A Guy 's Techdirt Comments

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  • On the post: We, The People, Are Sarcastic And Not Easily Mollified By Bland Political Non-Answers

    A Guy ( profile ), 08 Nov, 2011 @ 02:30pm

    Re: There is no such petition ?

    from the article...

    https://wwws.whitehouse.gov/petitions#!/petition/we-demand-vapid-condescending-meaningless-politically-safe-response-petition/gCZfn86x

    Try this

  • On the post: We, The People, Are Sarcastic And Not Easily Mollified By Bland Political Non-Answers

    A Guy ( profile ), 08 Nov, 2011 @ 01:34pm

    Re: Re: I wonder...

    I wish this site had an edit button.

  • On the post: We, The People, Are Sarcastic And Not Easily Mollified By Bland Political Non-Answers

    A Guy ( profile ), 08 Nov, 2011 @ 01:27pm

    Re: I wonder...

    It's Washington so I would guess a great big $16 shit cookie would be my guess.

  • On the post: Rep. Steve King Decides American Consumers Should Pay For Chinese IP Violations

    A Guy ( profile ), 08 Nov, 2011 @ 01:13pm

    IF it causes greater investment in the US economy, I'm fine with a tariff on Chinese products. The real problem with China is currency manipulation. Anything that offsets that can benefit us as a whole.

    However, how these funds are divided is ridiculous. If we are to impose an increase in prices across our economy, the money should be mandated to do something useful for all of us, like paying off the government bonds already foolishly issued by the US government.

    Raising taxes on products that hurt the US economy seems like a good national strategy.

  • On the post: Entertainment Industry Gets Another Usenet Provider To Shut Down: Is Usenet Illegal?

    A Guy ( profile ), 08 Nov, 2011 @ 11:16am

    Re: Re:

    I was referring to the laws and culture upon which our respective societies were built. If you want better laws, find better politicians. We had some really good ones in the past, and that legal history will help us more than a lot of European states.

    I'm not arguing that our lobbyists aren't asshats. That's basically their job. I just believe (and really hope) they can be over come for the common good here.

  • On the post: We, The People, Are Sarcastic And Not Easily Mollified By Bland Political Non-Answers

    A Guy ( profile ), 08 Nov, 2011 @ 10:52am

    Re: The system is down

    The real problem concerning the legalization of marijuana is not its effect on the people that choose to partake. While it is not a healthy activity, it isn't any worse than alcohol or tobacco.

    The real problem is that it's eating into the profits of the drug cartels in Mexico. This "increased competition" is making a (literally) cutthroat market even worse. The violence and corruption is a destabilizing on the entire country of Mexico. Mexico, as a country, is too dependent on drugs as an income source.

    As the profits dry up, the violence and corruption escalates as cartels attempt to gobble up existing market share from others.

    It's another self made problem by our politicians. They created a huge market for illegal activity in Mexico by making all marijuana illegal in the United States and now the Mexican society is destabilizing as a result.

    Now the choices are either allow the narco state to continue and consume Mexico or take some demand away and watch their society destabilize and violence escalate, potentially spilling over into our country.

    If only someone had thought this through and worried about the unintended consequences before making asinine, unenforceable, prohibitions.

  • On the post: Entertainment Industry Gets Another Usenet Provider To Shut Down: Is Usenet Illegal?

    A Guy ( profile ), 07 Nov, 2011 @ 06:27pm

    Well... the Europeans don't generally have the same respect for free speech that we enjoy. This is not all that surprising. It is a horrible infringement of the state and monied interests on the rights of the people that they are supposed to represent, but not a surprising one.

    When similar issues come home to the United States, I expect (and really hope) that our courts will see it differently.

  • On the post: Court Wonders If Porn Can Even Be Covered By Copyright

    A Guy ( profile ), 04 Nov, 2011 @ 08:54am

    Re: In light of this...

    Step 2: Find a person who will "download" your penis into their vagina. Sue that person for illegal downloading and call it 'willful.'

    Finally, never get laid again because women will now hate you.


    (Replace girl with websites and 'you' with legacy content industry to see their strategy)

  • On the post: EMI Loses Yet Again In Its Quixotic War With Michael Robertson And MP3Tunes

    A Guy ( profile ), 03 Nov, 2011 @ 12:30pm

    In a perverse way, I think these lawyers are actually doing us a favor. Their continued fruitless litigation of this issue will provide a good precedent for all moving forward.

    Because it has been argued so thoroughly, I suspect it's a more convincing precedent than it would have been had they just dropped it and moved forward elsewhere.

    As an added bonus, they are draining EMIs legal coffers.

    WTG expensive, incompetent lawyers.

  • On the post: An Open Letter To Chris Dodd: Silicon Valley Can't Help Hollywood If You First Cripple It With Bad Regulation

    A Guy ( profile ), 31 Oct, 2011 @ 12:48pm

    I think I know the problem... Did you remember to bring the appearance fee? After all, the entertainment lobby paid their appearance fee, and therefore got face time with the legislators.

    It's only fair that in our capitalist society, the legislators time, which is a scarcity, will not be given away for free.

    After all, if they actually did the work of the American people and stood up for our Bill of Rights all the time, what would be our reason to buy?

  • On the post: EU Politician Wants Internet Surveillance Built Into Every Operating System

    A Guy ( profile ), 30 Oct, 2011 @ 03:40am

    Re: Re: Unworkable Anyway...

    You don't get it, the law could never be implemented. Encryption is everywhere already. You deal with it everyday, assuming you use any https connection anywhere. If enforced (and it never will be) all modern financial services would be illegal over the internet because the necessary security would be illegal.

  • On the post: Will Anti-Free Trade Protectionist Agreements Be Bad For US Citizens Too?

    A Guy ( profile ), 28 Oct, 2011 @ 12:58pm

    Good.

    Chinese anti-competitive, illegal, and market fixing actions are starting to backfire. It's about time.

    Free trade was always doomed anyway. It's as doomed as communism and anarchism. It's simply incompatible with normal human behavior.

    Someone will always begin exhibiting cartel behavior to game the system. Once that starts, it leads to others using similar cartel behavior to counter the original group, and the whole free trade system inevitable falls apart.

    I'm glad both parties in the US are finally waking up to this truth.

  • On the post: Philippines IP Office: Anti-Counterfeiting Meeting Isn't About Kowtowing To Corporate Interests… Except That It Is

    A Guy ( profile ), 27 Oct, 2011 @ 11:33pm

    I don't see the problem with enforcing counterfeit laws. If they have the ability to produce the item, they ought to have the ability to put their own label on it and live on their own reputation.

  • On the post: Jay Walker Continues Quest To Sue The Internet Into Oblivion With Patents

    A Guy ( profile ), 27 Oct, 2011 @ 09:12pm

    At what point does patent litigation start to violate the the first amendment?

    If, and that's a strong if, claims like this are upheld by current statute could the overall design of a patent system that forces onerous penalties for using methods of communication over other peoples infrastructure be "abridging the freedom of speech?"

    IANAL, but if there is one reading, does anyone know if there is precedent on this?

  • On the post: Justice Department Wants To Be Able To Lie In Response To Freedom Of Information Requests

    A Guy ( profile ), 26 Oct, 2011 @ 07:13pm

    Re: Re:

    I actually do like Ron Paul. I have a strong libertarian streak in me, but he takes it too far in many regards. His platform needs to be tempered with more incremental, practical steps toward his policy goals. As it is, he kind of dumps a plan/platform that could keep a major political party busy for 100 years and hopes the voters understand why it is important.

    No one is quite sure what he would do in office because his platform is too different and most (sane) people won't vote for policies when they don't really feel like understand the implications.

    I use 'feel like' because a lot of people will vote for oversimplified, dumb plans with broad and horrible implications because it sounds simple even if they don't really understand it. (see 999 plan)

  • On the post: Justice Department Wants To Be Able To Lie In Response To Freedom Of Information Requests

    A Guy ( profile ), 26 Oct, 2011 @ 11:41am

    Wow... just wow.

    I keep wanting to find a Republican replacement because of exactly this kind of crap.

    They might be just as corrupt, but when it doubt throw the bums out.

    However, Huntsman is the only one who has the intelligence and the sane policy stances to be palatable and he has no chance due to his sane policy stances.

    Ron Paul is okay too, I think he may be the closest thing to uncorruptible we have. If only some of his views weren't so bat shit crazy he may be president right now.

    I really don't want to be forced to vote for Obama, but the Republican front runners are so much worse it's hard to know what to do.

  • On the post: UK Court Upholds Its First Web Censorship Order: BT Has 14 Days To Block Access To Newzbin2 & Gets To Pay For The Privelege

    A Guy ( profile ), 26 Oct, 2011 @ 08:46am

    Re: Re: Re: So, just "route around" it! Where are your solutions when needed?

    Then I have to ask... what do you hope to gain by arguing against piracy here?

    Most pirates aren't thoughtful enough to read or care about blogs like this. You can shout the sky is falling until you are blue in the face but the vast majority of those who do violate copyright will never hear you.

    Wouldn't a more productive use of your time and energy be to shout (figuratively of course) at the lawmakers that increased copyright protections are not worth limiting our right to free speech instead?

    It's there job to listen to their constituents... even if they often don't do it very well.

  • On the post: UK Court Upholds Its First Web Censorship Order: BT Has 14 Days To Block Access To Newzbin2 & Gets To Pay For The Privelege

    A Guy ( profile ), 26 Oct, 2011 @ 07:21am

    Re: Re:

    As I understand it, Newzbin is a Usenet site and should be accessible without Javascript. It's been a LONG while since I've accessed any sites using a newsreader but it's always seemed very basic to me. It's all just text with few interactive elements other than the ability to login and post a message. I could be wrong, but any free proxy should work.

  • On the post: UK Court Upholds Its First Web Censorship Order: BT Has 14 Days To Block Access To Newzbin2 & Gets To Pay For The Privelege

    A Guy ( profile ), 26 Oct, 2011 @ 06:44am

    Re: So, just "route around" it! Where are your solutions when needed?

    YOT, the deep-packet inspection gadgetry and or software has been put in place, just as I've been saying and many here don't want to acknowledge.


    Of course it's in place. Not every ISP has it, but certainly the government does. That doesn't mean that encryption and/or proxies cannot bypass it. Luckily, here in the good ol US of A we have a constitutional right to anonymous speech. I'm sure the UK will figure it out eventually.

    This too is a logical step. As I've /tried/ to get across to you who think you'll have an easy time dodging and continuing to pirate, they're WAY ahead of you, already know the holes and will plug them up.


    You can't remove the tools without infringing on legitimate anonymous free speech, as SCOTUS has expressly ruled a Constitutional right.

    You cannot provide an automated tool to remove content without giving those whose intent is to censor/limit political discourse a strong tool to keep us uninformed.

    Us sane people have decided that a strong guarantee of free speech is worth any copyright infringement that might come along with it.

    I personally don't care about your piracy strawman. I don't participate and it's not my problem. What I do care about is censorship, corporate bullying, and some semblance of a level playing when monied special interests compete with the interest of the greater general public. I care about our economy and our democracy.

    If people want to have silly fights about silly songs and videos, let them. Leave my privacy to me. Leave my right to speak freely and hear others speech unfettered alone and until those monied interests understand that these are non negotiable to a large portion of the people, I will take pleasure in watching them fail.

  • On the post: UK Court Upholds Its First Web Censorship Order: BT Has 14 Days To Block Access To Newzbin2 & Gets To Pay For The Privelege

    A Guy ( profile ), 26 Oct, 2011 @ 04:21am

    I expect 3 things to come out of this.

    1. At some point, either a higher court or the legislature will see this as the technological cluelessness that it is and over rule this judge

    2. The entertainment industry will not see any improvement in revenue and may experience an economic or political backlash

    3. Anyone who wants to spend 10 minutes on their favorite search engine bypassing the block will get around it anyway

    :popcorn:

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