Good News from the UK

[The Liquidator]

Our new Government has published it's policy document. Amongst its promises is a level playing field for open source

http://www.itpro.co.uk/623533/what-w...d-technology/2

Time will tell, but it looks a promising start

[Zhao]

Re: Good News from the UK

News like that are always nice to read

[GreyGeek]

Re: Good News from the UK

The EU started out that way. Then, Ballmer wined and dined the head of the EU Open Source agency (I've forgotten it and her exact title) but shortly after that she was all in favor of Microsoft's "mixed" approach. Now "Open Source" has been equated with Microsoft's proprietary apps.
http://arstechnica.com/open-source/n...-guideline.ars

MS is using pseudo "Open Source" claims to hijack true Open Source options around the world:
http://techrights.org/2010/04/03/dis...r-open-source/ And being mostly clueless, the world is falling for it. They have even hijacked the European Open Software Working Group. That PDF is an edited version of the EU OSS Strategy draft with the input of Jonathan Zuck, President of the Association for Competitive Technology, an organization that has strong ties with Microsoft. ACT is one of the original 10 MS front organizations created by Microsoft during the DOJ trial to astroturf the American public and lobby Congress on behalf of Microsoft.

[The Liquidator]

Re: Good News from the UK

Like I said, time will tell. The Lib Dems, now part of the coalition, have pledged to repeal the Digital Ecomomy Act, or at least significant parts of it, so there must be hope, especially in the light of the recent technology disasters we have experienced in the UK.

We have, in the UK, a political scenario unheard of since the second world war so maybe, just maybe......

[GreyGeek]

Re: Good News from the UK

I believe that SO MANY people are disappointed with so many politicians, of BOTH parties, over so many issues that America is on the verge of a political revolution unseen since the civil or even revolutionary war. A Russian analyst predicted that the USA would begin to break up in the spring of 2010. He suggested that my state would become "associated" with Canada, and the East cost with the EU. But, it doesn't look like the EU is any too stable right now either.

[kyonides]

Re: Good News from the UK

Well, while you were thinking about how unstable the USA or EU are, MS isn't losing time to find new trenches from where to launch its attacks to competitors. A few minutes ago I visited an RPG (Role Play(ing) Games not the other RPG ones) forum and suddenly I was chocked after reading a forumer's post telling everybody that Windows is safer than Mac. Even if for a specific time period that could be correct or possible, Windows has too many security failures and yet MS claimed they had a better secured OS... It's a Spanish speaking forum so I guess almost none of you would be able to read it (not without some help from google translator or some other tool or dictionary) but I can at least leave here the forumer's source that started this controversy.

Obviously, I didn't wait to see how many forum visitors would buy that story and posted a reply reminding them about how insecure Windows actually is. I even posted a copy of this here in the Spanish subforum named Misceláneos/Chat General (a clone of Social/Casual Talk so to say).

The source was... neowin.com

Well, don't blame me, that's the source he used to backup his claims... It wasn't more specific...

[The Liquidator]

Re: Good News from the UK

In the UK MS is bombarding us all with seven second ads advertising windows 7 and eight second adverts pushing IE8. Seriously, TV ads for a browser!

[Zhao]

Re: Good News from the UK

Well, ads are ads. We shouldn't rely on them. I believe the best people can do is just test Open Source Software and see how great it is for themselves.

[MoonRise]

Re: Good News from the UK

I could be wrong but I think the entire world has had enough of the In Your Pocket governments. Most all in the name of "choice". What choice is there when other corps make sure they are the only choice and your government allows it in the name of "choice"? Kind of a closed circle of the elite where the "average Joe" suffers if you ask me.

[Snowhog]

Re: Good News from the UK

I'm an American and a voter. I earnestly hope that this November turns out to the be the 'Second (minor) American Revolution' with the effect that a sufficient number of majority incumbents are thrown out of office so as to get the attention of our Government that 'we the People' have had enough of their doings, and that they (once again) need to start listening to their citizens. Our Federal Government needs a 'slap-in-the-face' wake up call from the electorate. Enough is enough.

The first sentence of the Declaration asserts as a matter of Natural law the ability of a people to assume political independence, and acknowledges that the grounds for such independence must be reasonable, and therefore explicable, and ought to be explained.

When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.

The next section, the famous preamble, includes the ideas and ideals that were principles of the Declaration. It is also an assertion of what is known as the "right of revolution": that is, people have certain rights, and when a government violates these rights, the people have the right to "alter or abolish" that government.[70]

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights,[71] that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security.

[MoonRise]

Re: Good News from the UK

I think all incumbents need to be removed. Any of the old can still poison the new.

[kyonides]

Re: Good News from the UK

I guess that's impossible if people continue voting for candidates of one of the two well established parties...

[GreyGeek]

Re: Good News from the UK

The system is broken.

It doesn't matter whom we elect to replace the bums now in Washington. The next batch will be corrupted by the system just like the last batch was. If you elect an honest person they'll either be corrupted or marginalized. Our previous congressman, Tom Osborn, is an example. He was not corruptible but he wasn't effective either. Our current congressmen is a Clinton hair clone who has fit right in to the system. After they get elected the facts show that their only job is to get re-elected and in the process increase their net worth as much as possible. Ergo, they start campaigning 24/7/365, much of it supported by franking propaganda at our expense. The money they raise in campaigning or accept from lobbyists goes into their "campaign chest". If they don't get reelected or they retire they can keep the money in the "campaign chest". So, they are campaigning for themselves and not any high moral principle or goal. They use "Ear Marks" to buy the voters votes, and most of the voters are too greedy or stupid to understand that they are being conned. Billion dollar highways to no where. Million dollar airports that service only one flight a day, and that is mostly for the congressmen or his staff. Stealth clauses in Bills that no Congressmen bothers to read, which gives benefits to specific people or corporations. Indeed, both the PATRIOT ACT under Bush and ALL of the Financial crisis bills passed under Obama were NEVER read by any Congressmen or Senators before they voted for the bill. They couldn't read the bills. The bills were thousands of pages long and made public the morning they were voted on.

The new blood is Blue blood. They have no clue about how 40-50% of the citizens are suffering financially. About 45% of Congress are millionaires and 50 of them are worth over $10M. It shouldn't be a surprise to anyone that a person with an average net worth of less than $500K before office and an average net worth of almost $2M after two years in office is doing something unethical, immoral or illegal. They aren't that shrewd of an investor in a market where the average annual growth is less than 8% that they could parlay $500K and $174,000/yr into $2M in two years. Staffers show similar increases in wealth. Like their bosses, they are using their offices or their inside information or influence to rape the Goose that laid (pass tense) the Golden Eggs. Replace the bosses and you still have the civil servants fattening themselves at the public's expense.


We've got to change the rules. I don't mean trading the Constitution for the Manifesto.

Both the Left, Right and Center are in collusion on this corruption, either for personal financial gain or because, like Barney Frank and Nancy Pelosi, they let their political ideology blind them as they did six years ago when they were warned about the fragile nature of the sub prime mortgages, and attacked those concerned as "racists" because Frank Raines of Fannie Mae was Black, even though Raines was doing $20M of illegal booking at Fannie Mae.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_MGT_cSi7Rs Similar sordid tails are available for Right wing politicians who are merely revolving door CEOs for giant corporations.

As long as profit and non-profit lobbyist can nullify the American voter their Republic is that in word only. As long as a group of over 80 Congressmen work within the system trying to overthrow or replace it with Socialism the Declaration and Constitution are threatened documents.

The corruption goes right down into the agencies (DOJ, FBI, FCC, FDA, SEC, EPA, etc...) originally created to protect the public but are devoted solely to promoting the financial interests of the corporations, non-profits or other special interests. Sell a corporate made sleep aid that has a high risk of dependency or death? No problem. Do the faked studies, pay the bribes, get the approval. Sell a natural product which is totally harmless but does a better job of inducing sleep and you risk being fined and imprisoned. (Obviously because you are cutting into the corporation profits.). "Special courts" to prosecute you and you aren't allowed to tell your wife or family what is going on? Your lawyer can't see the evidence against you, cross examine your accusers? You are now ASSUMED GUILTY and have to prove yourself innocent. This is EXACTLY why we fought the War of Independence!

Hot heads on the Far Left and the Far Right are wrong, but they are arming themselves with weapons and ungodly amounts of ammunition (including armor piercing), even automatic weapons, anti-tank guns, explosives, etc... People in the middle are arming themselves just to protect their family and property from the hotheads of either side and the common thugs and thieves that will take advantage of the situation. It's becoming insane. There is never more than 30 days of food and supplies on grocery market shelves. When the insanity and shooting starts it won't take long before everyone will be wishing they had simple pleasures: clean water, enough food, warm clothing, decent shelter, and toilet paper. Especially toilet paper.

[kyonides]

Re: Good News from the UK

People tend to wish they could find a honest candidate for any job in the Congress, the Presidence or the Army or the Marines, but at the end people forget they only pursue their own goals aka happiness not anyone else's happiness. Only people working in public service don't get fired if they don't fulfill people's aka their bosses wishes or goals or expectations. Why? Because they make sure you're unable to get rid of them once the first group of people notice they're corrupt due to the fact they bought the judges or a corporation supports them and so on. People don't understand they lost their power after they accepted to vote once again for the same / another politician, it's become a new addiction, an addiction to politicians' lies and manipulation of people's mind.

Just a few days ago a friend from Chile who works at one of the local Ministries told me that a year ago the Minister should take a decision on what OS / Server they should use to implement their network. The employees tried to convince him to choose any of the Linux like OS's but he just ignored them and chose Windows as the main platform to be implemented there. Once the new Chilean President took control of the presidence, the former minister had to look for greener pastures where to dwell and guess what, he's now an MS consultant... Coincidence or predestination?

[GreyGeek]

Re: Good News from the UK

....
the former minister had to look for greener pastures where to dwell and guess what, he's now an MS consultant... Coincidence or predestination?

A CEO for a pharmaceutical becomes the administrator of the FDA (US Food and Drug Administration). While at the FDA he pushes for, approves, etc., rules which help the pharmaceutical. When he leaves the FDA he become a CEO at the pahrmaceutical again.

They were always working for the pharmaceutical, even when they were "working for" the FDA.
It's a revolving door policy where the crooks regulate the crooks.

We call them "moles".