[LINK] Theft, copyright, larceny...

[Rick Welykochy]

Janet Hawtin wrote:

> Someone from ANU coined the phrase information feudalism =)
> I think its probably time we had a think about the implications of
> private control of discourse, ideas, participation.
> Franchise of the information ecology has a social cost.
> As a nation we do not own the primary conceptual real estate franchises.
> This means we participate in technology and information flows as and 
> when the primary
> franchisers permit. We participate in ways which profit them. We subscribe.
> This is straight out good business sense for them. I just think it is 
> borked policy for us as a nation.

Excellent rhetoric, Janet. Where have you been all of LINK's
life?

We need more critical thinkers like yourself ... something that
seems not to be taught anymore.

On that note, I am continually dismayed by the under 25s who
often question very little, know little of where we came from and
how we got here, and thus are now ripe for things like AWAs
and reduced levels of citizen's rights and unaware of just
how much their own privacy is being eroded.

I'm afraid that in a couple of generations the conditions of
society as found in Brave New World will be quite acceptable to
the younger generations since they have no idea what they have
lost.

The optimist in me says yeah, but these things go in cycles,
and we will once again return to a semblance of what I feel
is right and proper, but prolly not in my lifetime.


cheers
rick

p.s. I must thank Tony at this juncture for putting up with
some pretty frayed threads on Link lately. Tony, at least you
are giving some of us "grumpies" a great sounding board for
topics that are at best tenuously connected to Link's charter.



-- 
_________________________________
Rick Welykochy || Praxis Services

Any belief that can't stand up to objective scrutiny is hardly worth having.
      -- LJ McIntyre