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Feature: Humor
Linus Torvalds enters race for California Governor
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August 31, 2003 (8:00:00 AM)
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Comments- by David "cdlu" Graham -
In a surprise announcement this morning, Linux creator Linus Torvalds says he will enter the race to be the governor of California.
Linus' announcement came in the form of a message to the Linux Kernel Mailing List (lkml). Linus says he believes none of the California leadership race's 135 existing candidates can bring real change and improvement to the economy in the state, but that he does have a solution.
"There is a good state here, and it can use some improvement," Linus wrote in his announcement, "but I'd like to try creating my own. This race is a great opportunity to try."
As part of his governing strategy, Linus promised to open the government to contributions from anyone who wishes to contribute, and he will accept or reject those contributions by the people based on their merit and applicability to the situation at hand. "In this way," he wrote, "every citizen of California will have an accessible government. We will work together to develop and maintain a government capable of keeping up with the times which is always willing to try new things."
Governor Gray Davis, upon hearing the news late this morning, was overheard by a reporter telling an associate that Linus had no hope of winning the recall election because proprietary governments were much better than open governments. "No government that listened to changes proposed by an average citizen has ever succeeded," Mr. Davis said. "Ideas have to be developed in-house and sold to the public when they are complete. Public discussion of public policy is merely an illusion. The government passes laws and the people abide by them, whether or not they like them."
Linus knows that people can't win elections without substantial financial backing, he assured his supporters in the Linux community. Prior to his announcement he had already secured more than $3 million toward his campaign from various Linux and Open Source companies, which he has been in touch with over the last few weeks.
One of the hurdles facing Linus' campaign is that the nomination period for candidates has ended. Linus hopes to get around this problem by encouraging fans of freedom and openness looking for a new way of governing to write in his name on the ballot. "California election law allows write-in ballots," he said. "Use them for all they are worth."
With the tens of thousands of Linux developers and the millions of users of Linux around the world likely willing to help his campaign, Linus says he believes he can win the election. "California will be an open society and a wonderful place to live on my watch."
Comments
on Linus Torvalds enters race for California GovernorNote: Comments are owned by the poster. We are not responsible for their content.
Linus's ideas have a communistic tendency. He risks being murdered when he pursues his candidature.
(No offence to US citizens though)
(No offence to US citizens though)
you do know what the word "humor" means right? and you know we can't telling if you're joking over the internet right? right??
Extreme(ly) right!
Remember, Americans don't do ironic humour.
With or without the u.
With or without the u.
With or without you.
(that's ironic)
(that's ironic)
Oh please. Linus is not a communist. He does appear to be somewhat to the left of J. Random American Citizen, which is not altogether atypical for someone who grew up in Europe. Politically he seems to be pretty moderate by European standards, and believing in some compromise between socialism and capitalism (the most widespread European political trend since World War II) is NOT equivalent to being a communist.
Oh please. Linus is not a communist.
Yeah, right! And he is not running for governor either.<nobr> <wbr></nobr>:lol:
Yeah, right! And he is not running for governor either.<nobr> <wbr></nobr>:lol:
Would you imagine Linus' bodyguard cleaning the eggs from his shoulder?
Hey,
"...and believing in some compromise between socialism and capitalism (the most widespread European political trend since World War II) is NOT equivalent to being a communist...."
Thats a very good description of our political situation here in Europe. Some years ago this was called the "third way", Tony Blair and other nowadays politcal protagonists have been vital part of this. Time will tell...!
"...and believing in some compromise between socialism and capitalism (the most widespread European political trend since World War II) is NOT equivalent to being a communist...."
Thats a very good description of our political situation here in Europe. Some years ago this was called the "third way", Tony Blair and other nowadays politcal protagonists have been vital part of this. Time will tell...!
It is interesting how you corporation drones use
term 'comunist' for anyone who oposes your
criminal activities.
Drazen Gemic
term 'comunist' for anyone who oposes your
criminal activities.
Drazen Gemic
It's not interesting. It's monotonous.
And they are not "corporation drones".
They are sheeps.
They are sheeps.
Uh, communists tend to close off government. If this article were true Linus would be oppening up government which is the basis of Democracy; "a Government by the People for the People". Alas the story is just satire at its best.
You're right. The whole point of this satire is that Linus is describing democracy, and the irony expressed therein is that our government these days is not very democratic.
It's really sad that the average U.S. citizen doesn't even know what democracy is, and accuses anyone espousing democratic principals of being a communist. Oh my gawd. If the idiot accusing Linus of communism is a typical American, I don't hold out much hope for this country.
The irony is that government in this so-called democracy is often not very democratic. What with secret arrests, secret committees run by Dick Cheney, and laws written by lobbyists, maybe it's all just an illusion of democracy designed to keep us fat and happy.
This story is under the topic "Humor"! Get a clue before ranting.
So you should not take all comments so seriously also,
Serious humor is funnier.
Hey guys what is wronge if Linus is communists. Communisim is the future. Soon colour red will all the national colour of all the nations in the globe.<nobr> <wbr></nobr>;-)
Type: Humore<nobr> <wbr></nobr>;-)
Anirban Biswas.
Type: Humore<nobr> <wbr></nobr>;-)
Anirban Biswas.
How much better are todays capitalists compared to the so called communists???? Stop treating the word communist as a slang
And stop mixing the political and ideological system called communism to the thing they had in Soviet Union. That was no communism, that was fasism.
Btw. things in former Soviet Union grew worse after capitalism. Now it's almost as bad as it was before the revolution. There's practicly a class of slaves and beggars. Just minority have income above the poverity status.
Btw. things in former Soviet Union grew worse after capitalism. Now it's almost as bad as it was before the revolution. There's practicly a class of slaves and beggars. Just minority have income above the poverity status.
Indeed. And some ex republics lost all sense of decency and have submerged into nationalistic hatred. Same thing as in former Yugoslavia. At least when the old regime (which was not communist, as was correctly noted) was in place, people couldn't get away with some of the outrageous things they can get away with now for example in Ukraine (racism/ethnicism against Russians, etc.). Ukrainians were always somewhat prone to this bad behavior, but it now it's really rampant again. Same thing in Baltic states. It's almost impossible to visit a Baltic state as a Russian without being punched or insulted at one point. It's bullshit.
And how do you think this "capitalism" works in Russia? I tell you: all the old party leaders and big cheeses simply switched labels from "big party leader, very important guy" to "big business owner and intrepreneur, very important and rich guy". Very nice. All powerful remained powerful and all poor remained poor, except now they have to eat from the waste bins. Nice capitalism. Free enterprise for those who can afford it and have the power to push things through, and f*ck everyone else.
And how do you think this "capitalism" works in Russia? I tell you: all the old party leaders and big cheeses simply switched labels from "big party leader, very important guy" to "big business owner and intrepreneur, very important and rich guy". Very nice. All powerful remained powerful and all poor remained poor, except now they have to eat from the waste bins. Nice capitalism. Free enterprise for those who can afford it and have the power to push things through, and f*ck everyone else.
yes,I agree with you
right. if Linus is communist then Ben Franklin was the basis for Adolf Hitler's regime. I'm sorry to tell you this but our government now is worse than communist. Just because someone in this country has a different idea, he is called socialist or communist. I think people need to look up their insults in a dictionary before wasting my air with their ignorance.
IBM is behind this! I have irrefutable proof based on *math-e-ma-ti-cal logic*!
This is the biggest news of the day. "Linus For Gov.!" I wonder if he will get linux onto the California Government's computers.
Does this mean five different versions of every state program, all missing key features because they are run by hobbists who work in their spare time? And don't forget the crummy fonts and washed out colors on all state documents.
And don't forget the crummy fonts and washed out colors on all state documents.
As opposed to an overpriced, virus infested, pirated technology,five minute uptime OS like windowz.
I'd rather crummy fonts than a thirdworld OS like winblowz.
As opposed to an overpriced, virus infested, pirated technology,five minute uptime OS like windowz.
I'd rather crummy fonts than a thirdworld OS like winblowz.
Hey, what crummy fonts? The 300-something TTF's I've got in my<nobr> <wbr></nobr>/usr/share/fonts/ directory? Washed-out colors? You mean the 24-bit color displayed on my Nvidia G-force 2 card?
7 different apps? Hey, there's a lot more than 7 for any given purpose, and one of 'em is bound to have all the features you could wish for- *plus* the stability, reasonable price (FREE), and ease of customization of LINUX. MINUS the "xp-phone-home" built-in trojan that Micro$loth has foisted off on the unsuspecting masses.
7 different apps? Hey, there's a lot more than 7 for any given purpose, and one of 'em is bound to have all the features you could wish for- *plus* the stability, reasonable price (FREE), and ease of customization of LINUX. MINUS the "xp-phone-home" built-in trojan that Micro$loth has foisted off on the unsuspecting masses.
I don't think so.
The range of distros available is in some ways a weakness for Linux (different distros have different ways of doing certain things so users and developers sometimes find themselves having to adapt to this) but also a strength because it provides choice and a selection of different versions of the same great OS, each most suited to a different type of user or a different purpose. Linux for the home user and small office (Red Hat, Mandrake, SuSE), Linux for the corporation which wants a certain amount of third-party support (Red Hat, SuSE), Linux for the hobbyist (Debian, Gentoo), Linux for the serious network admin or 'power' home-user (Debian, Slackware) and so on.
'Crummy fonts' is not an issue nor are 'washed out colours'. Linux can make use of Windows fonts and Microsoft 'fonts for the web', which Microsoft released on the Internet many years ago and with a powerful font rendering engine like <A HREF="http://freetype.sf.net/" TITLE="sf.net">FreeType</a sf.net> those fonts appear identical to how they do in Windows. It's not difficult to install FreeType or to install new fonts from Windows in Linux, if you have 5-10 minutes to spare. If you don't like the colours in Linux you need only customise the interface - most Linux GUIs are highly customisable, particularly the two desktop environments which should look familiar to Windows users: KDE and GNOME. KDE and GNOME both feature more configurable interfaces than Windows XP or any earlier version of Windows.
Admittedly, there's a big difference between allowing computer users to choose between many different distros of Linux and allowing the citizens of California to each pick their own version of a state program - so don't take the open source software/open government analogy too seriously.
The range of distros available is in some ways a weakness for Linux (different distros have different ways of doing certain things so users and developers sometimes find themselves having to adapt to this) but also a strength because it provides choice and a selection of different versions of the same great OS, each most suited to a different type of user or a different purpose. Linux for the home user and small office (Red Hat, Mandrake, SuSE), Linux for the corporation which wants a certain amount of third-party support (Red Hat, SuSE), Linux for the hobbyist (Debian, Gentoo), Linux for the serious network admin or 'power' home-user (Debian, Slackware) and so on.
'Crummy fonts' is not an issue nor are 'washed out colours'. Linux can make use of Windows fonts and Microsoft 'fonts for the web', which Microsoft released on the Internet many years ago and with a powerful font rendering engine like <A HREF="http://freetype.sf.net/" TITLE="sf.net">FreeType</a sf.net> those fonts appear identical to how they do in Windows. It's not difficult to install FreeType or to install new fonts from Windows in Linux, if you have 5-10 minutes to spare. If you don't like the colours in Linux you need only customise the interface - most Linux GUIs are highly customisable, particularly the two desktop environments which should look familiar to Windows users: KDE and GNOME. KDE and GNOME both feature more configurable interfaces than Windows XP or any earlier version of Windows.
Admittedly, there's a big difference between allowing computer users to choose between many different distros of Linux and allowing the citizens of California to each pick their own version of a state program - so don't take the open source software/open government analogy too seriously.
Gee, no more point & click government. People might have to actually THINK !
State/Fed... any government is always going to do everything as screwed up and sideways as possable. At least with Linux it wont take a million years (and bucks) to process your taxes etc...
And the paper trail could finally dissapear... courtacy of 14yr old hackers everywhere. =)
(not to be confused with cracker, u fkn moron)
And the paper trail could finally dissapear... courtacy of 14yr old hackers everywhere. =)
(not to be confused with cracker, u fkn moron)
Heard of the HomeBrew clubs (no beer involved)?
And to contact any state office you will have to post to alt.state.gov.calif where you will be told that asking questions is a reflection of your ignorance and then you will be told to recompile your attitude.
Aww, come on! You're gonna have me in tears in a minute.
Yeah, any contact with the goverment would result in a RTFM<nobr> <wbr></nobr>:)
If corporate America don't like Linus as governor, they can outsource off-shore the governor position. Next year even the congres and presidency can be outsourced in India or China.
Long live corporate way of life<nobr> <wbr></nobr>:-)
Long live corporate way of life<nobr> <wbr></nobr>:-)
Then why did they conquer Iraque and not India or China?
why would the U.S. government want to invade China? I can't say about the current President or Vice President, but when Al Gore was in there as V.P., China paid him a lot of cash, and nobody seemed to care. However, Iraq NEVER paid off any U.S. Government officials, hence the reason they were invaded!
1) It's spelled Iraq. The Q-U requirement only applies to English, whereas Iraq is romanized arabic.
2) What does this have to do with anything? I think you've got the entire joke backwards. Outsourcing government to China would mean China controls us, not the other way around.
3) US vs. China would be one hell of a war. The two biggest economies in the world, with the two most powerful armies, one on one LIVE ON PAY-PER-VIEW!! (And maybe CNN and Fox.)
If you pay attention to political trends, India and China are both likely candidates to superceed the US as the world superpower. (My bet's on China since even though India is major destination for outsourcing and the fastest growing economy, they're still way behind China in infrastructure and technology.)
2) What does this have to do with anything? I think you've got the entire joke backwards. Outsourcing government to China would mean China controls us, not the other way around.
3) US vs. China would be one hell of a war. The two biggest economies in the world, with the two most powerful armies, one on one LIVE ON PAY-PER-VIEW!! (And maybe CNN and Fox.)
If you pay attention to political trends, India and China are both likely candidates to superceed the US as the world superpower. (My bet's on China since even though India is major destination for outsourcing and the fastest growing economy, they're still way behind China in infrastructure and technology.)
Oh, I'm sure he'll just get corrupted by all of the big business lobbyists, etc. Hell, I'm sure we'd see taxes go up by at least $699 per person...;-)
Nice joke, but might have been effective if it was posted before the candidate registration expiry date (which was weeks ago if I remember correctly).
Also, there's already a Linux-loving geek candidate out there - vote for <A HREF="http://www.georgyforgov.com/" TITLE="georgyforgov.com">Georgy Russell</a georgyforgov.com> ! BTW, am I the only one who thinks her Website address makes her sound Russian ? Georgy Forgov indeed...<nobr> <wbr></nobr>:-)
Also, there's already a Linux-loving geek candidate out there - vote for <A HREF="http://www.georgyforgov.com/" TITLE="georgyforgov.com">Georgy Russell</a georgyforgov.com> ! BTW, am I the only one who thinks her Website address makes her sound Russian ? Georgy Forgov indeed...<nobr> <wbr></nobr>:-)
So Georgy Russell's a "Linux-loving geek candidate"?<nobr> <wbr></nobr>...and what about her policies?
I think Georgy may just be trying to market herself as the obvious choice for California's "Linux-loving geek" population but she should win votes based on what she stands for, not which operating system she uses (or how cute she is) - but I suppose that's the way these things work. Oh well.
I think Georgy may just be trying to market herself as the obvious choice for California's "Linux-loving geek" population but she should win votes based on what she stands for, not which operating system she uses (or how cute she is) - but I suppose that's the way these things work. Oh well.
Read her website. Her policies are clearly stated.
....SCO dictator Darling McBride announced today that the California Constitution had been stolen from the SCO Corporation's "Rules of Conduct" document which he claims the rights of which were bought directly from Moses. Darling will hold a press conference to display the original contract engraved on two broken stone tablets.
'for Govenor' is a patented trademark of ...
Posted by: Anonymous Coward on September 01, 2003 12:19 AM
'for Govenor' is a patented trademark of ElephantPoop2B, LLC
Those wishing to use the phrase may pay a licensing fee of $699. However, once our poop2b has become, once we've won our poop lawsuit, that fee will increase to $1399.
Those wishing to use the phrase may pay a licensing fee of $699. However, once our poop2b has become, once we've won our poop lawsuit, that fee will increase to $1399.
Re:'for Govenor' is a patented trademark of ...
Posted by: Anonymous Coward on September 03, 2003 12:29 PM
What is this some sort of joke? What are you amateurs playing at? 4leggedanimulePoop Inc. holds the current US patent for the ElephantPoop process!
We demand full compensation for a clear Poop Patent infringment!
We demand full compensation for a clear Poop Patent infringment!
Stallman's post-election commentary (draft)
Posted by: Anonymous Coward on September 01, 2003 01:14 AM
We congratulate Linus Torvalds on his surprising victory and wish him success as governor. However, it should be noted that people have been carelessly using the word "California" to mean two different things. Strictly speaking, "California" refers to the state government in Sacramento, its Senators and Congressman in Washington, and its agencies and officials in cities and towns throughout the state, which are now being administered by Linus Torvalds. But the entire state itself should be referred to as "GNU/California" in recognition of the contributions of free software developers over the past thirty-five years...
Re:Stallman's post-election commentary (draft)
Posted by: Anonymous Coward on September 01, 2003 02:50 AM
Now *that* is funny! If by some conjunction of parallel universes Linus actually *did* get elected, I wouldn't put it past someone at the FSF to write such a "press release" in their own humor category. ROTFL!
Converting StarOffice mail files(sdm) to Evolution
Posted by: Anonymous Coward on September 01, 2003 02:01 AM
I am trying to find a way to convert StarOffice 5.2 Mail files (.sdm) to Ximian Evolution e-mail files. Does anyone know if this is possible and if so, how to go about it?
Re:Converting StarOffice mail files(sdm) to Evolut
Posted by: Anonymous Coward on September 01, 2003 08:23 PM
I faced the same issue. What worked best for me was to e-mail the files back to myself sending from StarOffice and receiving in Evolution. I took me 3 days (~£45) for 1Gb of e-mails via a 56K modem.
--
<A HREF="http://www.mutley.uklinux.net/" TITLE="uklinux.net">www.mutley.uklinux.net</a uklinux.net>
Baby Ruby says <A HREF="http://www.mutley.uklinux.net/Ruby/Grandma%20&%20Noisey%20Ruby.html" TITLE="uklinux.net">"bwarghhhhh!"</a uklinux.net>
Re:Converting StarOffice mail files(sdm) to Evolut
Posted by: Anonymous Coward on September 01, 2003 08:56 PM
You could have simply mailed them to youruser@localhost for no fee and without a network connection... why in the world you'd re-send AND re-download a gig of stuff???
Bye, Renato
Bye, Renato
Where Linus comes from, there's a long, strong tradition of passive resistance by voting for Donald Duck in elections.
"In a surprise announcement this morning, Linux creator Linus Torvalds says he will enter the race to be the governor of California."
It wasn't that suprising.... It's the new fad.
It wasn't that suprising.... It's the new fad.
Interesting sponsor of this political page -
Posted by: Anonymous Coward on September 01, 2003 08:14 AM
Linus election news: brought to you by Microsoft!
First you get a president that didn't win by democratic ways ( he stole the elections by a shameless electoral fraud that makes mexican PRI party looks honest), and now California, then ENRON then loosing all the electric power in the capital of the financial world NYC, then getting their ass kick hard on Irak, althought I guess that doesn't matter as long as some corporations can take out as much oil as they can as long as they do, in the past the killings of Kennedy, etc etc etc etc<nobr> <wbr></nobr>... and now this in California if that's democracy then f**k that "democracy", LOL
You may not have noticed, but we don't live in a strict democracy. We live in a republic, which means we choose people to make all the decisions for us instead of making them ourselves.
At least we have toilet paper you thirld world ass wipe
I suppose if you want to look at it that way you can, Linux is a fine example of "Don't believe what your told" Ill bet neather side is telling the truth, at the same time both are..
"why are you smiling all the time?" - "because its all so f*cking hilarious." (life is)
-- Road to Predition.
"why are you smiling all the time?" - "because its all so f*cking hilarious." (life is)
-- Road to Predition.
Our asses kicked in Iraq, eh?
Americans Dead: Around 250
Iraqi's Dead: Around 7,000
Goodgame, we owned. End of discussion.
Americans Dead: Around 250
Iraqi's Dead: Around 7,000
Goodgame, we owned. End of discussion.
Shall I rewrite your post?
I would have written
People Dead: 7,250
wow, that is a victory! You won what? Their freedom or their oil?
Hahahah that's humor!
I would have written
People Dead: 7,250
wow, that is a victory! You won what? Their freedom or their oil?
Hahahah that's humor!
d.) all of the above. (but regardless..)
The US had every RIGHT to invade Iraq. complain all you want, they had a cease fire agreement in place, no different than a bank foreclosing on your house. if you dont pay the bank takes your house. and thats what happen.. the US foreclosed on Iraq. an now you dont have a house and all you can do is blame the bank? your the one that dident play along and pay your bills. (nor did you play along with the UN weapon inspectors)
Iraq made a public statement on 9/12 saddam said "oh we are verry sorry that happened... you should have called on the nation of Iraq to help search for survivors" -- now me personally I dont like smart-asses.. especially ones that make implying statements like that.
BUT - this isent the place for that kinda talk anyhow. now lets find a way to convert Calafornia state balots to XML for mass production.<nobr> <wbr></nobr>;)
The US had every RIGHT to invade Iraq. complain all you want, they had a cease fire agreement in place, no different than a bank foreclosing on your house. if you dont pay the bank takes your house. and thats what happen.. the US foreclosed on Iraq. an now you dont have a house and all you can do is blame the bank? your the one that dident play along and pay your bills. (nor did you play along with the UN weapon inspectors)
Iraq made a public statement on 9/12 saddam said "oh we are verry sorry that happened... you should have called on the nation of Iraq to help search for survivors" -- now me personally I dont like smart-asses.. especially ones that make implying statements like that.
BUT - this isent the place for that kinda talk anyhow. now lets find a way to convert Calafornia state balots to XML for mass production.<nobr> <wbr></nobr>;)
Grrrrrrrrreat news, gave me a good laughter.
but, i do appreciate his political taste
and interest in social life unlike many
geeky fellows in today's world.
California region is going to very very tough
for windowz to penetrate.(Goood news... atleast
one state works perfectly round the clock )
Is there any party with penguin symbol there ?
will penguin be his symbol or<nobr> <wbr></nobr>... ?
U r really very different linus !!
karthik bala guru
linladn@yahoo.co.in
but, i do appreciate his political taste
and interest in social life unlike many
geeky fellows in today's world.
California region is going to very very tough
for windowz to penetrate.(Goood news... atleast
one state works perfectly round the clock )
Is there any party with penguin symbol there ?
will penguin be his symbol or<nobr> <wbr></nobr>... ?
U r really very different linus !!
karthik bala guru
linladn@yahoo.co.in
Although the article is in jest there is a valuable point in there. Basically that what we call democracy is completely broken. Candidates are only voted in on a select few policies that everyone cares about such as taxes, transport, public services etc.
When it comes to things only a minority are affected by, such as software patents, then the polititian does not feel any obligation to answer to the voters. They answer to the highest bidder or most vocal lobby instead.
BTY, I think lobbying is a sneaky way of bypassing the voting public, however established a system it may be.
By passing laws against the interests of concerned minorities over a period of time, a worthy constitution is gradually made worthless and it gets to the point of complete apathy because it doesn't matter who you vote for, they aren't going to do anything about the issues you really care about.
The internet has made it possible to poll people without much expense. It is now possible to consult the public on much more than just the same, boring issues that presently decide a vote.
The UK patent office was kind enough to consult the concerned public with regards to software patents. IIRC about 90% thought they were a bad idea. Now, if that consultation was binding (true democracy) then the lobbyists would have been laughed all the way back to Redmond. Unfortunately, as we don't have any true democracies, and never have, software patents are *still* actually being concidered in Europe.
When it comes to things only a minority are affected by, such as software patents, then the polititian does not feel any obligation to answer to the voters. They answer to the highest bidder or most vocal lobby instead.
BTY, I think lobbying is a sneaky way of bypassing the voting public, however established a system it may be.
By passing laws against the interests of concerned minorities over a period of time, a worthy constitution is gradually made worthless and it gets to the point of complete apathy because it doesn't matter who you vote for, they aren't going to do anything about the issues you really care about.
The internet has made it possible to poll people without much expense. It is now possible to consult the public on much more than just the same, boring issues that presently decide a vote.
The UK patent office was kind enough to consult the concerned public with regards to software patents. IIRC about 90% thought they were a bad idea. Now, if that consultation was binding (true democracy) then the lobbyists would have been laughed all the way back to Redmond. Unfortunately, as we don't have any true democracies, and never have, software patents are *still* actually being concidered in Europe.
Is democracy really broken?
Me don't think so. Churchill said it better than I can ever dream of doing:
“Many forms of government have been tried and will be tried in this world of sin and woe. No one pretends that democracy is perfect or all wise. Indeed, it has been said that democracy is the worst form of government, except for all the others that have been tried from time to time." Winston Churchill, 1947.
Glad to see that someone has discovered "true democracy". That reminds me of all the islamic fundamentalists who claim that the Iranian or (former) Taliban society models failed because they were not "true islamic states" - or maybe all the communist apolegists (I'm not a native English speaker so I probably spelled that one wrong:) who claim that communism failed because "true communism" never existed in any of the socalled communist states.
What I want is a stable society model which can _gradually_ incorporate changes (much like free software btw) that are mandated by a large proportion of the society. Whether this is done by electing representatives or direct votes (on legislation) can always be discussed but it does'nt make one way or the other more _true_ than the other.
Btw. why do you think direct votes would make the majority of people think more about things like software patents?
Me don't think so. Churchill said it better than I can ever dream of doing:
“Many forms of government have been tried and will be tried in this world of sin and woe. No one pretends that democracy is perfect or all wise. Indeed, it has been said that democracy is the worst form of government, except for all the others that have been tried from time to time." Winston Churchill, 1947.
Glad to see that someone has discovered "true democracy". That reminds me of all the islamic fundamentalists who claim that the Iranian or (former) Taliban society models failed because they were not "true islamic states" - or maybe all the communist apolegists (I'm not a native English speaker so I probably spelled that one wrong:) who claim that communism failed because "true communism" never existed in any of the socalled communist states.
What I want is a stable society model which can _gradually_ incorporate changes (much like free software btw) that are mandated by a large proportion of the society. Whether this is done by electing representatives or direct votes (on legislation) can always be discussed but it does'nt make one way or the other more _true_ than the other.
Btw. why do you think direct votes would make the majority of people think more about things like software patents?
>Is democracy really broken?
Well, yes. It's just, like, so "D-, could try harder".
>Me don't think so. Churchill said it better than I >can ever dream of doing:
>“Many forms of government have been tried and will >be tried in this world of sin and woe. No one >pretends that democracy is perfect or all wise. >Indeed, it has been said that democracy is the >worst form of government, except for all the >others that have been tried from time to time." >Winston Churchill, 1947.
So he basically said it was broke too, but he didn't know of any better. It's a bit like a Roman observing that a horse and chariot is a dead-slow way of travelling long distances, but it was the best solution at the time. It was true at the time, and remained so for the next 2000 years. Then cars and aeroplanes were invented. Now the internet has just been invented.
One of the main principles of democracy has been that of polling. This activity has been limited in the past due to the hassle of conducting an accurate poll. The internet has just made it easier.
>Glad to see that someone has discovered "true >democracy". That reminds me of all the islamic >fundamentalists who claim that the Iranian or >(former) Taliban society models failed because >they were not "true islamic states" - or maybe all >the communist apolegists (I'm not a native English >speaker so I probably spelled that one wrong:) who >claim that communism failed because "true >communism" never existed in any of the socalled >communist states.
I deny the outrageous allegation that I may be some kind of revolutionary fanatic. Anyone who says I am should be executed when the revolution comes! Ha!
>What I want is a stable society model which can >_gradually_ incorporate changes (much like free >software btw) that are mandated by a large >proportion of the society. Whether this is done by >electing representatives or direct votes (on >legislation) can always be discussed but it >does'nt make one way or the other more _true_ than >the other.
But these "elected representatives" afer often influenced by campaign contributions and lobbying. Though it can be said that the present system is the best of a bad bunch of alternatives, my point is simply that it can be made less bad by polling the population on actual issues rather than simply what brain-dead representative is likely to do the least damage in their excuse for representing our interests.
>Btw. why do you think direct votes would make the >majority of people think more about things like >software patents?
Most people don't care at all about software patents. It's only of interest to a minority. It is hardly a vote loser for any representative. Compared to the voting population at large software programmers are a minority. Small software houses are a minority. Is it right that they should be dumped on? It is heartening that the lobbying efforts in Europe against these patents are at least getting serious consideration from the MEPs, but why did it get this far? Also, it is because of the power the internet community that the issue could be raised to this level. How many minorities have been squished before?
Well, yes. It's just, like, so "D-, could try harder".
>Me don't think so. Churchill said it better than I >can ever dream of doing:
>“Many forms of government have been tried and will >be tried in this world of sin and woe. No one >pretends that democracy is perfect or all wise. >Indeed, it has been said that democracy is the >worst form of government, except for all the >others that have been tried from time to time." >Winston Churchill, 1947.
So he basically said it was broke too, but he didn't know of any better. It's a bit like a Roman observing that a horse and chariot is a dead-slow way of travelling long distances, but it was the best solution at the time. It was true at the time, and remained so for the next 2000 years. Then cars and aeroplanes were invented. Now the internet has just been invented.
One of the main principles of democracy has been that of polling. This activity has been limited in the past due to the hassle of conducting an accurate poll. The internet has just made it easier.
>Glad to see that someone has discovered "true >democracy". That reminds me of all the islamic >fundamentalists who claim that the Iranian or >(former) Taliban society models failed because >they were not "true islamic states" - or maybe all >the communist apolegists (I'm not a native English >speaker so I probably spelled that one wrong:) who >claim that communism failed because "true >communism" never existed in any of the socalled >communist states.
I deny the outrageous allegation that I may be some kind of revolutionary fanatic. Anyone who says I am should be executed when the revolution comes! Ha!
>What I want is a stable society model which can >_gradually_ incorporate changes (much like free >software btw) that are mandated by a large >proportion of the society. Whether this is done by >electing representatives or direct votes (on >legislation) can always be discussed but it >does'nt make one way or the other more _true_ than >the other.
But these "elected representatives" afer often influenced by campaign contributions and lobbying. Though it can be said that the present system is the best of a bad bunch of alternatives, my point is simply that it can be made less bad by polling the population on actual issues rather than simply what brain-dead representative is likely to do the least damage in their excuse for representing our interests.
>Btw. why do you think direct votes would make the >majority of people think more about things like >software patents?
Most people don't care at all about software patents. It's only of interest to a minority. It is hardly a vote loser for any representative. Compared to the voting population at large software programmers are a minority. Small software houses are a minority. Is it right that they should be dumped on? It is heartening that the lobbying efforts in Europe against these patents are at least getting serious consideration from the MEPs, but why did it get this far? Also, it is because of the power the internet community that the issue could be raised to this level. How many minorities have been squished before?
I didn't know it was april fools already<nobr> <wbr></nobr>.-)
Silicon.com and ZDNet don't know it's a joke
Posted by: Anonymous Coward on September 01, 2003 08:30 PM
Silicon.com and ZDNet.co.uk are running this as a serious news story.
the way things have been going in this recall (socalled "election") campaign, i really had to read this thing a couple of times.
(i think i need a vacation from this state.)
-z
(i think i need a vacation from this state.)
-z
I think it's a great idea! Once the american military secrets become open source and we see there was no evidence of weapons of mass destruction in iraq...
There was no evidence of mass destruction weapons on Irak before this war!
I don't even think there was any person that beleve
the bullshit of Bush, anyway the military propose was very clear: Oil.
I guess the USA gov. won't allow a gov like that of Linus in the most rich state of the worl: California!
I don't even think there was any person that beleve
the bullshit of Bush, anyway the military propose was very clear: Oil.
I guess the USA gov. won't allow a gov like that of Linus in the most rich state of the worl: California!
Oil, My Foot! The U.S. buys 90% of it's oil from Canada and Russia! So get off the oil bandwagan and think for your self!
Linus for Gov !!!!!!! He gets my vote.
Linus for Gov !!!!!!! He gets my vote.
Anon wrote:
Once the american military secrets become open source and we see there was no evidence of weapons of mass destruction in Iraq...
You don't need Linus for that: in German TV You could ghear *before* the war that
(1) it was CERTAIN that Hussein did no longer posses atomic weapons (he was supposed to be close to this in 1991)
(2) it was virtually certain that he had no biological weapons
(3) it was highly probable that after desert storm and the following disarming of Iraq there were no chemical weapons left to Saddam. Mr. Blix asked for a couple of month to get to a definite answer to that question.
In hindsight, we *all* know there were no such weapons of mass destruction, and we see the fans of Osama recovering from the Saddamite oppression and enjoying new freedom in the anarchy of today's Iraq
A German on visit in Korea<nobr> <wbr></nobr>...
Once the american military secrets become open source and we see there was no evidence of weapons of mass destruction in Iraq...
You don't need Linus for that: in German TV You could ghear *before* the war that
(1) it was CERTAIN that Hussein did no longer posses atomic weapons (he was supposed to be close to this in 1991)
(2) it was virtually certain that he had no biological weapons
(3) it was highly probable that after desert storm and the following disarming of Iraq there were no chemical weapons left to Saddam. Mr. Blix asked for a couple of month to get to a definite answer to that question.
In hindsight, we *all* know there were no such weapons of mass destruction, and we see the fans of Osama recovering from the Saddamite oppression and enjoying new freedom in the anarchy of today's Iraq
A German on visit in Korea<nobr> <wbr></nobr>...
Linus make true<nobr> <wbr></nobr>:)
you'd think linus would be spending a majority of his time at work and helping to update the linux kernel. then again, the united states could use an intelligent, open-minded, self-initiating individual -- if that is what linus is.
wait... i have a better idea! every politician over the age of 50 gets kicked out. face it: when you get to an older age, you body and mind relies way too much on your own experiences and personal values to be opt. to change. why? because they all psychologically work for YOU. and what politician would care for the views of those with the power to vote them out of office? the majority sucks.
wait... i have a better idea! every politician over the age of 50 gets kicked out. face it: when you get to an older age, you body and mind relies way too much on your own experiences and personal values to be opt. to change. why? because they all psychologically work for YOU. and what politician would care for the views of those with the power to vote them out of office? the majority sucks.
<A HREF="http://www.mutley.uklinux.net/" TITLE="uklinux.net">www.mutley.uklinux.net</a uklinux.net>
Baby Ruby says <A HREF="http://www.mutley.uklinux.net/Ruby/Grandma%20&%20Noisey%20Ruby.html" TITLE="uklinux.net">"vote Linus!"</a uklinux.net>
Baby Ruby says <A HREF="http://www.mutley.uklinux.net/Ruby/Grandma%20&%20Noisey%20Ruby.html" TITLE="uklinux.net">"vote Linus!"</a uklinux.net>
This article can't possibly be true since the last I read, Linus is not a citizen, he is an H1B card holder and a green card holder. Unless he gained citizenship via marriage. But even so, in most states, for governor, or one of the federal house or senate seats, or anything above that you must be a citizen of the US for a certain length of time, say 25-35 years. You would have to read the law to be sure. This was one of the conditions to be in government that the constitution framers came up with to keep RECENT immigrants from gaining control. For president you have to have been born here in the US. So Arnold could never be president and neither could Linus. These are little details that most non-Americans and even lots of Americans don't know, but they are rules we live by that makes our country strong.
comprate un poder de deducción, man
sos un imbecil de cuarta
sos un imbecil de cuarta
You're wrong. For president, you must have legal residence in the USA for 14 years. Also it's quite possible he could have gained citizenship by filling out a few forms since you last checked. California's full of assholes, especially the government. It wouldn't surprise me if he did.
--Nigel
--Nigel
Looks like he and Arnold will split the "Anyone but Larry Ellison" vote.
RedThat anounces California Support options
Posted by: Anonymous Coward on September 08, 2003 06:16 PM
In a press release, RedThat has announced it's new support options for Linus California Race. The basic support entitlement provides basic police, firemen and sanitary services for $60/year. However, if you have a family you shall upgrade to a "Corporate" account who allows you to send children to school and dentist for a $96 fee per child/year.
For instance you can choose another company to support your childs called Dervian. The only problem is that you can send you child to the doctor and recieve a 25 years old CS doctor with all upgrades and a nice penguin tatooed in the back.
For instance you can choose another company to support your childs called Dervian. The only problem is that you can send you child to the doctor and recieve a 25 years old CS doctor with all upgrades and a nice penguin tatooed in the back.
Hehe
Posted by: Galik on August 31, 2003 05:23 PM#