes for the case to actually get to court?
While I'm willing to concede that a large number of witnesses are simply full of it, or grandstanding out of some perverse sense of participatory thrill, I'm also aware that I couldn't possibly expect to remember what I was wearing as recently as last weekend. Imagine how hard it is to try and remember (under extreme testimonial pressure, no less) every detail of something you may have said, done, seen, or heard some six months in the past.
Maybe Justice is blind because she's seriously overworked . . .
I just wish they'd be honest about the whole thing and own up to the fact that just about all of this crap is really just designed to make life easier for the marketing department. I cannot, for the life of me, imagine that, somewhere, somehow, some customer made a comment along the lines of, "You know what's really missing in my life is a more convenient way for [insert corporate brand here] to reach me directly."
Again, here we see a case of an individual unwilling to even make an attempt at a thorough and thoughtful analysis of the issues surrounding what is most definitely a very complex subject. While I fully see the need for a certain level of cooperation with the authorities, I see far more problems with allowing them carte blanche acces to my entire life. When any agency has that much power, there is no point at pretending a democracy exists anymore. Ebay, and Sullivan in particular are taking a cheap and easiy way out simply to avoid dealing with an unpleasant issue.
However, Sullivan may be missing the point that privacy is always a two way street. Customers, like it or not, expect a certain amount - take it away and you drive them off. Advertise that you don't respect your customer's privacy, and you see a flurry of discussion and anger similar to that on display on this page. Sullivan seems to think that bending over for "the man" will make his dealing with law enforcement more pleasant, but he's missing the point that it doesn't grant blanket immunity from personal, or corporate liability, should "the man" make a mistake. God have mercy on the soul of any corporate bigwig who accidentally gets a customer persecuted/prosecuted under false pretenses.
I never liked it 'cause it sounded too much like a verb.
IBM/Hitachi makes a 1 gig. micro-drive for handhelds that'll plug in to a Type II CF card, and there's even one for sale on the Zaurus site.
But remember, we're talking about the U.S. military here. These are the same folks that'll cheerfully pay $400 for a hammer and $600 for a toilet seat.
Did you ever noticed that that the people representing the folks contaminated by asbestos, nuclear waste, glass in food, etc. are lawyers?
Did you ever notice that the people fighting the hardest to ensure you have ANY civil liberties and civil rights at all are lawyers?
Didn't think so. The tired argument that lawyers are the source of all evil is complete, utter, "I'm incapable of original thought" bullshit.
Greed has done, and will continue to do, far more damage to this world than any country of lawyers could ever dream of accomplishing.
What lawyers do is ensure that the laws we hold so dear in the U.S. are subject to continual review and re-interpretation. Ask yourself this simple question: Could you live your life under the same rules that someone in say, 1890, did? Do you even know what those rules are? Maybe you'd prefer who ever was in power to just decide for us who is right and who is wrong? That'd be easy, and nobody'd have to think - I would so love a world filled with even more stupidity.
Seriously, I'm finding it hard to see any sincere motive in any legislation sponsored by the "Christian" Coalition. Is there a rider giving them an out clause to spam if the messages evangelize about the "true" faith?
Probably more like what he's going to be reduced to eating.
(at least until the made for TV movie).
But, let's indulge in some grand scale "conspiracy theory" style paranoia:
Who's to say SCO didn't just copy/paste somebody's else's comments into some old source code and "discover" the similarities themselves?
I gotta believe that you'd need a whole lot more similarities than just code commentary to prove an IP violation. I surely do not envy the lawyer(s) trying to piece this crap together...
After hovering between $5.00 and $6.00 dollars for most of the past week, SCO's stock has jumped up to a {ahem} "healthy" $9.29.
Other than spending a large chunk of time Googling for news stories, there's not a lot of real and readily accessible information out there about the serious consequences of a lame security approach. Nor is there a pile of information that comes in an easy to understand form that upper management can grasp. Trying to explain the technical aspects will only make their eyes glaze over, and appealing to their sense of security is more often than not perceived as questioning the morality of staff.
Anecdotal "tales" such as this, may actually help the technologically adverse see the nightmare scenarios that many of us admins lose significant sleep over, and can do so in a way that makes them understand that even the best intentions can go horribly awry.
. . . of the 10% drop in "piracy" is due to the fact that the BSA did such a sublime and effective job pissing off so many of its customers that they switched to Open Source?
While I'm also concerned about this, I'm not sure its quite time to panic just yet. We need to remember who we are talking about here.
Yes, he who controls the airwaves does indeed control the debate, but who exactly will control them, and for how long? Rove and Cheney can't hold office forever, and the Republican party will only feed on itself once the broadcasting money starts to hit the water. And let's not forget that either side is a fickle mistress - whoever both expecting that the other does exactly what they are told to do.
The first time one group gets pissed at the other , all the marbles go back in the jar and Johnny goes home with the toys. If corporate America oversteps, they'll get re-regulated. If the politician oversteps, the nightly news starts running stories from hookers and interns. While I would hope that a democratic country could find a better way to discuss democracy, I do believe that this warped sense of balance keeps us [mostly] whole as a nation.
Still though . . . the EU is looking better and better
The following is brought to you by the Ministry of Information.
[Begin Sarcasm]For Immediate Release:
The Republican National Committee is pleased to announce that it fully supports the recent FCC decision relating to broadcast media ownership requirements. It has long been the opinion of this body that the vast majority of broadcast communications have been terribly one-sided with regard to the sacred views and opinions expressed by the vast majority of true American patriots.
By eliminatiing these outdated and unecessary rules, the FCC re-establishes the constitutional principles of "free speech" so long missing from the country's airwaves. No more will the people be forced to listen to the self-righteous posturing of liberal idealism.
That being said, we at the RNC would like to announce the immediate retention of the following organizations to assist in our efforts to restore reason and values to the American Airwaves:
We would also like to take this opportunity to announce our latest proposals for further streamlining the Federal Government, lowering tax-payer burdens, and increasing national security.
Under our newest plan, the following departments and agencies would be eliminated:
Of course, we are sure that the FCC reserves the right to review this decision at a later time [ed.: like if and when a democrat somehow manages to get elected]
[/End sarcasm]
Either we are really screwed, or the wheels of fortune will turn and this will become an advantage in the near future.
I'm pretty sure this is because Wall Street sees this as a ploy to get bought by IBM. What I wonder is what will happen to SCO stock if IBM balks at this. After all, its not like SCO is trying to sweet talk itself into a saleable position.
Bad Monkey, BAD!!!
Probably little chance of suing them per se, and even less chance of a tangible outcome, but they could make life interesting for the rest of us by issuing a request for discovery of all the names of the "offended" parties should the case be accepted by the courts. Of course, the usual IANAL disclaimer applies to all of the above commentary . . .
I can see it now . . .
Please . . . I don't want to be a bother, but can you help a brother out? I'm hurting, man . . . I just need five more dollars to buy some safer software . . .
In the industry where I work (non-profit), they don't really hire too many true geeks, relying instead on a staff member they refer to as a "Computer Responsible Person" or "C.R.P.".
Guess the pronunciation, and you get pretty clear idea of how they feel about geeks in general.
Bastards...
. . . but, aren't there terrorists out there?
I feel much safer staying inside where I can listen to the calm soothing voice of my president telling me everything will be O-Tay.