begin quoting Paul Allen as of Mon, Apr 16, 2007 at 09:35:56AM -0700: > Gee, REAL ID may be repealed. :)
Yay! > -------- Forwarded Message -------- > > From: EFFector list <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> [chop] > > > > EFFector Vol. 20, No. 15 April 16, 2007 [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > > > A Publication of the Electronic Frontier Foundation > > ISSN 1062-9424 [chop] > > : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : > > > > * Action Alert - Visit StopIllegalSpying.org and Fight the > > Abuse of Surveillance Powers! [snip] > > Make your voice heard now by visiting: > > <http://www.stopillegalspying.org> Not sure what good visiting such a page will do (other than to put me on the "dubious moral character" list the FBI is no doubt keeping), but the sentiment is a good one. [snip] > > : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : > > > > * EFF Sues Justice Department for Immediate Release of NSL > > Abuse Records [snip] Mere records aren't that useful -- except if we get 'em now, they can't "accidentally" vanish later. What I want is heads. This sort of abuse should result in jail-time and pension-free retirement for the decision-makers. [snip] > > : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : > > > > * Recording Industry Target Deserves Day in Court > > > > RIAA Must Face Consequences of Meritless File-Sharing > > Lawsuits Yup. The law is a sword without a handle... you can easily cut yourself when you wave it at someone else. [snip] > > : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : > > > > * Washington Rejects REAL ID > > [snip] Go Washington State! > > : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : > > > > * A Win for Kids' Free Speech Rights > > > > A ruling in the Indiana Court of Appeals last week gave a > > middle school student her free speech rights back. This is one of those sticky subjects -- I think that if this student wants her full rights, then she shouldn't be a tax deduction for her parents any longer... > > The girl, who is called "A.B." in the court record, had > > posted comments on a MySpace page criticizing her school's > > policy on body piercings. The post was full of expletives, > > which a judge ruled ""obscene" despite the lack of any > > sexual content. The girl was found to be a "delinquent > > child" and was put on probation for nine months. Um, is this one of those funky legal definitions, to equal obscene with sexual content? 'Cuz that's not a requirement in MY native tongue -- it's quite possible to be obscene without involving sex. Foul, repugnant, detestable, as well as lewd. I wonder what would happen if the principal described the student on a myspace page using the sort of language that the student was using? I suspect he'd be out of a job. (Of course, I don't see any reason to think that the school should change their policy on body piercings.... and CPS should be talking to the parents about allowing children to engage in self-mutilation. But that's not part of this court case.) > > However, the girl appealed the ruling, arguing that her > > post was protected political speech. A three-judge panel > > agreed: "While we have little regard for A.B.'s use of > > vulgar epithets, we conclude that her overall message > > constitutes political speech." The judges threw out the > > "delinquent child" finding, holding that the lower court's > > conclusion "contravened her right to speak." Hm... if she has a "Right to speak", then I suppose she also has the responsibility to refrain from slander and libel? If she should slander people at her school, would she be let off because she is a minor? If not, then certainly, rant away, little girl. Welcome to the minefield that is "free speech", it's scary here. > > A lot of media coverage focuses on the perceived dangers > > for kids on the Internet. But, expletives or not, this case > > shows how students use the web to discuss issues of > > importance to them. It's heartening that judges like these > > see the importance as well. The problem with free speech is that so much of it is drek, and it ultimately utterly distasteful. But you gotta take the muck in order to defend the stuff that's worthwhile. > > For this post and related links: > > <http://www.eff.org/deeplinks/archives/005198.php> > > > > : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : > > > > * AACS Key Revocation: The Future of DRM? > > [snip] > > Because this "revoke and blacklist" approach is a standard > > feature of next-generation DRM systems, legitimate > > consumers are increasingly going to have something to fear > > from "upgrades" and "blacklists" hidden in the media they > > legitimately purchase. Beware anything that can force you to upgrade. > > (Of course, no blacklists are > > embedded in the versions downloaded from P2P, giving > > consumers yet another incentive to prefer the Darknet.) This is, I think, a VERY good point. It's just *dumb* to make it *SAFER* for people to steal content than to pay for it. [snip] > > : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : > > > > * Dontdatehimgirl Suit Dismissed > > > > A Pennsylvania judge has dismissed a lawsuit against the > > controversial website DontDateHimGirl.com, ruling that he > > did not have jurisdiction over the Florida-based site. Are we going to need a cyber-court, just to deal with online issues? > > But the jurisdiction question was not the only problem with > > this suit. Dontdatehimgirl is a forum created for women to > > share information about men, ...sounds like it's inciting women to say bad things about men. When it's the other way 'round, it's considered sleezy and immoral. > > and the plaintiff in this case > > claims that participants posted defamatory statements about > > him. EFF filed an amicus brief in support of > > Dontdatehimgirl in December, arguing that the site cannot > > be held liable for comments written by others under Section > > 230 of the Communications Decency Act. Section 230 > > specifically protects hosts of interactive computer > > services from liability and is key to fostering free > > discourse online. Without Section 230, no one would risk > > creating a website where others could post opinions. This is a bad thing how? :) > > It's important to note that the claims against the people > > who posted the messages in the first place still stand. If > > any defamation occurred, it's the speakers who should bear > > the responsibility, not the soapbox. Yup. But if you're providing a soap-box and encourages those who use it to engage in harmful behavior, then you're an accessory, right? > > The plaintiff in this case has not decided if he will > > refile the Dontdatehim girl suit in Florida. However, if he > > does, he will have to take on Section 230 and the strong > > protections it provides to Internet hosts of vigorous > > online debate. Euphemisms again -- it's call a "flamewar". Sheesh. [snip] > > : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : > > > > * RIAA and MPAA Try to Gut Anti-Pretexting Bill > > [snip] > > Copyright shouldn't trump privacy. We hope the California > > State Senate agrees. Indeed! [snip] > > : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : > > > > * More Ludicrous Marketing Claims About P2P Filtering > > > > A few years ago, EFF debunked an anti-P2P packet filtering > > technology sold by Audible Magic. Twice. The notion that > > universities can just buy a piece of software to end file > > sharing on their networks forever is false. But it keeps > > coming back. Nothing is forever. But you can certainly break a lot of the systems *now*. > > The latest product of this sort is from a company called > > SafeMedia. As we explain here, its website makes some > > highly misleading claims about what filtering can > > accomplish: > > <http://www.eff.org/deeplinks/archives/005189.php> I'm surprised NAT isn't being recommended. It certainly causes a lot of gnashing of teeth with the P2P crowd here. :) > > : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : > > [snip] > > > > This newsletter is printed on 100% recycled electrons. I never recycle my electrons. I always dump 'em out on the ground. -- Silly Comments from a Silly Person. Stewart Stremler -- [email protected] http://www.kernel-panic.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/kplug-list
