Eldakka 's Techdirt Comments

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  • On the post: NSA's XKeyscore Source Code Leaked! Shows Tor Users Classified As 'Extremists'

    Eldakka ( profile ), 03 Jul, 2014 @ 06:36pm

    Re: Re: Re:

    Actually I think it's easier to leak stuff right now, as Snowden will get the blame no-matter who the leaker is.

  • On the post: International Service Providers Sue GCHQ For Potentially Hacking Their Networks

    Eldakka ( profile ), 02 Jul, 2014 @ 11:03pm

    Re:

    do we truly want to be able to sue the government spy agency for doing it's job?


    When the MEANS it uses to do it's job breach the law and/or constitutional protections, then definitely YES.

    The ends do NOT justify the means.

    The security agencies are not above the law, no matter how much they and the executive wish they are.

    And while legally they are not above the law, the way things seem to be heading it is looking more and more like in practice they are above the law.

  • On the post: SCOTUSblog's Best Trolling Of People Who Think Its Twitter Account Is The Supreme Court Itself

    Eldakka ( profile ), 02 Jul, 2014 @ 05:36pm

    Living under a rock...

    Assuming you haven't been living under a rock,
    Or that I'm not American so don't get US news outside of what I read on techdirt and similiar special interest news/blogs therefore don't really give a damn...

  • On the post: US Embassy Blamed State Dept Investigator For Upsetting Its Relationship With Blackwater After Investigator Complained About Death Threat

    Eldakka ( profile ), 01 Jul, 2014 @ 12:34am

    Re: Re:

    We have met the enemy and he is us.
    • Walt Kelly

  • On the post: Facebook Messed With The Emotions Of 689,003 Users… For Science

    Eldakka ( profile ), 01 Jul, 2014 @ 12:27am

    Re: Been a guinee-pig before

    Was it a study or an experiment?

    That is, did they gather data from the game AS IS and use that, or did they specifically manipulate the game to test various theories?

    Being part of a study where they don't manipulate the environment, just gather data from the environment, is different and less intrusive than being experimented on by being manipulated.

    Also, personally, I feel there is a difference between playing a game that is supposed to manipulate you for your entertainment (e.g. questing for items, getting experience to level and become stronger, earning money to again become 'better' in some way is all a form of manipulatoin by the game designers to encourage certain activities), and participating in 'real life' social interactions that are being deliberately manipulated by a non-involved 3rd party for research.

    But then again, I suppose Facebook is about as real life as Days of our lives...

  • On the post: Facebook Messed With The Emotions Of 689,003 Users… For Science

    Eldakka ( profile ), 30 Jun, 2014 @ 11:56pm

    Re: Whatever!

    most people are default evil and are mindless sheep in need of a Shepard.

    This is not true. Most people obey what they view as fair, sensible laws, not making waves, fitting in, treating others how you want to be treated. There has been much study on this, especially where sentencing guildelines are being determined.

    Examples of this are the steady ratcheting up of penalties for copyright infringement (piracy!). Many people do not view the extreme maximalist copyright position as reasonable. Therefore even with the escalation in penalties, copyright infringement is increasing.

    And for other laws, say murder and so on, that most people generally agree with, often increasing penalties has little to no effect because most people just don't agree with committing murder, most people just don't do it. The sort of people who do commit murder, do believe it is a viable option, will commit the murder whether the penalty is 15 years, 30 years or even execution.

    This is why all of those child day cares have "Share your Toys" reminders on the walls and not "Be Greedy with your Toys" reminders. Our Selfishness comes natural, too bad this shit does not go away with age!

    err, selfishness != evil. I think you are confusing self-interest, selfishness, with evil.

    Selfishness is more along the lines of not being nice, kind, etc. Just because someone is a selfish b@st@rd doesn't make them evil.

    Just because I don't want to share my toys doesn't mean I'm going to go and steal someone else's.

    And the reminders to share toys and so on are reminders about being nice and kind to others. To make the environment more peaceful. To make it less stressful for the staff so they don't have upset kids throwing temper tanti's because they can't get their favourite toy. They are not about good and evil.

  • On the post: US Embassy Blamed State Dept Investigator For Upsetting Its Relationship With Blackwater After Investigator Complained About Death Threat

    Eldakka ( profile ), 01 Jul, 2014 @ 12:31am

    The "private security" contractor formerly known as Blackwater has often been accused of being engaged in what might normally be seen as a level of evil and depravity normally reserved for over-the-top movie villains...
    ...and democratically elected governments.

  • On the post: Security Researchers Expose New Gold Standard In Government/Law Enforcement Spyware

    Eldakka ( profile ), 25 Jun, 2014 @ 12:47am

    Re: What the hell do you mean it is legal

    What the hell do you mean it is legal
    That been proven in a court of law yet?


    If it has not been declared illegal in a court of law then ipso facto it is legal.

    Witness all the actions of the NSA that are defended as legal because no court of law has found those activities illegal. Of course, the Government is doing it's best song-and-dance act to prevent these activities from being brought before the courts, thus avoiding a finding of illegality.

  • On the post: Texas Deputy Displays Ignorance Of Laws He's 'Enforcing' While Trying To Shut Down A Citizen's Recording

    Eldakka ( profile ), 23 Jun, 2014 @ 03:36pm

    Re: Re: Re: Re: How much training do the cops get?

    yeah you are probably right, my irony meter needs calibration.

  • On the post: Awesome Stuff: Crowdfunding To Get Money Out Of Politics… Now With Steve Wozniak!

    Eldakka ( profile ), 22 Jun, 2014 @ 09:38pm

    Re: Re: I'm not really liking this

    I think "real" democracy CAN work.

    However, I am not aware of any large state that has ever had "real" democracy. Not even ancient Athens had real democracy, as they had limits on who could vote: No slaves, no women, etc.

    Even our current nation-states do not have real democracy, US, UK, France, Germany, Australia, Canada, etc etc. None of them are Democracies, they are all Representative Democracies. The closest thing to a democracy in recent historic times is Switzerland.

  • On the post: Texas Deputy Displays Ignorance Of Laws He's 'Enforcing' While Trying To Shut Down A Citizen's Recording

    Eldakka ( profile ), 22 Jun, 2014 @ 09:21pm

    Re: Re: How much training do the cops get?

    To be fair, if the barber screws up while giving you an old-fashioned shave with a straight razor it could kill you...


    Hmm, ok, let's list what a police officer could do to you...

    1) Beat you up and then arrest YOU for 'resisting arrest';
    2) Get you thrown in jail on trumped up charges. Sure, you might not get convicted, but while spending 18 months on remand you could get murdered, raped, assaulted, and/or pick up one of the many contagious diseases in jail, hep C, HIV, and so on;
    3) Jump-up on the bonnet of your stationery, trapped and fully surrounded vehicle and empty a full clip of ammo into the unarmed (with no witnesses having seen any weapons) occupants shooting them dead, AFTER 30 OTHER cops had already fired in excess of 100 rounds into the vehicle;
    4) get you put on the no-fly list with no evidence;
    5) arrest you and escort you to hospital where you are subjected to x-rays, forced rectal exams, and a fully-anesthetised, non-consensual colonoscopy;
    6) Shot and killed as collateral damage when the police shoot at the offender;
    7) Get pulled over at gunpoint by a swarm of armed police because an ANPR system mis-read a number plate for a COMPLETELY DIFFERENT type of vehicle (make, model, colour, style all different).

    Need I go on?

    How many people die from "death by barber" as opposed to "death by cop"? And here I'm just thinking of unarmed/unjustified shootings, innocent bystanders, and so on, not the classic "shootout with armed criminal" scenario.

  • On the post: Quick Hack Will Now Alert People When The Supreme Court Quietly Changes Rulings On Its Site

    Eldakka ( profile ), 15 Jun, 2014 @ 08:35pm

    Re: Re:

    pfft, doors are so last year. You can make your own with an MRAP.

  • On the post: TrueCrypt Page Says It's Not Secure, All Development Stopped

    Eldakka ( profile ), 28 May, 2014 @ 07:57pm

    Re: Re: Re: Re: Trusted Systems

    Oops that was me not logged in ...

  • On the post: UPS Insists That It Is Not Helping The NSA 'Interdict' Packages To Install Backdoors

    Eldakka ( profile ), 28 May, 2014 @ 07:45pm

    Re: NSLs?

    The NSA would be more likely to use NSLs than court orders, wouldn't they? And UPS would not be allowed to confirm that fact.

    They would be in breach of NSLs if they admitted they'd received them. They'd open themselves up to civil suits if they said they'd never received any when they had.

    They may not be able to admit to receiving NSLs, but they couldn't lie and say they have NOT received any NSLs.

    They would be between a rock and a hard place. About the only answer they could provide that would protect them in all cases would be "no comment".

  • On the post: Moral Rights, Property Rights And Picasso: An Artistic And Legal Conundrum

    Eldakka ( profile ), 26 May, 2014 @ 05:06pm

    Re:

    IANAL, but I don't think this is correct.

    You may have 2 conflicting laws, law A on safety etc, and law B on copyright.

    It would be up to the courts (not you, or a lawyer) to decide which law would take precedence, the copyright law or health/safety/construction laws.

    It could be quite possible for the courts to decide that the copyright law takes precedence and that the wall could not be fixed if it would damage the artwork. The result of this would be the wall no longer meets the various health/safety/construction laws/regulations, which would mean the owner of the four seasons would have to close the restaurant. And, if the wall was structural to more than just the restaurant (if it was part of an office building for example) then the building's certificate of occupancy could be revoked.

    Just because a decision would seem to be nonsensical (copyright takes precedence, therefore wall can't be fixed, therefore all businesses in building have to be closed and abandoned) doesn't mean the courts would find otherwise if that's the way the law is written.

  • On the post: Newegg Given The Go Ahead To Pursue 'Douche Bag' Patent Troll For Fees

    Eldakka ( profile ), 22 May, 2014 @ 05:32pm

    Re: Re: Re: Re:

    Not sure how it works in other countries, but in Australia the RETAILER is REQUIRED by law to offer a warranty, usually 12 months, sometimes more. Therefore in the legislated minimum warranty period, it is irrelevant whether the manufacturer offers a warranty or not (such as if the product is sold outside the manufacturer's warrantied countries by the retailer) as it is the retailer that is responsible for that warranty.

    The retailer must honour the warranty and, if the retailer still has a warranty on it's purchase from the manufacturer, it can return the product to the manufacturer to get it's warranty honoured.

    If the manufacturer offers a warranty greater than the statutory minimum, and the problem arises outside the statutory period but within the extended warranty period, then the consumer needs to go back to the manufacturer for that component of the warranty.

  • On the post: TV Networks Sued For Hiding Who's Buying Political Ads

    Eldakka ( profile ), 05 May, 2014 @ 05:26pm

    Re:

    IANAL, but as far as I understand citizens united ruling, it overturned restrictions/limits on the amount/size of campaign contributions, it didn't overturn reporting requirements, which is what this suit is about.

    Or did I misunderstand?

  • On the post: FTC Goes To Bat For Tesla: Says States Shouldn't Limit Tesla Sales Model

    Eldakka ( profile ), 28 Apr, 2014 @ 01:36am

    Re: Re: Re: Dealerships Are An Indispensable Part of Process

    So anyone should be able to just hop on ebay and buy a car? Like you would buy some glass casserole dish or pod-based coffee maker?


    Yes, and you already can buy a car online with ebay. Or carsales.com.au, or drive.com.au, other places too.

    All you need is a spec sheet, some ability to use google to find out anything you don't understand, or maybe ask your more knowledgeable friends. Consumer review sites too.

    Actually, one thing a dealership is good for, somewhere to go to test drive a car before you order it online.

    There's a reason car salesman are used as the butt of jokes regarding:
    1) high pressure sales tactics;
    2) lieing;
    3) overcharging.

    Because they do all of the above.

    "Yes love, you really need the genuine $600 floor mats, you can't trust those $30 auto-parts store ones that are made of the same material and probably come from the same production line in china"

  • On the post: The Stupidity Of Installing Bloatware That No One Uses… And Everyone Hates

    Eldakka ( profile ), 27 Apr, 2014 @ 10:26pm

    Re: Re: Re: Re:

    Opinions are like arseholes, everyone has one but they are best kept to oneself. (and yes this is an opinion that should be kept to myself ... start infinite recursion)

  • On the post: Shameful Security: StartCom Charges People To Revoke SSL Certs Vulnerable To Heartbleed

    Eldakka ( profile ), 09 Apr, 2014 @ 08:52pm

    Re: Re: Disagree

    I agree with this. They should only be charging for issuing, not revocationn.

    It's sorta like the old saying:

    Every takeoff is optional, every landing is mandatory


    So they are taking advantage of the fact that takeoffs are optional, so they are free. But since once you've taken off you HAVE to land at asome point, they are gonna charge you for that.

    Sad, but effective, way to do business.

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