From: Michael M. Butler (butler@comp-lib.org)
Date: Thu Dec 14 2000 - 08:17:19 MST
More like <Segue to medium-size '30's Jazz band:>"It don't mean a thing,
if it ain't got that swing! Dooowah doowah doowah doowah doowah doowah
doowah doowah doowaaaaaaaah..."
It's fear of specific contamination. Not a government thing, more a
constructed public fear of pollution by association or simple contact.
Not unlike the way "good Germans" learned to tread Jews by around 1938.
Mitnick is being treated as an object of fear and loathing like (as they
were often referred to there & then) "The JEW Benny Goodman" and "that
nigger-kike music." Let's not dress this one up eBay and Yahoo) as
Government's fault. This is people, veiled as corporations, exercising
"freedom of association" in a bigoted way to reduce their perceived
exposure to charges of permitting "bad guys" to "profit from the fruits
of their crime." Or something like that. That's the most charitable spin
I can put on it. But as Mitnick and/or his lawyers say, it's pretty
funny that you can sell Nazi and KKK memorabilia, but not a deactivated
prison debit card ID.
The retail sites are within their free-market rights. Mitnick is within
his free-speech rights to criticize them vocally, and I'm glad he's
doing so.
Zero Powers wrote:
>
> From: "Samantha Atkins" <samantha@objectent.com>
> Sent: Thursday, December 14, 2000 1:43 AM
>
> > Gina Miller wrote:
> > >
> > > Hacker's auctions stir up controversy. Kevin Mitnick, the infamous
> hacker,
> > > has found a new and controversial way to make money: auctioning his
> personal
> > > items online. http://news.cnet.com/news/0-1007-200-3941970.html
> > > Within forty-five minutes of a CNET (above) news article posted late
> > > Thursday night reporting that the three biggest on-line auction sites:
> eBay,
> > > Yahoo Auctions, and Amazon.com Auctions had canceled the auction
> featuring
> > > Kevin Mitnick's Federal inmate debit card, eBay canceled the auction of
> > > former computer hacker Kevin Mitnick's ham radio.
> > > http://www.kevinmitnick.com/home.html
> >
> > This stuff really ticks me off. The government went way overboard. All
> > those years away from anything remotely like a computer are very much
> > cruel and unusual punishment. They also don't want him to speak or now
> > even sale off goods. This is way out of line.
>
> (funky 70's crime-drama-disco music wafts in)...
>
> "Don't do the crime if you can't do the time, yeah, uh-huh!!"
>
> -Zero
>
> Learn how your computer can earn you money while you sleep!
> http://www.ProcessTree.com/?sponsor=38158
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