RE: GPL & commercial software, the critical distinction (fwd)

Forwarded message:

> Date: Wed, 7 Oct 1998 21:52:17 -0400 (EDT)
> From: Ryan Anderson <ryan@michonline.com>
> Subject: RE: GPL & commercial software, the critical distinction (fwd)

> > The Mafia. The handful of world-class coke dealers. Your local church.
> 
> Umm...  both of those are around because the governemtn made the cost of
> delivering both alcohol and drugs prohibitively high,

That's inaccurate. The Mafia pre-dated the US by several hundred years if
not more (depends on how one wants to choose the bloodline). Most
definitely they predated the bans on alcohol.

As to the coke market, In S. America it has been around for quite a while as
well. The chemical has been used medicinaly for hundreds of years until just
recently.


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At 9:59 PM -0500 10/7/98, Jim Choate wrote:
>Forwarded message:
>
>> Date: Wed, 7 Oct 1998 21:52:17 -0400 (EDT)
>> From: Ryan Anderson <ryan@michonline.com>
>> Subject: RE: GPL & commercial software, the critical distinction (fwd)
>
>> > The Mafia. The handful of world-class coke dealers. Your local church.
>>
>> Umm...  both of those are around because the governemtn made the cost of
>> delivering both alcohol and drugs prohibitively high,
>
>That's inaccurate. The Mafia pre-dated the US by several hundred years if

	So what? There was probably a government wherever the started, and
they probably started out providing services that their local government
prohibited.

>not more (depends on how one wants to choose the bloodline). Most
>definitely they predated the bans on alcohol.
>
>As to the coke market, In S. America it has been around for quite a while as
>well. The chemical has been used medicinaly for hundreds of years until just
>recently.

	Which says nothing about whether it was/is a government sponsored/
protected monopoly.
--
"To sum up: The entire structure of antitrust statutes in this country is a
jumble of economic irrationality and ignorance. It is a product: (a) of a
gross misinterpretation of history, and (b) of rather nave, and certainly
unrealistic, economic theories." Alan Greenspan, "Anti-trust"
http://www.ecosystems.net/mgering/antitrust.html

Petro::E-Commerce Adminstrator::Playboy Ent.
Inc.::petro@playboy.com::petro@bounty.org

> > > The Mafia. The handful of world-class coke dealers. Your local church.
> > 
> > Umm...  both of those are around because the governemtn made the cost of
> > delivering both alcohol and drugs prohibitively high,
> 
> That's inaccurate. The Mafia pre-dated the US by several hundred years if
> not more (depends on how one wants to choose the bloodline). Most
> definitely they predated the bans on alcohol.

Oh, that's right.  I was thiking Mob.  I don't know enough Mafia history
to make an agument either way there, honestly.

> As to the coke market, In S. America it has been around for quite a while as
> well. The chemical has been used medicinaly for hundreds of years until just
> recently.

Those were monopolistic markets?  If not, you're forgetting the whole
basis of the discussion.


Ryan Anderson 
PGP fp: 7E 8E C6 54 96 AC D9 57  E4 F8 AE 9C 10 7E 78 C9

Could you guys _please_ change the subject lines to match what you are
talking about, when the thread strays from the original subject lines
topic.

It slows one down to have to scan further than subject fields.  Why
are you using subject fields about `GPL software' to discuss
monopolies / minarchy etc., interesting tho' these discussions may be,
please lable the subject line accordingly!

Thanks,

Adam

Jim and others:

> That's inaccurate. The Mafia pre-dated the US by several hundred years if
> not more (depends on how one wants to choose the bloodline). Most
> definitely they predated the bans on alcohol.
> 
> As to the coke market, In S. America it has been around for quite a while as
> well. The chemical has been used medicinaly for hundreds of years until just
> recently.