could we use the npo as a political organization? it might be helpful if there was an organized movement afoot with a company to give the movement some credibility. How about a political action committee as well... Technomage Hawke ** the best way to beat the system is to use its own rules against it. Jiva DeVoe wrote: > > In my opinion, there is nothing more threatening to the future of > Linux, and indeed, software freedom in general, than this law, and > this particular issue. > > I encourage you all to do whatever you deem appropriate (and lawful) > to make sure that your opinions are heard. > > I agree 150% with what foodog has written here. If you value PLUG, if > you value Linux, and dammit, if you value your right to USE software > you LEGITIMATELY BUY. You will TAKE ACTION. Or I assure you, you > will LOSE your right to run Linux. > > On Wed, Aug 01, 2001 at 12:30:24AM -0700, foodog wrote: > > I asked a friend who learned Russian in the military. A reasonable > > approximation of what he said would be skill-yuh-roff -- except you > > pretty much leave out the short "i" in "skill". His first name's a snap > > though, di-me-tree, the "di" pronounced as for "dip". > > > > Here's an easy one to yell: boy-cott uh-dough-bee > > > > > > > > The DMCA, Digital Millennium Copyright Act, is bad, dangerous law that > > Adobe Corporation endorses and wields. > > > > So, "What's the big deal about a Russian hacker getting busted?". > > That's the popular media, fifteen-second-attention-span spin of the > > story. It's about a lot more than that. *Please* visit one of the > > websites and read about what's happened. Please also consider attending > > the protest Saturday -- it's a very nice library if you need an excuse > > :-) > > > > This isn't just about getting Dmitry out of jail although that's the > > immediate concern. It's about the first amendment - free speech. It's > > about intellectual freedom, and it's also about the security and quality > > of software and systems. > > > > Dmitry isn't a "cracker". He's a professional programmer whose company > > pissed off and embarrassed Adobe Corp. He didn't pirate any ebooks, or > > encourage anyone else to, and there's no evidence presented to suggest > > that anyone ever has as a result of his work. In Russia his program is > > legal, and the Adobe ebook protection scheme is illegal since it doesn't > > allow the purchaser to make a legitimate backup copy. > > > > According to the U.S. government, Dmitry "...willfully and for financial > > gain imported, offered to the public, provided, and otherwise trafficked > > in a technology, product, service, and device that is primarily designed > > or produced for the purpose of circumvent[ing] a technological measure > > that effectively controls access to a work.". > > > > It's getting easy for computer professionals, particularly those > > involved in security research, to become "felons" in the course of their > > legitimate work thanks to laws like the DMCA and UCITA (another huge > > mess worth learning about). > > > > > > In 1992, one of my tasks was installing software on a Netware server for > > students to use. One challenge of that job was getting programs to run > > from a read-only volume. We didn't want students deleting or adding > > files to the application directories or infecting them with viruses. > > Most software wasn't a problem. The worst were the one's that were > > supposedly "network aware". > > > > I wrote a tiny DOS TSR that intercepted file opens. If it was an > > "exclusive open with write" to drive G:, I changed it to a "friendly" > > file open. That was so the network version of Lotus 123 would work > > (safely) in our student labs despite their lame attempt at copy > > protection. We owned licenses for everything we ran and used our own > > homegrown software metering. My program was "primarily designed or > > produced for the purpose of circumvent[ing] a technological measure that > > effectively controls access to a work.". Oops. I guess I wouldn't do > > that today. Under UCITA I'd be a criminal just for having investigated > > why Lotus required write access to the server. Too cute. > > > > > > The U.S. is close, and Europe is even closer to having laws making it > > illegal to write or posess "hacker tools". Lawmakers are pondering how > > to take into account the intent of the author. Did the author write it > > to test the security of his own network, or to break in somewhere? > > Suppose you can't prove you have a tool to legitimately test security? > > Gosh, I guess you must be a dangerous criminal. > > > > "First they arrested the Communists, but I was not a Communist, so I did > > nothing. Then they came for the Social Democrats, but I was not a Social > > Democrat, so I did > > nothing. They arrested the trade unionists, and I did nothing because I > > was not one. And then they came for the Jews and then the Catholics, but > > I was neither Jew nor > > Catholic, so I did nothing. At last they came and arrested me, and there > > was no one left to do anything about it." > > - Pastor Martin Niemoller > > > > The are coming for the programmers now. > > > > > > > > L8r > > > > Chris Cowan wrote: > > > > > > Anyone know how to pronounce his name exactly... I don't want to run around > > > shouting the his name if I can't say it correctly? > > > > > > Chris > > > > > > on 7/31/01 1:37 PM, Michael March at march@indirect.com wrote: > > > > > > > http://www.dmcasucks.org/free.html > > > > > > > > > > > > ________________________________________________ > > > > See http://PLUG.phoenix.az.us/navigator-mail.shtml if your mail doesn't post > > > > to the list quickly and you use Netscape to write mail. > > > > > > > > PLUG-discuss mailing list - PLUG-discuss@lists.PLUG.phoenix.az.us > > > > http://lists.PLUG.phoenix.az.us/mailman/listinfo/plug-discuss > > > > > > > > > > ________________________________________________ > > > See http://PLUG.phoenix.az.us/navigator-mail.shtml if your mail doesn't post to the list quickly and you use Netscape to write mail. > > > > > > PLUG-discuss mailing list - PLUG-discuss@lists.PLUG.phoenix.az.us > > > http://lists.PLUG.phoenix.az.us/mailman/listinfo/plug-discuss > > ________________________________________________ > > See http://PLUG.phoenix.az.us/navigator-mail.shtml if your mail doesn't post to the list quickly and you use Netscape to write mail. > > > > PLUG-discuss mailing list - PLUG-discuss@lists.PLUG.phoenix.az.us > > http://lists.PLUG.phoenix.az.us/mailman/listinfo/plug-discuss > > -- > Jiva DeVoe > VP Of Software Development > Opnix, Inc. - Thoughts rule the world - R. W. Emerson > GPG Fingerprint: 0A17 DF84 516A 1DC4 B837 FE6D 3128 41CD 97CB 4AA7 > ________________________________________________ > See http://PLUG.phoenix.az.us/navigator-mail.shtml if your mail doesn't post to the list quickly and you use Netscape to write mail. > > PLUG-discuss mailing list - PLUG-discuss@lists.PLUG.phoenix.az.us > http://lists.PLUG.phoenix.az.us/mailman/listinfo/plug-discuss -- I will not be pushed, filed, stamped, indexed, briefed, debriefed, or numbered! My life is my own - No. 6