Anonymous attacks agri-giant Monsanto, leaking information on 2,500 employees

Removed post because it's borderline political. I'll PM you.

 

Subjects like these are all borderline political. There's no way to avoid some amount of political discussion when groups attack or hack government sites and the big money businesses that control these governments. This subject material fits so many categories, including internet security, politics, business, civil unrest, and an escalating cyber war with implications for all of us. Ignoring and refusing to discuss these companies and the behaviors/actions that are provoking these attacks is at least partly responsible for what the situation has become, a class war between average people and those who own and control almost everything the rest of us need to live. Our response or lack thereof will determine the outcome of this and will profoundly affect the rest of our lives and the lives of our children.

At this moment, the internet is the equalizer in this war. It's being used by both groups against both groups. Tor is the perfect example of such a double-edged tool. It's clear that this web equality isn't going to last if we take it for granted and don't fight to keep it. If we sit back and do nothing now, we'll lose the one tool that gives the common man/woman the opportunity to be heard and communicate with their fellow man on a global scale. I'll go out on a limb and speculate that they've (Wilders) have allowed these semi-political threads partly because of the profound effects these events will have on our future, and partly because the members have kept the discussion relevant and intelligent, without the personal attacks that so often show up in such threads. I'll be the first to thank Wilders for their tolerance and the members for their self control with these sensitive subjects.

 

Patents are for the corporations.

Show me one example of a researcher who truly benefited from the patent system ? In modern times.

Even if a brilliant individual creates something worth patenting, 99 out of 100 times the patent goes to the corporation he works for.

People did invent things before the patent system existed.

 

Great insights, nice thread!
+1

 

OK, on that note, i'll re post the essential.

Everybody copies something from someone. Hardly anyone (probably no one at all) invents anything from the ground up.
To me, a patent is a "right" for a monopoly. An idea turned proprietary. Like the other guy said, i don't believe in imaginary property.
And we have been witnessing the rise of a new market, the patents themselves, and a new type of company, patent trolls. These are basically parasites who do not produce anything, and probably don't even know how 'their' patents work, and exist only because of the government enforcing the patent system. This is a waste of resources and time for a struggling economy.

I'm no saying to "outright remove patents from the system", i can go with a middle ground, say 10 years or less.
But i am arguing that if you "outright remove patents from the system", we will be in a better situation than now.
I do not believe in regulation, Keynes and whoever thinks economies can be managed. At best, they can be assisted, by not creating obstacles for one.

The main question imo is, what serves society better. An interesting article you may want to read:
Do Patents Encourage or Hinder Innovation? The Case of the Steam Engine

 

Slightly OT, but within frame of reference..
I have just watched a commercially released DVD: "Inside Job"

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inside_Job_(film)

"the film is about "the systemic corruption of the United States by the financial services industry and the consequences of that systemic corruption."

In some ways nothing we aren't already aware of, but, the mendacity, sheer ignorance, recklessness and meanness so clearly laid out.
Took my breath away.
Felt ill and frankly, scared.

Hollow men in positions of power.

 

There's a lot of very frightening examples of these power seizures mentioned here, and a lot more of them that haven't been mentioned yet. They're all very scary on their own, but it's when you put them together and see the scope of what's being done that it really gets frightening. Don't think for one moment that all of these are happening independent of the other. Each of them is helping the other, with tactics, laws, media influence and control, manufacturing/production policies, etc. I would speculate that the main reason why most people won't take a stand is the fear of losing their jobs or careers. I lost a fairly good job several years back for speaking out and have been stuck with junk jobs in small slave shops since. Of course the "official" reason for firing me was different, and fabricated (unemployment agreed with me), but it's made getting a good job impossible. I think this is what most fear, losing the ability to support their families and pay their bills. This brings me to what I consider to be the most insidious part of this corporate takeover plot, debt, or more specific, keeping people in debt. Debt enslaves you to a paycheck and therefore to your employer. This entire system is designed to reward you (slightly) for being in debt and discriminates against you if you're not. Our credit ratings are a prime example. You get a good rating by going into debt. Employers are now using credit ratings as part of their hiring criteria, even when the job has nothing to do with finances or handling money. If you're not in debt and haven't been borrowing, it can be held against you. Why? Their supposed reasons aside, the bottom line is that they want people who are enslaved to a regular paycheck, who will have to put up with whatever they choose to dish out. I watch this daily at my present job. Those who are in the worst financial position get treated the worst. With most of the other jobs around here gone, they know they can get away with it. If you don't have a house or car payment, credit card debt, and loans to pay, their control over you is seriously weakened, which brings me to one of the more recent enslavement policies or government is pushing, mandatory health coverage. Other stated reasons aside, it has 2 primary purposes:
1, A big financial gift to the big pharmaceutical companies and financial industry.
2, Forcing people to make regular payments, aka enslaving them to a paycheck.

You can't fight against a system that you're enslaved to. The amount of freedom these corporations and their puppet governments are taking away is infuriating, but it's really sad when we're giving away almost as much by enslaving ourselves to them. Earlier the subject of our "legal alternatives" came up, what can we "legally" do? Freeing yourself from their entrapments and making yourself less vulnerable is a good place to start.

 

Congratulations!

 

First, learn their logo
Then, kick their ass...