As the article from the Irish Times explains, the US is not alone: also keen to see the framework upheld are the British, Dutch, and French governments, as well as Microsoft and the Business Software Alliance, all of whom have applied separately to join the action.
They say you can judge a man by the company he keeps. I say it's not just men. If Microsoft and the BSA (a notorious Microsoft front group whose main purpose in life is promoting the progress of copyright abuse, particularly by Microsoft) think it's such a good idea, that's at the very least, a good reason to wonder if we might not be better off without it.
Just because a patent is acquired does not mean the company obtaining it has the means to put it to use. Nor does it indicate it ever plans to put the patent to use. It's an exclusionary process meant to keep others locked out for a certain period of time more than a leading indicator of any company's immediate plans for the future.
And that's the biggest problem in all this. How does it make any sense to grant a patent to an applicant in the first place if they don't have an actual working model?
Isn't there a necessary prerequisite to be guilty of war crimes that the designers of this videogame did not meet, namely involvement in a freaking war?!?
For heaven's sake, Red Cross, don't distract people from all the good you do by being pedantic idiots!
> [M]ontgomery’s defiant mayor announced that the city would continue to operate the program. Curiously, he asserted that to stop issuing tickets would breach the city’s contract with American Traffic Solutions.
If complying with a contractual obligation would place you in violation of the law, doesn't that make the contract itself legally indefensible and therefore void?
It doesn't seem like he's trying to say "the Obama administration actively encouraged the Washington Post to trip over its own shoelaces and perform an epic, journalistic face-plant" in this particular case, but rather that because of the Obama administration pushing the "Russian hacking" narrative so hard, with so little evidence, they created the climate where the Washington Post had a strong incentive to want to put out a story like this. And in that, he's absolutely right.
Sing it with me, folks: correlation is not causation. After all, the number of works of visual art copyrighted in the US similarly has an inverse correlation to the number of females in NY who slipped or tripped to their death (really!). It doesn't mean it's a causal relationship where more of one means less of the other.
In this particular case, though, there absolutely is a causal relationship. Technology companies are out-competing them by having a better product, and are ending up eating their lunch.
Thing is, that's exactly how the system is supposed to work. Sucks to be the guys who failed to compete, but that's their problem. They have no right to make it Google's problem.
These guys have been blatantly disregarding any and every law they find inconvenient from the very beginning, and now they're running red lights, making hook turns through bike lanes, and completely disregarding requirements for proper registration of their autonomous vehicles.
I really hope this case gives some agency an excuse to shut them down completely, because this just raised the stakes. Before, their lawless attitude only screwed people out of money and dignity. Now, they could kill someone.
Yet, Susan has focused not just on understanding what kind of speech precedes violence, but also what works in counteracting that -- and she argues (and we agree!) that censorship is rarely does.
Yet, Susan has focused not just on understanding what kind of speech precedes violence, but also on what works in counteracting that -- and she argues (and we agree!) that censorship -->is rarely does.
This is very interesting. I've seen software with EULA clauses that say you're not allowed to publish benchmarks of this software. Would that clause be invalidated under the new law?
It feels like I'm saying this a lot lately, but anyone surprised by this is simply not paying attention. This is exactly what people who understand money have been predicting for years now. Bitcoin is a scam, built on one fraud after another from the very beginning (remember Mt. Gox?) and no government is going to put up with untraceable, untaxable "currency" undermining their economy. (Particularly not one that's been so badly mismanaged that it ended up under de facto control of a group of Chinese hackers!)
I would call this move a warning shot, but honestly it feels more like a full-out opening salvo. If, for any reason, you own Bitcoin, you'd do well to sell now and leave someone dumber than you holding the bag.
I'm sorry, Mike, but that response is completely incoherent and, as far as I can tell, has nothing at all to do with the thing that I wrote that you're responding to.
No, I specifically and quite clearly meant "the Republican party and not simply the Republican presidential candidate." Please look over what I wrote again, with a bit more reading comprehension this time, as I was clearly referring to all the elections rather than simply the one that you're focusing on.
Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: The Laughable Postion of Democrats on the Integrity of Voting
Is it too much to hope for that the racism-ists will do a bit of introspection after all this, and maybe finally learn the meaning of the old tale of The Boy Who Cried Wolf?
Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Not totally serious, but...
Better question to be asking: why do these MILLIONS of people not have valid ID? (Or, to put it another way, if 90-99% of Americans can do it, what's stopping these guys?)
It's not difficult to get a state ID or driver's license. (If anything, it's *far too easy* to get a driver's license, as it theoretically requires demonstrating you're capable of driving, but I think everyone here would agree that experience shows we hand those out *far* too easily. But that's a debate for a different time.) It's not some arduous task that a reasonable person would conclude acts as a credible barrier to enfranchisement.
If you do not comply with basic, simple prerequisites, you're unable to perform actions that depend on those prerequisites. Why should voting be a special case? If it's really that important--and I agree that it is--isn't it really that important to put into place simple, common-sense measures that any legitimate citizen who cares enough can easily comply with, in order to ensure its integrity?
On the post: Already Under Attack In Top EU Court, Privacy Shield Framework For Transatlantic Data Flows Further Undermined By Trump
They say you can judge a man by the company he keeps. I say it's not just men. If Microsoft and the BSA (a notorious Microsoft front group whose main purpose in life is promoting the progress of copyright abuse, particularly by Microsoft) think it's such a good idea, that's at the very least, a good reason to wonder if we might not be better off without it.
On the post: Six Journalists Arrested, Charged While Covering Trump Inauguration Protests
Re: Re: Re: Re: Trump want even in charge yet
On the post: California Man Brings Class Action Lawsuit Against Apple For Not Preventing Drivers From Doing Stupid Stuff
And that's the biggest problem in all this. How does it make any sense to grant a patent to an applicant in the first place if they don't have an actual working model?
On the post: Red Cross Claims Makers Of 'Prison Architect' Violated The Geneva Conventions By Using A Red Cross
Isn't there a necessary prerequisite to be guilty of war crimes that the designers of this videogame did not meet, namely involvement in a freaking war?!?
For heaven's sake, Red Cross, don't distract people from all the good you do by being pedantic idiots!
On the post: The Legal Netherworld Of Traffic Cam Tickets, Where Everything Is Both Civil And Criminal, While Also Being Mostly Neither
If complying with a contractual obligation would place you in violation of the law, doesn't that make the contract itself legally indefensible and therefore void?
On the post: Potential New FCC Boss Blames Obama For The Washington Post's Botched Russian Utility Hacking Story
On the post: You Have To Distort The Facts Pretty Badly To Argue That Google & Facebook Are Worse For Consumers Than AT&T
In this particular case, though, there absolutely is a causal relationship. Technology companies are out-competing them by having a better product, and are ending up eating their lunch.
Thing is, that's exactly how the system is supposed to work. Sucks to be the guys who failed to compete, but that's their problem. They have no right to make it Google's problem.
On the post: Command Line Interface Copyright Case: Not Fair Use... But Not Infringing Thanks To Scenes A Faire
On the post: Uber And California DMV Fight Over Definition Of Self-Driving Cars
Jamie Zawinski, a San Francisco resident and one of the most respected names in tech, has a very different take on it: "Uber is now literally trying to murder me."
These guys have been blatantly disregarding any and every law they find inconvenient from the very beginning, and now they're running red lights, making hook turns through bike lanes, and completely disregarding requirements for proper registration of their autonomous vehicles.
I really hope this case gives some agency an excuse to shut them down completely, because this just raised the stakes. Before, their lawless attitude only screwed people out of money and dignity. Now, they could kill someone.
On the post: Do You Have Examples Of Constructive Responses To Hateful/Abusive/Trollish Speech Online?
One needed word missing, one superfluous word:
Yet, Susan has focused not just on understanding what kind of speech precedes violence, but also on what works in counteracting that -- and she argues (and we agree!) that censorship -->is rarely does.
On the post: Judge: Using Publicly-Available Twitter Profile Info Is Like Stealing Social Security Numbers
Re:
On the post: Judge: Using Publicly-Available Twitter Profile Info Is Like Stealing Social Security Numbers
On the post: Elton John, Anti-YouTube Crusader, Partners With YouTube For Public Music Competition
Is he even still around?!? I don't think I've heard anything from him since the 90s!
On the post: Law Passed To Protect Customers From Non-Disparagement Clauses And Other Ridiculous Restrictions
On the post: Court Rubber Stamps IRS's Demand To Get All Coinbase User Data
It feels like I'm saying this a lot lately, but anyone surprised by this is simply not paying attention. This is exactly what people who understand money have been predicting for years now. Bitcoin is a scam, built on one fraud after another from the very beginning (remember Mt. Gox?) and no government is going to put up with untraceable, untaxable "currency" undermining their economy. (Particularly not one that's been so badly mismanaged that it ended up under de facto control of a group of Chinese hackers!)
I would call this move a warning shot, but honestly it feels more like a full-out opening salvo. If, for any reason, you own Bitcoin, you'd do well to sell now and leave someone dumber than you holding the bag.
On the post: Somehow Everyone Comes Out Looking Terrible In The Effort For Election Recounts
Re: Recount
Nope, sorry. That's simply not how it works.
On the post: Somehow Everyone Comes Out Looking Terrible In The Effort For Election Recounts
Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Not totally serious, but...
I'm sorry, Mike, but that response is completely incoherent and, as far as I can tell, has nothing at all to do with the thing that I wrote that you're responding to.
Also, you totally Godwin'd yourself.
Come on, you're better than this!
On the post: Somehow Everyone Comes Out Looking Terrible In The Effort For Election Recounts
Re: Re: Re: Re: Let's assume there's voter fraud
No, I specifically and quite clearly meant "the Republican party and not simply the Republican presidential candidate." Please look over what I wrote again, with a bit more reading comprehension this time, as I was clearly referring to all the elections rather than simply the one that you're focusing on.
On the post: Somehow Everyone Comes Out Looking Terrible In The Effort For Election Recounts
Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: The Laughable Postion of Democrats on the Integrity of Voting
On the post: Somehow Everyone Comes Out Looking Terrible In The Effort For Election Recounts
Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Not totally serious, but...
It's not difficult to get a state ID or driver's license. (If anything, it's *far too easy* to get a driver's license, as it theoretically requires demonstrating you're capable of driving, but I think everyone here would agree that experience shows we hand those out *far* too easily. But that's a debate for a different time.) It's not some arduous task that a reasonable person would conclude acts as a credible barrier to enfranchisement.
If you do not comply with basic, simple prerequisites, you're unable to perform actions that depend on those prerequisites. Why should voting be a special case? If it's really that important--and I agree that it is--isn't it really that important to put into place simple, common-sense measures that any legitimate citizen who cares enough can easily comply with, in order to ensure its integrity?
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