I just donated the GParted.org domain to the GParted project

[greggh]

http://gparted.org/news.php

In case the redirection isn't working for you http://gparted.sourceforge.net/news.php

9 December 2008 : Domain name gparted.org donated

We have great news to report today!

The domain gparted.org has been donated to the GParted project.

Many thanks to Gregg Heifetz for this act of kindness.

Curtis

It feels great to do a nice thing for a fantastic free software project.

[allix]

I have never given a donation to free software, I give to charities like red cross, amnesty and mind , a mental health charity http://www.mind.org.uk/

The reason being is free software is not as important to me as human life .
Being a student, I have to be selective too .

[Tsuroerusu]

The reason being is free software is not as important to me as human life .

The reason I occassionally buy an OpenBSD CD-set is to support the development of crypto software such as OpenSSH and the rest of the good stuff they do. Also, when I get around to it I plan to send a few bucks to the Free Software Foundation, as the GNU project has a slew of cryptography stuff.

You say free software is not as important as human life, well, I don't think the two are mutually exclusive. What about the person in China wanting to tell the truth about what his or her government is doing, willing to put their lives at risk to do so. Those people aren't aided by a banner from Amnesty at all, those people are aided by having the tools they need to evade arrest (If I were a Chinese human rights activist, the last place I'd want to be is a Chinese prison or prison camp, especially if they are just tiny bit like the North Korean variant of the latter).

Not saying people shouldn't donate to the Red Cross (Although Red Cross Denmark I am extremely sceptical as of late!), Amnesty International etc. but even Amnesty campaigns for freedom of expression, while that's all good, tools that can help undermine totalitarian rule are more efficient in the long term than some silly banner that the Chinese government can just ignore.

[allix]

tools that can help undermine totalitarian rule are more efficient in the long term than some silly banner that the Chinese government can just ignore.

http://www.amnesty.org/en/who-we-are/fa ... -effective

Is Amnesty International effective?
We have a record of real achievement.

We know this because the people we try to help tell us that our pressure has had an effect on their own lives and because at key times governments are persuaded to change their laws and practices.

Our international solidarity helps keep hope alive locally.

http://www.amnesty.org/en/who-we-are/history

1961
The ’Threes Network‘ was established through which each Amnesty International group adopted three prisoners from contrasting geographical and political areas, emphasizing the impartiality of the group's work.

1963

Amnesty International now comprised 350 groups – there was a two-year total of 770 prisoners adopted and 140 released.

1967

There were 550 groups in 18 countries, and Amnesty International was working for nearly 2,000 prisoners in 63 countries – 293 prisoners had been released.

1969

In January, UNESCO granted Amnesty International consultative status as the organization reached another milestone – 2,000 prisoners of conscience released.

1970

There were now 850 groups in 27 countries; 520 prisoners had been released during the year.

That is just some of the achievement they have made. Amnesty are not just a bunch of slogan wavers...

Red cross is a organisation that goes into countries to give medical help, because there not political in any form they get granted permission in most cases.

I get depression and similar things time to time and I know that their are many people that have all kinds of mental illnesses and that is the reason I give to mind.

In regard to privacy software in china, the government could simply oppress the use of such software. I am not saying they do but they could.
The world is also not blind to what is happening in China, if you really want to fix it, send in nato to liberate china, its very unlikely to happen but that or democratic elections is the only way.

[Tsuroerusu]

tools that can help undermine totalitarian rule are more efficient in the long term than some silly banner that the Chinese government can just ignore.

http://www.amnesty.org/en/who-we-are/fa ... -effective

Is Amnesty International effective?
We have a record of real achievement.

We know this because the people we try to help tell us that our pressure has had an effect on their own lives and because at key times governments are persuaded to change their laws and practices.

Our international solidarity helps keep hope alive locally.

http://www.amnesty.org/en/who-we-are/history

1961
The ’Threes Network‘ was established through which each Amnesty International group adopted three prisoners from contrasting geographical and political areas, emphasizing the impartiality of the group's work.

1963

Amnesty International now comprised 350 groups – there was a two-year total of 770 prisoners adopted and 140 released.

1967

There were 550 groups in 18 countries, and Amnesty International was working for nearly 2,000 prisoners in 63 countries – 293 prisoners had been released.

1969

In January, UNESCO granted Amnesty International consultative status as the organization reached another milestone – 2,000 prisoners of conscience released.

1970

There were now 850 groups in 27 countries; 520 prisoners had been released during the year.

That is just some of the achievement they have made. Amnesty are not just a bunch of slogan wavers...

Well I don't dispute that, but are you telling me that Amnesty's irrepressible Internet campaign is more effective at getting freedom of expression to China than tools that actually undermines the totalitarian control? It's essentially the Internet version of giving weapons to opposition groups, like when British planes dropped stuff to be received by Danish resistance during the Nazi occupation.

In regard to privacy software in china, the government could simply oppress the use of such software. I am not saying they do but they could.

Some western governments have been trying to do that with P2P software, didn't work, and there's crypto tools in abundance on the Internet, a bunch of which are free software, and therefore independently verifiable to not have government backdoors.

The world is also not blind to what is happening in China,

* DOH *

if you really want to fix it, send in nato to liberate china, its very unlikely to happen but that or democratic elections is the only way.

First of all, President Bush has showed us that you can't go invade a nation and expect to be greeted as liberators. Most Chinese wouldn't at all support such an operation. And secondly, if you want to start World War 3, be my guest, but you'd have an extremely long-running conflict on your hands with an invasion of China, that'd take up ginormous amounts of resources, and with a high risk of failure.

[allix]

Well I don't dispute that, but are you telling me that Amnesty's irrepressible Internet campaign is more effective at getting freedom of expression to China than tools that actually undermines the totalitarian control? It's essentially the Internet version of giving weapons to opposition groups, like when British planes dropped stuff to be received by Danish resistance during the Nazi occupation.

That irrepressible internet campaign is just very very very very very very very very tiny thing of what amnesty do.
I'd love to see the day software liberates China. I think you give way too much emphasise software being a liberating tool , british planes gave arms , arms can destroy an enemy , a piece of software cannot.

First of all, President Bush has showed us that you can't go invade a nation and expect to be greeted as liberators. Most Chinese wouldn't at all support such an operation. And secondly, if you want to start World War 3, be my guest, but you'd have an extremely long-running conflict on your hands with an invasion of China, that'd take up ginormous amounts of resources, and with a high risk of failure.

Fair enough, but software is not going make China democratic, its laughable to think so.
I think either democratic elections or some revolution and that just means a change in a short period of time it does not have to be violent either.
I am fully aware of the Tiananmen Square protests of 1989 where the Chinese army ran over protesters. Ironically the western world with its democracy is happy to get Chinese workers make our goods. I am not blind to the arguments that if we don't they be in a worse situation and that its not our problem that they bosses are pricks and don't pay proper wages.

In all of this I would like know how software is going to create a unprecedented wave of change that the world has yet to see in China?
I think your going to reply that the software allows them to report on events without being traced or secretly.
Well many Chinese Students come to America and Europe either as students or to escape and work , they are now free from the oppressive government in America or Europe to report, sure some do, but none have made anything very big.

[Tsuroerusu]

Well I don't dispute that, but are you telling me that Amnesty's irrepressible Internet campaign is more effective at getting freedom of expression to China than tools that actually undermines the totalitarian control? It's essentially the Internet version of giving weapons to opposition groups, like when British planes dropped stuff to be received by Danish resistance during the Nazi occupation.

That irrepressible internet campaign is just very very very very very very very very tiny thing of what amnesty do.

OK, but then insert any sort of protest campaign as the example, against something like the Beijing government, they don't work! Simple.

I'd love to see the day software liberates China. I think you give way too much emphasise software being a liberating tool , british planes gave arms , arms can destroy an enemy , a piece of software cannot.

You know, I really think you need to read my posts better, because I find it a little frustrating that I have to write a novel every time I say freaking anything so that there is next to no chance of it being misinterpreted. I was explicitly talking about freedom of expression, not a giant revolutionary reform that introduced democracy. Crypto is absolutely a tool in the arsenal of freedom of expression, which then in turn can be a means for something larger. Also, the Internet has changed the world, why do you think the Chinese government is so scared of it being unrestricted? Because they know that it conveys information that in the long-term would undermine their power. I am not so dumb as to think that computers, the Internet or software is what will bring democracy to China, if that's what you thought that I was claiming, then you need to re-read what I wrote.

First of all, President Bush has showed us that you can't go invade a nation and expect to be greeted as liberators. Most Chinese wouldn't at all support such an operation. And secondly, if you want to start World War 3, be my guest, but you'd have an extremely long-running conflict on your hands with an invasion of China, that'd take up ginormous amounts of resources, and with a high risk of failure.

Fair enough, but software is not going make China democratic, its laughable to think so.

AND I DID NOT !!!!! Sorry, but that I take offense to, do you think that I am that dumb?

I think either democratic elections or some revolution and that just means a change in a short period of time it does not have to be violent either.
I am fully aware of the Tiananmen Square protests of 1989 where the Chinese army ran over protesters. Ironically the western world with its democracy is happy to get Chinese workers make our goods. I am not blind to the arguments that if we don't they be in a worse situation and that its not our problem that they bosses are pricks and don't pay proper wages.

Well if you have a better suggestion, what is it?

In all of this I would like know how software is going to create a unprecedented wave of change that the world has yet to see in China?

It's not going to, and I did not claim it did. I was talking about freedom of expression explicitly, not a regime change.

I think your going to reply that the software allows them to report on events without being traced or secretly.
Well many Chinese Students come to America and Europe either as students or to escape and work , they are now free from the oppressive government in America or Europe to report, sure some do, but none have made anything very big.

Well, good for them, I don't blame them for not making a big stink about it, anything they write is gonna be censored in China anyway!