It might be more accurate to say that the Amish only accept technology that has unquestioned benefit. They keep their lives as simple as is reasonable, minimizing the intrusion of technology rather than rejecting it outright.
Their standard for simplicity is often misunderstood, but it usually makes sense if you have all of the details.
In the area I grew up, Amish households often had electricity and sometimes phone service. There was electricity to the barn, especially if it was a dairy farm. Electricity to the house was limited to a porch light and a nearby outdoor outlet. Any phone was mounted on the outside, in an outbuilding or in the barn. The view was that you needed electric lighting to safely work in a barn, but you didn't need an electric toaster.
Have some sympathy for Cohen. He is in a tough position with very limited options.
Right now empty legal threats are the best of those options.
He, as an attorney, purported to negotiate and execute a contract. Apparently without the permission of his client. And paid, out of his own pocket. And now the client is saying that he wasn't involved in the deal.
Certainly Cohen has enough of a contract to get into court. But that is certainly end as a disaster. Filing a complaint would immediately involve a counter-claim to hold him in court, and subsequent discovery. Well funded, extensive discovery. A plaintiff can't really refuse discovery directly about directly relevant issue, and as a counter-claim defendant he can't run away.
No matter how well thuggish legal destruction threats have served him in the past, Cohen has to see that he is at a dead end. Worse, he is setting himself up to actually get into a legal battle. One where the best possible outcome is immediate summary judgement against him, with no evidence released that would result in an ethic investigation.
It's very likely that a human-only vehicle with a dashcam wouldn't be charged.
All public evidence is that a homeless junky, unseen in a brush-covered center median, rapidly moved in front of a vehicle. It happen so quickly that even the Volvo auto-brake system could not respond.
Re: Re: Re: Human drivers outnumber autonomous by, say, 10,000 to 1...
You might have missed it, but that is already happening.
Essentially all high-end cars have sophisticated driver assist systems. They provide lane-keeping assist, distance-keeping cruise control, automatic braking, automatic parking, and lane-change warnings.
These systems are modestly expensive options on mid-range cars, and occasionally available on the low-end models.
I've been using a system for about two years. I quickly changed my opinion of it from being a luxury, to being a safety system more valuable than ABS.
Several freeways around here have the typical California 70MPH-to-stopped for no apparent reason. That's reinforced because people learn to panic stop when they see the first brake light flash. The radar is much better than I am at tracking multiple cars and deciding if this will be a cascading panic stop, or just drivers cautiously having their foot ready on the brake.
I expect in other regions that functionality will just silently exist, protecting the driver without them ever realizing it.
Silicon valley has a long history of curious business practices.
In some cases large companies appear to be enabling competitors. They let key people depart to form start-ups with their proprietary information. They provide data and assistance to other start-ups.
They then buy the successful start-ups for a significant multiple of what those start-ups spent developing a proto-product or a market.
What is really happening is that they are externalizing R&D. It mitigates risk and has tax advantages.
Facebook is likely more upset that this situation has screwed over their attempt to skirt data protection laws than that a small company has mis-used Facebook's data and has been competing with them. (Read that as "testing the revenue potential of this market".)
Re: "What's this $130K charge on your account?" "Oh that, nothing."
I think that they have a trial balloon out. They are seeing if people believe Trump didn't have the affair, but Cohen paid blackmail money without asking Trump in the belief that the affair happened.
Or perhaps that Cohen was trying to suppress a false story. Except that won't work because it would be an unreported campaign contribution.
The 1033 program has rules to avoid the most embarrassing abuses. Someone that spends a little time looking for loopholes certainly could find them, but this department didn't even find it necessary to put in that effort.
The rule say that the equipment must be put into use within 12 months, and must be used for at least 12 months for small equipment, 18 months for regular vehicles and small boats, with longer use required for large vehicles, aircraft, etc.
The rules also block the most obvious loopholes. That the equipment may not be loaned or used privately during that period, or broken down for parts.
Slander of title is falsely claiming that you own a property, or specific rights associated with it. The claim also typically requires that it decreases the value of the property.
Saying something unrelated to the title/ownership doesn't fall under this, even if it decreases the value of the property.
The system on older BMWs (from two decades ago) is a good example of how the security work. The transponder requires a modest encryption key to communicate. But there is a significant additional layer of security -- the locking system generates and writes a random number into the key. The next time that key is used, the car reads back the number and verifies that it matches. If it does, a new random number is written and the car is allowed to start.
This defeats various attacks, for instance a valet cloning a key and using it later.
The people asking for a secure third-party encryption key have long since learned that it's not technically possible.
Why do they continue to ask for it?
I suspect that they are asking for it strategically. It is not obvious to the 'everyday man' that a FBI-only decryption key is impossible. When it's not provided to them, they can complain about not getting cooperation and ask for additional powers.
What would make the FBI the most power organization in the world? Something that would given them the power of the old KGB, world-wide. It would be warrantless real-time access to everything at Apple, Facebook, Google etc. all the way down to AOL. You could blackmail half of the people on the planet, not just on the things they do once they become of interest but on their entire online past.
In the U.S. the most deadly aspect of the job is operating a motor vehicle. About half of those deaths are single vehicle accidents. It's appears that a significant cause of death is ignoring the traffic laws that they enforce against others. But you don't see any call to require police to obey traffic laws except during a pursuit, or punishments for not issuing/"fixing" tickets as a professional courtesy.
Yes, domestic disputes are the second most deadly, roughly the same as the risk of a heart attack while on duty.
Re: Wait, I thought US jusrisdiction was world-wide.
The BBC responded because they do have a business presence in California and were clearly subject to the jurisdiction of the courts. This show was not part of the business presence, but they still needed to respond.
A fitting result would be for any publication or organization to immediately reject a paper where he is listed as an author. Make it clear to everyone that reading and commenting on the contents would unacceptably expose the organization and reviewers to legal expense.
Really, I don't see how they could otherwise.
Perhaps even extend the approach to requiring other Stanford-affiliated authors to sign a legally-binding pledge not to sue. Academic politics tends to be bi-modal: either apathy or extreme reactions. An embarrassment like a targeted pledge would definitely have a result.
Lawyers telling the press that they would appeal takes little effort.
Writing an appeal takes far more effort. It's much more than writing "we want a do-over" and paying a filing fee. The weaker the case, the harder to find precedent that supports a claim of error.
In real life the deployed modem wouldn't reach 56K, but the hardware with the right settings in the ideal conditions could reach that speed. The advertising claim was misleading, and well down a slippery slop, but was holding onto the truth by a fingernail.
In this case Charter was selling a service with hardware that could never reach the advertised speed, even under ideal circumstances.
Claiming 'Qualified Immunity' is an attempt to avoid review of either the CBP rules or the officers actions. It's a claim that the officers weren't necessarily allowed to do what they did, but they can't be prosecuted individually as they were acting in their official capacity.
Normally it would be asserted by officials when prosecuted as individuals. Here it's the government asserting the right of agents to do anything they like without being prosecuted, and extending that to cover the CBP.
It's somewhat of a circular argument, but the CBP is arguing that they have the precedents to hold the loop together. Or at least cost the other side more than they can afford to argue against.
On the post: Dental Care Provider Threatens Parents With State Intervention If They Don't Set Up Appointments For Their Kids
Re: Re:
Their standard for simplicity is often misunderstood, but it usually makes sense if you have all of the details.
In the area I grew up, Amish households often had electricity and sometimes phone service. There was electricity to the barn, especially if it was a dairy farm. Electricity to the house was limited to a porch light and a nearby outdoor outlet. Any phone was mounted on the outside, in an outbuilding or in the barn. The view was that you needed electric lighting to safely work in a barn, but you didn't need an electric toaster.
On the post: Trump's Lawyer's Lawyer Threatens Defamation Over Claims Stormy Daniels Did Not Make
Right now empty legal threats are the best of those options.
He, as an attorney, purported to negotiate and execute a contract. Apparently without the permission of his client. And paid, out of his own pocket. And now the client is saying that he wasn't involved in the deal.
Certainly Cohen has enough of a contract to get into court. But that is certainly end as a disaster. Filing a complaint would immediately involve a counter-claim to hold him in court, and subsequent discovery. Well funded, extensive discovery. A plaintiff can't really refuse discovery directly about directly relevant issue, and as a counter-claim defendant he can't run away.
No matter how well thuggish legal destruction threats have served him in the past, Cohen has to see that he is at a dead end. Worse, he is setting himself up to actually get into a legal battle. One where the best possible outcome is immediate summary judgement against him, with no evidence released that would result in an ethic investigation.
On the post: Tempe Police Chief Indicates The Uber Self-Driving Car Probably Isn't At Fault In Pedestrian Death
Re: Re: Re: Thin blue line..where's my tinfoil hat??!!!
Why bring ethnic background into this?
On the post: Tempe Police Chief Indicates The Uber Self-Driving Car Probably Isn't At Fault In Pedestrian Death
Re:
All public evidence is that a homeless junky, unseen in a brush-covered center median, rapidly moved in front of a vehicle. It happen so quickly that even the Volvo auto-brake system could not respond.
On the post: Pedestrian Deaths By Car In Phoenix Area Last Week: 11. But One Was By A Self-Driving Uber
Re: Re: Re: Human drivers outnumber autonomous by, say, 10,000 to 1...
Essentially all high-end cars have sophisticated driver assist systems. They provide lane-keeping assist, distance-keeping cruise control, automatic braking, automatic parking, and lane-change warnings.
These systems are modestly expensive options on mid-range cars, and occasionally available on the low-end models.
I've been using a system for about two years. I quickly changed my opinion of it from being a luxury, to being a safety system more valuable than ABS.
Several freeways around here have the typical California 70MPH-to-stopped for no apparent reason. That's reinforced because people learn to panic stop when they see the first brake light flash. The radar is much better than I am at tracking multiple cars and deciding if this will be a cascading panic stop, or just drivers cautiously having their foot ready on the brake.
I expect in other regions that functionality will just silently exist, protecting the driver without them ever realizing it.
On the post: Both Facebook And Cambridge Analytica Threatened To Sue Journalists Over Stories On CA's Use Of Facebook Data
In some cases large companies appear to be enabling competitors. They let key people depart to form start-ups with their proprietary information. They provide data and assistance to other start-ups.
They then buy the successful start-ups for a significant multiple of what those start-ups spent developing a proto-product or a market.
What is really happening is that they are externalizing R&D. It mitigates risk and has tax advantages.
Facebook is likely more upset that this situation has screwed over their attempt to skirt data protection laws than that a small company has mis-used Facebook's data and has been competing with them. (Read that as "testing the revenue potential of this market".)
On the post: How Trump's Lawyer's Silly Lawsuit Against Buzzfeed May Free Stormy Daniels From Her Non Disclosure Agreement
Re: "What's this $130K charge on your account?" "Oh that, nothing."
Or perhaps that Cohen was trying to suppress a false story. Except that won't work because it would be an unreported campaign contribution.
On the post: How Trump's Lawyer's Silly Lawsuit Against Buzzfeed May Free Stormy Daniels From Her Non Disclosure Agreement
Re: The Family Values Candidate
On the post: Maryland Court System Arbitrarily Decides Public Should No Longer Have Access To Police Officers' Names
If it's a high profile case I may be perp-walked in front of the press, even if there is substantial doubt that I committed the crime.
Pictures of the arrest and mug shots are retained and made available for anyone to publish, even if I'm later cleared of all charges.
But somehow it's too pejorative for police to have the same treatment.
On the post: Police Department With Eight Full-Time Officers Acquired 31 Military Vehicles Thru DoD's Surplus Program
The rule say that the equipment must be put into use within 12 months, and must be used for at least 12 months for small equipment, 18 months for regular vehicles and small boats, with longer use required for large vehicles, aircraft, etc.
The rules also block the most obvious loopholes. That the equipment may not be loaned or used privately during that period, or broken down for parts.
On the post: Iowa Town Threatens Critical Resident With A Lawsuit, Gets Sued By The ACLU Instead
"Slander of Title" seems to be only mis-used
Saying something unrelated to the title/ownership doesn't fall under this, even if it decreases the value of the property.
On the post: Funniest/Most Insightful Comments Of The Week At Techdirt
Re: Re: I wonder..
The system on older BMWs (from two decades ago) is a good example of how the security work. The transponder requires a modest encryption key to communicate. But there is a significant additional layer of security -- the locking system generates and writes a random number into the key. The next time that key is used, the car reads back the number and verifies that it matches. If it does, a new random number is written and the car is allowed to start.
This defeats various attacks, for instance a valet cloning a key and using it later.
On the post: Funniest/Most Insightful Comments Of The Week At Techdirt
Gain power by asking for the impossible
Why do they continue to ask for it?
I suspect that they are asking for it strategically. It is not obvious to the 'everyday man' that a FBI-only decryption key is impossible. When it's not provided to them, they can complain about not getting cooperation and ask for additional powers.
What would make the FBI the most power organization in the world? Something that would given them the power of the old KGB, world-wide. It would be warrantless real-time access to everything at Apple, Facebook, Google etc. all the way down to AOL. You could blackmail half of the people on the planet, not just on the things they do once they become of interest but on their entire online past.
On the post: After Controversial Traffic Stop, Police Chief Says He Won't Release Recordings To 'Anti-Police' Requesters
Re: Re: Re: Re: stupidity
Yes, domestic disputes are the second most deadly, roughly the same as the risk of a heart attack while on duty.
On the post: California Court Dismisses Copyright Suit Against BBC Over Cosby Documentary Over Lack Of Jurisdiction
Re: Re: Re: Wait, I thought US jusrisdiction was world-wide.
The courts don't 'know' something until it appears in a filing. They can't take it as fact until a reply has been filed that doesn't challenge it.
On the post: California Court Dismisses Copyright Suit Against BBC Over Cosby Documentary Over Lack Of Jurisdiction
Re: Wait, I thought US jusrisdiction was world-wide.
On the post: Stanford Professor Drops Stupid SLAPP Suit Against Critics; Still Mad Online
Really, I don't see how they could otherwise.
Perhaps even extend the approach to requiring other Stanford-affiliated authors to sign a legally-binding pledge not to sue. Academic politics tends to be bi-modal: either apathy or extreme reactions. An embarrassment like a targeted pledge would definitely have a result.
On the post: Judge Tells Coal Boss Bob Murray The Judicial Equivalent Of 'Eat Shit, Bob'
Re: Re: Already being appealed?
Lawyers telling the press that they would appeal takes little effort.
Writing an appeal takes far more effort. It's much more than writing "we want a do-over" and paying a filing fee. The weaker the case, the harder to find precedent that supports a claim of error.
On the post: Charter Spectrum Fails To Wiggle Out From Under State Lawsuit For Crappy Service
Re: Re:
In real life the deployed modem wouldn't reach 56K, but the hardware with the right settings in the ideal conditions could reach that speed. The advertising claim was misleading, and well down a slippery slop, but was holding onto the truth by a fingernail.
In this case Charter was selling a service with hardware that could never reach the advertised speed, even under ideal circumstances.
On the post: Rancher Sues CBP After Officers Install A Camera On His Private Property
Re: Leaning on qualified immunity?
Normally it would be asserted by officials when prosecuted as individuals. Here it's the government asserting the right of agents to do anything they like without being prosecuted, and extending that to cover the CBP.
It's somewhat of a circular argument, but the CBP is arguing that they have the precedents to hold the loop together. Or at least cost the other side more than they can afford to argue against.
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