Oblate 's Techdirt Comments

Latest Comments (464)

• On the post: DHS Goes Biometric, Says Travelers Can Opt Out Of Face Scans By Not Traveling

  

  Oblate ( profile ), 14 Jul, 2017 @ 06:32am

  Now it all makes sense...

  > The DHS would seemingly prefer to keep everything it collects,...
  
  I think we may have completely misjudged their motives. Someone high up in DHS must own a data storage/backup company.

• On the post: The FCC Insists It Can't Stop Impostors From Lying About My Views On Net Neutrality

  

  Oblate ( profile ), 11 Jul, 2017 @ 10:58am

  Let the Ajit-ation begin!

  I don't think you need to use the magic asterisks of deniability, as you already stated "I'd like to claim", which differentiates the following from a factual claim. For example:
  
  I'd like to claim that the sheep who saw Mr. Pai sans trousers seemed to relax, maybe even chuckled a bit, and went about their business unconcerned.
  
  Not having actually been there, I can't make such a claim even though I may think that's what would actually happen. If Mr. Pai is ever caught trying to "make the flock great again" then I'll be able to update my claim.

• On the post: Court: State Not Justified In Seizing Grandmother's House After Her Son Sold $140 Of Marijuana

  

  Oblate ( profile ), 13 Jun, 2017 @ 09:20am

  Re: State against house.

  Can't wait until the first accused mobile home succeeds (possibly with some excess inertia to surrender to the court).

• On the post: Trump Lawyer Threatens To Report A Former FBI Employee To The Inspector General

  

  Oblate ( profile ), 12 Jun, 2017 @ 08:17am

  Re:

  What's in a name...
  "tech"- yeah, not such a tech story.
  "dirt"- BAM! There is dirt ALL OVER this story!
  
  It's like for some people "tech" in the name is a treasured campaign promise, and "dirt" is the ignored and unloved follow through.

• On the post: Copyright Trolls… But For Houses

  

  Oblate ( profile ), 09 Jun, 2017 @ 10:22am

  There's always another scam

  Whether or not this will end the company's litigation strategy elsewhere remains to be seen, ...

  Next up- ADA architecture trolling...

• On the post: Erasing History: Trump Administration Returning CIA Torture Report To Be Destroyed

  

  Oblate ( profile ), 05 Jun, 2017 @ 10:38am

  Re: Re: Re: Obama

  Which will do absolutely nothing to prevent Trump from creating his own torture program.

  Suddenly Trump's health care proposal makes sense..

• On the post: Swiss Court Sanctions Commenter For 'Liking' Defamatory Posts

  

  Oblate ( profile ), 01 Jun, 2017 @ 09:44am

  "By clicking the like button, “the defendant clearly endorsed the unseemly content and made it his own,” the court statement said.

  Hey Judge, I like your robe (click). Please hand over my robe.

• On the post: World Of Tanks Developer Gets Negative Review Video Taken Down Under Threat Of Copyright Claim, Backlash Ensues

  

  Oblate ( profile ), 25 May, 2017 @ 07:00pm

  Seen this before...

  Typical newbie behavior on WOT- shoot fast without thinking, only to realize that the target is on your team.

• On the post: BBC Says It May Contact Your Boss If You Post Comments It Finds Problematic

  

  Oblate ( profile ), 18 May, 2017 @ 06:22am

  Re:

  Alternatively, don't post while on the network of the company that you work for, but rather use a public WiFi hotspot.
  
  And what will we do when everyone who works at Starbucks has been fired because of these complaints?

• On the post: Magical Cop Detects Drugs Better Than Blood Tests; Continues To Lock Innocent People Up

  

  Oblate ( profile ), 18 May, 2017 @ 06:20am

  Officer Carroll: "Okay. Well, you're showing me indicators that you have been smoking marijuana, okay?"

  Can the officer explain the indicators displayed and provide details about how she failed each of them, either in his report or under oath in a court of law? If not, how does this proceed any further? Or has the legal system become so degraded that evidence is no longer needed in a case of this magnitude?

• On the post: French Theater Owners Freak Out; Get Netflix Booted From Cannes Film Festival

  

  Oblate ( profile ), 16 May, 2017 @ 11:40am

  The tentative embrace of streaming services' offerings comes with caveats: films must be released to theaters as well to be considered for major awards.

  So why doesn't Netflix just buy a theater? I know it doesn't quite align with their business model, but it could work. In the space of a traditional theater, set up a dozen 'large living rooms' to screen their shows. Free/discounted admission with a Netflix membership, etc. The large studios will sometimes rent one screen for a movie to make it eligible for awards, this should work for Netflix.

• On the post: Spanish Citizen Sentenced To Jail For Creating 'Unhealthy Humoristic Environment'

  

  Oblate ( profile ), 05 May, 2017 @ 10:57am

  Wasn't expecting that...

  Has the funniest joke in the world been translated to Spanish? I wonder what the Spanish humor police would think of it...

• On the post: 'Backdoor' Search Of FBI Records Helps Parents Learn How Local Cops Killed Their Son

  

  Oblate ( profile ), 05 May, 2017 @ 05:44am

  Body cameras soon to be illegal in TX?

  IANAL, but an officer saying "Motherfucker, I'm going to kill you." and then actually killing them- does that open up the possibility of charges of premeditated murder? With this video I don't see how these officers could keep their qualified immunity in any place with even a minimal pretense of being lawful.

• On the post: Don't Get Fooled: The Plan Is To Kill Net Neutrality While Pretending It's Being Protected

  

  Oblate ( profile ), 03 May, 2017 @ 10:21am

  Former President Andrew Jackson was very much against net neutrality, according to Trump. Trump is following in the footsteps of his hero by making this a priority for his administration.

• On the post: Want To Promote Breastfeeding? That's A Trade Barrier, Says US Trade Rep

  

  Oblate ( profile ), 28 Apr, 2017 @ 10:18am

  Isn't this morally similar to medical equipment manufacturers complaining about mandatory seat belt laws?

• On the post: Senate ID Cards Use A Photo Of A Chip Rather Than An Actual Smart Chip

  

  Oblate ( profile ), 25 Apr, 2017 @ 09:59am

  This is genius!

  I bet they saved a bunch on the paper mache card readers too! The only remaining question is which congressman got the kickbacks from the security contractor?
  
  Or these are actually just RFID cards, and they printed the fake contacts so people would stop asking why there were no contacts. Most places use RFID only for access. The contacts would only be used for verification when logging on to a computer. If they don't use that feature (though they should) then having the contacts/chip would be pointless.

• On the post: Texas Lawmaker Wants To Decide Who's A Real Journalist, Make It Easier To Sue Them

  

  Oblate ( profile ), 24 Apr, 2017 @ 11:37am

  A person is considered a public official for purposes of a defense to a libel claim only if the person is known as a public official in the community in which the damage to the person was proximately caused.

  IANAL, but would the libel claim then have to be filed in the 'community in which the damage to the person was proximately caused'? Good luck going to the internet to file this. Any place outside of Texas the defendant would be protected by relatively sane libel laws (i.e. not this proposed law). This doesn't leave many places where they could file such a claim and hope to prevail.

• On the post: Judge Alsup Wants Uber & Waymo To Teach Him How To LiDAR Prior To Self-Driving Car Case

  

  Oblate ( profile ), 31 Mar, 2017 @ 07:21am

  Re: Best possible outcome

  More likely:

  Judge Alsup invents a better LIDAR system during the trial and both sides end up...

  suing him.

• On the post: Sony, Microsoft Lobby Against Right To Repair Bills (Yet Refuse To Talk About It)

  

  Oblate ( profile ), 28 Feb, 2017 @ 06:11am

  Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Monopolists

  There would be specifications, tolerances, or functional tests that the OEM sensors/parts must satisfy. If a non-OEM part met the same requirements as the OEM part, the OEM would have difficulty proving that the part was not fit for use.

• On the post: Arizona Legislators Approve Bill That Would Allow Government To Seize Assets From Protesters

  

  Oblate ( profile ), 24 Feb, 2017 @ 11:50am

  Re: Re: Re: Re: Re:

  It also seems quite onerous to have to repair windows broken by protestors- maybe soon they'll be able to arrest them and seize their cash/property before the window is broken.

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