Baldaur Regis 's Techdirt Comments

Latest Comments (609)

• On the post: Gun Manufacturer Files Highly Speculative Lawsuit Against Forum Owners For Allegedly Libelous Statements

  

  Baldaur Regis ( profile ), 20 Feb, 2014 @ 11:31am

  Proof Positive

  The Amended Complaint referenced above proves that it is in fact possible to stuff 15 pounds of bullshit into a ten pound sack.

• On the post: Dangerous Ruling In Germany Makes Domain Registrar Liable For Copyright Infringement On Website It Registered

  

  Baldaur Regis ( profile ), 14 Feb, 2014 @ 07:19am

  Re:

  It's both nice and horrible to see other countries have their own East Texas.

• On the post: MPAA Head Chris Dodd: I'm Willing To Discuss Copyright Reform As Long As Nothing Changes

  

  Baldaur Regis ( profile ), 11 Feb, 2014 @ 12:11pm

  Re: Re:

  Or in other words, there are "scary" quotes:

  If we don't drop The Bomb on those Rooskis, they're gonna "reeducate" our daughters.

  There are "satirical" quotes:

  Chris Dodd is a "reasonable" man who only has the best interests of "mankind" in mind.

  And then there are the quotes that ALTER REALITY ITSELF:

  Stanley enjoyed watching performance art on his neighbor's Betamax.

  Stanley enjoyed "watching" "performance art" on his neighbor's "Betamax".

  They're the scariest quotes of all.

• On the post: Claims About Snowden's 'Harms' Based On Two Assumptions Unlikely To Be True

  

  Baldaur Regis ( profile ), 11 Feb, 2014 @ 09:27am

  Re: Re: Snowden's documents

  But 'mad, insane, paranoid cooks' is funnier...stet :)

• On the post: MPAA Head Chris Dodd: I'm Willing To Discuss Copyright Reform As Long As Nothing Changes

  

  Baldaur Regis ( profile ), 11 Feb, 2014 @ 10:33am

  Technology needs content, and content needs technology.

  Chris Dodd's worldview is distorted by the cynical company he keeps, where technology is seen only as a vehicle for pushing content to "consumers". Technology does not need content; tech is quite capable of generating content on its own. Does content need tech? It depends on the content, of course - a capella singing obviously doesn't need it, but enabling that moment to persist does.

• On the post: Pioneering French Electronic Artist Thinks Creative Industry Should Get '$300-400' Of Each Smartphone Sale

  

  Baldaur Regis ( profile ), 10 Feb, 2014 @ 09:24am

  A Question Occurs...

  Would an artist-creator-extraordinary human have to pay these fees?
  
  Just how does one become an a-c-eh anyway? Is there a test?
  
  Maybe being recognized as an a-c-eh is a matter of success. But what if you measure your awesomeness by how poorly your work is received? That's artistic, isn't it?
  
  Or maybe it's just being called an a-c-eh by someone else. Does a brother-in-law qualify? If your dog thinks you're cool, it that enough?

• On the post: DRM Is The Right To Make Up Your Own Copyright Laws

  

  Baldaur Regis ( profile ), 06 Feb, 2014 @ 11:47am

  Re: What, you mean like unintended consequences?

  For those who don't know, Adobe recently announced changes to their e-book DRM scheme, which would have had the effect of disabling older e-readers unable to update their software. Although Adobe itself backed off this draconian mandate, it merely pushed the timeline for implementation onto resellers and publishers, who, it should be noted, have a vested interest in making current e-books unusable in order to sell "new" versions.

• On the post: Olympic Athletes Told To Cover Apple Logos On Devices So Apple Doesn't Get Any Free Promotion

  

  Baldaur Regis ( profile ), 06 Feb, 2014 @ 12:06pm

  Any word on what brand is going to be the Official Olympics Censoring Tape? Gosh yes but I need some of that mojo for my kids.

• On the post: Virginia Court Says Domain Names Are Not Property

  

  Baldaur Regis ( profile ), 04 Feb, 2014 @ 09:03am

  Re: The quantum nature of domain names

  So...if you put Schrodinger's cat and a domain name in a box, you can never know if the cat pooped on the domain name?

• On the post: New Zealand Spy Agency Deleted Evidence About Its Illegal Spying On Kim Dotcom

  

  Baldaur Regis ( profile ), 04 Feb, 2014 @ 12:50pm

  "We're not a rogue agency, we're just criminally incompetent."

  Yeah. That's not going to work out as well as they may like.

• On the post: Virginia Court Says Domain Names Are Not Property

  

  Baldaur Regis ( profile ), 04 Feb, 2014 @ 08:35am

  The Virginia Supreme Court confirmed in Network Solutions that neither telephone numbers nor domain names were garnishable personal property because "neither one exists separate from its respective service that created it."

  This may have been true in the days of Ma Bell, when phone numbers were assigned, but with number portability (i.e., your number is transferable to different carriers) and with domain names since the beginning, the respective services are not creating or assigning the numbers/names so much as they are registering them.

• On the post: Night Of First Ed Snowden Story, Streets In Front Of Guardian's NY Office & Home Of Its US Editor Suddenly Dug Up

  

  Baldaur Regis ( profile ), 03 Feb, 2014 @ 12:06pm

  Re:

  When the French swear at you, it's poetry; when the British swear at you, it's education.

• On the post: Night Of First Ed Snowden Story, Streets In Front Of Guardian's NY Office & Home Of Its US Editor Suddenly Dug Up

  

  Baldaur Regis ( profile ), 03 Feb, 2014 @ 08:25am

  That evening, diggers arrived and tore up the sidewalk immediately in front of the Guardian's US office, a mysterious activity for a Wednesday night.

  Couldn't the government have found a cheaper, less labor-intensive way to intimidate, like just knocking on the door? For make no mistake, this was a black op, as evinced by the next line:

  With smooth efficiency, they replaced it.

  Were this a legitimate job, the sidewalk would have been a mess for at least 'two weeks', a flexible length of time in contractor-speak which means 'when the money runs out'.

• On the post: Canadian Spy Agency Tracking Users Of Free WiFi At Airports, Hotels, Coffee Shops & Libraries

  

  Baldaur Regis ( profile ), 31 Jan, 2014 @ 11:49am

  "I mean that could have been me at the airport walking around? This resembles the activities of a totalitarian state, not a free and open society." -Ontario's privacy commissioner Ann Cavoukian

  Pshaw. If airports were really totalitarian, the fucking airlines would run on time.
  
  Also, it's common knowledge the "Five Eyes" members are all infected with STD (Surveillance Technology Disorder). Shoulda used a rubber, Canada.

• On the post: Hollywood Screenwriters Worry About Aggressive Copyright Enforcement And Threats To An Open Internet

  

  Baldaur Regis ( profile ), 29 Jan, 2014 @ 12:08pm

  Contrast this writer's group (which according to Wikipedia, is a labor union) with another - the Authors Guild (which, again according to Wikipedia, is a "not-for-profit American organization of and for authors").
  
  While both groups purport to represent writers, their attitudes towards the implementation of copyright could not be more different. This paper by the WGA shows a practical and nuanced acknowledgement of the way the world is, rather than the "All infringers must die!" ravings of the Authors Guild, the MPAA/RIAA and others.
  
  It's almost like they want to reach the widest possible audience. Huh.

• On the post: New York Times Suffers Redaction Failure, Exposes Name Of NSA Agent And Targeted Network In Uploaded PDF

  

  Baldaur Regis ( profile ), 28 Jan, 2014 @ 11:41am

  I somehow doubt the inadvertent naming of an NSA employee responsible for preparing PowerPoint slides carries the same emotional loading as the rather breathless declaration that:

  It?s finally happened. The name of an NSA agent has been accidentally leaked to the public via an NSA document stolen by Edward Snowden.

  ...unless that employee was working out of a rathole in Iraq, smuggling dangerous presentation materials out of the country by shoving up his bum, in which case I'd have to ask, what, they don't have affordable office space in New Jersey or some other comparable american rathole?

• On the post: Before Snowden, Nixon Admin Pioneered Evidence-Free 'Russian Spy' Smears Against Daniel Ellsberg

  

  Baldaur Regis ( profile ), 22 Jan, 2014 @ 11:08am

  Nixon lived in the sweaty nightmare world of a paranoiac; he came by his attitudes honestly. Rogers is just a cynical, paid-for politician who will be working for some aspect of the defense industry once he leaves office.

• On the post: Little Evidence Of 'Infringement Risk' For 'Copyright Intensive' Companies

  

  Baldaur Regis ( profile ), 09 Jan, 2014 @ 11:55am

  Re: There will always be these claims

  Well, yes, but do remember the average person lacks critical thinking and just accepts the authoritative word...but we've beaten that horse to death already.

• On the post: FBI Admits It's Not Really About Law Enforcement Any More; Ignores Lots Of Crimes To Focus On Creating Fake Terror Plots

  

  Baldaur Regis ( profile ), 06 Jan, 2014 @ 11:53am

  Before: Follow the money to catch the crooks.
  
  After: Follow the money to catch the gravy train.

• On the post: Court Says Team Prenda 'Flat-Out Lied' To Court; Hits Them With $261k More In Attorneys' Fees To Pay Up

  

  Baldaur Regis ( profile ), 27 Nov, 2013 @ 03:05pm

  ...several other federal courts have found Duffy, Steele, and Hansmeier to be in cahoots. (p.7)

  [Hansmeier and Steele] both flat-out lied about their association with Prenda Law, Inc....(p.10)

  Liars in cahoots...throw in some gratuitous nudity and you've got yourself a movie.

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