Re: [Patents] Russell's contempt for the motivation of scientists and engineers

[Bernard Lang <Bernard.Lang@inria.fr>]

On Tue, May 06, 2003 at 04:38:23PM -0400, Gregory Aharonian wrote:
> But at least in light of American case law (which given recent global
> treaties is easily extendible around the world)

Don't bother with the treaties, the USA no longer need them, or
respect them (when they sign them by accident, which they generally
carefully avoid) : global warming, land mines, fragmentation bombs,
International Criminal Court, Geneva treaty, ...

   Just send the marines

  Tom Lehrer was already singing that in the sixties :
  http://wiw.org/~drz/tom.lehrer/the_year.html
       When someone makes a move
       Of which we don't approve,
       Who is it that always intervenes?
       U.N. and O.A.S.,
       They have their place, I guess,
       But first send the Marines!

  and indeed, America is bringing its enlightened and democratic IP
policies to Iraq to prevent their use of mass destruction weapons:

 RIAA's Rosen 'writing Iraq copyright laws'
 Andrew Orlowski, The Register, 29/04/2003
 http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/6/30441.html


 The Aharonian netbot is a remarkable software achievement, but thinking
that we can mistake it for an actual rational being is indeed an
insult to our intelligence.

  It may be a useful mechanical sparring partner, like a wall for tennis,
but other than for training, not worth spending too much time.

Bernard


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