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Riptokus

Riptokus
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I constantly don't post blog entries because I have a tendancy to rant, or I just don't like the tangents I go off on.

One of my most common "erased" blog entries is regarding piracy, DRM, and Censorship.

Here's my position in a nutshell:

DRM and Censorship !!!OF ANY EXTERNALLY IMPOSED FORM!!! is wrong.
Piracy is a social issue that requires good relations between consumer and producer to effectively combat (effectively combat doesn't mean eliminate. Piracy is here to stay, as proven by it's existence for as long as Intellectual property rights has existed).

However, I am bothered by the threat of the threat of Piracy. A good current example is the ACTA.
I had a long-winded post I just recently deleted, but it boiled down to this:

We have some nice bits of software out there, with Peer to Peer and onion networks. It'd be really nice if the proliferation of wireless technology could be leveraged with that mindset to cut our requirement for an infrastructure that could be controlled out of the equation.

It cannot be said any simpler than that, and this one I will post and damn the torpedoes!
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Patriot. This is an interesting word, with lots of history behind it. It isn't surprising, since it is an expression of pride or support for one's country. It can mean different things. It can be a word to lift the spirits of an embattled people to fight on despite tough odds. This gives it the potential for the most dark of it's purposes. It can be used as a weapon for control. The Patriot act. To be against something with such wording, how could you? It labels you "unpatriotic". In a time of warfare and attacks, that can be practically a synonym for treasonous. In fact, an antonym for patriot according to thesaurus.com/ is "traitor".
When I was in High School, a kid was shot at the local 7-11 after school. I knew what happened before I ever departed the campus, since even back in 1990s information traveled faster than light in High Schools. The shooter didn't go to my school. I remember looking at the car on my way home and wondering at the blood stains. I don't remember what they looked like, but I remember thinking them looking nothing like what was shown on TV. . They were shirt imprints of a blood-soaked shirt, if I recall correctly. It was gang related, involving a dispute between two gangs. I believe the shooter worked at the post office. Prior to this shooting, upper classmen could go off campus and get food and drink. It was an open campus for the students, and while not feeling safe I still felt it an acceptable learning environment. After the shooting, things changed. There were real, creditable threats of Metal Detectors installed in the schools. There were a great deal of random searches. Many draconian policies were implemented. What happened in the national light after columbine was what was happening in this local area, to kids used to being given a right to express and feel free. I was a Freshman, the lowest of the low, and yet my life changed significantly as well. Looking back on it, I find myself screwed up in unimaginable ways, and not because the kid was shot. Basically the school went from a form of benevolent dictatorship into a state of constant martial law. A resistance movement even started to form. They organized a walkout. The walkout was staged at a time that would cause the least amount of conflict with class schedules, during a lunch period. I don't know if it was deliberate or coincidence, but looking back on it I kind of lean towards the side of the organizers thinking it through. Back then I just wanted to get my freedom back, so didn't care. Well, I didn't end up participating in the walkout. I was a freshman and something the administrators said had me convinced not to participate, something that resulted in only Upperclassmen participating. Well they walked out and stood across the street in protest, and weren't allowed back in later.

The civil disobedience movement was crushed pretty hard after that, never getting strong enough to do anything. I dropped out of that school the next year, partially due to the lack of freedom, partially due to policies that would keep me from graduating. I got a GED and went to college instead. While I can think of better ways now to have made it successful, it doesn't matter. Across the nation this was repeated with columbine. The Patriot act brought this out to the adults. Every time things were done for our best safety, and the people who were against it were seen as short-sighted reactionaries. A few years pass and the people who made the embankments that the people to follow would have to climb are seen as short-sighted reactionaries. About three years after I dropped out my brother went into the climate of oppression that I abandoned. It was a little worse, and slowly slipping into an even worse state. He stuck through four years in that situation and eventually graduated in a post 9-11 world. His generation came to age when activism did nothing. My generation came to age when activism was failing to make a difference. An actor cleans oil off seals while the average Joe cleans it off rocks. We know this happens. We are a very cynical generation when it comes to supposed activism. Actually my generation is pretty cynical and apathetic in general. I blame it on the fall of Communism. Without communism as an excuse, what justification was there for supposed good men to do evil? My generation knows that activism can move mountains, and sees our "covert ops" stuff as not the great weapon against Communism, but rightfully as despicable acts by despots and evil men. The problem is, what do we do, try to replace it? What do we get in it's place? With enough "for our own goods" stacked on, the answer becomes 'who cares?' Of course by the time we reach that point, we are already way too far to go back. The line isn't made of stone, but of rubber. It'll stretch further than anyone thinks it's possible, and when it breaks you are far from where it seemed to be at first, and going back is just about impossible. What is patriotic and what is treacherous? All the sides use those words too much for me to be able to tell.

In the meantime, Corporations and Government... I am watching.
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I want to talk to my Mortgage lender. I really and honestly do. I have a problem though...

You see, a Memo came from the CEO of me, it stated simply:

1) We are not allowed to give out personal information of our Employee without receiving verification of identification from the requesting party. Information that cannot be easily faked.
2) We are not allowed to talk to any representative of another business over the phone without recording the conversation to ensure that nothing was said that shouldn't have been.

I could be FIRED if I ignore these things. Lose my job. That CEO of me is a real hardcase...

Unfortunately, BANK OF AMERICA does not talk to me unless I provide the last 4 digits of my social security number. They are unable to provide the information required by me, the last 4 digits of the account number they are calling in reference to.

BANK OF AMERICA also fails to agree to have their conversations with me recorded.

I need to talk to BANK OF AMERICA regarding some issues I am having with paying them. They need to talk to me regarding some payments they haven't received. A simple 5 minute conversation at this juncture will probably satisfy both of us and it'd be squared away within a week. Unfortunately, our individual corporate climates are preventing communication.

Corporations have the same rights as individuals, meaning an individual is entitled to what a corporation is entitled to. If they aren't willing to provide me the same protections they are entitled to, then they don't deserve them either. Tit for tat. They record the conversation, so too am I allowed to do so. They request personal information, then I can request it too!
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I recieved this in the junk mail today:
-----------------------
President Barack Obama will soon sign comprehensive health care reform into law. A century-long fight will finally be won.

As the President wrote last night, it was you who made this improbable victory possible. It was volunteers knocking on doors, talking to neighbors, and proving once again that Americans, standing together, can change the course of a nation.

Supporters like us now have a chance to add our names as "Co-signers" of this historic legislation -- adding our names next to President Obama's to show our pride in helping to bring about this great achievement.

Organizing for America will establish a permanent archive with all the signatures, so that generations to come will have a record of those who stood together in this moment and won this fight for our future. And I will personally present all the names we collect to the President. Will you add your name?

Co-sign with the President

This is the most significant domestic achievement in decades. And this movement of Americans, committed to improving their country, made it possible.

We turned out for that first cold morning in Springfield, for the canvasses in New Hampshire, for the phone banks in Iowa. We kept fighting when no one gave us a chance and the cynics told us we were clinging to a false hope.

We organized for health reform. We spread the facts on doorsteps, in town halls, and through millions of conversations. Your voice rang through the halls of Congress and filled the pages of local newspapers.

It took many months and tremendous resolve, but we built a national network of support so strong that when the deceptive attack ads choked the airwaves and the pundits declared our effort defeated -- we had what it took to fight our way back.

And we won: the toughest insurance regulations in history, affordable coverage for 32 million without it, relief from skyrocketing costs for small business owners and from rising deficits for our children.

That's the story of how change really happens. And now, hundreds of millions will have better lives because of it.

It's rare to be part of something so meaningful that will help change the course of history. But you are.

Please consider adding your name as co-signer today to commemorate your efforts:

my.barackobama.com/Cosign

Thank you,

David Plouffe
-----------------------

Okay. So, they want a LIST of Americans who supported this, which is a super-hot button issue. At least it isn't a co-sign of an Abortion ban/support bill. Just the same, governmental abuses either present or future make such an action very dangerous.

No mister Obama, supported by me or not, there is no way in hell my name will go anywhere anything I actually had no hand in making. You want signatories, get our Senators to sign it.
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Around 1995, there was a program called "Kali". It allowed people to play games that allowed IPX network play to instead be played online. Prior to that, all games were played via modem or in local networks.

The internet was starting to coalesce from the usenet and other primitive mediums into something else. Something resembling what we have today.

It was a slow shift, with individual technologies that created synergy to become something more. The people at the time were so fascinated with the concept that they attemped to keep it going, but it collapsed with saturation without true innovation. The Dot com bubble burst, and things gained an element of sanity. People realized, for the most part, that there was no quick way to get rich on the internet. One thing it did do though, It did help open up markets and bring fourth globalization such as never has seen before.

It brought out a culture that almost universally recognizes that the Internet is its own identity, and that there are no borders in it. In essence, it is its own nation, and the entire species of humanity are its citizens. But this isn't about the past or present, this is about the future.

Presently, there is a word that means connectivity to the internet is capable with a multitude of devices. The word is "Hotspot".
Capable of allowing anyone with the right equipment access to the global network that is the internet, this is something special. Something that frees internet users from a traditionally required item... a home address.
Still, hotspots are just spots, until they turn mobile.
Yes, hot "spots" have become attached to mobile phones, which are slowly losing any worry about "coverage" they have. This isn't anything special in and of itself.

There has existed a certain amount of "peer to peer" efforts out there for awhile now. Connecting to people and sharing information between two individuals is easy.

Prsently, there are programs and protocals being used to circumvent certain censorship "walls" and blocks. Tools to make the internet more anonymous, more interconnected, and much more localized.

Let's combine the development of these three technologies. You have internet capability without having any permanent identification localization, internet that cannot be blocked and which general subscription is pointless, and internet that can connect to anyone.

This is the possible future of the internet. Governments should be very afraid of the internet, because it truly forces every society everywhere to be open, just as closing them seems to be getting easier.

The consequences of the possibility of the future of the internet are horrifying and beautiful at the same time. We all live in interesting times indeed.
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Featured

Down with the ACTA, China, and all censorship. by Riptokus, journal

Patriot in the Rubber Band by Riptokus, journal

Quality Assurance Purposes by Riptokus, journal

HOORAY FOR CRACK by Riptokus, journal

Possible future of the internet by Riptokus, journal