Slashback: Aptitude, Consolation, Security 154
apt-get install common.sense According to this message from Pixel in the apt-rpm mailing list, Linux-Mandrake is the second RPM-based distro to use APT, after Conectiva's own distro. So, despite the existance of non-free similar products recently covered in /., APT is gaining acceptance to be the unified package manager front-end for Linux.
Can your parents install Debian?
Now there's some smidgeon of Justice for ya Foggy Tristan writes "
According to Wired news story, Uzi Nissan has won a battle, but not the war, against Nissan in a domain name dispute over nissan.com.
For now, however, Uzi Nissan must display a prominent banner on his site that tells people he has nothing to do with the car company and where people can find Nissan.
" You knew this was going to happen ... RobM9999 writes: "The BugTraq mailing list over at SecurityFocus is reporting what appears to be the first vulnerability in the NSA's Security-Enhanced Linux that was originally written about here. The original post to the BugTraq mailing list is here."What would have been more surprising is if no security bugs were found when a project like this has its source opened to the world. Best to get that laundy clean, eh?
Could be they're just serious gamers tech81 writes "Here's an article on MSNBC that has an update to this story previously posted on Slashdot concerning Iraq possibly buying and stockpiling PS2's for military purposes. Looks like they weren't able to get an PS2's, so they grabbed the originals. . ."
So that's why the bidding on eBay went so high, eh?
Read 'em and weep The next part of our continuing reprint of Jon Katz' Hellmouth series is up.
Mandrake Cooker tends to be very up to date. (Score:1)
Re:Stupid question... (Score:3)
But both got it half right.
According to 'man apt', it's "Advanced Package Tool".
The funniest line in the nissan story (Score:5)
Ok, so Nissan Motor Co Ltd wants Nissan.Com, when it hasn't registered NissanMotorCoLtd.com and NissanMotor.com and NissanMotors.com isn't good enough? I think Uzi's got a good case.
Re:The funniest line in the nissan story (Score:2)
This is called a "Joe Job", and yes, it happens from time to time.
Unfortunately, Uzi's spams come direct-to-MX from IP addresses and domains owned and operated by him (I've received copies of it myself), and the headers I got match the ones that have been posted to news.admin.net-abuse.* recently.
That's conclusive proof that it's him behind the spams.
Re:CUBA IS NOT A DICTATORSHIP (Score:1)
A book such as "Nineteen eighty-four", by George Orwell would be highly elucidative for the case in point.
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Re:Slashdot has too many newbies (Score:1)
BigCat79
Re:new and improved package management. (Score:1)
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Re:CUBA IS NOT A DICTATORSHIP (Score:1)
Re:The Iraq embargo is ridiculous (Score:3)
Re:The Iraq embargo is ridiculous (Score:1)
Re:new and improved package management. (Score:2)
*.tar.gz
Oh, so just like Slackware [slackware.com] then?
installpkg foo.tgz
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Lameness filter holes (Score:1)
Bingo Foo
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Re:APT (Score:3)
Slapped with a talking Boogie Bass, actually.
playstation 2 is all about graphics (Score:1)
Bingo Foo
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Re:Playstation article (Score:5)
He could if was playing Lunar Lander [serve.com] on his Gameboy!!
Re:Blabbering (Score:1)
Both PS/1 and PS/2 are general purpose computers, albeit with less open architectures than a PC. Everything they render is most certainly not pre-built into them, although the video hardware has a lot of iron streamlined for turning 3D abstractions into 2D views which would be wasted if you're doing something else.
The physics in these games is always coded by the game programmer in the general-purpose CPU, because it's different for every game. While we may laugh at these consoles being used to control military hardware, it's no sillier than many of the impromptu hardware hacks which are performed during any war -- especially if you have a couple of talented hacker types who are familiar with the hardware and software environment.
While I think the whole embargo is silly, it seems possible that there is some specific project for which the Iraqis may have adapted this cheap and importable hardware. I am sure I've read of Linux being booted on the Dreamcast and think I remember seeing that it had been ported to PS/1; this indicates that the specs are out there for anyone who wants to use these as general purpose computing engines.
Iraq and Playstations (Score:1)
What I'd really like to know is what the hell Iraq would have done with a bunch of PS2s - much less what they'll do with the PS1. The machine are designed specifically for graphics rendering. [...] They can now use them to map the trajectory of their missiles! Of course, it all has to fit on a PlayStation disk...
Not if you take it apart. The PS and PS2 hardware, like that of most other game consoles, can easily be adapted to other uses; see, for example, Linux on the Dreamcast. Now, whether the Iraqis have enough smarts to reverse-engineer the hardware and wire it up for their own purposes, I don't know--but just because these are game machines, don't assume they can't do anything except graphics.
--
BACKNEXTFINISHCANCEL
Best line was Nissan being sued by Altima Computer (Score:1)
Furthermore, both Greenstein and Mr. Nissan are now looking into a 1992 lawsuit in which the shoe was on the other foot. They both noted that Nissan Motors was the defendant in a trademark lawsuit when the automaker introduced the Altima line of cars and an identically-named computer firm claimed infringement. If the car company's defense in 1992 was that Altima as a computer product and Altima as a brand of cars do not overlap, the defendants in Nissan v. Nissan can make a simple argument: As with "Altima," so with "Nissan."
Yet the court records on this trial are mysteriously sealed. IMO Nissan Motors totally shot themselves in the foot. Heh heh heh.
Re:The Iraq embargo is ridiculous (Score:2)
Er, no, we aren't trying to protect the Iraqi people. We are trying to keep Saddam from building up enough forces to threaten the regional balance of power again by cutting off his money. It's old-fashioned balance-of-power politics, and its working exactly as intended.
Now, admittedly, U.S. politicians have been spouting lots of moralistic rhetoric about it. Hussein spouted lots of moralistic rhetoric about the justice of his invasion of Kuwait. In both cases, the rhetoric not only has nothing to do with what's happening, but never did and never will.
Frankly, we want Hussein to remain in charge of Iraq. If he falls, there's a good chance that the Kurds break off into their own country in the north, destabilizing our long-time ally Turkey. And there's a good chance the Shi'ite south also breaks off and becomes part of or an ally of Iran, putting the Iranians on the Kuwait border. Democracy is nice, but democracy in Iraq carries a severe risk to several long-term U.S. allies and to the economies of the democracies in North America, East Asia, and Europe.
Instead, the embargo leaves Saddam with enough power to keep his country united and defend itself from invasion, while rendering it unable to invade neighbors. Which is exactly what the U.S., EU, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, and Israel want.
Re:The funniest line in the nissan story (Score:1)
Thank you for including the "seem". I know it's not that simple, legally. But once upon a time, before the corporations discovered it, the web was a place of peace and harmony, or at least people didn't feel a need to shit all over each other so much. Now it's exploited and it's becoming a wasteland of assholishness with occasional oases of beauty.
Re:Somebody's an idiot here (Score:1)
Perhaps, slightly less completely and utterly insanely, they could simple put up a video monitor and broadcast a live video feed? You know...like we do?
-David T. C.
Keep trying (Score:2)
If there were no embargo, the Good Life incentive to keep Saddam in power would be at least diluted.
At the very, very least, it should be quite clear that if you want to get rid of Saddam, then the sanctions method is, uh, not exactly producing sparkling results yet. In fact, the sanctions only make the ruling class stronger while punishing everyone else.
So ask yourself this... the US is not ignorant of these facts. Why do they work so hard to keep the embargo in place?
There is a reason... but if you think it's all the propaganda you rattled off in your post, you're not using your head. The answer is in plain sight.
Re:new and improved package management. (Score:3)
#tar -zxf foo.tar.gz
#cd foo
#configure
#make
#make install
#echo Precompiled binaries are for the weak.
FluX
After 16 years, MTV has finally completed its deevolution into the shiny things network
Re:Keep trying (Score:1)
The purpose of the sanctions is not to prevent Saddam from projecting power. If that were the case, things would be quite different. The purpose of the sanctions is to try to remove Saddam from power, and that is, indeed, what most people who swallow the propaganda believe as well.
Of course, either way, the sanctions' effects on Saddam are beside the point, as that isn't where their true value lies. However, you're thinking on the right track!
I don't have any links handy, but I'm sure if you do a little digging you'll find some wire service articles from the few weeks leading up to the invasion of Kuwait. These are very interesting reading. In order to put them into context and understand the story, it'll be necessary to have a basic understanding of the major geopolitical events in the region for the past 50 years - nothing too in-depth, a simple timeline will probably be enough... although it'll be good to know something about general US policies in the region as well, like what happened with the Shah in Iran (or, as a CIA employee put it to me in 1988, y'ever wonder WHY those people are so mad at us?). Put it all together, check out the articles, and ask yourself why the US might tacitly encourage Iraq to invade Kuwait...
Nissan.com about to be shitlisted (Score:1)
Tetris on drugs, NES music, and GNOME vs. KDE Bingo [pineight.com].
Re:The Iraq embargo is ridiculous (Score:1)
Washington knows this, and is just fine. If you begin too look at the amount of "architecting" that the US does in the Middle East, it's just downright creepy.
Consider this possibility: look at the enormous advantage the states is given if they have a "rogue state" who's dictator is impossible to shake because of sanctions, but also as a result of the sanctions can for the most part be kept under control. Tbe US loses a lot of credibility and public approval rating for it's Middle East actions if it doesn't have a readily available enemy.
And that's what Saddam is, and the US government knows that as long as the sanctions stay in place, so does he. How is a citizenry supposed to reject a leader when they are cut off from the outside world? They have no access to foreign media, and for the most part they live in squalour and poverty.
Here's two more meme's for y'all: 1. Why doesn't the principle of mutual destruction apply to Saddam? (and don't answer because he's crazy).
And 2. Why was it not ok for Iraq to take over othe countries, but it was ok for Israel to do it? (and don't answer with jewish conspiracy shit on that one either)
Re:CUBA IS NOT A DICTATORSHIP (Score:1)
perhaps I meant "percieved dictatorships"... or what is identified as "rogue states" (ie. any state that could threaten the major western powers)
however, I would be interested in how one-party democracy works... is it that the voters choose representatives within the party? It surely can't be that there is only one option, can it?
Re:Stupid question... (Score:1)
No more Jon Katz in the quickies... (Score:1)
I'm not usually given to sudden rises in blood pressure but his name triggers some sort of flight or fight response which I can't respond to.
So please, please no more quickies for Jon
Re:Playstation article -- think monarchy (Score:1)
One possibility that might not occur to a citizen of a democracy is that Iraq is an effective monarchy, and monarchs have to give good presents to keep their subordinates happy. Maybe it's really the face-value explanation.
If you write your Occam's Razor essay... (Score:1)
If you write your Occam's Razor[?] [everything2.com] essay, please post it on Everything 2 [everything2.com].
I'm looking for a few good [noders [everything2.com]]Tetris on drugs, NES music, and GNOME vs. KDE Bingo [pineight.com].
Re:The Iraq embargo is ridiculous (Score:1)
In fact, if you do the research - and it's not difficult, as there isn't anything secret about it - you may be surprised to learn exactly what has been in the US interest, and how US interest has been managed, and how the US media reports it.
And by the way, Saddam hasn't been removed from power in one way or another not because of any laws (it didn't stop us from removing Noriega, if you recall)... Saddam hasn't been removed from power because we have no reason to WANT Saddam removed from power. In fact, Saddam is doing a damn fine job just where he is. If Saddam does leave power and is replaced with someone more overtly friendly to the US, here's a clue: start worrying.
Re:The Iraq embargo is ridiculous (Score:1)
The real story is fascinating, man. Take some time to educate yourself. Start with this question: what was the United States' chief concern in the Gulf in 1989-1990? What were they worried about?
Re:The Iraq embargo is ridiculous (Score:1)
Coming soon! (Score:2)
Re:Keep trying (Score:2)
Sure, Saddam is living the good life, and sure, his subjects aren't.
But Saddam's quality of life isn't at stake, here. Nobody especially cares how many palaces he has or the size of his harem. The important point is that he lacks the capability to threaten other nations, since he's proven that he'll use that ability if given the chance.
Stupid question... (Score:2)
Yu Suzuki
Re:The Iraq embargo is ridiculous (Score:2)
If you're really interested in reading up on this stuff, here's an interesting article written by Noam Chomsky. It's at the very least an interesting read for opposing opinions: http://www.zmag.org/chomsky/articles/z9804-rogue.h tml [zmag.org]
Re:The Iraq embargo is ridiculous (Score:1)
There is a very clear distinction between the identity of the American people and their government, and most people know it. Generally, people are aware that often their governments are acting without their knowledge, or their approval.
And I know I'm not wrong. I know the majority of Americans don't want their government overthrowing democratically elected presidents in Chile, or imposing poverty on the people of Cuba, or essentially veto-ing the first real steps towards implementing the Kyoto protocol.
Not many Americans really want these things, but at the same time, not many Americans are plugged into what is really happening. And it's not their fault, it's the fault of the leadership class.
But I'll stop here, cause it's not like anyone's going to be reading this. But perhaps a plea to not use moderation as a means to keep political opinions from the eyes of slashdot readers. I don't think that's what it's for.
Re:APT (Score:1)
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Re:The funniest line in the nissan story (Score:2)
Ordinarily, I sympathize with cases like his... that was until I found out Mr. Nissan was a punk spamming thief. [deja.com]
In fact, he's been a spammer [deja.com] since late October.
And just like a punk spamming thief, he lies [deja.com] about his spamming too.
Fuck Uzi "scumbag" Nissan and the car he drove in on. I hope Nissanmotors.com's landsharks turn his site into a greasy yellow stain on his ISP's server room floor.
Somebody's an idiot here (Score:4)
I'm no military expert, but it seems to me that hardware optimized for converting data into 3D images (console games) is NOT the best harware to use for converting 3D images into models of the real world (optical recognition/computer vision systems mentioned above). What good is rapid pixel fill rates, texel rates, polygon rates etc. when you're not trying to generate pictures, but rather decompose pictures into atomic components, which is pretty much the reverse process. So either a) I'm an idiot. b) The "miltary experts" are idiots, or c) Jim Miklaszewski and the MSNBC editorial staff are idiots. Which is it?
Re:The funniest line in the nissan story (Score:1)
I approve of this, personally. Nissan's a trademark, and it was registered before the guy registered the domain name. It seems to make sense to have a link to Nissan motors. I mean, who knows who this Uzi guy is? As far as I'm concerned, Uzi Nissan indicates a drive-by shooting.
Re:On package management (Score:1)
definitely a degree of uncertainty though with the knowledge that any weirdness could be either fucked configuration or a broken package.
Re:Can your parents install Debian? (Score:2)
Last time I looked the amazingly user-friendly Windoze also presented an identical list, but when I tried to pick my monitor it insisted I insert a disk which I did not have (I then picked generic and it worked).
Re:Somebody's an idiot here (Score:1)
Re:On package management (Score:1)
Re:The Iraq embargo is ridiculous (Score:2)
They used water to extinguish the fires, not explosives. There was a PBS special or something on it and the quote I remember was "throw enough water at ANY fire and it will eventually go out."
Re:new and improved package management. (Score:1)
Re:Blabbering (Score:1)
Like Karma doesn't matter...
Moderators: -1, nested, oldest first!
Re:The Iraq embargo is ridiculous (Score:2)
Re:new and improved package management. (Score:1)
it comes down to this. a computer is a tool. i've often tried to reflect on why i feel a bit of disdain for products like MS Windows and MacOS. Or online services like AOL and the MSN. It's simply a matter of the laziness of the user. People are inherently lazy. they use products like the aformentioned because they don't want to know what makes their computer tick. they just want to get their little beige box on that internet they've heard so much about and look for porn, or how to make a fluffier quiche.
that just doesn't cut it in my book. and i realize, the disdain i feel is for those people that are supporting these services because they don't have a ravenous desire to learn anything and everything they can. They don't care what is going on in their computer. And that usually translates into almost every facet of their lives. that doesn't give me a lot of confidence in my species.
ok. anyway....end of rant. rpm and apt-get a poor utilities because they isolate the user from the machine that much more. It's the same as the GNOME vs. KDE argument. there are other, more intelligent and elegant choices, it's just that no one talks about them because they're not for the lazy (default install) people in this world.
FluX
After 16 years, MTV has finally completed its deevolution into the shiny things network
Re:The Iraq embargo is ridiculous (Score:1)
'cause the Palestinians don't sell the US any oil...
Re:Keep trying (Score:1)
Re:The Iraq embargo is ridiculous (Score:3)
Define for me please what a rogue nation is exactly. One that does not abide by U.S. desires? Technically, all nations are "rogue" in that they are all sovereign...rogue implies that there is some international government dictating thier actions. (The U.N. doesn't count, because it rules by consent: you don't /have/ to be a member).
Iraq, lest you forget, invaded another sovereign nation with every intention of keeping it. Overwhelming force from a large coalition of nations forced them to abandon Kuwait. Not content to have their parade rained on, the Iraqis systematically set fire to many of the oil fields in Kuwait. These require explosives to quench -- not a simple task.
But then, you also forget that Iraq didn't always used to be the "bad guys". Prior to the whole Kuwait thing, we had actually told (our close ally) Saddam Hussein that we (the U.S.) would look the other way when Iraq moved to retake the disputed territory that Kuwait held at the time. We told them to go ahead and take it. This was taken, however, by Saddam Hussein to mean we wouldn't care if he took /all/ of Kuwait...which was a mistake. If Hussein had bothered to notice that Bush's ranking in the opinion polls in the U.S. had been slipping, he might have forseen that his actions provided a convienent excuse for Bush to try to make himself look good...
The only reason Hussein was ever vilified was because the Bush family was getting antsy about thier chances for re-election.
We won't even go into the Bush family's ties with the Texas (vs. Iraqi) oil industry...
Since Saddam was, unfortunately, not removed from power during the war, it is not unreasonable to assume he might be a little bitter. Imposing an embargo helps contain him and his ability to threaten other nations. No it isn't perfect, but it is certainly better than letting him freely buy any military hardware he needs.
He wasn't removed from power because of treaties the U.S. is party to that prevent us from directly interfering with another /sovereign/ nation's government.
Iraq has shown the capacity to use weapons of mass destruction (nuclear / biological / chemical), just ask some of their own people. Additionally, it has shown it has, and is willing to use missiles to attack other nations (Scuds on Israel during the Gulf War).
Hiroshima. Nagasaki. Don't forget the U.S. is the only nation to have ever used atomics on another nation. Don't see any embargoes being put on us...because we won. These embargoes have nothing to do with Hussein or what he's done: they are not punishment; they are poltics. Cheap Oil. Texas versus OPEC. We are trying to force Iraq's oil prices down, at the expense of the civilian population.
enough rambling. I await your repsonse. =)
have fun
dongoodman
THOSE DON"T COUNT (Score:1)
Then again neither does rosie
By the way what do you use to see.
Your 5 cent hoe Mom told she had to use a microscope.
Re:On package management (Score:1)
Amen. I really love linux, but the one thing I really miss from Windoze is not having to deal with all the library dependencies like I do under linux. Anyone who says the DLL hell under Windoze is worse is a few cards short of a deck.
Now that the rant is out... I have a question. Does the RPM apt really solve all the dependency issues? I installed KDE2 recently, and there was two ways to go as far as I could tell.
rpm -i --force or --nodeps every package
uninstall every KDE 1.x package I had ,and anything that depended on them(like kpackage) and then install the new version.
I ended up doing the latter. Would apt automate all of this? If so, would it auto-replace all of the packages that depended on the old packages it had to get rid of (like the aforementioned kpackage)? I'm doubtful (but hopeful ;-)
Re:Somebody's an idiot here (Score:2)
A PS/PS2 could be used on the controller end to graphically view data sent back from missiles or pilotless drones in a 3D manner. They're not total idiots, but the true meaning is left to the reader.
Re:Stupid question... (Score:1)
new and improved package management. (Score:5)
*.tar.gz
FluX
After 16 years, MTV has finally completed its deevolution into the shiny things network
Mandrake Apt (Score:1)
becasue that would just kick A$$!!!!
I tried 7.2, but my soundcard couldn't seem to be installed right, but I want to try a newer version and see if the problem cleared up, as it we probably something simple. Becasue I'm no Linux Guru (I still haven't figured out exactly what cat does and similar other commands, I'm just lost.)
I just use it becasue its "Cool" and I enjoy tinkering with stuff, but don't have the most up to date computer equipment.
Re:Playstation article (Score:1)
I just.. don't see ANYONE on here being quite THAT stupid.
(although, it would make for a nifty short story or comic book)
Poor little no puppy toe!
NSA Linux bug (Score:1)
Re:apt-get ports (Score:1)
Re:The Iraq embargo is ridiculous (Score:1)
Re:The Iraq embargo is ridiculous (Score:1)
Re:new and improved package management. (Score:1)
ln -s
Re:Playstation article (Score:1)
Plus there may be security issues here, and they are forbidden from telling more. Then again, what more could they say? You can tell to what audience a given article is intended by the title.
"Report on Gaming-Related US Exports to Foreign Countries in Violation of Operation Exodus"
is intended for a different audience than
"War Games" (snort! snort!)
Puns, the lowest form of humor is all too often the device of choice for headline editors.
Anyway, the customs dept may have to revise its guidelines contained in its Gemini literature contained here
http://www.customs.gov/enforcem/gemini/pdf/gemi
Someday I'm a gonna learn me how to make that there linky thing blue and clickable...
Re:new and improved package management. (Score:1)
Does anyone remember what networking was like before TCP/IP gained acceptance. RFCs, open specs, and agreement between vendors.
Sooner or later someone is going to have to #define constants
Re:What is NSA's goal? (Score:1)
Daemon: "Maybe. As long as the numbers aren't very big."
Professor: "That shouldn't be a problem for this instance. "When can you have it done?"
Daemon: "Well, um..."
Professor: "Nevermind. What's critical is that you can process large amounts of data."
Daemon: "I can serve up small amounts as fast as you can ask for them."
Professor: "Moreover, it is vital that this information not fall into the wrong hands."
Daemon: "You can count on me there."
Professor: "Got any games?"
Re:The funniest line in the nissan story (Score:2)
Y'know, I gotta admit I like that recommendation too.
In fairness to the scumbag, the right solution (and this meets the criterion) would separate the fact that he's spamming from the otherwise-valid issue he has with him being the guy with first claim to Nissan.com.
Like I said in the original post - if he hadn't spammed to promote his cause, I'd likely be a hell of a lot more sympathetic to his cause. Rule #3 - spammers are stupid. Sucks to be him.
I say he should retain the rights to the domain, but lose all IP connectivity under the terms of his AUP (which he's no doubt violated). If he wants to set up his web site with a new provider, and subsequently not spam for it, I'll cease to have a beef with him. Hell, Spamford Wallace went straight after a few years, why can't Uzi Nissan after a few months? What matters is that he stops spamming, not why he stops spamming.
Of course, until he stops spamming... well, fuck him and the car (presumably not a Nissan) he rode in on, but I've already been there and got modded down for it ;-)
Re:new and improved package management. (Score:2)
Can your parents install Debian? (Score:3)
Re:Mandrake Cooker tends to be very up to date. (Score:2)
As I recall, dependancies were often very innacurate, packages had not been completely compiled(as in they didn't have all the binaries/libraries the package should have), and three out of every ten moderately complex programs segfaulted.
Now, that was quite a while ago
Right now I'm using the bleeding edge version of Debian. Called Sid, standing for Still In Development, it's not suggested for casual users. It's not even suggested for enthusiastic users. It's only for people who are familiar with system recovery
Damn, can't remember. Something to do with KDE2, though, I'm pretty sure.
Ah well
Dave
Barclay family motto:
Aut agere aut mori.
(Either action or death.)
Re:The Iraq embargo is ridiculous (Score:4)
Iraq, lest you forget, invaded another sovereign nation with every intention of keeping it. Overwhelming force from a large coalition of nations forced them to abandon Kuwait. Not content to have their parade rained on, the Iraqis systematically set fire to many of the oil fields in Kuwait. These require explosives to quench -- not a simple task.
Iraq has shown the capacity to use weapons of mass destruction (nuclear / biological / chemical), just ask some of their own people. Additionally, it has shown it has, and is willing to use missiles to attack other nations (Scuds on Israel during the Gulf War).
Since Saddam was, unfortunately, not removed from power during the war, it is not unreasonable to assume he might be a little bitter. Imposing an embargo helps contain him and his ability to threaten other nations. No it isn't perfect, but it is certainly better than letting him freely buy any military hardware he needs.
One of the biggest complaints I hear is that the Iraqi people are starving -- the oil for food program doesn't work. On closer examination you'll find that Iraq is rarely selling up to its capacity under this program because Saddam refuses to rebuild / upgrade / maintain his oil refineries. He would rather redirect this money to his elite forces. So don't you dare accuse Americans of "starving poor Iraqis". Their own government got them into this situation and keeps them in it.
Don't get me wrong - in no way am I condoning the actions of loose cannons like Oliver North or other corrupt individuals who were in power positions in the U.S. Criminals should be punished. But you are trying to make an embargo sound criminal, when in fact it IS the punishment. Don't confuse the two.
Re:Slashdot has too many newbies (Score:2)
Dave
P.S.: I don't mind constructive critisism - no need to post anonymously when replying to one of my posts.
Barclay family motto:
Aut agere aut mori.
(Either action or death.)
Re:new and improved package management. (Score:2)
Actually, that looks a lot like the BSD ports system. Except with BSD ports all you do is something like this:
cd /usr/ports/category/program
make install
The fetch/extract/configure/build is all handled automatically.
selinux bug already fixed (Score:3)
Off the mailing list:
Date: Tue, 2 Jan 2001 17:28:48 -0500 (EST)
From: pal@epoch.ncsc.mil (Pete Loscocco)
To: selinux@tycho.ncsc.mil
Subject: Updated release
Sender: owner-selinux@tycho.nsa.gov
An updated release of Security-enhanced Linux that corrects some of the minor problems in the original release has been posted on the NSA web site (www.nsa.gov/selinux).
Changes include:
- moving the numbers of the new system calls to avoid conflicts
- fixing the buffer overflow problem discovered in the find_default_type function in libsecure
- removed extra ';' in policy grammar
- minor adjustments in kernel/flask/Makefile
...
Re:The funniest line in the nissan story (Score:2)
Re:new and improved package management. (Score:2)
Why ACs don't run SecurityFocus (Score:3)
"Buffers can be overflowed, and by overwriting critical data stored in the target process's address space, we can modify its execution flow. This is old news. This article is not much about how to exploit buffer overflows, nor does it explain the vulnerability itself. It just demonstrates it is possible to exploit such a vulnerability even under the worst conditions, like when the target buffer can only be overflowed by one byte."
-- first four sentences of The Frame Pointer Overwrite [infonexus.com], Phrack 55
So lets see.. to make an exploit all we need to do is get root and modify that /etc/security file...
You don't need to write the file. In theory, if you can read that byte, you know the know the incorrect address at which code will be executed. When the program that you're exploiting takes input from you, give it input that puts the code you want executed in the location in the buffer that will be jumped to.
So, no, it's not trivially exploitable. But, no, it's probably not something to be summarily ignored.
Re:On package management (Score:4)
Re:On package management (Score:3)
The entire point of 'apt' is two things:
1) Easy installation of package x.
2) Easy upgrade of package x to the latest version.
In order for the easy installation of package x, it has to be available in a place where 'apt' can find it. You mentioned that you'll only be able to download packages that are signed? Does that mean Mandrake will devote 3-4 developers, full time, to package all the various 10000+ utilities/applications/etc that are available for Linux? That's where my doubts lie. Debian's package maintainers do have the time an efforts - there are hundreds of them, all working on their own little packages. So, sure, if you can only download signed packages the quality can have some guarantee, but that's only if the package you want is available from a certified source(like your distribution maker's computers). But as soon as they don't have something packaged, all that guarantee goes out the window. If it was there in the first place.
As far as easy upgrades, it doesn't matter that Mandrake has Cooker. Ever tried to get a Cooker RPM to work on a regularily installed Mandrake 7.1 distribution? Never went well for me. So not only do they have to have it packaged, but it has to be packaged for all the various versions of their distributions.
A lot of work.
Dave
Barclay family motto:
Aut agere aut mori.
(Either action or death.)
Re:On package management (Score:2)
And Eazel will eventually be charging for their services, keep in mind. Of course you're willing to pay, so that's all right
Dave
Barclay family motto:
Aut agere aut mori.
(Either action or death.)
Ouch (Score:2)
Hellmouth Part 7 [slashdot.org]
Re:The funniest line in the nissan story (Score:2)
Regardless of whether this guy is a scumbag or not, if he loses this case, it could set a precedent that will harm many non-scumbags as well. I have to hope he wins... then gets tossed in jail for 2 years for spamming ;)
Speaking of apt-get (Score:2)
apt-get install life
and then it told me that it couldn't find one. So I thought that any life could do, so I tried:
apt-get install
and it gave me two options (calife and xlife). I couldn't decide what kind of life I wanted, so I just forgot about it. It's too hard to get this life. (Oh wait. Maybe they meant like a LIFE not as in a program called 'life'). Hmm. Odd.
* Infinite = limited.
----
the truest and funniest words are spoken at -1... (Score:2)
On package management (Score:5)
Four/five years ago I installed Linux on a *huge* 730MB hard drive(yeah, nifty, eh?
A year or two ago, I installed Caldera 1.3. Then I installed Caldera 2.2. Then I installed RedHat version 5.2, then Mandrake 6.2, then Red Hat 6.2, and now Debian. In each case, I had the distribution installed for a minimum of a month or two.
So, while I'm no guru, I have used a reasonable number of Linux distributions(and I'm not counting the dozens of "mini-distributions" that I've tried out and tweaked[plug: ramf, available at ftp://ftp.ibiblio.org/pub/linux/system/recovery , is my current favorite]).
Anyways, you can add all the automation to package management you want, but it all comes down the the package maintainers. Generally, when you're using Debian packages made by Debian maintainers, a certain quality can be expected. Packages will be dependant on what they need - and they will suggest packages that allow for full functionality. You can be reasonably sure that you'll get a man page for most commands, even if it's a simple "please refer to online documentation available at: http://www.foobar.com/foo/bar.html".
So, while I'm glad that other distributions are adopting 'apt', and the ability to automatically install packages and automatically update ones available, it will all come down to maintainer commitment. Commitment to quality, commitment of time. Red Hat, Mandrake, and friends usually don't update packages after a distribution has released. Sure, if there's a security bug found, they'll release an update, but that's pretty much it. I was never able to go to Red Hat's site and download the latest set of GNOME packages for my Red Hat 6.2 install.
However, when you run the Debian 'testing' or 'unstable' distributions(neither are as bad as their names suggest), when a new app is released, it'll generally be packaged and available through regular Debian mirrors within a few weeks. The Debian 'stable' distribution is targetted at a different audience, and is updated much less frequently.
Ok, so, enough of this. My point is that unless these distribution makers are willing to invest considerable time and money in keeping their packages up-to-date and well done, then 'apt' is probably just overkill.
Dave
Barclay family motto:
Aut agere aut mori.
(Either action or death.)
Export controls on toys (Score:2)
Maybe a couple years ago before the relaxed controls on encryption a PGP game should have been marketed.
Jason
apt-get (Score:5)
Well, I'm still waiting for
apt-get install athlon-1GHz
Hmmm... doesn't seem to work - Must be a bug. I'll see what I can do... look out for my patch (any day now...)
Re:Playstation article (Score:2)
I am more woried about soccer moms and deadbeat dads that vote than the geeky slashdot users (some or most of which are to young to vote or maybe just too apathetic... or... all of that could just be my view of things...)
I think it would make an interesting game... maybe a quake mod.
Stockpiling the PS2 (Score:3)
Playstation article (Score:4)
Also, telling people that a Gameboy has more computing ability than all of what sent the Astronauts to the moon is a bad example. It is apples and oranges.
People would assume from that article that Sadam could take a Gameboy, put the right cartridge in it and fly to the moon.
The Iraq embargo is ridiculous (Score:4)
Hussein does not suffer due to lack of food, medicine, or a real economy. In fact, embargoes like this only serve to make the dictator stronger. It's very easy to point a finger of blame at the US for all of Iraq's problems. Creating an embargo weakens the public and allows the dictator to villify the developed nations (read USA), further securing his base of power.
If free-trade is supposed to lead to the democratization of the whole world, then what's wrong with Iraq?
Re:Stupid question... (Score:2)
1. Fit or fitted; suited; suitable; appropriate.
- - - - -
Re:CUBA IS NOT A DICTATORSHIP (Score:2)
Re:The Iraq embargo is ridiculous (Score:2)
Waaaaaaaaitaminit, dude, just you don't get off that easy. When Saddam invaded Kuwait and Bush Sr. said "Hey, let's blow this fux0r off the map", weren't you humanitarian/peacenik types saying "no blood for oil, sanctions are the way to handle this"?
When it was a choice between bombing and sanctions, sanctions were great. Now that bombing him is off the table, it's a choice between sanctions (and what, a stern rebuke from his High School teacher?) and something less than sanctions, you presumably favor something less than sanctions?
This guy is building nukes fer chrissakes, and he may be crazy enough to use 'em.
Indeed, the only reason I'm saying "may" instead of "is" is because he didn't use chemical weapons when he lobbed a pile of Scuds at Israel and Saudi Arabia, and while he's quite content nerve-gas his own citizens, he knew the Israelis, Americans, and Saudis wouldn't take that kinda shit.
(And for all I know, the reason he didn't go chemo is because his chemo warheads wouldn't have given him range with the Scuds, and he *couldn't*, rather than *wisely chose not to*, go chemo.)
Ender's Game taught me everything I need to know about dealing with bullies. (And anyone who's "strong" enough to nerve gas his own citizens when there's no fear of retaliation, but won't nerve-gas his enemies in war is just that - a bully, albeit a smart one). You don't just beat them, you beat the hell out of them (which we chose not to do in 1991), and you make sure they can never do it again.
Remember, the purpose of sanctions is not "to help the Iraqi people". It's to make sure Saddam cannot develop WMD capability. I'm not saying it's working as well as it should, and in an age where anyone with an antistatic bag can shove an Athlon up their ass (I'd like to see 'em try it with a motherboard :-) and walk across the border, I'm not even saying it can work in terms of denying him access to technology. But unless you've got something better in mind...
i think you boys forgot something.... (Score:3)
sig:
Re:Stupid question... (Score:2)