Many of the comments have been about the failings of the individual responsible for taking the data home. While this is certainly an important aspect, I think that the fact that service member personal data can be taken home is a bigger issue. Where was this data? Probably in a malformed spreadsheet on his work PC, completely unprotected by encryption. If we (the people) want to ensure that this cannot happen anymore, puch your duly elected representatives to enact legislation requiring any personally identifiable information be encrypted at all times. If the entertainment industry can see to it that I can't copy a CD, then certainly the government should be able to ensure that nobody can copy my SSN or other such info.
I worked in a IT shop in the AF for a contracting squadron and I must say that if it were up to me, the PC's would all have biometric stuff, no writeable drives (CD, DVD, Floppy), no open ports on the machine (USB, Firewire, Parallel, COM, etc...), and no printscreen button. This seems to me to be the only way to stop this sort of thing from happening.
I think you may have misread, the man was required to show his driver's licence because he had clearly been driving. The case history states that the officer noticed skid marks which led the officer to believe that the man may have been intoxicated. Had the man been walking down the street, instead of driving, he would have been under no obligation to provide his ID. In this case, the important factor is that there was the possibility of a crime (DUI) so the officer was within his right to detain the man to ascertain his identification.
Had the call been about a man walking down the street and beating his daughter, there would have had to have been visible proof or an actual allegation by the daughter of the abuse, not just the original call, to justify the detention.
As for your DL being required for various things, just say no. Of course they also have the right to refuse you service.
(Sorry if this is a duplicate of anyone else's reply, I didn't feel like reading through them all)
You can add me to that list of people who will now "switch" because of BootCamp. I don't want to lose some of the software I have (Autocad and Sonar mostly), so I have put off switching. Now that I can still have those titles, and a nice new Mac, my next computer purchase will be a Mac.
I like the part about the tower sites and leasing them. If NO gets turned down by the courts, they could just revoke all permits for cell towers and all permits for use of the "public" rights of way that the telco's are currently using. Or, they could charge the telco's a hefty sum for use of either of those, and use that money to provide vouchers for the citizens to pay for the telco's services. I, for one, hope that the courts will allow NO to proceed with free wi-fi, it is a move in the right direction and I hope it is glimpse of the future.
I would also limit bandwidth to individual machines. Make it enought to check e-mail or surf a little, but slow enough to become slightly frustrating. Perhaps this would bring in customers who like having free access, but they wouldn't want to spend all day surfing on a limited bandwidth connection.
First, your information is very interesting. I must, however, make a point regarding "the spelling is NOT arbitrary". For a person who has learned the English language it seems that spelling is not all that important. Take the following as an example:
Frist, yuor ifmnatioron is vrey inretetsing. I msut, hewveor, mkae a ponit regadirnag "the spllieng is NOT artbirary". For a pseron who has lereand the Ensglih...
While not easy to read, you can read it (right?). I seems that the only important fact is that all of the letters are there, in the correct number, and that the first and last letters are correct. If the point of spelling correctly is to enhance communication, I would argue that incorrect spelling does not necessarily hamper effective communication and therefore should not have such a high emphasis placed on it. I feel that while spelling is important, goos content is a much more important. Proper spelling is only absolutely important when a new word whose meaning can be derived by its individual components is encountered. Your example of 'orthographic' is one such word, for me at least. Even though I can't recall seeing the word and did not know the definition, I could determine the meaning by breaking the word into ortho (correct) and graphic (drawing). I was then able to infer that the word probably meant correct spelling or correct writing.
So, does this mean that my local bakery can't toast my bagel and put cream cheese on it when they see me come through the door. Will I have to wait in line, place my order and then wait until the other orders are fullfilled before my bagel begins to toast? Will they not be able to suggest that I try the new cranberry and cinnamon bagel they just made, what about the strawberry flavored cream cheese? Am I forever stuck with a plain bagel, plain cream cheese? I wish somebody would help clear this up for me, I am worried.
I agree, now another step in the right direction would be to allow all existing p0rn sites with a.com to pre-register as a.xxx, for a considerably smaller fee than $60.00. I totally support.xxx as a convenient way to filter out, or filter for, pornography.
While I was in the Air Force they preached computer security (CompuSec) day in and day out. The biggest threat wasn't from hacking or malicious software, but from someone walking by your desk, seeing your Post-It-Note with your password on it and memorizing it. The other issue was with someone calling an employee and telling them they were the Help Desk and they needed their password for some reason or another. I used to do this to people, to teach them, and was surprised at the number of morons who would give out their password. I would say, "Hi this is [my name], I need your password to remotely log you into the XXXX server so that I can back up your XXXXX files". Most people would just give me their password. Anways, password security is a real problem if the information being password protected is important.
The California debt isn't used to manage the world's economy. It is used to provide wasteful, overbudgeted, useless services to the citizens of California. A balanced federal budget doesn't provide enough monetary flexibility to maintain a stable economy, therefore it isn't a big deal.
Actually they do have to call the 800 number prior to digging. In SoCal, it must be called in a minimum of 72 hours prior to digging (not including weekends). Additionally, if the markings are not clear, have washed away, are obviously incorrect, or seem odd in any way at all the digging party must call the 800 number again for re-marking. Then, if everything is marked properly you may begin to dig, but not with a backhoe. You must first manually (with a shovel) locate all marked utilities in the work area. Once they have all been marked, you may go in with a backhoe and dig (if there is room of course).
The problem here is not with maps, or a lack of technical expertise on the county's part. The problem is with the crappy sub-contractors VZ used. The damaged utilities should (but will not due to legal expense) seek recourse from Verizon for the damages their subs have caused in the area.
Same thing in SoCal, it's called "Dig Alert" though and is free to the person doing the digging. The utilities pay to get notified and then go mark where their lines are. The problem with the system is that the utilities show up late and many do not know where their repective lines are anyways. The problem with Verizon is that they use crappy sub-contractors and they simply do not care what the quality of the work is.
Seriously, we need a new TLD for this industry to help restore some sanity to the chaos that the dog grooming industry has become. I mean, have you attempted to find a dog groomer in one of the other TLD's, impossible I tell you. Without a new TLD for dog grooming only, this vibrant and vital industry will suffer the same problems as many other industries that rely so heavily on the internet.
So, the Department of homeland Security was created to simplify, organize and streamline the process of securing our homeland. Trademark violation falls under their purview now and as any newly minted, efficient government organization worth it's salt would do, they send two agents to a little toy store to scare the crap out of a shopkeeper when a simple stamp, envelope, and letterhead with the words "Cease and Desist" typed on them would have done the trick. Homeland security, why spend $0.50 when $5,000.00 will scare our citizens even more!
I was watching the Discover Channel special on SpaceShipOne and it seems to me that all this thing requires is a decent runway, a portable office in a trailer, and a few laptops to operate. If the FAA is thinking of over-regulating commercial spaceflight, I would suggest they simply move their operations to a less regulation overloaded country (or one where regulations can be overlooked for a small fee!). The only thing I can think of that is keeping current launches of commercial satellites under the direction of the FAA is that in order to put a satellite into orbit over the US it needs to be launched from the US.
The government purchases satellite time and or imagery for exclusive use via perfectly normal contractual methods.
John Doe submits FOIA request to government for image that the government paid extra money to ensure that it would be exculsive.
Government wastes money and has potential security breach via FOIA backdoor.
This law simply aims to close this one back door. Anyone who disagrees needs to RTFA. There are existing laws on the books limiting dissemination of satellite imagery (and for good reasons). It is these existing laws which contain the FOIA backdoor. The door simply needs to be shut.
The larger problem stated in the subject is one of appropriate security classifications and subsequent timeliness of declassification. It super easy to stamp "CLASSIFIED" or "SENSITIVE" when the item in question may not really be either.
Also, the article mentioned images from war-zones that were sufficiently aged as to question the appropriateness of maintaing any security classification. I think that there are many factors to consider other than simply, "The image is 2 months old, release it!". There is a great deal of information in aged imagery that could be had if one were diligent and intelligent enough to extract it. Take for example, and image of Baghdad that happens to have some tanks and HUMVEES in it and is 6 months old. Seems innocent enough, until you start looking at multiple images of the same or similar scenes. When enough small bits of information are available, the "enemy" could interpret troop movements, tactics, deployed strengths, etc...
That being said, an image from Afghanistan showing a sheep herd and a single transport truck on a dirt road from 3 years ago shouldn't be deemed "SECRET" because there is no small bits of 'intel' in it.
I hope Apple learned a lesson from the last time they created a groundbreaking product only to see it's marketshare dwindle due to their (greed, arrogance, shortsightedness?).
Apple seems to have a history of creating seemingly superior products only to have them surpassed in sales volume and marketshare by less expensive more widely compatible products.
If one looks at the history of the PC, it could be argued that at one time Apple was poised to dominate the market, but utterly failed when competitors brought a viable cheaper alternative to market.
This could be happening with the iPod / iTunes product line. Apple blew the doors off of all portable music players with the iPod, period. They have sold millions of devices. They have created a whole new market. They have changed popular culture. Just like they did with the PC!
With the release of WMP10, Microsoft is poised to end Apple's dominance in this market. How? The same way they did with the PC. They have created, or purchased, decent software for use with a host of hardware options. I currently see 6 online music stores to purchase songs from including Wal-Mart for $0.88 a song. There are many music players available that will interface seemlessly (according to MS) with WMP, and there are many more to come.
Is the iPod a superior piece of hardware? IMHO, Yes. I love mine, couldn't live without it! But, given Apple's track record, I don't see it being the dominant player in 2-3 years.
Wow, you really hate WMP! Or do you just love iTunes so much that you blindly and ignorantly lash out at anything different? I must agree that the article sounds like it was written by an ad agency in MS employ. I for one prefer purely objective reviews. I would prefer comparing the new features with exisiting players.
Following is a rebuttal of your statements:
MP3 Encoding
MP3 Encoding was available in previous versions of WMP (prior to iTunes), it did however require the download of a freely availble add-on to WMP from MS. If you don't believe me I can post a list of MP3's primarily ripped through WMP.
Playlists
While it is true that a person couldn't create playlists based on the specific criteria in the article, it was possible to create extensive playlists in previous versions. All pre-iTunes.
Ratings
Also available in WMP 9, before iTunes. I could be mistaken, but I believe the ratings were available in older versions as well. Creating playlists based on ratings is not new to WMP10.
Crossfading
Another available plug-in (perhaps through PLUS!) for WMP9 which is pre-iTunes
Interface
Hmmm... I suppose it will take some getting used to, but it is skinable. Is iTunes? If a person were to download WMP10 and decide the interface was not to their liking, they could simply apply another skin.
One observation from your rantings... Do you really expect companies to produce products that do not attempt to better the advancements of previous attempts? All companies must look at what is currently in the marketplace and try to develop a product that is better than what is currently out there. Apple did not invent media players with iTunes. They looked at what was in the marketplace and produced a product that, according to consumers, is very good. Did you write a similar piece when iTunes was released. Did you berate Apple for primarily copying the functionality of various existing media players? I doubt it...
I don't believe I was taking snippets to suit my argument (if that is what you are accusing me of?). I was merely suggesting that the possible use of an airplane as a weapon could be construed as a Breach of the Peace. If one were to succesfully argue this in court, then stopping a Senator or Representative would not be in violation of law.
I for one do not think that Senators or Representatives should be stopped for any reason, even though it is plausilble to argue for it.
No work should ever be banned. Period. If we are to live in an enlightened society, then we must be able to live with ideas which are contrary to our own.
In reading the various threads regarding this topic, I have come across many arguments for censorship from people who would probably consider themselves against censorship. Many have written something to effect of "I can understand why X,Y or Z is banned, but not A,B or C". It is my opinion that no work should be banned, ever.
Does this mean that I think "Sex" by Madonna should be on the shelves of an elementary shools library? No. It means that we (the people) should be free from censorship. Children do not fall under the category of "the people", so they should not be protected against censorship. I think it is allowable for a community, through it's local school board, to remove a work from their library. I wouldn't recommend it, but I can't argue against it. They have decided what they think is best for their children. If I were a parent and disagreed with the school board's decision, I could simply go to the local public library and borrow a copy of the work for my child to read.
I absolutely disagree with any attempt to censor any work (literary, musical, photographic, etc...). I view it as an attempt at controlling my thoughts, and I simply will not allow that.
Now this position of mine is limited to any attempt to make it illegal to read a book, or sell a CD. I do not think that economic pressures are a bad thing. Take Ice T's 'Cop Killer' song. I have no problem with it being sold, but so many people did have a problem with it that retailers simply stopped carrying it. That is economic force in action, not legal force.
Scenario: France decides to block all traffic from www.yahoo.com and related (www.yahoo.fr, etc...)
I am not intimately familiar with the structure of the "internet", but it seems unlikely that France would be able to shut Yahoo! off from only France's citizens. The Chinese government has tried to shut off the internet in China, but if I am not mistaken, they have not had great success. I would think that accomplishing this would require literally cutting the lines.
Despite my reservations for supporting the trafficing of Nazi paraphenalia (for hate related purposes only), I am once again pleased to see so many Americans stand behind the rights we have shed our blood for, even when the outcome of those rights is obviously unpopular.
I don't understand the argument that enacting security restrictions on visiting foreigners is a violation of their rights and will therefore upset them. Visiting foreigners have no rights in America, save for the ones that Americans wish them to have whilst they are visiting. If Americans decide that all visiting foreingers must go through a full body cavity search before entering the U.S., then they will have to submit to the search or be barred from entry.
I for one believe that we should utilize technology to it's fullest to secure our borders and points of entry. But infringing upon visiting foreigners privacy doesn't accomplish this.
What we truly need is full cooperation from allies and friendly nations. There is no reason we can't foster cooperation between law enforcement and intelligence agencies amongst our friends to help us keep out potential terrorists, or at least know where they are. This may be a bit of a pipe dream considering we can't really foster cooperation between our own law enforcement and intelligence agencies though!
What we should really be concerned about is whether or not the technology will really work. And, do they really mean to store biometric data on an RFID chip? I was under the impression that an RFID chip had a relatively small amount of memory (something like a 16,000 characters). Perhaps they mean a SIM card like in a cellphone or U.S. Military ID.
It could be argued that terrorists hijacking a fully fueled aircraft and crashing it into large buildings or government offices would constitute a Breach of the Peace.
But come on, don't Senator's and Representatives have some sort of get out of jail free card or a "I sign your paycheck, stupid!" I.D. card that could show?
I would argue that along with scarcity, capatalism is also effective at dealing with demand.
In the world of intellectual property there is not scarcity, but there is demand. Capatalism, unfettered, will simply create a business model that creates profit from unlimited supply, and limited demand. As in most cases, it is not the supply that is profited from, but the delivery.
Sand is in umlimited supply (for the most part), but people still pay for it. What they are really paying for is the delivery of the sand to their doorstep.
Music can now be seen as having an unlimited supply since there is literally no need for the physical media to store it on. What the media companies will have to figure out is that they can profit (not the ridiculous profit they now receive, but profit) from delivering this content to the end user. I would prefer to download music from a trusted party that I know will be of the highest quality rather than from some guy named "shittymusic6969". But the price has to be right, and when you are competing with FREE, the right price is damned close to FREE.
Slashdot Mirror
RoR does do what you are talking about. One of it's best features is that it is designed to be completly database agnostic.
Many of the comments have been about the failings of the individual responsible for taking the data home. While this is certainly an important aspect, I think that the fact that service member personal data can be taken home is a bigger issue. Where was this data? Probably in a malformed spreadsheet on his work PC, completely unprotected by encryption. If we (the people) want to ensure that this cannot happen anymore, puch your duly elected representatives to enact legislation requiring any personally identifiable information be encrypted at all times. If the entertainment industry can see to it that I can't copy a CD, then certainly the government should be able to ensure that nobody can copy my SSN or other such info.
I worked in a IT shop in the AF for a contracting squadron and I must say that if it were up to me, the PC's would all have biometric stuff, no writeable drives (CD, DVD, Floppy), no open ports on the machine (USB, Firewire, Parallel, COM, etc...), and no printscreen button. This seems to me to be the only way to stop this sort of thing from happening.
I think you may have misread, the man was required to show his driver's licence because he had clearly been driving. The case history states that the officer noticed skid marks which led the officer to believe that the man may have been intoxicated. Had the man been walking down the street, instead of driving, he would have been under no obligation to provide his ID. In this case, the important factor is that there was the possibility of a crime (DUI) so the officer was within his right to detain the man to ascertain his identification.
Had the call been about a man walking down the street and beating his daughter, there would have had to have been visible proof or an actual allegation by the daughter of the abuse, not just the original call, to justify the detention.
As for your DL being required for various things, just say no. Of course they also have the right to refuse you service.
(Sorry if this is a duplicate of anyone else's reply, I didn't feel like reading through them all)
You can add me to that list of people who will now "switch" because of BootCamp. I don't want to lose some of the software I have (Autocad and Sonar mostly), so I have put off switching. Now that I can still have those titles, and a nice new Mac, my next computer purchase will be a Mac.
I like the part about the tower sites and leasing them. If NO gets turned down by the courts, they could just revoke all permits for cell towers and all permits for use of the "public" rights of way that the telco's are currently using. Or, they could charge the telco's a hefty sum for use of either of those, and use that money to provide vouchers for the citizens to pay for the telco's services. I, for one, hope that the courts will allow NO to proceed with free wi-fi, it is a move in the right direction and I hope it is glimpse of the future.
I would also limit bandwidth to individual machines. Make it enought to check e-mail or surf a little, but slow enough to become slightly frustrating. Perhaps this would bring in customers who like having free access, but they wouldn't want to spend all day surfing on a limited bandwidth connection.
Proper spelling is only absolutely important when a new word whose meaning can be derived by its individual components is encountered. Your example of 'orthographic' is one such word, for me at least. Even though I can't recall seeing the word and did not know the definition, I could determine the meaning by breaking the word into ortho (correct) and graphic (drawing). I was then able to infer that the word probably meant correct spelling or correct writing.
So, does this mean that my local bakery can't toast my bagel and put cream cheese on it when they see me come through the door. Will I have to wait in line, place my order and then wait until the other orders are fullfilled before my bagel begins to toast? Will they not be able to suggest that I try the new cranberry and cinnamon bagel they just made, what about the strawberry flavored cream cheese? Am I forever stuck with a plain bagel, plain cream cheese? I wish somebody would help clear this up for me, I am worried.
I agree, now another step in the right direction would be to allow all existing p0rn sites with a .com to pre-register as a .xxx, for a considerably smaller fee than $60.00. I totally support .xxx as a convenient way to filter out, or filter for, pornography.
While I was in the Air Force they preached computer security (CompuSec) day in and day out. The biggest threat wasn't from hacking or malicious software, but from someone walking by your desk, seeing your Post-It-Note with your password on it and memorizing it. The other issue was with someone calling an employee and telling them they were the Help Desk and they needed their password for some reason or another. I used to do this to people, to teach them, and was surprised at the number of morons who would give out their password. I would say, "Hi this is [my name], I need your password to remotely log you into the XXXX server so that I can back up your XXXXX files". Most people would just give me their password. Anways, password security is a real problem if the information being password protected is important.
The California debt isn't used to manage the world's economy. It is used to provide wasteful, overbudgeted, useless services to the citizens of California. A balanced federal budget doesn't provide enough monetary flexibility to maintain a stable economy, therefore it isn't a big deal.
Actually they do have to call the 800 number prior to digging. In SoCal, it must be called in a minimum of 72 hours prior to digging (not including weekends). Additionally, if the markings are not clear, have washed away, are obviously incorrect, or seem odd in any way at all the digging party must call the 800 number again for re-marking. Then, if everything is marked properly you may begin to dig, but not with a backhoe. You must first manually (with a shovel) locate all marked utilities in the work area. Once they have all been marked, you may go in with a backhoe and dig (if there is room of course).
The problem here is not with maps, or a lack of technical expertise on the county's part. The problem is with the crappy sub-contractors VZ used. The damaged utilities should (but will not due to legal expense) seek recourse from Verizon for the damages their subs have caused in the area.
Same thing in SoCal, it's called "Dig Alert" though and is free to the person doing the digging. The utilities pay to get notified and then go mark where their lines are. The problem with the system is that the utilities show up late and many do not know where their repective lines are anyways. The problem with Verizon is that they use crappy sub-contractors and they simply do not care what the quality of the work is.
I personally can't wait for:
.doggrooming
Seriously, we need a new TLD for this industry to help restore some sanity to the chaos that the dog grooming industry has become. I mean, have you attempted to find a dog groomer in one of the other TLD's, impossible I tell you. Without a new TLD for dog grooming only, this vibrant and vital industry will suffer the same problems as many other industries that rely so heavily on the internet.
So, the Department of homeland Security was created to simplify, organize and streamline the process of securing our homeland. Trademark violation falls under their purview now and as any newly minted, efficient government organization worth it's salt would do, they send two agents to a little toy store to scare the crap out of a shopkeeper when a simple stamp, envelope, and letterhead with the words "Cease and Desist" typed on them would have done the trick. Homeland security, why spend $0.50 when $5,000.00 will scare our citizens even more!
I was watching the Discover Channel special on SpaceShipOne and it seems to me that all this thing requires is a decent runway, a portable office in a trailer, and a few laptops to operate. If the FAA is thinking of over-regulating commercial spaceflight, I would suggest they simply move their operations to a less regulation overloaded country (or one where regulations can be overlooked for a small fee!). The only thing I can think of that is keeping current launches of commercial satellites under the direction of the FAA is that in order to put a satellite into orbit over the US it needs to be launched from the US.
This law makes perfect sense to me...
This law simply aims to close this one back door. Anyone who disagrees needs to RTFA. There are existing laws on the books limiting dissemination of satellite imagery (and for good reasons). It is these existing laws which contain the FOIA backdoor. The door simply needs to be shut.
The larger problem stated in the subject is one of appropriate security classifications and subsequent timeliness of declassification. It super easy to stamp "CLASSIFIED" or "SENSITIVE" when the item in question may not really be either.
Also, the article mentioned images from war-zones that were sufficiently aged as to question the appropriateness of maintaing any security classification. I think that there are many factors to consider other than simply, "The image is 2 months old, release it!". There is a great deal of information in aged imagery that could be had if one were diligent and intelligent enough to extract it. Take for example, and image of Baghdad that happens to have some tanks and HUMVEES in it and is 6 months old. Seems innocent enough, until you start looking at multiple images of the same or similar scenes. When enough small bits of information are available, the "enemy" could interpret troop movements, tactics, deployed strengths, etc...
That being said, an image from Afghanistan showing a sheep herd and a single transport truck on a dirt road from 3 years ago shouldn't be deemed "SECRET" because there is no small bits of 'intel' in it.
I hope Apple learned a lesson from the last time they created a groundbreaking product only to see it's marketshare dwindle due to their (greed, arrogance, shortsightedness?).
Apple seems to have a history of creating seemingly superior products only to have them surpassed in sales volume and marketshare by less expensive more widely compatible products.
If one looks at the history of the PC, it could be argued that at one time Apple was poised to dominate the market, but utterly failed when competitors brought a viable cheaper alternative to market.
This could be happening with the iPod / iTunes product line. Apple blew the doors off of all portable music players with the iPod, period. They have sold millions of devices. They have created a whole new market. They have changed popular culture. Just like they did with the PC!
With the release of WMP10, Microsoft is poised to end Apple's dominance in this market. How? The same way they did with the PC. They have created, or purchased, decent software for use with a host of hardware options. I currently see 6 online music stores to purchase songs from including Wal-Mart for $0.88 a song. There are many music players available that will interface seemlessly (according to MS) with WMP, and there are many more to come.
Is the iPod a superior piece of hardware? IMHO, Yes. I love mine, couldn't live without it! But, given Apple's track record, I don't see it being the dominant player in 2-3 years.
Wow, you really hate WMP! Or do you just love iTunes so much that you blindly and ignorantly lash out at anything different? I must agree that the article sounds like it was written by an ad agency in MS employ. I for one prefer purely objective reviews. I would prefer comparing the new features with exisiting players.
Following is a rebuttal of your statements:
MP3 Encoding
MP3 Encoding was available in previous versions of WMP (prior to iTunes), it did however require the download of a freely availble add-on to WMP from MS. If you don't believe me I can post a list of MP3's primarily ripped through WMP.
Playlists
While it is true that a person couldn't create playlists based on the specific criteria in the article, it was possible to create extensive playlists in previous versions. All pre-iTunes.
Ratings
Also available in WMP 9, before iTunes. I could be mistaken, but I believe the ratings were available in older versions as well. Creating playlists based on ratings is not new to WMP10.
Crossfading
Another available plug-in (perhaps through PLUS!) for WMP9 which is pre-iTunes
Interface
Hmmm... I suppose it will take some getting used to, but it is skinable. Is iTunes? If a person were to download WMP10 and decide the interface was not to their liking, they could simply apply another skin.
One observation from your rantings... Do you really expect companies to produce products that do not attempt to better the advancements of previous attempts? All companies must look at what is currently in the marketplace and try to develop a product that is better than what is currently out there. Apple did not invent media players with iTunes. They looked at what was in the marketplace and produced a product that, according to consumers, is very good. Did you write a similar piece when iTunes was released. Did you berate Apple for primarily copying the functionality of various existing media players? I doubt it...
I don't believe I was taking snippets to suit my argument (if that is what you are accusing me of?). I was merely suggesting that the possible use of an airplane as a weapon could be construed as a Breach of the Peace. If one were to succesfully argue this in court, then stopping a Senator or Representative would not be in violation of law. I for one do not think that Senators or Representatives should be stopped for any reason, even though it is plausilble to argue for it.
No work should ever be banned. Period. If we are to live in an enlightened society, then we must be able to live with ideas which are contrary to our own.
In reading the various threads regarding this topic, I have come across many arguments for censorship from people who would probably consider themselves against censorship. Many have written something to effect of "I can understand why X,Y or Z is banned, but not A,B or C". It is my opinion that no work should be banned, ever.
Does this mean that I think "Sex" by Madonna should be on the shelves of an elementary shools library? No. It means that we (the people) should be free from censorship. Children do not fall under the category of "the people", so they should not be protected against censorship. I think it is allowable for a community, through it's local school board, to remove a work from their library. I wouldn't recommend it, but I can't argue against it. They have decided what they think is best for their children. If I were a parent and disagreed with the school board's decision, I could simply go to the local public library and borrow a copy of the work for my child to read.
I absolutely disagree with any attempt to censor any work (literary, musical, photographic, etc...). I view it as an attempt at controlling my thoughts, and I simply will not allow that.
Now this position of mine is limited to any attempt to make it illegal to read a book, or sell a CD. I do not think that economic pressures are a bad thing. Take Ice T's 'Cop Killer' song. I have no problem with it being sold, but so many people did have a problem with it that retailers simply stopped carrying it. That is economic force in action, not legal force.
Scenario: France decides to block all traffic from www.yahoo.com and related (www.yahoo.fr, etc...)
I am not intimately familiar with the structure of the "internet", but it seems unlikely that France would be able to shut Yahoo! off from only France's citizens. The Chinese government has tried to shut off the internet in China, but if I am not mistaken, they have not had great success. I would think that accomplishing this would require literally cutting the lines.
Despite my reservations for supporting the trafficing of Nazi paraphenalia (for hate related purposes only), I am once again pleased to see so many Americans stand behind the rights we have shed our blood for, even when the outcome of those rights is obviously unpopular.
I don't understand the argument that enacting security restrictions on visiting foreigners is a violation of their rights and will therefore upset them. Visiting foreigners have no rights in America, save for the ones that Americans wish them to have whilst they are visiting. If Americans decide that all visiting foreingers must go through a full body cavity search before entering the U.S., then they will have to submit to the search or be barred from entry.
I for one believe that we should utilize technology to it's fullest to secure our borders and points of entry. But infringing upon visiting foreigners privacy doesn't accomplish this.
What we truly need is full cooperation from allies and friendly nations. There is no reason we can't foster cooperation between law enforcement and intelligence agencies amongst our friends to help us keep out potential terrorists, or at least know where they are. This may be a bit of a pipe dream considering we can't really foster cooperation between our own law enforcement and intelligence agencies though!
What we should really be concerned about is whether or not the technology will really work. And, do they really mean to store biometric data on an RFID chip? I was under the impression that an RFID chip had a relatively small amount of memory (something like a 16,000 characters). Perhaps they mean a SIM card like in a cellphone or U.S. Military ID.
It could be argued that terrorists hijacking a fully fueled aircraft and crashing it into large buildings or government offices would constitute a Breach of the Peace.
But come on, don't Senator's and Representatives have some sort of get out of jail free card or a "I sign your paycheck, stupid!" I.D. card that could show?
I would argue that along with scarcity, capatalism is also effective at dealing with demand.
In the world of intellectual property there is not scarcity, but there is demand. Capatalism, unfettered, will simply create a business model that creates profit from unlimited supply, and limited demand. As in most cases, it is not the supply that is profited from, but the delivery.
Sand is in umlimited supply (for the most part), but people still pay for it. What they are really paying for is the delivery of the sand to their doorstep.
Music can now be seen as having an unlimited supply since there is literally no need for the physical media to store it on. What the media companies will have to figure out is that they can profit (not the ridiculous profit they now receive, but profit) from delivering this content to the end user. I would prefer to download music from a trusted party that I know will be of the highest quality rather than from some guy named "shittymusic6969". But the price has to be right, and when you are competing with FREE, the right price is damned close to FREE.