Robin Hoover 's Techdirt Comments

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  • On the post: Homeland Security Domain Seizures Raise More Questions: Is Embedding A Video Criminal Infringement?

    Robin Hoover ( profile ), 02 Feb, 2011 @ 01:54pm

    ICE Press Release

    located here:

    http://www.ice.gov/news/releases/1102/110202newyork.htm

    take aways: filed in Southern District Court, says affadavit has been unsealed.

    ianal, nor am i going to sign up for pacer just to track this down. any takers out there?

  • On the post: Yes, The Legal & Technical Errors In Homeland Security's Domain Seizure Affidavit Do Matter

    Robin Hoover ( profile ), 04 Jan, 2011 @ 12:30pm

    Re: Re:

    The very special agent pointed to a website and called it cocaine, but it was actually a pack of Skittles, and he only thought it was cocaine because the local Ridalin-pusher told him it was....


    best post of the week!!

  • On the post: Sears/Kmart Movie Streaming Service Apparently Designed For Uninformed Suckers

    Robin Hoover ( profile ), 28 Dec, 2010 @ 07:56pm

    Never Underestimate

    was it p.t. barnum (correct me if i'm remembering wrong) who once said:

    no one ever went broke underestimating the stupidity of the american public

  • On the post: Would Twitter Be Liable For Links To Infringing Material?

    Robin Hoover ( profile ), 28 Dec, 2010 @ 03:33pm

    Re: Re: Links more generally

    Well, it's worth pointing out that the main argument for the seizure of those five domain names by ICE was that they were LINKING sites. None of them hosted material at all. So, apparently Homeland Security has decided not only is linking infringement, but that it can be *criminal* infringement worthy of seizure without any adversarial hearing.


    look to this coming year, wherein we'll be spelling links "coica".

    the i.c.e. efforts are all a dry run for language that is in this legislation:

    2.a.1.B "...provision of a link or aggregated links to other sites or Internet resources..."


    and, some of the language strikes me as simply unconstitutional:

    2.a.1.B "...offering or providing access in a manner not authorized by the copyright owner..."


    seriously, what does access have to do with reproducing, preparing, distributing, displaying or performing??

  • On the post: Once Again, More State Dept. Cables Show Swedish Copyright Enforcement At The Behest Of US

    Robin Hoover ( profile ), 28 Dec, 2010 @ 04:34am

    Re: Mechanism and mannerism

    It is of concern that people don't take it serious because that report point to the way, it is a compass pointing to the direction people with influence want things to go and although meaningless in and on itself the powers behind it are not, more grave may be the fact that those same powerful people don't care about reality or facts and that can only end in disaster.


    +1, the crux of the apostrophe

  • On the post: DailyDirt: Bring Out Your Dead… With CGI

    Robin Hoover ( profile ), 13 Dec, 2010 @ 05:52pm

    3rd & 7th

    http://vimeo.com/7809605

    stunning stuff.

  • On the post: Sherman Fredericks 'Steals'* From Me

    Robin Hoover ( profile ), 13 Dec, 2010 @ 01:17pm

    Re: Wow...

    the lvrj blogroll (lower left, first column) includes the drudge report. just wow....

  • On the post: MPAA Reminding Universities They Need To Crack Down On File Sharing — Leaves Out How It Lied To Get The Law Passed

    Robin Hoover ( profile ), 09 Dec, 2010 @ 04:18am

    Mafia

    There's no quantitative difference between the MPAA letter and this classic: http://bit.ly/1sW8Dw

  • On the post: OpenDNS Comes Out Against COICA Censorship

    Robin Hoover ( profile ), 09 Dec, 2010 @ 04:00am

    Re: Dead But Not Forgotten

    oops, sorry double post :(.

    And by being sold, please note the utterly confused conflating of counterfeiting and infringement, which runs from the first sentence to the last.

    Actually a question for the hive: is it cluelessness or is it purposeful mis-direction?

  • On the post: OpenDNS Comes Out Against COICA Censorship

    Robin Hoover ( profile ), 09 Dec, 2010 @ 03:57am

    Dead But Not Forgotten

    While COICA may be temporarily on hold, it is still being sold:

    OP-Ed Piece by Senator Leahy:

    http://thehill.com/special-reports/lame-duck-december-2010/132513-putting-a-stop-to-online-criminals-

    Original with extra documents:

    http://leahy.senate.gov/press/press_releases/release/?id=4c6b5d31-902d-4e78-a3c1-e392db0dd488

    Sadly, it seems as if government coercion and intimidation are now part of our country's speech. I'm sure Senator Leahy is quite proud...

  • On the post: US Copyright Czar: Expect More Domain Censorship

    Robin Hoover ( profile ), 06 Dec, 2010 @ 05:03pm

    No Shame

    if these sorts of activities keep up, she's going to go down as the US's chief censor. What a shame.


    there's no shame to it, it was the plan from the beginning. ask our dear friend senator leahy, or her boss mr. biden.

  • On the post: Five Questions For Homeland Security Concerning Its Online Censorship Campaign

    Robin Hoover ( profile ), 29 Nov, 2010 @ 11:36am

    Re: DHS vs FBI?

    from the horse's mouth:

    http://www.ice.gov/cyber-crimes/

    none of which, needless to say, has a blasted thing to due with a torrent meta-search engine.

    in fact, let'em know what you think (at bottom of page, be polite):

    http://www.ice.gov/iprcenter/

  • On the post: COICA Back Up For A Vote This Week, So Universal Music Ramps Up Astroturf Campaign

    Robin Hoover ( profile ), 16 Nov, 2010 @ 02:37pm

    secret

    note that the legislation is being considered within the framework of the "executive business meeting", i.e. behind closed doors.

    senator leahy, yup my senator, sure does love him some democracy (and yup i've already e-mailed him expressing my displeasure).

  • On the post: ACTA Negotiations Are 'Done'… But Negotiators Still Getting Together For A 'Legal Scrub'

    Robin Hoover ( profile ), 09 Nov, 2010 @ 04:57pm

    hosed

    we're all totally hosed, you do know that.

    from one of the leaked documents ( http://bit.ly/ds7dUT ) comes these gems concerning their dystopia of digital enforcement:

    ...the entire section is a novelty, without parallel in any plurilateral or multilateral agreement...


    and

    ...infringements in digital world are not different from infringements in physical world...


    in the name of jesus, mary and ralph...what planet do these people come from??? how do people, on a taxpayer payroll, run around in such a cluless fog?

  • On the post: Microsoft's Anti-Piracy Efforts: Millions Spent Driving People To Open Source Software

    Robin Hoover ( profile ), 09 Nov, 2010 @ 06:17am

    Consumer Beware

    IMHO, this is yet another example of a continuing effort by big content/copyright to tie counterfeiting and "piracy" to the same anchor.

    For the most egregious example (if you need a laugh this morning) the MPAA's recent letter to the US Trade Representative's office (pdf) http://bit.ly/dvFwnH

    Also IMHO a dry run for COICA and establishing blacklists of websites.

    Can you spell Prior Restraint?

    (Of course, being more patient, it's just entertaining watching politicians fighting a losing fight: you cannot destroy a network designed to route around any kind of failure; like blocking domain names)

  • On the post: Local News Website Says You Need To Pay To Read Its Stories, Says It's Collecting Visitor IPs To Sue

    Robin Hoover ( profile ), 26 Oct, 2010 @ 01:05pm

    Re:

    damn near the best comment....ever! had to clean off the dask after that one. thx!

  • On the post: If Google TV Has To Pay To Make Hulu Available To Viewers, Will Mozilla Have To Pay To Access Hulu Via Firefox?

    Robin Hoover ( profile ), 22 Oct, 2010 @ 04:08pm

    not innocent

    Admittedly, Hulu is apparently getting pressure from the TV companies to do these blocks...


    apologies for repeating myself mike, but

    hulu is the tv companies.

    every single kerfuffle hulu has been involved in with its customers, it has done the exact same song and dance: we love our customers but we're being forced into this.

    please...stop listening to them cry wolf.....and stop repeating their press releases.

  • On the post: NY Times Sues Kachingle Over Publicity Stunt… Making Publicity Stunt That Much More Effective

    Robin Hoover ( profile ), 19 Oct, 2010 @ 06:55am

    modus operandi

    Either way, I can't figure out why the Times is doing this.


    the NYT has clearly signalled its intention NOT to be a part of the modern marketplace of ideas and conversations, this is part and parcel of that effort.

    remember when the ipad was first introduced on stage by steve jobs? he featured a bitchin rss reader by these two kids in california? a project that immediately received a c&d (or some kind of lawerly response) from the nyt? and then, presto!, a day later the nyt retreated....kachingle certainly does not have steve jobs going to bat for it sadly.

  • On the post: NY Times Sues Kachingle Over Publicity Stunt… Making Publicity Stunt That Much More Effective

    Robin Hoover ( profile ), 19 Oct, 2010 @ 06:46am

    Re:

    ad meet hominem, i.e. the first response of those with no answer.......

    i would like to disagree with the "flagged by the community" thingie. it's not offensive, racist, misogynist, hateful etc etc in any way, just profoundly un-informed.

    the only response to bad speech is more speech.

  • On the post: Tim Berners-Lee Comes Out Against COICA Censorship Bill; Shouldn't You?

    Robin Hoover ( profile ), 28 Sep, 2010 @ 01:30pm

    Re: I call Bull Shit

    fellow vermonter here. ditto, except i was not "graced" with a reply.

    also contacted bernie, hopelessly out there, but elected nonetheless.

    note the cluelessness of patrick's reply:

    This legislation allows the Department to file a civil action against a domain name that provides access to the infringing website, and to seek an order from a court that would allow the Attorney General to suspend the infringing domain name.


    which accomplishes nothing except creating a mccarthy-era blacklist of words. anyone who wants to can go directly to 194.71.107.15 :).

    i.e. a naked attack on the dns system and an attempt to censor it.

    Internet purchases have become so commonplace that consumers are less wary of online shopping and therefore more easily victimized by online products that are unsafe, or have health, safety or other quality concerns when they are counterfeit.


    somebody, think of the children!!!

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