Internet Zen Master 's Techdirt Comments

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  • On the post: Intelligence Boss Claims The Real Villain Here Is The Press For Revealing His Secret Spying Program

    Internet Zen Master ( profile ), 07 Jun, 2013 @ 11:59am

    Re: Re: Re: Makes sense if you swap in two words

    Uh, considering the fact that, if I remember what I heard on NPR correctly, that one of the Senators saying that everyone in Congress knew about this since 2007, I'd have to call out the Dems on not raising a stink about it back when they had both houses of Congress under their control.

    That being said, all those political cartoons I keep seeing portraying Obama as "Nixon 2.0" are beginning to feel more and more accurate. If he says that he "learned about this the way everyone else did (aka through news reports)" this time, the US news media should really start holding his proverbial feet to the fire over this. I mean, if you've got the fake news show (The Daily Show), calling out his bullshit before the actual news networks (excluding FOX), they really need to step up their game.

    As the Zen Master says, "We'll see."

  • On the post: President Obama 'Welcomes' The Debate On Surveillance That He's Avoided For Years Until It Was Forced Upon Him

    Internet Zen Master ( profile ), 07 Jun, 2013 @ 01:36pm

    The way things are headed

    Obama might to end up with a lame-duck second term, and he hasn't even gotten through the first half of year 5 yet. The guy has scandals popping up left, right and sideways and all he can say is "I learned about this the same way the rest of you did. On the Friday news."

    So at this point he's either lying on his face, he's completely incompetent, or everyone around him has insulated him from all the dirty scandal stuff in order to give Obama plausible deniability. All three options do not help his credibility as a president.

  • On the post: DHS Says Agent 'Hunches' Trump Citizens' Rights In Searching Your Computer At The Border

    Internet Zen Master ( profile ), 06 Jun, 2013 @ 11:18am

    Re: Hand Waves

    hand waves back

    These aren't the electronics you're looking for...

    Move along.

    Oh, check the car behind me. I hear the man driving has got that dreaded devilweed marijuana in his car. In Washington State no less!

  • On the post: Dan Brown: Video Games Lead To Violence

    Internet Zen Master ( profile ), 06 Jun, 2013 @ 09:10am

    Re:

    This is true actually.

    I was visiting an exhibit at a local museum, and it had a picture of the iconic Last Supper painting resized by 10000% as one of the background wallpapers for the exhibit. As I stand there looking up at it, I hear a man five feet to the left me say to his girlfriend. "See that woman on Jesus' right. That's his wife." I turned and asked him where he got such a strange idea, and the man claimed that it was true, and said his reference was the Da Vinci Code.

    I wanted to fucking punch the man in the face for being such an idiot, but restrained myself since I have no interest in getting charged with assault over someone else being a complete and utter moron.

  • On the post: Horrifying Supreme Court Ruling Lets Police Collect DNA Because You Might Just Be A Horrible Criminal

    Internet Zen Master ( profile ), 04 Jun, 2013 @ 08:51am

    Re:

    Another key think to note is that DNA is not 100% reliable in criminal cases.

    The main example that comes to mind is the Amanda Knox trial/Meredith Kercher witch hunt in Italy a few years back. Amanda Knox and her then boyfriend Raffaelle Sollecito were initially convicted and sentenced to 26 (Knox) and 25 years (Solletio) in prison for allegedly murdering British exchange student Meredith Kercher, a major part of which involved a knife allegedly found in Sollecito's apartment that had a DNA sample "compatible with Kerche's profile" on the blade and Knox's DNA on the handle (she used the knife to cook), as well as traces of Sollecito's DNA on the bra clasp of Meredith Kercher.

    The two were locked up for two years until 2011 when it came out during appeal that the chain of evidence had not been followed for the case, and that the police investigation hadn't followed the international standards for DNA sample collection, allowing th evidence to be contaminated.

    [Of course, it didn't help matters that the prosecution of the case did everything it its power to assassinate the character of Amanda Knox. I kid you not, the prosecutor's initial proposal for motive was that Meredith Kercher was sacrificed as part of a "Satanic ritualistic orgy", before backing down to the slightly-less slanderous claim of the motive as "sex game gone wrong". And some people say that the American court system is messed up...]

    Point is, DNA evidence is by no means absolute proof that a person is guilty of any crime. Innocent people have already suffered because of contaminated DNA evidence.

  • On the post: Eric Holder's 'Off-The-Record' Meeting With Journalists Leads To 'On-The-Record' Quotes, But Not Much Else

    Internet Zen Master ( profile ), 04 Jun, 2013 @ 07:56am

    Re:

    If I may quote Pirates of the Caribbean:

    "...They're more like guidelines anyway."

  • On the post: British Politicians: There's Child Porn On The Internet And Google Needs To Do Something About It

    Internet Zen Master ( profile ), 03 Jun, 2013 @ 07:08pm

    Re: Re:

    Okay then. I have a question:

    There is a shonen manga which ran from 1996-2008 where one of the female characters was 'born' and died (in plot-time) in under the span of one year. This character is clearly an adult in body and mind, yet in calendar years she was alive for less than 12 months. This manga also became an anime, and this character ended up practically topless more than once in the actual storyline.

    WHERE THE HELL does she fit in all this "cartoon nudity=child porn" grandstanding bullshit?

    (kudos to anyone who knows the character that I'm talking about.)

  • On the post: New Filing Presents Evidence That John Steele Uploaded Videos To BitTorrent Himself

    Internet Zen Master ( profile ), 03 Jun, 2013 @ 05:45pm

    Re: Re: Re: Literal LOL

    Considering how arrogant and self-absorbed he's been acting this whole time, I wouldn't be surprised if he's developed a Steve Jobs-like Reality Distortion Field around himself, and he still thinks that everything is going according to plan.

    As for the pic at the bottom... meh.

  • On the post: New Filing Presents Evidence That John Steele Uploaded Videos To BitTorrent Himself

    Internet Zen Master ( profile ), 03 Jun, 2013 @ 05:40pm

    Re:

    Not completely true. It is possible on a some bittorrent clients to disable uploading while one is downloading.

    But then one is just being a selfish, if somewhat tech-smart, leech, and that's no fun at all.

  • On the post: Student Wins Intel Science Fair; Threatened With Patent Infringement Claims For Patent Not Yet Granted

    Internet Zen Master ( profile ), 03 Jun, 2013 @ 04:43pm

    Here's a thought Mr. Retti

    You're company is in a rut, yes?

    This girl has proven that she's bright, capable, and inventive. All great supposedly great qualities in an employee (or so they keep telling me out the employment applications).

    Here's a brilliant idea Mr. Retti: instead of threatening legal action, how about you try to HIRE Miss Khare. Then your company might actually be able to start selling ACTUAL PRODUCTS (novel concept, that) instead of your employees sitting around with their thumbs up their asses.

  • On the post: Blind Law School Dean Explains Why We Need The WIPO Copyright Treaty For The Blind

    Internet Zen Master ( profile ), 03 Jun, 2013 @ 04:10pm

    No, I'm pretty sure they do hate blind people

    I mean, the MPAA stands for Motion Pictures Association (of) America.

    Blind people aren't exactly part of their target demographic...

  • On the post: New Filing Presents Evidence That John Steele Uploaded Videos To BitTorrent Himself

    Internet Zen Master ( profile ), 03 Jun, 2013 @ 12:19pm

    Wow....

    And just when I thought the Prenda saga couldn't get any more interesting, this happens!

    Really, REALLY wish that case was still in Wright's courtroom. He'd have a field day with this info.

  • On the post: Prenda's Former Porn Client Comes Forward About His Fears Of Working With Prenda

    Internet Zen Master ( profile ), 31 May, 2013 @ 03:27pm

    Re: No innocence here

    Well, depending on your point of view, Hard Drive was already morally at fault for producing porn in the first place.

    That being said, I'd rather not have them charged for being "morally at fault" for Prenda's actions. Sure, they're far from innocent little angels, but hardened copyfraud schemers like Steele et al. (sans Gibbs the fall guy) Paul Pilcher & his cohorts are definitely not.

    And like everyone else has said: "Shady company hires shady law firm. Shady company is shocked(shocked, I tell you!) when they realize that their lawyers are doing shady things."

  • On the post: Universal Music Demands $42,000 From Danish Mayors For Gangnam Style Parody

    Internet Zen Master ( profile ), 31 May, 2013 @ 02:30pm

    Re:

    Actually, I doubt PSY even knows about this particular incident, considering the fact that the copyright of Gangnam Style is only owned by UMG because of its acquisition of EMI last year. EMI controls Warner Music Korea, which is partnered with the label PSY actually signed with, YG Entertainment.

    In other words, he has no control over the rabid lawyers at Universal, who simply see Gangnam Style as a product for the marketplace that must be protected from dilution. Is it stupid for something like a song? Yes. Would it make sense in any other scenario? Possibly.

    The kicker? PSY, the maker of UMG's "product", is going to end up looking bad in the eyes of his fans in the long run if these idiots at UMG keep pulling this kind of bullshit.

  • On the post: Universal Music Demands $42,000 From Danish Mayors For Gangnam Style Parody

    Internet Zen Master ( profile ), 31 May, 2013 @ 02:22pm

    Re: Re:

    Considering he's only part of Universal after you go through a fucking game of telephone for record labels. UMG acquired EMI back in 9/2012, which controlled Warner Music Korea, which was partnered up with YG Entertainment, the label that PSY actually signed with in 2010.

    Yeah, chances of him getting anything are rather low. Chances of him even knowing about the threat are even lower.

  • On the post: Universal Music Demands $42,000 From Danish Mayors For Gangnam Style Parody

    Internet Zen Master ( profile ), 31 May, 2013 @ 02:18pm

    Re:

    To be fair, he signed that label deal with YG Entertainment in 2010 (he was so broke he couldn't release his music, plus YG Entertainment's CEO is a close personal friend). This was 2 years before Gangnam Style even existed. So to blame this as a result of a label deal isn't exactly fair.

    Also, the label he's with officially is a part of Warner Music Korea, which is part of EMI, which was [apparently] sold to Universal Music in September 2012. In other words, given PSY's track record for looking out for his fans who make parody videos, this sounds like it's all on Universal Music, not PSY.

  • On the post: IP Commission: Cut Off WHO Funding If It Doesn't Make IP Protection Priority One

    Internet Zen Master ( profile ), 31 May, 2013 @ 10:51am

    Huh

    Wasn't there just an article asking how long it would be before IP laws could potentially kill millions?

    Well, here's your answer. Cut funding to WHO unless they making protecting IP their #1 priority.

    This isn't just normal grade fucked up. This is pure "out-of-left-field" grade fucked up.

    I doubt even Ebenezer "Are there no poor houses?" Scrooge would suggest something so brazenly greedy and stupid.

  • On the post: Reporters Tell Attorney General Eric Holder They Won't Agree To 'Off The Record' Meeting As Scale Of Journalist Spying Expands

    Internet Zen Master ( profile ), 30 May, 2013 @ 09:10am

    Re:

    Delusional

    Just like John Steele, only more dangerous.

  • On the post: Massive Growth In Independent Musicians & Singers Over The Past Decade

    Internet Zen Master ( profile ), 30 May, 2013 @ 03:30pm

    Macklemore & Ryan Lewis say Hi, and fuck you RIAA

    That said, the amazing indie duo we know for The Heist didn't just pop up out of nowhere. Macklemore has been at it since 2000, and finally hit the big time (international recognition) after a decade as an independent professional musician who wasn't really known outside of the Seattle/Northwest area.

    That said, I'm actually rather impressed by the boom of independent musicians that have popped up and turned down offers by the RIAA, which is still trying to present itself as "the only way to fortune and fame in the music biz" despite the fact that it's clearly no longer the gatekeeper for music.

  • On the post: Reports Of Xbox One's Handling Of Used Games Mobilizes Playstation Fans

    Internet Zen Master ( profile ), 29 May, 2013 @ 01:17pm

    Everything is useless speculation at this point

    We have to consider the fact that, regardless of what people think of the Xbox One (especially the vocal internet gaming community), the majority of consumers will buy the Xbox One if they release one of their signature exclusives, like Halo 5 or another big franchise exclusive to the Xbox console family.

    Hell, people will do that for any of the big three consoles (case in point, when/if Nintendo gets around to releasing Bayonetta 2, I'll be heading out to my nearest store to pick up a Wii U).

    Personally I'm gonna with-hold saying that this is the "death of console gaming" like a certain self-righteous PC gamer I know has been going on about ever since last week. At least until we see what's happening at E3.

    As the Zen Master says, "We'll see."

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