halcy.de v4 » Version four-point-oh and counting.Two weeks!

This little application, which runs via inetd (Like so:

ident           stream  tcp     nowait  halcyon /usr/bin/identd

) returns the same username on any ident request.

PROS:

• Works behind NAT
• Probably free of exploitable bugs

CONS:

• Kind of misses the point of having an identd in the first place
• Utterly useless except for epeen

So, without further ado (Compile like you would any C app):

include <stdio.h>
#include <string.h>
#define USERNAME "ordinary_magician"

int main() {
  char buf[4096], *p;
  if (fgets(buf, sizeof(buf), stdin)) {
    if ((p = strpbrk(buf, "\r\n"))) {
      *p = 0;
    }
    printf("%s : USERID : UNIX : %s\r\n", buf, USERNAME);
  }
  return 0;
}

Today is German unity day, and this year, the fall of the Anti-Fascist Protection Wall Berlin wall turns 20. A good day to look back to the events that lead there, a triumph for peaceful protest.

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6. November 1989: A draft of a new law concerning travelling abroad from the DDR is published and draws lots of criticism.

7. November 1989: In response to the criticism, the government of the DDR decides to bring the passing of a law about permanently leaving the DDR forward.

9. November 1989: A new draft of the law is put forward by the government. The ministry of justice complains about the draft, so a few hasty changes are made before Günter Schabowski, member of the SED polit bureau, holds a press conference on it. In the press conference, Schabowski announces: “So, we decided to allow every citizen to leave via the border crossings of the DDR”

9. November 1989, ~19:00: A journalist asks Schabowski when this new law goes into effect, Schabowski answers “To the best of my knowledge, immediately.”. Being asked if this also applies to Berlin, he answers: “The departure can occur via all crossings of the DDR to the BRD or West Berlin”

Based on this, west German radio and TV instantly start broadcasting that the wall is “open”. Acting on this, several thousand people from eastern Berlin march to the wall, demanding it’s immediate opening, despite the threat of being thrown into jail or shot. At this point, none of the officers in charge of the wall have any idea what is going on.

9. November 1989, ~21:20: To reduce the threat presented by the huge amount of people, several east germans are allowed to leave the DDR at Bornholmer Straße crossing.

9. November 1989, ~21:30: The radio station RIAS broadcasts reports of people crossing the border. More and more people flock to the border crossings.

9. November 1989, ~23:30 The chief of the east german border protection troops, fearing for the security of his men, opens the border crossing Bornholmer Straße completely and suspends the control of papers usually associated with leaving the DDR.

9. November 1989, ~24:00: All border crossings in Berlin are now open.

10. November 1989, morning: People wake up, realize the border is open. More and more people cross the border, being given a warm welcome by west germans. Many bars in the vicinity spontaneously decide to hand out free beer. Hugging, family reunions, physical tearing down of parts of the wall.

24. Dezember 1989: Citizens of west Berlin are officially allowed to visit the DDR whenever they like, without a visa.

1. Juli 1990: All border crossings are completely opened, all controls are suspended. The Berlin wall has officially fallen.

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20 years since the wall fell means 20 years of a free, united Germany, dedicated to the welfare of it’s people, to the european idea and to human rights.

I find being proud of ones country silly, as country is not something one chooses, and thus not a personal achievement to be proud of. I am, however, happy to be able to live here in Germany, and I want to do whatever I can to ensure that, in the future, Germany is a place where I can live, with a society I want to live in.

Go Germany.