vastrightwing’s Techdirt Profile

On the post: Washington Post Editorial Board Deploys A Bunch Of Bad Arguments In Its Defense Of The Comcast Merger

vastrightwing ( profile ), 17 Apr, 2014 @ 06:29am

In summary

There isn't one viable argument to support the merger. There are many facts to support the opposite position. The merger will be the worst possible outcome for consumers with an oligopoly that already exists.

On the post: Mike Rogers' Plan To 'Stop' Bulk Collection Of Phone Records Riddled With Dangerous Loopholes That Will Expand Surveillance

vastrightwing ( profile ), 01 Apr, 2014 @ 11:56am

Makes the old mob seem rather nice

When I continue to read these stories, I can't help but feel nostalgic for the old days of the so called Mob. In retrospect, they seem so much easier to deal with and much more accommodating than the bureaucrats we have now. They wanted to steal less of our money too. Can we go back in time?

On the post: Microsoft Looked Through Reporter's Hotmail And MSN Chat Accounts To Identify Windows 8 Leaker

vastrightwing ( profile ), 20 Mar, 2014 @ 12:41pm

Trolling

as they say, if you have nothing to hide...

I do question why an employee at M$ would use an account operated by his own company to do such a thing. Did he want to get caught? Was this bait in order to inflict some other punishment to his employer? I wonder. Maybe he wanted to find out if M$ would do what they did and now he'll out them on it. Who knows. We live in truly bizarre times.

On the post: Next NSA Boss Thinks NSA Just Needs Better PR; And Kicks It Off With A Bunch Of Cyberwar FUD

vastrightwing ( profile ), 14 Mar, 2014 @ 09:57am

Definitions

PR = Spin
Communicating = Spinning
Spinning = lying and covering up.
Highlights = obfuscates
What we are doing = Not what we are doing.

Now I will parse his statements:
Unlike my predecessor, I will lie and cover up my agency's spying better than anyone before me. I will use malware attacks, terrorism threats, security theater, dis-information, wiretapping, sting rays, license plate readers, facial recognition, the corporate media, copyright laws, judges and secret laws in a way that make the past seem like child play. I will strong arm private business to allow backdoors in published software and firmware. I will make private business accountable to me personally if they don't play nice with the NSA. I will work with other agencies like the IRS to threaten and intimidate citizens to do the right thing. In short, I will be everything my predecessor was not.

Any questions?

On the post: Russia Using Internet Censorship Laws To Block Websites Of Opposition Candidate, Independent Media

vastrightwing ( profile ), 14 Mar, 2014 @ 07:08am

Waiting for the pot to call the kettle black

I'm sure Russia has something equivalent to the DMCA, so anyone trying to get around the act of censoring will be breaking the law. After all, if it's good enough for us, it should be for everyone. No attempting to communicate when the government doesn't like what you're trying to say.

Lying is today's new normal. It's for your own good, for the children. Now the issue is we've been crying wolf so long now, how will we know when it really is for the sake of the children? We won't.

If the US condemns this in any way, Putin simply has to mention NSA, or ICE, and that will be the end. Our own credibility is torn to shreds. We have no moral high ground.

On the post: If You Want To Fix U.S. Broadband Competition, Start By Killing State-Level Protectionist Laws Written By Duopolists

vastrightwing ( profile ), 13 Mar, 2014 @ 09:50am

Outright war

There is an outright war of ISP vs consumers. As such, they are preventing competition. However, as consumers we do have options. The one I'm using right now is setting up a mesh network of neighbor to neighbor. I buy a $75 mesh compatible access point/repeater and connect it to my broadband connection. My neighbor buys the same thing and now we have a two node mesh network. Other neighbors buy similar hardware and a few of them connect their access point to their broadband connection and now we have a fault tolerant, scalable, self managed network!

Ideally our mesh network will have multiple vendor ISP connections in case one vendor's network has technical problems. The idea here is to have a large private network with external internet access. Bandwidth is managed by the mesh software. It is slick, reliable and inexpensive. Why pay over $50/month for bandwidth you don't use when you can all benefit from each other?

On the post: Senator Feinstein Finally Finds Surveillance To Get Angry About: When It Happened To Her Staffers

vastrightwing ( profile ), 11 Mar, 2014 @ 09:47am

If you have nothing to hide

Senator,

Why are you so upset? it's for our security and safety. And if you have nothing to hide, you have nothing to fear. Come on!

On the post: Comcast: Throwing Money At Congress To Approve Our Merger Is Ok Because Congress Represents The People!

vastrightwing ( profile ), 11 Mar, 2014 @ 09:38am

Comcast cares

I'm glad to know Comcast cares about us little people.
Comcast, I have an idea, rather than pouring tons of money to political action committees and buying politicians, spend the money making your service better. I know this is a radical departure from your regular model, but it works. People, your customers, respond favorably when they get value for their hard earned money. I know business school didn't teach you this, but I've learned this by working for actual customers: they like getting value for their money.

Consumers, if Comcast isn't giving you value, there is a way to extract value from your overpriced Internet: buy inexpensive mesh access points like open mesh. Have a few neighbors subscribe to high speed broadband and allow your neighbors to use your excess bandwidth. You're not using the bandwidth you're paying for anyway. The mesh network will manage the network for you and everyone benefits! That way, Comcast can keep upselling faster speeds and the excess bandwidth can be managed across the neighborhood. I'm doing it. It's cheap and works great!

On the post: Australian Broadcasters, Netflix Competitors Pout Because Netflix Hasn't Banned VPN Users Yet

vastrightwing ( profile ), 04 Mar, 2014 @ 09:14am

Sledge hammer

Yes, here we go: it's not enough that we take the web away and make it a trunk based system. Next we're creating geo location databases so we can limit information flow based on location information. But since people can circumvent that little problem, we now have to figure out how to determine if a user is using a proxy server or VPN? So we're bent on the idea of taking a sledge hammer and systematically destroying the information super highway and turning it into a muddy dirt road?

Ok, the internet was not invented to make your business models make money for you. No it was designed to allow people to communicate. There was no thought about security, DRM, geo location, profits for record companies or film distribution. It was about allowing people to communicate with each other. And since it wasn't designed to do what you want it to do, you want to destroy it! Is this correct?

Why can't you guys create your own network called the entertainment network cable and charge people tons of money to access your network. I'm sure everyone will subscribe. Make it so consumers have no control over the content. Don't allow consumers to record or time shift or place shift. Make sure to raise rates every 6 months and block programming every time there is a dispute over money. Now that will be popular. But stay the f--- away from our network!

On the post: Police Tell Courts Non-Disclosure Agreement Prevents Them From Getting A Warrant For Cell Phone Tower Spoofers

vastrightwing ( profile ), 04 Mar, 2014 @ 08:55am

NDA, the ultimate amendment

Of course , I could never remember the constitution where it says private corporation non disclosure agreements always trump privacy and other civil liberties.

And you think public servants aren't that smart? LOL, well, here you go, they are a very creative bunch: they always come up with brilliant justifications for their actions. If only I could come up with brilliant rhetoric.

On the post: Google Fiber Teases 34 More Cities With Actual, Honest-To-Goodness Broadband Competition

vastrightwing ( profile ), 27 Feb, 2014 @ 10:02am

Verizon! LOL

Hey, I hope that $52.99/month 20 mbps service you're forcing us to use is working out well for you. Keep it as long as you can. Don't bow to competition: don't let anyone force you to lower your fees. Because that isn't fair. Don't worry, I won't leave you when Google comes to town, because I already won't be a customer anyway. LOL. It's already too late. LOL I've made plans with RCN for at least the next 2 years. Then I may buy a cheap cell phone for its WiFi AP capability and use its 4G 7 mbps connection for a lot less than what you offer. If I could embed a graphic with my middle finger on it, I would. But then that might hurt your feelings. LOL.

On the post: Verizon Thinks 'The Most Important Concept Of Net Neutrality' Is Giving Verizon More Money

vastrightwing ( profile ), 26 Feb, 2014 @ 12:57pm

You can't hear me anymore!

Verizon, I have some unpleasant news for you. I'm in the process of pulling at least some easy revenue from your coffers: I'm leaving you as a broadband customer. You have abused my generosity long enough. Sure, your service is good, I like it, but the value isn't there for me any longer. I can pay $20/month less for the same thing. You've gouged me for $52.99/month now after raising your rates constantly. I've had it! I don't need your 20mbps. 5 mbps is enough, but you don't offer it because you have little competition. Fine. I'm taking my ball home. Goodbye!

On the post: Chicago PD Believes It Can See The Future, Starts Warning Citizens About Crimes They Might Commit

vastrightwing ( profile ), 26 Feb, 2014 @ 06:21am

Minority Report Redux

At this point, it doesn't take too much insight to understand what's going on. The system's been in place for decades already. Now that the light has been cast on it, they are threating us with it. They don't even need to tell us how they're doing it because we all know, thanks to Snowden.

Thanks to grants to small cities and towns, they have military force available to carry out their threats. Deep Politics is coming to the surface, or at least is beginning to show its fa?ade. Keep in mind: this is only the tip of ice burg. They are scared. Their mass has become too big and is out of balance. Be cautious around scared creatures; you don't know what they will do when frightened.

You need to extricate yourself from the system: stop feeding it. Stop using credit. In fact, avoid using federal reserve notes. This is the blood. The future is neighbor to neighbor.

On the post: New Snowden Doc Reveals How GCHQ/NSA Use The Internet To 'Manipulate, Deceive And Destroy Reputations'

vastrightwing ( profile ), 25 Feb, 2014 @ 11:56am

Deep politics

This falls in the deep politics subject. Just do a search on this subject and you will find it relates to this topic quite well.

Essentially, open politics that we all see around us is the veneer. The real power is below the surface shrouded in secrecy. The tactic of discrediting is planting lies and disinformation. You can spot this happening when an "event" occurs and the reaction is a fast narrative and early facts long before there should be any. The guilty party has been identified; the narrative has been disseminated to the media. They all are saying the exact same thing in unison. There will be no investigation and when there is an investigation, it will be performed by the wrong participants.

Does this sound vaguely familiar?

On the post: Comcast Paying Minority Rights Groups To Parrot Merger Support

vastrightwing ( profile ), 24 Feb, 2014 @ 08:10am

Force their hand

In my town, we only have three major players in the ISP space: Comcast, Verizon and RCN. This is hardly competition. The lowest price you can get an Internet connection is $49.00. I repeat. $49. RCN is $49, Verizon is $53 and Comcast is $55. What are my choices? Effectively none. You see, they only offer this price point as the lowest possible cost. Never mind that I don't need the bandwidth they want me to pay for. They don't offer any other options because they don't need to. The only thing I can do is sign up for RCN and pay a discounted term for 2 years. Then I'll have to switch again as their rates will match the others eventually. Once Comcast assimilates their peer, obviously prices will start increasing. It is written.

These magical consumer savings, you see, never ever materialize. Sure, they materialize for Comcast. Comcast sees savings as they trim their redundant workforce: SAVINGS! Less people working. Consolidate: SAVINGS! Less overhead. More leverage against content creators: SAVINGS! (but only for Comcast) Now if only Comcast could have less regulation and restrictions and more laws to lock out potential competition. Now we're talking! Cha ching!

What can we do to combat this? Wean ourselves off the crack the cable companies sell to us. Say no to $100+ bills. When people cut the cord, they will listen. Try to get local authorities to regulate the prices again. Their hand must be forced. There is no other way.

On the post: Broadcasters Get Aereo Shut Down In Salt Lake City and Denver

vastrightwing ( profile ), 21 Feb, 2014 @ 11:34am

I guess I'm a thief

Since I have my own antenna, that makes me a thief. I essentially "steal" signals from the air. I put a cable after my antenna to my TVs. Yes, that's right, I'm using a single antenna for more than one TV. Is this legal? Now, how long of a cable am I allowed to have? How many TVs can I hook up to a single antenna?

That Marconi guy really did a bad thing making it possible to steal from content creators. And we think he's an innovator. Tisk, tisk.

On the post: Investors Whine As T-Mobile Finally Forces Verizon Wireless To (GASP) Compete On Price

vastrightwing ( profile ), 19 Feb, 2014 @ 09:31am

I just wrote Verizon about being a ripoff

While this is FIOS and not phone service, I think my letter to Verizon below illustrates their corporate culture of not offering value unless they are forced into it. In my case, there is an oligopoly in the internet space.

I sent this letter to Verizon yesterday. I am wondering if they will respond. I doubt it.

Dear Verizon,

I am considering canceling my FIOS service because you raised the price beyond the point I'm willing to pay.

The service has been excellent, the speeds are consistent and good and I have enjoyed FIOS a lot. It is simply a decision based solely on value. I am simply not willing to spend $52.99/month for Internet. I feel like you take me for granted because every few years you keep raising the price, but not the value to me.

I called you several times to negotiate a better rate. I also tried to sign up for $19.99/month DSL. None of these options are available to me. My only option is to leave you completely and go to your competitor, RCN. They are willing to give me faster service for only $29.99/month for the first year, and $39.99 next year. At that point, I will try to negotiate a better deal or I may come back to Verizon if you offer a tier of service at a price point I'm willing to pay.

You offer no lower tiers of service. I would be fine with 5 mbps, but you do not offer it. My needs are very modest. You understand this, but people have been more than willing to cede to your demands. I predict more and more of us will drop out as you remove options and continue to raise your rates above the value you offer.

Please take no offense, but an Internet connection is a basic commodity now. All I ask for is a simple RJ45 connection and 5 mbps of bandwidth. Paying more than $20/month is paying too much. At this point, I do not want TV, phone, email, hosting, a router, software, or anything. However, consider this; losing me as a customer means if I decide to subscribe to phone or TV, I'm more likely to go with RCN since I will have their cable active. If I ever need more bandwidth or services, I will use the provider who gives me the best value. Right now it is not Verizon. I don't need to tell you that it's cheaper to keep existing customers than it is to get new customers. Once I'm gone, getting me back will cost you more.

Don't worry, I won't be offended when you don't reply, after all it's just business. I know.

On the post: Fighting Back Against Mass Surveillance

vastrightwing ( profile ), 11 Feb, 2014 @ 11:18am

A list

Wear a face T-shirt with many infamous people so facial recognition software gets confused.
Turn phone off when you don't need it.
Place your Fast/EZ pass transponder in a faraday cage except when you're going through a real toll booth. Better yet, return the device and pay cash.
Turn WiFi, Bluetooth and cell data off when you don't need it.
Shut down wireless router when you don't need it. I put a mechanical timer that shuts it down at night.
Use a real GPS rather than your SmartPhone for navigation.
Use your browser rather than apps on your smartphone. Apps leak a lot of information about you.
Clear browser cache and cookies at least every day.
Avoid using social services like facebook, google, twitter, cloud services, public WiFi (especially at airports and in private business).
Try Duck Duck Go rather than Google.
Add noise to SIGINT by making random google searches and texting random phone numbers.
In general, become suspicious by using private key encryption rather than asymmetrical public key encryption on your emails. Even though you have nothing to hide, act as though you do. More private communication will cause the NSA to spend more resources looking into encrypted communications.
Look into using steganography and start passing messages inside MP3s and images to your friends.
Use cash rather than electronic payments. When buying things online, favor bitcoin over other forms of payment.
Don't store your money in a bank.

On the post: DailyDirt: Does Bitcoin Matter?

vastrightwing ( profile ), 31 Jan, 2014 @ 06:09am

My 2 Bitcoins

Here are my favorite reasons to move to Bitcoin for financial transactions.
1. There is no middleman.
2. The government can't seize your account by fiat.
3. Transaction fees are zero or close to zero.
4. No one can do QE (quantitative easing).
5. There is no fractional reserve of Bitcoins.
6. Retail data breeches won't compromise your Bitcoins.
7. Good place to store wealth.
8. Easy to move wealth from point to point without violating governmental laws.
9. No one is in control of Bitcoin.
10. Software can be used to emulate all banking features for less (UltraCoin)

On the post: Eric Holder Should Condemn James Clapper Calling Journalists 'Accomplices'

vastrightwing ( profile ), 30 Jan, 2014 @ 11:37am

We are all enemies of the state

If we are not one of them, we are against them. Pretty simple to understand.

"journalists" who are not criminals work for the state. The rest are criminals who have not been caught.

Since we (citizens) are being spied on: we are the enemy. Is there any doubt?

Has the state done anything for the citizens without regard for itself? Personally, I can't think of anything. Roads? Nope, commerce. Internet/radio/satellite/TV? Nope, telecommunications companies. FCC? Income for the state. Healthcare? No. Tax on the citizens. Property rights? No. You don't own property here; you pay taxes (rent). Non rent payment, the state takes its property back. Food? No, Monsanto and big Agra is taking that away from us. Freedom of speech? No! Snowden is illustrating that pretty well. Guns? They are mostly a non issue for the state, they can overpower that pretty easily. Civil liberties? Again, the justice system is stacked in favor of corporations. We are forced into "agreements" we can't fight against. Welfare? The state is out of cash. Freedom? That depends on what you mean by freedom. I say, we haven't had that in years. Safety? If anything we have to fear our own state. Movement? Tried to fly lately? TSA anyone? It's all theater. War? Again, no! The problem is war is not done at our behest. It's done against our will. Destruction? No. The state destroys property for its own benefit, never ours. Education? Been to public school lately? We can't afford it, what we get is indoctrination. Currency? LOL, the Federal Reserve? We're in this financial mess now due precisely to the uncontrolled theft the Federal Reserve has infested on us. QE? Fractional banking? Call it leveraged debt.

And now, the state wants to control our retirement money (MyRa)? Do I even need to say why this is a horrible idea for citizens? Oh, for the state it's wonderful!

The answer is person to person. Simple. People doing things for people, not the state. The more we isolate the state from our lives, the better off we become.

vastrightwing 's Techdirt Comments

Latest Comments (293)