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10.21.2001 || 9:53 a.m. Legislations, slings and arrows... It's also interesting that these earnest, drudgy institutions probably played a more pivotal r�le in those languages' reduced importance than did the British Navy, which was busily making Britain into the pre-eminent political force in Europe, the New world, and the Indian sub-continent. The founding of British colonies in the New World and India helped spread the use of English, of course, but the French and dutch and Belgians all had overseas territories as well. More important was the fact that English was allowed to change and flourish without the shackles under which French began to wither. Some things cannot be legislated. Languages cannot be legislated, nor can culture. Things that are alive and changing will stagnate and die under the pressures of academies and rules. On-line culture will stagnate in the same way if it is too closely monitored. Which is why I am jubilant that the erstwhile US senator Judd Gregg (R, of course) has withdrawn his demands for government backdoors into all crypto solutions. Freedom of information cannot be made into some sort of twisted sacrificial lamb on the altar of national security. Especially as there has been no connexion made at *all* between on-line communications and the current state of war under which several countries exist. |
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shite One last little note... - 09.21.2006 de-stressing, biking and terrorism - 06.06.2006 Mildly stressed... - 05.29.2006 More crime stupidity - 05.28.2006 Scary stuff - 05.25.2006
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