ethorad 's Techdirt Comments

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  • On the post: Revelations About Massive UK Police Corruption Shows Why We Cannot — And Must Not — Trust The Spies

    ethorad ( profile ), 15 Jan, 2014 @ 09:09am

    "Next time we may not be so lucky"

    Don't you mean "The previous N times we weren't so lucky"

    The problem is we don't know how big N is

  • On the post: India Developing Additional National Surveillance System; US Has No Moral High Ground To Protest

    ethorad ( profile ), 14 Jan, 2014 @ 02:50am

    Re:

    "If they had a system like that in the US or UK ..."

    We do and have been developing it since about the 1970s: see ECHELON.

    Allegedly.

  • On the post: University Professor: Candy Crush Is Turning Children Into Obsessive Gamblers

    ethorad ( profile ), 13 Jan, 2014 @ 07:31am

    Re: Ban reading too!

    And ban sleep!

    All too often I think I'll have a 15 minute lie in, and all of a sudden it's 1 hour later and I'm going to be in trouble at work ...

  • On the post: Whistleblowers Who Broke Into The FBI 43 Years Ago Finally Reveal Themselves

    ethorad ( profile ), 09 Jan, 2014 @ 04:06am

    Re: Re: Re: Grammar

    Makes sense, thanks. Although (or because?) I'm a native english speaker my grip of grammar - adverbs, etc - isn't what it should be

    Although I would comment that a burglar is one who burgles, in a similar manner to a fighter is one who fights - I haven't (yet) heard of people fighterizing ;)

    Agree that there's no universal "right" way of speaking English - only the right way for a given dialect, such as UK / US / Australian / etc - eg colour / color. Presumably the situation is the same for European / American spanish.

  • On the post: Whistleblowers Who Broke Into The FBI 43 Years Ago Finally Reveal Themselves

    ethorad ( profile ), 08 Jan, 2014 @ 04:47am

    Re: Grammar

    On a similar vein, what's with the word "burglarized"? How does it differ from plain old "burgled"? I've seen it cropping up increasingly frequently in American English and it seems to be a case of inventing a new longer word for no real reason?

    Same goes for "terroristic". Surely terroristic threat = terrorist threat. There's no need for the "ic"?

  • On the post: Rep. Peter King Says NSA Should Spy On Congress, Because They Might Be Talking To Al Qaeda

    ethorad ( profile ), 07 Jan, 2014 @ 06:57am

    IRA activity

    "[The IRA] was known for bombing a shopping center, killing six and injuring 90"

    Um, that's probably the least of their activities. Thats like saying "Al Qaeda is known for bombing the US embassy in Kenya".

    The Provisional IRA (one part of the various IRA groups) has a much more active history than that. They were responsible for multiple bombings, including assassinating a member of the royal family, an assassination attempt on the British PM (by way of blowing up the hotel where her party's annual conference was held), terrorist attacks on in the UK, Belgium, Germany and the Netherlands, and were involved with operations in the Americas (eg Columbia) and the middle east.

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

    ethorad ( profile ), 22 Dec, 2013 @ 12:23pm

    I think this comment is pretty special!

  • On the post: Why Tribunals Imposing Corporate Sovereignty Are Even More Dangerous Than We Thought

    ethorad ( profile ), 18 Dec, 2013 @ 12:56pm

    Re: Re: how about in the US?

    Doesn't need to be about exports though? a decision to block drilling in Alaska - or oil wells in the Mexican gulf - would sound like something a company could sue over

    Oh and the US exports a lot of digital goods, far more than GM foods I think. Movies, games, music, etc.

  • On the post: Blogger Offers To Pimp Restaurants If They Feed Her And Her Family Food And Drinks

    ethorad ( profile ), 18 Dec, 2013 @ 01:13am

    Re: Re: to play devil's advocate

    Yes, so she will say that she chose to go there for Christmas Eve dinner.

    She doesn't say that she will promote it as a fantastic place to eat, having good food, etc. She doesn't say that she will promote it as the restaurant of choice for anyone else's Christmas dinner.

    I agree that she will probably give it a good review, so if I read AML would become very sceptical of her reviews. However strictly speaking I don't think she has said that.

  • On the post: Unfortunate: ACLU On The Wrong Side Of A Free Speech Case

    ethorad ( profile ), 18 Dec, 2013 @ 01:04am

    which jobs are protected by first amendment?

    I'm not a lawyer or a constitutional expert so I was wondering if there was a clear definition somewhere of what is speech and what isn't? I'm guessing it has to be decided by the courts?

    The reason I ask is it seems that there's an argument that a photographer can deny service since what they do counts as speech, but a diner couldn't. I can see that there's not much "speech" in getting a burger, however there's a multitude of jobs on the speech to processing scale

    Could a lecturer refuse to teach? They physically speak to teach people. How about if the lecturer was in say political science where it's more about the professor's opinion than say maths where it's hard fact, so not so much the professor's "speech"

    Musicians? party organisers? artists? like photographers they try and come up with new products to fit their client's desires.

    Does the line get drawn when the job involves creativity? In which case you could make an argument for lots of jobs to come under free speech - basically anything which isn't following a rigid checklist, so anyone offering a more bespoke service than you get at a macdonalds.

  • On the post: Tech Company Officials Meet With Obama Officially About Healthcare.gov, But Focus On NSA Surveillance Instead

    ethorad ( profile ), 18 Dec, 2013 @ 12:48am

    Re: What representation

    Um, the CEOs aren't there to represent your interests. They are there to represent their company's interests. There's only an intersection to the extent that they need to pander to your interests to gain your business.

    Now your senator however, they should be representing your interests ...

  • On the post: Bic Loses Its Mind Over Parody Customer Service Letter

    ethorad ( profile ), 18 Dec, 2013 @ 12:29am

    Re: The Signature!

    That's definitely a phallic signature, part of the joke I assume.

    They should really have sent fifteen replacement pens, so that the complainant could join the "PEN15" club

  • On the post: Why Tribunals Imposing Corporate Sovereignty Are Even More Dangerous Than We Thought

    ethorad ( profile ), 18 Dec, 2013 @ 05:10am

    how about in the US?

    Most of the ISDS cases I hear about are US companies taking action against non-US countries (eg Canada, Ecuador, etc)

    Has the US government been hit with any yet? As that's the only thing that could really change their mind.

  • On the post: You Don't Own What You 'Bought': Disney And Amazon Play The Role Of The Grinch In Taking Back Purchased Film

    ethorad ( profile ), 17 Dec, 2013 @ 07:56am

    Re: So don't deal with Amazon. Problem solved.

    Agreed, having paid for a temporary licence you shouldn't complain when it's revoked.

    The problem is most people don't realise that they've only bought a temporary licence.

    Partly because they're used to buying physical goods and partly because the online provider makes statements such as "watch and re-watch as often as you like" rather than "watch and re-watch as often as we like".

    I'd like a magnetic domain though, where can I get one?

  • On the post: Unfortunate: ACLU On The Wrong Side Of A Free Speech Case

    ethorad ( profile ), 17 Dec, 2013 @ 03:24pm

    similar situation in the UK

    There was a recent case of a small hotel owner trying to turn away gay couples, or at least deny them a double room, on the grounds of their religious belief.

    They lost their case, and aren't allowed to let their religious beliefs impact their business.

    Basically anti-discrimination trumps freedom of religion when it comes to offering services to the public it seems.

    Although as others have commented - I sure wouldn't want someone photographing my wedding unless they wanted to be there. So many ways for the photos not to turn out properly without anything obvious being done which would open the photographer up to being sued. No way I would want to risk that!

  • On the post: Blogger Offers To Pimp Restaurants If They Feed Her And Her Family Food And Drinks

    ethorad ( profile ), 17 Dec, 2013 @ 01:26am

    to play devil's advocate

    What she's offering in exchange for a meal is:
    - 2 facebook posts stating where they ate
    - 5 instagram photos during the meal
    - 2 newsletter adverts
    - 1 listing in dining guide

    The first two are factual - basically "if we eat at your restaurant, we'll say that we did". The next two are normal business transactions, the restaurant could shell out $ to buy an advert and a mention in the listing, or they could pay by providing the blogger with a meal

    She hasn't stated that she will provide a good review, just that she will make some factual statements, and will take a meal as payment for advertising space.

  • On the post: Teenager Pays Hundreds Of Dollars For A Picture Of An Xbox One

    ethorad ( profile ), 12 Dec, 2013 @ 10:00am

    Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re:

    You say "the seller wilfully characterized the goods in the ?video games and consoles category?. The seller knew that the item listed was not a video game or console"

    How do you respond to all the other items in the video games and consoles category that aren't games or consoles - eg hard drives etc. Are they also scamming people?

    Same goes for every category on eBay.

  • On the post: CEO Of 21st Century Fox Thinks People Aren't Really Asking For A La Carte TV Channels

    ethorad ( profile ), 12 Dec, 2013 @ 07:18am

    Re:

    So basically by bundling a popular and unpopular channel together, they get people who don't want to watch the unpopular channel to subsidise those who do.

    The problem is the only way that is sustainable is if nobody else is allowed to compete. Otherwise another company will realise that they can offer a package of just the popular channel. They will be able to do that for a lower price than the bundle obviously. Then the only people who still buy the bundle will be those who want the unpopular channel.

    So they can only continue with their bundling practice by stifling competition, ie by interfering with the free market.

    Also, since when were cable companies in the business of creating niche channels so that everyone's pet interest was covered? As far as I know, being corporations, they are driven by profitability. The way they increase their profitability is by increasing their revenue - which means making a new channel and forcing their customer base to buy it. Sure they can claim to be serving some small demographic's wants - but only at the expense of everyone else.

    Why are niche channels on cable even required? Even the smallest niche can have video channels on the internet. Plus, smaller niches don't need a rolling 24hr feed by definition.

  • On the post: Teenager Pays Hundreds Of Dollars For A Picture Of An Xbox One

    ethorad ( profile ), 10 Dec, 2013 @ 03:42am

    Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re:

    Not everything in "Video Games and Consoles" category is a video game or a console.

    I've just had a quick look and I can see controllers, hard drives and vouchers for money off a console. So can I buy a controller from that category and then complain when I don't get a full console system? No. Because that would be dumb.

    Same goes for many other categories - In the Vehicles-Boats section, I can see engines for sale.

    The category is not a complete description of what you're selling - the post title and commentary does that. And indeed in this case it did, through the use of the word "photo".

  • On the post: Companies Developing Crowd Analysis Programs To Detect 'Abnormalities' In Behavior And Match Faces Against Giant Databases

    ethorad ( profile ), 05 Dec, 2013 @ 09:29am

    Re: Well...

    The Emperor has some.

    Well, the clothing is invisible so he's half way there ...

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