Groaker 's Techdirt Comments

Latest Comments (670)

• On the post: EU Thinks It Has Jurisdiction Over The Global Internet: Says Right To Be Forgotten Should Be Global

  

  Groaker ( profile ), 01 Dec, 2014 @ 06:57am

  Once again, parts of Europe believe it has the power to censor truth for the entire world.

• On the post: After Calling Cord Cutting 'Purely Fiction' For Years, Nielsen Decides Just Maybe It Should Start Tracking Amazon, Netflix Viewing

  

  Groaker ( profile ), 26 Nov, 2014 @ 06:28am

  Cables prices are up, while quality is down

  The price increases in Cable don't really mean much to me, other than being as irritant. The value is another story. I gave up watch TV years ago, though my wife continued to watch.
  
  But ghost stories on the history and science channels? Unending repetition? No ala carte slections? Prices that go up in significant multiplications of the inflation rate. More and more commericials?
  
  If alternatives had not been available by now, I would have put the TV in storage, or used it as a monitor. The Cable networks have nothing to off. Now I get a couple of premium channels with Roku that come to about $10/mo and VOIP for $12. Unfortunately the net is still from the cable company, and I get 3-18Mbs for $65. Still a lot better than the $190 I was paying. More importantly, stuff I can actually watch,

• On the post: Middle School Principal Suspended Over Unannounced School Shooter Drill

  

  Groaker ( profile ), 20 Nov, 2014 @ 06:33am

  Worst school massacre in 1927

  To keep this in perspective, the school masacres are unfortunately nothing new.
  
  http://www.slate.com/blogs/crime/2012/12/18/bath_school_bombing_remembering_the_deadliest_school_massacre_in_american.html

• On the post: Middle School Principal Suspended Over Unannounced School Shooter Drill

  

  Groaker ( profile ), 20 Nov, 2014 @ 05:28am

  All those who took part in planning this little "exercise" should be tried for conspiracy. But that won't happen, because in schools we punish our children like adults, and adults like children.

• On the post: Cops Decide Running Surprise School Shooter Drill During Class At A Middle School Is A Great Idea

  

  Groaker ( profile ), 19 Nov, 2014 @ 09:09am

  Re: Cry havoc and let slip the dogs of law

  The cops committed, at the least the tort of assault. Potentially battery and false imprisonment. Just because they are cops, and their victims children, doesn't mean they should get away with it.
  
  Having a gun pointed at a person will reasonably place them in fear of death or bodily harm. I would further suspect that this behavior is in violation of departmental policy in the use of weapons.
  
  And police have been known to shoot people who were bystanders, or who were in the process of surrendering. Not unlike the dentist who was in his underwear with his hands up, and was shot by a nervous cop with a twitchy trigger finger, and no trigger discipliine. His execution was for the victim-less crime of gambling.

• On the post: Cops Decide Running Surprise School Shooter Drill During Class At A Middle School Is A Great Idea

  

  Groaker ( profile ), 19 Nov, 2014 @ 09:01am

  Re: Some historical perspective

  Yes, but we knew that they were drills. Nobody pointed loaded weapons at us. None of the students took them seriously, at least not after the third grade.

• On the post: Feds Indict Another Person For Teaching People How To Beat Polygraph Tests

  

  Groaker ( profile ), 17 Nov, 2014 @ 03:55pm

  "It is said that Thoreau's friend and fellow writer and philosopher, Ralph Waldo Emerson, who lived nearby and had given Thoreau the land by Walden Pond, came to visit Thoreau during his brief stay in the Concord jail after Emerson heard what had happened. Upon seeing Thoreau in his cell, Emerson exclaimed "What are you doing in there?" Thoreau immediately responded "What are you doing out there?"
  
  Pretty soon we will all be asking Thoreau's question, and there will be no one left outside.

• On the post: Italian Court Acquits Scientists Of Manslaughter Charges Incurred After Failing To Predict Deadly Earthquake

  

  Groaker ( profile ), 17 Nov, 2014 @ 06:05am

  Re:

  There are fewer medical lawsuits than ever. With monetary caps on pain and suffering, it is next to impossible to find an attorney who will take a case on a contingency basis. The victim generally must fund their own case, something that most people can not afford to do.
  
  There is no shortage of qualified students applying to medical school. There are, for a variety of reasons, limits on the number of available seats.

• On the post: Twitter Testing Secret Filter To Stop Abuse: Is That A Good Thing Or An Attack On Free Speech?

  

  Groaker ( profile ), 13 Nov, 2014 @ 02:40pm

  not feasible

  An inordinate number of people seem to feel that they have a right not to be offended. Interestingly enough many of these same people are incredibly offensive to others, believing that their upbringing and opinions are just the natural order of the universe.
  
  There are some two million words in English, and I would defy any filter to be able to deal with them, never mind the implications of an enormous number of ways to interpret combinations.
  
  Quite a few companies on the net have gone out of business attempting censorship

• On the post: Deer Hunter Vs. Killshot: Why Specific Expression Matters More Than Similar Shooter-Genre Staples

  

  Groaker ( profile ), 11 Nov, 2014 @ 11:20am

  Re: Re: Re: Clear cut infringement

  I have seen far more outrageous comments that I took as sarcasm, but were not. Especially when the writer used the default name.

• On the post: Broadband Industry: Title II Is Bad Because Only A Broken Congress Awash In Our Lobbying Cash Should Guide Net Neutrality

  

  Groaker ( profile ), 11 Nov, 2014 @ 08:32am

  Re: Like government bureacrats are more accountable than public companies

  But the initial governmental regulation is indeed the cause of the problem. Authorities who had the ability to decide which cable company could gain the monopoly for their area of coverage. These companies have no competition because their bribes, trade in kind, jobs or whatever offered by the infant cable companies eventually allowed them to consolidate until there is soon to be only one cable company.
  
  Comcast is not an example of capitalism and freedom from government regulation gaining its market share through competition, but rather a behemoth created by law and regulation.

• On the post: Deer Hunter Vs. Killshot: Why Specific Expression Matters More Than Similar Shooter-Genre Staples

  

  Groaker ( profile ), 11 Nov, 2014 @ 08:21am

  Re: Re: Clear cut infringement

  How many Romeo and Juliets are written every day? (And yes I know the Shakespearean version is not under valid copyright.)
  
  Just how many different plot lines are there in literary space? Variations of a very few themes. Perhaps we can flood the courts with every author bringing suit against every other author.

• On the post: If You're Going To Complain About Spotify Payments, At Least Understand A Little Economics First

  

  Groaker ( profile ), 11 Nov, 2014 @ 12:44pm

  Artists have pretty much made their money from concert tours. Even some major artists, who have been popular for decades, have claimed they never got a dime from sales of both vinyl and CDs. It has been reputed that the labels nickel and dime artists so that the artists still have a negative balance on the making of an album.
  
  The only use the industry served was some upfront capital to make the album, and publicity. It is said that for an artist to even attempt to audit an albums finances starts at a cost around $50K. I used to have a neighbour, a VP at a major label, who would not deny most of the nuggets I dug up elsewhere.
  
  Now this buggywhip industry is struggling to stay in the game with computers, cheap electronics and software. But because there is so much money involved, they will not go quietly into the night.

• On the post: Broadband Industry: Title II Is Bad Because Only A Broken Congress Awash In Our Lobbying Cash Should Guide Net Neutrality

  

  Groaker ( profile ), 11 Nov, 2014 @ 08:25am

  These companies want the law written/regulated/enforced in the way that they paid for. And given past history, had every reason to expect would be forthcoming to their exact specifications.

• On the post: The Exception Is The Rule: How The Government's 'Good Faith' Efforts Are Destroying The Fourth Amendment

  

  Groaker ( profile ), 07 Nov, 2014 @ 05:46am

  Re: Re:

  Evidence is not always about the putative crime. Police often "find" evidence that is either "not in plain sight," or wasn't there before the police got there. Given the less than sterling lip service that police show the 4th Amendment, I would always be suspicious of what was claimed to be found in a raid.

• On the post: The Exception Is The Rule: How The Government's 'Good Faith' Efforts Are Destroying The Fourth Amendment

  

  Groaker ( profile ), 07 Nov, 2014 @ 05:49am

  I have been seriously considering sending some of my emails encrypted with one time pads. Since I have nothing to hide, I think it best well hidden. Though I suspect that sending an unbreakable "Happy Birthday" coded message might aggravate the recipient.

• On the post: New GCHQ Boss Blames Tech Industry For 'Facilitating Murder' And Being Terrorists' 'Command-And-Control' Center

  

  Groaker ( profile ), 06 Nov, 2014 @ 05:21am

  The four causes to remove civil liberties:

  Please add to your list:
  
  -Because

• On the post: Lena Dunham Once Again Threatens Lawsuit Over An Interpretation Of Her Book That She Doesn't Like

  

  Groaker ( profile ), 05 Nov, 2014 @ 11:34am

  Re: INVESTIGATOR'S INTERPRETATION

  Unless Dunham is a sociopath, I can only believe that she wrote this reputedly salacious material as an inducement for sales.
  
  It may very well be that she is a sociopath, but most of that group tend to lie low in order to fit into society as well as possible for past deeds.

• On the post: Lena Dunham Once Again Threatens Lawsuit Over An Interpretation Of Her Book That She Doesn't Like

  

  Groaker ( profile ), 05 Nov, 2014 @ 10:12am

  Re: Legally

  And you know this how?

• On the post: New GCHQ Boss Blames Tech Industry For 'Facilitating Murder' And Being Terrorists' 'Command-And-Control' Center

  

  Groaker ( profile ), 04 Nov, 2014 @ 06:40am

  Re: China?

  I think he would be more comfortable in North Korea.

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