vilain 's Techdirt Comments

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  • On the post: It Appears RFK Jr. Is Having Trouble Finding Anyone To Take The CDC Director Job

    vilain ( profile ), 31 Mar, 2026 @ 12:23am

    I wonder

    I wonder if anyone Jr approached replied "Yes, I'll take the job. But only if I can display your severed head in a glass case in my office."

  • On the post: NBC Hid The Boos For JD Vance. Where’s Trump’s ‘Unfair Editing’ Lawsuit?

    vilain ( profile ), 10 Feb, 2026 @ 07:59am

    NBC has lots of practice editing footage

    They've had to do it repeatedly to remove the smoke around Pam Bondi's crucifix whenever she wore it on camera. It got really expensive so they asked her not to wear it any more.

  • On the post: Brendan Carr Launches Fake Investigation Of ABC’s ‘The View’ Because They Haven’t Adequately Coddled Trumpism

    vilain ( profile ), 10 Feb, 2026 @ 07:56am

    If only he's in the Epstein Files

    Now would be a good time to find Brendan Carr in the Epstein Files. I've run out of Voodoo Doll pins and they're back ordered at the Supply Store.

  • On the post: County Pays $300,000 To 11-Year-Old Whose Pet Goat Was Seized And Killed By Cops Because She Backed Out Of A 4-H Auction

    vilain ( profile ), 12 Nov, 2024 @ 11:31am

    Fair employees need to pay up

    Love to see the person running the Fair and their employees pay up as well. Won't bring Cedar back but maybe having those people dip into their Retirement or kid's College funds might making them think twice.

  • On the post: America’s Mayor Earns Second Permanent Disbarment For Being An Election Conspiracy Grifter

    vilain ( profile ), 30 Sep, 2024 @ 07:32pm

    I wonder...

    What jurisdiction would be able to pass a law to make practicing law for Donald Trump illegal. Well, not exactly illegal. Just if you accept money from him as a client and produce any work product, you loose your license to practice law. Not gonna happen, but repurposing the pins in the Trump Voodoo doll to all Stop-The-Steal members of Congress isn't working.

  • On the post: NLRB Files Complaint Against Ridiculously Overbroad Non-Compete As An Unfair Labor Practice

    vilain ( profile ), 29 Sep, 2023 @ 02:09pm

    I just cross out that stuff

    While such clauses are illegal in California, that doesn't stop clueless out-of-state employers from using a general form for onboarding. I just cross out such clauses as a anti-disparagement, non-compete, and arbitration clauses. The one time it was an issue, the Select Group's corporate counsel contacted me to "negotiate" my revisions. He allowed the disparagement and non-compete but wouldn't give on arbitration. I took contract anyway but no other recruiting firm has ever made me sign an arbitration clause. Nowadays, I'd rather walk than work for such a company. Turns out they have a terrible rep as a recruiting company on Glass Door, so I was lucky I had no issues during my time at the contract.

  • On the post: Tennessee Teen Sues School For Suspending Him After He Posted Memes Mocking His Principal

    vilain ( profile ), 08 Aug, 2023 @ 12:48pm

    Pity the district's Litigation Insurance will cover this...

    I'm wondering if a policy revision will happen because of this case, one that excludes instances which violate a student's civil rights. I'd love to see the school board and this principle personally responsible for paying for the attorney's fees and any judgement as a result of this case. Take the Principle's house, his retirement, and what's left of his kid's college fund.

  • On the post: Daily Deal: Portable 2TB SSD External Hard Drive

    vilain ( profile ), 27 Jun, 2023 @ 12:52pm

    NEVER buy anything from Techdirt's Store run by Stack Commerce

    I bought one of these and yes, it's to good to be true. It failed to initialize on my system and after trying to format it, it stopped showing up altogether. Stackcommerce wouldn't refund my money even though it was clearly defective, so I told my bank it was a fraudulent purchase. They contested it and the bank wouldn't take the charge off. NEVER BUY ANYTHING from Stackcommerce. They're fraudsters.

  • On the post: Amazon’s Dying Smile Donation Program… Was Really All About Amazon Keeping Referral Fees To Google Down

    vilain ( profile ), 24 Jan, 2023 @ 10:58am

    I should have known

    Years ago I stopped the United Way payroll scam when they didn't have the charity I wanted to contribute to on their list of approved organizations. Since then, I just write a check directly to a charity at year end. I should have known this was to good to be true. So I went to the Institute for Justice's site and donated to them directly.

  • On the post: Lawyers Blocked From Entering Madison Square Garden By Vindictive Owner Use 1941 Law To Bypass Bullshit Ban

    vilain ( profile ), 18 Jan, 2023 @ 01:41pm

    Sauce for the goose is sauce for the gander

    While this is happening in NY, I wonder what Disney's lawyers are making of this. I'd love to see Gov. DeSantos, all the legislators, and staff banned from Disney Parks, resorts, and shops. If it happens, I'm buying the CostCo 48-pack popcorn.

  • On the post: As Elon Fires More Trust & Safety Staff, Twitter’s Moderation Efforts Fall Apart

    vilain ( profile ), 10 Jan, 2023 @ 03:28pm

    Will Elon get a heads up when his appearance is requested at the Haig?

    If Elon gets charged at the Haig for support of Human Trafficing or some other violation, will someone in the State or Justice Department tip him off so that he'll have to time to fly to somewhere without an extradition treaty?

  • On the post: Some Tricks To Making Mastodon Way More Useful

    vilain ( profile ), 29 Dec, 2022 @ 11:09pm

    Thanks for the discussion of lists

    I tried setting up a list of all the art accounts I follow. I don't know if it a limit of my Mastodon host, but I could only setup a list with 10 items. I'll play with the List Manager as an alternative. Thanks for that.

  • On the post: Madison Square Garden’s Facial Recognition Tech Boots Lawyers Litigating Against The Venue

    vilain ( profile ), 26 Dec, 2022 @ 03:01pm

    Sauce for the Goose is sauce for the Gander

    The article confirms that any business can refuse service to anyone. There are signs on most business' windows or near the cash register saying just that. But if the mom and a female partner were excluded, there might be some tenuous grounds for a suit because she'd be a protected class. What if Disney decided to exclude Gov. DeSantos, the legislators, and staff from all Disney properties world wide? They would be banned from all the parks, the stores, the resorts, and any Disney-run event. Maybe even excluded from subscribing to the Disney Cable Channel. I don't think Disney needs to be in some sort of litigation against the State of Florida. They can exclude them "just because". If it happens, hijinx will ensue. And I'll buy a 48-serving box of Popcorn from CostCo.

  • On the post: Let’s Talk About Twitter Verification!

    vilain ( profile ), 31 Oct, 2022 @ 10:30am

    A week to implement a new feature?

    I thought that "do this in 1 week or be fired" was Elon's first tactic to trim his workforce. The mechanism to add a paid tier to Twitter already exists, so code exists to do that. The processes of verifying "Is this who they say they are?" may also be in place but need tweaking. So, technically, there's less work than I thought to implement this feature. But the "Do this or I'll fire you" message has multiple meanings: - I'll fire you and you won't get any severance or unemployment benefits - prepare for multiple death marches - having Twitter on your resume will mean what it did - don't even think of forming a Union This is just a first salvo. I'm sure the 5-days/week or your fired rule comes very soon now. All this is to force people to leave without having to pay severance or unemployment or pay 60 days armchair time if he lays them off w/o notifying the state.

  • On the post: Daily Deal: Apple Magic Mouse

    vilain ( profile ), 19 Oct, 2022 @ 12:59pm

    beware buying anything from StackCommerce

    Originally they had an 'all sales final' policy but I was able to get around that by doing a chargeback on my credit card. Last scammy purchase I bought from them they kept insisting my bank had a dispute against my purchase and it wouldn't allow them to credit my account. My bank did not and this was to run the clock out on the 60 days my bank allows chargebacks. Also, the Mac Mouse was terrible for me ergonomically. I don't know if it was the shape, but I kept getting shoulder pain because using it would turn my shoulder into any earing. A regular mouse doesn't do that. I took my Apple Mouse back to the my Apple Store for a full $90 refund. Don't bother with StackCommerce for a $20 discount. They aren't worth the hassle. If you do buy and don't have problems, the Gods are smiling on you.

  • On the post: German Police Caught Using COVID-Tracing Data To Search For Crime Witnesses

    vilain ( profile ), 21 Jan, 2022 @ 12:04pm

    Not the first time this has happened

    If you collect data, somone will want to use that data for a purpose other than what it was intended. Google gets geofence requests for law enforcement for "anyone with a phone in an area between the hours of x and y". Sometimes they get the wrong guy, like the one on a bicycle going by a crime scene on his way home from work. Or the time US Census data was used to round up those with Japanese ancestry in 1941. Or those with Middle-Eastern ancestry in 2001. It's why I only specify "1 person lives here" on a Census form. But I'm wondering about the CA contract tracing app on my phone.

  • On the post: German Police Caught Using COVID-Tracing Data To Search For Crime Witnesses

    vilain ( profile ), 21 Jan, 2022 @ 12:04pm

    Not the first time this has happened

    If you collect data, somone will want to use that data for a purpose other than what it was intended. Google gets geofence requests for law enforcement for "anyone with a phone in an area between the hours of x and y". Sometimes they get the wrong guy, like the one on a bicycle going by a crime scene on his way home from work. Or the time US Census data was used to round up those with Japanese ancestry in 1941. Or those with Middle-Eastern ancestry in 2001. It's why I only specify "1 person lives here" on a Census form. But I'm wondering about the CA contract tracing app on my phone.

  • On the post: Parler Speedruns The Content Moderation Learning Curve; Goes From 'We Allow Everything' To 'We're The Good Censors' In Days

    vilain ( profile ), 01 Jul, 2020 @ 12:21pm

    How long before Amazon AWS has had enough?

    Parler is running on AWS currently. I don't know what AWS' T&Cs are, but I know they kick users off the platform for hosting SPAMMERS. I've complained to them regularly whenever something lands in my Inbox. It might be they'll ban based on fraud. I don't know who's paying for Parler's AWS fees, but I doubt it's Ted Cruz, a notable fan, along with everyone else. Maybe they're doing ads like FB and Twitter. Who would advertise in such a place? Who screens the ads to make sure they're legit and not some scam? Because sooner or later, someone's gonna commit fraud on the site. And if there's enough, AWS is gonna shut them down. The question is how long will it take?

  • On the post: Parler Speedruns The Content Moderation Learning Curve; Goes From 'We Allow Everything' To 'We're The Good Censors' In Days

    vilain ( profile ), 01 Jul, 2020 @ 12:21pm

    How long before Amazon AWS has had enough?

    Parler is running on AWS currently. I don't know what AWS' T&Cs are, but I know they kick users off the platform for hosting SPAMMERS. I've complained to them regularly whenever something lands in my Inbox. It might be they'll ban based on fraud. I don't know who's paying for Parler's AWS fees, but I doubt it's Ted Cruz, a notable fan, along with everyone else. Maybe they're doing ads like FB and Twitter. Who would advertise in such a place? Who screens the ads to make sure they're legit and not some scam? Because sooner or later, someone's gonna commit fraud on the site. And if there's enough, AWS is gonna shut them down. The question is how long will it take?

  • On the post: Zoom & China: Never Forget That Content Moderation Requests From Government Involve Moral Questions

    vilain ( profile ), 12 Jun, 2020 @ 06:41pm

    Could it be because their dev team is in China?

    Zoom has said previously when they had to consider their security model in light increased free tier use that a lot of their dev team is in China. I wonder if their initial willingness to please the PRC was so their dev team stays in place and isn't arrested, tried, and thrown in prison.
    <p>
    WebEx originally came from a Chinese dev team and they still develop that product, so Cisco has the same problem.

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