Readers' Comments

Reader Comments on Aardvark Daily 10 September 2001
Note: the comments below are the unabridged submissions of readers and do
not necessarily reflect the opinions of the publisher.
From: Philip S
For : The Editor (for publication)
Subj: $500k and 5 years eh....

As soon as I read that, the first thing that came to mind
was how on the videos that people hire out and buy from the
store, I believe it has the same thing at the start...
"Any reproduction of this tape....could result in a $500k
fine and up to 5 years inprisonment"
Funny that, its also for copy protection...




From: Dominic
For : The Editor (for publication)
Subj: Thoughts...

I think this move by the US is a signal to the world that
we are in some sort of globally based way of life, even if
it doesn't feel or seem like it.

To me, modifying TCP/IP would be the most hurtful, as this
is the nervous system of the Internet.

Also, do Europeans have to participate? Not all EU nations
bow down to the demands of the US.

I don't sense the world practicing global "everything" just
yet.

Personally, I'm studying the motive. If the piracy that is
on the net wasn't what it is, I think we'd be given a
different flavour of that law.

And NZ legally? I think we'll just do as we're told, like
most nations in the world.




From: Anders Crofoot
For : The Editor (for publication)
Subj: freedom on the net

As a US citizen, who emigrated to NZ 3 years ago, I'd say
the US government has got it completely wrong.

One of the basic ideas in the founding of the US was that
the average citizen had to be able to protect themselves
from the government. That is why the right to have guns is
so fiercely protected in the US. Historically, if the
citizens had guns and could defend themselves, and the
government wasn't likely to be able to trample all over
them. The founding fathers of the US knew that governments
didn't always get it right. They wanted to make sure there
were checks and balances in place so that power didn't get
concentrated in one place. The constitution and bill of
rights set things up so that everyone had to work together.

In the modern day I see encryption and computer technology
as no different than guns were in the past. In the past
physical force and guns were the way to control things. Now
information and communication are a more potent force.
As it has long been said "the pen is mightier than the
sword".
Now Have Your Say