<p>ⓒ Richard Levitte</p>
http://journal.richard.levitte.org/tags/opinions/Richard Levitte's journalikiwiki2008-07-06T23:21:28ZFRA-lagen (wiretapping law), cont.http://journal.richard.levitte.org/entries/FRA-lagen-2/2008-07-06T23:21:28Z2008-06-20T07:48:02Z
<p>The wiretapping law has gone through, it is now a reality.</p>
<p>I'm very disappointed.</p>
<p>I'm disappointed because of the whole circus around it. It's
obvious that some wanted this to go through no matter what. In
spite of massive protests from all sides of the political spectrum
(I can't recall when I last saw people from the left, right and
center unite as I have seen a couple of days ago). The law was
rushed through.</p>
<p>I'm disappointed with the politicians who were clearly against
but let the party line decide. I feel betrayed, even though I
haven't voted for them.<br />
Only one stands out, (Camilla Lindberg
(fp))[http://www.svd.se/nyheter/inrikes/artikel_1387439.svd].
That's one who seems to have a spine. No matter what I might think
of her opinions otherwise, she's a hero today and has my
respect.</p>
<p>Added:<br />
I just read a (blog
entry)[http://minamoderatakarameller.blogspot.com/2008/06/sluta-mobba-enskilda-personer-nu.html]
that reminds me not to kick on people that couldn't stand against
the pressure, and that the real problem is with the establishment
that will try to force people to go against their own opinion.
<a href="http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/xe">Xe</a>'s right, and it's
true, I've an issue with that. It's disrespectful.</p>
FRA-lagen (upcoming wiretapping law)http://journal.richard.levitte.org/entries/FRA-lagen/2008-07-06T23:21:28Z2008-06-16T15:31:07Z
<p>After weeks of small articles in the middle of the newspapers,
the major media in Sweden has <strong>finally</strong> started
reacting to what's happening in Sweden right now.</p>
<p>In short, the National Defence Radio Establishment (Försvarets
Radioanstalt - FRA) has proposed a modernisation of the Swedish
laws on tapping communication to include e-mail, fax and SMS. The
word is that they will only controll communication that passes the
Swedish border.</p>
<p>That sounds all sweet and dandy but as all computer nerds know,
just because you're e-mailing to another Swedish address doesn't
mean the message stays within the country, it's very likely it will
make a trip through servers standing in another country (there are
cases when e-mail has made a trip around the globe before reaching
destination). And then we have all swedes with an e-mail account at
Google (gmail), Microsoft (hotmail) and other foreign e-mail
services, they will automatically be part of the flow that gets
filtered.</p>
<p>A lot of people have reacted and there are a number of sites and
lists where this is discussed, protest signature are collected and
so on. Some polititians are hard pressed to follow party lines (and
vote for the law) on one hand and their voters (who have protested
the law) on the other. I feel for them, mostly with pity, and I
hope they will have the courage to make the right choice!</p>
<p>In the mean time, should this law come through and get
implemented, I'm making myself ready to make FRA's job as hard as
possible, by strongly encrypting my e-mail if possible (hey, you,
if you're a known recipient, get yourself a PGP or X.509 key and
cert and gimme the public part, mmm'kay?), include random words or
randomly encrypted strings to trigger their machinery, and
generally be as much a pain in the nether regions as possible. As
far as I know, I won't be alone doing this.</p>
<p>Links to articles and discussions:</p>
<blockquote>
<p><a href=
"http://www.stoppafralagen.nu/">http://www.stoppafralagen.nu/</a><br />
<a href=
"http://www.thelocal.se/12428/20080613/">http://www.thelocal.se/12428/20080613/</a>
<em>(for english speakers)</em> <a href=
"http://www.dn.se/DNet/jsp/polopoly.jsp?d=2502&a=794124">http://www.dn.se/DNet/jsp/polopoly.jsp?d=2502&a=794124</a><br />
<a href=
"http://www.aftonbladet.se/nyheter/article2692498.ab">http://www.aftonbladet.se/nyheter/article2692498.ab</a><br />
<a href=
"http://www.expressen.se/nyheter/1.1200063/080616-stoppa-fra-lagen">
http://www.expressen.se/nyheter/1.1200063/080616-stoppa-fra-lagen</a><br />
<a href=
"http://www.expressen.se/debatt/1.1200067/fra-lagen-hindrar-fria-forskningen">
http://www.expressen.se/debatt/1.1200067/fra-lagen-hindrar-fria-forskningen</a>
<em>(shows how the proposed law can inhibit research)</em><br />
<a href=
"http://www.svd.se/nyheter/inrikes/artikel_1369317.svd">http://www.svd.se/nyheter/inrikes/artikel_1369317.svd</a></p>
</blockquote>
<p>Let's just hope this law doesn't come through...</p>
It's a customer!http://journal.richard.levitte.org/entries/it-s-a-customer/2008-07-06T23:21:28Z2007-07-22T12:26:52Z
<p>I think I've seen the sense of "the customer is always right" in
a new light today. I've witnessed someone waking up earlier than
normal to do a job, and when I asked why so early, I got the answer
"It's a customer!" (not literally, but that was the basic sense of
it), and I caught it as "If the customer says a specific time, then
that's when you do it."</p>
<p>Now, I know far from all the facts, so I can't even come close
to knowing the truth. It smacks me as a bit curious, though, that
so much decision, on a Sunday no less, was left to the customer. I
mean, had I heard something like "it was the most practical for all
involved", I wouldn't have thought twice about it.</p>
<p>However, this entry isn't really about that specific deal, it's
rather about a curiousity on how to relate to a customer, and most
of all trying to understand how others relate to customers compared
to my own way.</p>
<p>You see, I don't at all buy the old "the customer is always
right" mantra. I do think that you always need to listen to a
customer's needs and be prepared to answer them the best way you
can. It's simly the respectful thing to do, as with any other kind
of relationship. However, I don't think it's too much to ask the
same kind of respect back, which means that the customer will have
to be ready to listen for what I have to say about what they want
to do, as well as what I need to do the task with the best quality
possible, including timing and how that fits my daily schedule. The
rest is negotiation around what's the most practical for everyone
involved, myself, the customer's personel, my collegues...</p>
<p>How about you?</p>
Why are we so damn afraid to express gender?http://journal.richard.levitte.org/entries/gender-neutral/2008-07-06T23:21:28Z2006-02-17T16:29:23Z
<p>I stumble upon it a little now and then, more often lately
through talking with more diverse groups: gender-neutral pronouns.
That varying inventions go from somewhat elegant to fairly clumsy,
but I must say that <a href=
"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xe_(pronoun)" title=
"Wikipedia on the Xe pronoun group">this</a> is the first time I
got to see one that I find plain <em>ugly</em>!</p>
<p>I'm quite a bit ambivalent about the use of gender-neutral
pronouns myself. Sure, I can <em>understand</em> that it's
practical, but it also strips us from one not so small thing in the
tapestry of what makes us all special and beautiful, our
gender.</p>
<p>Sometimes, I wonder if those advocating gender-neutral pronouns
do it from a perspective of personal wounds for having been
subjected to the stigma that some assign to the gender itself
<em>(what's better, a man or a woman? The never ending discussion
or attitude (see the typical salary differences in some professions
as an example), and complete bollocks if you ask me)</em>. I do
understand the hurt, but I feel just as hurt if someone wants to
strip me of something that is very much part of who I am, and would
feel quite offended if anyone referred to me as "xe" in any way in
anything but formal text. And it doesn't really help anyone, except
for practical purposes when you're tired of writing "he or she",
"his or her" and so on.</p>
<p>In the end, I guess it's up to everyone how he or she wants to
do things, and this sentence should make my preference quite clear
:-).</p>
This is simply horriblehttp://journal.richard.levitte.org/entries/simply-horrible/2008-07-06T23:21:28Z2005-11-27T12:55:41Z
<p>I just viewed <a href=
"http://www.youtube.com/watch.php?v=6HZeefT0X20">this</a> video.
I'm feeling sick, and lack words. Yet, I hope this will move
around, so the global consciousness of this world awakes to this
and starts moving to change it. If you read this, and you were
horrified as well, spread the word. This misstreatment has to stop,
and informing those who don't know is the best first step.</p>
What's up with women and hair?http://journal.richard.levitte.org/entries/2004-04-23-24-30/2008-07-06T23:21:28Z2004-04-24T00:30:00Z
<p>What's up with women and hair? Or should I ask "what's up with
men and hair on women?"?</p>
<p>I just read a thread in a forum I take part in, where a few
women talked about waxing their legs, how they kept bruising
themselves, recepies for alternate things to use instead of wax and
stuff like that...</p>
<p>The consistent thing I keep hearing is "it hurts like hell, but
I have to do it". Not exactly with those words, but the content
seems to be the same all the time. It's like some compulsive thing.
I'd like to say that if it hurts like that, <strong>don't do
it!</strong></p>
<p>It's not at all hard to imagine that there's male pressure
behind this hair thing, and I guess it goes with the whole female
beauty broohaha that's been going on for a while in all kinds of
magazines and other places.</p>
<p>I think I will simply never understand the need for hair
removal, make-up and the rest of the stuff that's designed to hide
who you are. I appreciate much more the person that doesn't hide
herself, that dares show her real self. That's where real human
(and female) beauty is to me, not in the masks that are put on top
of it.</p>
<p>The same goes for the feel. I've always felt a little
uncomfortable touching a face that's covered with make-up, there's
this eery feeling of the unreal and the possibility of smearing.
Real skin, unmasked, now there's a nice touch!</p>
No more pondering...http://journal.richard.levitte.org/entries/2002-08-02-10-11/2008-07-06T23:21:28Z2002-08-02T10:11:00Z
<p>Today, I'm rather happy with HP. They do listen to use techies,
and they have <a href=
"http://news.com.com/2100-1023-947740.html">backed down</a> from
threatening. A fuller story is found <a href=
"http://news.com.com/2100-1023-947745.html?tag=politech">here</a>.</p>
<p>Pfewww...</p>
This is a happier day!http://journal.richard.levitte.org/entries/2002-08-02-10-08/2008-07-06T23:21:28Z2002-08-02T10:08:00Z
<p>It seems that HP <a href=
"http://news.com.com/2100-1023-947740.html">backed down</a> their
DMCA threat, so my ponderings are over...</p>
<p>For now, I'm investigating some problems with compiling OpenSSL
for VMS 6 compatibility. The culprit is basically strcasecmp(),
which wasn't part of the C RTL in VMS 6.</p>
Ponderings...http://journal.richard.levitte.org/entries/2002-08-01-10-38/2008-07-06T23:21:28Z2002-08-01T10:38:00Z
<p>Because of recent events connected to HP (see <a href=
"http://news.com.com/2100-1023-947325.html?tag=fd_top">this article
on news.com</a>), I'm gonna take a few days to ponder if I want to
still support anything connected to HP.</p>
<p>Hint: HP owns OpenVMS. Since that's my favorite OS, this is a
biggie.</p>
<p>This is a sad day. I hope to see happier days.</p>
Damn HP...http://journal.richard.levitte.org/entries/2002-08-01-10-35/2008-07-06T23:21:28Z2002-08-01T10:35:00Z
<p>HP bought Compaq who bought Digital... So, HP owns my favorite
operating system, VMS. Unfortunately, HP seems to have shithead
leadership who'd use the DMCA to stop people from finding bugs (see
the recent events as written in <a href=
"http://news.com.com/2100-1023-947325.html?tag=fd_top">this article
at news.com</a>) and exposing vulnerabilities (it's well known by
now that trying to hide vulnerabilities is the worst way to secure
a system).</p>
<p>Because of this, I will really have to ponder if I want to
continue to support anything that is connected to HP.</p>
<p>This is a very sad day...</p>