G Thompson's Favorite Techdirt Posts Of The Week
from the without-a-u dept
Well here it is again, the favorite (without a U) Techdirt post of the week, brought to you by the one and only me, (and not U), G Thompson from that land down under, Australia, where the brave fear to tread, mainly because we make U appear in color, flavor, and favor on pain of eating Vegemite. ;)
All through this week there was a heap of articles about that new acronym of geek protesters everywhere in the USA, CISPA. I'm not going to write about it much, more than enough has been written about it here this week, so forgive me if I skip over it. In fact, to tell the truth, originally I thought it actually meant "Congress Insidiously Spying on the Privacy of Americans", before someone told me the correct meaning. Then again, maybe my first guess wasn't far from the truth either.
Sunday started off with a song and marketing show with Facebook's new favorite person, Dan Bull, that I "liked".
On Monday though, a squad of BlackLight agents were looking into the retransmission of the ultraviolet spectrum, whilst across town the accountants of Facebook wondered how much money they could give Microsoft because they really wanted those shiny, though now used, things so they too can play in The Band, though only if Reddit isn't invited. No one is quite sure about the loyalty of DropBox to the clique either now.
At the same time, [** these words removed by Australian Government **] held talks, though thankfully this ensured the venue's rental agreement they had was voidable and removed all context from anything understandable let alone patentable. Confused? Don't worry 50 Cent is as well and it's no less confusing than not wanting warrant's . Luckily this confusion did not affect any robots.
Tuesday had trolls everywhere hugging and blowing kisses to be accepted by Valve. Toronto residents became the privileged few allowed to pay for any graffiti complaints. Captain Obvious flies in to make a surprise appearance at the EU Court of Justice, though the US already knew his flight details from Monday.
The world was informed that when we are alone with our computers we are lonely and alone. Who knew? Probably these Hollywood statisticians who it seems love to debate maths. Maybe the knowledge was instead locked away in a genetic memory found in someone’s virtual fantasy of entitlement. They better make sure that's a new fantasy and not a re-used one though.
In other world news, the French unban and then tweet about 70 year old encryption technology and wonder if it will work better than Hadopi does, while Kenya's High Court sends a huge hakuna matata to generic drug manufacturers. Oh and shocking news was received that someone has breached copyright by criticising Rush Limbaugh.. uhuh.
Wednesday had head bangers being changed by the tubes, though Slayer and Gaming still rocks, unless you are actually slaying after playing games, or so noobs say. The Data protection wizard of Europe then annoyed the Land of the Free by decreeing that freedom is important , whilst Jimmy Wales states that Hollywood isn't free nor important. Rumblefish announced their new marketing strategy of claiming copyright that third parties tell them about and in homegrown news the Techdirt community tries to define what copyfraud is or isn’t, and something about fair use.
Thursday starts with 2,514 cries of "Doe" heard starting a new hunting/fishing season for another trollish entity in Florida. The UK takes a stand against twits on twitter, whilst someone in the SEC wakes up and smells the tea in China. Meanwhile paintings everywhere are being blacked out to protect them from the insidious moving picture cameras which might suck out their cultural souls. Over in Australia nerfers are raining down missiles on Hasbro for its latest campaign to collect addresses and send nothing but air and lawyers.
I think think the happenings this week were enough keep everyone occupied, especially if you also had to read the months worth of privacy policies it seems you need too nowadays, and that’s even before knowing what Google Drive is doing with all your content. I suspect someone will try to patent a software system to do all this for us someday. Now there's an idea.
Where did Friday go you might be wondering. Well my Friday is your Thursday, therefore my Saturday is your Friday and sadly that timey wimey International date thingy gets in the way. So instead you can either comment about Friday's posts below in the comments or just pretend like me that Fridays don't exist.
Hang on, that's Mondays.



(untitled comment)
Stuff patents..
I wanna be like Slartibartfast and just own the copyright on a planet.. or even it's fjords ;)
Re:
Thanks!
My sarcasm meter just blew up..
*grumbles*
Re: Re: Re: actually the entire situation is 100% false
That's not fair.
There is a potential for him knowing, not knowing, or somewhere in between.
;)
Re: Re: WHY IS NONE EVER SUED INTO OBLIVION FOR THIS BEHAVIOR??
Actually due to the fact that a DMCA is written with the caveat of perjury attached to it and that the writer actually signs that they understand that. The notion that they do not carry out the due diligence that all reasonable persons associate with that oath (and yes it is an oath) is not a defence on face.
Perjury though has never been charged, or if it has it has been dropped and not recorded publicly. The courts need to step up to the plate here since perjury by definition is a contemptuous action toward the court.
In the real world I do not see this happening until at such time someone with the financial ability and public impact makes the court do this within the USA.
Though interestingly the same DMCA's are being sent worldwide, which though the DMCA itself is not legally binding, the oath of intent under perjury laws is within each separate jurisdiction. It could be interesting for someone to take this up with their local judiciary, in fact I have a mind to do this exact thing myself. Oh and the actual person signing it is the perjurer, no personal immunities exist just because they were doing it as company representative or as agent or even as legal counsel either.
Could be interesting
Re: Re: Re: You all have been rick'rolled...
what are you blabbering about?
Since All i get out of your two comments is that Everything that anybody should be talking about whether contextually wrong to or totally off topic is and should be ACTA and how it is going to affect the EU, World, universe if not every utterance is about it.
There is more blematic things of social and ethical import occuring on the planet than what ACTA et.al is all about also people have the ability to multitask about different things at once plus also leading a happy and productive life. This involves having fun, being immature, enjoying life and not letting one problem (even if of major import on ONE field) control everything they do.
Take a breath, sit back, enjoy something and then put effort into ACTA etc.. But if you are dedicating more than 50% of your life/thoughts to this then you really need to stop or the stress's will kill you.
Re: Re: Troll them hard!
Now and henceforth I deem that thou art to be referred to as
"Anonymous Coward of Esteemed Trolling"
There is no physical award nor any other benefit that goes with this title other than the knowledge that you are a troll amongst trolls and of course that warm tingling feeling you get in your pants when you read your title.
+1.0^12 Trolling and Rickroll points to you!
Re: anonymous commenters comments on registered commenters
Not being American I am absolutely NOT for the US constitution, instead I prefer the Worldwide UN Human Rights..
Though if you think being called an Anonymous Coward is a TD invention you are very deluded.
If you think having a report button and then the hiding of that (via Javascript only which can be turned off and low and behold not hidden) is also censorship you are a fool.
If you think anyone really gives a flying toss whether you actually register or not, and then want to whine about the process or call the waambulance on a site you allegedly state that "you love" you are an idiot.
Stating that you think that there is a black and white closed answer to whether anyone who reads, comments, or anything else on Techdirt is either for the US constitution (your US-centric nature is showing) or not leads me and others to believe and understand that you in fact a foolish deluded idiot.
Re:
I think he is somehow trying to represent the film, that doesn't exist as yet, whilst trying to figure out how to incorporate some alleged defamation of one of the financial backers (who aren't his clients) and how there can be no ties between any of them including himself(???) and the movie with drugs - whilst also explaining about the actual ties with the money laundering that comes from drugs that the movie was originally backed with and how he cannot spell.
or something seriously weird like that
Re: This is probably a troll
If you want to see how unreadable and incomprehensible lawyers can be I present to you the following Cease & Desist from Howard Schechte of "Howard Roy Schechter Attorneys" in California [bit down the page]
http://www.regretsy.com/2012/04/24/update-ecologica-malibu/
and then the absolutely amazing reply by Ken White
http://www.regretsy.com/2012/04/25/no-you-cease-and-desist/
with the best quote ever (other than "snort my taint") of “The rest of your letter relies on vague and bumptious legal threats buried amongst misspellings, bizarre malapropisms, misstatements of law and gibberish.”
Re: Re: Re:
Sorry, you're (happy grammar fairy from above???) absolutely a fuckwit, especially since cunt's are useful
Re:
Here have $0.01
Now..
Your a fuckwit!
There.. 1 cent well spent!
(untitled comment)
If Judge >= Software
andif Argument == Strawman
then Lawyer == null;
Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re:
That makes as much sense as saying you comment as an AC because it's against your religion to do otherwise.
ie: NONE!
If you have this strange idea that a pseudonym would get back to you as a professional person becasue of some sort of fear that a court order might draw your postings out in a discovery, then you really need to know that this can already occur, it just takes a few more steps in the data mining phase thats all.
Here's a hint, make up some weird acronym or random lipsum comment and use that as a pseudonym. Remember it so you can log in since you might be paranoid about cookies too and everyone would be happy, until then your views are basically worth less than someone who though anonymous using a pseudonym (unless they out themselves) ha at least some providence of historical usage to back up their knowledge and expertise.
Re: Re: Yet another reason why
Absolutely, but perjury - in the USA anyway - is one of those crimes that seems to come with a rebuttable presumption if the defendant has lots of money and an irrebuttable presumption if the defendant is employed by a government authority.
Or so it seems anyway.. Any US attorneys want to prove me wrong?
Re: Re: Re:
Bingo!
Re:
Both the doctrine/maxim of presumption of innocence (the Romans referred to it as Ei incumbit probatio qui dicit, non qui negat - Proof lies on him who asserts, not on him who denies) and the doctrine of natural justice (procedural fairness) are absolutely NOT USA legal precepts.
They are in fact doctrines of legal concepts that have been around for millenia, even before the EU ratified the UN HR decleration, before the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen (France, 1789), Magna Carta, Blackstone's ratio, etc etc.
For the TPP to actually have this in it and expect any country to uphold that part would and should be struck down as ultra vires by all higher courts.
Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Catholic Church finds more Butthurt in Australia
Oh grow up and get a bit of common sense.
And No I don't doubt one little iota that you would ever take orders from myself, or anyone that has a smattering of understanding about your ideological stance, I have dealt with your type before. Though you do amuse me at the moment.
I was not taking a hot-shot towards the Church, I was taking a shot against the stupidity of the Cardinals Public Relations team allowing him the opportunity to debate what to Catholicism is non-debatable. As you are probably aware from your own many 'debates' against people who don't agree with your world view, or don't actually believe in your god (or any gods for that matter) they normally are highly educated on not just part of your religion/ideology but all parts and other ideologies as well. The Abrahamic religions (Christianity, Judaism, Muslim) are basically all the same at their fundamental roots. Richard Dawkins wasn't talking about the Catholic church (or Christianity even, and definitely not about the alleged, and proven, sexual predators that the church's have had work for them. Instead the debate if you had the inkling to actually READ and click links on what I posted, it was about the differences of Atheism versus ALL religions.
Personally I have no qualms with the Catholic Church any more than I have with any other faith based ideologies. As long as they and their followers don't try to force their so called "moral" behaviour onto myself or others that don't want it - they can do their own thing. As soon as they do though, watch it. Then I will become their worse nightmare.
Basically this is not the forum for this sort of debate/analysis/whatever and to tell the truth I have better things to do than spend my time constantly defending ethics and laws from those who don't seem to grasp the basic concept of human freedom and the concept that societal mores change over time.
Re: Re: Re: Catholic Church finds more Butthurt in Australia
Please explain what your comment has to do with defamation or anything else in context with the above comments, or the article in question.
That's right it doesn't, it's just more ad-hominem attacks by some freak of a troll, stalker or both.
Please take your religious fervour some place else, it is not wanted nor required here at TechDirt, unless it is within the context of the article/comments in question.
in other words: Fuck off!
Re:
On a professional level this link here is why I absolutely love iPhones over Android/Win Phones any day. (the password breaker is amazingly good)
"Off-the-shelf forensics tool slurps iPhone data via iCloud"
On a personal level, the above link is why I tell all my friends and family to avoid iPhones like the plague!
Re: Why people buy Apple products
Smart kid.