Monday 's Techdirt Comments

Latest Comments (220) comment rss

  • On the post: Kickass Torrents Gets The Megaupload Treatment: Site Seized, Owner Arrested And Charged With Criminal Infringement

    Monday ( profile ), 22 Jul, 2016 @ 09:38am

    Dotcom

    We've seen how this has played out over in Kim Dotcom land. And with the sprouting of new Pirate Pirate sites (ie. YiFY and KAT), let's all keep our fingers crossed for the MPAA, RIA, and all the Film companies continue spending record amounts, of their "hard-earned" profits, on more and more futile lawsuits. The more they spend, the more they lose, and eventually, they'll come to the realization that it truly is futile.

    My one concern is that Lawyers are taking this fight up ad nauseum, because they see it as a way to make their bank statements look healthy; they are not waiting for instruction handed down, but just staring the suits, and we can only hope that this is just as expensive and costly - time and staff - for them as well. Now that search engines don't have to, or are not responsible for the content of their searches, we, hopefully, are going to see the above mentioned lawyers going after smaller and more fishes that, in the end, will put them at the counters of Chick-fil-A's and greeting Wal-Mart customers. Let's hope it costs them this much for being Shakespearean in their litigious efforts.

    We don't need a wall. we need Lawyers to get more frivolous.

  • On the post: Donald Trump Threatens 'Art Of The Deal' Ghostwriter, Claiming His 'Disloyalty' Somehow Amounts To Defamation

    Monday ( profile ), 22 Jul, 2016 @ 09:18am

    Dispute? What dispute?

    Mr. Schwartz does not dispute the "fact" concerning

    [set] the record straight about the origin of the Book : Mr. Trump was the source of all of the material in the Book and the inspiration for every word in the Book, you would not have had access to any of the information that appeared in the Book without Mr. Trump.
    ; the records for Schwartz's source is clear. And, it is re-affirmed with that statement by Mr Trump's acrobat Lawyer.

    However, Mr. Schwartz is setting the record straight that he is the Writer of the 'Book', and Trump is not. That's clear English. What I believe Trump's Lawyer states as disloyal, is that Mr. Schwartz did not sign a Release or NDA, and that really pisses Trump off; the truth coming out at election time. It is very much like Ted Cruz's failure to endorse a candidate that has spent countless hours attacking Cruz' family, and Ted Cruz did not follow through on his statement that he would endorse Trump, more disloyalty - in Trump's view. A statement is not a signed document or truly legally binding.

  • On the post: Twitter Now Flipflopping On The Issue Of Archiving Deleted Tweets By Public Verified Figures

    Monday ( profile ), 12 Jul, 2016 @ 10:33am

    No such thing as forgotten

    There really isn't any problem as I see it. Any person posting on Twitter or the "... [other] 140 character" medium is basically going to have their post snatched regardless of who gets there first.

    I have a file with folders of really stupid "stuff" from not so quick people who have tried to delete them afterwards - they still got archived and re-posted by followers and haters alike. A great latest example was the Star of David tweet by @realDonaldTrump. Even some stuff his campaign fabricated afterwards in an attempt to make Disney's Frozen come off as racist. He got called on it; Disney received complaint's that Trump had slandered Disney, and he shut up. Trump is wealthy not Disney Wealthy, and it would have cost him both nuts to get into a fight with Disney.

  • On the post: Ohio Court Sanctions Lawyer For Sharing Publicly-Available Court Documents With Journalists

    Monday ( profile ), 08 Jul, 2016 @ 01:48pm

    Re: Punishing the Winner

    I meant the TD post itself. Not the Law.

  • On the post: Ohio Court Sanctions Lawyer For Sharing Publicly-Available Court Documents With Journalists

    Monday ( profile ), 08 Jul, 2016 @ 10:34am

    Punishing the Winner

    This sounds like, reads just like a Courtroom equivalent of a "Takedown - something not unlike a DMCA.

  • On the post: Sony Locks Up The PSN Account Of A Man Named 'Jihad' Because You'll Never Guess Why

    Monday ( profile ), 06 Jul, 2016 @ 10:41am

    A rose by any name...

    ... wouldn't be called a friggin rose now, would it?

    بلاي ستيشن

    PlayStation in Arabic. Must be "Extreme Radical Muslim". Fox and CNN are so ahead of our time...

  • On the post: People Support Ethical Automated Cars That Prioritize The Lives Of Others — Unless They're Riding In One

    Monday ( profile ), 03 Jul, 2016 @ 09:38am

    Re: I wanna keep reading before I rock this boat...

    I Have Thoroughly Enjoyed Every Comment...


    Herbert Spencer coined the phrase, “Survival of the Fittest". It is generally accepted as an argumentative Fallacy used in Philosophical circle jerks, while at the same time, survivability has been attributed more and more to a general natural law, wherein that natural law is biologically designed for an entire Species, and not just the one or few mutations that enjoy a capitalist; elitist advantage, and where the survival is directed, or based more or less to The Greater Good of that species. Question; Are Brazillian Army Ants more deserving or better equipped to survive as opposed to your Red Ants, and Black Ants for that matter, we find farming Aphidoidea for their Honey Dew, and protecting them on the plants they eat, storing some in nests for winter, and existing in Ant mutualism. These are two so very different circumstances, but if you were to put these two species models opposite each other, one is certainly going to win that survivability question. The big factor is, what do we put where? Do we bring the Army Ants north? Or do we send our friendly Ants south?

    Consider, please, the use of an Atomic weapon at the end of the war in the Pacific, against the Japanese in 1945. Was the response used, justification for the Greater Good of the Species as a whole, or a quick end to a difficult situation? Does the survival of millions outweigh the survival of an initial 140,000 deaths in few seconds of Sun-like wrath on Earth? President Harry S. Truman, warned by some of his advisers that any attempt to invade Japan would result in horrific American casualties, ordered that the new weapon be used to bring the war to a speedy end. Millions survived at the cost of well over one hundred thousand lives, but it was an acceptable, Human-made decision. There was the greater good to consider. These bombings' in Japan, and their ethical justification are still debated.
    You are saying to yourself, “Is this guy high? Hung-over? Extreme? No, I am trying to be as objective of the machine that is going to be using the equations in its decision to run you down in the intersection, if you’re waiting for a bus. There are Survival Models (PDF), thirty-eight pages of generally accepted survival models that could be used in determining your fate; my fate; a child’s fate. This new Electronic Brain will not have the luxury of months of consultations with Cabinet Members, friends, or opinions from millions. For a nanosecond, it will be entirely on its own – without your input, and opinion on your net value to the Species.
    Now, let us consider what is, or constitutes the greater good. Is the greater good the number of people who do not die because of a human interpretation of the greater good? Or do we shunt the human factor in the decision making and what has the greater value in the decision that we do not want, or wish to make? Should we be, or could we allow ourselves to fuck with the settings of survivability? People, hundreds of people die every day in their autos, and it is always sad, always permanent and always Human Error… take that human out of the list of variables, now it’s the “car’s fault”.

    FACT: It is going to be a human decision no matter the method used to make a nanosecond response. In the end, every single loss-of-life accident will come down to one of dozens of laws that are, in truth, human equations used for the electronic brain in determining what survives, and I say what because this decision will be made by a machine, so do not anthropomorphize an electronic brain. What survives will be a function for what does not survive. I do not believe we are capable of sacrifice for the survival of five, ten, or fifty people. No one wants to die – it is programmed into us. It took three and a half billion years, but it is programmed into us all. There are stellar examples of sacrifice at a human level, but one could effectively argue that these individuals are broken in the sense that they are forfeiting their life for the lives of others – their instinct is faulty. It is a strong solid, good argument, but what if… just what if this is actually the Default Setting for a species’ surviving? The needs of the many, outweigh the needs of the few, or the one in this case? Is your life and occupation more important than the five, ten, or twenty people standing at the bus shelter? The computer won’t be thinking of your occupation, or if you are a provider, it is a numbers game. This isn’t Minority Report, and the computer doesn’t proselytize on its action, or pre-determine if one or several of those people waiting for their Trolley are suicidal, homicidal, sociopaths or psychopaths, it will only look at the numbers, and the options. Yes, now we get the options. It doesn’t care if you’re involved in the cure for cancer, or even if you are one of the Mathematicians, or Statisticians who programmed its electronic brain. Does the electronic-machine choose the Bus Stop, or does it drive you into the cement base of a light standard. You have a chance of survival, but the people at the bus stop are guaranteed their survival. The brain will be set automatically and set without all the baggage that is human existence.

    It is said that we can react to a situation in two-tenths of a second, but it is my honest opinion, and belief that we operate quite literally at the speed of light. We factor almost everything we have acquired in our existence into a life or death decision, or a decision that will affect any one of us for the rest of our life. Somebody once threw a ball at my head; he was six meters from me. I know for a fact that I moved my head out of the way of that ball, which I saw in my peripheral vision, in less than two-tenths of a second – absolutely everything, every variable was calculated and executed instantly – at the speed of light in a human body, nerve impulses and all. Maybe one-tenth of a second, because that ball, doing eighty kilometers an hour, missed me by three centimeters – an inch, at least. It was funny, but if it had connected, a chain of events would have been set in motion that would have quite literally, altered both our lives, for the rest of our lives… that part I cannot explain to you. It is just the way it is.

    We generally make decisions that are the most utilitarian to ourselves, then we consider our significant others, and more often than not, it affects others in profound ways. I have learned this from personal experience. Who do programmers even consult with? Do they analyze the Ted Bundy’s of the automobile industry, or the Asians, or do they take a Woodstock point of view when gathering data for their variables? I would much rather have an electronic-brain make a choice – objective, neutral, considering “at hand” and “to hand” logically; unbiased decision making. But, this point is moot. We have not reached a level of technology where every decision made by an electronic brain will be one hundred percent the best possible outcome for all parties involved. We are only at the “Lesser of two evils” stage in programming, and yet we can’t get past the Greater Good debate.

    Honestly, I think we would need quantum level computing capacity the size of a matchbox before we could ever begin to end an argument like this.

    The Tesla S did the best it could, given the technology, and every model autonomous car will fail, resulting in a death, or deaths, simply because of technology.

  • On the post: People Support Ethical Automated Cars That Prioritize The Lives Of Others — Unless They're Riding In One

    Monday ( profile ), 02 Jul, 2016 @ 06:39am

    I wanna keep reading before I rock this boat.

    I wanna keep reading before I rock this boat, or even decide getting...


    So, please keep commenting. :)

  • On the post: Body Cam Footage Of Cop Hitting Handcuffed Man Leads To Firing Of Three New Orleans Police Officers

    Monday ( profile ), 21 Jun, 2016 @ 08:23am

    Re: Re: Forgot to ask...

    Thank-you :)

  • On the post: Body Cam Footage Of Cop Hitting Handcuffed Man Leads To Firing Of Three New Orleans Police Officers

    Monday ( profile ), 21 Jun, 2016 @ 07:14am

    Forgot to ask...

    What does "[h/t] Techdirt reader... " mean?

  • On the post: Body Cam Footage Of Cop Hitting Handcuffed Man Leads To Firing Of Three New Orleans Police Officers

    Monday ( profile ), 21 Jun, 2016 @ 07:10am

    Remarkably Good...

    This is an egregious outcome.

    We have to wait and see what else is in store for these amoral Bullies...

  • On the post: Screenwriters Accuse Christian Movie Studio Of 9th Commandment Violations Over General Script Ideas

    Monday ( profile ), 20 Jun, 2016 @ 09:07am

    That Easter Bunny guy

    Southpark

    lol

  • On the post: Highly-Dubious Spiritualist Making Highly-Dubious Claims Loses Highly-Dubious Defamation Lawsuit Against Critic

    Monday ( profile ), 20 Jun, 2016 @ 09:09am

    Don't forget the remark, "We all have it." So it's kinda like DNA... hmm

  • On the post: Facebook Still Deleting Non-Offensive Posts For Being Offensive

    Monday ( profile ), 18 Jun, 2016 @ 04:33pm

    Re: Is this from a news source?

    Second that! Also, the Jars are affordable. Five bucks for a pint at a Bar or Pub - on your bike.

  • On the post: Poland To Massively Expand Surveillance, Reduce Civil Liberties

    Monday ( profile ), 18 Jun, 2016 @ 07:41am

    Re:

    A clue???

    The Jews???

  • On the post: Facebook Still Deleting Non-Offensive Posts For Being Offensive

    Monday ( profile ), 18 Jun, 2016 @ 08:27am

    I'm not so sure it was 'automated'.

    I have read the FB post and anything attached with it, and I am not so sure it was automated. The environment, although worldly in support of condemning the act in Orlando, still has haters and misogynists, homophobes and puritans.

    I submit this was removed twice because of complaints - haters of free will and free speech seem to have a voice now, and if they can silence one voice, anonymously, they will do it...

    It is quite easy to 'takedown' a post, when there is little, if any actual human involvement in this decision making processes.

  • On the post: Highly-Dubious Spiritualist Making Highly-Dubious Claims Loses Highly-Dubious Defamation Lawsuit Against Critic

    Monday ( profile ), 18 Jun, 2016 @ 07:55am

    Anybody remember "Balls On Chin" Butters???

    Big Fossa. Big Pituitary. Too easy.

  • On the post: Screenwriters Accuse Christian Movie Studio Of 9th Commandment Violations Over General Script Ideas

    Monday ( profile ), 18 Jun, 2016 @ 07:12am

    WTF?

    Have you Wikied 'The Ten Commandments'? What the hell is the ninth commandment?

    Besides, who the hell watched "Hercules"? Really. Andromeda's the money-shot.

  • On the post: Web Sheriff Accuses Us Of Breaking Basically Every Possible Law For Pointing Out That It's Abusing DMCA Takedowns

    Monday ( profile ), 12 Jun, 2016 @ 04:47pm

    Re: Re: Simple solution

    This is soooo Bookmarked! :) tnx

  • On the post: Homeowner Sues Police After Pursuit Of Shoplifter Leaves Him With No Home To Own

    Monday ( profile ), 12 Jun, 2016 @ 10:54am

    Accountability

    Police have been increasingly held accountable for fatalities incurred during high speed pursuits - better calls have been made during these 'car chases', but they still, the unnecessary deaths that is, occur. Although the two are incomparable, there are definite psychological and physiological side effects from losing everything you have worked so hard for your family, and yourself.

    Enforcement needs to be held accountable each and every time incidents that can, and obviously, be treated or handled on an entirely different approach/level.

    It comes down to accountability. If somebody writes you a suicide note, lives, you get them to professionals; you don't wait for the next time for it to happen, and then have an assessment of the conclusions, or have a brief discussion on what methods were used, over coffee. Treat the problem now.

    This is a huge problem because it seems alarmingly to happen now 'all the time. We are really, more aware of these events happening at increased frequencies, because of our connectivity, but it seems to be bred into the Law Enforcement Culture. It is abhorrent mutations that have somehow survived this Law Enforcement Zeitgeist.

    Accountability...

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