Date: Wed, 23 Jan 2008 18:29:37 -0800 From: "Ted Mittelstaedt" <tedm@toybox.placo.com> To: "Paul Schmehl" <pauls@utdallas.edu>, <freebsd-questions@freebsd.org> Subject: RE: are we CRIMINALS? Message-ID: <BMEDLGAENEKCJFGODFOCEEFDCFAA.tedm@toybox.placo.com> In-Reply-To: <6453DAA1532FE742E7057C08@utd59514.utdallas.edu>
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> -----Original Message----- > From: owner-freebsd-questions@freebsd.org > [mailto:owner-freebsd-questions@freebsd.org]On Behalf Of Paul Schmehl > Sent: Wednesday, January 23, 2008 10:08 AM > To: freebsd-questions@freebsd.org > Subject: RE: are we CRIMINALS? > > > --On Tuesday, January 22, 2008 21:57:22 -0800 Ted Mittelstaedt > <tedm@toybox.placo.com> wrote: > > > > > > >> -----Original Message----- > >> From: owner-freebsd-questions@freebsd.org > >> [mailto:owner-freebsd-questions@freebsd.org]On Behalf Of Paul Schmehl > >> Sent: Tuesday, January 22, 2008 10:25 AM > >> To: freebsd-questions@freebsd.org > >> Subject: Re: are we CRIMINALS? > >> > >> > >> --On Tuesday, January 22, 2008 13:03:27 +0100 Wojciech Puchar > >> <wojtek@wojtek.tensor.gdynia.pl> wrote: > >> > >> > http://www.spamsuite.com/node/351 > >> > > >> > jest first step to criminalize unix at all > >> > _______________________________________________ > >> > >> We aren't criminals, but *he* is. > >> > > > > Paul, you do realize that Sierra is a known newsgroup spammer and > > that the lawsuit in question was just filed against a spamfighter > > by a spammer? > > > > Yes. > > > Also, that the "judgement" that is in the post is actually > > a prepared order, written by Plaintiff's counsel, it wasn't > > written by the judge. > > > > Yes. > > > This case is sitting in the appellate courts somewhere, gathering > > dust. Nobody has paid anything to anybody, except to the lawyers. > > Sierra makes their money selling to morons what Google gives > > out for free. > > > > Please, unless your willing to do the research, don't waste > > time commenting. > > > > He disobeyed a court order. That makes him a criminal. Only if the court in question has jurisdiction over him. The US courts found in favor of an anti-trust lawsuit against DeBeers around 20 years ago I think it was and the DeBeers family finally decided it was too much of a nuisance to avoid travelling into the US so they settled for some paltry 300 million this year (if you have ever bought a diamond and you still have the receipt you can get some settlement money) Did the US court have jurisdiction over a corporation that has no footprint in the US? They thought they did. DeBeers didn't. What do you think? How would you like it if some kangaroo court in Iran issued a judgement against you? Would you consider yourself a criminal? > Whether > what he was > trying to do was "right" or not is irrelevant. Absolutely untrue. It is at the heart of the issue. Once the court > told him to > stop, he should have stopped. > No. Once ALL AVENUES of appeal are exhausted AND a judgement was found against him, only then if he disobeys the final court order then can he be considered a criminal. As such happened with Microsoft during the anti-trust trial, etc. Until then, this is nothing more than a civil dispute between a spamfighter and a spammer. And as the spamfigher in question undoubtedly has no assets to his name, what is really going on here is a complicated political dance whereby the spammer is manipulating the courts in an attempt to bluster a threat against the spamfighter, and the spamfighter is manipulating the courts in an attempt to cost the spammer money in lawyer fees. A great many of these suits disappear when one or the other of the parties gets tired of paying the court costs and lawyers fees. > And yes, I know full well that bad people take advantage of our > courts every > day. > And good people often forget that courts are nothing more than another arm of the government, and quite often the solutions that come out of them are a result of political negotiation and compromise - exactly the same way that the legislative arm solves problems. You should read some history, there's been a lot of bad law that has been overturned. It never would have happened if people like Rosa Parks hadn't "committed criminal acts" from your viewpoint, and ignored court-supported orders and laws. You cannot sit there and say that just because someone is a criminal they are bad. Nor can you say that just because someone is not a criminal that they are good. Look no further than the current occupant of the White House for that. What is criminal in a good society is defined by what is "wrong" Sadly, that does not always happen. If you buy a DVD and make a copy for your own use according to DMCA you are a criminal. However if you buy a videotape of the same movie and make a copy for your own use you are not a criminal. Clearly, both actions are morally "right" They are almost the same action in fact. But one is illegal the other isn't. Can't you see here that the problem isn't the action but the law? In this lawsuit, the worst you can say is that both parties, the spammer and the spamfighter, are in the wrong. But I fail to see how the spammer can be "right" and the spamfighter is "wrong" You can, if you wish, argue the spammer is "legal" and the spamfigher is "illegal" But, this simply illustrates that the law is bad - and for many people it is a moral duty to violate bad law. And I for one, am very glad that they feel this way. Ted
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