In comp.os.linux.advocacy, Roy Schestowitz
<newsgroups@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
wrote
on Thu, 10 Jul 2008 05:50:11 -0400
<303946290.BtDKWJKVOK@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>:
>
> ____/ The Ghost In The Machine on Tuesday 08 July 2008 14:28 : \____
>
>> In comp.os.linux.advocacy, Roy Schestowitz
>> <newsgroups@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
>> wrote
>> on Tue, 08 Jul 2008 17:21:43 -0400
>> <1491381.8vscdJHCkz@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>:
>>>
>>> The Continued Cheapening of the Word "Terrorism"
>>>
>>> ,----[ Quote ]
>>> | Now labor strikes are terrorism...
>>> |
>>> | [...]
>>> |
>>> | Terrorism is a heinous crime, and a serious international problem. It's
>>> | not a catchall word to describe anything you don't like or don't agree
>>> | with, or even anything that adversely affects a large number of people. By
>>> | using the word more broadly than its actual meaning, we muddy the already
>>> | complicated popular conceptions of the issue. The word "terrorism" has a
>>> | specific meaning, and we shouldn't debase it.
>>> `----
>>>
>>> http://www.schneier.com/blog/archives/2008/07/the_continued_c.html
>>
>> Terrorism is a funny animal anyway. The Nicaraguan
>> "contras" were freedom fighters, in their own lights.
>> The US Revolutionary War heroes were protesting a 2%
>> stamp tax [*] on tea, sparking the Boston Tea Party,
[my stuff snipped for brevity]
>>
>> And of course Linux is a response to the perceived
>> oppressiveness of Microsoft Windows, though far less
>> violent than much of the above. ;-)
>
> It's proprietary software at large, don't you agree?
I'd have to look; you're probably right. Certainly,
were the GPL to be enshrined (somehow) into law, there
would be no specific companies named. However, Microsoft
is the most visible tip of a rather large structure --
if one can call it a tip [*] when it's a monopoly of the
desktop PC OS market.
Also, IIRC Linus was initially interested in an
experimental system taking advantage of the 386's
capabilities; I don't think he had an inkling back then
that it would grow into a meta-business spinning off
billions of dollars. Then again, I'd have to look.
Certainly back then it was more of a tasty hack,
as opposed to Word, which was definitely a commercial
product even way back then.
> The GNU project predates
> the absolutel monopoly on desktop computing. It dates back
> to times when PCs were rarely at homes.
This is true.
>
> Microsoft likes to flatter itself by calling Free software
> a 'new thing' that's a reaction just to its own 'greatness'.
> The problem is much broader though.
Microsoft also "innovated" the Internet, if memory serves.
Certainly they didn't pay that much attention to the Web
until they released IE2 -- and that was presumably a
reaction to Netscape's then-dominance.
>
>> Welcome to the New World Order.
>>
>> [rest snipped]
>>
>> [*] I'd have to look, but my understanding is that this was
>> a "straw breaking the camel's back" sort of thing.
>> Current income taxes are more than 20x this amount
>> in certain states, when federal and state taxes are
>> considered -- and at that, they are lower than they
>> were during Eisenhower, where maximum tax rates were
>> over 90%.
>
> Speaking of 'terrorism' losing its meaning, it's the same with SPAM.
> Just look how the trolls label everything they don't like "spam".
True. Of course we get occasional true spam here, too, though
it's fairly rare.
>
> - --
> ~~ Best of wishes
>
> Roy S. Schestowitz | Useless fact: Sharks are immune to cancer
> http://Schestowitz.com | RHAT GNU/Linux | PGP-Key: 0x74572E8E
> run-level 5 Jul 3 20:37 last=S
> http://iuron.com - help build a non-profit search engine
[*] bad pun alert; "tip" is a term for a landfill in British slang. ;-)
--
#191, ewill3@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Useless C++ Programming Idea #12995733:
bool f(bool g, bool h) { if(g) h = true; else h = false; return h;}
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