Elohssa 's Techdirt Comments

Latest Comments (23) comment rss

  • On the post: President Obama Calls Ed Snowden A 'Hacker' When He Didn't Hack Anything

    Elohssa ( profile ), 27 Jun, 2013 @ 04:14pm

    I suppose if he meant it literally, it could mean that Snowden had planned this well in advance, and specifically obtained his clearances and sought out that job as part of his plan to expose everything.

  • On the post: NSA Now Revealing A Lot More About What It Does Than Snowden Leaks Did; So Is That Harming America?

    Elohssa ( profile ), 24 Jun, 2013 @ 09:15am

    Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Context

    "it appears he is an hopeless appeaser and authoritarian...
    ben's brain is stuck on "OBEY!""

    And even if that were true, it would still be more mature than the "Government = Bad, lulz" position you fellows are pushing.

  • On the post: NSA Now Revealing A Lot More About What It Does Than Snowden Leaks Did; So Is That Harming America?

    Elohssa ( profile ), 24 Jun, 2013 @ 07:02am

    Re: Re: Context

    "Ever read the 4th Amendment of the Constitution?"

    Did you make it to the part where SCOTUS is in charge of making that call?

    If there was a glaring Constitutional issue, why did Congress stand pat for years? They can pretend ignorance, but they all have access to details of those programs.

  • On the post: NSA Now Revealing A Lot More About What It Does Than Snowden Leaks Did; So Is That Harming America?

    Elohssa ( profile ), 24 Jun, 2013 @ 05:53am

    Context

    This is a tough one, because as much as I prefer to know about this type of intelligence gathering, I believe it's pretty clear Snowden broke the law by exposing this information. And as much as people don't like what he NSA was doing, it's far from clear at this point that it was illegal.

    Apart from some public support, what's the difference between Snowden's acts and a infiltrator working at the behest of a foreign power making embarrassing information public?

    Should we just make it legal to publicly expose classified info, as long as a single person (the person doing the releasing) thinks the public should know?

  • On the post: California Court Rules It Illegal To Check Maps On Your Phone While Driving

    Elohssa ( profile ), 06 Apr, 2013 @ 05:31am

    We need to hold people accountable for the impact of their behavior, rather than attempting to control the behavior directly.

    If you cause an accident in your car due to reckless driving, it shouldn't matter the details of how you are being reckless.

    In short, this is already covered in the law, and amounts to CA politicians pointing at nothing and demanding thanks for all their hard work.

  • On the post: Phone No One Uses Will No Longer Carry Game No One Plays

    Elohssa ( profile ), 01 Feb, 2013 @ 02:53am

    BlackBerry obviously has it's priorities in order. That must be why they continue to dominate that market.

  • On the post: Anonymous Launches White House Petition Saying DDoS Should Be Recognized As A Valid Form Of Protest

    Elohssa ( profile ), 12 Jan, 2013 @ 06:09am

    I am generally supportive of Anonymous' message, but if they permit this form of jamming, who is to say that I can't use a radio jamming arrangement to block out signals I don't like from my neighborhood?

    Maybe I think cell phone users are annoying. Maybe they don't work within a quarter mile of my location until they disable my jammer.

    It goes from funny to seriously disruptive awfully fast.

  • On the post: The TSA's True Focus Isn't 'Safety' – It's Self-Preservation

    Elohssa ( profile ), 19 Dec, 2012 @ 02:53pm

    The same dynamic has extended the War on Drugs for decades, and all the benefits go to the drug cartels and federal agencies.

  • On the post: Nintendo Still Loves DRM; The Internet Not So Much

    Elohssa ( profile ), 12 Dec, 2012 @ 12:08pm

    If you buy into a private, proprietary system, you are signing up for arbitrary rules and enforcement.

    Stop doing it to yourself, and it will stop happening to you.

  • On the post: And… The Bureaucrats Begin Spreading FUD About Crowdfunding

    Elohssa ( profile ), 25 Aug, 2012 @ 12:15pm

    Well, you gotta see that's extremely terrifying. A handful of jerks from all over who don't even know each other can accomplish just about anything these days.

    I was absolutely floored by the OatmealTesla Museum. That started with a simple articlecomic admiring Tesla, and couple months and squabbles later, they pulled over a million $ towards making a Tesla museum. It took 9 days at IndieGogo.

    http://theoatmeal.com/blog/tesla_museum_1m

  • On the post: Guy Who Didn't Actually Sing Obscene Song To Kids Gets Jail Time & Restraining Order As If He Did

    Elohssa ( profile ), 15 Apr, 2011 @ 01:48pm

    Justice for Will Ferrel!

    Pearl has to be taken off the streets. That kid is a bad landlady, and a dirty cop!

    http://www.funnyordie.com

  • On the post: Technology Trumps ICE Domain Seizures: Browser Plugin Fix Created In Just Days

    Elohssa ( profile ), 15 Apr, 2011 @ 08:40am

    They just don't understand.

    They think we need them, because they built it, but the Internet community has more knowledge and resources than every government combined, and we act out of love for the technology, not slavish rulelust. They can't stop it. They can barely slow it down.

  • On the post: TSA Gropes 6-Year Old Girl: Says It's Okay Since It Followed Standard Operating Procedure

    Elohssa ( profile ), 14 Apr, 2011 @ 11:22am

    What troubles me most is the inability to opt-out. I'm under the impression that once they choose you, there is no out, even if you decide not to board your flight, until they check you. This is understandable from their POV, as it would allow trouble makers to test the defenses without being detected, but they need to make it clear when you have been detained by a federal agency.

    A big sign and a red line explaining the rights they are about to give up would settle this for me. I will avoid flying until they knock it off. I feel for people who are forced to travel for work, though.

    Natch, some terrorist is working on a taint cannon right now, if only to prevent the TSA from becoming rational.

    Ben Franklin said it best with the old "libertysecurity" blather.

  • On the post: Wikia Owned Wikileaks.com Domain; Assange Ignored Attempts To Hand It Over

    Elohssa ( profile ), 21 Jan, 2011 @ 07:20am

    Legal maneuver?

    Could this be an attempt to keep things murky, as a legal strategy? U.S. Federal agencies will seize domains without much of an excuse, though I'm not clear on how this would prevent that from happening.

    Perhaps accepting this offer creates some potential liability, or places them in an unfriendly jurisdiction?

  • On the post: The Next Big Battle: Cable TV vs. The Internet

    Elohssa ( profile ), 05 Jan, 2010 @ 04:57pm

    We have a winner!

    KO in the 1st round. The crowd goes wild!

    I haven't see a beating like that since Tyson-Spinks!

    I hope Cable's got a good cutman.

  • On the post: White House Actually Goes Against Hollywood, Supports Copyright Exemptions For Visually Impaired

    Elohssa ( profile ), 16 Dec, 2009 @ 09:34am

    Great.

    To celebrate, I'm offering a 2 for 1 deal on blindings this week.

  • On the post: Accidental Download Leading To Prison Sentence?

    Elohssa ( profile ), 08 Dec, 2009 @ 04:34am

    This story rings false. The FBI doesn't have time or resources to chase pornhounds, so the porn isn't what brought them knocking, unless it was a wildly unsuccessful sting.

    I'd be interested in other charges he is facing, but neither the article nor a brief search reveal anything. Links, anyone?

  • On the post: Gov't Needs To Reveal Who Lobbied For Telco Immunity On Warrantless Wiretaps

    Elohssa ( profile ), 25 Sep, 2009 @ 05:18am

    I don't beleive there was a lobby in the normal sense. I believe that some combination of the White House and the intelligence community decided this would be worthwhile, and the telco's demanded this as the price of cooperation. This was cloak and dangersecret executive order stuff.

    I hate the telcos in general, but I don't see them as the culprit on this one, and I don't see the new administration dedicating the next couple years to untangling a mess that will only embarrass the Bush White House, regardless of how unpopular, incompetent, illegal, and dangerous their policies may have been.

  • On the post: Nissan To Add Futuristic Sound Effects To Its Electric Car To Keep It From Hitting Unaware Pedestrians

    Elohssa ( profile ), 22 Sep, 2009 @ 07:30am

    Why so negative?

    This is great news for aftermarket mod retailers.

    Your hybrid could sound like a Tie fighter!

  • On the post: Wait, Was That An RIAA Education Campaign… Or Is It About Turning Schoolkids Into Unpaid Shills?

    Elohssa ( profile ), 18 Sep, 2009 @ 02:51pm

    Re:

    "what dip stick believes this 'educational material' will have any impact whatsoever?"

    The organizations that are presenting this are sloshing over with sweet cash money, and they are headed by friends of the family (public education unions andor industry.)

    And never doubt this all gets filed as a charitable act.

    No one cares whether it is effective. The worst thing that could happen would be if the program was too effective, because then it wouldn't be able to justify itself in the future.

Next >>