Funniest/Most Insightful Comments Of The Week At Techdirt

from the fears-and-fallacies dept

This week's comments touch a bunch of topics, starting with our post on the fact that musicians are starting to realize how good Spotify can be for them. Of course, as jupiterkansas pointed out in the most insightful comment of the week, there are still plenty of reasons that the labels are unlikely to follow suit:

But the recording label can't control what people listen to on Spotify, therefore they can't control popular tastes and maintain exclusivity over an aritst's success, therefore Spotify is evil.

While American markets are still warming to Spotify, GEMA has been holding Germany back to the point that it's still struggling with YouTube. This week, when GEMA complained about YouTube's blocked video messages that directly call out the overactive collection society, and suggested they were misleading, Analyst won second place for insightful by wondering if maybe they should be careful what they wish for:

Gema just created a lose lose for themselves

Gema to the courts: Youtube is the one choosing to take down the videos, not us.

Youtube to Gema: Since you have argued in court that it is "our choice", we have chosen to stop taking the videos down.

Gema to Youtube: But ... but ...

For editor's choice on the insightful side, we'll start out with yet another example of people cluelessly fighting against new technology. This time, it's Senator Joe Manchin soothsaying about the dangers of Bitcoin and all that it enables. An anonymous commenter made an important comparison:

Imagine if they would've said this about the Internet:

"Ban the Internet! It will enable piracy, drug selling, and 1-click porn access for our kids...and the upside is dubious at best!"

Next, we've got another anonymous commenter, on another post, with another important comparison — this time on the subject of justice, corruption and accountability in government:

Again to sum up,

Roger Clemens, he lied to congress when they asked him about steroid use, and a Federal Grand Jury indited him. He was later acquitted, but there was a trial.

James Clapper lied to congress about his direct roll in the violation of the constitutional rights of 100's of millions of American citizens, and there has not only been no grand jury, but no one in the federal government seems to think he did anything wrong at all.

The minute Clapper goes to prison, is the minute these other traitorous rats will start to abandon the ship, and suddenly develop a strong desire to become zealous defenders of the constitution.

No wonder why Putin was envious of our spy program.

Over on the funny side, first place comes in response to the un-funny news about a 13-year-old kid being charged with a felony for throwing a snowball at a cop. One commenter replied with that fun old chestnut about "a village missing its idiot" — but "The Village" offered clarification:

No. We are not "missing" him.

-The Village

Second place for funny could very well go to CCI itself for claiming that Six Strikes is working (or first place, for that matter) — but as it happens, it's going to weneedhelp for a response to CCI's evidence-free assertion:

I have not been bitten by an alligator since reading techdirt... thus, TD repels alligators. Trust me its true.

For editor's choice on the funny side, we start with a comment about the presentation that revealed new shady GCHQ/NSA tactics. Lorpius Prime pointed out a problem that, while generally overshadowed by bigger concerns, is no less true because of it:

Augh. GCHQ needs to be shut down just for its terrible Powerpoint slides.

And, finally, we've got a top-notch anonymous quip responding to our concern that big telcos aren't investing in "the networks of tomorrow":

getting them to invest in the networks of today would be a good start!!

It sure would...

That's all for this week, folks!

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