<nettime> if ($hacking =~ $terrorism) {

[Amy Alexander <plagiari@plagiarist.org>]

sorry if this info has already been posted here; i may have missed it:
http://www.securityfocus.com/news/257

on the one hand, i think most of us guessed right away that the recent
terrorist activities would open the door for all sorts of oppressive
agendas to get pushed through, so this is not surprising.

on the other hand, if i set my time machine back a few years and tell
my few-years-ago-self that legislation would be on the table to label
e-graffiti (and even less destructive acts) terrorism punishable by life
imprisonment without chance for parole, my few-years-ago-self would
probably laugh at it as sci-fi paranoia.

one person to whom i forwarded the article responded with "and no dressing
up like indians and throwing cargo in the bay!" which seems to tie into
the gist of other discussions here along the lines of "today's terrorists
may be regarded tomorrow as freedom fighters." it holds very true here, as one
can assume that, if it goes through - or even if it doesn't - it will be a
handy tool against potential hactivism - at minimum for the "chilling
effect."

however, i'm looking on the bright side: as the dude responsible for the
Blue Screen of Death, it should be pretty easy to get bill gates locked up
for life. :-)

(while i'm at it, i'd also like to suggest that hard drive manufacturers
may be considering a an intellectual property suit against the Justice
Department, for trademark tarnishment of "ATA.")

ok, so maybe i'm not funny. fortunately john ashcroft is. from the
article:

"Testifying before the House Judiciary Committee, Ashcroft defended the
proposal's definition of terrorism. 'I don't believe that our definition
of terrorism is so broad,' said Ashcroft. 'It is broad enough to include
things like assaults on computers, and assaults designed to change the
purpose of government.'"

hmm, does that last part include .... voting?

 -@

--

plagiarist.org
Recontextualizing script-kiddyism as net-art for over 1/20
of a century.

}

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