xmichaelx 's Techdirt Comments

Latest Comments (712)

• On the post: The FBI’s Child Sexual Abuse Efforts Are As Half-Assed As Its Counterterrorism Efforts

  

  xmichaelx ( profile ), 06 Sep, 2024 @ 11:19am

  The FBI has never taken CSAM seriously

  I'm old enough to remember the Playpen FBI sting, in which the FBI spent weeks serving as (by far) the largest distributor of kiddy porn in the world, while simultaneously disabling that website's uploads, making it impossible for them to catch anyone actually producing the kiddy porn they were pushing.

• On the post: David Boies’ Baseless Lawsuit Blames Meta Because Kids Like Instagram Too Much

  

  xmichaelx ( profile ), 04 Sep, 2024 @ 11:05am

  I don’t see why this is a bad piece of evidence to use.

  Because it doesn't actually exist. This alone negates anything else you follow up with in your screed.

• On the post: 84% Of Americans Want Tougher Online Privacy Laws, But Congress Is Too Corrupt To Follow Through

  

  xmichaelx ( profile ), 21 Aug, 2024 @ 10:45am

  In this case, it's not (just) corruption

  It's not about corruption; it's about surveillance. All the data that's hoovered up and passed around by Big Tech, ISPs, credit card companies, and data brokers is bought and used by law enforcement and various 3-letter agencies as much as (or more than) anyone else. If Congress were to start thinking about privacy laws, the largest lobbying efforts against it would come from inside the house: the NSA, FBI, CIA, and the DHS. THAT'S why it will never happen. Stories like this one that ignore that part of the issue -- which is the most important part of the issue -- are not helpful. Fixing the issue has to BEGIN with a discussion of the types of surveillance these agencies are permitted to do against US citizens, and THAT'S where the pressure needs to be put on Congress. Commentary like Bode's is a gift to the Surveillance State.

• On the post: 2nd Circuit To Cop: Someone Observing All The Laws Is Not ‘Probable Cause’ For A Search

  

  xmichaelx ( profile ), 20 Aug, 2024 @ 08:31am

  You don't have to wonder in this case. The guy's name is Basel Soukaneh, strongly suggesting he's not white. And the NRA never cares about 2A rights violations of non-whites.

• On the post: Making Money By Understanding The Difference Between Analog & Digital

  

  xmichaelx ( profile ), 31 Jul, 2024 @ 07:59am

  Once again the Times is late to the party

  I (along with many thousands of others) have been subscribed to the print horror magazines Rue Morgue and Fangoria forever. Fangoria explicitly doesn't even have the articles from its print magazine online. It's always nice to see the Times finally reporting on things that aren't remotely new.

• On the post: Australian Police Open Snitch Portal For Drivers To Upload Dash Cam Footage Of Moving Violations

  

  xmichaelx ( profile ), 30 Jul, 2024 @ 09:50am

  ... also, the LEFT LANE IS FOR PASSING. If you're "keeping up with traffic" then you have no business being in the left lane, no matter your speed. Learn to drive.

• On the post: Australian Police Open Snitch Portal For Drivers To Upload Dash Cam Footage Of Moving Violations

  

  xmichaelx ( profile ), 30 Jul, 2024 @ 09:48am

  You should send me your license plate number. In about 5 minutes I can make a fake video that would get you a very large fine. This is obviously stupid, and easily abused. It could be useful if someone was actually endangering people AND THERE WAS SOME LEVEL OF CORROBORATION like the driver's cell data. Otherwise, it's totally useless. I'm fortunate to live in Nevada, where it's illegal to give traffic tickets based solely on video/photographic evidence. As it should be.

• On the post: Journalist Hit With $5,500 Judgment By Italian Court For Mocking Far-Right Politician’s Height

  

  xmichaelx ( profile ), 26 Jul, 2024 @ 11:57am

  Making it illegal to call a short person short can't possibly have good intentions behind it. Short people are short. Fat people are fat. Factual statements cannot be "shaming."

• On the post: DOJ Says Kansas School District Routinely Engaged In Biased Enforcement Of Student Policies

  

  xmichaelx ( profile ), 22 Jul, 2024 @ 01:55pm

  “unless required by law.”

  School administrators and teachers have mandatory reporting rules (federal and state) for various things, including sexual abuse. I believe this is where "unless required by law" fits in. Not everything is about "die hard federalists" and government overreach, Tim. Nor is all reporting about getting kids in trouble. You may be okay with schools handling (even student-on-student) abuse cases themselves and keeping it under wraps; most aren't.

• On the post: Fifth Circuit Is Going To Take Another Swing At Its Extremely Messy Library Book Removal Decision

  

  xmichaelx ( profile ), 16 Jul, 2024 @ 10:59am

  You know how I know you didn't read the fucking article?

• On the post: Apple Continues To Genuflect To Vladimir Putin In The Russian Apple App Store

  

  xmichaelx ( profile ), 15 Jul, 2024 @ 07:28pm

  Apple is virtually required to make choices that maximize profits, or face a lawsuit from shareholders.

  This is a bullshit take that I really thought no one actually believed anymore. If it were true, shareholders would be pissed that Apple doesn't allow porn apps, since those would help "maximize profits." If it were true, shareholders would sue over Apple ONLY taking 30% of app store sales instead of 50%. Or 90%. The concept you've put forth is an idiotic excuse for Apple to do literally anything and never lose your approval, and you should feel bad both for your shitty fanboi-ism and for licking Putin's boots.

• On the post: DOJ Asks Fifth Circuit To Block The Injunction RFK Jr. Thinks He’s Now Entitled To Regarding Social Media

  

  xmichaelx ( profile ), 11 Jul, 2024 @ 12:57pm

  Imagine how much of a bootlicker you'd need to be in order to consider the wealthy scion of a wealthy political dynasty to be "persecuted." This suit is just another time in this election cycle that Bobby has claimed "I'm different because I'm rich!" See also: his dumb whining about needing a taxpayer-financed security detail, despite meeting zero of the requirements for such a detail, and (again) having plenty of money to pay for it without any welfare.

• On the post: Big Telecom Prepares For The Final Killing Blow Against Net Neutrality

  

  xmichaelx ( profile ), 11 Jul, 2024 @ 10:29am

  Truth. It's easier and cheaper to buy state and local politicians than national ones. The only way this isn't a total win for Big Telecom is if California magically elects some pols with character, since every other large state (NY, PA, FL, TX) has chosen not to.

• On the post: The Corrupt Supreme Court Makes A Reckless Mess Of Broadband Consumer Protection (And Everything Else)

  

  xmichaelx ( profile ), 09 Jul, 2024 @ 08:48am

  Here's why you're (very obviously) wrong: This is a massive power grab by the judiciary, because now what used to be covered by Chevron deference will instead wind up in court, allowing the courts -- particularly SCOTUS -- to choose which regulations they like and which they don't. Similarly, their Presidential immunity decision was also a massive power grab, because they've given immunity to "official duties" without defining those duties. So again, it will be up to the Court to decide, via the inevitable lawsuits, which presidential activities they approve of that are covered by official duties (which will be whatever a Republican does) and what isn't covered. It's worth remembering that SCOTUS chose the president in 2000 based not on law (in fact, they specifically said that their decision wasn't precedential) but on party affiliation. The idea that that partisanship won't continue and isn't THE ENTIRE POINT of throwing out Chevron is asinine.

• On the post: I Guess A Bunch Of Sixth Circuit Judges Think The Public Shouldn’t Be Allowed To Outlaw Qualified Immunity

  

  xmichaelx ( profile ), 27 Jun, 2024 @ 09:58am

  C) Police officers act within the bounds of law and common sense, and are held accountable when they act outside of the law and/or violate Constitutional rights. Supporting "small government" necessitates accountibility of government agents. Why Republicans think cops -- WHO ARE GOVERNMENT AGENTS -- should be allowed to do whatever they want without oversight or accountability (with your proposed excuse being "gee, I'm just not educated or trained well enough to know that violating rights was wrong") will forever remain a mystery to thinking people everywhere.

• On the post: Success Kid Says Transformative Use Lives

  

  xmichaelx ( profile ), 26 Jun, 2024 @ 11:37am

  What happened?

  The article seems to be geared towards those who already know what this case was about, and so offers zero background or useful facts. And without any context at all, it feels more like word salad written by AI than useful commentary or analysis.

• On the post: Fitbit Plumbs New Depths Of Bottomless Suckiness After Google Acquisition

  

  xmichaelx ( profile ), 21 Jun, 2024 @ 02:43pm

  If you want to get fit, collecting data will absolutely help you, chubby. This isn't rocket science.

• On the post: With Criticism Of Its Tech Going Federal, ShotSpotter Fires Back With Inconsistent Assertions

  

  xmichaelx ( profile ), 20 Jun, 2024 @ 03:05pm

  Not "gunfire"

  Replace the word "gunfire" with "any loud noise" in all of Shotspotters press releases and legal arguments, and you have a much more honest statement. I've witnessed this is my own neighborhood, where cops immediately show up every time a kid sets off a firework. Surely they have better things to do, particularly at this time of year.

• On the post: FBI Stats Show Crime Still Declining, Despite The Assertions Of Alarmists And Political Opportunists

  

  xmichaelx ( profile ), 20 Jun, 2024 @ 10:39am

  "Believe me" even though I have no source for my idiotic beliefs. lol

• On the post: In News That Should Surprise No One, Lots Of Cops Are Sexually Abusing Minors

  

  xmichaelx ( profile ), 19 Jun, 2024 @ 02:40pm

  Being on the sex offender registry doesn't prevent anyone from raping more children; jail time does, at least for a while. This isn't that difficult to understand.

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