--- James Sissel jimsissel@yahoo.com wrote:

<snip> "On a brighter note, this shows it's harder for the government to spy on you if you use Linux." </snip>

That's what they want you to think.

"Never attribute to malice that which can be adequately explained by stupidity." -- Hanlon's Razor

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hanlon%27s_Razor

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On 8/25/07, Zscoundrel zscoundrel@kc.rr.com wrote:

Actually there are two issues here:

First, had the guy been smart enough to get a lawyer, he would not have plead guilty to some bogus trumped up charges and he would not have been in this situation. He would have paid a few bucks to a scumbag to negotiate a cash settlement with some other scumbags and been done with it.

Second, had the guy been smart enough to realize that UPLOADING protected materials to the internet REALLY gets some powerful organizations upset, he would not have been in this situation.

I hate the RIAA almost as much as I hate M$, but since I can't afford to take either one of them on, I know enough to fly below their radar!

To a certain point all of us in this group seem to be on the same page about the overview. There's a REALLY grim&gnarly downside afoot here that I first commented about privately, and now feel compelled to speak out. Dare we invoke the bit that ends with no one left to speak when they come for *US* ? For essentially that's what awaits us if we remain silent. And the remaining silent concept is on several key issues. All sadly converging on one lost soul. Who arguably could be if not us, could be someone we know.

Let me offer a dissection of the discussion's hard truths into blunt issues.

1. Someone made a willful choice to violate existing law.

2. They for whatever reasons entered into a "plea bargain" with probation "upon terms"

3. The terms were and are de facto within legal bounds to most "reasonable persons"

Here's the next set of blunt issues.

1. Copyright law has become a "cause celebre" arena for opposing factions in several realms.

2. WE risk losing credibility for the whole "Open Source" concept if we defend lawbreakers.

3. The hardest course to take is one that protects ALL valid interests and harms none.

All of that to offer some *constructive* debate anchors in this and related cases.

Like it or not folks- the rule of law is a harsh cruel mistress under the best of guardians. And at times WE have to offer some corrective feedbacks to that rule of law. In plain english to make no mistaking my final intent then I close with this.

WE need to arm ourselves with a clear sober awareness of what's going on here. Then we VOTE and PETITION effectively to that which serves our ends best. OR by inaction we forfeit any reason to object when we lose what's left.

Oren Beck

"But once we were free- may become past tense"

On Monday 27 August 2007 07:39:17 am Leo Mauler wrote:

He could put up a Windows box with the tracking software, share its Internet out over a local network, and use Ubuntu on a second computer that gets all its Internet from the Windows computer.

I'm glad so many of you have never known or been involved with someone who has served time and is on probation. Even -thinking- about ways to evade and avoid the intent of your restrictions is a bad idea. It puts you in entirely the wrong frame of mind to complete the probation successfully.

The object is not to comply with the letter of the terms and blatantly violate them at the same time. the object is to do EXACTLY what is expected and requested of you, because the ONLY alternative is to return to prison and serve the remainder of your sentence.

If they want you to stand on your head and spit jelly beans, you'd better get good at it, because there's only ONE alternative.