JoeDetroit 's Techdirt Comments

Latest Comments (122) comment rss

  • On the post: Portland Police Review Board Says It's OK For Officers To Lie To Get Someone To Stop Filming Them

    JoeDetroit ( profile ), 17 Oct, 2019 @ 04:36am

    Increasingly?

    "Increasingly cops only understand force." This is hardly anything new. What's new (at least historically) is they are getting caught in the act. But only in rare cases do they get punished for it.

  • On the post: After Missing Cord Cutting Trend, Nielsen Falls Apart

    JoeDetroit ( profile ), 08 Aug, 2019 @ 05:03am

    Re: What they Want

    Way back in 1987 or so I was selected by Nielsen to keep a log book. I completely lied filling it out. What I logged was only Star Trek reruns & Next Generation. The truth was I never actually turned on the TV. I was young, working lots of hours, & had cash to burn & fun to have. I was only home to sleep, shower, & try to get some laundry done. When I was very young they canceled Star Trek (my parents let me stay up late to watch it). I was still holding a grudge over that.

  • On the post: AT&T Lays Off Thousands After Nabbing Billions In Tax Breaks And Regulatory Favors

    JoeDetroit ( profile ), 19 Jun, 2019 @ 09:55am

    Re:

    AT&T has a ton of work. They just want to avoid having employees, union or not. They've been contracting it all out. That & abandoning rural areas by closing service & call centers & letting the infrastructure go to shit. They've been pushing for lower labor costs for a years all while making billions, even before the tax cuts. I do not know how far these multi-nationally owned mega-corporations are going to be able to push before people finally start to push back. Even after 20 years of mostly flat wages while profits continue to climb, the public still seems to have the "thank you sir, could I have another" point of view.

  • On the post: Federal Agent: Using A Taped Box To Send Stuff Overnight Via FedEx Is Suspicious Behavior

    JoeDetroit ( profile ), 24 Apr, 2019 @ 05:07pm

    This has been going on for many years

    As far back as 2010 I know someone who led a team at FedEX, UPS, & LAX. At FedEX & UPS they just stood over the conveyors & grabbed boxes they say looked suspicious & got cash & dope everytime. At LAX they just grabbed people they saw as suspicious & got loads of cash & drugs. He claimed they knew right away who to grab.

    Many millions confiscated. From what I was told & I could be wrong, if you need to ship cash or something, use USPS. They need a warrant to open USPS packages.

    WIth dope they would literally dress as FedEX or UPS & deliver the package. Once the door was open they would look inside & look for anything (paraphernalia or smell) to give probable cause to raid with no warrant. As one can imagine it doesn't take much.

  • On the post: The FTC Says It's Totally Cool With Anti-Competitive Internet Fast Lanes

    JoeDetroit ( profile ), 02 Apr, 2019 @ 09:46am

    Re: Re: Re: Re:

    Lets not forget all the advertisements we all have to download, helping to eat through data caps.

  • On the post: T-Mobile Still Pretending That Staying At Trump's DC Hotel Isn't An Obvious Ploy To Gain Merger Approval

    JoeDetroit ( profile ), 08 Mar, 2019 @ 05:40am

    At 72 years old, why not divest?

    Seriously, the old guy is OLD. Why would he not completely divest in all is businesses? It shows low intelligence or downright stupidity to not do that & remove it as an appearance of influence. It's not like he can direct his "empire" from the afterlife.

  • On the post: AT&T's Planning Yet More Layoffs Despite Tens Of Billions In Tax Breaks And Government Favors

    JoeDetroit ( profile ), 10 Jan, 2019 @ 09:59am

    Re: Re: Re: Re: Hello, "Greevar"! Back after 30 month

    Personally I come here to read the articles & some of the comments. I rarely post.

    But since you have this belief, with no evidence, that commenters here are not real, why do you come here?

  • On the post: Texas, Arkansas, & Nebraska AGs Are Now Aiding The Broadband Industry's Assault On Net Neutrality

    JoeDetroit ( profile ), 25 Oct, 2018 @ 10:09am

    Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: The gubernatorial route through the AG's office

    Third party will never happen but in the meantime it will be just enough to keep the "R"s in power. "D"s may not be perfect but that is all we got right now. Push the Dems to be more representative of the people rather than push for some third party. At least the Dems are on board with Net Neutrality.

  • On the post: NYC Prosecutors Accidentally Admit They Use Bail To Deprive Presumably-Innocent People Of Their Freedom

    JoeDetroit ( profile ), 15 Oct, 2018 @ 04:56am

    TED talk

    https://www.ted.com/talks/robin_steinberg_what_if_we_ended_the_injustice_of_bail

    96% of the people that the Bronx Freedom Fund bailed out returned for their trials. For the most part, they just needed reminders. Others had childcare, transportation issues, etc...

    Of these that returned for trial, half of them had their charges dismissed.

  • On the post: Cops Lose Qualified Immunity After Arresting Man For A Snarky Facebook Comment

    JoeDetroit ( profile ), 30 Jul, 2018 @ 07:38am

    Re: Re:

    I've rarely disagreed with TOG but.... "how low the police have fallen"? They've not fallen as the implies they used to be "better". Everyone carrying around a video recorder all the time has only shined a much needed light on law enforcement. Where I grew up, police brutality was common & they would do it right in front of a crowd, with many other officers watching or even helping. They would dare you to try to do something to stop it. File a complaint would mean getting stopped & harassed by every cop in the precinct for weeks. & the complaint would go nowhere.

    Just as with any profession, there is a bell shaped curve, the very good, the large portion of average, then the bad. Unfortunately this profession has very well armed individuals that have the power to ruin lives & take lives. The "bad cops" have been around for as long as there's been law enforcement.

    If anything, in my own opinion, the police are currently on a improvement swing rather than "falling". They have to be. We are all watching. Maybe the cult of protection of their fellow officers will crack & they will start to police themselves.

  • On the post: If You Value The Reputation Of Your Restaurant, Maybe You Should Stop Serving Cops

    JoeDetroit ( profile ), 18 Jul, 2018 @ 09:45am

    Free meals

    Although I think this article might be a little over the top, I know what I would do if I owned a restaurant. Cops eat for free. Yes it would be costly but in the past this was common.

    Years ago a friend & I were picking up coffee & a donuts from a immigrant owned shop. When he went to pay his badge (EMS guy) flashed in his wallet & the proprietor refused the money. It wasn't until a bit later he realized why.
    This was long before social media. I believe there were other reasons why we were not charged. Fear maybe.

  • On the post: China Censors John Oliver Because President Xi Looks A Bit Like Winnie The Pooh

    JoeDetroit ( profile ), 26 Jun, 2018 @ 02:02pm

    Re: Re: The hard way?

    Yes, he filled the part that was censored in the UK with five minutes of footage of Gilbert Gottfried reading three-star Yelp reviews of restaurants in Boise, Idaho.

  • On the post: Sheriffs Are Raking In Millions In Prison Phone Fees And Some Really Don't Want To Talk About It

    JoeDetroit ( profile ), 04 Jun, 2018 @ 05:07pm

    Re:

    Anecdotal: $50 for 15 mins is what I paid for a relative in California State corrections. Collect call, a 15 min time limit & it always cost $50. This was over 10 years ago.

    However, talking with her, she convinced me to pay for a training in a field that she claimed would get her a job on the outside. I paid, she did the training, after release it took a while, but she got a job.

    She has excelled in the field, has had additional training, & has had a number of promotions. She bought a house, got her kids with her now, & is doing extremely well. She even paid me back some of the money (not that I wanted it).

    External family support worked very well for her. All together I likely spent more than $500 on phone calls.

  • On the post: Sheriffs Are Raking In Millions In Prison Phone Fees And Some Really Don't Want To Talk About It

    JoeDetroit ( profile ), 04 Jun, 2018 @ 05:17am

    Who does this hurt?

    Who does this hurt? Directly: the families & loved ones of the inmates. $50 to talk for under 15 minutes. These are the people, likely the only people that can provide support when the inmate gets released.

    Indirectly: all of us. Recidivism. In my opinion, one of the first lines of defense against recidivism is family support on release.

    This is very stupid policy & one that could be easily fixed.

  • On the post: Senate Will Vote Wednesday To Try And Save Net Neutrality

    JoeDetroit ( profile ), 15 May, 2018 @ 09:54am

    Re: Read the News

    This is not about "government control of the of the flow of information". It is about keeping massive multinational corporations from controlling the flow of information.

  • On the post: Ted Cruz Demands A Return Of The Fairness Doctrine, Which He Has Mocked In The Past, Due To Misunderstanding CDA 230

    JoeDetroit ( profile ), 14 Apr, 2018 @ 12:14pm

    Re: Re: "Mark Harrill": Be one comment this year, like last year?

    You understand that to have the posts displayed the way you want them, you gotta stay logged in. Even if you rarely post. Also, there is a password recovery system. So you if you can still post if you've not logged in for years. I think you're wasting your time on this one.

  • On the post: Right On Time: Kentucky Governor Lays The Blame For Florida School Shooting At The Feet Of Video Games

    JoeDetroit ( profile ), 22 Feb, 2018 @ 09:16am

    Gun free zones...

    Gun free zones are safer as there is likely to be less guns. The movie theater in Aurora, Colorado was not gun free. Do you really think that a someone contemplating a mass murder actually thinks about "gun free" or not? More guns are safer? Do shootouts sound like a good idea?

  • On the post: Senate IT Tells Staffers They're On Their Own When It Comes To Personal Devices And State-Sponsored Hackers

    JoeDetroit ( profile ), 27 Jan, 2018 @ 03:44am

    What is the technical solution to all this?

    My employers just got hit with a massive spearfishing attempt. It was corporate wide, all business units, every single email address was hit. All from one email account from one business unit.

    Within the last 30 days we had security training that specifically described spearfishing. It was actually very well done training. In our location, the headquarters for our unit, 12 out of 180 people still clicked on the link.

    What is the technical solution for this? I haven't the foggiest. But then I work in engineering, no one is going to ask me for a solution & if I came up with one, it would just piss off IT.

  • On the post: FCC Releases Net Neutrality Killing Order, Hopes You're Too Busy Cooking Turkey To Read It

    JoeDetroit ( profile ), 23 Nov, 2017 @ 04:21am

    Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: what problem

    Not going there? They've already done it, multiple times! The following list is not mine other than the last one. Two on this list I experienced first hand. This is not fantasy, this is real.

    A short list of shenanigans from prior to 2015:

    2005 - Madison River Communications was blocking VOIP services. The FCC put a stop to it.
    2005 - Comcast was denying access to p2p services without notifying customers.
    2007-2009 - AT&T was having Skype and other VOIPs blocked because they didn't like there was competition for their cellphones.
    2011 - MetroPCS tried to block all streaming except YouTube.
    2011-2013, AT&T, Sprint, and Verizon were blocking access to Google Wallet because it competed with their own wallet apps.
    2012, Verizon was demanding Google block tethering apps on android because it let owners avoid their $20 tethering fee. This was despite guaranteeing they wouldn't do that as part of a winning bid on an airwaves auction.
    2012, AT&T - tried to block access to FaceTime unless customers paid more money.
    2014, Netflix & Comcast sign a deal where Netflix will pay Comcast to stop throttling the service. The very next day, streaming problems vanish.

    This is a short list, there are many more examples.

  • On the post: Judge Halts Copyright Troll's Lawsuit Against A Now-Deceased Elderly Man With Dementia And An IP Address

    JoeDetroit ( profile ), 18 Nov, 2017 @ 03:21pm

    Re: no, you don't have to pay for long distance...

    No, you don't have to pay for long distance calls made by your landline. That is if any landlines that can have long distance charges out there anymore.

    Back in the day, I had charges on my phone that I did not do. A room mate or guest likely made the calls. I called my phone company & complained & they took them off. Of course this was a "one time courtesy" thing, not something I could do multiple times.

    So no, you do not necessarily have to pay for something you did not do.

Next >>