No, I don't think we are good guys all the time, neither now, nor in the past. However, and no offense, my post was mainly speaking to the issue of American politicians usurping the rights of Americans through flimsy excuses. And I also think that most Americans believe that we are basically good people with good morals and ideals, and that we would like to share those ideals with the rest of the world -- if they want them. But I agree with you, when we start to force them on the rest of the world, then that's about where our "right" ends. There is of course the issue of what's in our "national interest", and that is by definition a selfish thing. Overall though, I think Americans are good, want to be good and do good around the world, want to be liked and respected and want people to see them (us) as reasonable, kind, and just. So this is kind-of a optimistic, rosey world view. However I personally prefer it to the alternative.
An open letter on this memorial day. A time to remember our countrymen and the sacrifices they made for our freedom. Consider the price of freedom, and how fleeting it is. What must be taken with mighty armies can be given away with the stroke of the pen...
I've read that congress is considering revisions to the Patriot Act, and that President Bush is pushing for more powers to intrude in secret into lives of Americans. Please don't let our nation go down this road. I am asking people to discuss this issue and contact your congress person and senator to let them know how you feel. Freedom is not free, it must fought for and held close dearly, in the statehouse and on the battlefield.
In America a battle is raging that is threatening our freedom in the name of terrorism. It used to be "drugs", then it was "the children", and now its "terrorists". The government doesn't care who the bogeyman is, it simply wants more power, and it will use any excuse possible to get it.
When the events of 9/11 occurred, everyone-- the politicians, the President, the newscasters, and the people everywhere-- said "We must go on with our lives, if we change who we are as a result of the trajedy then the terrorists have won..." I hate to say it then, because that's exactly what we did. We allowed our government to put in all these draconian measures that would have scared the pants off us if we had seen it in a hollywood movie on September 10th. We have fundamentally altered our country in response to what the terrorists did, and our freedom and liberty is at stake.
We are no longer as free as we were. We are no longer as kind to each other as before. We run around the world acting like the bully, and we've even lost the respect for ourselves-- our own moral compass and lamp of righteousness. We used to be the shining beacon of freedom and liberty for all the world to see. Now we're reviled and hated in many parts of the world and shunned by our friends and allies.
We've changed a lot since 9/11. Government agents can search your home and seize your property without anybody ever knowing what happened. They have even made talking about it a "national security" crime. These are things are supposed to happen in Cuba. These are things that happen in China. These are things that are supposed to happen only in the farthest, darkest, most oppressive corners of the world-- not in America, "the land of the free".
It has been said that people who give up their liberty for safety have neither. It would seem that since 9/11, Americans have looked away while lawmakers stripped away fundamental freedoms that are guaranteed to us under our constitution. Since the birth of this nation we have championed against tyranny, oppression, and the subjugation of humanity all around the world. What an irony that we must now remind ourselves of these very principles and warn our politicians to step lightly to avoid leading us into the abyss.
Step away from that edge! Guide us back into the light and liberty. America was great before, and shall be great again. All that is required is the wisdom and the courage to stand up and speak against what we all know is wrong. America has a mighty weapon, and its not our tanks, its not our ships, its not our weapons of mass destruction-- America's mightiest weaspon is ourselves. Our love for humanity, our reaching out to stop the oppressors of the world, our zest for life and our yearning to be free.
The terrorists who aim to defeat us can never win because they simply can't understand our spirit. But the politicians who govern us can defeat us. They are charged with protecting our spirit and keeping the beacon of liberty lit for all the generations that come. It is not the terrorists I fear. We have mighty armies and very smart people that will eventually defeat them, of this I am ce
Earth to Music Industry -- FUCK YOU. In the ass. Sideways. So it hurts. Screw you for even THINKING you can DICTATE what I can do with the bandwidth I PAY FOR. SCREW YOU IN A BIG DOG WAY. Fucking assholes.
Sheesh- What a dumb thing to do. So what, they have _yet ANOTHER_ digital signature they can use. Big deal. People will just strip it, zip it, or stuff it in a wrapper and it will fly right on by without anyone the wiser. Those idiotic, bone-headed lawyers are just gonna hafta wake up sometime and smell the Internet-- just like it rolled over half-a-dozen other industries (uh, publishing, software, IT, porn, you name it) its gonna roll right over them too. And I say "HA"-- in fact, I'll say it twice more "HA HA". Screw 'em. To slightly paraphrase Carly Fiorina-- there's no GOD-GIVEN RIGHT to be RICH AND POWERFUL in America anymore.
Regardless of your squick-factor over the nature of the research... it is profoundly ironic that the PATENT DEPARTMENT, of all places, is refusing to grant a patent for something that TRULY IS unique and revolutionary WHILE SIMULTANEOUSLY handing out patents like hard-rock candy to every Tom, Dick and Microsoft that comes along with some ridiculous software snippet.
I think this is an excellent idea.
Make the chip mfgr pay for making the circuits needed to make the devices. And the folks who make the steel or plastic cases. And how about the folks who supply the sand to make the chips. And the UPS driver who delivers the parts. And the pizza guy who feeds the workers who build the devices. And the teachers who train them. And the parents who raise them.
And while we're at it, why don't we go after the STOOOPID ASS CONGRESS-MORONS who screwed up the DAMNED PATENT SYSTEM???
I have a question... this whole debate has focused on whether or not it is possible to forge/alter a fingerprint.
The original topic was the police using DRM to take and store photos of the crime scene, fingerprints, physical evidence, etc.
The whole point of DRM is that everything is digitally "signed" so that forgery/tampering is supposedly impossible.
Okay, suppose I agree with that part...
Who keeps the digital key and how does one know whether or not the KEY that is presented in court to supposedly validate a particular image is the correct key, the original key, and/or that the key hasn't been forger, tampered with, or altered?
The whole DRM scheme depends on using an "ARBITRARILY-CHOSEN AUTHORITY" to authenticate and validate. The mechanism is "safe" because we "agree" (arbitrarily) that it is the "authority".
Slashdot Mirror
Well, if they did that, then they wouldn't get the opportunity to SCREW the poor hapless consumer out of some MORE bucks. God forbid.
No, I don't think we are good guys all the time, neither now, nor in the past. However, and no offense, my post was mainly speaking to the issue of American politicians usurping the rights of Americans through flimsy excuses. And I also think that most Americans believe that we are basically good people with good morals and ideals, and that we would like to share those ideals with the rest of the world -- if they want them. But I agree with you, when we start to force them on the rest of the world, then that's about where our "right" ends. There is of course the issue of what's in our "national interest", and that is by definition a selfish thing. Overall though, I think Americans are good, want to be good and do good around the world, want to be liked and respected and want people to see them (us) as reasonable, kind, and just. So this is kind-of a optimistic, rosey world view. However I personally prefer it to the alternative.
An open letter on this memorial day. A time to remember our countrymen and the sacrifices they made for our freedom. Consider the price of freedom, and how fleeting it is. What must be taken with mighty armies can be given away with the stroke of the pen...
I've read that congress is considering revisions to the Patriot Act, and that President Bush is pushing for more powers to intrude in secret into lives of Americans. Please don't let our nation go down this road. I am asking people to discuss this issue and contact your congress person and senator to let them know how you feel. Freedom is not free, it must fought for and held close dearly, in the statehouse and on the battlefield.
In America a battle is raging that is threatening our freedom in the name of terrorism. It used to be "drugs", then it was "the children", and now its "terrorists". The government doesn't care who the bogeyman is, it simply wants more power, and it will use any excuse possible to get it.
When the events of 9/11 occurred, everyone-- the politicians, the President, the newscasters, and the people everywhere-- said "We must go on with our lives, if we change who we are as a result of the trajedy then the terrorists have won..." I hate to say it then, because that's exactly what we did. We allowed our government to put in all these draconian measures that would have scared the pants off us if we had seen it in a hollywood movie on September 10th. We have fundamentally altered our country in response to what the terrorists did, and our freedom and liberty is at stake.
We are no longer as free as we were. We are no longer as kind to each other as before. We run around the world acting like the bully, and we've even lost the respect for ourselves-- our own moral compass and lamp of righteousness. We used to be the shining beacon of freedom and liberty for all the world to see. Now we're reviled and hated in many parts of the world and shunned by our friends and allies.
We've changed a lot since 9/11. Government agents can search your home and seize your property without anybody ever knowing what happened. They have even made talking about it a "national security" crime. These are things are supposed to happen in Cuba. These are things that happen in China. These are things that are supposed to happen only in the farthest, darkest, most oppressive corners of the world-- not in America, "the land of the free".
It has been said that people who give up their liberty for safety have neither. It would seem that since 9/11, Americans have looked away while lawmakers stripped away fundamental freedoms that are guaranteed to us under our constitution. Since the birth of this nation we have championed against tyranny, oppression, and the subjugation of humanity all around the world. What an irony that we must now remind ourselves of these very principles and warn our politicians to step lightly to avoid leading us into the abyss.
Step away from that edge! Guide us back into the light and liberty. America was great before, and shall be great again. All that is required is the wisdom and the courage to stand up and speak against what we all know is wrong. America has a mighty weapon, and its not our tanks, its not our ships, its not our weapons of mass destruction-- America's mightiest weaspon is ourselves. Our love for humanity, our reaching out to stop the oppressors of the world, our zest for life and our yearning to be free.
The terrorists who aim to defeat us can never win because they simply can't understand our spirit. But the politicians who govern us can defeat us. They are charged with protecting our spirit and keeping the beacon of liberty lit for all the generations that come. It is not the terrorists I fear. We have mighty armies and very smart people that will eventually defeat them, of this I am ce
Earth to Music Industry -- FUCK YOU. In the ass. Sideways. So it hurts. Screw you for even THINKING you can DICTATE what I can do with the bandwidth I PAY FOR. SCREW YOU IN A BIG DOG WAY. Fucking assholes.
Sheesh- What a dumb thing to do. So what, they have _yet ANOTHER_ digital signature they can use. Big deal. People will just strip it, zip it, or stuff it in a wrapper and it will fly right on by without anyone the wiser. Those idiotic, bone-headed lawyers are just gonna hafta wake up sometime and smell the Internet-- just like it rolled over half-a-dozen other industries (uh, publishing, software, IT, porn, you name it) its gonna roll right over them too. And I say "HA"-- in fact, I'll say it twice more "HA HA". Screw 'em. To slightly paraphrase Carly Fiorina-- there's no GOD-GIVEN RIGHT to be RICH AND POWERFUL in America anymore.
Regardless of your squick-factor over the nature of the research... it is profoundly ironic that the PATENT DEPARTMENT, of all places, is refusing to grant a patent for something that TRULY IS unique and revolutionary WHILE SIMULTANEOUSLY handing out patents like hard-rock candy to every Tom, Dick and Microsoft that comes along with some ridiculous software snippet.
<blinks eyes in complete amazement>
I think this is an excellent idea. Make the chip mfgr pay for making the circuits needed to make the devices. And the folks who make the steel or plastic cases. And how about the folks who supply the sand to make the chips. And the UPS driver who delivers the parts. And the pizza guy who feeds the workers who build the devices. And the teachers who train them. And the parents who raise them. And while we're at it, why don't we go after the STOOOPID ASS CONGRESS-MORONS who screwed up the DAMNED PATENT SYSTEM???
If it requires Microsoft Windows then it isn't really any computer any time is it? Microsoft SUCKS.
Yes, but look on the bright side... it might sink! ;)
I have a question... this whole debate has focused on whether or not it is possible to forge/alter a fingerprint.
The original topic was the police using DRM to take and store photos of the crime scene, fingerprints, physical evidence, etc.
The whole point of DRM is that everything is digitally "signed" so that forgery/tampering is supposedly impossible.
Okay, suppose I agree with that part...
Who keeps the digital key and how does one know whether or not the KEY that is presented in court to supposedly validate a particular image is the correct key, the original key, and/or that the key hasn't been forger, tampered with, or altered?
The whole DRM scheme depends on using an "ARBITRARILY-CHOSEN AUTHORITY" to authenticate and validate. The mechanism is "safe" because we "agree" (arbitrarily) that it is the "authority".