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Author Topic: The new obituary thread  (Read 74458 times)

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Mongrel

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Re: The new obituary thread
« Reply #720 on: January 12, 2013, 03:18:17 PM »

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Thad

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Re: The new obituary thread
« Reply #721 on: January 13, 2013, 10:23:25 PM »

His family blames the pressure and mounting costs of the Massachusetts US Attorney's investigation against him.

Quote
Aaron’s death is not simply a personal tragedy. It is the product of a criminal justice system rife with intimidation and prosecutorial overreach. Decisions made by officials in the Massachusetts U.S. Attorney’s office and at MIT contributed to his death. The US Attorney’s office pursued an exceptionally harsh array of charges, carrying potentially over 30 years in prison, to punish an alleged crime that had no victims. Meanwhile, unlike JSTOR, MIT refused to stand up for Aaron and its own community’s most cherished principles.

Today, we grieve for the extraordinary and irreplaceable man that we have lost.

His "crime", to recap:

Quote
Alex Stamos, the CTO of Artemis Internet and an expert witness who was working with Swartz's attorneys to testify in the the April US vs. Swartz trial, also wrote a long post detailing what he knew of the case. The Feds accused Swartz of logging on to MIT's network illegally and using that access, “to download a major portion of JSTOR's archive onto his computers.” The Department of Justice officially accused him of wire fraud, computer fraud, recklessly damaging a protected computer, among other charges.

Of course it's far too simplistic to blame a suicide on any one thing.  I don't know what went through Swartz's mind in his final hours or days, what events, feelings, and thoughts drove him to despair and to end his life.

But I think any reasonable goddamn human being should conclude that the looming litigation was a factor, and, further, any reasonable goddamn human being should conclude that -- well, I'll quote Stamos one more time:

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But for all those grandiose claims, expert witness Stamos wrote “I know a criminal hack when I see it, and Aaron’s downloading of journal articles from an unlocked closet is not an offense worth 35 years in jail.”

It's disgusting and it's inhumane.  Due process is clearly not working as intended when a man can be hounded, intimidated, and financially ruined over a period of years before he ever gets to see the inside of a courtroom.  And the mere threat of a 35-year sentence over an alleged COPYRIGHT VIOLATION should and must flag Eighth Amendment concerns.

Again, I believe it is far too simple to lay Swartz's suicide at the feet of the US Attorney's Office or some other external villain.  But every single goddamn person involved, either in this specific case or in any position to determine copyright policy in general, should hear about this, and should take a couple of sober minutes to consider that maybe this fucking thing has gone too far.

RIP.
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Ted Belmont

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Re: The new obituary thread
« Reply #722 on: January 17, 2013, 07:02:47 PM »

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Disposable Ninja

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Re: The new obituary thread
« Reply #723 on: January 28, 2013, 05:01:19 PM »

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Mongrel

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Re: The new obituary thread
« Reply #724 on: February 01, 2013, 08:22:25 AM »

Ed Koch

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“If you agree with me on 9 out of 12 issues, vote for me. If you agree with me on 12 out of 12 issues, see a psychiatrist,” said the three-term mayor.
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Büge

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Re: The new obituary thread
« Reply #725 on: February 01, 2013, 02:50:02 PM »

The first thing that popped into my mind was a gravestone with the phrase "How'm I doin'?" carved into it.

...I'm going to hell, aren't I?
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Disposable Ninja

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Re: The new obituary thread
« Reply #726 on: February 01, 2013, 03:34:01 PM »

No, I am.

God damn Monkey's Paw got the wrong Koch.
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Disposable Ninja

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Re: The new obituary thread
« Reply #727 on: February 06, 2013, 10:33:15 AM »

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Thad

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Re: The new obituary thread
« Reply #728 on: February 23, 2013, 10:08:49 PM »

Ray Cusick, the original designer of the Daleks.
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Malikial

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Re: The new obituary thread
« Reply #729 on: February 28, 2013, 10:28:04 AM »

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Thad

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Re: The new obituary thread
« Reply #730 on: February 28, 2013, 11:33:51 AM »

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Büge

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Re: The new obituary thread
« Reply #731 on: February 28, 2013, 01:59:47 PM »

Stéphane Hessel: French Resistance Fighter, survivor of Buchenwald, co-drafter of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and author of "Indignez-Vous!," an inspiration for Occupy Wall Street.
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Mongrel

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Re: The new obituary thread
« Reply #732 on: March 05, 2013, 04:11:50 PM »

Hugo Chavez

Huh. Well, this will make things slightly more interesting down there.
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Büge

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Re: The new obituary thread
« Reply #733 on: March 06, 2013, 06:05:34 AM »

Paul Bearer, for real this time.
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Thad

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Re: The new obituary thread
« Reply #734 on: March 06, 2013, 10:40:47 AM »

Well THAT'S going to be a confusing funeral.
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Ocksi

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Re: The new obituary thread
« Reply #735 on: March 06, 2013, 11:42:14 AM »

I know we shouldn't be joking about the dead, but I have to ask...

IS THAT THE UNDERTAKER'S MUSIC?!
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Smiler

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Re: The new obituary thread
« Reply #736 on: March 06, 2013, 11:47:15 AM »

GUD DERN JR IS THAT PAUL BEARER'S COFFIN GOING DOWN THE ISLE THIS TIME?

OH NO UNDERTAKER IS TAGGING IN THE COFFIN!
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Brentai

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Re: The new obituary thread
« Reply #737 on: March 06, 2013, 01:14:07 PM »

He would have wanted it this way.

...

Sorry, I mean, heeee would have waaaaanted it this waaaaay.
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Mongrel

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Re: The new obituary thread
« Reply #738 on: March 06, 2013, 07:55:17 PM »

Not really one that'll be noted outside of Canada, but we'll sure miss him within: Stompin' Tom Connors.
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Büge

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Re: The new obituary thread
« Reply #739 on: March 06, 2013, 08:08:06 PM »

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