Al Bert 's Techdirt Comments

Latest Comments (200) comment rss

  • On the post: Wil Wheaton Says Chris Dodd Is Lying About Lost Jobs; Says MPAA Accounting Creates More Losses Than Piracy

    Al Bert ( profile ), 24 Jan, 2012 @ 10:54am

    I refuse to accept that reality exists

    SHUT UP WESLEY.

  • On the post: 8 Million People Looked Up Their Elected Officials' Contact Info During Wikipedia Blackout

    Al Bert ( profile ), 18 Jan, 2012 @ 10:05pm

    Why stop

    Now that awareness of this issue has spread to those who get their news from television, you can rest assured that the proponents of this legislation will spend all subsequent media coverage on downplaying or ignoring the existence of legitimate complaints and/or more overt attempts to villify the opposition. I have to then ask: Why do this blackout for one day? When the slower masses seek information on the bills, the existence and concerns of opposing party must still be more than evident. Whether or not petitions are worth anything, 4.5M is a lot for one day. How many could it be if awareness had more than one day to spread to those who don't regularly use the internet? Yes, those people exist. The IP industry is perpetuated by insane unrelenting persistence and scorched-earth tactics. We'd be fools to not wage war with similar weapons.

  • On the post: Supreme Court Chooses SOPA/PIPA Protest Day To Give A Giant Middle Finger To The Public Domain

    Al Bert ( profile ), 18 Jan, 2012 @ 08:20pm

    Oh it's nice to see we're being honest

    They also claim that since the very first copyright law took works from the public domain and gave them copyright protection, clearly there's nothing wrong with removing works from the public domain.

    I don't see how this is any different than contorting copyright law into granting someone a monopoly on commercial piracy. On the other hand, if the two are differentiable today, I can't imagine I'll remain mistaken for long. I'm not sure how doing something wrong justifies doing something wrong again. Then again, this kind of shit flies all the time.

  • On the post: Don't Think The 'Costs' To US Businesses From Bogus Claims Is Real? Read This

    Al Bert ( profile ), 18 Jan, 2012 @ 07:53pm

    Re: Re:

    I don't know why those parallels of irrationality never occurred to me. Thank you for connecting two of the largest sectors of my cynicism.

  • On the post: It's Baaaaaaaaack: Lamar Smith Says SOPA Markup To Resume In February

    Al Bert ( profile ), 17 Jan, 2012 @ 06:48pm

    Re: No, it's not going to go away.

    Undoubtedly, but if history suggests anything, it's that the driving interests behind such bills will continue to trample on others' rights and the sum of existing law even if the bills do not pass. By the time this has gone on long enough, much of the dangers surrounding such legislation will be completely irrelevant.

    They can always act as though they rightfully have the powers these bills are to buy them. That is, at least to the extent their litigation dollar can justify.

  • On the post: Lamar Smith & MPAA Brush Off Wikipedia Blackout As Just A Publicity Stunt

    Al Bert ( profile ), 17 Jan, 2012 @ 05:15pm

    Re: POOP

    Thank you. I think we all needed a good poop joke. I know I did.

  • On the post: SOPA/PIPA Supporters Pretend White House Statement Means We Can Rush Through SOPA/PIPA

    Al Bert ( profile ), 17 Jan, 2012 @ 02:59am

    Nonsense is just cheaper than lies

    They act like there will be no opposition because the opposition from the white house is fake. There are two things at play making this seem so nonsensical. First is the fact that they don't have to say anything that makes sense because they don't have to answer to the public or their opposition. Second, these people have blinders on and are unaware of how obvious the lies are becoming. If the white house had come out saying "we are in favor of legislation that will provide free blowjobs from space unicorns", Lamar Smith would've said essentially the same thing:


    "I welcome today's announcement that the White House will support legislation to provide free blowjobs from space unicorns" Smith said in a statement. "That's precisely what the Stop Online Piracy Act does."

  • On the post: Paul Vixie Explains, In Great Detail, Why You Don't Want 'Policy Analysts' Determining DNS Rules

    Al Bert ( profile ), 12 Jan, 2012 @ 06:04pm

    Re: Institutionalized Lying

    I think more important to the task of any actual reform would be to ask:

    Why and in what circles has it become acceptable to suggest that lying is okay?

    The answer to "who and why" only reveals the criminals and their motives. The answer to "why is it acceptable" reveals the criminal culture, i.e: the root of the parasitic plant.

  • On the post: CreativeAmerica Denies Copying; Inadvertently Shows Why SOPA/PIPA Are Dangerous

    Al Bert ( profile ), 12 Jan, 2012 @ 05:51pm

    Re: Living in a Society of Fear

    The provisions of the recent censorship (let's call them what they are) legislation really does go hand in hand with those prior bills designed to circumvent 4th and 5th amendment rights. Despite the fact that i am very much for copyright and patent reform, this is the one reason i am most convinced that eventually some form of SOPA-like bill will pass. While the entertainment industry wants protections and been effectively demanding custom legislation from governments here and abroad, I cannot help but fear that those with twisted interests in pursuing NDAA and PATRIOT don't now have a massive hardon for the things SOPA-like laws would provide.

    That said, I'm not sure that this is the thread for such soapboxing.

  • On the post: Las Vegas Review-Journal Publishes CEA OpEd Calling Out Senator Harry Reid Killing Innovation By Supporting PIPA

    Al Bert ( profile ), 12 Jan, 2012 @ 05:31pm

    Re:

    While it's certainly a curious development, i would hardly consider most of these associated companies (LV R-J and Righthaven included) to be on the right side of the fence.

    If things were different and they had their chance to add their tailored protectionist provisions to the bill, i'm sure they'd be more than happy to pass it at the expense of everyone else in the nation.

    Aside from that, i dislike the use of the word "chill" in discussions like these. It fails to convey the severity of the actual effect. Try 'obliterate' or 'prohibit by fear of retaliation from state-protected multinational fraudsters'

  • On the post: Lamar Smith Caught Infringing On Photographer's Copyright

    Al Bert ( profile ), 12 Jan, 2012 @ 01:55pm

    Creative commons and copyleft

    Oh but that's under CC license.
    Everybody knows that's not real copyright if it doesn't belong to the entertainment industry. He should be glad that someone is using his work for free!. Use without attribution is still good advertisement.
    /sarc

    fwiw, i know an artist whose works have been ripped off on the website for one of the tv series owned by WB. It's probably still there. I wouldn't believe for a second that protectionist laws like SOPA would give him or this photographer any authority to act against those misusing their work.

  • On the post: CreativeAmerica Copies Content To Support Anti-Copying Bills

    Al Bert ( profile ), 10 Jan, 2012 @ 05:15pm

    Totally understandable mistake

    Oh but how are they to have known that email wasn't covered by part of their IP portfolio? You have to understand, they're used to obtaining content and rights from creators for little or nothing and requiring the rest of the world to sort out the details like whether or not they actually own anything. It's easy to make such mistakes.

  • On the post: State Department Can't Take An Official Stance On SOPA Yet, So There Isn't One

    Al Bert ( profile ), 10 Jan, 2012 @ 05:04pm

    Re: Hypercritical Hilary

    This is the point i was expecting to find all over the comment threads. I find it surprising that nobody else suspects that despite their claim of noncommittal neutrality, the state department most certainly does have a position.

    If they worked toward the implementation of companion legislation overseas at the behest of the entertainment industry and against the will of the people, what could possibly suggest that they'd be against implementing the same thing at home?

  • On the post: Website Censored By Feds Takes Up Lamar Smith's Challenge: Here's Your 'Hypothetical'

    Al Bert ( profile ), 10 Jan, 2012 @ 04:30pm

    Re: Not so clueless

    Of course he knows. Denial is just the safest play, whether he's bought or not (which we know he is).

    Unless he wants to imply that there's reason for dissent, he must deny that dissent exists.

    POL102: Introductory Perpetuation Of Lies

  • On the post: Co-Chair Of Congressional Cybersecurity Caucus Says SOPA Would Interfere With Online Security

    Al Bert ( profile ), 10 Jan, 2012 @ 12:30pm

    Re: Re: Re:

    True. If this does become a significantly visible campaign issue, let's hope the uninformed learn of the dangers of this sort of legislation. Keep in mind that those who rely on television for their news will be subject to a very biased coverage of these topics.

  • On the post: ICE Propaganda Film Pats Itself On The Back For Censoring The Web; Promises Much More To Come

    Al Bert ( profile ), 10 Jan, 2012 @ 12:55am

    Re: Re: mirror that shit

    i was mostly poking at the whole sub-topic which was the fact that the PSA was owned/produced by NBC/Universal.

    That said, i would assume they'd be quick with the axe if they felt that the truth harmed their policy campaign(s).

  • On the post: Unfortunate: 'Open' Advocate Darrell Issa Sponsoring Bill That Will Close Off Open Access To Gov't Funded Research

    Al Bert ( profile ), 09 Jan, 2012 @ 05:41pm

    Re: Self-Inflicted Injury

    That's about like asking why students support the publishers by buying their ridiculously priced new-edition-per-semester textbooks. Academia, like government has institutionalized the corruption which feeds on its constituents.

  • On the post: Co-Chair Of Congressional Cybersecurity Caucus Says SOPA Would Interfere With Online Security

    Al Bert ( profile ), 09 Jan, 2012 @ 05:25pm

    Re:

    Sadly, the reality is likely just that there's no money to be made by waffling on civil liberties issues. At this point, the arguments must sway the whims of congress. If there's no money to be made, why would congress care?

    I used to have my cynicism in check, but exploring the depths of copyright and patent abuse over the last couple decades has left me with the lowest of expectations.

  • On the post: ICE Propaganda Film Pats Itself On The Back For Censoring The Web; Promises Much More To Come

    Al Bert ( profile ), 09 Jan, 2012 @ 01:49pm

    mirror that shit

    I second the anticipation of a parody video, or more necessarily, a point-counterpoint disassembly of the video and the bullshit contained therein. Hell, simply mirroring the video and allowing comments may suffice.

    It will be interesting to see how long it takes for the DMCA axe to fall. It'll also be interesting to see if it's actually the content owner doing the swinging.

  • On the post: MPAA Boss Chris Dodd Denies That Copyright Law Today Has Created Any Free Speech Issues

    Al Bert ( profile ), 06 Jan, 2012 @ 05:23pm

    wait what

    If your organization needs new laws to allow you to legally do "what we already do"
    then doesn't that imply that you've been acting as a criminal?

    (hint: yes)