Bug 647959 – Add Honest Achmed's root certificate (2011)
bugzilla.mozilla.org
bugzilla.mozilla.org
GitHub has a script for DynDNS using the Gandi API: https://github.com/jasontbradshaw/gandi-dyndns
You can update your IP with curl!
Signed, The guy who marked that bug report invalid.
At the current moment, it is questionable why some CAs – TURKTRUST comes to mind – are considered trustworthy, when they are barely more trustworthy than your random street dealer.
A wildcard cert for example.com covers any <bucketname>.example.com our users create. Going round trip on requesting and issuing certs for each bucket would add significant delays.
Edit: Appears to be a parody of Comodo issuing rogue certs. More - http://www.scmagazine.com/experts-weigh-in-on-comodo-ssl-cer...
(the same could be said about used car salesmen... but i am not one of those)
this rubs me up a bit wrong... as humorous as the intent is.
if we call him tommy he is english, hans and he is german, pierre and he is french... achmed is the arab, with a badly spelled name out of ignorance to boot.
It's also fine if it "seems racist" to you - another opportunity, to see if it actually is. In this case, it isn't; if anything, it's making a joke in the opposite direction, as other comments point out.
And it looks like it's racist because, honestly, it is actually a little racist. Don't get me wrong, after reading about Comodo I get why they went with Arabic names, but that doesn't mean it's not still racist. The actual satire could have worked without the racism, and yes, racism can be funny in the right contexts. But none of that means that it's not actually racist at some level. And it's better to acknowledge that, yes, it's a little racist, than it is to try and claim that it's not.
People do have this name[1][2] so it's not exactly a misspelling. Not a very common one though.
[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ahmad#Other_spellings
[2] http://hamariweb.com/names/muslim/arabic/boy/achmed-meaning_...
1.) never seen an arab transliterate the name this way. ahmed, ahmad and akhmed... but the k tends to symbolise a different letter (and sound) present in the arabic too. (so this turns out to be a flawed piece of thinking)
2.) the first time i saw this spelling was as 'achmed the dead terrorist', which has biased me. (p.s. i find that very funny, and i think the difference is that the comedian is specifically mocking a group of people who definitely exist vs. using an arab name to imply terrorism [or dishonesty or incompetence... or anything])
i'm sure its not meant with any particular ill will towards arabs, but i can't shake that feeling that this is some casual racism...
First, if it was "Honest Steve", I assume you wouldn't see it as racist? Or "Honest Mary", the same? If so, how about "Honest Vinnie"? Is it only when the name suggests a specific ethnic or racial group that it feels racist to you? Only certain such groups?
That actually reveals a bigger problem. If "Steve" and "Mary" are 'normal' names, but "Achmed" (and maybe "Vinnie") is 'weird'/'noticeable' to you, then that's a hidden assumption that "normal" = "white middle class American". That's not good.
The second major issue is that there's a subtext to this joke. The joke is that no one in the US would call a new CA "Honest Achmed", precisely because it looks... odd. In other words, the joke is on the people that find it odd - including the same people that think it might be a racist joke. That it feels 'odd' is wrong; it shouldn't. But in our society, it does feel odd. That's not the joke being racist - that's society being biased. When you call the joke racist, you're completely missing the point, and shooting the messenger.
Am I saying stuff like this can never be racist? Of course not. It could easily be. If a TV show always picks a black person for the "random criminal of the week", that's racist. Likewise, if every time we needed a random name of "new CA" it was an Arab-sounding one, that would be racist. In other words, the pattern matters. When a TV show or a recurring joke constantly focuses on one group, for no reason, that's very possibly wrong.
But of course, we don't constantly use Arab names for "new CA" jokes. There isn't such a pattern. This is just a one-off joke. One that actually makes fun of the racism you're worried about.
Worrying about racism is a good thing. But seeing racism where it isn't is not, it's the opposite.
i'm not entirely comfortable that this bothers me given the seemingly innocent intent either... but it does. the joke is as much on it being 'honest' as it is 'achmed' from my perspective... and thats a bit off.
Context matters - and this context, of technologists discussing the security posture of a web browser, is heavily dominated by your "white middle class American".
"Honest Steve" might well have racist overtones in a different context, one where Steve can be used as a shorthand for a stereotypical outsider. And "Honest Achmed" wouldn't on, say, the streets of Cairo.
I'm not shooting the messenger, because I'm not shooting anybody. Calling out casual racism as I see it should not be construed as a personal attack on the speaker, because it is both unintentional and so pervasive.
That's not the joke being racist - that's society being biased. When you call the joke racist, you're completely missing the point, and shooting the messenger.
So are Irish Jokes are just a clever way of pointing out ingrained societal racism, too? I don't think so.
EDIT: To be clear I'm not condoning casual racism. It's just that while I wasn't aware of a middle eastern stereotype about sleezy used car sales, I was aware of the one no one mentioned about the uncles which was pretty much direct.
"you thieving arab" etc.
it think its there due to piracy and the barbary wars... as a guess
i also think i am the only one who really took any issue, and its half-hearted at best. i know i shouldn't be offended - but i am.
its all subjective though.
the point i was aiming at, and obviously missed, is that what he does with the dead terrorist puppet, whist obviously a very strong stereotype, playing on other stereotypes, doesn't offend me like this does.
the more i try and rationalise this irrational emotional response, the more i am convinced it is the implications. there is something prejudiced about claiming that arab terrorists are arabs and terrorists, but its by definition the case. so lampooning the concept on that idea, whilst it looks like it should be offensive on the surface, really is not... but there is definitely something wrong about using stereotypical 'arab' names to enhance a perception of dishonesty as part of a joke trying to make a point about who you should trust, and who you should not.
at least compared to guys like chris rock, bill hicks, george carlin, richard pryor etc. to list some really great american comics...
although i apologise if i missed the mark. humour is very subjective. everyone has their own ideas about what is and isn't. :)
There's a benign interpretation too -- the author might protest that it's America, and there are plenty of flim-flammers of all races. But it's insensitive, and the post could've been equally funny without invoking the stereotype.
In another context besides a global community of open source programmers and users, it might be OK.
Edit: I have kids, they get home crying, because people call them this or that. So, it's time to grow up.
p.s. I am doing this as I wind down after a long day of productive work. I wouldn't assume that anyone browsing HN places particular value on the discussion here beyond its own intrinsic value... its certainly not wasting my precious few moments.
(pps. i did not downvote, but upvoted, because conflicting and honest opinions are vital to healthy discussion, and yours is perfectly valid imo).
Racism is not rational. You feeling offended could have more to do with your own prejudice being exposed (the joke worked) than feeling sorry for the arabs that may have been offended by this (there is, as of yet, no sign pointing to that).
Humor uses stereotypes. That's why the owner of the Kwik-E-Mart is an Indian illegal immigrant named Apu Nahasapeemapetilon. If such humor makes one uncomfortable, do you really think that is out of empathy for the Indians? I think it is more likely that one has a thin skin or does not want to see their own stereotypes confirmed.
Also the context is important here (see the Comodo Hacker). The choice for a foreign name and an untrustworthy-sounding business name was not willy-nilly. Finally: Have a hacker tip of the day https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bAQqrnX7BsM
i think apu's name is a joke on the exceptionally long names of sri lankans... and yes, it is casually racist - or at least pokes fun at a nationality if not a race (whatever the case, its not a good joke imo).
+1 for video.
First of all, it's not casual. It's not an offhand, unintended remark that nonetheless reveals a hidden negative bias. Apu's name was very deliberately - the opposite of casually - chosen by the show creators.
Second of all, it's not racist. The name, by itself, imports nothing negative about Apu. It does not say Apu is inferior, nor does it show an intention of harm against Apu.
What does the name do? It shows an interesting human difference, that in some cultures, it is common to have much longer names than in others. The name points that out, and to most viewers that is amusing because they aren't used to such names. Their culture's average name length is far shorter.
But there is nothing positive nor negative about having a shorter or a longer name. Apu's name isn't making a negative statement about Apu - unless you have a bias against long names / south Asian names. If you do, then Apu is just directing your attention to your own bias.
"Hey, this reads as a bit racist to me" isn't really "crying to mommy/daddy", it's expressing an opinion on the text. Legislating what is and isn't an appropriate (ie, "not oversensitive") opinion on a text is counterproductive.
> I have kids, they get home crying, because people call them this or that. So, it's time to grow up.
The "sticks and stones" argument, really? How about you call the next black person you see the N-word and then tell them to grow up when s/he becomes 'sensitive'.
In my home country (Bulgaria), black people are called the N-word officially and I haven't seen any black person having issues with that. If I knew any black people, I wouldn't mind telling them what I think about words and stuff, trust me! Now, a different story - Turks during the Turkish Slavery of the Balkans were calling us giaours [0], which is undoubtedly derogatory, but, no Christians were calling themselves "giaours" like it is the case with the N-word. Do you see my point?
I think the author of the bug was British. If you look at the user agent line at the top of the bug, the culture is "en-GB", and the phrase "who knows a bit about computers" sounds like British (or possibly Indian) English.
There's also the time stamp. When the bug was submitted, it was 4:31 AM in Alabama, but 10:31 AM in Greenwich.
But then the joke is on you I guess
That's part of the joke!! :D You see, (imho) this means to attack our poor security, not your sensibilities. It plays on (y)our social programming to add an element of ^^terror boogy-men^^ wooooo... that peddlers of this security industry and their friends sell us on, though those in connected industries use much more physical "protections". (again imho) We need to get past this `cultureA v. cultureB` etc as anything but a con, worth only ridicule, scorn, and occasionally humor.
That doesn't mean stock characters can't be offensive or racist of course, but in this case I don't think joke is at the expense of the Arab people in general.