Jack Of Shadows 's Techdirt Comments

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  • On the post: Appeals Court Considers Overturning Ruling That APIs Can't Be Covered By Copyright

    Jack Of Shadows ( profile ), 04 Dec, 2013 @ 07:54pm

    Re:

    Which means the OpenJDK is toast. Which should have been expected with Oracle.

  • On the post: More Schools Reconsidering Zero Tolerance Policies And On-Campus Law Enforcement

    Jack Of Shadows ( profile ), 04 Dec, 2013 @ 09:05pm

    Show me the money!

    I can just picture some comptroller for a school district coming up with a very unpalatable financial picture for these schools, their districts, and all the way up to the State Superintendent (for the federal money). Ooops!

  • On the post: Small Roaster Beats Starbucks Over Their Charbucks Blend

    Jack Of Shadows ( profile ), 22 Nov, 2013 @ 02:45am

    Re: Too dark

    Before Starbucks showed up on the scene, I was getting both dark and light roasts in the mail from Gevalia. I was the only guy on my destroyer who got coffee delivered, so I was real popular when the ship ran out of the regular stuff.

  • On the post: Major Media Bias Towards NSA Defenders

    Jack Of Shadows ( profile ), 08 Nov, 2013 @ 04:22pm

    Not suprising

    It isn't surprising to find that the interests of the media and the state are best served together. Media, and I'm speaking of the classical case not internet, requires access to those in the state and the coin of the realm there is publishing the views of those that serve the state. It doesn't hurt in the more modern (internet) sense that the threats to classic media do not usually have such access. BTW, the state understands the bargain quite well, snubbing "lesser channels" in favor of the established media.

  • On the post: UK Gov't Losing The Plot: Now Claiming Snowden Leaks Could Help Pedophiles

    Jack Of Shadows ( profile ), 07 Nov, 2013 @ 07:36am

    Y'all are missin' somethin'

    The only way this can work, and apparently has worked in the past, is if the national security agencies are actually monitoring the people completely. Not just metadata, but full up interception of everything we do electronically. We've seen the tap-dancing before. Now we get the truth.

  • On the post: FBI 'Mistake' Leads To Six Years Of Monitoring Anti-War Website

    Jack Of Shadows ( profile ), 07 Nov, 2013 @ 06:43am

    What should of happened

    I'd have to see the email itself but I suspect that Garris forwarded the email with no introductory material explaining that he (just) received this threat via email. I always lead with a header paragraph just to make bloody sure that the sysadmin or officer on the other side of that pane of glass doesn't get the wrong impression. And I've been doing this since 1987. Yes, since before the web came about.

  • On the post: US Still Can't Figure Out What Snowden Took; What Happened To Those Perfect 'Audits'?

    Jack Of Shadows ( profile ), 21 Aug, 2013 @ 01:41pm

    Re:

    I think the Govt has inflicted much more damage towards itself with its reactions to the leaks than any leak could ever have produced.

    Streisand Effect as applied to secret government agencies!

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

    Jack Of Shadows ( profile ), 18 Aug, 2013 @ 04:05pm

    Re:

    To paraphrase from Linus (Torvalds): "I love razors, there are so many to choose from!"

  • On the post: Wyden And Udall: Latest Revelations Of Abuses 'Are Just The Tip Of A Larger Iceberg'

    Jack Of Shadows ( profile ), 17 Aug, 2013 @ 10:55am

    Addiction

    The executive branch is behaving just like an addict, as I can well know.

  • On the post: US Government War On Hackers Backfires: Now Top Hackers Won't Work With US Government

    Jack Of Shadows ( profile ), 07 Aug, 2013 @ 04:09pm

    Re: Nor will we work with government contractors

    There's a reason that Singapore and a few other nations have invested in, and often lead the world in, the fields of biotechnology and cloning. This was actually addressed decades ago:

    "Throughout history, poverty is the normal condition of man. Advances which permit this norm to be exceeded--here and there, now and then--are the work of an extremely small minority, frequently despised, often condemned, and almost always opposed by all right-thinking people. Whenever this tiny minority is kept from creating, or (as sometimes happens) is driven out of a society, the people then slip back into abject poverty. This is known as ?'bad luck.'? Time Enough for Love -- Robert A. Heinlein

  • On the post: Federal Judge None Too Impressed With Government's Defense Of Its 'No Fly' List

    Jack Of Shadows ( profile ), 29 Jun, 2013 @ 07:30pm

    Re: Re: And the biggest loophole of all:

    Which begs the question, what kind of id10ts puts we veterans on a No Fly List? That the last people I'd want to piss off.

  • On the post: White House Petition To Pardon Edward Snowden Zooms Past 100,000 Signatures

    Jack Of Shadows ( profile ), 28 Jun, 2013 @ 04:18pm

    Re: Re: The response with be the same as Manning's

    Oh, I've got the clearance. There's no doubt about that. When the NSA's shit broke on them, I was one of two people that was allowed to go hands on to fix it if they couldn't. And I wasn't even trained on their stuff. [Frankly, rather idiotic stuff, in my not so humble opinion.] Ditto the Tomahawk cruise missiles, communication systems, disposing of crypto keys, etc. Hell, I was even called in as an analyst on several occasions.

    Now "Need To Know" depends on your view-point with respect to the rights of a citizen. The standing rule at my commands was if I asked I had an automatic need to know. Shit, I wouldn't ask, otherwise. That crap was a distraction from my "special projects." Unfortunately, now, the right to petition for redress of grievances and the informed consent of the governed got lost somewhere in the gutting of the Constitution.

    So, I have a few questions for my government. Anybody willing to step up and explain to me why you are doing what you are doing, realistically (not come media-grade BS). I've got a "real good" BS-detector here and it's edging towards 8.5 on a logarithmic scale. You really don't want to see a Yellowstone Caldera "event" happen.

  • On the post: Attorneys Openly Revolt Against General Counsel Over Failure To Punish PG&E For Pipeline Explosion

    Jack Of Shadows ( profile ), 28 Jun, 2013 @ 05:07pm

    Sufficient Penalty?

    Tough call. If they actually do levy the recommended fine you can bet that PG&E won't be the one actually paying it. Somehow whenever a public utility is fined, a rate increase surely follows. Approved by whom? Why the CPUC!

    We're already paying seriously excessive bills to Pacific Gouge & Extortion, thank you.

  • On the post: Leaked Document Shows EU Approach To Cybercrime Is Completely Misguided

    Jack Of Shadows ( profile ), 28 Jun, 2013 @ 01:40pm

    DMCA bad enough...

    The DMCA is bad enough here about some of the standard tools that anybody in systems security has. Now the EU off and goes to criminalize the rest of the standard kit. I guess I won't be traveling anywhere.

  • On the post: Australia Drops Snooping Plans — For Now

    Jack Of Shadows ( profile ), 25 Jun, 2013 @ 02:11am

    I'd hazard...

    ... that it was the threat of increased oversight that led to it being shelved for now.

  • On the post: Is The US Using Prism To Engage In Commercial Espionage Against Germany And Others?

    Jack Of Shadows ( profile ), 12 Jun, 2013 @ 10:38am

    Re: May be a slight rationalization for it

    I've hazarded enough conjectures elsewhere but the initial thought I had seeing the heat map was precisely due to whom the Germans were making deals with. That and it'd be pretty relevant to know how, when, where, and the ever vital why of EU policies/directives. Before the commercial angle was brought up, I was already quite convinced this would be a vital interest of the UK, not just the US.

  • On the post: Rep. Peter King Says Reporters Should Be Prosecuted For Reporting On Government Leaks

    Jack Of Shadows ( profile ), 12 Jun, 2013 @ 11:20am

    Protect and defend...

    Nine days after my seventeenth birthday I swore an oath to "Protect and Defend the Constitution of the United States of America Against All Enemies, Foreign and Domestic, and to Obey All Lawful Orders of those Officers Appointed Above Me." Yep, the caps were in there too, I might even have missed a couple. I knew what every word meant and the meaning of the whole; my family has always been military, both lines.

    Excepting the Lawful Orders part and adding Uphold to Protect and Defend, politicians all take that same oath. And it seems they've been steadily getting worse as the Republic has aged. Lately, a lot worse, and I'm talking generations, not just Obama, Bush (I or II), Clinton, whomever all the way back to Lincoln actually if not earlier. Now is not the time for a history lesson.

    Well, there should be one lesson. The First Amendment stands, period. On that the Supreme Court has always been on point. If Mr. Hill is saying these things, he's in violation of his oath, grandstanding or no. Should he and others follow through, they should be held accountable and Mr. King needs to be reminded that the penalty for Treason is the only penalty to be found in the entire Constitution. Good luck on Amending that!

    Don't even get me started on Foreign and Domestic.

  • On the post: Rep. Peter King Says Reporters Should Be Prosecuted For Reporting On Government Leaks

    Jack Of Shadows ( profile ), 12 Jun, 2013 @ 11:19am

    Protect and defend...

    Nine days after my seventeenth birthday I swore an oath to "Protect and Defend the Constitution of the United States of America Against All Enemies, Foreign and Domestic, and to Obey All Lawful Orders of those Officers Appointed Above Me." Yep, the caps were in there too, I might even have missed a couple. I knew what every word meant and the meaning of the whole; my family has always been military, both lines.

    Excepting the Lawful Orders part and adding Uphold to Protect and Defend, politicians all take that same oath. And it seems they've been steadily getting worse as the Republic has aged. Lately, a lot worse, and I'm talking generations, not just Obama, Bush (I or II), Clinton, whomever all the way back to Lincoln actually if not earlier. Now is not the time for a history lesson.

    Well, there should be one lesson. The First Amendment stands, period. On that the Supreme Court has always been on point. If Mr. Hill is saying these things, he's in violation of his oath, grandstanding or no. Should he and others follow through, they should be held accountable and Mr. King needs to be reminded that the penalty for Treason is the only penalty to be found in the entire Constitution. Good luck on Amending that!

    Don't even get me started on Foreign and Domestic.

  • On the post: DailyDirt: Changing The Way We Think About Charity

    Jack Of Shadows ( profile ), 11 Jun, 2013 @ 02:33am

    Effective non-charity

    One particularly effective non-charitable organization that I found while studying economics is the Grameen bank. Micro-loans are far more efficient, and far less corrupt, than typical foreign aid programs.

  • On the post: Bad Day For Prenda Continues: Judge Rejects Stay, Adds $1k Per Day For Each Day They Don't Pay Up

    Jack Of Shadows ( profile ), 22 May, 2013 @ 12:15am

    Re: Re: Re: The story that just keeps on giving

    Let me guess... wearing bunny slippers and living in his parents basement?

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