LUG Pres Resigns Over Military Linux Use

Joe Barr writes "NewsForge is carrying the news that the founder and president of Linux Users Los Angeles (LULA) has resigned because of his opposition to the war in Iraq and the U.S. Armed Forces' use of Linux."

The military uses Linux?

[Colonel Cholling]

But... but Darl said Linux was a terrorist OS!

take a stand, man

[crackshoe]

Due to the military's blatant use of water and air, i have decided to, as a stand against oppresion and Bush's agenda of oil, stop using both. this will, in all likelyhood, be my last slashdot comment. ::holds breath:: ::falls over:: asjdhflaksjdhfoiausydf9-8qwefijsndflakjndclkajd

Big deal

[bartyboy]

I've resigned from my subscription to Penthouse when I got married. And there was no press release on Slashdot.

Honestly, who cares? The guy has strong feelings about the war in Iraq. And just because he runs a LUG his opinion is God's word?

the blood is on all of our hands

[rnd()]

The blood of tens of thousands of Iraqis is now on the hands of anyone who has ever booted a linux kernel. This includes owners of certain Linksys products, ReplayTV, and any other consumer devices that rely on embedded linux, as well as anyone who has ever watched one of the more recent Pixar films that was rendered on clusters of linux computers.

It's time to repent for the atrocity that we have all committed.

Re:Blaming the tool again...

[kerry-buckley]

Blaming the tool again...

That's no way to speak about your president.

there's always MS

[ack154]

So would he rather have them all running Windows? I'm confused.

Would you rather they use Windows?

[TheMESMERIC]

And carry on bombing the Allies?

Friendly fire .. brought to you by Microsoft :)

Being consequential

[EachLennyAPenny]

he should stop paying taxes as well. Taxes fund the military.

Re:Blaming the tool again...

[Liselle]

He's not even leaving the damn group, he's just stepping down from a leadership position.

I feel that Lula no longer reflects the vision I have had for it and has in fact belittled itself as an organization for change and progress. I cannot attend Tuesday night's meeting, in fact I would be ashamed to in view of what our country is doing in Iraq ...

That beeping noise is either my attention whore alarm, bullshit radar, or both at once.

Re:what a prick

[JamesD_UK]

It's a simple kernel patch

> if(strcmp(getpwuid(uid).pw_name,"dhrumsfeld")) shutdown();

Maybe he was just tired of being the president

[Call Me Black Cloud]

Though he claims some dramatic reason for his departure,

"Wasn't it nice that so many smart people worked to hard for free to forge their own chains."

it sounds like he just wanted out of the job:

...I will still participate in the LUG, just let new leadership come to the fore.

After all, he believes,

...you have to say that a body of work worth billions of dollars has been created and placed in the public trust. The LUGs can and should be the trustees or guardians that trust.

So on one hand he is disappointed in how Linux is being used, that he has a vision for the right way Linux should be used, and that LUGs should be the ones to ensure the right way is followed, and on the other hand he's stepping down as head of a LUG. In other words, "I believe it's groups like mine that should lead the way, therefore I'm quitting as leader of the group."

Re:Blaming the tool again...

[the_duke_of_hazzard]

I'm resigning from Slashdot. I believe someone working for the military posted from here recently.

Re:Blaming the tool again...

[DAldredge]

Hell, I'm resigning from /. because they let ME post here. :->

no logic problem

[ylikone]

No problem with the logic... America knew sadam was an evil man before they put him in power. The Bush parents had no idea thier son was going to be an idiot.

Re:take a stand, man

[nacturation]

Lucky thing for you that you hit the submit button on the way down, or we'd never know!

Re:Big deal

[AbbyNormal]

Slashdot News Flash: "bartyboy's Penthouse subscription is in fact STILL active. Wife not pleased, news at 11".

Re:Big deal

[chegosaurus]

> I've resigned from my subscription to Penthouse when I got married.

I quit mine when I got broadband.

Have we not been waiting

[kick_in_the_eye]

for the latest killer app on linux???

What if a private person throws a aantrum

[Gothmolly]

and nobody cared? Seriously, why would anyone outside of Slashdot give a rats ass that some LUG President resigned over...well, anything?

Re:Blaming the tool again...

[Anonymous Coward]

I don't use hammers or screwdrivers...they use those in the military.

I am pretty sure that common citizens already do not use the same hammers and screwdrivers the military does. After all, the ones I buy only cost ~$5 not $500+ dollars.

Missing the point as usual

[chegosaurus]

You're all saying what a dork etc he is for getting so het up about this, or for quitting his job, but everyone seems to be overlooking the dorkiest fact of all: HE WAS PRESIDENT OF A LINUX USER GROUP.

He probably just got a girlfriend and has to drive her somewhere on Thursday nights.

Re:Big deal

[cloudmaster]

Man, *I* care! My day wouldn't be complete without hearing how some guy's stepping down because the group doesn't fit his original vision anymore.

It's even better that he concurrently said stupid things like "I'm also stopping X because of something unrelated". It's kinda like a hunger strike without the efficacy, you know? Like "I'm going to stop wearing pants because I don't like peach pie." That kind of idiocy really makes me proud to not be an idiot.

Re:Applaud

[mirko]

Also applaud how this guy I never heard about one hour ago suddenly got slashdotted to oblivion along with his unknown lug's web site.
Andy Warhol once talked about 15 minutes of fame...
Next story, please.

Re:Blaming the tool again...

[basingwerk]

Nobody cares... but if you were an LUG pres, that would be something to write about.

Re:take a stand, man

[TwistedGreen]

"But he wouldn't write aaaaaaaaaugh, he would just say it!"

"Perhaps he was dictating..."

Re:Blaming the tool again...

[bwy]

On the flip side, I've recently discovered that some porn sites are using the image publishing software I wrote. Needless to say, I couldn't be happier!

Re:Blaming the tool again...

[NoMoreNicksLeft]

Seems to me he just doesn't want to be a part of something that is used to fascilitate needless deaths

Like the air? Air is used by all the internal combustion engines in tanks, and is breathed by soldiers. Fighter jets use it to create lift!

I have an idea, maybe he should stop breathing....

Don't let the door hit you on the ass...

[daveman_1]

I think the subject says it all.

Re:Blaming the tool again...

[flewp]

When you have both a Dick and a Bush in the Whitehouse, you just know you're going to get screwed!!! -- Me

Ahem, you credited your source wrong. Credit should be given to "1,000,000 idiots who think this line is clever.

Is any profession righteous?

[Khelder]

This just in: a prominent potato farmer in Idaho is retiring upon learning that, get this... soldiers eat potatoes!

Re:no logic problem

[Anonymous Coward]

The Bush parents had no idea thier son was going to be an idiot.

Did yours?

In related news ...

[The AtomicPunk]

The head of our local culinary school stepped down when he realized that the military consumes food in Iraq.

Rumor has it this has caused quite a shake-up in the pentagon, and the military is reconsidering their use of food.

Only YOU can prevent narcissim!

[catdevnull]

OK, so I gotta rant a little on this one (skip this if you're not easily amused):

So, Mr. Claiborne needed to be the absolute leader and when the group didn't agree with his philosophies, he took his ball and went home? Practical applications of Linux even by the government should be considered a victory.

Maybe he'll come down out of the ideological fog and come to realize that a user group for an esoteric operating system that relatively few really understand has little or no effect regarding change to the socio-political structure of the known universe.

Reality check: It's an OS not a radical discovery in quantum physics that releases the power of the atom. Even if Linux is, in fact, some sort of life-altering milestone in the evolution of mankind, save the arrogant Captain Nemo vigilante mystique for something more important than an OS, dude. Remember: computers don't kill people--users do. (well, unless you count that unfortunate incident with HAL and that poor bastard who found the capacitor after opening his Mac Classic).

Hey, I hear that Tim Robbins and Susan Sarandon are looking for a new fan club president...

What a pussy.

[AyeRoxor!]

In other news, the CEOs of Britta have resigned because they heard terrorists use their filters to drink water.

Re:Aaacchh!

[Dun Malg]

Does that mean I should stop eating, because our soldiers also eat?

No, you just can't eat the same foods they eat.

If it means never having to eat the [Dreaded/Breaded] Veal Patty ever again, I'll do it.

I know how he feels

[rjamestaylor]

I resigned the leadership of Rancho Santa Margarita LUG with the news that Linux was being used to power parking meters. Power to the people! Down with repression!

Yes, I am completely mocking his heartfelt position as being nearly equivelent to my pretended protest.

The LALUG is better off.

He could...

[LupeSpywalper]

join the Open Source Anti Military Association (OSAMA)

Re:In the immortal words of Bugs Bunny....

[Anonymous Coward]

This is to notify you that your post, "In the immortal words of Bugs Bunny" has reached ./'s threshold of ignorant generalizations. Please user fewer junk characters and try again, or maybe your computer is behind a firewall at a NASCAR race.

Thank goodness the military uses Linux....

[otis wildflower]

... I mean, I'd rather have the $600 toilet seat money going to Linux integrators than M$.

Oh, and there's no clause in the GPL restricting use for only peaceful purposes. Why not stop whining and fork with your own license?

Call it the PPL?

OTOH, the Internet was developed for use of the military _by_ the military, so why not stop using the Internet? Or GPS?

Welcome to the machine!