Skeptical Cynic 's Techdirt Comments

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  • On the post: Two More Politicians Claim Video Games Are The Real 'Problem'

    Skeptical Cynic ( profile ), 31 Jan, 2013 @ 08:58am

    Re:

    Aria, that game would be banned in about 2 seconds. The secret service would claim that helps terrorists or some other reason.

    Good idea, reality will not allow it.

  • On the post: Odd: Mega Removing Any File It Can Find That Is Publicly Indexed — Even Completely Legitimate Uploads

    Skeptical Cynic ( profile ), 31 Jan, 2013 @ 03:35pm

    I am the anti-AC comment provider

    Too funny. Mega has generated comments from just one person above that will be named. Wonder what that says. Got 3 AC's and one "anonymouse".

  • On the post: As Expected, ICE Seizes 313 Websites In Its Role As The NFL's Private Police Force

    Skeptical Cynic ( profile ), 31 Jan, 2013 @ 02:50pm

    I have an idea...Let's report John Morton for Intellectual Property Rights

    Here is the link.

    http://www.ice.gov/exec/forms/hsi-tips/tips.asp

    File a claim.

  • On the post: Odd: Mega Removing Any File It Can Find That Is Publicly Indexed — Even Completely Legitimate Uploads

    Skeptical Cynic ( profile ), 31 Jan, 2013 @ 02:43pm

    Sad...

    Why does it seem that the victims of the law are always our legal rights?

    Where is the consequence to those that falsely enforce the law in a manner not legally sanctioned?

    I think that the immunity that public servants currently enjoy with regards to the being sued should be revoked until they can show that they are not acting out of unenlightened self interest. Too often those people strike first and do not care whether or not what they do is fully legal or enforceable based on law because they know the victims have very little legal recourse. Also they do so to protect their job first and help their advancement in the world of government.

  • On the post: French National Library Privatizes Public Domain Materials

    Skeptical Cynic ( profile ), 31 Jan, 2013 @ 11:21am

    Why?

    So how long before the average person understands that information should be available to everyone? Or that progress is going to be retarded?

    I bet 1000+ years.

  • On the post: Dangerous: European Courts Considering Requiring Search Engine Filters Over Embarrassing Content

    Skeptical Cynic ( profile ), 31 Jan, 2013 @ 11:08am

    DA meet DA

    Dumb ass laws meet Dumb ass person.

    Period.

  • On the post: Obama Administration Considers Joining Publishers In Fight To Stamp Out Fair Use At Universities

    Skeptical Cynic ( profile ), 31 Jan, 2013 @ 09:27am

    University's are stupid

    Why have the Colleges and Universities of this country not sought out and promoted more open methods of getting the text books they need for education?

    I am sorry but I hate the restrictions that are imposed on students. I left a big Online College where I was working for a second Masters degree because they switched from requiring us to buy the text books with e-book access for each class to requiring us to pay the same amount of money for a e-book only version that had zero resell possibly.

    Even worse I lost access to the books I did pay full price for because the DRM scheme involves logging in to your student account. So over $400 dollars for e-books that I can not ever resell (if I don't want to read them again) and re-read if I want to reference again.

    So back to my original Title. Universities and Colleges are either getting big kick backs to mot properly serve their students or they are stupid.

  • On the post: Two More Politicians Claim Video Games Are The Real 'Problem'

    Skeptical Cynic ( profile ), 31 Jan, 2013 @ 08:56am

    So more uninformed people talking about thing they don't know anything about.

    I really think that this is a simple case again of 2 things colliding. One political pandering and another of political blame shifting.

    The first,Connecticut senator Chris Murphy trying to play to his political base with I am sure some push by the Obama administration for him to be a front man. Not going to jump in to the reasons that Democrats want to control guns but this is about pandering plain and simple.

    The second, Sen. Lamar Alexander is trying to not come out and say he is pandering to his base by trying to blame shift. "Guns are not the problem, Violent Video Games are"

    Either way it does not address the real issues in this country and instead just shows the pols in Washington have lost their ability to talk with facts and instead default to spin every time.

  • On the post: Carmen Ortiz Refuses To Reflect; Insists Her Office Will Do Everything The Same As Before

    Skeptical Cynic ( profile ), 22 Jan, 2013 @ 07:50am

    Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Background

    Actually, I am not. I think the Republican party is far worse for privacy. But I do agree that they both are crap.

    I am a Libertarian.

  • On the post: Carmen Ortiz Refuses To Reflect; Insists Her Office Will Do Everything The Same As Before

    Skeptical Cynic ( profile ), 22 Jan, 2013 @ 07:33am

    Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Background

    I did not say that the Republicans haven't shown their own grab for central power, just that the Dems have shown it more.

  • On the post: Carmen Ortiz Refuses To Reflect; Insists Her Office Will Do Everything The Same As Before

    Skeptical Cynic ( profile ), 22 Jan, 2013 @ 07:18am

    Re:

    Ahh, but we don't live in a "supposedly democratic" country. See the founding fathers hated Democracy calling it "Mob Rule".

    The USA is a Representative Republic. Unfortunately, the people that the dumb masses have chosen to represent us are raised to that high level of responsibility by a beauty contest instead of actual knowledge and experience. Look at Obama and the experience he had before becoming President. Hell, look at the higher but still low level of experience Bush had before him.

    If the people we chose to represent us are people that we "like" instead of choosing people for their skill and knowledge then the US is getting exactly what they want. Those people that look good and say nice things but do not lead us to a better path.

    The leaders we have in the US are those that we have chosen and the reasons we choose them have become the wrong ones.

  • On the post: Carmen Ortiz Refuses To Reflect; Insists Her Office Will Do Everything The Same As Before

    Skeptical Cynic ( profile ), 22 Jan, 2013 @ 07:07am

    Re: Re: Re: Re: Background

    Jay, The Republican party is not the fascist party.

    The Republicans did not pass the largest push to control our lives, also known as the Obama HealthCare law.

    Fascism advocates a state-controlled and regulated mixed economy; the principal economic goal of fascism is to achieve autarky to secure national self-sufficiency and independence, through protectionist and interventionist economic policies.

  • On the post: Carmen Ortiz Refuses To Reflect; Insists Her Office Will Do Everything The Same As Before

    Skeptical Cynic ( profile ), 22 Jan, 2013 @ 07:03am

    Re: Re: Never admit you did anything wrong!

    Thanks.

    Political ambition is sordid, foul beast that demands from you your soul and gives in return a modicum of righteous authority which can be abused with very little fear of consequences.

  • On the post: Carmen Ortiz Refuses To Reflect; Insists Her Office Will Do Everything The Same As Before

    Skeptical Cynic ( profile ), 22 Jan, 2013 @ 06:53am

    Re: Re: Re: Background

    I doubt it was just the Republicans. The Dems have shown themselves to be much more about government control of every aspect of our lives.

  • On the post: Carmen Ortiz Refuses To Reflect; Insists Her Office Will Do Everything The Same As Before

    Skeptical Cynic ( profile ), 22 Jan, 2013 @ 05:54am

    Re: Background

    Just wondering...

    What Obama has to say about her actions and why the White House has offered no comments as far I know.

    Nominated by President Barack Obama, as the United States Attorney for the District of Massachusetts, Ms. Ortiz was confirmed by the U.S. Senate in November 2009. She is the first Hispanic and the first woman to represent Massachusetts as United States Attorney.

  • On the post: Carmen Ortiz Refuses To Reflect; Insists Her Office Will Do Everything The Same As Before

    Skeptical Cynic ( profile ), 22 Jan, 2013 @ 05:49am

    Never admit you did anything wrong!

    Don't just blame her. She can not admit they did anything wrong because that might mean they have done other things wrong and that might mean that have always done things wrong and wrong people don't get high level political appointments.

    So she is just following her leaders where they lead her by examples they set.

  • On the post: Lionsgate Censors Remix Video That The Copyright Office Itself Used As An Example Of Fair Use

    Skeptical Cynic ( profile ), 10 Jan, 2013 @ 06:35am

    Re:

    One point I would like to add is that there has to be stiff penalties for those Media interests that file false take-down requests or abuse the DMCA for their own monetary gains.

    There has to be something stiff enough to cause them to truly think before issuing the take-down request.

    It can't be something simple like a fine because all know those fines are always small to the big media companies. It has to be something like they lose the copyright on the work and the work is placed in the public domain.

    The first time that penalty is used I will bet the media companies make sure they have good solid infringement happening before they issue another take-down request.

    But aside from that idea the point is that there is nothing that can be currently done to those companies that abuse the DMCA.

    That is the first thing to fix.

  • On the post: MPAA: Millions Of DMCA Takedowns Proves That Google Needs To Stop Piracy

    Skeptical Cynic ( profile ), 17 Dec, 2012 @ 12:03pm

    Not on Topic

    But where are the penalties for costing companies for false take down notices? Those companies need to spend money to investigate valid and false take downs.

    Should their not be some fine or cost to for invalid take downs?

  • On the post: MPAA: Millions Of DMCA Takedowns Proves That Google Needs To Stop Piracy

    Skeptical Cynic ( profile ), 17 Dec, 2012 @ 11:44am

    Google those websites that are infringing.

    Google provides the MAFIAA with a way locating the infringing works. They should be happy.

    But aside from all that. Can we all stop distorting facts to serve a purpose. No one here at Techdirt wants those that provide us with great entertainment to not get paid for doing so. We all want those people doing the work of creating the next Ice, Ice Baby song or the next 49.5 Shades of Off White to get paid a worthy sum of money for bringing us those points of entertainment. They did the work and thus should get paid.

    But too often in the pursuit of the top level goal we distort facts to our liking.

    Sure the MAFIAA does it more than any group. They have shown time and time again it is not about profit for their members but profit for their bottom line. But it is also not acceptable to just say people are going to copy so deal with it.

    Techdirt has does a good job of presenting alternative ways for content creators to make money. And it seems to a degree that some are listening.

    So in some way, shape or form the content creators need to be informed of new ways to leverage their content for monetary awards. The MAFIAA should lead that charge to educate and inform.

    You know why they won't? (This is the main reason why the MAFIAA sticks to its outdated stance) Because they can't control the flow of money to the content creators.

    They have no way to make sure they get their cut.

  • On the post: Copyright Troll Prenda Law Dances Around The Simple Question: Which Alan Cooper Runs AF Holdings?

    Skeptical Cynic ( profile ), 12 Dec, 2012 @ 12:51pm

    Re: And as for the article itself...

    Very Clintonesque.

    Clintonesque (comparative more Clintonesque, superlative most Clintonesque)
    In a manner reminiscent of the style of former U.S. President Bill Clinton; usually involving a hypertechnical parsing of words.

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