Tom 's Techdirt Comments

Latest Comments (137)

• On the post: Gemalto Takes The Lenovo Approach: Denies Any Real Risk From NSA Hacking Its Encryption Keys

  

  Tom ( profile ), 23 Feb, 2015 @ 01:33pm

  Edward Snowden is currently doing a Reddit AMA. He mentioned the Gemalto hack as far more significant than other stories of NSA device-fuckery to emerge recently.
  
  http://www.reddit.com/r/IAmA/comments/2wwdep/we_are_edward_snowden_laura_poitras_and_glenn/couu01c?context=3

• On the post: If You Care About The Environment In Canada, You May Be Targeted As An 'Anti-Petroleum Extremist'

  

  Tom ( profile ), 19 Feb, 2015 @ 07:57am

  Dear everyone in Canada: add Greenpeace, ELF and Animal Liberation Front to your Facebook favorites.
  
  If they want to track us, let's clog their filters with our corpses.

• On the post: Dianne Feinstein Calls Bullshit On The 'Threat Assessment' That Said Releasing CIA Torture Report Would Lead To Violence

  

  Tom ( profile ), 13 Feb, 2015 @ 02:29pm

  Want y'all to read something:
  
  http://www.democracynow.org/2015/1/15/did_gitmo_suicides_cover_up_murder
  
  Is it safe to say that, once we start conducting medical experiments on our detainees, we're basically at a Dr. Mengele level of evil?

• On the post: NSA's Chief Privacy Officer Admits That Maybe The NSA Shouldn't Rely On 'Cute' Interpretations Of The Law

  

  Tom ( profile ), 04 Feb, 2015 @ 03:08pm

  I don't think "cute" is the right term for interpretations of law that made total surveillance and secret torture facilities an OK thing for us to do. If that's legal, then laws themselves have no meaning.

• On the post: DEA Collecting Massive Database Of Your Driving Habits In Secret, Using License Plate Readers

  

  Tom ( profile ), 28 Jan, 2015 @ 09:26am

  License plates are just one of many ways a car can be tracked as it is. OnStar, GPS, other transponders like toll road passes, any personal mobile devices that might be brought on board; they're practically rolling location transmitters.
  
  Someone with the power to pool all these tracking resources into one master map could get a very accurate bead on the position of any vehicle they deemed interesting.

• On the post: Law Enforcement Wants Google To Cripple Waze Because It Lets The Mean Old Public 'Stalk' Police Officers

  

  Tom ( profile ), 27 Jan, 2015 @ 10:30am

  Re: Re:

  I can totally think of another profession like that.
  
  The president of the United States.

• On the post: Law Enforcement Wants Google To Cripple Waze Because It Lets The Mean Old Public 'Stalk' Police Officers

  

  Tom ( profile ), 27 Jan, 2015 @ 10:34am

  We shouldn't blame the cops, or mock them for wanting this app disabled. They're expressing exactly the same fear we are expressing: the fear that technology might be used to track us, and harm us.
  
  If anything, this is an opportunity to build bridges between groups of law enforcement officers, and privacy activists. We're all equally endangered by out-of-control surveillance.

• On the post: Former Head of GCHQ Warns Of 'Ethically Worse' Kinds Of Spying If Unbreakable Encryption Is Allowed

  

  Tom ( profile ), 23 Jan, 2015 @ 12:11pm

  Re: Foot meet mouth

  Sounds like an enemy to me.

• On the post: New Utah Law Instructs Cops To Seize Uninsured Vehicles

  

  Tom ( profile ), 23 Jan, 2015 @ 06:03pm

  Time for Utahns (?) to look into bicycles.

• On the post: New Senate Intelligence Boss Demands That White House 'Return' CIA Torture Report Copies

  

  Tom ( profile ), 22 Jan, 2015 @ 11:10am

  Re:

  Their rule has always been "liberty for me, not for thee" anyway.

• On the post: New Senate Intelligence Boss Demands That White House 'Return' CIA Torture Report Copies

  

  Tom ( profile ), 22 Jan, 2015 @ 08:11am

  “It gets pretty technical,” Burr said, confirming he sent the letter. "I mean, we don't want to teach ISIS our most effective torture techniques, do we?" he added, trying to awkwardly conceal a growing erection.

• On the post: Alabama Legislators Say You Must Be A Salaried Employee Of Old School Media To Get Approved For Press Credentials

  

  Tom ( profile ), 17 Jan, 2015 @ 06:05am

  Well, of course they prefer incumbent media to newcomers. The incumbents have already been bought and paid for, while a newcomer might report some inconvenient truth as opposed to being bribed into silence.

• On the post: Did David Cameron Just Say He Wants To Undermine All Encryption In The UK?

  

  Tom ( profile ), 13 Jan, 2015 @ 02:52pm

  If these creatures could read our thoughts, they'd be doing it already.

• On the post: New York's Top Prosecutor Says We Need New Laws To Fight iPhone/Android Encryption

  

  Tom ( profile ), 13 Jan, 2015 @ 08:41am

  We need new laws to fight corrupt authorities violating our rights. Clearly, the Constitution is inadequate.

• On the post: Former CIA Director May Face Charges Under Espionage Act, Showing How Ridiculous Espionage Act Is

  

  Tom ( profile ), 12 Jan, 2015 @ 07:40am

  Torturers of human beings to death: not charged.
  Torture whistleblowers: imprisoned.
  
  Spies who target their own citizens in violation of the constitution: not charged.
  Spying whistleblowers: forced into exile in fear of lifetime imprisonment.
  
  Petraeus has nothing to worry about. He'll be let off the hook - unless of course it was him that confessed the sharing of classified information, in which case he'll count as a whistleblower, and never see light of day again.
  
  When exposing a criminal act is seen as a criminal act, you are ruled by criminals.

• On the post: Sharyl Attkisson Sues Justice Department For Hacking Her CBS Laptop Over Benghazi Reports Even Though That Didn't Happen

  

  Tom ( profile ), 06 Jan, 2015 @ 02:02pm

  Re: Re: Honestly,

  I suspect the government saves brake failures for actual, legitimate reporters approaching a major break (i.e. Michael Hastings) rather than talking heads on TV with the IQ of a cucumber.

• On the post: Sharyl Attkisson Sues Justice Department For Hacking Her CBS Laptop Over Benghazi Reports Even Though That Didn't Happen

  

  Tom ( profile ), 06 Jan, 2015 @ 02:00pm

  This must be USGov's strategy. Have certifiable loons sue the government over surveillance and intrusion, so that any legitimate groups thinking of doing the same, won't, out of fear with being associated with the loons.

• On the post: Cleveland Police Union Rep: Citizens Think They Understand The Law? Ridiculous!

  

  Tom ( profile ), 17 Dec, 2014 @ 11:34am

  Actually, what's pathetic is that in the time since the terrorist attacks of 9/11, America's police have killed more than twice the number of American citizens than those terrorists managed to.
  
  It's also pretty pathetic that police continue to assault, arrest and intimidate Americans for documenting police activity on video, even though it's perfectly legal. Quite pathetic indeed, such absence of legal awareness in our police...

• On the post: Washington Post Shrugs Off Torture Because, You Know, It Polls Well

  

  Tom ( profile ), 16 Dec, 2014 @ 03:10pm

  Is anyone else shocked how completely surrounded we are by utterly evil people in our midst? These are our countrymen, and they're no better than Nazis.
  
  Where did it all go to hell? How did we manage to get through WW2 without turning into such wretched creatures, yet some terrorists knock over a few buildings, and all our morality goes out the window?

• On the post: Canadian Supreme Court Says No Warrants Needed To Search Arrestees' Cell Phones

  

  Tom ( profile ), 15 Dec, 2014 @ 10:33am

  Our societies can't really be called free anymore, can they...

Next >>