Linus Torvalds publicly prefers the term ‘programming’ or ‘engineering’ instead of ‘hacking’ although he doesn’t mind calling himself a ‘hacker’ while Richard Stallman still make hard efforts to bring the term ‘hacker’ back in usage by differentiating this with crackers. Continue reading Certain Terms Get Lost Through Evolution
Tag Archives: L.K. Advani
Free Software Policy Is Getting Shape
Today Richard Matthew Stallman visited Rajendra Kumar Pandey at around 8:57 PM. RMS has shown his draft to RKP on his laptop. RKP has also shown his draft to RMS on his laptop.
RMS said that RKP’s draft is too radical and might bring in a lot of opposition so he cannot support it despite the fact that it is rather more close to his own ideals. RKP’s draft is as follows: –
Free Software Policy
Anyone can register a domain with free software support and pay any freelance programmer not less than 15 US$ per hour for not more than hours necessary to build his business on GPL code.
Free Software Policy that must get made a General Public Law across all countries alike defines that any software that is made must be free for: –
freedom to use it
freedom to study it
freedom to change it
freedom to share it
Thus source code of any software must always remain free to get freely used, studied, changed and shared without any legal hindrance within the whole humanity.
Whichever software doesn’t comply with all these conditions cannot be made, run or sold.
It should be made illegal across all the countries to use or distribute any such software, which doesn’t comply with all the given conditions.
Only by freeing the source code and changing the license to GPL, any software can survive this law.
HAPPY HACKING !
RKP said he has no problem with the draft brought by RMS, which is as follows: –
Draft Digital Freedom Goals
Digital technology in a free society must respect users’ freedom.
India will move towards _free_ software — software that respects the four essential freedoms: to run the program, study and change its source code, redistribute unchanged, and redistribute with changes. India will advance towards digital freedom on six fronts.
For digital sovereignty, India will cease installation of nonfree software in government agencies, then over time replace currently used nonfree software with free software. E-governance must use only free software.
For education in freedom, India will have schools teach, distribute and promote only free software and free textbooks, and explain the civic reasons.
For citizens’ digital security, India will make digital products safe by requiring firmware to be free, and limit digital systems from amassing and keeping huge collections of personal data.
For a free web, India will make the software contained in web pages respect users’ freedom too.
For freedom in digital commerce, India will implement digital cash that allows users to be anonymous when buying from a web site, but doesn’t let the web site conceal its total income.
For freedom of digital expression, India will guarantee that no web material can be blocked or removed by government without due process of law.
RKP suggested to call it Free Software Policy and RMS agreed. This Free Software Policy shall become the basis of global campaign of hackers for freedom. Upon legislation in a country this Free Software Policy can be called as General Public Law.
During his this trip to New Delhi, the legendary RMS held political meetings with L K Advani, Pratibha Advani, Arvind Kejriwal and Rahul Gandhi, other than continuously discussing the prospects of technology in politics with Rajendra Kumar Pandey on a day-to-day basis.
RMS left at around 9:38 PM as he was feeling tired so desired to go to bed earlier than usual. Before to meet RKP for the fifth and last time during his this visit to India, RMS had more than one hour long meeting with Rahul Gandhi.
Rahul has most respectfully listened to the legendary RMS on all the technological aspects of governance, RMS was preparing to draft in the due document.
Before going to bed on Tue, Jan 14, 2014 at 10:39 PM RMS finally emailed his draft to RKP, which got duly replied by RKP on Wed, Jan 15, 2014 at 12:01 AM saying; “We can certainly use it”. Thus the Free Software Policy got its initial shape and the next round of meetings of its makers is also scheduled.
Founder Of Free Software Movement Visited Founder Of Internet Growth Engine In India
In a rarest of rare gestures, the founder of internet growth engine SANGKRIT.net Rajendra Kumar Pandey today received the founder of free software movement Richard Matthew Stallman at his place. Both of them discussed all possible means and ways of politically intervening for spreading the free software effect across all countries. The meeting lasted for many hours and together they decided to meet many more times through this week to formulate the strategy.
Later on Rajendra Kumar Pandey facilitated a meeting of Richard Matthew Stallman with his close friend L K Advani the Chairperson of National Democratic Alliance in India. During prolonged discussions RMS has told about his visit to Julian Assange in asylum at the Embassy of Ecuador in London and requested the political patriarch for a full-fledged political asylum to Edward Snowden in India (who is concurrently under a temporary asylum in Russia) once the opposition is given a mandate to govern this country through upcoming general elections.
Rajendra Kumar Pandey acknowledged that it has been only free software effect that has ultimately caused almost everything admirable through the internet age that include even the political asylums of Julian Assange and Edward Snowden respectively while the rest of internet is still not evolved above 1984 of George Orwell.
Politicians Are Usually Brought Down When They Are At Their Height
When politicians feel that their high has arrived and they become very used to the power given by people, they meet their fall within no time then. They have to step down mostly from the height of their career. Because most of their constituency is deformed in dissatisfaction till now and they are usually surrounded by only vested interests. Moreover they start feeling that they are really that much popular and compulsory for people while the truth becomes just opposite to such notion. That is why politicians are usually brought down when they are at their height.
Above all their final campaigns, which result in their decisive downfall become very much consolidated due to their people seeing their high. Whereas in fact their true constituencies become very much dissident till then and due to that consolidated campaign, public ire backfires directly to them. While if they opt for concerted campaigns and instead of getting dependent on a few favorite persons tactfully utilize all adversaries also, their chances of survival improve.
Shardul Pandey Talks To Mishi Choudhary, Director Of International Practice At Software Freedom Law Center, New York
Mishi Choudhary: Dear Mr Pandey, I am writing to you as a follow up on the dialogue that Mr Advani and Mr Stallman have been engaged in for the past couple of months.
I take the liberty to bring to light some developments in India that have greatly tarnished India’s democratic image and its treatment of its citizens rights of free speech and expression as guaranteed by its constitution. As recently as this Friday, Mr Kapil Sibal and Mr Manish Tiwari discussed plans on national television to destroy anonymity and impose further restrictions on social media interactions of citizens. Needless to say, these measures make them extremely unpopular amongst the youth and business.
The Information Technology Act, 2000 was amended significantly in the aftermath of the November 7, 2008 Mumbai Terrorist attacks but without any discussion in the Indian Parliament despite making sweeping changes in the cyber law framework. It has proved to be the fulcrum of various contentious issues. Indian authorities have stepped up Internet surveillance and pressure on technical service providers, while publicly rejecting accusations of censorship. The national security policy may also undermine freedom of expression and the protection of Internet users’ personal data.
The current government gave itself the power to order the blocking of any online content by Section 69A of the Information Technology Act, 2000. This provision enables the government to order blocking of content. Although safeguards are inbuilt in these provisions, experience in the past one year shows wide variety of misuse for political censorship.
The Google Transparency Report for the period July – December 2010 stated that they had received requests from different law enforcement agencies to remove a blog and YouTube videos that were critical of Chief Ministers and senior officials of different states. The report for the period July – December 2012 mentions 60 executive / police orders demanding removal of content that relate to religious offences and 1 relating to national security. The recent spate of orders for removal of content were related to fears of ethic violence against persons from the North-eastern region of the country.
Many cases have come to light recently of law enforcement agencies indulging in illegal censorship by asking intermediaries to take down content on receiving complaints about content on these sites. This is often done under section 79 of IT Act and section 91 of the Code of Criminal Procedure. However, this provision only allows law enforcement to ask a person to produce a document in connection with any investigation and does not empower them to demand take-down of any content. Although such an action is illegal and is not backed by any statutory provision, many instances of such abuse of power by law enforcement agencies have been reported. A widely reported incident was when the website www.cartoonsagainstcorruption.com was taken down by the web host on the basis of a communication that they received from law enforcement agencies.
Arrests under section 66A for postings on Facebook, Twitter against those in power are becoming commonplace.
We have been working actively on these issues in India since 2010. I would be delighted to talk in detail about current issues with you and if his schedule permits, Mr Advani. I am in India from August 14, 2013 onwards and would love an opportunity to discuss these issues.
I hate to impose on you but If I may mention that we are also putting together an event especially with the Members of the Parliament on August 26, 2013 at the Constitution Club of India. The event will achieve great encouragement if Mr Advani would agree to speak at it.
Please let me know as to how can we be of any assistance.
Shardul Pandey: It is gratifying that you decided to write. Yes I do remember that we were supposed to further that important discussion of technology and politics involving LKA and RMS. That actually got started due to my discussion with RMS, which concluded at a point that everything upon internet deserves being implemented in a p2p manner. We said so for preventing humanity from PRISM type of entrapment, although Edward Snowden was still at NSA then. Would you like to say something on that?
A lot of things have happened since then. All the apprehensions that RMS made explicit then got realized all of sudden. It is a decisive time to make movement. May be our discussion also contribute something substantial.
As first thing I suggest you to share some details here for netizens so that they come to know that what actually is planned for August 26, 2013 at the Constitution Club of India? I will sure be doing whatever may be possible to make it a success.
Mishi Choudhary: Dear Mr Pandey, Thank you for your prompt response. Attached herewith is a concept note about the event. I look forward to discussing it in detail with you.
Shardul Pandey: OK I am seeing this. Public representatives have already opened up their mind through the legislation that you are protesting about. You should better be explicit that what you have in your mind?
What SFLCI has planned for doing with this event; like any memorandum could be given to all of them demanding any particular legislation to protect individual freedom along with social privacy or/and you may ask for their cooperation in your voluntarily helping any victims of any laws ?
Mishi Choudhary: Thank you for your comments. We shall take note of those. Do you think Mr Advani would be available to discuss future IT policy or this event with me in person next week?
Shardul Pandey: Instead of mere thinking and telling, I took time to find out and what I got to let you know is YES.
Mishi Choudhary: Dear Mr Pandey, I am waiting eagerly to meet up with you and Mr Advani to invite for the event on August 26, 2013. Please let me know when is a good time for such a meeting. I look forward to hearing from you.
Shardul Pandey: Regrettably I am not in Delhi and Mr Advani has been busy with Parliament.
Next week could be a good time for you to meet Mr Advani. I already have forwarded your name and wish for his personal information.
Shardul Pandey Talks To L. K. Advani & Richard Stallman
An unprecedented event in the history of internet brought the most respected man of politics and the most respected man of programming together. Very much like Dr Richard Stallman, L. K. Advani also works on his own domain without using so-called social media sites.
Continue reading Shardul Pandey Talks To L. K. Advani & Richard Stallman