ISPs are not just private companies. They are private companies subsidized by taxpayer dollars...
Don't know what country you live in, but in the U.S. this just ain't so.
Unless you're one of those who insists that getting "tax breaks" is the same as being "taxpayer subsidized."
Of course, that argument only works when you start from the permise that "all money belongs to the government; they're just letting us have some of it." That's bullsh*t, of course. In the U.S., the government derives power from the consent of the governed, not the other way 'round.
So, unless you can show me where the government is taking money from taxpayers and giving it directly to ISPs, you're just blowin' smoke.
I stand by my statement. You are "correcting" your children, or "disciplining them," or what have you. You aren't "censoring" them because that can only be done--rightly or wrongly--by a government with the force of police power behind it.
A country of 300 million people cannot have that many actual terrorists in it,...
Well, you're right of course, but what do you suggest?
Every time I go to the airport, it *really* irks me that I'm being held up, and searched, and inconvenienced generally, just so the *tiniest* chance that I might be a terrorist can be addressed.
What bothers me is the use of terms like "patently illegal" by people who either (a) don't know what the h*ll they're talking about or (b) KNOW that it is not illegal but have a political agenda that to them is far more important than national security.
I'm likely in the minority on a site where "nerd is king," but I *REALLY* like this trend toward making the difficult simpler for us casual administrators.
Several years ago I tried to set up my Linux box as an internet router/gateway, using IPTABLES and what-not. I failed just through sheer lack of time to commit to learning all the stuff I'd need to know to do it properly. About that time, the first "Cable/DSL routers" came on the market, and made moot my need.
Now, however, it is very easy to configure the various widgets that you'd need for this task because tools exist on (e.g.) Fedora to make it so.
For myself, I'm glad I can put the effort into learning more in-depth some of the things I can do with Linux, and yet those things I find tedious, or don't have the time to do, have "easy-to-use" tools handy.
Problem is: The ASSUMPTION is if the U.S. does it, it must be "wrong."
Just finished three days of (among other things) watching old (and not so old) war movies, mostly of World War II. Couldn't help but think "what would our modern media have done with stories of Guadalcanal, Market Garden, Dresden, Battle of the Bulge?"
The difference between "then" and "now," of course, is that there was a time when journalists were Americans first, and didn't think to sell their birthright for a mess of pottage (a chance at a Pulitzer). War is a dirty business, and the war we're fighting now is a heap more dangerous because the ENEMY we're fighting sneaks and skulks in the shadows.
You people with your sniffery about "needing to get the truth out there" never stop to think that YOU and those like you would be the first to have your heads roll - literally - should our enemies ever gain advantage over us.
You take full advantage of the violent defense of your carcasses, all the while taking pot-shots at those who put their lives on the line for your comfort and convenience.
And Thomas Aquinas, in Summa Theologica, made some Pretty Ridiculous Arguments that were fascinating for his audience but that, in the end, added precisely bukis to the store of useful knowledge.
I doubt that Mr. Stallman would agree with your opinion that his views are only of very limited interest. He's trying to Free Mankind(tm), after all, isn't he?
"With this change, GNU/Linux distros can include the non-free Sun Java platform, just as some now include the non-free nVidia driver. But they do so only at the cost of being non-free."
Which, to the vast majority of users, means absolutely BUPKIS.
The NTP "stratum" system is a sort of reminder of the Internet of the past, which was relegated to sys-admins and more knowledgeable folks who had "gentlemen's agreements" as to fair use.
For example, I didn't realize until a year or so after I pointed my small home server's NTP to time.nist.gov, that a run-of-the-mill client "wasn't allowed" to point to a Stratum 1 server.
Sure, "ignorance is no excuse," but it was ignorance on my part. I changed it later on, to a Stratum 2 (or maybe 3?) server at a local university, after I found out about my faux pas, but the point is what was "just understood" at one time by those using these systems was certainly NOT understood by li'l ol' me.
This isn't to excuse D-Link for this. Surely someone there could have taken the time to figure out what was correct. And I do think they were sports about righting their wrong.
But it IS to say that perhaps the NTP server system ought to update itself to allow only authorized clients to connect to upper-stratum servers.
I believe NOTHING I see from agendized groups like the one you cite. These are the folks talking about "tens of thousands of innocent civilian casualties," when the real count was in the hundreds--regrettable, but tiny when compared with the third-of-a-million graves they've already uncovered from the Saddam years.
This is what astonishes me: Here you have a madman, bent on acquiring weapons and funding terrorism, who slaughters his own people in droves, and all SOME people worry about is how there MIGHT be "collateral damage."
When was there NOT "collateral damage" during wartime, ever?
This is just spineless jelly-fishery. This was a job that had to be done, and I am for protecting US against THEM, every time.
Slashdot Mirror
I don't recall, during my childhood in the 60s and 70s, ever skimping on vacations, holidays and assorted downtime.
The real "slacking" that takes place, is in the workplace itself.
Such as ME writing this response on /. when I ought to be working.
Don't know what country you live in, but in the U.S. this just ain't so.
Unless you're one of those who insists that getting "tax breaks" is the same as being "taxpayer subsidized."
Of course, that argument only works when you start from the permise that "all money belongs to the government; they're just letting us have some of it." That's bullsh*t, of course. In the U.S., the government derives power from the consent of the governed, not the other way 'round.
So, unless you can show me where the government is taking money from taxpayers and giving it directly to ISPs, you're just blowin' smoke.
I stand by my statement. You are "correcting" your children, or "disciplining them," or what have you. You aren't "censoring" them because that can only be done--rightly or wrongly--by a government with the force of police power behind it.
Well, you're right of course, but what do you suggest?
Every time I go to the airport, it *really* irks me that I'm being held up, and searched, and inconvenienced generally, just so the *tiniest* chance that I might be a terrorist can be addressed.
Meanwhile, Yale University welcomes Rahmatullah Hashemi with open arms.
But any attempt to narrow the focus to PROBABLE terrorists is derided by some (including on /.) as "racial profiling."
So, it's back to exposing my socks and underwear to bored bureaucrats, I guess.
What bothers me is the use of terms like "patently illegal" by people who either (a) don't know what the h*ll they're talking about or (b) KNOW that it is not illegal but have a political agenda that to them is far more important than national security.
The Clinton Administration "Chinese Wall" prevented intelligence operatives from informing domestic law enforcement, however.
I think the Able Danger fiasco PROVES why lily-livered "civil libertarians" should get the h*ll out of the peoples' business.
How many "civil liberties" have you left, when you're dead?
Only the government can "censor" anyone. ISPs routinely "censor" content, and have no restrictions on doing so.
Remember: Your right to "free speech" does NOT come with a corresponding right to be heard.
Else why don't I have my own late-night talk show on a major network?
Several years ago I tried to set up my Linux box as an internet router/gateway, using IPTABLES and what-not. I failed just through sheer lack of time to commit to learning all the stuff I'd need to know to do it properly. About that time, the first "Cable/DSL routers" came on the market, and made moot my need.
Now, however, it is very easy to configure the various widgets that you'd need for this task because tools exist on (e.g.) Fedora to make it so.
For myself, I'm glad I can put the effort into learning more in-depth some of the things I can do with Linux, and yet those things I find tedious, or don't have the time to do, have "easy-to-use" tools handy.
"Mein Voigt-Kampf".
At least, that's my first impression.
Hey, maybe they're working tirelessly on their education, and have several patents that are the source of plentiful royalties, or something.
But I'm skeptical at this point.
My sister adminsters the entire WAN for a Federal court district in the Southeast. They use Netware.
I have no experience with Netware, and no interest or need for its existence. But a comment like "it killed Netware completely" is asinine.
Wha...?
Errr...
Not to mention the fact that there are RPM, DEB and TGZ packages instead of "one way" to get software onto your box.
Just finished three days of (among other things) watching old (and not so old) war movies, mostly of World War II. Couldn't help but think "what would our modern media have done with stories of Guadalcanal, Market Garden, Dresden, Battle of the Bulge?"
The difference between "then" and "now," of course, is that there was a time when journalists were Americans first, and didn't think to sell their birthright for a mess of pottage (a chance at a Pulitzer). War is a dirty business, and the war we're fighting now is a heap more dangerous because the ENEMY we're fighting sneaks and skulks in the shadows.
You people with your sniffery about "needing to get the truth out there" never stop to think that YOU and those like you would be the first to have your heads roll - literally - should our enemies ever gain advantage over us.
You take full advantage of the violent defense of your carcasses, all the while taking pot-shots at those who put their lives on the line for your comfort and convenience.
You stink.
I agree. I think reporters should be held accountable when they commit treasonous acts.
Me, I think it's useful when American reporters don't divulge American secrets. Nice to keep everyone's head on their shoulders that way.
...with the Exocomps.
I doubt that Mr. Stallman would agree with your opinion that his views are only of very limited interest. He's trying to Free Mankind(tm), after all, isn't he?
Algore tried to warn us about this.
"With this change, GNU/Linux distros can include the non-free Sun Java platform, just as some now include the non-free nVidia driver. But they do so only at the cost of being non-free."
Which, to the vast majority of users, means absolutely BUPKIS.
Interesting which side most folks here come down on. One "fact" contradicts the other, but without any reasonable expectation of agenda.
Anyone else want to weigh in on the fact that the NSA "phone-tapping scandal" is turning out to be a big flop for our vaunted mainstream media?
For example, I didn't realize until a year or so after I pointed my small home server's NTP to time.nist.gov, that a run-of-the-mill client "wasn't allowed" to point to a Stratum 1 server.
Sure, "ignorance is no excuse," but it was ignorance on my part. I changed it later on, to a Stratum 2 (or maybe 3?) server at a local university, after I found out about my faux pas, but the point is what was "just understood" at one time by those using these systems was certainly NOT understood by li'l ol' me.
This isn't to excuse D-Link for this. Surely someone there could have taken the time to figure out what was correct. And I do think they were sports about righting their wrong.
But it IS to say that perhaps the NTP server system ought to update itself to allow only authorized clients to connect to upper-stratum servers.
This is what astonishes me: Here you have a madman, bent on acquiring weapons and funding terrorism, who slaughters his own people in droves, and all SOME people worry about is how there MIGHT be "collateral damage."
When was there NOT "collateral damage" during wartime, ever?
This is just spineless jelly-fishery. This was a job that had to be done, and I am for protecting US against THEM, every time.
I realize a few years back, when bandwidth came at appreciable cost, this might have been the case, but now?