Michael Johnstone’s Techdirt Profile

I've played WoW pservers. And every so often Blizzard shuts them down. The pserver operators will take a few months of needed vacation and once things cool down they'll just put them back up.

The pserver players will have to live without their WoW fix, but I think they'll survive. (Though some just wander around in a daze.)

On the post: Elizabeth Warren Introduces Bill To Make Tax Season Return-Free

Michael Johnstone ( profile ), 15 Apr, 2016 @ 03:37pm

Second Article I've Seen on this Subject

The number of Old World countries employing this method of tax collection make me think it's been tried and tested and will work in America, and probably the only thing standing in it's way is the U.S. government's long standing favor of industry over the populace.

On the post: Law Enforcement Raids Another Tor Exit Node Because It Still Believes An IP Address Is A Person

Michael Johnstone ( profile ), 07 Apr, 2016 @ 09:34am

This Level of Threat

Whether living in some Mexican barrio, or the U.S. suburbs, when the people with guns break into your house how you manage that situation can be you, or your family member's life. And death isn't the only punishment powerful people can use to make sure you comply.

On the post: Nothing To Hide (And Nowhere To Hide It) But Everything To Fear: The Police Vs. The Unarmed And Naked

Michael Johnstone ( profile ), 05 Apr, 2016 @ 01:44pm

This is the Mandate

Society as a whole wants to be protected from all harm, and so they empower a police force with a mandate to remove all possibility of harm. Given this mandate it's easy to justify lethal force on those who deviate from the norm.

On the post: Child-Monitoring Company Responds To Notification Of Security Breach By Publicly Disparaging Researcher Who Reported It

Michael Johnstone ( profile ), 25 Feb, 2016 @ 09:29am

Moral Fortitutude

Some of these people are made of sterner stuff than others, 'cause it isn't hard to justify making big bucks selling flaws to a market willing to pay for this information.

On the post: What's At Stake In Apple/FBI Fight: Who Gets To Set The Rules That Govern Your Privacy & Security

Michael Johnstone ( profile ), 24 Feb, 2016 @ 02:15pm

The Majority of U.S. Culture, "Meh"

The informed, the activists, and the politically motivated have an opinion about this, but the majority are happy to ignore this topic altogether as the regale their Tinder date about the latest trends while sipping on an IPA at trendiest microbrewery.

On the post: Bill Gates Is Confused About Apple FBI Fight, Makes Everyone More Confused

Michael Johnstone ( profile ), 24 Feb, 2016 @ 11:56am

Gates Understands Perfectly

Gates is pro-Gates and that means anything that harms Microsoft's competitors benefits him.

Apple's phone market share in the U.S. is significant, but it isn't as significant in BRIC countries. The same BRIC countries where Android (Microsoft's $2billion royalties pocket book exists). The same BRIC countries that are eyeing U.S. tech companies as pawns of the U.S. intelligence agencies.

If I was Apple I'd change citizenship to a country that was more favorable to my bottom line.

In fact the irony of the U.S. pushing Apple so hard that it was forced to do this would be extremely funny to me.

On the post: White House Is Either Lying About Apple Order Or Doesn't Understand What A Backdoor Is

Michael Johnstone ( profile ), 18 Feb, 2016 @ 10:36am

Rating of Country's Abuse of its Citizen's Privacy

"will be used by countries with much less regard for the privacy of its citizenry."

Compared to other countries on Earth how far does the U.S. have to go down the list before they can find countries abusing privacy worse than the U.S. government?

Well if you find any now, just give it time, because they are racing as fast as they can to the bottom of that list.

On the post: Once Again It's The US That Seems To Be The Most Aggressive With Cyberattacks

Michael Johnstone ( profile ), 17 Feb, 2016 @ 02:48pm

If the Rest of World Thinks the US is Evil

We only have our government to blame, 'cause it is. And if Aaron Swartz was alive I bet he'd agree.

On the post: No, A Judge Did Not Just Order Apple To Break Encryption On San Bernardino Shooter's iPhone, But To Create A New Backdoor

Michael Johnstone ( profile ), 17 Feb, 2016 @ 11:58am

U.S. Backdoors Are a Great Marketing Tool

China, Brazil, European countries are just lining up to buy U.S. tech with backdoors, right?

And I'm sure Apple wants to lose the BRIC market place. A great plan for growing a company.

On the post: Apple Responds To Order To Help Decrypt Phone, As More Details Come To Light

Michael Johnstone ( profile ), 17 Feb, 2016 @ 11:55am

It's All About the Attitude Here

The FBI NOW seems to be concerned about preserving the evidence on the phone. Why weren't they concerned about preserving the life of the owner of the phone?

And since enhanced interrogation seems to be OK in the U.S. I'm sure (not really, but some think it works) they could have extracted the password in time.

Some will say the terrorists were heavily armed and maybe had explosives with them, and so force begets force. But I think if you think more tactically and with the a bit of logic the SUV could have easily have been trapped and the police could have hid inside their armored vehicles and easily have wait out the terrorists if they thought about this before they "Bonnie and Clyde" the crap of them.

And maybe they would have martyred themselves anyway, but at least try to use non-lethal means in a situation. What is the real cost of a little bit time and and a little bit of non-lethal persuasion?

On the post: Judge Changes Mind, Says James Woods Can Likely Unmask Guy Who Made Fun Of Him On Twitter

Michael Johnstone ( profile ), 11 Feb, 2016 @ 11:10am

Another Sign of the Times

The rich and powerful can do whatever they please, and the officials of the court system back them.

Who's country do we live in?

Obviously the US population is the chattel of the 1% who feed off their productivity.

On the post: CIA Director Freaks Out After Senator Wyden Points Out How The CIA Spied On The Senate

Michael Johnstone ( profile ), 10 Feb, 2016 @ 04:47pm

Typical...

Brennan is acting like every other megalomaniac that I've worked with in government. On the whole this group of public "servants" view themselves as above the law and jurisdiction of the society in which they live in.

On the post: After Aereo's Collapse, Founder Hopes To Disrupt Wireless Broadband Market With 'Starry'

Michael Johnstone ( profile ), 28 Jan, 2016 @ 11:35am

Re: Disruption Has A Short Life Expectancy

Meaning: Either you join the establishment, or they take you out, or you take yourself out.

On the post: Yet More TPP Studies Predict Slim Economic Gains, Highlight Dubious Underlying Assumptions

Michael Johnstone ( profile ), 28 Jan, 2016 @ 11:26am

Re: Inexorably On To It's Obviously Climax

The Enlightenment never cured the heart of man. The outcome of the Enlightenment period was to mask the truth from the light of reasonable and authentic discussion.

Your conclusion is the natural outcome of greed and power. The outcome is unsustainable and will collapse in on itself, but you'll find a hard time getting the ear of anyone in power who's stacking the bills.

On the post: Cops Getting Free License Plate Readers In Exchange For 25% Of The 'Take' And All The Driver Data Vigilant Can Slurp

Michael Johnstone ( profile ), 28 Jan, 2016 @ 12:00pm

Look What Happens

You create a system and then all it does is support itself ignoring the health and wealth of it's creators.

Super strange, that is.

Michael Johnstone 's Techdirt Comments

Latest Comments (167)

On the post: Heart Surgery Stalled For Five Minutes Thanks To Errant Anti-Virus Scan

Typical

On the post: David Patraeus, Who Leaked Classified Info To His Mistress, Says Snowden Should Be Prosecuted

Obviously Patraeus is Above the America's Laws

On the post: Do You Own What You Own? Not So Much Anymore, Thanks To Copyright

Cars Also Use Software

On the post: Homeland Security Wants To Subpoena Us Over A Clearly Hyperbolic Techdirt Comment

Typical Behavior by the Government

On the post: Blizzard Pretends IP Made It Kill Fan Server

This Happens From Time to Time