Ben 's Techdirt Comments

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  • On the post: Funniest/Most Insightful Comments Of The Week At Techdirt

    Ben ( profile ), 13 Sep, 2015 @ 07:51pm

    Wow

    Just wow. 1st place!

  • On the post: Apple Refused Court Order To Decrypt iMessages For DOJ; DOJ Debates What To Do

    Ben ( profile ), 08 Sep, 2015 @ 12:33pm

    The correct response to the DOJ

    Apple should respond to the DOJ:

    No messages were found responsive to your request

    (to paraphrase the DOJ's seemingly favorite response to a FOIA request)
    ... and since they don't have any decrypted iMessages, it would actually be true.

  • On the post: DailyDirt: Satellites Looking Down On Us

    Ben ( profile ), 18 Aug, 2015 @ 07:43pm

    Re:

    disabling all cruise missiles and "smart" bombs
    Well, cruise missiles work by inertial guidance (and to a degree, location pattern recognition), not GPS; "smart" bombs work via laser guidance (shine a laser on the target and it follows it in).

    The issue with GPS is the fidelity of the signal is controlled by the agency that runs the satellites/network, and if you don't like how they're being run (or the fact that they may stop working when you want them to work), you build your own network. It all depends on how much you are willing to spend.

  • On the post: Lenovo Busted For Stealthily Installing Crapware Via BIOS On Fresh Windows Installs

    Ben ( profile ), 13 Aug, 2015 @ 09:07am

    Re: Re:

    But, supply a tool and some people will work out how to misuse it
    I think "use it differently" might be more appropriate -- it is the epitome of "hacking". Granted this case is an example of the "black" form of hacking; to paraphrase Hanover Fist: "They should be torn into itsy little pieces and buried alive."

    Lenovo has certainly earned a spot on my "do not buy" list.

  • On the post: The Drug War Is Creating Problems Too Big To Fix

    Ben ( profile ), 30 Jul, 2015 @ 05:18am

    "chemist Jamaica Plain"

    chemist Jamaica Plain
    The chemist's name was Annie Dookhan (Boston Globe article). The lab was located in the Jamaica Plain region of Boston.
    But I guess the article is about the difficulty of matching names, so I guess it is appropriate :-)

  • On the post: Reminder: When Ron Wyden Says There's A Secret Interpretation Of A Law, Everyone Should Pay Attention

    Ben ( profile ), 29 Jul, 2015 @ 02:12pm

    Relevant and Ridiculous

    this document seems ridiculously relevant to the debate
    True in many layers. The document/interpretation is likely as ridiculous as the "torture memo" and it most certainly is relevant to any discussion about cyber legislation. Sometimes I just have to wonder about lawyers -- when given a task to prove black equals white they tend not to say "are you nuts?" but "when do you need this?" (and it isn't even about the billable hours!)

  • On the post: Another GOP Candidate Indirectly Promotes Bernie Sanders By Not Getting Music Cleared With Artist

    Ben ( profile ), 09 Jul, 2015 @ 08:39am

    Re: Re: But did Bernie?

    "He said Sanders' use of the song was 'tres bien.'"

    sounds like permission to me.
    Except the point is about candidates getting prior permission, and there is no indication if Bernie did (and he might have -- I don't know)

  • On the post: Another GOP Candidate Indirectly Promotes Bernie Sanders By Not Getting Music Cleared With Artist

    Ben ( profile ), 08 Jul, 2015 @ 10:15pm

    But did Bernie?

    All well and good, but did Bernie approach Buckwheat Zydeco about using "Make A Change"? Or does Buckwheat just like Bernie to begin with and doesn't mind not being asked?

    It seems like it is an important piece of information that is missing.

  • On the post: TSA Asks America To LOL At Traveler Who Had $75,000 Taken From Him By Federal Agents

    Ben ( profile ), 01 Jul, 2015 @ 02:37pm

    What happened to Probable Cause?

    If this money is completely unrelated to criminal activity, the government has just stolen money from one of its citizens.
    Who cares if it related or unrelated to criminal activity? The TSA (and the airport police) have *no* probable cause for considering it related to criminal activity.

    Note that for cash it has "This note is legal tender for all debts public and private", whereas a check (or other means of money transfer) doesn't; there is no reason for anyone to gainsay why a person is carrying cash: all debts public and private means the reason can be private.

  • On the post: Should Your Self-Driving Car Be Programmed To Kill You If It Means Saving A Dozen Other Lives?

    Ben ( profile ), 17 Jun, 2015 @ 06:56am

    Re: Re:

    I would think it would choose the path where the least number of automated vehicles would "die". So if it is a choice of hitting a vehicle driven by a human or another Google pod ...

  • On the post: Study: The TSA's Security Theater Troupes Missed 95% Of Smuggled Weapons And Explosives

    Ben ( profile ), 02 Jun, 2015 @ 10:44am

    Re: Re: What would be better?

    Look at the issues with the liability of airlines following the 11SEP2001 "events". Until the government absolved them, they were on the hook for being sued (negligence contributing to the disaster(s) at the least). At that time security screening was paid for by the airlines; letting the government take it over lets them off the hook if bad guys get through again.

    All the security theater has done for me is reduce my willingness to go on airplanes, not because of the airplanes and cattle-car like amenities, but just the pain and hassle of getting through airports. I have better uses for my time.

  • On the post: Border Patrol Agents Tase Woman For Refusing To Cooperate With Their Bogus Search

    Ben ( profile ), 19 May, 2015 @ 08:13am

    Re:

    Huh? There is a disconnect in what you said:

    She kept refusing, then got into a shoving match. Many cops would have fired their tasers much sooner.
    What I heard is her say that if the cop touched her she would sue his ass. What happens then is out of camera frame, but she gets tazed. That's not a shoving match. That's bringing a cannon to a pillow fight.

  • On the post: Border Patrol Agents Tase Woman For Refusing To Cooperate With Their Bogus Search

    Ben ( profile ), 19 May, 2015 @ 08:01am

    Re: Re: Re: Re:

    So, I'm wondering what you think she should have done?

    She is a US Citizen, driving in the US. She is stopped at a security checkpoint (and I already hear echos of "papers please"...). They tell her to pull over and then just have her sit there (while they surreptitiously are calling for a drug dog).

    She has a right to go about her (legal) business without interference. Security checkpoint, somewhat OK (I have other problems with that, but the courts seem to think they are OK so long as they stop EVERYONE). Unless they have probable cause to detain her they should have let her go on her way immediately.

    She knew her rights. She objected. They tazed her. She had the foresight to record the encounter; it didn't seem "in their face" to me -- and THEY are the professionals. They are supposed to know the law, and how to apply it. They f*cked up, and you are blaming the victim.

    Pull your head out of your ass.

  • On the post: Hollywood Studios Call Six Strikes A 'Sham,' Cue Plans For Something Much Worse

    Ben ( profile ), 14 May, 2015 @ 01:53pm

    Fantasy time?

    On our film ‘Expendables 3,’ which has been illegally viewed more than 60 million times
    For a movie that had a total domestic gross of $39,322,544 (from BoxofficeMojo; domestic since they can't be complaining about foreign piracy, right?)

    And since a ticket is not $1, 60 million "illegal views" would represent (in their mind, at least) something like $240 million to $600 million in gross receipts. For Expendables 3????

    I'm sorry, but they aren't just living in Fantasy Land, they've settled in so deep they have roots.

  • On the post: Latest Explanation For James Clapper Lying About 'Essential' NSA Spy Program: 'He Forgot About It'

    Ben ( profile ), 11 May, 2015 @ 11:34am

    Re: He lied more than once to Congress

    However, only the first time was he speaking to Congress under oath.

  • On the post: UK Government Belated FOI Transparency Lamented By The Man Who Pushed For It, 'Cash-Strapped' Agencies

    Ben ( profile ), 24 Apr, 2015 @ 07:31pm

    Right "Mr. Pickles" story?

    The story you linked to at BBC.com has

    Last year, Mr Pickles was forced to deny reports his department had spent an extra £10,000 a year on biscuits, blaming an "administrative error" for the big increase in hospitality spending
    Which doesn't look like $110,000, although there was also:
    "The sum related to the amount of hospitality we offer... is 17% of the sum the last Labour government spent on hospitality."
    With no indication what that 17% represents... I presume there are other articles detailing the issue in better depth. Or did you confuse the "£" with an extra "1"?

    I can't expect anyone would have spent more than 10 minutes replying to what were their dragon or zombie contingencies: "No records available responsive to your request" would actually seem appropriate -- the "you idiot" being implied.

  • On the post: Compare And Contrast Prosecution And Sentences Of David Petraeus With Government Whistleblowers

    Ben ( profile ), 24 Apr, 2015 @ 12:04pm

    Re:

    I certainly feel they should have hit him with the harshest penalties available -- fully expecting him to then get a pardon before they are applied. At least then the hypocrisy would be acknowledged and no precedent in law for wrist-slap vs wrist-cutoff would have been set.

    People who work at the highest levels of Government get special treatment; it is not right, but it is what happens, at least until the revolution comes :-).

  • On the post: Former Revenge Pornster Chance Trahan Reinvents Himself… As Shark Tank's Daymond John

    Ben ( profile ), 09 Mar, 2015 @ 04:21pm

    Protographer?

    I love the fact that it seems even the typo's are duplicated. What the hell is a protographer?

  • On the post: Nokia CEO: We Have To Get Rid Of Net Neutrality, Otherwise Self-Driving Cars Will Keep On Crashing Into Each Other

    Ben ( profile ), 03 Mar, 2015 @ 07:16am

    Re: Meanwhile, from dimension #253...

    He must live in the same dimension where some game makers live -- where games have no problem always-on connections to authentication servers and, of course, that works.

  • On the post: Actress Seeking $1 Million From IMDb For Publishing Her Real Age Was Pulling In Less Than $2000 A Year

    Ben ( profile ), 10 Feb, 2015 @ 03:42pm

    Re: Re: Re:

    You are evil. Every time I visit XKCD I find myself an hour later wondering where the time went. Evil!

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