Ian Clarke and Freenet in the Crosshairs

EMIce writes "John Markoff of the New York Times writes of Ian, "Though he says his aim is political - helping dissidents in countries where computer traffic is monitored by the government, for example - Mr. Clarke is open about his disdain for copyright laws, asserting that his technology would produce a world in which all information is freely shared. ... Now, however, Mr. Clarke is taking a fresh approach, stating that his goal is to protect political opponents of repressive regimes." Wasn't freenet originally about dissent? Mr. Markoff appears to be re-writing a history that he probably only knows through a handful of lexis-nexis searches." Update: 08/01 18:32 GMT by T : Ian Clarke wrote to point out his comment posted to the story which lays out the actual subject of his Defcon talk.

Re:Just switch it off

[Yaa 101]

It's too late for that, the internet is designed to not being able to be shut down...

Re:Notable quote

[HyperChicken]

You can't oppose US bashing here -- This is Slashdot!

Re:Notable quote

[Kainaw]

If anyone can give actual provable examples of the US government abridging Constitutionally protected free speech, I'd love to hear it.

Don't be so naive. The USA PATRIOT Act has to abridge our free speech. Why? Because everyone says it does. I know, there are those who have put time into reading it and know that it limits the power of the FBI and CIA, but they don't count. We're in the age of blogs. True or not, I'm believing whatever a nerd with a computer tells me to believe because I want to be a cool nonconformist just like all the other cool nonconformists.

Re:Just switch it off

[Knome_fan]

Didn't you learn anything here?

In order for /. mods to understand sarcasm, you'll have to clearly mark your comments as being sarcastic.

That way, at least some of them will understand what you are trying to say.

So please, the next time around, put [sarcasm] tags around your post, followed by a short disclaimer that your post is indeed intended to be sarcastic and maybe add a link to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sarcasm [wikipedia.org] for good measure.

Hope this helps.

Re:Notable quote

[youknowmewell]

Quick, get Thomas Jefferson on the phone! John Adams has killed free speech! Our freedoms are being trampled while big corporations get bigger and richer and more powerful! This is a heinous crime against humanity and it must be stopped!

The US is going down the tubes, the book 1784 was right! It was just 14 years late...

Re:Notable quote

[h4rm0ny]

Does unlimited free speech and movement trump the safety of elected officials/dignitaries/world leaders/etc.?

You're absolutely right. Because if I were going to assasinate Bush, I'd turn up wearing an anti-US t-shirt and waving a placard.