Month: April 2004

Mozilla/Gnome Alliance?

Seth Dillingham observes that Mozilla and Gnome are considering an alliance/merger/whatever. Like Seth, I think this is a fascinating idea.

I’ve been thinking a lot of the future of open source software in general lately. If you’d asked me a couple years ago, I’d have dismissed the idea of runnig Linux — that’s the Unix OS that’s for uber geeks, not average users. But then I woke up recently and realized that Open Source software has overtaken most of my major software tasks. I’m running Firefox for web browsing, Thunderbird for e-mail, Miranda for IM, etc.

So I’m running all this Open Source software on top of Windows XP when the obvious question hits me — how much longer until I can run everything on top of Linux?

Unfortunately, the answer is still probably “not very soon,” but that day appears much closer than it did just a couple years ago.

ALF Threatens Art Exhibit that Includes Fur

In January, a spokesman for the Animal Liberation Front in Great Britain warned that an art gallery might be targeted by the terrorist group over an art exhibit that used fur.

Francis Upritchard, 27, exhibited (I’m not making this up) “shrunken monkey heads constructed from secondhand fur coats” for the re-opening Camden Arts Center.

An unidentified ALF spokesman told the Hampstead & Highgate Express,

The use of any part of any creature for this type of thing is quite unacceptable. The ALF thinks it’s wrong to use any part of any species of animal. Where there is such an exhibition it would be seen as a legitimate target by the ALF. That could entail damage of any part of the building and its contents, so long as no life is endangered.

The re-opening itself went off without any disruption, however, albeit with significantly more police presence than a typical art exhibit.

Source:

ALF threat over real fur art exhibition. Hampstead & Highgate Express, January 23, 2004.

Police out in strength at arts centre opening. Hampstead & Highgate Express, January 30, 2004.

Georgia House Approves Ballot Question for Hunting/Fishing Amendment

In January, the Georgia House of Representatives overwhelmingly approved a ballot measure that would provide a constitutional guarantee of the right to fish and hunt in that state.

By a vote of 154-14, the House approved asking voters in November whether the foll0owing should be added to the Georgia constitution,

Paragraph XXVIII. Fishing and hunting. The tradition of fishing and hunting and the taking of fish and wildlife shall be preserved for the people and shall be managed by law and regulation for the public good.

The proposed ballot measure is now making its way through the Georgia Senate. If it is passed by a supermajority there, then it could go to voters as early as November 2004 where a simple majority vote would result in its adoption.

The full text of the proposed ballot question can be read here.

Source:

Hunting/fishing ‘right’ must be written. Ledger-Enquirer (Georgia), February 8, 2004.

Pickering on ELF

San Diego’s Channel 10 interviewed former Earth Liberation Front spokesman Leslie James Pickering in February in which the apologist for terrorism did an excellent job of summarizing the views of ELF extremists,

Violence is a necessary element of an oppressive struggle.

And certainly the ALF and ELF are nothing if not oppressive.

Pickering added that the goal of ELF activists should be nothing less than the overthrow of the United States government,

I don’t think they’re [ELF extremists] going far enough at all. They’re only part of a larger building revolutionary movement that won’t stop until it has a successful overthrow of this country.

Source:

Former ELF leader defends group’s efforts. TheSanDiegoChannel.Com, February 18, 2004.

Georgia House Resolution 985 — Constitutional Amendment to Protect Hunting and Fishing

House Resolution 985 (COMMITTEE
SUBSTITUTE)
By: Representatives Morris of the
120th, Lane of the 101st, Coleman of the 118th,
Skipper of the 116th, and Porter of the 119th

A RESOLUTION
Proposing an amendment to the Constitution so as to provide
that the tradition of fishing and hunting and the taking of fish and wildlife
shall be preserved for the people and shall be managed by law and regulation for
the public good; to provide for submission of this amendment for ratification or
rejection; and for other purposes.

BE IT RESOLVED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF
GEORGIA:
SECTION 1.
Article I, Section I of the Constitution is amended by
renumbering Paragraph XXVIII as Paragraph XXIX and inserting a new Paragraph
XXVIII to read as follows:

“Paragraph
XXVIII. Fishing and hunting. The tradition of fishing and hunting
and the taking of fish and wildlife shall be preserved for the people and shall
be managed by law and regulation for the public
good.“

SECTION 2.
The above proposed amendment to the Constitution shall be
published and submitted as provided in Article X, Section I, Paragraph II of the
Constitution. The ballot submitting the above proposed amendment shall have
written or printed thereon the following:
“(  )  YES


(  )  NO
Shall the Constitution be amended so as to provide that the
tradition of fishing and hunting and the taking of fish and wildlife shall be
preserved for the people and shall be managed by law and regulation for the
public good?”
All persons desiring to vote in favor of ratifying the
proposed amendment shall vote “Yes.” All persons desiring to vote against
ratifying the proposed amendment shall vote “No.” If such amendment shall be
ratified as provided in said Paragraph of the Constitution, it shall become a
part of the Constitution of this state.