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FBI subpoenaed Apple for data of Sci-Hub founder

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Re: FBI subpoenaed Apple for data of Sci-Hub founder

#111

Post by majjgepolja »

xNeil wrote: post #32

I'm not sure I understand the concept of paid access to scientific research, so I'd be grateful if someone with more knowledge of the topic could explain it to me. Governments fund universities, people donate large amounts of money to universities, and a large portion of the population has student debt because of how expensive tuition is. Why are they charging for access to research at these institutions then?

It was that previously these publishers were printing and distributing journals, before the internet.

Some of the journals are naturally more prestigious than others. Academics want to publish in these famous journals. The name of journals they publish in carries lot of value for an academic's career. (That's what matters for the big head dudes who manage funds / promotions, they don't understand all these open access stuff.)

Thus, the publisher has a monopoly or oligopoly on high value journals, new open access free as in libre journal cannot establish itself.

Even if you're a well meaning academic who wishes not to contribute to this oligopoly, when you are young you don't want to risk your career. When you're old there are other young people under you and you don't want to risk their career.

The big ~~head~~ belly dudes in positions of power are ones who need to understand this.

Re: FBI subpoenaed Apple for data of Sci-Hub founder

#112

Post by wolverine876 »

slimsag wrote: post #14

Sounds like she's been in hiding since 2015[0]: > Following a 2015 lawsuit brought in the US by the publisher Elsevier, Elbakyan remains in hiding due to the risk of extradition; Elsevier was granted an injunction against her and $15 million in damages. Elbakyan and Sci-Hub were again involved in a US lawsuit in 2017, this time with the American Chemical Society. ACS sued the site for copyright and trademark violatio…

> Following a 2015 lawsuit brought in the US by the publisher Elsevier, Elbakyan remains in hiding due to the risk of extradition ...

The perils of Wikipedia: That statement is cited to a Science article from 2016. If the citation is accurate (never a sure thing), Science's writer probably would have taken her word for it - it's not a investigative journalism organization - and even if that's all true, it's from 5 years ago.

Re: FBI subpoenaed Apple for data of Sci-Hub founder

#113

Post by Krasnol »

designium wrote: post #37
tandav wrote: post #29

“What Happens on your iPhone, Stays on your iPhone” - they said https://i.imgur.com/Dfk34yM.jpg

Unless if you have a backup in iCloud. Anyone with access to your iCloud account could pull that backup.

I wonder how many of those who fell for the ad know that.

Re: FBI subpoenaed Apple for data of Sci-Hub founder

#114

Post by breck »

xNeil wrote: post #32

I'm not sure I understand the concept of paid access to scientific research, so I'd be grateful if someone with more knowledge of the topic could explain it to me. Governments fund universities, people donate large amounts of money to universities, and a large portion of the population has student debt because of how expensive tuition is. Why are they charging for access to research at these institutions then?

Imagine if the tobacco industry convinced the world to call cigarettes "Cancer Reducers", even though they're literally the exact opposite. Now imagine the tobacco industry also bought every single newspaper, tv network, book publisher and media publisher in the world.

That's exactly what has happened with the Copyright/Patent industry. They convinced the world that these should be called "Intellectual Property", even though they are the opposite of property rights.

It's rotten to the very core (like slavery, there is no reasonable term limit—the whole idea should be abolished). About 1% of the population understands the truth (like SciHubs), but the rest go along with what they are told. Understandable, the brainwashing begins young and is pervasive (all Disney children's movies, for example, start with an FBI Warning threatening jail time if you go against the system).

Re: FBI subpoenaed Apple for data of Sci-Hub founder

#115

Post by generalizations »

crumbshot wrote: post #109
crazypython wrote: post #100

Finally, news about a hacker on Hacker News! If you are a hacker, you: - Mistrust authority - Promote decentralization - Share knowledge - Write open-source software - Maintain the infrastructure - Serve humanity - Are curious http://www.catb.org/~esr/faqs/hacker-howto.html

By her own words, in creating and maintaining Sci-Hub, Elbakyan was driven by communist ideals: https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc850001 https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc920674 Interesting to observe how it overlaps with this conception of the hacker spirit. If only the world had many more Alexandra Elbakyans, and fewer Elseviers. Humanity as a whole would be a lot better off without th…

Yeah, like that horrible capitalist company that funded the research lab which invented the transistor, Unix and C. We'd be so much better off without it out its 'capitalist, profit-driven creations'. (AT&T, Bell labs)

/s

Re: FBI subpoenaed Apple for data of Sci-Hub founder

#116

Post by breck »

sonicggg wrote: post #21

Are they looking for people outside Russia that may be helping her? There's not much they can do while she's living there.

Hey FBI, I've emailed her my support. And I'm a U.S. Citizen. I have great respect for the FBI and law enforcement in general, but on this particular issue you can go fuck yourselves.

Going after a woman fighting to ensure all people, rich and poor, have access to the world's scientific information. That is a slap in the face to the American ideals of liberty and the sacrifices that tens of millions of freedom fighting Americans have made for centuries. Open your eyes.

Re: FBI subpoenaed Apple for data of Sci-Hub founder

#118

Post by dartharva »

brjfkgkrnr wrote: post #60
mariuolo wrote: post #2

Not much they can do to her in Russia. I also assume she's smart enough not to keep anything important in her iCloud.

But then again there is a lot Russia can do to her, for example use her as a token in exchange for some US favour at some convenient time.

Doesn't seem very likely. What exactly would the US gain except some face value before "Science Journal" oligarchs (which in itself, doesn't seem valuable)? Sounds like a bad deal if the US ever did any favor for them in exchange of one relatively harmless individual.

Sci-hub likely won't even be hurt if they somehow get Elbakyan. She must have had other people to fall back on for the project, who'll continue to keep the website online.

Re: FBI subpoenaed Apple for data of Sci-Hub founder

#119

Post by viktorcode »

guerrilla wrote: post #55
f311a wrote: post #30

Earlier quoted context omitted.

She lives in Russia and attends some local events. There is no reason to hide if you don’t travel outside of Russia.

I know Russia has no extradition treaty with the US, but do they never extradite for any reason? Hmm, from what I'm reading on Quora "The Russian Constitution protects its own citizens from extradition to a foreign country." Interesting, I didn't know that.

Sometimes they do. There was a scandal some years ago when they extradited an ex-banker, who is a Russian citizen, which was illegal.

Re: FBI subpoenaed Apple for data of Sci-Hub founder

#120

Post by shill4humanity »

staticman2 wrote: post #76
poilcn wrote: post #69

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Sounds offensive that one's compatriots could be given to another country to be put on trial.

Not really. If I murder someone while visiting another country it makes sense I'd face justice in the foreign country, where all the witnesses are. Especially if the legal systems are similar. It becomes more of an issue where one country doesn't trust the legal system of another country.

Brings up a memory of a recent event of an American DUI murder in the UK and leaving before their untrustworthy legal system kicked in.
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