Finally - A RMS talk in Tel-Aviv. Including details

[Stan Goodman]

On 07/17/2011 11:20 PM, Moish wrote:
> On 17/07/2011 20:39, geoffrey mendelson wrote:
>>
>> On Jul 17, 2011, at 8:43 PM, Mordecha Behar wrote:
>>> Hey, I'm not saying we should sue, I'm just saying it's an option. 
>>> And not a good one.
>>> We will alienate ourselves in the worldwide community of open 
>>> software, and probably burn several bridges which will be very hard 
>>> to rebuild.
>>> I too resent the whole idea of mixing computer science and politics. 
>>> It makes the whole thing stink like unwashed feet.
>>> I'm just a little disappointed that the whole saga unraveled like 
>>> this. I had higher opinions of RMS before this.
>>>
>>
>> This pretty much says that he is supporting a boycott and that it's 
>> fsf.org's policy. IMHO he should be sued. I'm not going to do it, but 
>> if I were presented with a poll or petition would say so.
>>
>> If he did not want to be offensive or politicize himself or the fsf, 
>> he could of said "So I decided to not offend anyone......" but he did 
>> not he said that "decided to follow ... the boycott".
>>
>> To toss out some ad homynms, he's a blight on free speech and free 
>> software and he and his fsf have outlived their usefulness. He has 
>> crossed the line over which he should never cross, mixing free 
>> software with support of terrorists.
>>
>>
>> Geoff.
>>
> Ad Hominem and Ad Rem:
>   Have some of you gone mad ?!
>   Gagging,  prosecution, do i hear execution ?
>
> Perhaps he's an hypocrite feeble-minded-self-hating-jewish-leftists,  
> a member of J street, or god forbidden, a liberal,   SO WHAT?
>
> BLOCKING free speech!  How DARE you!  Have you lost your mind !?

Arguably, he alone (in concert with his Palestinian hosts), is the one 
limiting free speech. Nobody here has intimated that he can't voice his 
views, whatever they are, although there was some talk about expressing 
them in the name of FSF. The discussion has nothing whatever to dowith 
free speech.

The fact is, by the way, that the right of free speech has nothing to do 
with individuals at all, but is entirely a fence against government. The 
government of a free country may not forbid expression of protected 
speech (there are limitations to that as well). Individuals or groups 
are certainly not obligated to listen. You can't holler "free speech" if 
somebody insists upon telling you his views that you don't want to hear. 
The only free-speech issue that would arise in connection with Stallman 
would be if the Government should forbid or punish him for expressing them.

The quotations above, beginning with "Ad hominem" and ending with "Have 
you lost your mind!?" were written by someone who never sat in a Civics 
class, and who has only the foggiest notion of what "free speech" 
actually means.
>
> Some of you really frighten me because I know that most of my opinions 
> should have been kept to myself :)


>
> -- Moish
>
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-- 
Stan Goodman
Qiryat Tiv'on
Israel