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LoL information exchange Issue 04
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Legion Of Lame Information Exchange
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LoL was created to fight censorship and to provide a place for people to
share ideas, catering to people interested in: Online Security, Phone
Network Security and discussion of related topics.
Anyone who submits anything to the LOLIE will automatically recieve
the next issue, through e-mail, which will be compiled from reader
submissions, member submissions, and files of interest from the internet.
For more information email lolie@freenet.hut.fi
or check out http://www.inmind/com/people/therock
In this issue:
The LoL Manifesto -Devil Locke
Censorship -Dead Whorse
The Whorses Mouth -Editorial By Dead Whorse
The future of civilization -Dead Whorse
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History of Information Oppression And Statement
Of LOL Beliefs On Censorship
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The world lies in a state of bureaucracy. Governments mete out
false justice, charge us money to squander on their own petty interests, and
do next to nothing for us in comparison with the things done TO us. The at-
tempt to control our every waking thought and action, pass unnecessary laws
designed only to keep them in power, and above all, attempt to brainwash us
into mindless peons meant only to serve them and keep them wealthy.
Religious leaders attempt the same, passing no legal laws, but brain-
washing their followers even more completely, promising a paradise they don't
know exists for obedience...and a hell that is equally in doubt for contrary
beliefs, thoughts, and actions. They attempt to define what is good and what
is bad, not by logic or any type of moral beliefs, but instead by creating
guidelines that enhance their power over their followers. They demand trib-
ute for empty promises, and give nothing in return save a short speech weekly
that enforces their control.
For centuries there was nowhere free from this absolute control of
church and state. As new mediums of communication were developed, they were
immediately restricted by government and god. Literature, radio, television,
all of these can only distribute information that the powers that be deem
proper.
Then came the Age of Computers. Before those in control realized
it, Computers advanced to the point of allowing instant communication with
anywhere. The Internet was formed. It grew. It came to encompass the world.
Then it became popular among non-Academians or so-called Computer geeks. It
was no longer the Internet, but instead The Internet. The Cybercity. The
Electronic Information Highway. Suddenly, millions of people were Surfing
the Net.
The government woke up. Snapping out of their reverie, they suddenly
realized that anyone with a small amount of cash could tell anyone else, any-
where on Earth, ANYTHING THEY WANTED TO! Dissidents could talk to other dis-
sidents, people could meet anonymously, people could actually communicate
freely for the first time in a long time. They couldn't allow this to hap-
pen.
And so stands the world today. Homo Sapiens in general can actually
say what they want to. There is an uncontrolled medium of communication in
the world, and the Government doesn't like it. Church and State have att-
empted to lower usage by deeming it immoral. And then came the straw that
broke the camel's back. The Government passed a law restricting what could
be done on this medium of exchange. Luckily, this foothold in the final
bastion of freedom was driven back, and the law was killed. But Congress will
try again. The Government will try again. The Church will continue to bad
mouth the Internet. And all the powers that be will keep on trying to gain
control over the one thing they currently don't have under control.
This is why LOL exists. This is our purpose, and our cause. Inform-
ing the public of what is being done to them. Striking back at those who
wish to commit the unspeakable act of taking away our right to communicate.
In short, fighting for the right of every human to say what they want to say,
and to say it to whomever they wish to.
Devil Locke.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Censorship: The Fine Line Between the Truth and the Obscene.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Censorship is all about power, the power of control. Sometimes
it's about the control that the government has on us, other times it's
about the control that some among us try to impose on others. The people
that set up our government thought it so important, this freedom of
speech, that they made it the first amendment to the constitution.
Censorship is a multifaceted issue, censorship ranges from pornography,
computer censorship, to the less common events today, like book burning.
The struggle against censorship started in England in the 16th-17th
century In the American colonies it began in 1734, when the John Zenger
case ruled that "criticism that is true is not libelous." (Gates 5).
People and their views are still oppressed, even though we have made
some progress.
Today TV dictates what is socially acceptable, If its 'on
prime time' then its OK. (Gates 1) Now we move forward into the age of
technology, where computers are the new media of choice, as Bruce
Sterling put it "Information WANTS to be free. And the information
inside this book longs for freedom with a peculiar intensity."(Sterling
1) Some books are considered 'bad' just because of certain parts marked
as 'Obscene'. I think the US needs to realize that sex is not
necessarily bad. Too many people are concerned about what will corrupt
us, but in fact, are corrupting us with their big controversy that they
create. Sex is sometimes used as an excuse to suppress works that
someone dislikes for other reasons. Some works are purely pornographic,
and people generally deny any knowledge of them existing, even though
these works live on secretly stashed in most houses, out of plain view.
Other works are works that are supposed to be, 'good'. Literary
works that are banned from schools just because someone with power found
something in it objectionable. "It's an idea that has crystallized into
the powerful slogan: 'Pornography is violence against women'." (Qtd. in
Gates 7) Even though in cultures that have banned pornography, sex
crimes are no lower. (Gates 3-8)
Censorship: The Next Generation, No it's not the title of yet
another Trek spin-off, it's the new wave of censorship. Censorship on
the information superhighway. The Usenet is a place where people can
post messages to each other about topics ranging from coffee consumption
to Buddha fetishes. This place is mostly free and unmoderated, in other
words, anything goes. If one has ideas that aren't popular, or aren't
the 'in' thing then one can take it to the message boards, where one is
sure to find people with similar interests. This is one of the few
places where one can say what ever they want. There are few rules, one,
stay on topic of the subject area that you are in. Two, flaming, or
cutting down someone, is strongly discouraged, although this has become
more and more common, that some subject boards get turned into one big
flame war. The most free of all the discussion groups, the ALT. groups.
These are the groups created by people that wanted a group to just let
go in, sually have even fewer rules, and they sometimes fall into
anarchy. This is one case where censorship is needed somewhat. They are
a good example of what happens in complete absence of censorship.(Ryan)
People have Twit lists now to weed out anyone who post anonymously or
posts on a topic that one doesn't want to read, this is a form of
auto-censorship. Some Networks even ban the ALT groups. (Machado)
Bulletin Boards are smaller services, usually provided by one
computer and a person with an extra phone line, a modem, and lots of
time on their hands. These stand alone, usually not networked computers
form a local gathering place for people of all ages and races. I think
the Mentor, a famous hacker that was arrested for copying a data file
out of a computer he wasn't supposed to be in, sums up the matter well.
In his manifesto he states:
"The Conscience of a Hacker... by The Mentor 1/8/86
Another one got caught today, it's all over the papers. "Teenager
Arrested in Computer Crime Scandal", "Hacker Arrested after Bank
Tampering"...
Damn kids. They're all alike.
I made a discovery today. I found a computer. Wait a second, this
is cool. It does what I want it to. If it makes a mistake, it's because I
screwed it up. Not because it doesn't like me...
Or feels threatened by me...
Or thinks I'm a smart ass...
Or doesn't like teaching and shouldn't be here...
Damn kid. All he does is play games. They're all alike.
(...)
"This is it... This is where I belong..."
(...)
This is our world now... the world of the electron and the switch,
the beauty of the baud. We make use of a service already existing without
paying for what could be dirt-cheap if it wasn't run by profiteering
gluttons, and you call us criminals. We explore... and you call us
criminals. We seek after knowledge... and you call us criminals. We exist
without skin color, without nationality, without religious bias... and
you call us criminals. You build atomic bombs, you wage wars, you murder,
cheat, and lie to use and try to make us believe it's for our own good,
yet we're the criminals.
I am a hacker, and this is my manifesto. You may stop this
individual, but you can't stop us all... after all, we're all alike.
+++The Mentor+++"
(Mentor)
The government has cornered the market on Encryption, so a new
breed has emerged, the Cipher punk, Encryption is what keeps
confidential things confidential, and is the primary weapon against
censorship. If they can't read it, they can't burn it, is the philosophy
of the Cipher punks.(Machado)
Censorship is the starter of wars, the nemesis of peace, and the
reason we have to have the second amendment. Free speech is the only
way new ideas will become popular so they can be developed upon,
Otherwise we would still be in the stone age. We need censorship to keep
us out of anarchy, but at the same time we need to make sure that we are
open minded.
Works Cited
Gates, Henry. "Deprave and Corrupt,"
Nation, June 29, 1992
Sterling, Bruce. The Hacker Crackdown.
USA: Etext, 1993.
Machado, Jay. "Focus on Privacy"
Bits and Bytes Online Magazine.
August 23, 1993
Ryan, Kathy "AOL RESPONSE"
(post in message base)
Mentor, The. The Consience of a Hacker
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Whorses Mouth
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I know that the above article is kind of wordy and is pretty
boring, but that is probably because I adapted it from a research paper
that I wrote earlier. Upon reading it again, it seems like I was far
more trusting of the power of censorship in the hands of the blind, than
I should have been. Recently I read about an 1988 decision of the
supreme court, that I had not known about then. (Hazelwood School
District v. Cathy Kulhmeier)
The decision basically said that the school administrators had
power to censor anything they wanted to in any school sponsored
publication. The only thing to curb wanton oppression, was the clause
that if the censorship wasn't founded in acedemic premis, then it was
unlawful. The case was brought before the court when the students
wanted to publish stories about student pregnancy, and the effect of
divorce on students. (Journalism Today, 1993, NTC publishing)
The administrator said that the stories invaded the students
privacy, but then added that the discussion of sexual activity and birth
control were inappropriate for some of the younger students. Well, in
my opinion, this basically speaks for itself. They would rather
ignorance, then truth, if the truth is "inappropriate". Obviously these
students aren't quite as naive as the school officials would like to
assume.
Maybe it is these poeple's own sexual inadequacies which inpels
them to keep sex a "secret". Sex is a biological function, like eating,
and if it didn't bring such pleasure, I think it would evolved into
social customs, like eating have. Maybe everyday at 1PM, everyone would
go to a designated room, and play around. It may seem pretty "out
there", but if you think about it, without social taboos, it could be
done, safely, and would possibly even reduce the instance of most
violent crimes.
I believe that it is the intense pleasure that brings guilt. As
soon as we can think, and listen, we are told that pleasure is something
that has to be controlled, and sometimes suppressed. From the earlist
toliet training, to the lesson that we don't always get everything we
want right NOW, it is embedded. This carries through to later in life,
where everyone feels guilt from masturbation. As Devil Locke would put
it, "Society is pretty much mindfucked". We say that it is okay to
drink alcohol, which is something that slowly kills you, but it isn't
okay to explore our own bodies, which are the only things that we truely
even own...or DO we?
-DH
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Future of Civiliztion
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Yeah I know this isn't really part of what LoL is really here
for, but I believe it is important to understand what the meanings of
the things that are happening today are.
I believe that Civilization is an end in itself. In nature,
some animals are killed so that the others may live. Since we have
become "civilized" we do everything in our power to prevent death. I
believe that this disrupts a natural balance that exists in nature, so
that no matter how much we do to "save the environment" we are doomed.
Communication came about, because it was a way for us to survive
better as a species. I think the point where it was the beginning of
the end, was when we learned how to lie. We had no reason to lie when
we were scrounging around the woods for food, and killing animals. As
soon as we learned how to abuse communication as a tool, it became the
end to us all.
What does it all mean? I haven't a clue, but I'm open to
comment, zap me a line at lolie@freenet.hut.fi
(ironic, isn't it <G>)
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Well that's all for this issue, submit something, and you can be part
of the next issue.
Fading slowly away.....
LoL information exchange. Issue 4. 09/13/96
-EOF-
