[gst-devel] Mike Hawash and GStreamer

[Erik Walthinsen]

In case you haven't seen it on either the news or slashdot, an Intel
employee/contractor named Maher (Mike) Hawash has been detained without
charge since March 20th in a Federal prison.  Any number of aspects of
this are unconstitutional, starting with the blanket gag order and the
fact that even Mike has not been informed of why he has been detained.

This is of importance to GStreamer developers because I can say with
absolute confidence that without Mike Hawash, GStreamer may well never
have existed, or might have been architected very differently.  Also,
codecs.org may have never existed.

This is because Mike co-authored the book _DirectX, RDX, RSX and MMX
Technology_, I book I have sitting on my shelf in arms reach.  It was a
major reference during the original GStreamer design stages, as I read
through the sections on DirectShow.  It was also *the* book that taught me
how to code MMX.

http://www.freemikehawash.org/

Every developer (and user!) living in the US should contact their
Congressmen and Senators ASAP and request that they look into the reasons
behind Mike's detention (and that of the other 20-40 people in similar
situations, *regardless* of their nature).  Pointing out the
unconstitutional nature of the majority of the "Patriot" Act wouldn't be
such a bad idea either, as it is the most visible aspect of the current
administration's relentless attack on the Constitution and our basic civil
liberties.

      Erik Walthinsen <omega at temple-baptist.com> - System Administrator
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