Oakland reporters are fired.  

On Sat, Mar 2, 2013 at 3:24 PM, Cyrus Farivar <cfarivar@gmail.com> wrote:
FWIW, here's the LA Times:

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-lockpick-20130302,0,454000.story

-C

--
Cyrus Farivar
"suh-ROOS FAR-ih-var"

Journalist and radio producer | cyrusfarivar.com
Author, "The Internet of Elsewhere" | internetofelsewhere.com
US: +1 510 394 5485 (m) | Twitter/Skype: cfarivar
"Being a good writer is 3% talent, 97% not being distracted by the Internet."
cfarivar@cfarivar.org

On Saturday, March 2, 2013 at 3:22 PM, sudo-discuss-request@lists.sudoroom.org wrote:

Send sudo-discuss mailing list submissions to

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When replying, please edit your Subject line so it is more specific
than "Re: Contents of sudo-discuss digest..."


Today's Topics:

1. Re: It's Unconscionable (Anca Mosoiu)
2. Re: It's Unconscionable (rusty lindgren)
3. thunderbolt video cards (rusty lindgren)
4. Re: Friday Filosophy: Software as Speech (Steve Berl)
5. Re: Friday Filosophy: Software as Speech (Eddan)
6. Yelp Locksmiths Greatest Hits Vol. 1 (rusty lindgren)
7. Re: It's Unconscionable (Daniel Finlay)
8. Re: Yelp Locksmiths Greatest Hits Vol. 1 (Andrew)
9. Re: It's Unconscionable (Eddan)
10. Re: It's Unconscionable (rusty lindgren)


----------------------------------------------------------------------

Message: 1
Date: Fri, 1 Mar 2013 23:27:54 -0800
From: Anca Mosoiu <anca@techliminal.com>
To: Michael Scroggins <michaeljscroggins@gmail.com>
Subject: Re: [sudo-discuss] It's Unconscionable
Message-ID:
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"

On Fri, Mar 1, 2013 at 6:35 PM, Michael Scroggins <


The sentence implicitly draws a difference of kind between the lock
picking class and the other Workshop Weekend classes. Doing so invites the
question: What is the difference that makes broadcasting this workshop (in
the way it was) regrettable? In an environment where the mayor, the chief
of police and the media have all given the same answer - the class breeds
criminals - allowing that question is regrettable.

It's regrettable because it gave some easy pickings for the people who want
to portray Oakland, and the current administration, in a certain way. Many
of the people who are upset about the workshop aren't upset about
lockpicking, they're upset that Jean Quan appears to encourage crime in her
newsletter.

It's regrettable because it sucked up airwaves and mental effort that might
have been better spent.

Drafting a reasoned and reasonable response lowers the blood pressure of
the people who are up in arms just because they aren't informed. Some of
them will come around, especially if they understand the actual intent of
the class.

Eddan, I'd like to participate in writing a statement. I was really taken
aback when I read some of the emails and talked to some of the people who
were actually upset.

The media storm will blow over with the next foot-in-mouth opportunity from
a local politician, but we have a great opportunity to reach out while the
world is looking.

Anca.


--
-=-=-=-
Anca Mosoiu | Tech Liminal
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Message: 2
Date: Sat, 2 Mar 2013 00:27:22 -0800
From: rusty lindgren <rustylindgren@gmail.com>
To: Anca Mosoiu <anca@techliminal.com>
Subject: Re: [sudo-discuss] It's Unconscionable
Message-ID:
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"

I agree with Michael, the way in which it was promoted was fine. I think
we should stop apologizing to the people who are acting completely in bad
faith, and certainly, I don't want to get lumped in with everyone else when
they apologize. This is drowning out my opinion the same way these
ass-wipes are drowning out our opinion in the media.

SudoRoom could easily submit 3 or 4 different responses, or anonymously
represent responses in one letter, but it shouldn't carry a single tone,
and especially shouldn't make us look like we want to lay down and die
every time "crime-watch" people post a stupid comment on a board somewhere.


Side Note: where do these people get their money? Could it not be from
hackers who invent all the shit that drives a secondary economy in the Bay
Area for them to have sit down jobs where they can post on local media
blogs all day about how their world isn't safe enough from all the people
in Oakland, who don't ride the backs of hackers and then take them to the
mat whenever possible. I'm sure they jumped on facebook the minute they
were done with that news site tho.

The kicker is that they even talked about how it's someone's whole life
force to unlock things for them when they break. Why would THEY need to
know how to do something like that, when someone will just come by and do
it for them? Fuck that.

Now, take a trip over to yelp, and read all of the comments about the
sketchy locksmiths in the Bay Area... Same people complaining about how the
"locksmith bot" wasn't programmed correctly, because they didn't get what
they wanted. Fuck that too.

The loudest voices on the interwebs are the stupidest... at least in the
hacker community, you don't get judged for being loud, you get judged on
your work, and so it stands to reason that maybe, in self preservation of
mind and spirit I still submit that we STOP laying down for people who
don't care about us, so we respect ourselves in the end.

-Rusty

On Fri, Mar 1, 2013 at 11:27 PM, Anca Mosoiu <anca@techliminal.com> wrote:


On Fri, Mar 1, 2013 at 6:35 PM, Michael Scroggins <


The sentence implicitly draws a difference of kind between the lock
picking class and the other Workshop Weekend classes. Doing so invites the
question: What is the difference that makes broadcasting this workshop (in
the way it was) regrettable? In an environment where the mayor, the chief
of police and the media have all given the same answer - the class breeds
criminals - allowing that question is regrettable.

It's regrettable because it gave some easy pickings for the people who
want to portray Oakland, and the current administration, in a certain way.
Many of the people who are upset about the workshop aren't upset about
lockpicking, they're upset that Jean Quan appears to encourage crime in her
newsletter.

It's regrettable because it sucked up airwaves and mental effort that
might have been better spent.

Drafting a reasoned and reasonable response lowers the blood pressure of
the people who are up in arms just because they aren't informed. Some of
them will come around, especially if they understand the actual intent of
the class.

Eddan, I'd like to participate in writing a statement. I was really taken
aback when I read some of the emails and talked to some of the people who
were actually upset.

The media storm will blow over with the next foot-in-mouth opportunity
from a local politician, but we have a great opportunity to reach out while
the world is looking.

Anca.


--
-=-=-=-
Anca Mosoiu | Tech Liminal

_______________________________________________
sudo-discuss mailing list


--
Cheers,

Rusty Lindgren
**
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Message: 3
Date: Sat, 2 Mar 2013 11:02:06 -0800
From: rusty lindgren <rustylindgren@gmail.com>
Subject: [sudo-discuss] thunderbolt video cards
Message-ID:
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"

Anyone done this on mac or linux(link below)? Would be cool to just send
rendering jobs over thunderbolt... would be even cooler if I could build
the pci-board set up myself, rather than spend a lot on this set-up.



-Rusty
**
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Message: 4
Date: Sat, 2 Mar 2013 11:58:58 -0800
From: Steve Berl <steveberl@gmail.com>
To: Anon195714 <anon195714@sbcglobal.net>
Subject: Re: [sudo-discuss] Friday Filosophy: Software as Speech
Message-ID:
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="windows-1252"

Seems to me that the autonomous system is guilty of aiding and abetting a
crime, or conspiracy, or something like that. Either it's a sentient being
and must follow the law, or risk punishment of some sort, or it isn't, and
Bob has to be responsible.

-steve

On Fri, Mar 1, 2013 at 6:54 PM, Anon195714 <anon195714@sbcglobal.net> wrote:



Yo's-

Since I couldn't make it in person...

Hypothetical:

Assume the existence of intelligent computers that can make autonomous
decisions, which many folks believe will become a reality in the near
future.

Alice Analyst publishes virus source code in an online computer security
publication. So far that's clearly protected speech, nobody here would
argue otherwise.

Bob Badguy reads the article and types the code manually into a computer,
with the overt or covert intent for the computer to broadcast the virus and
infect other computers.

Does it matter whether the computer into which Bob enters the virus source
code, is an ordinary computer that does what it's told, vs. an intelligent
computer that has the capacity to make autonomous decisions?

Clearly if the computer is an ordinary one that is not capable of
autonomous decisions, then Bob's typing of the virus code into it would
constitute an "action" rather than "speech," and would not be protected.
He could be successfully prosecuted for unleashing the virus upon the
world.

But if the computer is an intelligent one that can make autonomous
decisions, then could Bob rightfully claim that his typing of the virus
code into that intelligent computer was _also_ protected speech, merely an
exercise in communication with another sentient being, the same as Alice's
original publication?

-G.


=====



On 13-03-01-Fri 8:22 AM, Eddan Katz wrote:

Dear Kopimists and the People who Love Them.

For the featured Filo delicacy for Friday Filosophy, we will have potato
burekas.

I propose we talk about the difference between source code, object code,
and executable code in regards to 1st Amendment protection. In other words,
when is code speech and when is it a speech-act subject to less legal
protection?

Below is an excerpt from an essay by Lee Tien, a brilliant EFF attorney
for more than a decade, on Software as Speech (2000). These two paragraphs
are in the section: Viruses and other "dangerous" software.

Of course, as always, we can talk about whatever else. Such as
conscience and the unconscionable, perhaps.

Lee Tien, Publishing Software as a Speech Act, Vol. 15 Berkeley Tech.
Law Journal (2000)

main concern lies in the fact that the software may be ?diverted? toward
unlawful purposes, regardless of the speaker?s intent. This concern is,
however, not unique to software. It also applies to other types of
information usable for mischief or harassment, whether highly technical
like information about nuclear weapons, or utterly mundane like a person?s
name, address or telephone number.

Even if the virus author merely posts the source code and fails to release
it in active form, the issue remains whether the posting was done with an
intent to communicate. If the author claims that she intended it to
communicate, we would need to examine the context to decide the
plausibility of that claim. There will often be a plausible claim. There is
no question that people study viruses and other dangerous software in order
way to control a virus is to publish its source code so that systems
operators can disable or protect against it. Communicating a virus? source
code as part of such an effort qualifies as a speech act because the
publisher intends to communicate how the virus works in a conventional way.
In fact, one could imagine entire journals or Internet sites devoted to
such publications aim to alert the world to these dangers, their intent is
clearly communicative.


sent from eddan.com


_______________________________________________



_______________________________________________
sudo-discuss mailing list


--
-steve
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Message: 5
Date: Sat, 2 Mar 2013 12:25:15 -0800
From: Eddan <eddan@clear.net>
To: Steve Berl <steveberl@gmail.com>
Subject: Re: [sudo-discuss] Friday Filosophy: Software as Speech
Message-ID:
<CAMvNwqGmUxxxexx--5nA7Fte2ZeMjkdBwzmnV=CO72HQ3AOQfg@mail.gmail.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="windows-1252"

Do Robots Have Rights? - I'm planning to submit that as a suggested session
topic for the next Workshop Weekend.

It seems to me that whether or not an autonomous system is a sentient being
seems like a primary hurdle that can't be passed in order to even answer
the question of where responsibility should fall in a way that makes sense
to us. I can't imagine computational entities will ever have the intent we
mean in contemporary society for us to call the damages it causes a crime.
Not only as a matter of the capacities of technical engineering, but even
by definition of what we mean by: (1) act; and (2) intent; and (a-b) what
knowledge is, in the context of both.

As far as I can understand such a question in terms of motive, I think
responsibility should lie with the anticipated capabilities of the
technology created by the programmer(s)/designer(s). Software Malfunction
Liability - we have become convinced that that kind of analysis is too
remote and unfairly misguided. I most definitely agree that it's hard to
say what an engineer should have known, especially if the act was committed
by any further iteration of the program in the autonomous system in the
example. But I think we can get closer to confident about reckless design,
and even grossly negligent design - not to mention unconscionable, which
would make the best case for assigning liability on the designer.



On Sat, Mar 2, 2013 at 11:58 AM, Steve Berl <steveberl@gmail.com> wrote:

Seems to me that the autonomous system is guilty of aiding and abetting a
crime, or conspiracy, or something like that. Either it's a sentient being
and must follow the law, or risk punishment of some sort, or it isn't, and
Bob has to be responsible.

-steve


On Fri, Mar 1, 2013 at 6:54 PM, Anon195714 <anon195714@sbcglobal.net>wrote:



Yo's-

Since I couldn't make it in person...

Hypothetical:

Assume the existence of intelligent computers that can make autonomous
decisions, which many folks believe will become a reality in the near
future.

Alice Analyst publishes virus source code in an online computer security
publication. So far that's clearly protected speech, nobody here would
argue otherwise.

Bob Badguy reads the article and types the code manually into a computer,
with the overt or covert intent for the computer to broadcast the virus and
infect other computers.

Does it matter whether the computer into which Bob enters the virus
source code, is an ordinary computer that does what it's told, vs. an
intelligent computer that has the capacity to make autonomous decisions?

Clearly if the computer is an ordinary one that is not capable of
autonomous decisions, then Bob's typing of the virus code into it would
constitute an "action" rather than "speech," and would not be protected.
He could be successfully prosecuted for unleashing the virus upon the
world.

But if the computer is an intelligent one that can make autonomous
decisions, then could Bob rightfully claim that his typing of the virus
code into that intelligent computer was _also_ protected speech, merely an
exercise in communication with another sentient being, the same as Alice's
original publication?

-G.


=====



On 13-03-01-Fri 8:22 AM, Eddan Katz wrote:

Dear Kopimists and the People who Love Them.

For the featured Filo delicacy for Friday Filosophy, we will have
potato burekas.

I propose we talk about the difference between source code, object
code, and executable code in regards to 1st Amendment protection. In other
words, when is code speech and when is it a speech-act subject to less
legal protection?

Below is an excerpt from an essay by Lee Tien, a brilliant EFF attorney
for more than a decade, on Software as Speech (2000). These two paragraphs
are in the section: Viruses and other "dangerous" software.

Of course, as always, we can talk about whatever else. Such as
conscience and the unconscionable, perhaps.

Lee Tien, Publishing Software as a Speech Act, Vol. 15 Berkeley Tech.
Law Journal (2000)

main concern lies in the fact that the software may be ?diverted? toward
unlawful purposes, regardless of the speaker?s intent. This concern is,
however, not unique to software. It also applies to other types of
information usable for mischief or harassment, whether highly technical
like information about nuclear weapons, or utterly mundane like a person?s
name, address or telephone number.

Even if the virus author merely posts the source code and fails to
release it in active form, the issue remains whether the posting was done
with an intent to communicate. If the author claims that she intended it to
communicate, we would need to examine the context to decide the
plausibility of that claim. There will often be a plausible claim. There is
no question that people study viruses and other dangerous software in order
way to control a virus is to publish its source code so that systems
operators can disable or protect against it. Communicating a virus? source
code as part of such an effort qualifies as a speech act because the
publisher intends to communicate how the virus works in a conventional way.
In fact, one could imagine entire journals or Internet sites devoted to
such publications aim to alert the world to these dangers, their intent is
clearly communicative.


sent from eddan.com


_______________________________________________



_______________________________________________
sudo-discuss mailing list


--
-steve
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Message: 6
Date: Sat, 2 Mar 2013 12:39:57 -0800
From: rusty lindgren <rustylindgren@gmail.com>
Subject: [sudo-discuss] Yelp Locksmiths Greatest Hits Vol. 1
Message-ID:
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"

1. *"These mother fuckers should burn in hell. *Quit scamming people.
You'd make more money actually being nice honest and helping more people
that like your business instead of charging a shit load for 1 customer and
losing 27490291.
2. "...The guy shows up in literally 10 minutes, pops open the door in
about 30 seconds and then charges me $100 for the "labor" because opening a
door is a $100 charge. WTF... Such bullshit.
*Two stars for him being super speedy though.*"
3. *"Since my cat was inside crying and needing to be fed*- I told him I
would pay $200 for him to unlock it or I was going to call someone else.
He ended up drilling the lock out and then wanting to charge another $190
to replace it. *Preying on desperate people in bad situations.*"
4. "When he got here he said it would be 29 dollars service fee and 100
to pick the lock, he spent exactly 30 seconds trying to pick the lock, said
it was unpickable and went to his car to get a drill and another lock to
replace it. Took him may be 15 minutes to drill and replace the lock then
he handed me a bill for 258 dollars. I said how could something that jtook
under 30 minutes with very little effort cost so much. *He didn't care,
just took my credit card and charged it."*
5. IF I COULD GIVE THEM NEGATIVE STARS I WOULD NOT HESITATE! *This is my
first review and I actually made a yelp account just to save anyone from
falling into their scam* they call a business.
6. They call themselves locksmiths, but that is a joke. They completely
busted our font door lock (to the point that the handle was hanging loosely
off the door and no long worked to keep the door closed), then proceeded to
charge (and demand!) $150 for the "service." *I could have gotten in a
lot quicker and cheaper by borrowing a neighbor's hammer!*

-Rusty
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Message: 7
Date: Sat, 2 Mar 2013 12:51:14 -0800
From: Daniel Finlay <namelessdan@gmail.com>
Subject: Re: [sudo-discuss] It's Unconscionable
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"

Anca's right, this is a huge opportunity.

Lower dues, anyone?

Here's my caricature of opportunism, feel free to tune down the tone to your tact level of preference:

The admonition of lockpicking classes by the Mayor and Police Chief of Oakland are as unconscionable as the thefts they purport to be in fear of. While the alarmists claim that publicly available lockpicking classes may promote criminal activity, they lose sight that this class is in the context of a larger public enrichment.
Despite being only a few months old, Sudoroom has already made itself host to a wide variety of educational, cooperative, and even marketable skill-building classes and events for hundreds of local residents. From programming computers and 3-D printing to curing cheese and modifying DNA, Sudo Room is a free, community sponsored place for fostering the collaborative creativity that comes with groups full of intellectual curiosity in a time of as much change and development as this one.
In a time where people's opportunities might lead them to crime, perhaps we ought to provide better alternatives rather than stupefying the public as a form of self defense.
Let us address the cause of this sickness rather than try to snuff out its symptoms, and give ourselves access to an unfettered flow of knowledge and opportunity. We encourage you to participate in this local renaissance, by visiting the Sudoroom yourself, and taking part in any of the classes of your interest. You can always find the upcoming events at sudoroom.org/calendar, or just stop by almost any time to join your neighbors in their curious pursuits.


-Dan



On Mar 1, 2013, at 11:27 PM, Anca Mosoiu <anca@techliminal.com> wrote:


On Fri, Mar 1, 2013 at 6:35 PM, Michael Scroggins <michaeljscroggins@gmail.com> wrote:

The sentence implicitly draws a difference of kind between the lock picking class and the other Workshop Weekend classes. Doing so invites the question: What is the difference that makes broadcasting this workshop (in the way it was) regrettable? In an environment where the mayor, the chief of police and the media have all given the same answer - the class breeds criminals - allowing that question is regrettable.

It's regrettable because it gave some easy pickings for the people who want to portray Oakland, and the current administration, in a certain way. Many of the people who are upset about the workshop aren't upset about lockpicking, they're upset that Jean Quan appears to encourage crime in her newsletter.

It's regrettable because it sucked up airwaves and mental effort that might have been better spent.

Drafting a reasoned and reasonable response lowers the blood pressure of the people who are up in arms just because they aren't informed. Some of them will come around, especially if they understand the actual intent of the class.

Eddan, I'd like to participate in writing a statement. I was really taken aback when I read some of the emails and talked to some of the people who were actually upset.

The media storm will blow over with the next foot-in-mouth opportunity from a local politician, but we have a great opportunity to reach out while the world is looking.

Anca.

--
-=-=-=-
Anca Mosoiu | Tech Liminal
_______________________________________________
sudo-discuss mailing list

-------------- next part --------------
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Message: 8
Date: Sat, 2 Mar 2013 13:02:58 -0800
To: rusty lindgren <rustylindgren@gmail.com>
Subject: Re: [sudo-discuss] Yelp Locksmiths Greatest Hits Vol. 1
Message-ID:
<CADWgu_=-ztF12EoTpD_czpNm-SBYFw3uy=2+zYw8bOMwH-c_Uw@mail.gmail.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"


For linking :-)
On Mar 2, 2013 12:40 PM, "rusty lindgren" <rustylindgren@gmail.com> wrote:


1. *"These mother fuckers should burn in hell. *Quit scamming people.
You'd make more money actually being nice honest and helping more people
that like your business instead of charging a shit load for 1 customer and
losing 27490291.
2. "...The guy shows up in literally 10 minutes, pops open the door in
about 30 seconds and then charges me $100 for the "labor" because opening a
door is a $100 charge. WTF... Such bullshit.
*Two stars for him being super speedy though.*"
3. *"Since my cat was inside crying and needing to be fed*- I told him
I would pay $200 for him to unlock it or I was going to call someone else.
He ended up drilling the lock out and then wanting to charge another $190
to replace it. *Preying on desperate people in bad situations.*"
4. "When he got here he said it would be 29 dollars service fee and
100 to pick the lock, he spent exactly 30 seconds trying to pick the lock,
said it was unpickable and went to his car to get a drill and another lock
to replace it. Took him may be 15 minutes to drill and replace the lock
then he handed me a bill for 258 dollars. I said how could something that
jtook under 30 minutes with very little effort cost so much. *He
didn't care, just took my credit card and charged it."*
5. IF I COULD GIVE THEM NEGATIVE STARS I WOULD NOT HESITATE! *This is
my first review and I actually made a yelp account just to save anyone from
falling into their scam* they call a business.
6. They call themselves locksmiths, but that is a joke. They
completely busted our font door lock (to the point that the handle was
hanging loosely off the door and no long worked to keep the door closed),
then proceeded to charge (and demand!) $150 for the "service." *I
could have gotten in a lot quicker and cheaper by borrowing a neighbor's
hammer!*

-Rusty




_______________________________________________
sudo-discuss mailing list
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Message: 9
Date: Sat, 2 Mar 2013 13:37:00 -0800
From: Eddan <eddan@clear.net>
To: Daniel Finlay <namelessdan@gmail.com>
Subject: Re: [sudo-discuss] It's Unconscionable
Message-ID:
<CAMvNwqF-n7S9Nt7Q+-swhnJ7nu3s9AGUf00U1=fkceqz=zaXOw@mail.gmail.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="windows-1252"

Not sure how to append or collate this with Daniel's section, but included
below is a draft of suggested comments I tried piecing together. I think
that if we are to have a statement, that we should merge our various
contributions to represent one voice. I'm not sure what platform is best to
do this kind of thing on, but have had some positive experience with


sent from eddan.com


---

To our community ?

It is in good conscience that we, the members of Sudo Room, host the
Lock-Picking session at the Workshop Weekend taking place at 2141 Broadway
[and Tech Liminal] today. As even a quick glance at the rest of the program
would make clear, we are a diverse community of technologists, artists, and
activists joined together by the ambition of figuring things out for
ourselves and teaching other people how to do it.

A further step back would reveal a context of free and open to the public
educational opportunities covering everything from sewing recycled fabric
into sustainable clothing; making vanilla extract to experiment with new
flavors of ice cream; creating a transparent and democratic corporate
governance; and indeed yes ? taking locks apart and reverse engineering
software.

Regarding the option of calling a locksmith, an Oakland resident locked out
of their house or car should be advised to read through the peer review
websites carefully for reputable services before calling their number. It
is our general belief that public safety is better served when the skills
necessary to be hired as a locksmith, for example, are taught in classrooms
rather than by picking it up in the actual commission of crimes.

We share in our city?s mourning of the death of Kiante Campbell at the Art
Murmur last month. Collectively and as individuals, we are also aware of
and concerned about the alarming levels of crime in our neighborhoods. It
is in fact those concerns that have made for the greatest challenges in
offering an openly accessible entrance to our building. Being a
horizontally-governed organization, the compromised option of only several
people having the keys is problematic. We are now experimenting in our own
space with ways that can increase security while preserving the privacy of
the general public. We intend to share our results publicly on our website
and wiki, as with all of our other projects, so that public safety in
Oakland can be more effectively enforced.

We regret that Mayor Quan stepped back from her support of the event,
though we appreciate her support for our innovative programs that are
bringing about an emergent start-up technology culture in downtown Oakland.
We can certainly sympathize with the overwhelming task of responsibly
editing a large amount of information such as what is in the Mayors?
newsletter. We intend for this unfortunate series of misunderstandings to
be yet another incentive for us to work on some of the projects we?ve
already started ? those aimed towards more efficiently sorting through
large volumes of information to allow for making editorial judgment calls
more fairly.

We would like to take this unsolicited opportunity to make our intentions
clear with Police Chief Jordan and Mayor Quan. We have among us people who
can contribute a great deal to solving our law enforcement technology
problems and addressing the cyber-security concerns of critical
infrastructure such as the Port of Oakland. We hope to get a chance to work
together with our city?s leaders in bringing cutting-edge capacity building
to the people of Oakland with sustainable and equitable economic
structures. We are trying to be very conscientious about it ? we welcome
you to drop by one of our many events or visit our website for information
about our initiatives.


On Sat, Mar 2, 2013 at 12:51 PM, Daniel Finlay <namelessdan@gmail.com>wrote:

Anca's right, this is a huge opportunity.

Lower dues, anyone?

Here's my caricature of opportunism, feel free to tune down the tone to
your tact level of preference:

The admonition of lockpicking classes by the Mayor and Police Chief of
Oakland are as unconscionable as the thefts they purport to be in fear of.
While the alarmists claim that publicly available lockpicking classes may
promote criminal activity, they lose sight that this class is in the
context of a larger public enrichment.


Despite being only a few months old, Sudoroom has already made itself host
to a wide variety of educational, cooperative, and even marketable
skill-building classes and events for hundreds of local residents. From
programming computers and 3-D printing to curing cheese and modifying DNA,
Sudo Room is a free, community sponsored place for fostering the
collaborative creativity that comes with groups full of intellectual
curiosity in a time of as much change and development as this one.


In a time where people's opportunities might lead them to crime, perhaps
we ought to provide better alternatives rather than stupefying the public
as a form of self defense.


Let us address the cause of this sickness rather than try to snuff out its
symptoms, and give ourselves access to an unfettered flow of knowledge and
opportunity. We encourage you to participate in this local renaissance, by
visiting the Sudoroom yourself, and taking part in any of the classes of
your interest. You can always find the upcoming events at
sudoroom.org/calendar, or just stop by almost any time to join your
neighbors in their curious pursuits.


-Dan



On Mar 1, 2013, at 11:27 PM, Anca Mosoiu <anca@techliminal.com> wrote:


On Fri, Mar 1, 2013 at 6:35 PM, Michael Scroggins <


The sentence implicitly draws a difference of kind between the lock
picking class and the other Workshop Weekend classes. Doing so invites the
question: What is the difference that makes broadcasting this workshop (in
the way it was) regrettable? In an environment where the mayor, the chief
of police and the media have all given the same answer - the class breeds
criminals - allowing that question is regrettable.

It's regrettable because it gave some easy pickings for the people who
want to portray Oakland, and the current administration, in a certain way.
Many of the people who are upset about the workshop aren't upset about
lockpicking, they're upset that Jean Quan appears to encourage crime in her
newsletter.

It's regrettable because it sucked up airwaves and mental effort that
might have been better spent.

Drafting a reasoned and reasonable response lowers the blood pressure of
the people who are up in arms just because they aren't informed. Some of
them will come around, especially if they understand the actual intent of
the class.

Eddan, I'd like to participate in writing a statement. I was really taken
aback when I read some of the emails and talked to some of the people who
were actually upset.

The media storm will blow over with the next foot-in-mouth opportunity
from a local politician, but we have a great opportunity to reach out while
the world is looking.

Anca.


--
-=-=-=-
Anca Mosoiu | Tech Liminal
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Message: 10
Date: Sat, 2 Mar 2013 15:22:26 -0800
From: rusty lindgren <rustylindgren@gmail.com>
Subject: Re: [sudo-discuss] It's Unconscionable
Message-ID:
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="windows-1252"

Eddan,

Would you consider revising to allow this POV?

1. Can you make it clear that not all members were okay with the
treatment by the press, and that we invite them to publicly address us?
2. Can you put something in about how knowing more about your locks and
those services could be leveraged against further scams, and that community
programs can lead to less fraud, when awareness is raised?
3. Also, can we remove or revise this line: "We can certainly sympathize
with the overwhelming task of responsibly editing a large amount of
information such as what is in the Mayors? newsletter."
To me, I'm against apologizing for lock-picking classes, and this sounds
like we're saying it shouldn't have been in there in the first place. I
know it's hooked to something else you wrote, but I don't agree with it.

If you want, I could revise the wording and send it back to you, and if
anyone else wanted to help they could.

Other than that, it's well written and classier than my response would be,
which is good for the group :D.

-Rusty

On Sat, Mar 2, 2013 at 1:37 PM, Eddan <eddan@clear.net> wrote:

Not sure how to append or collate this with Daniel's section, but included
below is a draft of suggested comments I tried piecing together. I think
that if we are to have a statement, that we should merge our various
contributions to represent one voice. I'm not sure what platform is best to
do this kind of thing on, but have had some positive experience with


sent from eddan.com


---

To our community ?

It is in good conscience that we, the members of Sudo Room, host the
Lock-Picking session at the Workshop Weekend taking place at 2141 Broadway
[and Tech Liminal] today. As even a quick glance at the rest of the program
would make clear, we are a diverse community of technologists, artists, and
activists joined together by the ambition of figuring things out for
ourselves and teaching other people how to do it.

A further step back would reveal a context of free and open to the public
educational opportunities covering everything from sewing recycled fabric
into sustainable clothing; making vanilla extract to experiment with new
flavors of ice cream; creating a transparent and democratic corporate
governance; and indeed yes ? taking locks apart and reverse engineering
software.

Regarding the option of calling a locksmith, an Oakland resident locked
out of their house or car should be advised to read through the peer review
websites carefully for reputable services before calling their number. It
is our general belief that public safety is better served when the skills
necessary to be hired as a locksmith, for example, are taught in classrooms
rather than by picking it up in the actual commission of crimes.

We share in our city?s mourning of the death of Kiante Campbell at the Art
Murmur last month. Collectively and as individuals, we are also aware of
and concerned about the alarming levels of crime in our neighborhoods. It
is in fact those concerns that have made for the greatest challenges in
offering an openly accessible entrance to our building. Being a
horizontally-governed organization, the compromised option of only several
people having the keys is problematic. We are now experimenting in our own
space with ways that can increase security while preserving the privacy of
the general public. We intend to share our results publicly on our website
and wiki, as with all of our other projects, so that public safety in
Oakland can be more effectively enforced.

We regret that Mayor Quan stepped back from her support of the event,
though we appreciate her support for our innovative programs that are
bringing about an emergent start-up technology culture in downtown Oakland.
We can certainly sympathize with the overwhelming task of responsibly
editing a large amount of information such as what is in the Mayors?
newsletter. We intend for this unfortunate series of misunderstandings to
be yet another incentive for us to work on some of the projects we?ve
already started ? those aimed towards more efficiently sorting through
large volumes of information to allow for making editorial judgment calls
more fairly.

We would like to take this unsolicited opportunity to make our intentions
clear with Police Chief Jordan and Mayor Quan. We have among us people who
can contribute a great deal to solving our law enforcement technology
problems and addressing the cyber-security concerns of critical
infrastructure such as the Port of Oakland. We hope to get a chance to work
together with our city?s leaders in bringing cutting-edge capacity building
to the people of Oakland with sustainable and equitable economic
structures. We are trying to be very conscientious about it ? we welcome
you to drop by one of our many events or visit our website for information
about our initiatives.


On Sat, Mar 2, 2013 at 12:51 PM, Daniel Finlay <namelessdan@gmail.com>wrote:

Anca's right, this is a huge opportunity.

Lower dues, anyone?

Here's my caricature of opportunism, feel free to tune down the tone to
your tact level of preference:

The admonition of lockpicking classes by the Mayor and Police Chief of
Oakland are as unconscionable as the thefts they purport to be in fear of.
While the alarmists claim that publicly available lockpicking classes may
promote criminal activity, they lose sight that this class is in the
context of a larger public enrichment.


Despite being only a few months old, Sudoroom has already made itself
host to a wide variety of educational, cooperative, and even marketable
skill-building classes and events for hundreds of local residents. From
programming computers and 3-D printing to curing cheese and modifying DNA,
Sudo Room is a free, community sponsored place for fostering the
collaborative creativity that comes with groups full of intellectual
curiosity in a time of as much change and development as this one.


In a time where people's opportunities might lead them to crime, perhaps
we ought to provide better alternatives rather than stupefying the public
as a form of self defense.


Let us address the cause of this sickness rather than try to snuff out
its symptoms, and give ourselves access to an unfettered flow of knowledge
and opportunity. We encourage you to participate in this local
renaissance, by visiting the Sudoroom yourself, and taking part in any of
the classes of your interest. You can always find the upcoming events at
sudoroom.org/calendar, or just stop by almost any time to join your
neighbors in their curious pursuits.


-Dan



On Mar 1, 2013, at 11:27 PM, Anca Mosoiu <anca@techliminal.com> wrote:


On Fri, Mar 1, 2013 at 6:35 PM, Michael Scroggins <


The sentence implicitly draws a difference of kind between the lock
picking class and the other Workshop Weekend classes. Doing so invites the
question: What is the difference that makes broadcasting this workshop (in
the way it was) regrettable? In an environment where the mayor, the chief
of police and the media have all given the same answer - the class breeds
criminals - allowing that question is regrettable.

It's regrettable because it gave some easy pickings for the people who
want to portray Oakland, and the current administration, in a certain way.
Many of the people who are upset about the workshop aren't upset about
lockpicking, they're upset that Jean Quan appears to encourage crime in her
newsletter.

It's regrettable because it sucked up airwaves and mental effort that
might have been better spent.

Drafting a reasoned and reasonable response lowers the blood pressure of
the people who are up in arms just because they aren't informed. Some of
them will come around, especially if they understand the actual intent of
the class.

Eddan, I'd like to participate in writing a statement. I was really taken
aback when I read some of the emails and talked to some of the people who
were actually upset.

The media storm will blow over with the next foot-in-mouth opportunity
from a local politician, but we have a great opportunity to reach out while
the world is looking.

Anca.


--
-=-=-=-
Anca Mosoiu | Tech Liminal
_______________________________________________
sudo-discuss mailing list



_______________________________________________
sudo-discuss mailing list

_______________________________________________
sudo-discuss mailing list


--
Cheers,

Rusty Lindgren
**
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Cheers,

Rusty Lindgren