Illychnosis's comments

Three years in the belly of the beast is enough to make one a lifer. In reading his work, it's quite obvious that his sympathies are with the power of his former employer, not with the rights of the individual.

It's a hazard of going corporate: Corporate becomes more important than people.

"The main thing is to have a soul that loves the truth and harbours it where he finds it. And another thing: truth requires constant repetition, because error is being preached about us all the time, and not only by isolated individuals but by the masses. In the newspapers and encyclopedias, in schools and universities, everywhere error rides high and basks in the consciousness of having the majority on its side."

-Goethe

Not the point. You had claimed he wasn't associated with the DoJ.

He got the GW Law gig, in part, because of his prosecutorial duties at DoJ. So his salary does somewhat depend on his not understanding that the problem was the DoJ, not Aaron.

"From 1998 to 2001, he was employed as an Honors Program trial attorney in the Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section of the United States Department of Justice Criminal Division."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orin_Kerr

People like Orin Kerr are part of the problem. Anyone associated with the DoJ can't see that the DoJ is the problem, not the Aaron Swartzes of the world.

"It is difficult to get a man to understand something, when his salary depends upon his not understanding it."

-Upton Sinclair

> As a former defense attorney, I would have loved it if jury nullification was intentionally designed into the system.

Jury nullification is part of law. Design is the part that dictates that you, as a defense attorney, cannot inform juries of their power. The prosecutors certainly won't.

Every American jury has the power* to ignore the law and make their own verdict if they decide that's how justice would be served.

Last year, it became part of New Hampshire law to protect the right of the defense to inform juries of their power:

http://reason.com/blog/2012/06/29/new-hampshire-adopts-jury-...

*edit: changed "right" to "power"

> A court cannot let someone walk after a crime simply because the law itself is unjust.

Incorrect. That's what the power of jury nullification is for. It's been ensconced in Western law for centuries:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Lilburne

Aaron only committed a crime worthy of severe punishment if one takes the point of view of the Crown...I mean, of the government.

The focus is and should be on fanatical public employees that have an overinflated sense of their importance.

Aaron was worth 100 Federal prosecutors.

It's a big deal in that it hasn't been corrected yet. It looks like a diss.

I never met Aaron but I admired his work and his spirit.

I'm a little sad there's nothing on the front page of Reddit about Aaron yet.

Ah. I see what you're saying now. Yes, Coinbase has an easier entry than Bitpay does.

Coinbase wants a link to a bank account in order to buy bitcoins. How is that less intrusive?

Bitcoin will be at $20 by the end of 2013. Great move on the part of all the principals involved in this deal.

This is a great idea:

"Your Private Inbox

Only you can access this inbox by returning to this web site using the same browser or by saving the link for this page. Others are not able to read your mail."

Props to the progger/designer.