Nick 's Techdirt Comments

Latest Comments (504)

• On the post: US Official Admits That UK Detention Of Glenn Greenwald's Partner Was 'To Send A Message'

  

  Nick ( profile ), 20 Aug, 2013 @ 11:31am

  As a result Greenwald to now focus more on UK secrets.
  http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/08/19/glenn-greenwald-uk-secrets-britain-detains-partner_n_3779667.html

• On the post: Key Loophole Allows NSA To Avoid Telling Congress About Thousands Of Abuses

  

  Nick ( profile ), 19 Aug, 2013 @ 08:37am

  These kind of loophole remind me of the "draft" legislation written by lobbyists who would benefit from a continuation of the current and expanding Patriot Act. What companies would benefit from this (Booz Allen Hamilton? Lockheed Martin?) and who in Congress is on their "payroll"?

• On the post: NSA's Defense Of All Those Abuses: 'Well, Compared To All The Spying We Do, We Don't Abuse It That Often'

  

  Nick ( profile ), 16 Aug, 2013 @ 09:30am

  When you look at the relative number of US citizens terrorists are able to kill compared to the total population, you realize it is actual a small number of deaths. I am not trying to be ironic, that is the truth.

• On the post: Snowden Leaks Have Likely Killed CISPA Dead

  

  Nick ( profile ), 13 Aug, 2013 @ 02:54pm

  So in light of Snowden's revelations CISPA was to give tech companies immunity from the data that they were already sharing. What this means is that Google, Facebook, Apple, Microsoft, etc can be sued for mishandling (or maybe even handling or handing over) our private data to an un-trusted, sloppy and belligerent third party.

• On the post: Confessed Liar To Congress, James Clapper, Gets To Set Up The 'Independent' Review Over NSA Surveillance

  

  Nick ( profile ), 12 Aug, 2013 @ 02:49pm

  No one cares about technological capability, Obama! We care about the 4th Amendment! This is a freaking side show distraction people. Don't buy it for a second!

• On the post: Rep. Peter King Says Referring To NSA Activity As 'Spying' Or 'Snooping' Is Slander

  

  Nick ( profile ), 12 Aug, 2013 @ 02:28pm

  The Military Industrial Complex (or as Andrew Feinstein suggests the Military Industrial/Congressional Complex, MICC) is the largest contributor (aka legalized briber) to King. Just take a look at his 2011-2012 donors.
  
  http://www.opensecrets.org/politicians/contrib.php?cycle=2012&cid=N00001193&type=I&newmem=N
  
  Northrop Grumman $13,500
  General Dynamics $13,000
  Raytheon Co $11,000
  Boeing Co $10,000
  Lockheed Martin $10,000
  United Technologies $10,000
  
  When the US goes enters a military conflict, they make money (our tax dollars) and he gets power. This is why he uses rhetoric like "wartime." The guy is thirsty for blood and your money.

• On the post: Other Government Agencies Wanted Access To NSA Surveillance Data For Other Investigations… Including Copyright Infringement

  

  Nick ( profile ), 05 Aug, 2013 @ 11:52am

  I was thinking this for weeks because I did not want to give anyone any ideas. But I should have known those sleazy bastards (the content lobby) would try to go this low.

• On the post: DEA Not Only Gets Intelligence Data, But Then Is Instructed To Cover Up Where It Gets The Info

  

  Nick ( profile ), 05 Aug, 2013 @ 11:47am

  SOD = Special Operations Division (DEA's secretive unit).

• On the post: Congress Abuses 'It's Classified' To Hide Stuff They Don't Want To Talk About

  

  Nick ( profile ), 31 Jul, 2013 @ 11:59am

  The reason we have terrorists today is because we were so unreasonably militant against communism that the US (via Charlie Wilson) aided the Afghanistanis against Russia during the cold war. Now all that training and weapons are being used against us (or at least the threat of it), and as a result NSA spaying on us, TSA harassing us. It's called blowback. I wonder what kind of blowback we'll get as a result from Feinstein in 30 years as a result.

• On the post: Media Hypocrisy: When DC Insiders Leak Gov't Talking Points About NSA, No One Has A Cow

  

  Nick ( profile ), 01 Jul, 2013 @ 12:08pm

  One can only make this conclusion: "Anonymous officials" and what they appear to be saying are actually the talking points NSA is secretly telling the "press" they need to use. Any member of the press using these lines are a propaganda puppets.

• On the post: More Details Show IRS Targeted Groups Critical Of How The Government Was Run

  

  Nick ( profile ), 14 May, 2013 @ 07:11am

  The IRS targeting groups critical of government taxation is really no different than DHS targeting protesters who are critical of the police state. Both are immoral acts by the government.

• On the post: Private Security Contractors Try To Shut Down Journalist Using Legal Threats And Claims Of Harassment

  

  Nick ( profile ), 01 May, 2013 @ 08:27am

  I think it is time we built a "Statue of Privacy" somewhere.

• On the post: The Power Of International Trade Agreements To Prevent You From Owning What You've Bought, And Why This Must Be Fixed

  

  Nick ( profile ), 28 Mar, 2013 @ 11:23am

  The only thing a real free market economy needs to restrict is the creation of an artificial monopoly.

• On the post: The Power Of International Trade Agreements To Prevent You From Owning What You've Bought, And Why This Must Be Fixed

  

  Nick ( profile ), 27 Mar, 2013 @ 01:20pm

  I have created a petition at WhiteHouse.gov: http://wh.gov/Hbjv
  
  

  WE PETITION THE OBAMA ADMINISTRATION TO: restrict the USTR from negotiating and nullify any past international agreements that fall under intellectual property.
  
  Entertainment and Telco lobbyists have worked their way into the Office of United States Trade Representative, writing protectionists clauses into international trade agreements such as TPP and ACTA. These agreements seek to rescind consumer protections such as the First Sale Doctrine (which allows you to sell what you own), and they have already restricted mobile phone unlocking. All in the name of "job creation."
  
  Without an act of Congress these agreements cannot be written into law, and at that point are not enforceable. However, members of Congress do not want to be seen going against an "international agreement" for political reasons, even thought it is entirely within their discretion to do so.
  
  If you are sick of lobbyists restricting our liberties, please support this petition

• On the post: Petition Submitted To Require Congress To Wear The Logos Of Their Corporate Donors

  

  Nick ( profile ), 25 Mar, 2013 @ 12:40pm

  This post inspires a few more practical project ideas:
  A Firefox or Chrome plug in that will can for names of Congresscritters and Senators and add javascript to them so that when you hover over the text it will show a bubble with the representatives? data from OpenSecrets API, possibly along with logos for donors.
  A website that plays CSPAN embeds that has a way of detecting the name of the representatives on camera. To one site it can super-impose the headshot of the representatives on a body image and display corporate donor logos on their clothing, using the OpenSecrets API.
  A website that is a directory of representatives that uses the OpenSecrets API to simply display the image of the headshot, body, and logos, along with a scoreboard or maybe some sort of Wall Street-style display of dollar totals.

• On the post: Canadian Librarians 'Owe Duty Of Loyalty To The Government,' Must Self-Censor Opinions Even In Private

  

  Nick ( profile ), 21 Mar, 2013 @ 11:10am

  Enter: a proliferation of satirical LAC employee gripe blogs. Those should be fun reads.

• On the post: The Killing Of Google Reader Highlights The Risk Of Relying On A Single Provider

  

  Nick ( profile ), 14 Mar, 2013 @ 08:24am

  OPML is a thing, people. Look it up!

• On the post: Holder: DOJ Used Discretion In Bullying Swartz, Press Lacked Discretion In Quoting Facts

  

  Nick ( profile ), 07 Mar, 2013 @ 11:41am

  It is important to note that Swartz wanted to fight the charges because he wanted to work in politics and be able to vote, as was noted in Quinn Norton's harrowing and heartbreaking account of the entire saga. Read that and tell me Heymann used discretion, Holder. As Norton revealed, this man would go to unethical extremes to get a guilty plea.

• On the post: Congress Apparently Uninterested In 'Aaron's Law' To Reform CFAA

  

  Nick ( profile ), 12 Feb, 2013 @ 07:33am

  You can take action here, but don't stop there. http://act.demandprogress.org/letter/aaron_justice/
  
  Call you Representative also, once a week, and ask your friends to do the same.

• On the post: Who Sets Up An 'Innovation Forum' Hosted By A Guy Who Insists That Nothing Good Has Come From The Internet?

  

  Nick ( profile ), 25 Jan, 2013 @ 11:38am

  http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/the-founders-forum-2013-innovation-forum-comes-to-los-angeles-187085411.html
  
  Also in attendance will be a VP from YouTube, the founders of Spotify, Soundcloud and Songkick, some UK bureaucrats, a chairperson from Maker Studios, and Jimmy Wales.

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